gastropub? ??

[joeyancho]

On our next cruise we would like to experience new culinary adventures. Crown Grill and Crabtree Shack we are familiar with and will be trying them. My question is has anyone tried the gastropub offerings? How does it work? Do you need reservations? Is it only for dinner? Is it good? The burger looks amazing!

[shredie]

On our next cruise we would like to experience new culinary adventures. Crown Grill and Crabtree Shack we are familiar with and will be trying them. My question is has anyone tried the gastropub offerings? How does it work? Do you need reservations? Is it only for dinner? Is it good? The burger looks amazing!

 

It's only at dinner time. I don't think you need reservations. When I walked by, it was nearly empty.

[fishywood]

After 6 PM on Crown, Emerald and Ruby Princess. Reservations can be made but hardly seem necessary; on Emerald this past spring the servers were standing in the doorway of Wheelhouse trying to solicit passersby to come in.

 

Several past threads on here have been positive about the food from the few who have tried it. But outnumbered by the dissenters (myself included) who find it silly to pay $19 per person for bar snacks/finger food on a cruise.

Edited September 4, 2016 by fishywood

[CRUISEWITHH]

On our last cruise in May in Alaska, the Wheelhouse was always empty. They were passing out samples and that didn't even get anyone to come in for dinner.

 

Food was O.K. but the seating with the high tables and hi-chairs were very uncomfortable and almost impossible for older passengers to sit comfortably.

[Jasperdo]

Here are a few photos of the Salty Dog Gastropub on the Ruby Princess. It takes up some of the space in the Wheelhouse Bar:

 

 

 

 

[Thrak]

Hmm... That menu does absolutely nothing for me. A few items might be OK but I have no interest in spending $19 each for tapas when most of them don't sound good to me at all.

[Times Prince]

Here are a few photos of the Salty Dog Gastropub on the Ruby Princess. It takes up some of the space in the Wheelhouse Bar:

I'd rather be dancing in the Wheelhouse Bar.

[Elkhorn20fan]

Liked it last January on the Emerald Princess, something different on our B2B cruise, the Dinning room and buffet get a little old for 2 weeks. It's great if you just want a light dinner, the food is really good. We ate in the club chairs and table, as my wife would have problems with the high tables, no problem doing this

[joeyancho]

Liked it last January on the Emerald Princess, something different on our B2B cruise, the Dinning room and buffet get a little old for 2 weeks. It's great if you just want a light dinner, the food is really good. We ate in the club chairs and table, as my wife would have problems with the high tables, no problem doing this

 

Thank you. Finally some one who has tried it.

[cruiseintoheaven]

We peeked inside on the Emerald in February- it was pretty empty most of the time. In May on the Crown there was a noticeable uptick in patronage, including ourselves. It was good. Was it almost $40 good (for two people)? Probably not, for us anyway. [emoji4]

[Murphey]

You will have good service as we did recently on the Crown, as we were the only ones there. We tried it. Wouldn't tell some one not to. But we didn't like the atmosphere. Love the Wheelhouse, but having dinner in there while people streaming through didn't do it for us. Just not the ambiance I want for a specialty dining venue. Food? Well, I guess it was OK, but $19 seemed high. Maybe $10?? I don't know, just didn't do it for us. If you want a new experience, the UBD is to die for!!

Edited September 5, 2016 by Murphey

[Cruiser411]

I really enjoyed the Salty Dog on the Crown. The food was very good. You get an appetizer, three selections and a dessert. It's more than enough food. The burger was excellent. I also had the crab cake and the lobster mac and cheese. I really thought the experience was very good and the price was right for the quality of the food that was served.

 

'Course it didn't hurt that I partook in the Whiskey selections too...:p

[easyboy]

On our next cruise we would like to experience new culinary adventures. Crown Grill and Crabtree Shack we are familiar with and will be trying them. My question is has anyone tried the gastropub offerings? How does it work? Do you need reservations? Is it only for dinner? Is it good? The burger looks amazing!

At the Emerald last May, the Salty Dog Gastropub inside the Wheelhouse Bar is open for dinner but was empty most of the time.

At lunch, on the couches of the Wheelhouse Bar across the area of Salty Dog, they also served Pub Lunch (like fish & chips) free of charge

[joeyancho]

At the Emerald last May, the Salty Dog Gastropub inside the Wheelhouse Bar is open for dinner but was empty most of the time.

At lunch,e on the couches of the Wheelhouse Bar across the area of Salty Dog, they also served Pub Lunch (like fish & chips) free of charge

 

Have tried the pub lunch ......meh.

[JimmyVWine]

I haven't tried the Salty Dog yet so I hesitate to comment, but from the standpoint of optics and atmospherics, $19 ought to be the fair price for the pub food (especially burgers) if one were pricing this from the ground up, but not if one is pricing this as an upcharge from your already sunk cost. It makes little sense to me that the pub lunch and Alfredo's are "free", but the menu at the Salty Dog commands a $19 surcharge. I have little doubt that this is the cause of the empty dining areas. Princess (as well as the rest of the mass market cruise industry) is losing sight of the fact that passengers have already paid for their dinner and that a modest upcharge is fine when offering an upgraded experience with upgraded offerings such as ribeye steaks, lobster tails, crab legs, veal chops or rack of lamb. But there are few places where I would pay $19 for a hamburger let alone $19 additional over what I have already paid. The move to $29 at the other Specialty Restaurants puts me on the edge of comfort. But $19 for the Salty Dog menu isn't even close. Not when other casual alternatives are free. I think that the AIBP might be hurting them here. A reasonable marketing strategy would be to use the Salty Dog food as a loss leader figuring that most diners would be good for a pint or two while enjoying the pub atmosphere. Which is exactly what the Pub Lunch is, (and why it should always be served in the Wheelhouse, or Crown Grill if the Wheelhouse isn't an option--but never in MDR.) But with so many people getting the AIBP, luring people in with food in hopes of selling alcohol isn't working. So perhaps giving away so many AIBPs is having the downstream effect of raising alternative dining prices. Which raises a question: Vines provides "free" sushi and snacks with the order/purchase of a drink. What happens when a patron has a beverage package and their wine is already paid for? The model of giving away food on the expectation of liquor sales crumbles with the AIBP.

[Coral]

At the Emerald last May, the Salty Dog Gastropub inside the Wheelhouse Bar is open for dinner but was empty most of the time.

At lunch, on the couches of the Wheelhouse Bar across the area of Salty Dog, they also served Pub Lunch (like fish & chips) free of charge

 

While I haven't been - I won't pay $19 for that menu. I wish the restaurant would go away. I like the Wheelhouse Bar.

[nukesubsailor]

Our first night aboard the Ruby Princess last February we made reservations for two evenings at the Gastro Pub. The first evening there it was crowded. The menu had a few things that appealed to the 4 of us. The high tables and stools were not conducive to enjoying a relaxing meal. We felt like we were eating at an airport fast food restaurant. We canceled our reservation for the second evening.

[CRLess]

Earlier this spring, we did a B2B on the Emerald and ate there twice. We thought the food was fantastic and the burger was among the best I have ever had.

[chamima]

I haven't tried the Salty Dog yet so I hesitate to comment, but from the standpoint of optics and atmospherics, $19 ought to be the fair price for the pub food (especially burgers) if one were pricing this from the ground up, but not if one is pricing this as an upcharge from your already sunk cost. It makes little sense to me that the pub lunch and Alfredo's are "free", but the menu at the Salty Dog commands a $19 surcharge. I have little doubt that this is the cause of the empty dining areas. Princess (as well as the rest of the mass market cruise industry) is losing sight of the fact that passengers have already paid for their dinner and that a modest upcharge is fine when offering an upgraded experience with upgraded offerings such as ribeye steaks, lobster tails, crab legs, veal chops or rack of lamb. But there are few places where I would pay $19 for a hamburger let alone $19 additional over what I have already paid. The move to $29 at the other Specialty Restaurants puts me on the edge of comfort. But $19 for the Salty Dog menu isn't even close. Not when other casual alternatives are free. I think that the AIBP might be hurting them here. A reasonable marketing strategy would be to use the Salty Dog food as a loss leader figuring that most diners would be good for a pint or two while enjoying the pub atmosphere. Which is exactly what the Pub Lunch is, (and why it should always be served in the Wheelhouse, or Crown Grill if the Wheelhouse isn't an option--but never in MDR.) But with so many people getting the AIBP, luring people in with food in hopes of selling alcohol isn't working. So perhaps giving away so many AIBPs is having the downstream effect of raising alternative dining prices. Which raises a question: Vines provides "free" sushi and snacks with the order/purchase of a drink. What happens when a patron has a beverage package and their wine is already paid for? The model of giving away food on the expectation of liquor sales crumbles with the AIBP.

 

 

 

That's something I also wondered.

Also, could someone just stop in for one of those craft cocktails (with or without the AIBP) without ordering any food?

[jeanandjim]

jean and I have tried Gastropub and enjoyed it enough to be looking forward to a couple of visits during our Hawaii/ French Polynesian experience in Oct 2017. The chairs are substantial and presented just a little bit of caution. the 'smallness' of the food managed to fill us. I would recommend the gastropub. We also enjoy the large open tables to play cards on during the day. Good for canasta or any game you need plenty of table space.

In answer to the question of enjoying a cocktail in the wheelhouse bar during service, that is not a problem. The place acts like a bar first. Gooood whisk(e)y selections.

[SwissDave]

Having now been to SaltyDog twice on Emerald, the amount of food was bordering on too much, was very well prepared and was very tasty and satisfying. We most certainly did not leave thinking we needed any more food, or that what we got was tapas or finger food. It was a good proper meal.

 

Personally have no problem with the high tables as there are foot rests on the stools and on the tables, never felt uncomfortable.

[vampiress]

i'm interested in that rekorderlig cider, is that only available in the gastropub an only if you pay the fee to enter even if you don't have food?

[joeyancho]

Having now been to SaltyDog twice on Emerald, the amount of food was bordering on too much, was very well prepared and was very tasty and satisfying. We most certainly did not leave thinking we needed any more food, or that what we got was tapas or finger food. It was a good proper meal.

 

Personaelly have no problem with the high tables as there are foot rests on the stools and on the tables, never felt uncomfortable.

 

Thanks, we can't wait to try it.

[beg3yrs]

DW and I just got off the Emerald, a B2B for a total of 28 days out of Southampton going to Norway and then the Mediterranean.

 

We tried the Salty Dog and very much enjoyed it. For us it was definitely worth the $19 per person. The burger was something I'd never experienced before and it was delicious. The lobster mac and cheese was to die for as well. We'll definitely go again when the opportunity arises.

-----------

... Which raises a question: Vines provides "free" sushi and snacks with the order/purchase of a drink. What happens when a patron has a beverage package and their wine is already paid for? The model of giving away food on the expectation of liquor sales crumbles with the AIBP.

 

That's something I also wondered.

Also, could someone just stop in for one of those craft cocktails (with or without the AIBP) without ordering any food?

 

With the AIBP (we both had it due to a Sip N Sail promo), any drink $10 or less is included and that does include Vines. Tapas and sushi is provided even with the AIBP. Sometimes if we were just too full for the MDR, we'd just go to Vines, have some of the Princess 50th Anniversary Prosecco and tapas for dinner. YUM!

 

Salty Dog craft cocktails are available all throughout the Wheelhouse Bar, you don't have to be sitting in the Salty Dog seats.