Warning about Ultimate Balcony Dining

[mina]

Just an update.  We did the ubd last night on the royal.  It was served by course. However, our server said some ships are doing it different for now and delivering all at one time.  He specially mentioned the grand and the majestic.   

[Steelers36]

39 minutes ago, mina said:

Just an update.  We did the ubd last night on the royal.  It was served by course. However, our server said some ships are doing it different for now and delivering all at one time.  He specially mentioned the grand and the majestic.   

As Covid protocols go away - and they are on most ships I hear of - then they are naturally going to return to service by each course.

 

[Bgwest]

Woozer! Guess there will always be those who attempt set the pace for the entire world. 

[Wishing on a star]

This is a good thread, because it would be nice to know whether you wanted to make, and then keep, a booking for UBD.

 

The thing is, there is a lot of Princess 'misinformation' out there.   We are seeing a lot of it here in this board.  On a lot of topics and questions.

 

Whether the Ultimate Balcony Dinner is actually available onboard, or whether it is just 'dropped off'.  (NOT ULTIMATE OR ROMANTIC OR ANYTHING AT ALL)  could probably vary by ship, by sailing, and even by day.   It has nothing to do with Covid protocols.   It has everything to do with whether the ship is so understaffed that they can not spare any dining staff to deliver and serve the UBD.

 

The number of these, per day, are limited, so it seems as if the thing to do is to go ahead and make the reservation,  knowing in advance that it could be 'iffy'.  Make sure you have printed out your reservation, your receipts for payment, the charge on your credit card.   And, then, verify onboard with somebody who is staffing dining reservations, that this will be a fully served dinner.  If not, then hit the Customer Service Desk, with all of the documentation, to be refunded.   I would be afraid that if I just went to the front desk, that I might not get a real answer, as they might not know the current details on if, or how, the UBD is being offered.

 

[jwattle]

On 11/9/2022 at 8:10 AM, Wishing on a star said:

This is a good thread, because it would be nice to know whether you wanted to make, and then keep, a booking for UBD.

 

The thing is, there is a lot of Princess 'misinformation' out there.   We are seeing a lot of it here in this board.  On a lot of topics and questions.

 

Whether the Ultimate Balcony Dinner is actually available onboard, or whether it is just 'dropped off'.  (NOT ULTIMATE OR ROMANTIC OR ANYTHING AT ALL)  could probably vary by ship, by sailing, and even by day.   It has nothing to do with Covid protocols.   It has everything to do with whether the ship is so understaffed that they can not spare any dining staff to deliver and serve the UBD.

 

The number of these, per day, are limited, so it seems as if the thing to do is to go ahead and make the reservation,  knowing in advance that it could be 'iffy'.  Make sure you have printed out your reservation, your receipts for payment, the charge on your credit card.   And, then, verify onboard with somebody who is staffing dining reservations, that this will be a fully served dinner.  If not, then hit the Customer Service Desk, with all of the documentation, to be refunded.   I would be afraid that if I just went to the front desk, that I might not get a real answer, as they might not know the current details on if, or how, the UBD is being offered.

 

I beg to differ; in the fact that it varies ship to ship, that ship might different Covid protocols due to the number of cases on board or how the master of the ship is conducting protocols at the time.

[abqmommyof4]

Just had it on the sky, it was wonderful.  Food was delivered corse by course and was hot.  Lots of food

[HBCcruiser]

On 11/6/2022 at 10:01 AM, mina said:

Meal is served by course,  the waiter and assistant time each course and goes to kitchen to get it.  I think the main entrees are cooked in the crown grill.  

And it is quite delicious! Best steak we have had onboard. It was course by course with wine pairings (we requested this). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by HBCcruiser

[suzyed]

On 11/6/2022 at 8:15 AM, Sn0cruiser said:

I was excited to see UBD offered again and booked (and of course paid for it) in the website.  I did print out my travel summary before we left since that appears to be the only proof you have that you have paid.

I phoned guest services this morning (we’re currently on the Caribbean Princess) because I had booked for tomorrow and hadn’t heard anything yet.  Seems they don’t offer UBD and had no information that I had booked it.  I had to take my printed travel summary down to (hopefully) get a refund to my OBC which I then hope to see as a cheque sometime in the next month or four.

 

It may just be this ship, but you may want to wait until you are on board to book UBD just in case.

 

Same thing happened to us.

[rbtan]

On 11/6/2022 at 5:09 PM, texasgirl29 said:

On Enchanted in September 2022 and all of our courses were hot and fresh. Steak was wonderful. (We we’re inside as it was rainy.)

Brings back fond memories of our Hawaii cruise in 2020(1 month before everything shut down)Was easily the best meal we ever had on Princess. Do plan on it again on our Circle the Caribbean trip. We will book once on board.

[voljeep]

anyone on CB now - can you verify if the UBD is available? we sail next week

[sparks1093]

Pardon my newbie question, but I presume that UBD may be ordered either before the cruise or while onboard. I went to the Princess website to look for details but since we haven't booked yet we can't see what is offered. So, how much is this and what is included in the price? This sounds like something DW would like to experience at least once during the cruise.

[sparks1093]

On 11/6/2022 at 6:27 PM, wowzz said:

No, the food is hot. 

And obviously you won't be drinking coffee during the meal!

I have imbibed everything from soda to coffee and even a mixed drink (or two) during a meal (presuming evening meal here). What I have depends on what is available and what I feel like.

[Steelers36]

On 11/9/2022 at 11:10 AM, Wishing on a star said:

This is a good thread, because it would be nice to know whether you wanted to make, and then keep, a booking for UBD.

 

The thing is, there is a lot of Princess 'misinformation' out there.   We are seeing a lot of it here in this board.  On a lot of topics and questions.

 

Whether the Ultimate Balcony Dinner is actually available onboard, or whether it is just 'dropped off'.  (NOT ULTIMATE OR ROMANTIC OR ANYTHING AT ALL)  could probably vary by ship, by sailing, and even by day.   It has nothing to do with Covid protocols.   It has everything to do with whether the ship is so understaffed that they can not spare any dining staff to deliver and serve the UBD.

 

The number of these, per day, are limited, so it seems as if the thing to do is to go ahead and make the reservation,  knowing in advance that it could be 'iffy'.  Make sure you have printed out your reservation, your receipts for payment, the charge on your credit card.   And, then, verify onboard with somebody who is staffing dining reservations, that this will be a fully served dinner.  If not, then hit the Customer Service Desk, with all of the documentation, to be refunded.   I would be afraid that if I just went to the front desk, that I might not get a real answer, as they might not know the current details on if, or how, the UBD is being offered.

 

I can confirm that UBD is being served per normal (course by course) on Island.  And where Covid protocols are relaxed, as I understand it.  You can ask on board when booking it, how they are doing it if in doubt and either go forward or cancel.

 

[Bobbiegentry]

8 hours ago, voljeep said:

anyone on CB now - can you verify if the UBD is available? we sail next week

Was on the CB week before last. No UBD. 
 

On the Island now. UBD available and we have ours booked for Friday. 
 

Different ships different offerings. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

Pardon my newbie question, but I presume that UBD may be ordered either before the cruise or while onboard. I went to the Princess website to look for details but since we haven't booked yet we can't see what is offered. So, how much is this and what is included in the price? This sounds like something DW would like to experience at least once during the cruise.

We just had our first UBD on ISLAND.  You can view the photos above to see what the meal was like.

 

You can pre-order using Cruise Personalizer (Onboard Services), or you can phone once on board to book it.  But phone early in voyage in case it is very popular and they get booked up. 

 

PHONE REQUEST

You speak with someone in Room Service dept and they will ask about any food allergies.  For main course, you elect either Turf (filet mignon), Turf (lobster - as in NE lobster AFAIK), or Surf & Turf.  With Surf, you are to get two lobster tails.  With Surf & Turf, you get one tail.  I did ask if the steak was a different size if ordering Turf only versus S&T and she said it was the same.  But IDK for certain.

You are asked what want for the included cocktail.  I will explain below what I did.

 

WHAT YOU GET (in the order it happened).

 

Waiter and Assistant (who does the "running" back and forth to bring food).

They setup a table and cloth on the balcony, or just inside if inclement weather.

IDEA:  Get a towel or two for your balcony chairs - and perhaps a pillow or towel roll, so you aren't sitting on the deck chairs in possibly nice clothing.

There is a bud vase with a single red rose and accompanying green/white.

There is a half-bottle of champagne with flutes.  

There is a small plate (each) of hors d'oeuvres which we had with the first glass of champagne.

They will also bring Reidel glasses for wine upon request.  (I borrowed mine from the DR waiter for the evening not realizing Room Svc was going to send one and they actually sent two).

 

There was a light and tasty crab quiche next.

There was a salad next that was big enough that my wife and I would have normally just shared at a meal.  You can see photos above.

 

I bring my own wine on board.  By this time, I was having my wine and my wife was having the champagne other than a sip I had at the outset.  This was our plan as I had ordered Surf for her and Turf with Surf for me (thinking I would be giving her additional lobster).

 

Then came the main course.  We were surprised to see THREE lobster tails on wife's plate.  Our waiter said it's normally two, but perhaps chef thought they were a bit on the small side.  Well, these were like specialty dining lobsters with a tail and one tucked under smaller, so it seemed like my wife had SIX pieces of lobster tail.  Instead of me giving her some, she was offering one to me.  Now, don't count on seeing THREE lobster tails when you dinner arrives, but a healthy serving of TWO. 

 

My plate had a good-sized filet, considering I also had a lobster tail with two pieces.  I cannot say if I had ordered filet alone whether it would have been larger, but it was large enough.  It was a bit over the MR temperature requested, but not all the way to Medium in most of it.  I am okay to Medium as well, so I certainly was not of mind to send it back.  It must be a challenge to get meat temp perfect and get the plate to a cabin and so forth.  What I will say is that the meat was of very high quality - better than CG filet I had on Regal and I would say what they serve for UBD would be same as for a Winemaker's Dinner or Chef's Table.  I had a peppercorn sauce.  You can ask for a typical steak sauce like that or red wine reduction or ... well just ask what they might be able to do.

 

After dinner, came the dessert you can see in the photos above.  It was not too heavy.

 

Now, about that included cocktail.  Due to the champagne at the beginning and having wine, I thought why not have a Bailey's with dessert.  It's only a small serving as a liqueur and I knew the dessert was chocolate.  Wife likes Bailey's too, so it turned out a good choice for us.  IMO, better than a lot of drinking pre-meal.

 

The two waiters packed everything up, leaving the rose in the vase.  The bar dept charged the champagne to the cabin account and later that was removed and replaced with the $100 UBD fee.

 

Considering it is $42 more than dining for two at CG (or equivalent SD steakhouse), I thought the value was certainly there in terms of the extras you get and the quality of the food.

Edited November 15, 2022 by Steelers36

[Ombud]

On 11/7/2022 at 3:18 PM, PRNole47 said:

Coffee is the only thing I have ever had delivered to our cabin to drink on the balcony, which is why I asked.

You've never had high tea delivered? That's my favorite course on the balcony

Edited November 15, 2022 by Ombud

[alanasgpa]

Do pics still come with the UBD?

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

We just had our first UBD on ISLAND.  You can view the photos above to see what the meal was like.

 

You can pre-order using Cruise Personalizer (Onboard Services), or you can phone once on board to book it.  But phone early in voyage in case it is very popular and they get booked up. 

 

PHONE REQUEST

You speak with someone in Room Service dept and they will ask about any food allergies.  For main course, you elect either Turf (filet mignon), Turf (lobster - as in NE lobster AFAIK), or Surf & Turf.  With Surf, you are to get two lobster tails.  With Surf & Turf, you get one tail.  I did ask if the steak was a different size if ordering Turf only versus S&T and she said it was the same.  But IDK for certain.

You are asked what want for the included cocktail.  I will explain below what I did.

 

WHAT YOU GET (in the order it happened).

 

Waiter and Assistant (who does the "running" back and forth to bring food).

They setup a table and cloth on the balcony, or just inside if inclement weather.

IDEA:  Get a towel or two for your balcony chairs - and perhaps a pillow or towel roll, so you aren't sitting on the deck chairs in possibly nice clothing.

There is a bud vase with a single red rose and accompanying green/white.

There is a half-bottle of champagne with flutes.  

There is a small plate (each) of hors d'oeuvres which we had with the first glass of champagne.

They will also bring Reidel glasses for wine upon request.  (I borrowed mine from the DR waiter for the evening not realizing Room Svc was going to send one and they actually sent two).

 

There was a light and tasty crab quiche next.

There was a salad next that was big enough that my wife and I would have normally just shared at a meal.  You can see photos above.

 

I bring my own wine on board.  By this time, I was having my wine and my wife was having the champagne other than a sip I had at the outset.  This was our plan as I had ordered Surf for her and Turf with Surf for me (thinking I would be giving her additional lobster).

 

Then came the main course.  We were surprised to see THREE lobster tails on wife's plate.  Our waiter said it's normally two, but perhaps chef thought they were a bit on the small side.  Well, these were like specialty dining lobsters with a tail and one tucked under smaller, so it seemed like my wife had SIX pieces of lobster tail.  Instead of me giving her some, she was offering one to me.  Now, don't count on seeing THREE lobster tails when you dinner arrives, but a healthy serving of TWO. 

 

My plate had a good-sized filet, considering I also had a lobster tail with two pieces.  I cannot say if I had ordered filet alone whether it would have been larger, but it was large enough.  It was a bit over the MR temperature requested, but not all the way to Medium in most of it.  I am okay to Medium as well, so I certainly was not of mind to send it back.  It must be a challenge to get meat temp perfect and get the plate to a cabin and so forth.  What I will say is that the meat was of very high quality - better than CG filet I had on Regal and I would say what they serve for UBD would be same as for a Winemaker's Dinner or Chef's Table.  I had a peppercorn sauce.  You can ask for a typical steak sauce like that or red wine reduction or ... well just ask what they might be able to do.

 

After dinner, came the dessert you can see in the photos above.  It was not too heavy.

 

Now, about that included cocktail.  Due to the champagne at the beginning and having wine, I thought why not have a Bailey's with dessert.  It's only a small serving as a liqueur and I knew the dessert was chocolate.  Wife likes Bailey's too, so it turned out a good choice for us.  IMO, better than a lot of drinking pre-meal.

 

The two waiters packed everything up, leaving the rose in the vase.  The bar dept charged the champagne to the cabin account and later that was removed and replaced with the $100 UBD fee.

 

Considering it is $42 more than dining for two at CG (or equivalent SD steakhouse), I thought the value was certainly there in terms of the extras you get and the quality of the food.

 

Oh, I did forget.  A photographer showed up and took a picture of us at the balcony railing.  You could whatever you wanted in terms of a pose, but we didn't want a big photo fuss. 

 

In fact, we had the UBD on second last night of voyage and forgot to follow-up with photo dept the next day and we never heard from them about our photo.  I might initiate an inquiry, but I imagine it will be a challenge.  I have no emails for anyone on the Island.

[Steelers36]

23 minutes ago, alanasgpa said:

Do pics still come with the UBD?

YES.  I forgot to add that a photographer showed up shortly after the table was setup and we had the canapes and champagne.  We had a casual photo taken at balcony railing and he was gone in a couple of minutes.  Thing is, I never heard back from that Dept about our photos and forgot to inquire the next day (which was final day of the voyage).

[t&atravel]

Enjoyed the UBD on the Ruby a couple of weeks ago.  They did not do any follow up on the pictures however they were available to view on the kiosks in the photo department using your medallion and facial recognition.  We didn’t get one as we did not like how they turned out so we can’t give any guidance as to what they would provide (print or digital). 

[PRNole47]

On 11/7/2022 at 7:12 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I also prefer coffee with my meal.  But no one else understood that.  Thanks for letting me know that I wasn't the crazy one.  

I always thought it was a generational thing, with coffee commonly served with dinner appearing to be popular in the 30s, 40s and 50s. My parents' generation.

[XBGuy]

Excellent job, @Steelers36, giving a rundown on the UBD.  Of course, I have to add a couple comments.

 

• I always order the beef tenderloin entree, and Mrs. XBGuy always orders the lobster tails.  One time the person taking our order specifications really tried to convince me to go for the Surf 'n' Turf.  I turned him down, but he persisted.  Finally, I explained that I knew that Mrs. XBGuy would not be finishing her lobster tails, and, so, I would, in fact, be getting some.  Anyway, I am pretty sure that in all my UBD experiences--four going back to 2013--I have received two of the beef filets.  I would characterize them as "average" size.
• I always ask for my beef to be prepared rare.  In four tries it has come to me medium four times.  Oh well.  Some people have real problems.
• For our cocktails we always order a glass of wine--Chardonnay for her and Cabernet Sauvignon for me.  It's not very good, but we down the glass (we're too cheap to toss it) and then pour from our stash.
• Of our four UBDs, we have only had one on the balcony.  The one time we had it on the balcony we were in an aft suite, and, so, the balcony was protected from the wind.  Also this was a Mexico cruise.  So, it was it was very comfortable being out there.  Our other UBDs have been in balcony cabins.  We find it to be very comfortable inside.  We have never felt cramped at all.
• We once requested that they not send the photographer.  That did not work.  Minutes after the waiters set up the table for us a photographer knocked.  I was not going to chastise her.  We just posed as she requested  In a few minutes it was done, and we were able to start on our Champagne.
• One of our UBDs was scheduled for a Formal Night.  We decided to go ahead and dress up.  When the server knocked she was absolutely thrilled that we had done so.  She seemed particularly attentive that evening.  Lotsa fun, and I learned something.

[sparks1093]

7 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

We just had our first UBD on ISLAND.  You can view the photos above to see what the meal was like.

 

You can pre-order using Cruise Personalizer (Onboard Services), or you can phone once on board to book it.  But phone early in voyage in case it is very popular and they get booked up. 

 

PHONE REQUEST

You speak with someone in Room Service dept and they will ask about any food allergies.  For main course, you elect either Turf (filet mignon), Turf (lobster - as in NE lobster AFAIK), or Surf & Turf.  With Surf, you are to get two lobster tails.  With Surf & Turf, you get one tail.  I did ask if the steak was a different size if ordering Turf only versus S&T and she said it was the same.  But IDK for certain.

You are asked what want for the included cocktail.  I will explain below what I did.

 

WHAT YOU GET (in the order it happened).

 

Waiter and Assistant (who does the "running" back and forth to bring food).

They setup a table and cloth on the balcony, or just inside if inclement weather.

IDEA:  Get a towel or two for your balcony chairs - and perhaps a pillow or towel roll, so you aren't sitting on the deck chairs in possibly nice clothing.

There is a bud vase with a single red rose and accompanying green/white.

There is a half-bottle of champagne with flutes.  

There is a small plate (each) of hors d'oeuvres which we had with the first glass of champagne.

They will also bring Reidel glasses for wine upon request.  (I borrowed mine from the DR waiter for the evening not realizing Room Svc was going to send one and they actually sent two).

 

There was a light and tasty crab quiche next.

There was a salad next that was big enough that my wife and I would have normally just shared at a meal.  You can see photos above.

 

I bring my own wine on board.  By this time, I was having my wine and my wife was having the champagne other than a sip I had at the outset.  This was our plan as I had ordered Surf for her and Turf with Surf for me (thinking I would be giving her additional lobster).

 

Then came the main course.  We were surprised to see THREE lobster tails on wife's plate.  Our waiter said it's normally two, but perhaps chef thought they were a bit on the small side.  Well, these were like specialty dining lobsters with a tail and one tucked under smaller, so it seemed like my wife had SIX pieces of lobster tail.  Instead of me giving her some, she was offering one to me.  Now, don't count on seeing THREE lobster tails when you dinner arrives, but a healthy serving of TWO. 

 

My plate had a good-sized filet, considering I also had a lobster tail with two pieces.  I cannot say if I had ordered filet alone whether it would have been larger, but it was large enough.  It was a bit over the MR temperature requested, but not all the way to Medium in most of it.  I am okay to Medium as well, so I certainly was not of mind to send it back.  It must be a challenge to get meat temp perfect and get the plate to a cabin and so forth.  What I will say is that the meat was of very high quality - better than CG filet I had on Regal and I would say what they serve for UBD would be same as for a Winemaker's Dinner or Chef's Table.  I had a peppercorn sauce.  You can ask for a typical steak sauce like that or red wine reduction or ... well just ask what they might be able to do.

 

After dinner, came the dessert you can see in the photos above.  It was not too heavy.

 

Now, about that included cocktail.  Due to the champagne at the beginning and having wine, I thought why not have a Bailey's with dessert.  It's only a small serving as a liqueur and I knew the dessert was chocolate.  Wife likes Bailey's too, so it turned out a good choice for us.  IMO, better than a lot of drinking pre-meal.

 

The two waiters packed everything up, leaving the rose in the vase.  The bar dept charged the champagne to the cabin account and later that was removed and replaced with the $100 UBD fee.

 

Considering it is $42 more than dining for two at CG (or equivalent SD steakhouse), I thought the value was certainly there in terms of the extras you get and the quality of the food.

Thank you for the detailed description! My fingers hurt for you 😀. 

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, XBGuy said:

Excellent job, @Steelers36, giving a rundown on the UBD.  Of course, I have to add a couple comments.

 

• I always order the beef tenderloin entree, and Mrs. XBGuy always orders the lobster tails.  One time the person taking our order specifications really tried to convince me to go for the Surf 'n' Turf.  I turned him down, but he persisted.  Finally, I explained that I knew that Mrs. XBGuy would not be finishing her lobster tails, and, so, I would, in fact, be getting some.  Anyway, I am pretty sure that in all my UBD experiences--four going back to 2013--I have received two of the beef filets.  I would characterize them as "average" size.
• I always ask for my beef to be prepared rare.  In four tries it has come to me medium four times.  Oh well.  Some people have real problems.
• For our cocktails we always order a glass of wine--Chardonnay for her and Cabernet Sauvignon for me.  It's not very good, but we down the glass (we're too cheap to toss it) and then pour from our stash.
• Of our four UBDs, we have only had one on the balcony.  The one time we had it on the balcony we were in an aft suite, and, so, the balcony was protected from the wind.  Also this was a Mexico cruise.  So, it was it was very comfortable being out there.  Our other UBDs have been in balcony cabins.  We find it to be very comfortable inside.  We have never felt cramped at all.
• We once requested that they not send the photographer.  That did not work.  Minutes after the waiters set up the table for us a photographer knocked.  I was not going to chastise her.  We just posed as she requested  In a few minutes it was done, and we were able to start on our Champagne.
• One of our UBDs was scheduled for a Formal Night.  We decided to go ahead and dress up.  When the server knocked she was absolutely thrilled that we had done so.  She seemed particularly attentive that evening.  Lotsa fun, and I learned something.

And thank you for your details as well!

[geoherb]

You can also ask for reasonable accommodations to the menu. Neither of us like asparagus. They give us broccoli instead. I get my salad without the pear and DH gets his without the nuts. We tried the dessert once and decided we'd rather have something else. We received flourless chocolate cake once and raspberry creme brulee another time.

 

When they found out we were celebrating DH's birthday the last time we had the UBD, they brought us chocolate-covered strawberries in addition to the rest. Unfortunately, DH can't eat them, and I was too full to do so. I dropped them off at the photographer's station when picking up our photo.

 

We made the choice to have the UBD on the last night of the cruise to coincide with his birthday. I wouldn't recommend doing that. We had passengers who were staying on for the next cruise. I took the flowers to them so they could enjoy them the following week.