Ultimate Balcony Dining?

We are thinking about doing the ultimate balcony dining for a birthday celebration... Does anyone know if the date / time can be reserved before boarding? Also, any comments about the overall dining experience?

We paid for it prior to our cruise, using the gifts and services order form that is faxed to Princess. I believe there was a card in our cabin upon boarding, and we called immediately to arrange a day/time.

It really was a wonderful experience, and I would absolutely do it again.

We are thinking about doing the ultimate balcony dining for a birthday celebration... Does anyone know if the date / time can be reserved before boarding? Also, any comments about the overall dining experience?

 

No you will have to call Room Service to schedule your dinner after boarding.

 

Mike:)

I have booked mine in cruise personaliser so you definitely can book before you board choosing a day but not time

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I have booked mine in cruise personaliser so you definitely can book before you board choosing a day but not time

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

As was stated you will have to call Room Service after boarding to schedule the Ultimate Balcony Dinner.

 

Mike:)

I have booked mine in cruise personaliser so you definitely can book before you board choosing a day but not time.

I recently became aware of this option for an upcoming cruise which is something new. For my four UBDs we could only prepay for them but had to call onboard for a date & time. Instead of prepaying we'll take our chances booking as soon as we board the ship so we can use OBC to pay for it.

 

The UBD is a great experience...tuxedoed waitstaff serves the dinner in the privacy of your balcony. And for only $42 more than dinner at the Crown Grill you get nearly $100 of extras (photo, cocktails, half bottle of champagne (we've exchanged it for a 750ml $32 bottle of wine) and flowers). They can modify the menu including adding items from the evening's MDR menu & they go to great lengths to make it a special evening. We're very happy with the standard menu with lobster and/or filet mignon entrees but bring your appetite because it's a lot of food.

 

"ccndfw"...search online or on this forum for lots of UBD information including some videos. I'd happily do it again but we're now sailing in more inside cabins to have more cruise days. ;)

As was stated you will have to call Room Service after boarding to schedule the Ultimate Balcony Dinner.

 

Mike:)

Mike...its recently changed & in the Cruise Personalizer by prepaying we can select a date but need to call Room Service for a time:

 

Onboard Reservations;

 

Culinary Options;

 

Ultimate Balcony Dinner For Two $100.00 "A sumptuous four-course meal, including succulent lobster tail and juicy steak, beverage of choice, hors d'oeuvres, all served right on the balcony by our dedicated waitstaff";

 

Delivery Date;

 

Payment

Edited October 16, 2016 by Astro Flyer

Mike...its recently changed & in the Cruise Personalizer by prepaying we can select a date but need to call Room Service for a time:

 

Onboard Reservations;

 

Culinary Options;

 

Ultimate Balcony Dinner For Two $100.00 "A sumptuous four-course meal, including succulent lobster tail and juicy steak, beverage of choice, hors d'oeuvres, all served right on the balcony by our dedicated waitstaff";

 

Delivery Date;

 

Payment

 

I did not know this - thank you!

I did not know this - thank you!

 

I only recently learned about this change from a post.

 

Hopefully it works well & by requiring prepayment that not many passengers will prepay & cancel. It doesn't state a cancellation policy but since it's prepaid by credit card it would need to be refunded the same way. One of the negatives of allowing prepayment is that when it's cancelled on the ship it's less likely to be rebooked. As I recall, RCCL had a 25% cancellation fee for cancelling specialty restaurants within 24 hours.

 

The room service supervisors said that it's extremely rare for all UBD times to be booked (two UBDs at about 6:00 & 8:00...4 per evening) so I'll continue to book onboard. I want to read the cruise summary in the Patter during embarkation to decide when we want to request the UBD. And I want to use OBC instead of cash by prepaying with my credit card. ;)

We were able to reserve UBD for a specific date on CB back in 2014 through our PCC. She might have pulled some strings because it was an anniversary celebration.

 

BTW, wife said she'd never felt so pampered. Hint: wives feeling pampered is a good thing.

Mike...its recently changed & in the Cruise Personalizer by prepaying we can select a date but need to call Room Service for a time:

 

Onboard Reservations;

 

Culinary Options;

 

Ultimate Balcony Dinner For Two $100.00 "A sumptuous four-course meal, including succulent lobster tail and juicy steak, beverage of choice, hors d'oeuvres, all served right on the balcony by our dedicated waitstaff";

 

Delivery Date;

 

Payment

 

The point I was trying to make was that you still have to call Room Service to pick an available time after boarding. I don't see too much advantage in booking ahead if that call still has to be made.

 

Mike:)

I only recently learned about this change from a post.

 

Hopefully it works well & by requiring prepayment that not many passengers will prepay & cancel. It doesn't state a cancellation policy but since it's prepaid by credit card it would need to be refunded the same way. One of the negatives of allowing prepayment is that when it's cancelled on the ship it's less likely to be rebooked. As I recall, RCCL had a 25% cancellation fee for cancelling specialty restaurants within 24 hours.

 

The room service supervisors said that it's extremely rare for all UBD times to be booked (two UBDs at about 6:00 & 8:00...4 per evening) so I'll continue to book onboard. I want to read the cruise summary in the Patter during embarkation to decide when we want to request the UBD. And I want to use OBC instead of cash by prepaying with my credit card. ;)

 

In terms of cancellation, it's 72 hours before cruise for a full refund, so by embarkation they will know how many they have already booked.

 

In terms of pre booking, for us it's our 1st cruise, we don't get OBC so having everything sorted before boarding is a plus, and certainly looking forward to UBD.

In terms of cancellation, it's 72 hours before cruise for a full refund, so by embarkation they will know how many they have already booked.

 

In terms of pre booking, for us it's our 1st cruise, we don't get OBC so having everything sorted before boarding is a plus, and certainly looking forward to UBD.

 

Thanks for the cancellation information...that's great that you found your best option & have a great UBD on your 1st cruise! :D

Edited October 17, 2016 by Astro Flyer

I was able to book three UBD's for our April 2017 cruise via the website. Even one for embarkation day. Paid in advance.

 

We love UBD but the wind is too much bother to actually eat on the balcony. We just have them set up the table in the room unless we are in an aft suite.

On the Dec 11 Regal and I'm thinking about doing this, just a few questions.

 

How do they keep the food hot and fresh?

 

Where is it stored or kept?

 

Hubby doesn't eat lobster, but love jumbo shrimp. Do they allow substitutions?

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Cruzinbabe06

We had the UBD on our balcony. There was a waiter and an assistant waiter. They were very discrete but did observe the progress of our meal. All the food did not arrive at once. The waiter would send the assistant waiter to obtain each course as appropriate. Each course was served at the proper temperature and freshly prepared.

On the Dec 11 Regal and I'm thinking about doing this, just a few questions.

 

How do they keep the food hot and fresh?

 

Where is it stored or kept?

 

Hubby doesn't eat lobster, but love jumbo shrimp. Do they allow substitutions?

 

Thanks in advance.

They should easily be able to replace lobster with jumbo shrimp & a room service supervisor meets with you prior to the UBD to set the menu.

 

They can also add items from that evening's MDR menu & even without asking for it they added the popular twice baked goat cheese soufflé. It's one of our favorites but it resulted in putting our dessert in the fridge for the next day because we were too full. ;)

Edited October 17, 2016 by Astro Flyer

I was able to book three UBD's for our April 2017 cruise via the website. Even one for embarkation day. Paid in advance.

 

We love UBD but the wind is too much bother to actually eat on the balcony. We just have them set up the table in the room unless we are in an aft suite.

That's why we have the UBD during an evening in port (Honolulu) or during sailaway (Puntarenas, Barcelona & Santorini) and only from Santorini did inclement weather force us inside our balcony cabin.

We had the UBD on our balcony. There was a waiter and an assistant waiter. They were very discrete but did observe the progress of our meal. All the food did not arrive at once. The waiter would send the assistant waiter to obtain each course as appropriate. Each course was served at the proper temperature and freshly prepared.

 

Oh wow! Got it.

 

Thanks for the response

They should easily be able to replace lobster with jumbo shrimp & a room service supervisor meets with you prior to the UBD to set the menu.

 

They can also add items from that evening's MDR menu & even without asking for it they added the popular twice baked goat cheese soufflé. It's one of our favorites but it resulted in putting our dessert in the fridge for the next day because we were too full. ;)

 

Wow, thats good info to know. Thanks so much for responding!

 

So excited about this cruise!

On the Dec 11 Regal and I'm thinking about doing this, just a few questions.

 

How do they keep the food hot and fresh?

 

Where is it stored or kept?

 

Hubby doesn't eat lobster, but love jumbo shrimp. Do they allow substitutions?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Each course is served freshly cooked, it isn't stored anywhere. I'm fairly certain of this as there was a longer than expected delay in serving our lobster course. Not sure exactly what the problem was but apparently they had to cook it again. The waiter was most apologetic.

 

Yes, they allow substitutions and they will discuss the menu with you to make sure you are happy with it.

 

It's way too much food!

Hubby doesn't eat lobster, but love jumbo shrimp. Do they allow substitutions?

We had jumbo shrimp and lobster for one of our UBDs. On another ship, though, the person taking our reservation was not amenable to changes to the menu other than when I told them we were allergic to asparagus and would prefer broccoli instead. I tried to get a different dessert on that cruise like we had on previous ones.

The Regal's balconies don't seem big enough for a table to hold a meal like that.

I think the OP's initial questions have been answered. So, I don't feel bad about thread drift.

 

Each course is served freshly cooked, it isn't stored anywhere. I'm fairly certain of this as there was a longer than expected delay in serving our lobster course. Not sure exactly what the problem was but apparently they had to cook it again. The waiter was most apologetic.

 

Yes, they allow substitutions and they will discuss the menu with you to make sure you are happy with it.

 

It's way too much food!

 

During our last UBD, it turns out that there was a failure in the elevator that the second waiter used between our cabin and the galley. He was stuck for about 10 minutes. So, I guess the entree was took a bit longer to be presented than usual. What do we care? We had plenty of wine. We did not have to be anywhere. We were just loving life. We really did not realize there was a problem until the first waiter told us the story.

 

;)