Horizon Court & Crown Grill on Golden Reviews

[cruisinmom1]

This was my first Princess cruise and I was wondering if anyone else feels this way about the Horizon Court. The food was bland, lack of presentation, and long lines.Same variety every day-seran wrapped sandwiches??

I felt like I was in line for a school cafeteria. However; the food in the DR is awesome! Other ships (even Carnival) has food stations, multiple toasters and great presentations.

 

We also ate at the Crown Grill-very disappointed! We turned back our steak 3 times!! Come on... a steak house should know how to cook a NY strip- other ships in their speciality resturants can't do enough for you. I had to ask for water 2 times, the salad was nothing special, nor was the side items-Green Giant does a better job! They even had the chef come out and explain to us that a NY strip is hard to judge! Well, we still paid the $25 pp fee and hardly ate. Again, the DR has better food and service.

[Cruiserkenn]

Thanks for your candid review. I haven't yet been on the Golden, so I appreciate hearing your thoughts.

[highheel girl]

Sorry to hear about your experience......

 

We had excellent service/food onboard the Golden in both the HC and CG..

We loved the CG and have not had an issue there on any ship we have partaked. :D And we have dined there meny meny times.

[Cruiserkenn]

Sorry to hear about your experience......

 

We had excellent service/food onboard the Golden in both the HC and CG..

We loved the CG and have not had an issue there on any ship we have partaked. :D And we have dined there meny meny times.

 

Thanks, too, for your good thoughts. I hope to one day sail on the Golden, so your comments are a relief. Thanks.

[highheel girl]

Sorry to hear about your experience......

 

We had excellent service/food onboard the Golden in both the HC and CG..

We loved the CG and have not had an issue there on any ship we have partaked. :D And we have dined there meny meny times.

 

 

I really know how to spell "Many" really I do! :eek:

[Pam in CA]

I also cruise on HAL and a year ago, took a Celebrity cruise. I prefer the Princess buffet over both of those lines. Overall, I think the food is better, more options and faster turnover so it's not over-cooked or stale. The only thing HAL and Celebrity do better, in my opinion, are their made-to-order sandwiches. But then on Princess, if I wanted a sandwich, I could make my own.

 

Food is very subjective and one person's delicious is another's yuck. On my Star cruise in March, I had all my meals in the buffet, including dinner.

[gertz]

We have never had a problem with any speciality restaurant or HC. And have dined on the Golden several times and have another booked on her soon.

I think sometimes I try to read more into some of these post than is really there. But maybe that is why I find my self not only posting less and less but also reading these boards less and less.. I find I skim more than read. And then perhaps over analyze. And ask what would I do? Not that I would do it better or different.

For instance: The HC is a cafeteria and I think a darn good one. Compared to some of the chow lines I have been in it is gourmet.

Then if my steak in the "steak house" were no good and I complained even more than once what would I do? I certainly would make sure I wasn't charged for it. But this has never happened to us. Guess I'm easy, but I'm actually picky. Well it did happen once on the Ocean then the Tahitian when mine was cooked a little too done for me and I like it sorta rare. I called it to the waters attention but did not send it back because I wanted to eat with that good looking babe across the table from me and it was a good steak. It must have been my charming personality as the wait staff were so overcome with remorse they loaded us up with all the Limoncello we could handle. Could have been a disappointing dinner but it became a great memory as I think all of our cruises have been. Think that is what I would have done.:D

[Toddy709]

To me, a buffet is a buffet and it all tastes pretty much the same. I don't think I've ever had anything at a buffet on land or on sea that has actually impressed me very much.

 

In the Crown Grill, however, my steak has always been done to perfection! The sides were never terribly impressive, but I don't go to the CG for the sides! The service in the CG has always been wonderful, also.

[1 HappyCruiser]

My only question is why with all the various prepared food that they offer at the Horizon did you even consider eating any of the pre-made sandwiches? Even the sandwiches they have at IC don't seem to be all that great compared to something I would put together myself.

At home our seasoning is minimal so when cruising it all seems overly spiced and not bland in the least. This being subjective I suppose they try to keep it in the middle to satisfy everyone.

[dickinson]

I wasn't all that impressed by the Horizon Court either although I didn't think the food was bland but instead lukewarm or cold. I also felt that it was hard to find seats. Several times we had to ask people if we could sit with them. Yes it is nice to meet new people but we shouldn't feel that it is hard to find a seat!

 

We ate in the Crown Grill on the first night and had delicious food and service.

[allanv]

Yeah, food is very personal, and we alll have our preferences of what's good or not.. Personally, I liked the steak house and their steak, asked for well done every time and it didn't disappoint me.. The salads can be a bit so-so, but other then that, no major complaints.

[1 HappyCruiser]

I wasn't all that impressed by the Horizon Court either although I didn't think the food was bland but instead lukewarm or cold. I also felt that it was hard to find seats. Several times we had to ask people if we could sit with them. Yes it is nice to meet new people but we shouldn't feel that it is hard to find a seat!

 

We ate in the Crown Grill on the first night and had delicious food and service.

 

It's a cruise ship. What else can you expect when it gets crowded? People sit with others in the dining room all the time & never give it a second thought.

You should try going there when it first opens & there's usually no problems at that time.

[DougandEric]

Yes, food is very subjective. I HATE the layout of the HC - everyone wanders around looking for food and getting in everybody elses way. However, I don't find the food any better or worse than other lines. I do like that Princess has grits and fried eggs in HC. I like the made to order sandwiches and Indian/Indonesian on HAL. I like the formality of Pinnacle Grill on HAL more than the steak restaurants on Princess. Each line has it's strength's and weaknesses based on your own preference.

 

I've not had a bad meal in the specialty restaurants - too much food but never bad. The service is usually very good to excellent with the exception of pushing the wine tastings. We had excellent food and service in Sabatini's on our Golden cruise last November after the menu change - ate there twice.

[Princess Mich]

This was my first Princess cruise and I was wondering if anyone else feels this way about the Horizon Court. The food was bland, lack of presentation, and long lines.Same variety every day-seran wrapped sandwiches??

I felt like I was in line for a school cafeteria. However; the food in the DR is awesome! Other ships (even Carnival) has food stations, multiple toasters and great presentations.

 

We also ate at the Crown Grill-very disappointed! We turned back our steak 3 times!! Come on... a steak house should know how to cook a NY strip- other ships in their speciality resturants can't do enough for you. I had to ask for water 2 times, the salad was nothing special, nor was the side items-Green Giant does a better job! They even had the chef come out and explain to us that a NY strip is hard to judge! Well, we still paid the $25 pp fee and hardly ate. Again, the DR has better food and service.

 

I agree. The food sucks in both the Crown Grill and Horizon. Have you considered changing cruise lines? Princess has gone to the dogs. Try a more classy cruise line, and maybe the food will be better. I have.

[lovevacadays]

I'm not crazy about the set up in the Horizon Court but I do like most of the food. I've always been able to find many things I like plus their salad bar and desserts are good, in my opinion.

 

I've done the Crown Grill twice and really liked it.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience but happy to hear you did like the main dining room food.:)

[caribill]

I'm not crazy about the set up in the Horizon Court but I do like most of the food. I've always been able to find many things I like plus their salad bar and desserts are good, in my opinion.

 

 

The ships (such as the Star) that have had recent modifications to the Horizon Court have better set ups.

 

o Breakfast pastries, breads and waffles, other time breads and desserts moved to a new counter outside of the previous ervice area.

 

o Wider aisles between the modules

 

o Salad, fruit, ceeral (in the AM) modules have the same food available on two sides which reduces the lines on a side

 

Downside is that there are less chocies with the same food in two places

[pris993]

We haven't been on the Golden for a few years but have cruised other Princess ships.

 

When we go to the HC -- we looked for what's available to make our own sandwiches for lunch, i.e., what's at the carving station, fresh french rolls, salad fixings and go from there. We always make a plate and take it back to our cabin.

 

In the am, we pick up eggs at the HC and order room service for coffee and crossiants and fruit.

 

We have not checked out the Crown Grill, plan to do so on the Star in September. We did try Sabatini's on the Ruby, felt it was okay, not outstanding. I have had better shrimp scampi at Fisherman's Warf in San Francisco - best meal we had at Sabatini's was the Veal Chop.

[shepp]

I agree. The food sucks in both the Crown Grill and Horizon. Have you considered changing cruise lines? Princess has gone to the dogs. Try a more classy cruise line, and maybe the food will be better. I have.

 

Ah, yes...another of your famed Princess-bashing posts. Hey, says here your "interest" is Princess' Employee Relations, you live around the corner from the line's corporate headquarters, and "Princess" is even in your screen name. And though Princess is apparently beneath you, you manage to repeatedly find your way to this board to write classy ("the food sucks") posts. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect you were a disgruntled Princess staffer/ex-staffer. Gentle hint: changing your profile would sure give you more cred.

 

What's the opposite of a "cheerleader?"

 

Oh, for the record, I think the HC's food is nowhere near as good as the MDR's.

[highheel girl]

Ah, yes...another of your famed Princess-bashing posts. Hey, says here your "interest" is Princess' Employee Relations, you live around the corner from the line's corporate headquarters, and "Princess" is even in your screen name. And though Princess is apparently beneath you, you manage to repeatedly find your way to this board to write classy ("the food sucks") posts. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect you were a disgruntled Princess staffer/ex-staffer. Gentle hint: changing your profile would sure give you more cred.

 

What's the opposite of a "cheerleader?"

 

Oh, for the record, I think the HC's food is nowhere near as good as the MDR's.

 

Its like a train wreck. :eek:

[caribill]

Hey, says here your "interest" is Princess' Employee Relations, you live around the corner from the line's corporate headquarters, and "Princess" is even in your screen name. And though Princess is apparently beneath you, you manage to repeatedly find your way to this board to write classy ("the food sucks") posts.

 

No wonder the profile says "Princess Mich has not made any friends yet"

[Cruisin' Chick]

I'm definitely not a foodie so the Horizon court is usually fine for me. On our last cruise (14 days), which was on the Golden, we ate many of our breakfasts and lunches in the Horizon, and half of our dinners (we just didn't care for the service in the anytime dining rooms). We have never eaten in a specialty dining room on our cruises as we haven't felt the need to (I've stopped eating beef so the Crown Grille wouldn't be a good choice for me and I don't eat seafood, so the same for Sabintinis). Your opinion of food is subjective.

[RickEk]

Ah, yes...another of your famed Princess-bashing posts. Hey, says here your "interest" is Princess' Employee Relations, you live around the corner from the line's corporate headquarters, and "Princess" is even in your screen name. And though Princess is apparently beneath you, you manage to repeatedly find your way to this board to write classy ("the food sucks") posts. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect you were a disgruntled Princess staffer/ex-staffer. Gentle hint: changing your profile would sure give you more cred.

 

What's the opposite of a "cheerleader?"

 

Oh, for the record, I think the HC's food is nowhere near as good as the MDR's.

 

I'd concur on the ex-staffer thought. Princess has been experiencing layoffs as they attempt to consolidate departments (leaner and apparently meaner doncha'know...). Probably one of the reasons why they're having such poor customer service as of late...

[Toddy709]

I agree. The food sucks in both the Crown Grill and Horizon. Have you considered changing cruise lines? Princess has gone to the dogs. Try a more classy cruise line, and maybe the food will be better. I have.

 

This and her(?) entire post history sounds a disgruntled former employee to me!:rolleyes:

[antmaril]

I was on the Golden two weeks ago. It was my first Princess cruise and my second time to Alaska. I was on HAL in 2009. My first impression of the Horizon Court was kind of meh. Lines were long and it was hard to find a seat. Food was okay, but always cold by the time we sat down. It didn't make or break the cruise for me. We thought the food in the dining room was much better. Can't complain about the MDR at all.

 

We didn't have dinner in the CG, but did have a "pub lunch" on the last day. Food was just okay. Atmosphere was not as nice as Pinnacle Grill on the Zaandam. Just my two cents, of course.

 

Had a great time. Alaska is amazing.

[catsgirl]

Your cup is half full or half empty....

I love rolling out of bed & wandering down to HC for a perfect bowl of oatmeal, 1 piece of bacon(only on vacation) and a bowl of fruit. Coffee from IC. They make it for me & wash my dishes. MDR they serve me like I'm a princess. If I don't like it, they bring me something else! What's not to like?