Balcony dining, chef's table, or other??

[EndersFoul]

Wanting to get the DH an on board surprise on our 7 day Caribbean cruise (3 at sea days, 3 port days).. options are...

 

1) Ultimate Balcony Breakfast

 

2) Ultimate Balcony Dining

 

3) Chef's Table

 

4) Personal Choice Package #3 (Cabernet, cheese tray $50 OBC)- i see this on the Gift ordering form but not in the Cruise Personalizer?

 

Opinions requested!

[melody hounddog]

#2!!! For sure. Ultimate balcony dining. Look on You tube. There is a great video that someone posting on it. Looks fantastic.

[rwstout]

The chef table. By far the most enjoyable memorable experience. However not for sure until on board. Also I bet it cost the most. Then I would say balcony dining and where you are going if you want morning or other

[EndersFoul]

The chef table. By far the most enjoyable memorable experience. However not for sure until on board. Also I bet it cost the most. Then I would say balcony dining and where you are going if you want morning or other

 

Oh! Didn't know Chefs Table was not guaranteed. We are doing western Caribbean in January so I think the dinner would be better.

 

Can balcony dinner be booked on a certain day in advance?

[WISH84]

Oh! Didn't know Chefs Table was not guaranteed. We are doing western Caribbean in January so I think the dinner would be better.

 

 

 

Can balcony dinner be booked on a certain day in advance?

 

 

There will be a "dining options" table set up on embarkation day. You should be able to look into the Chef's table and I would do it very quickly. I believe the cost is $95 per person and well worth every penny. As far is the UBD (dinner on your balcony) you can call the "dine" line and set that up. That is $50 per person. Have a great time.

[Eppe4]

Wanting to get the DH an on board surprise on our 7 day Caribbean cruise (3 at sea days, 3 port days).. options are...

 

1) Ultimate Balcony Breakfast

 

2) Ultimate Balcony Dining

 

3) Chef's Table

 

4) Personal Choice Package #3 (Cabernet, cheese tray $50 OBC)- i see this on the Gift ordering form but not in the Cruise Personalizer?

 

Opinions requested!

 

Hands down, The Chef's Table. It's an experience you'll never forget.

[Treven]

Definately the Chef's Table. You begin your dining experience with chef's jackets on, in the galley, with champagne and appetizers. Then your group of 12 diners move to your table and begin your 5 course dinner paired with the appropriate wine. Then after dinner a ship's photog shows up for a group shot of your group with the maitre'd, the head chef and the head pastry chef. Everyone will receive a copy of Princess' cook book, Courses, and the ladies receive a long-stemmed rose. The diner takes 2.5-3 hours and costs $95/person. It's a lot of food so eat lightly for breakfast and lunch.

[Steviewonder1]

We have missed two Chef's Tables but have done two Ultimate Breakfast Dining options. One in Alaska in one of the glaciers where the ship does a 360 turn looking down on another 25-30 folks also doing the same and all doing a High 5 Salute. More food than you will ever finish for two people. Still waiting to to do a Chef's table which had Technical Difficulties on our Eastern Med Cruise, read that as not enough folks wanted to sign up......

[baseballmom2]

I would say for sure the UBD. We've done it twice and my hubby loves it, and he is not the type of person who "loves" things. :p they make you feel so special and it's very intimate and romantic. And the food is delicious too!

 

I haven't done the Chef's Table on Princess, only on Carnival, but I swore I would never do it again I was so uncomfortably full. It was a nice experience though. I would like to try it on Princess but just eat & drink a lot less because I'm scared of feeling like that again!

 

Again if I had to choose, I choose UBD!!!

[slomotion]

UBD is a very private, intimate, and romantic affair.

 

You DO NOT call the dine line.

 

You call Room Service and one of the managers comes to your room with menus and you select the day, the time, & what you want. Do this on boarding day as they limit UBD to only perhaps 3 UBD's per evening.

 

There are two waiters who stand outside your room and periodically an quietly come in to see how you are doing time wise so they know when to order/serve the next course.

 

slo

[lovejact]

I have always wanted to do the chief's table, but I am allergic to shellfish and have hesitated. What was on the menu when you did it?

[RocketMan275]

I know it can pre-ordered because I did it. Maybe it was because we were celebrating a special occasion, our 20th Anniversary, and wanted our UBD to be on our anniversary. We arranged this through our Princess Cruise Consultant. I asked if it could be done prior to cruise and she had to check with supervision but she made it happen.

 

My wife says that she has never been made to feel so special in her life. That's a hint.

 

Watch the video on youtube.

[Meanee]

Chef's table. Don't really understand UBD. Sitting outside, sweating in some hot, muggy weather, trying to eat some hot dish does not sound appealing.

 

Chef's Table is awesome. 7 or so courses, good wine, and typically in a good company.

 

But that's just my opinion. And as you all know, opinions are like a-holes. Everyone has one and they stink.

[IECalCruiser]

We have done the UBB once, the UBD once and the CT twice. Although we enjoyed the CT's, I would suggest the UBD because you can book the UBD while the CT is not guaranteed. We exchanged the cocktails with glasses of red wine. I have seen a post where people have exchanged the half bottle of champagne with a full bottle of a similarly priced wine. At $95 (or $115 on the Royal and Regal) I feel the the CT is overpriced when compared to the $50 UBD or the $40 Winemaker's Diner on the Royal and Regal.

Edited September 22, 2015 by IECalCruiser

[Meanee]

I have always wanted to do the chief's table, but I am allergic to shellfish and have hesitated. What was on the menu when you did it?

 

Typically, there will be one course with either lobster or shrimp. But there will be a "pre-game" meeting, where you can tell Maitre'd if you have allergy, and how bad. Talk to Maitre'd, see what they say.

[Colo Cruiser]

I know it can pre-ordered because I did it. Maybe it was because we were celebrating a special occasion, our 20th Anniversary, and wanted our UBD to be on our anniversary. We arranged this through our Princess Cruise Consultant. I asked if it could be done prior to cruise and she had to check with supervision but she made it happen.

 

My wife says that she has never been made to feel so special in her life. That's a hint.

 

Watch the video on youtube.

 

This is not the norm. You were lucky they were able to do that.

Normally you can pre pay but you can't pick a date/time until you are onboard.

They normally do 4 per evening.

[geoherb]

I've done three chef's tables and three Ultimate Balcony Dinners. Both are great experiences. Right now, I'd lean more to repeating the UBDs. I like that they're private--just for DH and me. Some ships do a better job than others at customizing the menu. Once the room service rep came to our room to go over the menu. The other times, they've done it on the phone. I've always booked them (and paid for them) ahead of time. I've always had to wait until we have gotten on the ship to arrange the exact date and time. I learned last time to go ahead and book it early in the cruise so we have a chance to enjoy the flowers (and leftover cookies) during the rest of the cruise. Last time I booked it for the last night of the cruise, since that was DH's birthday. I ended up giving the flowers to people who were staying on for the next cruise. I gave the chocolate-covered strawberries to the photographers staff. They really appreciated getting them.

 

On the other hand, I really enjoyed our chef's tables. It's just that we've experienced them and it's time to let others do the same.

[XBGuy]

Some day I want to try the Chef's Table thing, but as others have indicated above, they do not necessarily have one every cruise, and when you call and ask about it, your name seems to go on a list. So, you don't know if you're in until they notify you.

 

We did the UDB a few years ago and loved it. It happened to be very windy,that evening, and, so, actually dining on the balcony was not going to work. We were very pleased by the fact that the portable table that our servers brought allowed the two of us to sit very comfortably just inside the sliding door which we were able to leave mostly open. We drank the two bottles of wine--white for her with her lobster and red for me with my fillet--that we brought on board. So, we drank well. :D One of the best surprises was a platter of cookies which was the last thing delivered--this was after a very spectacular dessert. We were eating cookies for two more days.

 

In a couple weeks we are taking a cruise on the Crown. I called Princess and gave up my credit card number for a reservation for a UBD on the second evening of the cruise. Rest assured, I will be calling the dining reservation line the minute we get to our cabin and try to verify that they are on the same page, there.

[EndersFoul]

Some day I want to try the Chef's Table thing, but as others have indicated above, they do not necessarily have one every cruise, and when you call and ask about it, your name seems to go on a list. So, you don't know if you're in until they notify you.

 

We did the UDB a few years ago and loved it. It happened to be very windy,that evening, and, so, actually dining on the balcony was not going to work. We were very pleased by the fact that the portable table that our servers brought allowed the two of us to sit very comfortably just inside the sliding door which we were able to leave mostly open. We drank the two bottles of wine--white for her with her lobster and red for me with my fillet--that we brought on board. So, we drank well. :D One of the best surprises was a platter of cookies which was the last thing delivered--this was after a very spectacular dessert. We were eating cookies for two more days.

 

In a couple weeks we are taking a cruise on the Crown. I called Princess and gave up my credit card number for a reservation for a UBD on the second evening of the cruise. Rest assured, I will be calling the dining reservation line the minute we get to our cabin and try to verify that they are on the same page, there.

 

Oh please do keep me posted on how that goes! I would be interested to know if you are able to pay for and book an UBD in advance. The risk of the chef's table and UBD is a turnoff.

 

Thank you everyone for your tips and thoughts!

[XBGuy]

Oh please do keep me posted on how that goes! I would be interested to know if you are able to pay for and book an UBD in advance.

 

Oh, I was able to book and pay in advance, EF. That's for sure. I have the $100.00 receipt from Princess in front of me. The charge has hit my C/C. In fact, it was in last month's statement. So, I really have already paid for it.

 

Here is the page on Princess.com that indicates that it can be pre-ordered. I could not find anything in the Cruise Personalizer to do this. So, I just called them up, and the guy I spoke with seemed to be able to handle it just fine.

 

http://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/specialty-restaurants/

 

:D

 

As I implied above, the question is whether I, in fact, have a reservation for the day I requested. There is no indication on the receipt. As I said I will call when we arrive at our cabin (Oct. 3) to make sure it is all scheduled correctly. Also, there are details that the telephone guy did not ask about, that I know have to be addressed--e.g., exact time, entree and cocktail choices.

[hcat]

We have missed two Chef's Tables but have done two Ultimate Breakfast Dining options. One in Alaska in one of the glaciers where the ship does a 360 turn looking down on another 25-30 folks also doing the same and all doing a High 5 Salute. More food than you will ever finish for two people. Still waiting to to do a Chef's table which had Technical Difficulties on our Eastern Med Cruise, read that as not enough folks wanted to sign up......

 

We are booked on Ruby Princess

Can you give more details about the ultimate breakfast? How does one sign up? Location, menu? Price? Can you order mimosas or bloody marys?

 

Sounds like a good option for us because all that wine with the chef's table would not work for me...

Thanks!

[what empty nest?]

I'm allergic to shellfish, too. Ultimately it's up to each chef if he wants to accommodate. Luckily on Norway trip, the chef was, and the concern they showed for me was AWESOME. Worth trying, for sure!

[lovejact]

I'm allergic to shellfish, too. Ultimately it's up to each chef if he wants to accommodate. Luckily on Norway trip, the chef was, and the concern they showed for me was AWESOME. Worth trying, for sure!

 

Thanks of the information. I am going to give it a try.

[dorisis]

The Chef's Table Dinner can be purchased without the wine. we liked it much better than the UBD.

[ambelina]

How about the Winemakers Dinner on the Royal and Regal Princess? How does it compare to the Chef's Table or UBD? Thinking of trying it on our next cruise.