Has Princess stepped up the game?

Just got back from a 5 day Caribbean cruise on the Caribbean princess. Having done 10 cruises on HAL and 3 on Princess, we decided to try Princess again. The food was excellent. Main dining room, Sabatini's, and Crown Grille, were all outstanding. Food on HAL has always been good, but this cruise, princess outdid themselves. Thoughts.

Well this is splendid news! I leave on the same ship in a little over a month for a 5 day and this gives me more to look forward to. Was on the same ship in June and have to say I was disappointed.

We also just got back & though it was a fine cruise. Very little to complain about. There were only 1 or 2 items at the buffet on different days that weren't done properly. The DR meals were all great but the amount of time spent at Sabatini's was much to long. Over 2 1/2+ hours for dinner in our opinion is a little much especially if you had any intentions of seeing a show. I also heard others say the same of the Crown grill.

The DR meals were all great but the amount of time spent at Sabatini's was much to long. Over 2 1/2+ hours for dinner in our opinion is a little much especially if you had any intentions of seeing a show. I also heard others say the same of the Crown grill.

For us, dining at a Specialty is the evening's entertainment, so we enjoy the slower pace. We only book when we know that we will not be heading to the theater later. I enjoy the extra time that the servers can spend with us and enjoy speaking with the and getting to know them. To us, the MDRs are way too rushed (but I understand why and know going in that we might get rushed service). I love the slower pace of the Specialties and hope that they never become like the MDRs.

We tried Holland for the first time last year, and Princess for the first time this year. Without knowing how either one of these cruise lines used to be, I can tell you that I considered the overall Princess experience to be superior to the Holland America experience. I do believe that Holland is a bit more detail oriented, but overall, we enjoyed Princess considerably more.

I agree that the Caribbean Princess and her crew does a fine job of pleasing passengers. I August I did a 9 day B2B on her, and had a wonderful time.

As for lengthy meals in the specialty restaurants ..... I have found the slower pace of dining there is very pleasant. I went to the Crown Grill with friends twice during the 9 days, and we spent over 2 hours over our dinner both times. We enjoy the quiet atmosphere and find it conducive to conversation. When my friends decided they wanted to go to a show after dinner one night, they informed our waiter as soon as we were seated, and he made sure our meal was completed in time for them to make the show.

If you want to see a show after dinner, all you need to do is plan ahead and do one or both of these things ..... 1) make you reservation for an earlier time, and/or 2) let you waiter know of your plans.

I agree that the Caribbean Princess and her crew does a fine job of pleasing passengers. I August I did a 9 day B2B on her, and had a wonderful time.

 

As for lengthy meals in the specialty restaurants ..... I have found the slower pace of dining there is very pleasant. I went to the Crown Grill with friends twice during the 9 days, and we spent over 2 hours over our dinner both times. We enjoy the quiet atmosphere and find it conducive to conversation. When my friends decided they wanted to go to a show after dinner one night, they informed our waiter as soon as we were seated, and he made sure our meal was completed in time for them to make the show.

 

If you want to see a show after dinner, all you need to do is plan ahead and do one or both of these things ..... 1) make you reservation for an earlier time, and/or 2) let you waiter know of your plans.

That only works out well when the ship isn't filled to capacity otherwise getting to the show lounge 10 minutes before start time you'll have to stand.

Totally agree with the OP. Yes main dinning room food has improved considerable. We were recently on the Emerald, and such was the improvement, on the last several Princess cruises, that we didn't even have to go to the speciality restaurants. If we had, then we would have made a night of it and not rushed the meal so as to catch a show.:)

Just got back from a 5 day Caribbean cruise on the Caribbean princess. Having done 10 cruises on HAL and 3 on Princess, we decided to try Princess again. The food was excellent. Main dining room, Sabatini's, and Crown Grille, were all outstanding. Food on HAL has always been good, but this cruise, princess outdid themselves. Thoughts.

Glad you enjoyed your dining experiences on the CB. Thank you also for reporting back. We will be sailing her in September of 2015. I can't wait to return to a Grand or Crown class ship with a real promenade and the Terrace pool area. Your added thoughts on the good quality of the dining venues make me want to be aboard her even more.....:):):)

Bob

Who was the EC. I strongly suspect that if we compiled a list of ECs like we do for MDs and CDs, we would find a strong correlation between food quality and who was assigned (much like entertainment and CDs)

I too was on the CB recently and found the food in the Main Dining Room to be uniformly well prepared, delivered hot and fresh, and attractively presented. There was not a single item delivered to the table during the 12 days I was onboard that was not up to scratch. I have always found the food on Princess to be a notch above that on RCCL and often equal to that of Celebrity. I particularly found their cuts of beef to be superior. Another item I appreciate on Princess is the table setting, simple and uncluttered with additional silverware coursed in as appropriate with unused place settings cleared.

Who was the EC. I strongly suspect that if we compiled a list of ECs like we do for MDs and CDs, we would find a strong correlation between food quality and who was assigned (much like entertainment and CDs)

I think this is an accurate assessment. For example, I sailed on the Serenade of the Seas for two transatlantic cruises with six months of each other (fall 2013/spring 2014). Same menus, different executive chefs. The food on the Westbound crossing last fall seemed much fresher, less salty, and better presented than the food we had this spring. I had excellent waiters both sailings at tables reasonably close to the kitchen (but not too close).

The same can be said of Cruise Directors, Hotel Managers, Bar Managers, Captains, etc. Their management style and the things they individually tend to focus on can greatly impact the guest experience.

I've leaving on the Golden Princess this afternoon. Having cruised since 1980 on 30+ cruises on every major cruises lines I have a lot of compare this too. I haven't been on Princess in a while so I am very delighted to here this news and excited to see for myself the Princess experience. It could be they have indeed upped the game - that means higher guess satisfaction, higher loyalty and repeat business and thus higher revenues and all over profits. Just saying.... I'll come back and report my experience. Happy cruising ya'll.

I really enjoy the Crown. If the show is more important than the dining experience, then the MDR and/or the Horizon is the way to go. I don't think the specialty restaurants should be faulted for their relaxed dinners. The relaxed dining experience is one of the things these venues are all about. So probably a choice needs to be made that evening between the show or dining in one of the specialty restaurants. "Just Sayin".

WCC

Just got back from a 5 day Caribbean cruise on the Caribbean princess. Having done 10 cruises on HAL and 3 on Princess, we decided to try Princess again. The food was excellent. Main dining room, Sabatini's, and Crown Grille, were all outstanding. Food on HAL has always been good, but this cruise, princess outdid themselves. Thoughts.

Who was the EC. I strongly suspect that if we compiled a list of ECs like we do for MDs and CDs, we would find a strong correlation between food quality and who was assigned (much like entertainment and CDs)

Happy to read this!

Is EC short for Executive Chef?

If I remember correctly the Maitre D' is Angelo Balbini. He may also have something to do with wonderful dining experiences.

Yes.

I've given this example before. On two cruises we had the same ship class (Island and Coral), mostly same menus, same food, anytime dining. On the coral, the food was..Ok. On the Island the food was spectacular to the point where we looked forward to the MDR.

We met both ECs over the course of each cruise. The difference was SO apparent in how they ran their kitchens and how the staff invested themselves in the meal. One ran it like a military kitchen with lots of shouting from one spot, the other ran it like a fine dining kitchen, constantly moving around, tasting and giving positive and negative comments. Which one do you think had the better meals?

MDs can make a huge difference in how the MDRs operate. My favorite is still Jacques Ghennai who was always visible and wasn't afraid to help clear a table, reset a table, carry food or refill a drink. His staff responded accordingly.

Happy to read this!

Is EC short for Executive Chef?

If I remember correctly the Maitre D' is Angelo Balbini. He may also have something to do with wonderful dining experiences.

I've leaving on the Golden Princess this afternoon. Having cruised since 1980 on 30+ cruises on every major cruises lines I have a lot of compare this too. I haven't been on Princess in a while so I am very delighted to here this news and excited to see for myself the Princess experience. It could be they have indeed upped the game - that means higher guess satisfaction, higher loyalty and repeat business and thus higher revenues and all over profits. Just saying.... I'll come back and report my experience. Happy cruising ya'll.

We are still talking about our memorable meal in the Crown Grill. We made a 5:30 dinner reservation and got to the dining room early because it is first come first served as to booth requests. We had a window booth that was next to an Art Deco picture of the NY Empire State building. Delicious meal with impeccable service.

I've leaving on the Golden Princess this afternoon. Having cruised since 1980 on 30+ cruises on every major cruises lines I have a lot of compare this too. I haven't been on Princess in a while so I am very delighted to here this news and excited to see for myself the Princess experience. It could be they have indeed upped the game - that means higher guess satisfaction, higher loyalty and repeat business and thus higher revenues and all over profits. Just saying.... I'll come back and report my experience. Happy cruising ya'll.

I just got off the Golden last week, and felt the MDR food was excellent, the IC items good, and the HC mediocre. I didn't try any of the upcharge venues this trip, so can't speak to them. Don't miss the cronuts in the IC, if you like that sort of thing!

Just got back from a 5 day Caribbean cruise on the Caribbean princess. Having done 10 cruises on HAL and 3 on Princess, we decided to try Princess again. The food was excellent. Main dining room, Sabatini's, and Crown Grille, were all outstanding. Food on HAL has always been good, but this cruise, princess outdid themselves. Thoughts.

Taste in food is, of course, a matter of, um, taste. (E.g., the previous poster recommended the cronuts, which I found meh. And the gazpacho I loved so much that I had it a second night was singled out for disparagement by a shipmate on that cruise.) Part of it is also the luck of the draw. I now know that if I order the Hawaiian Luau Pork, I'll find the dinner "disappointing." If you only had three dinners in the MDR, you might have just lucked out. Or not.

That being said, the MDR food on our recent Star cruise seemed more than a little bit better than usual, for which I give grateful credit to the Chef de Cuisine.