Another Crab Shack Question

[Kingofcool1947]

I will be travelling solo in two weeks, do you think I can dine in the Crab Shack solo?:D

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Janie

 

Me too. :)

Edited November 18, 2014 by Kingofcool1947

[Kingofcool1947]

DH love shell fish. I can not eat it due to a allergy. Is there any non shell fish on the menu? He will not go alone and I can't eat it..

 

Yes there is.

[Kingofcool1947]

It's ok to dine solo.

[Kingofcool1947]

So are you now able to make reservations (or just find out which night(s) it is being offered) on embarkation day by either calling the dine line or at the specialty restaurant desk that afternoon? I recall that when Crab Shack was first launched there were reports of passengers being told that reservations are not taken until the opening on a particular night is printed in the Patter the evening before.

 

We had no problem as walk -ins. No wait at all.

[Kingofcool1947]

Is all the seafood frozen or fresh?

What dishes would you recommend to avoid?

And is it ok to eat the crab and prawns with your hands?

Edited November 18, 2014 by Kingofcool1947

[hawkeyetlse]

Is all the seafood frozen or fresh?

I believe it is all frozen, like the rest of the meat and fish served on board.

And is it ok to eat the crab and prawns with your hands?

 

Sure it's OK. How else would you do it??? They give you wet towels to clean your hands.

[tjcletsgo]

I went solo on the Star Princess in December 2013. I posted my pictures earlier. It was great and they treated me very well. No problem with eating solo.

 

Thank you all!

 

Janie

[Kingofcool1947]

I believe it is all frozen, like the rest of the meat and fish served on board.

 

 

Sure it's OK. How else would you do it??? They give you wet towels to clean your hands.

 

Thanks all.:)

[geocruiser]

Yes there is.

 

Thank you.

 

Do you know what they have?

[BC-er]

We were on the Ruby Princess in Nov. 2014. Hubby does not do seafood. I decided to go by myself. If you are by yourself, you sit by yourself, but I wouldn't have missed it, I enjoyed every bite!!! EVERYTHING was perfectly cooked!

Wonderful food, they tie a bib around you. Everything that comes to you is already cracked but you are given the perfect tools to use. Not messy. Finger bowl afterwards. More food than I could eat. Could have ordered more. Crab was excellent. I had the steamer pot and it had two kinds of crab legs, mussels, clams, shrimp, 2 jumbo shrimp, potatoes, corn on cob, sausage and was totally delicious. I could not eat it all and felt so bad that I couldn't take a 'doggie bag home'.... not our normal home!

Don't miss it. They did not advertise it on this ship (weird as this is a new thing they are trying out on just a few ships). Twice a week in the very back part of the buffet area, separated from the other. In the small print on the back of the Patter. Phone and make a reservation. It was only half full. Stupid on their part for not advertising it like the Steak House or Italian restaurants.

 

see here

http://surreygal.smugmug.com/Food/Ruby-Princess-Nov-2014-Food/

[Mindy97]

It seems that what type of crab, and whether it is cracked or not depends on the ship and the season. We've eaten at the Crab Shack twice, on different ships and during different seasons.

 

The first time the crab was dungeness, and the legs were sliced open, with a piece of the shell removed so you could easily get to the meat. The second time it was king crab, huge legs,, not cracked at all (but they gave you good tools, once you learned how to use them). We don't ever encounter king crab, and an assistant waiter had to crack some of it and show us how (we thanked him in the u$ual manner). Man, are the shells hard!

 

M.

[fishywood]

Don't miss it. They did not advertise it on this ship (weird as this is a new thing they are trying out on just a few ships). Twice a week in the very back part of the buffet area, separated from the other. In the small print on the back of the Patter. Phone and make a reservation. It was only half full. Stupid on their part for not advertising it like the Steak House or Italian restaurants.

 

 

I was on Ruby Princess November 22-29 and thoroughly enjoyed Crab Shack as well. Way more food than you can possibly eat, quality of shellfish usually found at 3 or 4 times the price. But let me clear up a few things...

 

On the embarkation day patter there was a block ad telling which two evenings it would be offered. Yes it was on the back page...because that is where one finds all the dining information! And on those two days it was also mentioned as an activity in the hour-by-hour line listing. So anyone claiming they missed out due to lack of advertising is just making excuses.

 

Crab Shack (which BTW is now on all Grand-class and larger ships, not just "a few") is held on the Ruby in one half of Cafe Caribe. This is a fairly large seating area and in no way would it be possible for Princess to provide the high level of food preparation and service that Crab Shack does to the number of passengers that would completely fill up the room. Yes they were turning away people without reservations even though every seat was not taken. If I had turned up at my reserved time to find the room packed with closely arranged full tables a la Red Lobster I would have been hugely disappointed. Princess is doing its best to make Crab Shack an intimate specialty dining experience just like Sabatini's and Crown Grill; to call it "stupid" that they do not cram the room to full capacity is downright reckless.

[crochetcruise]

We were on the Ruby Princess in Nov. 2014. Hubby does not do seafood. I decided to go by myself. If you are by yourself, you sit by yourself, but I wouldn't have missed it, I enjoyed every bite!!! EVERYTHING was perfectly cooked!

Wonderful food, they tie a bib around you. Everything that comes to you is already cracked but you are given the perfect tools to use. Not messy. Finger bowl afterwards. More food than I could eat. Could have ordered more. Crab was excellent. I had the steamer pot and it had two kinds of crab legs, mussels, clams, shrimp, 2 jumbo shrimp, potatoes, corn on cob, sausage and was totally delicious. I could not eat it all and felt so bad that I couldn't take a 'doggie bag home'.... not our normal home!

Don't miss it. They did not advertise it on this ship (weird as this is a new thing they are trying out on just a few ships). Twice a week in the very back part of the buffet area, separated from the other. In the small print on the back of the Patter. Phone and make a reservation. It was only half full. Stupid on their part for not advertising it like the Steak House or Italian restaurants.

 

see here

http://surreygal.smugmug.com/Food/Ruby-Princess-Nov-2014-Food/

 

Thank you for the information that the food is already cracked for you, just dig in and enjoy! With poor wrist muscle strength I was concerned, now I can relax and enjoy! Next big pre-cruise milestone for me is booking, paying the deposit on the Window Suite on the Golden Princess, only Disabled Suite available so hoping I can get it, and purchasing International Travel Insurance as my local Medicare coverage doesn't cover coastal voyages! Then it's fortnightly laybys until final payment and "patient" waiting until travelling for embarkation. I get a regular "fix" of cruise related topics through Cruise Critic, and am stunned at the talent for provided JUST the very information I needed BEFORE I've even realised I need it!

 

Crochetcruise :cool:

[crochetcruise]

It seems that what type of crab, and whether it is cracked or not depends on the ship and the season. We've eaten at the Crab Shack twice, on different ships and during different seasons.

 

The first time the crab was dungeness, and the legs were sliced open, with a piece of the shell removed so you could easily get to the meat. The second time it was king crab, huge legs,, not cracked at all (but they gave you good tools, once you learned how to use them). We don't ever encounter king crab, and an assistant waiter had to crack some of it and show us how (we thanked him in the u$ual manner). Man, are the shells hard!

 

M.

 

Good point, I'll let the server know I have physical problems so please would he crack them for me, and allow for "Thank You" in my budget. Good point that different ships do things differently, I'm now aware this might happen. Thank you for taking the trouble to post this information.

 

Crochercruise :cool:

[ready2cruzagain]

We ended up going to the Crab Shack and loved it!!! I would recommend making reservations on the first day as they were booked quite fast. We tried to make reservations on the second day for one of the weeks we were on the ship and they were full. We made reservations on the next week on the first day.

 

We ordered the King Crab and it was great!!! We did order more crab with no problems at all.

 

Will definitely go to the Crab Shack again in the future!!

[latraveller]

We were on the Crown Dec 6-13. Booked our reservation on the dining line ASAP after getting in our cabin while also booking Sabatinis and Crown Grill. It was mentioned in the patter but it seemed full while we were there and they weren't taking walk ins. We had the King Crab Legs and shrimp and were both given a bowl. No way to eat it all. Crab was not cracked but no trouble with the tools they gave us and was part of the enjoyment of the meal. Hope they keep this going as we will be on the Crown in 2015.

 

 

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[cr83687]

We will be on the Crown heading down to Mexico in February. Does the Crown off Dr the Crab Shack option?

[34TigerLily]

It is completely separate and I feel sure they would frown on bringing in other foods.

 

Mike:)

 

My daughter doesn't eat seafood. She filled a plate in the Horizon Court and joined us at our table in the Crab Shack. No problem. We were on the Grand.

[ldock]

Is all the seafood frozen or fresh?

What dishes would you recommend to avoid?

And is it ok to eat the crab and prawns with your hands?

 

In Alaska ( crown) we were told it was all fresh, water told us which 2 ports they picked it up in also. Very good, we both ordered king crab and peel shrimp. Came in 2 bowls, they didn't offer extras, but there was plenty, which we finished. ( minus the corn).

- unlike others I would trade in my appetizer for more crab. We would make a good pair to trade. ;). Appetizer was great, but crabs my favorite. I was surprised how many couldn't finish there food. I would leave rest if had to and just eat crab. So good.- not a clam chowder girl myself, but I must admit I really I joyed this bowl.

Hands??? I course, how else ;)

[rianvi]

Thank you for the great info. Will look for it on our next cruise.

 

:)

[deborahjo]

Hope the Coral has the Crab Shack. We will be on her in September going to Alaska.

[CruisinChris]

All of the alternative dining venues on princess operate on single seating system. This allows them to offer the highest level of service to the diners without pressure to turn tables. This why you often see empty tables even though they tell you they're fully booked. They also stagger the reservations so the kitchen doesn't get slammed.

[UpcountryTravelers]

Haven't seen this question answered: we're booked on 4 and 5 day b2b on the Caribbean Princess. Do they have Crab Shack on the short cruises like this?

[IECalCruiser]

Haven't seen this question answered: we're booked on 4 and 5 day b2b on the Caribbean Princess. Do they have Crab Shack on the short cruises like this?

The Crab Shack was held on the Sea Day of our 4-Day on the Crown earlier this month.