Please tell me about the Pinnacle Grill and the MDR

We are first time HAL cruisers and we will be on the Eurodam for a 4 day cruise. How would you rate the MDR and the Pinnacle Grill? If you are a fan of the Pinnacle Grill would you yourself go once or twice on a 4 day cruise. Any must haves in the MDR?

Photos welcome :)

I'm not a fan of the Pinnacle Grill. Many, if not most, here disagree. I only go if it's a free gift from my travel agent. The menu at the Pinnacle Grill will not change throughout the cruise, and I am hard-pressed to find more than one main dish worth trying. But that's just my opinion. Personally, I would skip the up charge restaurants, and certainly on a 4-day cruise.

I much prefer the Main Dining room. I find the ambiance better, the service better, and the food better, with more variety. Must haves in the Main Dining Room will depend on the menus/cruise itinerary. But I never pass up the turkey & dressing if it's offered. And I love the liver & onions, but again, many will disagree on that particular dish.

I will say if you prefer your steaks on the rare side, it might be difficult to get them rare enough for your liking. One of my traveling party preferred steaks rare and another preferred his well done. It was a struggle for them to get the steaks done to they preference throughout our cruise. I'm a medium rare to medium person as far as steaks go, so I never had any issues.

I'm not a fan of the Pinnacle Grill. Many, if not most, here disagree. I only go if it's a free gift from my travel agent. The menu at the Pinnacle Grill will not change throughout the cruise, and I am hard-pressed to find more than one main dish worth trying. But that's just my opinion. Personally, I would skip the up charge restaurants, and certainly on a 4-day cruise.

 

I much prefer the Main Dining room. I find the ambiance better, the service better, and the food better, with more variety. Must haves in the Main Dining Room will depend on the menus/cruise itinerary. But I never pass up the turkey & dressing if it's offered. And I love the liver & onions, but again, many will disagree on that particular dish.

 

I will say if you prefer your steaks on the rare side, it might be difficult to get them rare enough for your liking. One of my traveling party preferred steaks rare and another preferred his well done. It was a struggle for them to get the steaks done to they preference throughout our cruise. I'm a medium rare to medium person as far as steaks go, so I never had any issues.

Thank you, this is exactly what I'm looking for. I am also one that likes my steaks medium rare to medium. What cuts of beef do they serve in the MDR? The turkey sounds yummy but I can't say the same for the liver, lol.

I'm taking my daughter on this cruise for her birthday and I am wanting to make everything as wonderful as possible.

We gave up eating in the main dining room several years ago when HAL started to buy cheaper cuts of meat -- poor quality. JMO

On the Eurodam we split eating between the Pinnacle Grill and the Tamarind. We ate more at the Tamarind. There are plenty of items to choose from in both restaurants.

We do enjoy the Pinnacle Grill usually and there your steak is cooked to order.

If you are on a 4 day cruise, OP, it sounds like it is a repositioning. (Ie. a Pacific Coastal).

We have been on two longer cruises where the repositionings were part of it. We noticed a marked difference in the offerings in the MDR and were very glad that we had a couple of PG's booked for that segment. (We had been advised by roll call members who had done these cruises in the past and were glad we listened to their sage advice).

So based on our experience I would recommend a PG dinner at least.

As well, since there are sea days on this type of cruise (assuming I am correct), a PG lunch is very nice. Just $10 with a lovely menu (different than the evening) and always enjoyable. A nice change from the Lido.

I can count on the fingers of one hand the times we've ate in the Pinnacle Grill, for it's not a big deal, we enjoy having dinner in the MDR. As a first timer it would be nice to experience the difference. To each there own, where ever you eat enjoy your cruise.

Allan

I would do a lunch at the pinnacle and do the tamarind instead.

I don't care for a lot of beef, but we always book a Pinnacle evening once per cruise and there I have a small steak. I have to say every time my steak has been so tender you could almost cut it with a fork, and done to perfection.

We just came off the Eurodam for 17 days where according to hubby (who really likes his steaks) the steaks in the MDR have gotten thinner and tougher than our previous cruises. I always love the salmon in the MDR - it comes moist and tasty, and is available every evening if you want it.

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

I like the Pinnacle Grill but on a 4 day cruise I would not go.

Another vote for Tamarind over Pinnacle.

Roz

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We're doing Tamarind and Pinnacle on our upcoming Eurodam sailing. Love them both!

Tamarind first, Pinnacle second (I haven't had a steak in the PG for some time, I do like the lamb, but I plan to ask for just two chops next time, three is just too much!) and we do enjoy the Pinnacle lunch.

Haven't been on a ship with Tamarind yet, but have many good meals at Pinnacle. HAL often offers deals on Pinnacle and Cannaleto while sailing. The meals at Pinnacle are pretty rich; steaks with sauce, lobster, etc.

We usually split our time between the Tamarind and Pinnacle Grill as well. They are both excellent. We skip the MDR because of the noise, slow service and general chaos that goes on around you. You get much better service in the Pinnacle and Tamarind.

Another vote for the Tamarind.

If you are on a four day cruise, why not try a different venue each evening?

Main Dining Room

Pinnacle

Tamarind

Canaletto

Canalettto has changed its menu completely from when it was first introduced on the ships. We tried it once and were very unimpressed. A friend and I tried it last November and then DH and I tried it in January. Love the food!

The Tamarind is amazing -- food wise, service wise, ambiance. Don't miss it!

Another vote for the Tamarind.

 

If you are on a four day cruise, why not try a different venue each evening?

 

Main Dining Room

Pinnacle

Tamarind

Canaletto

 

 

Canalettto has changed its menu completely from when it was first introduced on the ships. We tried it once and were very unimpressed. A friend and I tried it last November and then DH and I tried it in January. Love the food!

 

The Tamarind is amazing -- food wise, service wise, ambiance. Don't miss it!

Good suggestion ;)

When the Pinnacle Grill first came out it was around $15-20 per person, with 50% discount for first night of the cruise. Now it is $35 as I recall. Plus, the quality has declined, no doubt about it (still better than the MDR though)..

Typical - keep raising prices on a good thing until people vote with their feet. At the current price I cannot recommend it unless your are getting the 50% (4 or 5 Star) discount.

When the Pinnacle Grill first came out it was around $15-20 per person, with 50% discount for first night of the cruise. Now it is $35 as I recall. Plus, the quality has declined, no doubt about it (still better than the MDR though)..

 

Typical - keep raising prices on a good thing until people vote with their feet. At the current price I cannot recommend it unless your are getting the 50% (4 or 5 Star) discount.

We are 4 Star and I completely agree with you. We ONLY go because of the discount.

We are 4 Star and I completely agree with you. We ONLY go because of the discount.

I'm a 4-Star Mariner and only go if it's a free gift from my travel agent or part of a booking package deal. Even with the discount I do not find the upcharge restaurants worth the cost.

But then I look at it that every reservation I don't make is a reservations for someone who really wants to have it. And every person who eats in the upcharge restaurants are people who are not complicating or complaining about the meals (which I find very nice) in the Main Dining Room. It's lovely there are choices for everyone.

We’ve only sailed on Holland America once, but we did go to the Pinnacle Grill during that sailing. I must say that the experience was fantastic, from service, to cuisine, to ambiance. It easily ranked as one of our best alternative dining experiences of any of the many cruise lines that we’ve sailed on.

With that said, we thoroughly enjoyed dining at the MDR as well. Yes, it’s busier, more crowded, and the quality isn’t quite as good, but it’s still better than what most mainstream cruise lines offer these days.

I’m guessing that for many frequent HAL cruisers, the Pinnacle Grill experience may have lost its luster, but for us, as first time HAL cruisers, the Pinnacle Grill was well worth the upcharge.

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PG can be great or it can be abysmal.

We usually have good PG's but I still remember one...after the first dinner, we cancelled the rest.

How bad was it? Let's put it this way, at breakfast my friend ordered tea and when the teapot came it was cold.

We were both perplexed and after a taste - it was PRUNE juice.

But, that is only one ship, one experience and overall, we have had great PG experiences. Some ships really excel and if youare on one of those it's pretty dam good. :D

Thank you all so much for your replies. I'm still trying to make a decision :')

I kind of know what to expect from Pinnacle Grill but I'm not quite sure about Tamarind. Any suggestions there?

I'm not quite sure about Tamarind. Any suggestions there?

Don't miss it.. One of the best specialty restaurants at sea (and not just on HAL) in my opinion.

We try to go to each of the specialty restaurants once per cruise. Never had a bad experience though the Canaletto has been inconsistent. When it comes to Asian food i'm pretty pedestrian so I don't recognize much on the menu. I still love it and the service/ambiance in Tamarind is amazing. the warm towels to start let you know you're in for something special. The silk den bar, across from the tamarind, is the best kept secret on the boat. beautiful décor and fantastic view. the perfect place for before dinner.

Just off the Zuiderdam and the PG was a disaster. We looked at finished plates for twenty minutes between courses. I have to assume they had severe staffing problems. In contrast, the MDR was loud and crowded with great service that prompted a large tip for our server. The food was comparable in both, at least to my uneducated palate. I suppose on a different cruise my reviews could be reversed. It was a great cruise with a couple of blips, like any other cruise.