Just how good I should SHARE...it looks great.

Title of post should read: “Just how good is SHARE”

 

For those of you who love SHARE, please “share” more details if you can. The presentation of the food looks beautiful. In some videos, each course appears to be on a plate of a different pattern. In other photos, all plates look white. In any case, portion size looks appropriate and presentation looks beautiful. Of course, presentation doesn’t matter, if the taste isn’t there.

 

The amount of protein looks good too, if all courses are included. It looks like the lobster and beef are prepared sous vide. Lamb looks good too. Compared to the original two Sabatini incarnations, it does look like less money may have been spent on the protein, but probably more labor is involved in the presentation. I always felt Sabatini’s offered a bit too much food, but we still enjoyed it...too bad we can’t have both SHARE and the old Sabatini’s.

 

 

Anyway, we look forward to trying SHARE.

Edited September 9, 2018 by Loreni

It is the best dining experience I have ever had on Princess. We've dined at SHARE six or seven times--although, the first three times were with the old menu.

 

My favorite things about SHARE:

 

 

• Both the pastas are amazing. I think I lean more towards the Cavatelli, but the Ravioli is also terrific.
  
• The Duck Confit is, easily the best "Land" course, and may be the best item on the menu. So tasty.
  
• A very attentive staff. The most consistent that I have ever experienced on Princess.
  
• I love the leisurely pace of the evening. I love the quiet. I feel like I am dining, not eating.
  
• The wine list is excellent. If you know your wines, the prices on some of them will amaze you.
  

For sure, my observation about the excellent level of service may have something to do with the fact that I have never seen the room "fully engaged." The most crowded I have ever seen the room is, about, one-third capacity, but, usually, it is less than than. I have heard stories about poor service. I would certainly not dispute those reports. I may have been lucky with the staff and the managers that I have met.

 

The only Princess dinner that competes with SHARE is the Ultimate Balcony Dinner, The thing that puts the UBD even close to SHARE is the tremendous level of service--two servers dedicated to you. However, the menu choices for the UBD are pretty pedestrian. Although, now that I think of it, that UBD dessert is absolutely unbeatable.

 

If you have additional specific questions, I'll do my best to respond.

A quick search found reviews and lots of threads on Share.........

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2579477&highlight=Share+restaurant

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2582637&highlight=Share+restaurant

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2603753&highlight=Share+restaurant

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2656437&highlight=share+restaurant

Some like SHARE better than others ....

We are some of the ones who Do NOT! (n)

We tried Share on our last cruise to Mexico less than a year ago, very disappointed, although the bread and dessert was good. We are by no means picky eaters and have never really had a "bad" meal on a cruise but neither one of us is interested in eating there again.

It may have been just an "off" night for the chef?

 

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Sabatini's on the other hand..

 

YUM!

 

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We ate there on the Ruby in January, thanks to a gift voucher. The first couple of courses seemed a little silly, they were so tiny, but got better and bigger as the meal progressed. Overall a good meal with lovely service .

It is the best dining experience I have ever had on Princess. We've dined at SHARE six or seven times--although, the first three times were with the old menu.

 

My favorite things about SHARE:

 

 

• Both the pastas are amazing. I think I lean more towards the Cavatelli, but the Ravioli is also terrific.
  
• The Duck Confit is, easily the best "Land" course, and may be the best item on the menu. So tasty.
  
• A very attentive staff. The most consistent that I have ever experienced on Princess.
  
• I love the leisurely pace of the evening. I love the quiet. I feel like I am dining, not eating.
  
• The wine list is excellent. If you know your wines, the prices on some of them will amaze you.
  

For sure, my observation about the excellent level of service may have something to do with the fact that I have never seen the room "fully engaged." The most crowded I have ever seen the room is, about, one-third capacity, but, usually, it is less than than. I have heard stories about poor service. I would certainly not dispute those reports. I may have been lucky with the staff and the managers that I have met.

 

The only Princess dinner that competes with SHARE is the Ultimate Balcony Dinner, The thing that puts the UBD even close to SHARE is the tremendous level of service--two servers dedicated to you. However, the menu choices for the UBD are pretty pedestrian. Although, now that I think of it, that UBD dessert is absolutely unbeatable.

 

If you have additional specific questions, I'll do my best to respond.

I concur with XBGuy that Share was the best dining experience I have ever had at sea. True, food is subjective (we loved it, the lamb was among the best I ever had); but, the experience was was amazing. One other thing, we avoid sugared desserts. When we are at Crown Grill, they went to one of the MDRs and grabbed a sugar free dessert for us. At Share, they made us one. That was a big difference.

 

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I absolutely loved our meal in Share and wish they would have rolled it out onto other ships.

Tried it 3 times on Ruby. Different cruises. Twice it was bad, once it was ok. Was going to give it another shot on upcoming cruise since price drop to $29, but it will be closed for the cruise. Will try again in January.

I concur with XBGuy that Share was the best dining experience I have ever had at sea. True, food is subjective (we loved it, the lamb was among the best I ever had); but, the experience was was amazing. One other thing, we avoid sugared desserts. When we are at Crown Grill, they went to one of the MDRs and grabbed a sugar free dessert for us. At Share, they made us one. That was a big difference.

 

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We too concur.

 

We were on the Ruby Princess in July and tried Share with some trepidation after seeing some of the reviews. We were accompanied by our 2 kids, their spouses and our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter (first time Princess cruisers) who are all adventuresome eaters and they unanimously chose Share after comparing its menu to the that of the Crown Grill. With 7 diners we were able to try just about everything on the menu. Everyone is still talking about how wonderful the food, wine, and service was! The only serious complaint we had was that some of the tables - those closest to the aft windows - are on a hardwood floor. We were initially seated there and could feel the vibrations even though the ship was till in port. When we complained they immediately moved us to a table with carpeting underneath and that solved the problem.

 

I'm just sad that it replaced Sabatinis which we also enjoy. Our last couple of meals at the Crown Grill have been mediocre so in a perfect Princess world we would prefer a ship with both Share and Sabatinis.

 

Someone commented about the restaurant not being full. In more than 10 years of sailing on Princess and always dining at Sabatinis and the Crown Grill at least once a cruise we have seldom seen either totally full. I always thought that reservation availability was a function - at least in part - of the staffing levels.

Some like SHARE better than others ....

We are some of the ones who Do NOT! (n)

 

 

I agree.....not good. :(

We too concur.

 

We were on the Ruby Princess in July and tried Share with some trepidation after seeing some of the reviews. We were accompanied by our 2 kids, their spouses and our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter (first time Princess cruisers) who are all adventuresome eaters and they unanimously chose Share after comparing its menu to the that of the Crown Grill. With 7 diners we were able to try just about everything on the menu. Everyone is still talking about how wonderful the food, wine, and service was! The only serious complaint we had was that some of the tables - those closest to the aft windows - are on a hardwood floor. We were initially seated there and could feel the vibrations even though the ship was till in port. When we complained they immediately moved us to a table with carpeting underneath and that solved the problem.

 

I'm just sad that it replaced Sabatinis which we also enjoy. Our last couple of meals at the Crown Grill have been mediocre so in a perfect Princess world we would prefer a ship with both Share and Sabatinis.

 

Someone commented about the restaurant not being full. In more than 10 years of sailing on Princess and always dining at Sabatinis and the Crown Grill at least once a cruise we have seldom seen either totally full. I always thought that reservation availability was a function - at least in part - of the staffing levels.

I see post after post talking about how good the Crown Grill is. In November when we sailed on Emerald we ate at Crown Grill the second night. We too thought the meal was mediocre at best. Again, food is subjective (I liked the onion soup), but the experience was quite inferior to the steakhouses we had enjoyed on Carnival & RCCL. To us, the mains felt like mains they previously offered in the MDR and now they want to charge for them (I am not saying that is the case, it was as just my perception) There was nothing elevated about the mains. On both Royal and Carnival, the steakhouse offerings all exceeded the offerings in the MDR and the experience felt special. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed the meal at Crown Grill; but, the truth is, we took a 7 night cruise with 3 other couples, we went to Crown Grill on night 2 and none of us ever even considered returning. We did Share on night 5 (with only one other couple) and we liked it so much the 4 of us returned the next night.

 

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I enjoyed a meal at Share just a few nights ago on the Ruby and it was a wonderful relief to have food served in a quiet, relaxed atmosphere. I liked eating in the MDR but my husband was getting discouraged by the lack of seasoning in the food there. We were very happy with the selections at Share; not the best meal of my life or anything, but still delicious! If you've looked at the menu and think the offerings sound good to you, then I'm confident you'll enjoy the experience.

The only serious complaint we had was that some of the tables - those closest to the aft windows - are on a hardwood floor. We were initially seated there and could feel the vibrations even though the ship was till in port. When we complained they immediately moved us to a table with carpeting underneath and that solved the problem.

 

 

We've noticed this vibration in SHARE on both the Emerald Princess and the Ruby Princess. In fact, during our very last visit to SHARE on the Emerald Princess in May, the table next to us was unoccupied all evening. Of course, it. like all the tables in the room, had complete place settings. One of the wine glasses must have been placed in the "right" spot. The vibration that Capiccio reports was transmitted from the floor through the table to the settings on the table. This one wine glass would slowly "walk" across the wooden table top. Twice during the evening, I reached over and repositioned this glass before it reached the edge of the table.

I absolutely loved our meal in Share and wish they would have rolled it out onto other ships.

 

With you on that one. We loved it on the Emerald in 2016. Super attentive service as only a few tables were occupied and the food was very good. Made a pleasant change to try something other than Crown Grill or Sabatini’s.

I agree.....not good. :(

 

Curious - have you actually eaten at Share, or just the menu doesn't appeal to you?

Hi,

 

I dined at Share aboard the Emerald Princess in May 2018 and greatly enjoyed it. The food and service were excellent.

 

Chuck