Embark lunch options on Royal Princess

[brichar499]

I'm on a December trip. Can anyone tell me what the current lunch options are on sail day besides the Horizon Court buffet? Thanks.

[Mom33]

I'm on a December trip. Can anyone tell me what the current lunch options are on sail day besides the Horizon Court buffet? Thanks.

 

Lido deck Trident Grill

Lido deck Pizza

International Cafe

Dining room until 1 or1:30-table service

Alfredos -table service

Ocean Terrace Bar -Sushi and sea food selections.

My husband says to list the Pastry shop.:D It can be found in the Horizon Court.

[paul929207]

The options will be in the Princess Patter which will be in your cabin when you board.

[dmwnc1959]

This is the back page of the Princess Patter for Royal Princess when I was aboard, listing times and venues open on Embarkation Day:

 

[bellebaby]

We were on the Royal Repo at the end of January.

 

The Concerto Dining Room (I think) was open, but was understaffed. We were seated immediately, but a waiter was not yet available for our section. After waiting for about 30 minutes without our order being taken, we left and had lunch at the Trident Grill.

 

As the Royal was a new ship for us, we preferred to look around the ship rather than have a lengthy lunch. Others later told us the dining room lunch on embarkation day took about 2 hours.

 

Just our experience...

 

B

Edited November 15, 2014 by bellebaby

[brichar499]

We were on the Royal Repo at the end of January.

 

The Concerto Dining Room (I think) was open, but was understaffed. We were seated immediately, but a waiter was not yet available for our section. After waiting for about 30 minutes without our order being taken, we left and had lunch at the Trident Grill.

 

As the Royal was a new ship for us, we preferred to look around the ship rather than have a lengthy lunch. Others later told us the dining room lunch on embarkation day took about 2 hours.

 

Just our experience...

 

B

 

Thanks. We've always enjoyed a sit down lunch on embark day where offered. The free for all at the Lido buffet on most ships is not pleasurable. Hope they get their act together in the Concerto in the next few weeks.

[Loonbeam]

The issue is a lot of the dining staff is seconded to turnover and the buffet, so the MDR is often understaffed.

 

One thing to note on the Royal, the buffet is SO much bigger and better laid out that even at peak on embarkation day, we were able to find a table in less than 5 mins, and that was without the outdoor area in use because it was cold.

 

Normally we prefer to avoid the buffet on embark (and heck throughout the cruise) but we actually ate dinner there by CHOICE one night on the Royal and I can't recall us ever doing that on Princess.

[sunsetbeachgal]

My vote is for Alfredos..people haven't discovered it by then. ;)

[cubfan63]

My vote is for Alfredos..people haven't discovered it by then. ;)

 

 

On the 10/25 Royal repo, at 12:50 pm, the Symphony dining room (deck 5, not Concerto deck 6) was saying they would have a 30 minute wait for seating with a line at the door.

 

I got seated right away at Alfredo's and I was near the greeting area. Luigi, the head waiter who ran the place, was seating people but telling them it was going to be a considerable wait. My server told were understaffed as they usually are not busy on turnaround day.

[richstowe]

The issue is a lot of the dining staff is seconded to turnover and the buffet, so the MDR is often understaffed.

 

One thing to note on the Royal, the buffet is SO much bigger and better laid out that even at peak on embarkation day, we were able to find a table in less than 5 mins, and that was without the outdoor area in use because it was cold.

 

Normally we prefer to avoid the buffet on embark (and heck throughout the cruise) but we actually ate dinner there by CHOICE one night on the Royal and I can't recall us ever doing that on Princess.

We always feel that the swarm around the first lunch at the buffet is part of the cruise experience.

A good part. If it is a little less "swarmy", so much the better. :)

[2pbears]

My vote is for Alfredos..people haven't discovered it by then. ;)

 

They never did discover it on our July Baltics cruise. We couldn't understand it. The place was always empty.

[sunsetbeachgal]

They never did discover it on our July Baltics cruise. We couldn't understand it. The place was always empty.

 

We ate there four times on our Med. Cruise last year on the Royal...and we kept discovering more yummy items beyond the pizza! their ravioli and the eggplant dish are both excellent!

Edited November 15, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[janetz]

MDR until 1:30. They will say there is a wait but they try to discourage too many people from eating there.They told us 30 minutes and we were seated in 5. ;)

[richstowe]

Lido deck Trident Grill

Lido deck Pizza

International Cafe

Dining room until 1 or1:30-table service

Alfredos -table service

Ocean Terrace Bar -Sushi and sea food selections.

My husband says to list the Pastry shop.:D It can be found in the Horizon Court.

Alfredos isn't open for lunch is it ?

[Mom33]

Alfredos isn't open for lunch is it ?

 

 

Yes it is. We lunched there on our Royal Princess cruise last Spring.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[dmwnc1959]

Alfredos isn't open for lunch is it ?

 

 

Check the Dining Guide in Post #4. I had lunch there on the Turn-Around Day of my B2B, and at the International Cafe (Cuban Sandwich) on my first Embarkation Day. I guess what time you actually embark the ship makes a difference, but when I got on board around 12:30pn neither of the venues was crowded at all.

 

:D

[dmwnc1959]

In case anyone is contemplating Alfredo's for their Embarkation Day lunch, or any other time during the cruise, here are some pictures of the food I ate their during the time I was aboard Royal Princess:

 

They had a really nice Summer Sangria...

 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2014 by dmwnc1959

[dmwnc1959]

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2014 by dmwnc1959