Ultimate Balcony Dining on Princess

Has anyone done the Ultimate Balcony Dining with Princess for either breakfast of dinner? Can reservations be made in advance of the sailing? The Princess Coral site link indicates -

Ulitmate Balcony Dining features a hosted cocktail party, fresh flowers, champagne and a deluxe four-course meal featuring delicate sweet lobster tail or juicy steak among many available delicacies.

For those who want to start the day with a romantic meal, opt for a breakfast which includes specialty pastries, fresh fruits, quiche, smoked salmon and other special treats served with a half bottle of French champagne.

These can only be booked once onboard.

They can only be booked once you are on board. They will come out and set up a table on your balcony and then serve each course of your dinner to you. There will be flowers (we got 2 roses) on the table and you get a small bottle of champaigne.

The breakfast is delivered on a large tray all at once. We had enough left over to have the next day.

We felt that both the dinner and breakfast was worth the money and would definitely do it again.

I put some pics in this thread...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1540844

They can only be booked once you are on board. They will come out and set up a table on your balcony and then serve each course of your dinner to you. There will be flowers (we got 2 roses) on the table and you get a small bottle of champaigne.

 

The breakfast is delivered on a large tray all at once. We had enough left over to have the next day.

 

We felt that both the dinner and breakfast was worth the money and would definitely do it again.

We did the balcony dinner a few years ago and it was awesome...well worth the money...our only complaint was that the photographers lens fogged up and our picture came out terrible...besides that the service was fantastic and we did it early in the cruise so we got to enjoy a beautiful flower arrangement all week long.

Sounds like fun. How much does it cost?

How do they orchestrate the course by course? Do they bring all courses to you at once? Or do they wait a preset amount of time before they come back? Or do they wait until you call them for the next course?

How do you hear them knocking on the door in you are on the balcony?

We thought we were getting course by course when we did this in a suite on Holland. Instead, they brought all the courses at one time. This was a complete joke. Ice cream melted before we even finished our soup. I wondered how Princess does this differently.

Thanks!

They bring it course by course. They call down for the next course when the prior one is delivered, except for the dessert, which they came in and asked. We had plenty of time to enjoy each course. They wait in the hallway or nearby service area and they have a key to open the door.

How do they orchestrate the course by course? Do they bring all courses to you at once? Or do they wait a preset amount of time before they come back? Or do they wait until you call them for the next course?

 

How do you hear them knocking on the door in you are on the balcony?

 

We thought we were getting course by course when we did this in a suite on Holland. Instead, they brought all the courses at one time. This was a complete joke. Ice cream melted before we even finished our soup. I wondered how Princess does this differently.

 

Thanks!

Sounds like fun. How much does it cost?

It's $100 per couple and worth every penny. Don't forget to tip your servers - we gave the waiter $15 and his assistant $10.

Our last balcony dinner was done while we were docked in Honolulu with Aloha Tower in the background. We had a couple of friends join us and it was fabulous as usual. They know just when to come in with the next course. The breakfast is good also. We don't like the salmon and bagel for breakfast and substitute either an omlet or eggs benedict. Both are well worth the cost. $50.00 a piece for the dinner. The breakfast was a gift from our TA so don't remember the cost.

We did the UBD on our Hawaii cruise 2 years ago and will be doing it again in March on our Panama Canal cruise (for our 39th Anniversary). It was fantastic. We ended up having it just inside our room as we were at sea that night and it was just too windy on the balcony. They waiter and assistant were great. They served the appetizers and then just showed up magically at just the right time after that for each course. We got to talk to each of them and were very interested in hearing about their home lands and families.

I even was able to order something not on the UBD menu. They checked and had some available and were glad to accomodate me. I don't remember exactly what it was (tilapia, I think), but it was delicious.

Just came across this this past weekend

We did the UBD on the Diamond in early December. Was absolutely wonderful and by far the best meal we have had in a long time. Our only problem was there was just so much food for 2 people!

It was well worth the $100. I don't know how they do it but the timing of the courses was just great.

We pre-paid and booked the night of the dinner prior to our cruises, just by having our TA contact Princess. I would highly recommend this meal.

FYI - I was surprised that when we asked the Head Waiter was this dinner popular, he said there was only 5 booked in total on our 19 night cruise. I would have thought considering the cost and the standard of the food, it would have been extremely popular.

We would definately have it again on our next cruise.:D

I've considered booking the UBD a couple of times. The main reason I have not done so is that other than the entree, the menu does not appeal to me. Yes, I know I can customize, but then again, its not unknown for me to go to the dining room and only order an entree when I don't see an appetizer that appeals to me. For $100, doesn't seem worth it.

You can call and order the Ultimate Balcony Dinner (and pay for it) before your cruise. But you have to wait until you are on the ship to arrange which night it will be. We did it last month on the Crown and thoroughly enjoyed it. The waitress came the first afternoon when we called to arrange it. She tailored the menu to our request. We just asked for a different dessert--creme brulee instead of the chocolate mousse trio.

Our ship was in Curacao the night we did it. We had a beautiful view of the lights.

Our waitress seemed to know the perfect time between courses. There's way too much food. We also had a bottle wine our travel agent had sent us, in addition to the cocktails that came with the dinner and the half bottle of champagne.

I loved that they leave the flowers for you to enjoy the rest of the cruise. They were still so fresh at the end of the cruise that we gave them to some of our tablemates who were staying on for the next one.

It's $100 per couple and worth every penny. Don't forget to tip your servers - we gave the waiter $15 and his assistant $10.

Totally agree:). Our UBD was off the charts good. We gave our servers a very generous tip for the truely outstanding service we received.....:):):)

Bob

Have done the balcony breakfast on two different cruises and really enjoyed it. Both times we timed it for mornings when there would be great views and slow cruise speed .... the first on approach to Honolulu harbor, and the 2nd for the morning we did scenic cruising of Tracy Arm Fjord.

There was so much food that we just ate the hot food, and saved the pastries and put the fresh fruit in the refrigerator for the next morning. We ordered coffee and juice the next AM to go with what we had saved, so we had two balcony breakfasts for the price of the UBB!!

We did the breakfast and were very disappointed in the whole thing. Substituted Eggs Benedict for the lox and bagels and they were dried out and inedible. It was difficult to order as the person in the kitchen did not speak English. The pastries were also dry. The buffet was fresher and better. The champagne was good.

DH was very unhappy as his favorite meal is breakfast and this was nothing special at all. After that disappointment, there was no way he was going to pop for an extra $100 for UBD.

Sue

We were thinking of doing the UBD this Feb on the Emerald. We and our friends have side by side cabins on the Caribe deck. Do they or can they set up a table for 4 or is it too tight for space ?

We were thinking of doing the UBD this Feb on the Emerald. We and our friends have side by side cabins on the Caribe deck. Do they or can they set up a table for 4 or is it too tight for space ?

If you have one of the larger (9' x 9') Caribe balconies, you should be able to easily fit.

Can you select your own time or are there set times for UBD

You can call and order the Ultimate Balcony Dinner (and pay for it) before your cruise. But you have to wait until you are on the ship to arrange which night it will be. We did it last month on the Crown and thoroughly enjoyed it. The waitress came the first afternoon when we called to arrange it. She tailored the menu to our request. We just asked for a different dessert--creme brulee instead of the chocolate mousse trio.

 

Our ship was in Curacao the night we did it. We had a beautiful view of the lights.

 

Our waitress seemed to know the perfect time between courses. There's way too much food. We also had a bottle wine our travel agent had sent us, in addition to the cocktails that came with the dinner and the half bottle of champagne.

 

I loved that they leave the flowers for you to enjoy the rest of the cruise. They were still so fresh at the end of the cruise that we gave them to some of our tablemates who were staying on for the next one.

We want to do this on the Crown in May (on one of the formal nights). Could you please tell me where and who to call so that I can have this arranged ahead of time.....I know I won't be able to schedule it, but I would like to have it all taken care of before we leave.

We want to do this on the Crown in May (on one of the formal nights). Could you please tell me where and who to call so that I can have this arranged ahead of time.....I know I won't be able to schedule it, but I would like to have it all taken care of before we leave.

Call Princess and order it before you leave and call the DINE line when you get to your cabin. Letcia on the Crown is the gal who handles it (she was so sweet)

Can you select your own time or are there set times for UBD

I'd like an answer to this question as well.

I won't be in port very late at all on my upcoming cruise, and don't really want dinner while getting blown all over the place with wind if we are well underway. I'm going to check sunset times for our ports as well.

I'm thinking dinner might be nice right around sailaway time from St. Lucia. We sail at 6pm and sunset is at 6:19pm. Does that sound like a good idea?

How long does it take from start to finish? I'm thinking that dinner in the MDR at a large table can take two hours :eek: but when I've dined at a table for two we're usually done in 45 minutes.

We were given options on the 1/2 hours from 5 till 8... It took about 2 hours end to end...

I'd like an answer to this question as well.

 

I won't be in port very late at all on my upcoming cruise, and don't really want dinner while getting blown all over the place with wind if we are well underway. I'm going to check sunset times for our ports as well.

 

I'm thinking dinner might be nice right around sailaway time from St. Lucia. We sail at 6pm and sunset is at 6:19pm. Does that sound like a good idea?

 

How long does it take from start to finish? I'm thinking that dinner in the MDR at a large table can take two hours :eek: but when I've dined at a table for two we're usually done in 45 minutes.