Fondue?

Does Princess still have the Fondue Resturant?

Does Princess still have the Fondue Resturant?

I haven't seen it in several years & like the Crab Shack it was a separate portion of the buffet & not an actual restaurant.

It's no longer listed in their current list of dining options:

http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/food-and-dining/dining-options.pdf

Thanks! Now can anyone tell me about the Ultimate balcony dinner? What choices do you get and could you get Patron shots?

Thanks! Now can anyone tell me about the Ultimate balcony dinner? What choices do you get and could you get Patron shots?

The UBD has been our favorite Princess dining experience & here's how Princess describes it.

Available on all ships, the Ultimate Balcony Dinner is a unique Princess dining experience. This item may be ordered onboard by contacting room service or pre-purchased as a special service item (item #3011).

The UBD is only $32 more than the Crown Grill and you receive about $100 of extras. Tuxedoed waiters reappear to deliver each tasty course & a room service headwaiter meets you days before to ask about any modifications you desire. We've never made any changes to the meal but have been able to exchange the $32 half bottle of champagne for a full bottle of similarly priced wine.

Each person receives a cocktail & you could ask about a shot of Patron if they carry it.

We've enjoyed several UBDs on various sizes of balcony & even inside our cabin due to inclement weather.

One time we had the balcony breakfast when it was $32 (now $45?) and it was a much different experience. Room service stacks all of your covered plates & you serve yourself.

Both balcony meals have a lot of food although for us the UBD was something we'll do again but not the balcony breakfast. Obviously that's based on our subjective feelings & others may have different opinions.

If you search online there are some videos of the UBD to show you what you could expect.

After our Ultimate Balcony Dining on Caribbean Princess, my wife said: "I've never felt so pampered in my life." Hint: wives feeling pampered is a very good thing.

Here's a video of an actual UBD:

The UBD experience is very manpower intensive. They limit the number for each evening. I've heard two or four.

Suggest you book early.

Or, you could do the balcony breakfast which is cheaper.

Menu from our UBD on the Crown Princess a few years ago:

A couple comments:

• We've done the UBD three times, and we've, pretty much, stuck with the menu. However, I've read, here on Cruise Critic, that they are very flexible in accommodating dietary restrictions and, even, whims. If you would rather have, say, Lamb Chops instead of beef, I've heard that they will try to accommodate your wishes.
  
• I am not a dessert person, and, if I have dessert, I will rarely order chocolate. I have to say, however, that the chocolate mousse dessert is AWESOME.
  
• At the end, you are pretty full, but there is still a plate of petit fours. Actually, we once were served three plates. You'll be eating petit fours for days.
  
• The flowers on the table will also keep for four or five days in your room.
  
• Thankfully, the photographer is in and out pretty quickly.
  
• The coolest part is that you have two servers dedicated to you. Talk about decadent.
  
• Our alcohol of choice is wine. So, we chose glasses of wine for our cocktails. You can ask about Patron shots. I really don't know.
  
• We also bring bottles of our own wine for our cabin. So, after drinking the Champagne and the glasses of wine from off the menu, we open our own--red for me and white for my wife. Heck, we're not driving. ;p
  

I don't know if anybody else will find this interesting, but this is the worksheet that the Room Service manager completed for our UBD on this cruise:

Thanks XBGuy

Menu from our UBD on the Crown Princess a few years ago:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple comments:

 

• We've done the UBD three times, and we've, pretty much, stuck with the menu. However, I've read, here on Cruise Critic, that they are very flexible in accommodating dietary restrictions and, even, whims. If you would rather have, say, Lamb Chops instead of beef, I've heard that they will try to accommodate your wishes.
  
• I am not a dessert person, and, if I have dessert, I will rarely order chocolate. I have to say, however, that the chocolate mousse dessert is AWESOME.
  
• At the end, you are pretty full, but there is still a plate of petit fours. Actually, we once were served three plates. You'll be eating petit fours for days.
  
• The flowers on the table will also keep for four or five days in your room.
  
• Thankfully, the photographer is in and out pretty quickly.
  
• The coolest part is that you have two servers dedicated to you. Talk about decadent.
  
• Our alcohol of choice is wine. So, we chose glasses of wine for our cocktails. You can ask about Patron shots. I really don't know.
  
• We also bring bottles of our own wine for our cabin. So, after drinking the Champagne and the glasses of wine from off the menu, we open our own--red for me and white for my wife. Heck, we're not driving. ;p
  

I don't know if anybody else will find this interesting, but this is the worksheet that the Room Service manager completed for our UBD on this cruise:

 

 

Awesome!!!

Thanks for sharing.

Tony

Do you know if you can do balcony dining if you are traveling solo? And would the price be based on just one person?

Thanks.

Do you know if you can do balcony dining if you are traveling solo? And would the price be based on just one person?

 

Thanks.

Based on what I recall reading in previous discussions about solo passengers, there is no discount for solo passengers & it would be $100.

While it's less food & only one cocktail, other things such as flowers, champagne & photo would be the same. And all of it requires the extra labor necessary to provide exceptional service.

I've read that it's possible to have more than one couple if there's sufficient space on the balcony but not any discount for solo passengers.

The UBD is only $32 more than the Crown Grill and you receive about $100 of extras. Tuxedoed waiters reappear to deliver each tasty course & a room service headwaiter meets you days before to ask about any modifications you desire. We've never made any changes to the meal but have been able to exchange the $32 half bottle of champagne for a full bottle of similarly priced wine.

In two UBDs, we've never had a headwaiter meet with us. At most, it was a confirmation phone call. We also were unable to exchange the champagne for anything on our last UBD, which was disappointing.

In two UBDs, we've never had a headwaiter meet with us. At most, it was a confirmation phone call. We also were unable to exchange the champagne for anything on our last UBD, which was disappointing.

Apparently that's another example of how inconsistencies can affect the Princess experience because each ship can be its own kingdom. :(

Based on what I recall reading in previous discussions about solo passengers, there is no discount for solo passengers & it would be $100.

 

While it's less food & only one cocktail, other things such as flowers, champagne & photo would be the same. And all of it requires the extra labor necessary to provide exceptional service.

 

I've read that it's possible to have more than one couple if there's sufficient space on the balcony but not any discount for solo passengers.