Well, I think SHARE is Great

[muggo11]

Foodie here (with a case of Ridge in my basement!). Truly appreciate your review. W were among the "never again" crowd largely due to uneven food, the uncomfortable chairs/ambience and the value/experience ratio to other specialty restaurants on board.

Having said that, I think a revamped menu along with some brand refreshment might help the limping concept to fly.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Skai]

Yes, but quite a few of those nays have never bothered to try it. While they are entitled to their reasons, I generally don't factor in their opinions when making decisions to try it or not. Frankly, I don't care about furniture or lighting. I'm interested in the food. I'm looking forward to making my own decisions regarding SHARE. Thanks OP for the review.

 

Sure. That's why I qualified my statement w/ : "from those that have actually dined there".

 

Understand that we too were excited to try a new alternative dining option @'Share'. We came with an open mind/moderate expectations. I, like you, am mostly about the food 1st, service 2nd, ambience 3rd(jn that order) while out dining.

 

The reality is that the food @Share simply wasn't that special when compared to the offerings in the MDR. The portions were small and mostly served luke warm and the flavors/textures were rather bland and uninspiring. Our server was nice enough, despite her constantly reminding us throughout the meal about how lucky we were to be trying the food. We had the corner booth, which was comfortable enough. The decor was a little modernist for my tastes, but no real complaints there.

 

The meal was the least satisfying of any specialty restaurant experience that we've ever had on a Princess ship. We've had one so-so Sterling Grill experience and one so-so Sabatini's experience among the many times we've dined at SRs onboard. Even then, those so-so experiences were still noticeably better than our experience @'Share'.

 

Could our solo experience been a one-off? Of course, 'Share' was (at the time) a brand new debut. It was understandable to presume that perhaps they were still ironing out some new wrinkles. However, after returning home and reading many further reviews in the following months, it was easy to see that many of the negatives that we experienced were shared(pun intended) by quite a few that had also dined there.

 

Hey, I'm not that picky of an eater, and I consider myself to be well cultured when it comes to gastronomy. I'm also absolutely about the: "try everything once/don't be afraid to try new things" mantras.

 

So I encourage those that haven't tried it, to do so to be able to form their own opinions of their experience(s). However, I won't be afraid to state "I told you so" if you also find the experience to be less than good either.

 

The meal at 'Share' was by no means inedible, it just wasn't very good, and it was far from the 'special' that one ought to expect from a so-called specialty restaurant w/ a cover charge on board.

[desert traveler]

We will be on the Ruby in December and are looking forward to try Share. I think before we form an opinion on this we are just going to try it. The wine list sounds amazing and look forward to see if you can post it.

[mrswallace2012]

This was a wonderful and accurate review of SHARE. We truly enjoyed our evening there and the food was delicious. The atmosphere was cozy and intimate. We went on our last night, which was wise on our part as we would have gone at least one more time. I am curious what the new menu looks like and am a little sad that SHARE isn't on the Regal. We will miss the restaurant on our 2018 cruise.

Also, I am so happy to see so many fans of SHARE :):):)

[Host Jazzbeau]

I have a question -- although since Share isn't on Crown this may be academic [but hey, I was an academic for 30+ years so I'm entitled?]: on Celebrity when the specialties aren't selling, staff go around the ship offering discounts. Does Princess do that? [i recognize that Celebrity has jacked up their prices so that the discounted rate is still probably more than Princess charges, but my mother raised me to look for 'bargains' ;)]

[Thrak]

I am of the the feeling that anyplace where my son (disabled vet) can't comfortably eat isn't for me. Tall tables and tall stools don't work well with wheelchairs. Yes, we have venues at home with tables and chairs of that sort but they also have tables that work for folks in wheelchairs. I understand that Princess is not a US based entity but it still sucks that this demographic is not even considered.

[Lucky TGO]

Thanks for your review!

 

It always surprises me how close minded some people can be, but it's their loss. We always try something once, or almost always

I made a mistake sorry.

Tony

Edited October 31, 2016 by Lucky TGO

[mrswallace2012]

I am of the the feeling that anyplace where my son (disabled vet) can't comfortably eat isn't for me. Tall tables and tall stools don't work well with wheelchairs. Yes, we have venues at home with tables and chairs of that sort but they also have tables that work for folks in wheelchairs. I understand that Princess is not a US based entity but it still sucks that this demographic is not even considered.

 

I think you may be referring to the Salty Dog, I did notice that wheelchair accessible seating is an issue. In SHARE, I saw many,many tables where a person sitting in a wheelchair and their guests could comfortably dine. I do agree that the Salty Dog needs better seating...but that's a discussion for another thread.

[shredie]

Apparently, I am not allowed to post in a SHARE thread, but I'll try again. This is a review from another source with pictures of the food. http://lafoodie.com/post/139958007591/share-curtis-stone-takes-to-the-seas

 

People can see the dishes and form their own opinions as to whether they want to try them or not.

[Lucky TGO]

I am of the the feeling that anyplace where my son (disabled vet) can't comfortably eat isn't for me. Tall tables and tall stools don't work well with wheelchairs. Yes, we have venues at home with tables and chairs of that sort but they also have tables that work for folks in wheelchairs. I understand that Princess is not a US based entity but it still sucks that this demographic is not even considered.

 

I would have tried Share but not after seeing Thrak's post.

I will never go anywhere that will not cater to our disabled veterans!!!:mad:

Thrak please tell your son THANK YOU for his service.

Tony

[Bimmer09]

Apparently, I am not allowed to post in a SHARE thread, but I'll try again. This is a review from another source with pictures of the food. http://lafoodie.com/post/139958007591/share-curtis-stone-takes-to-the-seas

 

People can see the dishes and form their own opinions as to whether they want to try them or not.

 

Shredie, thanks for the link.

 

The food pics and descriptions make me want to try SHARE next time I set foot on the Ruby or Emerald.

 

Norris, hungry now

[Host Jazzbeau]

I would have tried Share but not after seeing Thrak's post.

I will never go anywhere that will not cater to our disabled veterans!!!:mad:

Thrak please tell your son THANK YOU for his service.

Tony

 

This picture was part of shredie's recent post. Not only is the food shown in the article wonderful-looking, this picture clearly shows a table that can easily accommodate wheelchairs. So you can retract, and try Share after all.

Edited October 31, 2016 by Host Jazzbeau

[caribill]

I have a question -- although since Share isn't on Crown this may be academic [but hey, I was an academic for 30+ years so I'm entitled?]: on Celebrity when the specialties aren't selling, staff go around the ship offering discounts. Does Princess do that?

 

I have never seen the specialty restaurants discounted on Princess.

[OzKiwiJJ]

[*]The mains are, again, all excellent. I would say my favorite was the Beef Cheek Pie. Mrs. XBGuy ordered the Mushroom Ragu twice.

 

 

XBGuy, can you recall what the filling of the Beef Cheek Pie was like?

 

We tried it and were very disappointed. Beef cheeks should be cut in largish chunks so that when cooked slowly they are rich and gelatinous, and should fall apart at the touch of a fork. Unfortunately the beef cheek in the pie we had was what I would call a stir fry cut - very thin slices. Consequently it had the texture of cardboard although it was tender enough. It didn't have much flavour either - most of the flavour came from the sauce that was poured into the top of the pie when it was served. It wasn't the greatest sauce either. :(

 

I'm curious to know whether the chef on Ruby cooks it differently to the chef on Sun.

 

I've cooked beef cheeks a number of times so I know what they should be like.

[Thrak]

I think you may be referring to the Salty Dog, I did notice that wheelchair accessible seating is an issue. In SHARE, I saw many,many tables where a person sitting in a wheelchair and their guests could comfortably dine. I do agree that the Salty Dog needs better seating...but that's a discussion for another thread.

 

D'Oh! Sorry. My bad. :eek:

[land lover]

I've decided to write more about our experience on the Rudy Oct. 21st....this was the week before Mark and Peggy's(XBGuy...Mr & Mrs.)sailing. We have sailed with Mark prior in March 2016, where we briefly met at the sail away...but had enjoyed some interesting conversations about wine on our RC.

 

I had read negatives and positives about both Salty Dog and Share but still wanted to try them when we sailed on Ruby.

We also ate at Crown Grill and was hoping Ruby might yield better results but....

 

Let me tell you a little bit about us regarding food. We r not big eaters and our lives do not revolve around food and drink, no way are we Foodies. But I have been known to write reviews of restaurants on Yelp and trip advisor and do have a niece that owns a very successful restaurant in Denver. DH could careless about food on a ship, his interest is the gym and coffee bar.;) So I was the one who made the decision for us trying the specialty restaurants.

 

Prior to setting sail we and another couple on our roll call decided we would both dine together at the Salty Dog and Share.

 

I was excited about trying Share so I could have an opinion. So now I have one....

 

You've got to try it once, right?

 

Hopefully their new menu will be in place when you do. IMHO the $39 cover charge was a little steep for what we received, in both quality and quantity.

 

Now remember we r not foodies...but our careers, life style of living in So Ca and travel have given us many flavorful experiences.

 

When I dine away from home....service to me is most important, followed by ambience, then food and drink.

 

 

I will say right off the bat we did not have good service when we dined in Share. In fact one of my sides which was hardly touched was removed without even asking me if I was done. A major no, no in my book. But, not to worry because after I mention I was still working on it, he had no problem pulling it from the removal tray and bringing it back to the table, I found that in "bad taste," a new serving should have been provide with an apology.

 

We dined the last night of our cruise at 6:30. Ambience in the restaurant was fine we had a nice semi circle booth with pillows, it was facing the window but it was almost dark so no view. There was no noise however, we only saw 4 other tables occupied.

 

 

But, let's get to the nitty gritty the food.

Edited October 31, 2016 by land lover

[land lover]

A Charcuterie board was brought for each couple, the presentation was very attractive with the "leaved bread."

 

Oh no, I forgot to mention I was the only one at our table who was interested in paring wine, that meant no bottles, so for each course I took the waiters "by the glass" suggestion.

 

Now back to our board......I am not a fan of salami or chicken parfait..but did taste it and found it to be pleasant, the house pickles looked like uncured olives I found them to have no flavor.

 

On to the cheese plates since there were 4 our of us we ordered each one so we could share. The presentation was okay but the portions were way tooooo ...http://lafoodie.com/post/13995800759...es-to-the-seas

this link posted by another poster can show you what I mean....3 thin pieces of cheese were on each plate(thinner and smaller than what was pictured) as described by my DH with humor "about the size of a postage stamp"...they were bigger;) but not by much.

The blue cheese plate had a wedge of the cheese, that was the diameter of my middle finger. Yes, I know we were not suppose to make a meal out of this, but being a cheese lover....I could hardly fine favor in these morsels.

 

Now on to the appetizers....done of us cared for beets so we ordered the other 3...best presentation was the shrimp salad...I can't even remember what the other 2 were, obviously not memorable, in taste or presentation.

 

Next our sides, 3 choices, everyone selects one...I chose the potato gratin...oh my gosh got to go.....have to cont. later.....didn't realize it was so late.....

 

enjoy....L:)ri

Edited October 31, 2016 by land lover

[dtb55]

Deleted.

Edited October 31, 2016 by dtb55

[dtb55]

Apparently, I am not allowed to post in a SHARE thread, but I'll try again. This is a review from another source with pictures of the food. http://lafoodie.com/post/139958007591/share-curtis-stone-takes-to-the-seas

 

 

 

People can see the dishes and form their own opinions as to whether they want to try them or not.

 

 

 

I think the food looks amazing. There are a couple of things I don't like. Beets (as previously stated) and mushrooms, but it doesn't look like I'd go hungry. My mouth was watering looking at those pictures. Hopefully, the food tastes as good as it looks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for sharing your review of Share. I haven't tried it and am somewhat skeptical if I will like it when I do finally try it. I will however give it a whirl in 2018 when we cruise on the Emerald.....:):):)

 

Bob

[JimmyVWine]

Thanks for the review. If the rest of the wine list follows from the specific bottles you mentioned, then that is indeed a nice list (with the noted and unforgivable exception of not publishing vintages) with very fair pricing. My guess is that they are buying the Tig overseas. It can be had for the low $60's in Europe. Toss in the discount that bulk purchasers buying wholesale receive and their all-in price is probably around $40-$45. Still, $79 is a screaming deal for that wine.

 

Isn't a generally expecpted principle in life that those who complain tell 10 times more people than those who are happy with an experience?

To the extent that this was ever true, it is certainly no longer true now that social media has exploded. All one has to do is spend 5 minutes on TripAdvisor, Cruise Critic, Zagat, Yelp, etc. to see that positive reviews far outweigh negative reviews nowadays. Simply put, any website that uses a "5 star" rating system such as TripAdvisor should see establishments with 1.5-2.5 star ratings if complainers outnumbered praisers. And if the ratio was 10 complaints for every positive review, then the rating would be much closer to 0-1.5 stars. But it just doesn't happen that way. Using CC as just one example, a ship with a very, very, very low rating is "loved" by 65+% of reviewers whereas a highly rated ship gets a percentage in the mid-80's. You simply will not find a ship with a rating of "35% of reviewers loved it" which you would if your premise proved true. Again, I don't know if this was ever true (or provable). But now that we have social media outlets for people to post their reviews and accompanying data and statistics showing how people really feel, the "expected premise" is now provably false.

Edited October 31, 2016 by JimmyVWine

[Fat Albert]

We have gone to SHARE 3 times and enjoyed it very much.

[XBGuy]

OK, I'm back on station.

 

I am going to try to respond to some of the questions that have popped up.

 

First of all, I would like to thank the posters who have actually visited SHARE and reported what I agree are unfortunate experiences. It appears that several of you have experienced sub-par service levels. The reason that we dine in the specialty restaurants is because we expect exceptional service. In the past 18 months we have dined in the Crown Grill on three different cruises. After each of those cruises I complained on the Princess satistfaction survey, and I have complained multiple times on here on Cruise Critic. Our experience with the service at SHARE on the Ruby was superb. I credit headwaiter Mario for that. To those who did not receive the excellent service that I enjoyed, you have my sympathy. I completely understand your disappointment. It is justified.

 

Similarly, I am sympathetic to those who whose dishes were cold when delivered to your table. That is also unacceptable. It was not what we experienced.

 

To those who posted that they have tried SHARE, but they just like the dining room food, or the Crown Grill, or Sabatini's better, I get it. You are correct in that you know what you like.

 

To the person who did not like the potato gratin because of the truffle flavor, I, again, sympathise. I thought they tasted great. Of the sides I least liked the leeks. They were OK, just not my favorite. So, I did not order them, again. Problem solved.

 

To anyone who does not like endive--whether you have tried it before, or you just know you don't like it without having to taste it--I am puzzled why that would stop you from trying SHARE. On the old menu there was one dish that used endive as a component. It was one of the main dishes, but there were four other choices that did not have endive. I am perplexed as to why one of those options could have been selected.

 

I am not crazy about beets. I pretty much avoid them. One of the salads at Crown Grill features beets. It is pretty easy for me to select another dish--soup or salad--that does not have beets.

 

However, here is the really good news for people who don't like endive. There is absolutely no mention of endive on any of the dishes one the new menu. Life is good.

 

Regarding the plates being "small." I don't know. After, charcuterie, appetizer, main with sides, cheese and dessert I felt pretty satisfied. Now, I will confess that I did not have to chew a Tums to settle stomach distress after eating at SHARE. (If I overeat, I usually need one. On this cruise I did need one after the UBD, but I know that part of the problem there was that we attended the Stamtisch at Vines prior and had multiple plates of noshes just before dinner.) So, I know I was not overstuffed. Now, to me the new menu looks like the SHARE meal will be expanded. Instead of an "Appetizer" course there will be a Salad course and a Pasta course. The Main course will be replaced by two protein dishes--one from the sea and one from land. So, you can have lobster or trout AND duck or steak. Also, both the "Sea" and "Land" courses include vegetarian options. So, it appears to me that the new menu offers more food.

 

To the person asking about the Beef Cheeks Pie, you, also, have my sympathy. Mine were very tender, melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The server told us that they were braised for hours, and I believe it. To further describe it, the flavors were very much like beef stew--without the peas, carrots, pearl onions, potatatoes or the chewy stew meat.

 

To the people who were asking about wheelchair access, I see no problem moving a chair away from the table and rolling a wheelchair up. The tables are standard height (if there is such a thing). Another thing that my wife and I discussed while sitting there one day is that there appears to be a lot of space between the tables. I hadn't thought of it at the time, but it would be easy to navigate a wheelchair (or one of those motorized scooters) between tables.

 

To my friend Land Lover--this is really embarrassing, but I've forgotten your name--those "pickles" that looked like olives but did not taste like any olive you've ever had before are not the pickles. They are Castelvetrano olives. I'm not that crazy about them, but Mrs. XBGuy loves them. In fact she bought some, today, at Costco. I'm really not sure what they mean by "pickles" on the menu. It may be those little marinated cauliflower pieces on the plate with the salami and the jamon, or it might be those marinated onions on the pate plate. I loved the onions, but the teeny cauliflower pieces were silly.

 

Above I mentioned that I don't care for beets. So, I avoided the Cavatelli on on the first evening. However, Mrs. XBGuy loves beets and did order it on our first visit. (I think she likes to order dishes with beets just to rub it in my face. :)) Well, I tried it, and it was pretty darned good. I ordered for myself on Friday.

 

Yes, I agree that the wine-by-the-glass selection is inadequate. I was intrigued that Tokaji-Azu was on the list. I might have ordered a glass with the blue cheese, but a 500ml bottle was more than I wanted.:(

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention the bread. I'm glad you brought that up. We loved it.

 

If I ignored somebody's comments or questions, I apologize. Please come back and pull my chain.

 

I'll see if I can post the wine list, tomorrow. It's time to head down to my own wine cellar, now. ;)

[Woobstr112G]

OK, I'm back on station.

 

I am going to try to respond to some of the questions that have popped up.

 

First of all, I would like to thank the posters who have actually visited SHARE and reported what I agree are unfortunate experiences. It appears that several of you have experienced sub-par service levels. The reason that we dine in the specialty restaurants is because we expect exceptional service. In the past 18 months we have dined in the Crown Grill on three different cruises. After each of those cruises I complained on the Princess satistfaction survey, and I have complained multiple times on here on Cruise Critic. Our experience with the service at SHARE on the Ruby was superb. I credit headwaiter Mario for that. To those who did not receive the excellent service that I enjoyed, you have my sympathy. I completely understand your disappointment. It is justified.

 

Similarly, I am sympathetic to those who whose dishes were cold when delivered to your table. That is also unacceptable. It was not what we experienced.

 

To those who posted that they have tried SHARE, but they just like the dining room food, or the Crown Grill, or Sabatini's better, I get it. You are correct in that you know what you like.

 

To the person who did not like the potato gratin because of the truffle flavor, I, again, sympathise. I thought they tasted great. Of the sides I least liked the leeks. They were OK, just not my favorite. So, I did not order them, again. Problem solved.

 

To anyone who does not like endive--whether you have tried it before, or you just know you don't like it without having to taste it--I am puzzled why that would stop you from trying SHARE. On the old menu there was one dish that used endive as a component. It was one of the main dishes, but there were four other choices that did not have endive. I am perplexed as to why one of those options could have been selected.

 

I am not crazy about beets. I pretty much avoid them. One of the salads at Crown Grill features beets. It is pretty easy for me to select another dish--soup or salad--that does not have beets.

 

However, here is the really good news for people who don't like endive. There is absolutely no mention of endive on any of the dishes one the new menu. Life is good.

 

Regarding the plates being "small." I don't know. After, charcuterie, appetizer, main with sides, cheese and dessert I felt pretty satisfied. Now, I will confess that I did not have to chew a Tums to settle stomach distress after eating at SHARE. (If I overeat, I usually need one. On this cruise I did need one after the UBD, but I know that part of the problem there was that we attended the Stamtisch at Vines prior and had multiple plates of noshes just before dinner.) So, I know I was not overstuffed. Now, to me the new menu looks like the SHARE meal will be expanded. Instead of an "Appetizer" course there will be a Salad course and a Pasta course. The Main course will be replaced by two protein dishes--one from the sea and one from land. So, you can have lobster or trout AND duck or steak. Also, both the "Sea" and "Land" courses include vegetarian options. So, it appears to me that the new menu offers more food.

 

To the person asking about the Beef Cheeks Pie, you, also, have my sympathy. Mine were very tender, melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The server told us that they were braised for hours, and I believe it. To further describe it, the flavors were very much like beef stew--without the peas, carrots, pearl onions, potatatoes or the chewy stew meat.

 

To the people who were asking about wheelchair access, I see no problem moving a chair away from the table and rolling a wheelchair up. The tables are standard height (if there is such a thing). Another thing that my wife and I discussed while sitting there one day is that there appears to be a lot of space between the tables. I hadn't thought of it at the time, but it would be easy to navigate a wheelchair (or one of those motorized scooters) between tables.

 

To my friend Land Lover--this is really embarrassing, but I've forgotten your name--those "pickles" that looked like olives but did not taste like any olive you've ever had before are not the pickles. They are Castelvetrano olives. I'm not that crazy about them, but Mrs. XBGuy loves them. In fact she bought some, today, at Costco. I'm really not sure what they mean by "pickles" on the menu. It may be those little marinated cauliflower pieces on the plate with the salami and the jamon, or it might be those marinated onions on the pate plate. I loved the onions, but the teeny cauliflower pieces were silly.

 

Above I mentioned that I don't care for beets. So, I avoided the Cavatelli on on the first evening. However, Mrs. XBGuy loves beets and did order it on our first visit. (I think she likes to order dishes with beets just to rub it in my face. :)) Well, I tried it, and it was pretty darned good. I ordered for myself on Friday.

 

Yes, I agree that the wine-by-the-glass selection is inadequate. I was intrigued that Tokaji-Azu was on the list. I might have ordered a glass with the blue cheese, but a 500ml bottle was more than I wanted.:(

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention the bread. I'm glad you brought that up. We loved it.

 

If I ignored somebody's comments or questions, I apologize. Please come back and pull my chain.

 

I'll see if I can post the wine list, tomorrow. It's time to head down to my own wine cellar, now. ;)

 

Great comments.....:):):)

 

Bob

[shredie]

Endive. You may have read that I do not like it. This is true, but I do find it less odious raw than cooked. You may have read that I do not want to eat endive in SHARE. This is also true. However, endive is but one example of the foods I do not want to eat in SHARE. There is a list: beets, chicken liver, duck, pickled onions, radishes, sunchokes, gruyere crusts on fish, kale, bitter greens, raw eggs, fennel, quince paste, and most especially nothing foamed that nature didn't intend to foam. This is why I provided a link with pictures of the food, so people could see the dishes and form their own opinions. I formed the opinion that I do not want to pay $39 for dishes containing a variety of ingredients I do not like. Yes, it's true, I am not a foodie. I am not the customer SHARE is looking for. Is it all right with you now if I don't go? :rolleyes: (It crossed my mind that you might be on Stone's payroll, but that would be silly, wouldn't it?)

Edited November 1, 2016 by shredie