Cutbacks at Share, Crown Grill, Sabatini’s

[Tedferg]

3 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Club Class Mini (Suites) and Full Suites

Aha - I have never looked at Suites, Mini or otherwise 🙂

Though on our very first Princess cruise we were bumped up to a Mini Suite - nice but not worth the extra cost to me. I checked on our Sept. cruise and the Club Class Mini Suite is about $450 pp over regular Mini Suite.

Edited January 21, 2020 by Tedferg

[Thrak]

4 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Club Class Mini (Suites) and Full Suites

 

Worth noting it is not all Mini Suites. The ones with Club Class cost substantially more.

[jwattle]

25 minutes ago, c-boy said:

I find it to be a great value. 99% of the items I consume on board I don't eat/ get at home sooooo there's that

And let's not forget the black and bleu french onion soup, whose recipe we obtained, and now make on cold rainy nights at home: OMG, YUM!!!! ❤️

 

[darwin anderson]

30 cruises and never paid extra for a meal.

 

[richsea]

3 hours ago, Loreni said:

I’ve noticed some changes in the menu at these.  For example, Crown Grill used to offer diver scallops as an appetizer, now it is bay scallops...big difference.  The new Share menu as of October 2018 also has less expensive ingredients in several cases.  The changes at Sabatini’s have been previously discussed.  We know what has happened to the MDR over the past several years.  I believe the always available beef is now hamburger.  We still find cruising a good value and the food is good enough.  However, we had been considering do more specialty dining to try to recapture the way cruising used to feel, so it is a shame to see cutbacks at these venues too.

 

Do you still find the specialty dining to be a good value?

Everyone has their own opinion. IMO, it doesn’t get any better than bay scallops. So sweet!

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, jwattle said:

For the filet, a suggestion: as it is such a thick cut, ask them to butterfly it, and then order that medium rare.

Butterflying is the way to go for those who like it more well done (not I).  If a thick cut, the outside gets WAY over-cooked so that the red is gone from the middle.  Cooking two thinner steaks alleviates this for those who tend towards the well-done end of the spectrum.

 

IMO, a rare steak is still going to be warm in the middle or you are approaching a raw middle.  There are lots of temp charts online for grilling steaks.

 

[Colo Cruiser]

Man what in the world does one want for $29? 🙄

Perfectly fine for us.

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, jwattle said:

And let's not forget the black and bleu french onion soup, whose recipe we obtained, and now make on cold rainy nights at home: OMG, YUM!!!! ❤️

 

 

Absolutely love it but, if I have that for the soup course, I am full and the main course is still to come.

[jwattle]

1 minute ago, Thrak said:

 

Absolutely love it but, if I have that for the soup course, I am full and the main course is still to come.

Me too, that's why I had to learn it for home

[pris993]

We skip the MDR , prefer buffet and Crown Grill.  We love the sea bass on the Crown Grill... can eat it every other night - we also find the buffet generally has a couple of fish dishes most nights... so alternate between the Crown Grill, buffet and the Fish and Chips lunch that is done some sea days.  We only eat two meals a day, breakfast which we do room service and another meal... once they put hamburger on the mdr menu... that was it for us.  We like hamburgers, but not in the MDR.    Actually can get a good hamburger any time from room service.  

 

[mcrcruiser]

Mini Suites can be with or with out club class when booked 

[Coral]

12 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Man what in the world does one want for $29? 🙄

Perfectly fine for us.

Living in beef country - we can get an amazing steak for $29. Oddly, it is often in small towns and I would not classify these places as high end by any means. Some may actually call these places "dives". 

Edited January 22, 2020 by Coral

[Coral]

12 hours ago, steelers36 said:

 

IMO, a rare steak is still going to be warm in the middle or you are approaching a raw middle.  There are lots of temp charts online for grilling steaks.

 

It goes to show the definition of rare varies. Where I live (beef country), rare means a cool red center.

 

https://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/kitchen/doneness.php 

 

I just did a search and rare is anything from 120 - 140. So the definition definitely varies. I usually order "warm red center" as restaurants are not consistent.

Edited January 22, 2020 by Coral

[jwattle]

13 hours ago, steelers36 said:

Butterflying is the way to go for those who like it more well done (not I).  If a thick cut, the outside gets WAY over-cooked so that the red is gone from the middle.  Cooking two thinner steaks alleviates this for those who tend towards the well-done end of the spectrum.

 

IMO, a rare steak is still going to be warm in the middle or you are approaching a raw middle.  There are lots of temp charts online for grilling steaks.

 

Would normally agree, however with a really thick cut, if you want mid rare throughout, butterflying can give a beautiful result, and Crown Grill is a perfect example. ❤️

 

[FredZiffle]

We ate at the Crown Grill a couple of weeks ago, and there was nothing "special" about this specialty restaurant.  One waiter and no asst. waiter for 6 or 7 tables, so he was running constantly and just slapping dishes down as fast he could.  Never had time to check back or refill drinks.  The kitchen was also likely understaffed, as it took 45 minutes from appetizer to entrée.  I had to send my medium steak back when it came almost rare, which then took another 20 minutes.  Altogether, we spent over 2 hours there.  Sadly, the food itself was also nothing beyond what you might get at a cheap chain restaurant.  Very disappointing.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, jwattle said:

Would normally agree, however with a really thick cut, if you want mid rare throughout, butterflying can give a beautiful result, and Crown Grill is a perfect example. ❤️

 

For sure.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I usually order "warm red center" as restaurants are not consistent.

That is smart.  I also try to clarify with the color for the same reason.  I am more medium-rare myself.  And I guess a rare steak would be more cool in the center for sure - especially a thick cut.

Edited January 22, 2020 by steelers36

[Coral]

2 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

That is smart.  I also try to clarify with the color for the same reason.  I am more medium-rare myself.  And I guess a rare steak would be more cool in the center for sure - especially a thick cut.

True Medium Rare person.

[SharkieRools]

14 hours ago, justafem said:

 

In CA it's regulated that all seafood (which they count as fresh water and salt water) must be frozen before consumption.  So yup, we're definitely getting pre-frozen scallops (and fish).

 

HTH.

I'm sure many restaurants in California would be interested to know this law, especially ones that buy fresh fish right off the dock, or the many Chinese restaurants with live fish tanks in them (not to mention seafood restaurants with lobster and crab tanks.)  That being said, it is likely the scallops (as well as other proteins) on the ship were frozen.

 

  

12 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

I thought that rule was only for sea food and fish to be served as Sashimi.

I believe that actually comes from the FDA

[Colo Cruiser]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

Living in beef country - we can get an amazing steak for $29. Oddly, it is often in small towns and I would not classify these places as high end by any means. Some may actually call these places "dives". 

Yeah but...is there a Crown Grill there? Or a Sabatinis.🤔

I would love it but I know there is no way I would get that quality of meat onboard.

[Coral]

23 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Yeah but...is there a Crown Grill there? Or a Sabatinis.🤔

I would love it but I know there is no way I would get that quality of meat onboard.

Princess can do better than "Select".

[kywildcatfanone]

7 minutes ago, Coral said:

Princess can do better than "Select".

They can and should when you pay $29 for an upgraded piece of meat.  But they won't, because profit.

[MixerDave]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

They can and should when you pay $29 for an upgraded piece of meat.  But they won't, because profit.

Think about RCCL - Chops Restaurant is $49.00 

[Coral]

1 minute ago, MixerDave said:

Think about RCCL - Chops Restaurant is $49.00 

There was a time when both restaurants were about the same price. I actually thought Chops was better back then. I haven't sailed RCCL for awhile so can't compare now.

 

RCCL has promos when you can purchase multiple restaurants which does bring the cost down. I guess Princess has promos also. I recently gave one up to go with another promo to save money.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

They can and should when you pay $29 for an upgraded piece of meat.  But they won't, because profit.

It is sort of pathetic that they don't do Choice though.