Steakhouse just ok. Is it just me?

[lahlah57]

10 hours ago, rideev said:

Ok, I have eaten at the steakhouses on 4 different cruise lines.  Princess, HAL, NCL, and RCL.  I loved the salt selection at the Crown Grill, and have since bought some like it, but that is all I can say.  None of the four stood out to me.  Yes, the service was good, but the steaks were just ok.  Is it just me? 

 

I do like some of the other specialty restaurants.  I think Sabatini's is wonderful, along with Le Bistro on NCL.

I don't think I will ever book a steakhouse on a cruise again.  For our anniversary cruise we have Sabatini's booked for $90.  As to that the cost of the meal that we are turning down in the MDR and it turns into a pricey meal.  It will be good, but not any better than what we would get here at home for the same cost.

You took the words out of my mouth regarding Crown grill on Discovery this past november!

My husband and I had a steak and it was tasteless with no seasoning.

I thought it was a joke and looked around for the cameras!

Best meal was Sabatinis so we went twice.

The best steak was in the regular dining room for lunch on a sea day! Utter perfection! They got it right but Crown Grill could not! Jeeze!

[Lady Arwen]

We don’t eat meat, so we have fish at the CG.  It’s actually quite good.  Sometimes, we skip the fish and just get a table full of sides.  Yes, we pay the same, but we’re happy with the service and the ambiance.   It all goes well with a bottle of Whispering Angel!  lol

[555]

After our last so-so experience at Sabatini's, we've taking a break from all the SD restaurants for a while and just enjoying the regular main dining restaurants.

[cr01s13r3]

Across many lines, including specialty restaurants, I've never had a steak at sea that rivaled the quality I regularly get on land. The closest was at the now-defunct The Grill by Thomas Keller. I think part of the problem is that ships can't use open flame to cook due to fire and safety regulations. And if they're using induction or radiant heated flat grill/griddle, I guess they can't get as hot as in a land-based commercial kitchen. So you can't really get a steak cooked in the same manner as you would at a steakhouse, either grilled above an open flame or cooked or finished in a salamander or intensely hot broiler.

[vakamalua]

We totally avoid the Crown Grill after trying a number of times on different ships.  The service is alway sub-par--rushed & inattentive ( in one case rude).  The food is meh; often the steal available in the MDR are better.  Certainly not worth an uncharge.

[Iamcruzin]

13 hours ago, rideev said:

Ok, I have eaten at the steakhouses on 4 different cruise lines.  Princess, HAL, NCL, and RCL.  I loved the salt selection at the Crown Grill, and have since bought some like it, but that is all I can say.  None of the four stood out to me.  Yes, the service was good, but the steaks were just ok.  Is it just me? 

 

I do like some of the other specialty restaurants.  I think Sabatini's is wonderful, along with Le Bistro on NCL.

I don't think I will ever book a steakhouse on a cruise again.  For our anniversary cruise we have Sabatini's booked for $90.  As to that the cost of the meal that we are turning down in the MDR and it turns into a pricey meal.  It will be good, but not any better than what we would get here at home for the same cost.

Honestly I find the same experience on land as well. I have had steak at Morton's and at Longhorn steakhouse and for the price I didn't notice a great deal of difference. Morton's is more presentation and atmosphere. The same applies to cruise ships. I would rather go 3 times to Longhorn than 1 time to Morton's.  When they forced you to dress on formal night we would go to the specialty restaurants. It was less expensive than buying 2 new cocktail dresses and more shoes that required us to pay for an extra bag on the airlines.

[cruisinsince75]

13 hours ago, suzyed said:

I feel like it varies from ship to ship and one visit to another.  We always enjoy the steakhouse but last fall when we went to CG on the Regal it was the BEST meal ever! Everything was perfectly cooked, the service was stellar and I even aded the lobster tail to my meal....soooo good!! 
Looking forward to the Bayou Cafe on the Coral in June and also trying Rudi's for the first time and oh yeah, the 360 Experience!  

We are on the Regal this coming Fall.  Do you recall if the beef was from Nolan Ryan's ranch?  I know they announced it in December for sailings out of Galveston. https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2023/12/princess-cruises-brings-the-ranch-to-the-high-seas-with-goodstock-by-nolan-ryan

Edited May 6 by cruisinsince75
typo

[Knickearth]

3 hours ago, 555 said:

After our last so-so experience at Sabatini's, we've taking a break from all the SD restaurants for a while and just enjoying the regular main dining restaurants.

 

12 minutes ago, cruisinsince75 said:

We are on the Regal this coming Fall.  Do you recall if the beef was from Nolan Ryan's ranch?  I know they announced it in December for sailings out of Galveston. https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2023/12/princess-cruises-brings-the-ranch-to-the-high-seas-with-goodstock-by-nolan-ryan

Same here.  Crown grill has been disappointing and our recent cruise Sabbatinis was not great shakes.

[Retired-N-Happy]

14 hours ago, Coral said:

It is sad what they are charging for this restaurant 

 

13 hours ago, Coral said:

Actually - not upset at the cost at all. 

I guess my inference that you were upset about the cost was off somehow.  At 39 pp the charge for the Crown Grill, which does have other non beef choices is still by far the cheapest amongst their main stream cruise line competitors. 

[cruisinsince75]

3 hours ago, cr01s13r3 said:

Across many lines, including specialty restaurants, I've never had a steak at sea that rivaled the quality I regularly get on land. The closest was at the now-defunct The Grill by Thomas Keller. I think part of the problem is that ships can't use open flame to cook due to fire and safety regulations. And if they're using induction or radiant heated flat grill/griddle, I guess they can't get as hot as in a land-based commercial kitchen. So you can't really get a steak cooked in the same manner as you would at a steakhouse, either grilled above an open flame or cooked or finished in a salamander or intensely hot broiler.

I am disappointed that Seabourn did away with the Grill by TK, but after our last experience there, I noticed it had slipped dramatically. 

 

I can get steakhouse quality at home, but I have to cheat a bit  to accomplish it.  I sous vide the steak first for at least one hour at 130 degrees F, then finish off searing in a cast iron skillet 30-45 second on each side while basting with butter.  Rest 5 minutes and serve.  Now I'm hungry!!! 🤪

 

[Paula_MacFan]

57 minutes ago, cruisinsince75 said:

We are on the Regal this coming Fall.  Do you recall if the beef was from Nolan Ryan's ranch?  I know they announced it in December for sailings out of Galveston. https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2023/12/princess-cruises-brings-the-ranch-to-the-high-seas-with-goodstock-by-nolan-ryan

We were on Regal in January and they had the Nolan Ryan beef.  We ate at the CG one night and it was very good.  We had the surf and turf, so filets with the upcharge for lobster.  We enjoyed it a lot and the couple at the table next to us remarked on our meals and said they looked so good they were making another reservation to come back later in the week and have what we were having 🙂  

 

Having said that we are getting ready to cruise to Alaska in 3 weeks on Sapphire and haven't made any specialty dining reservations.  We usually do CG and Sabatini's (in this case would be Sterling Steakhouse on Sapphire) but decided with the busy port days and higher prices for specialty dining, we're skipping it this time.  Honestly for the pricing I think the Ultimate Balcony Dining is the way to go now as you get more for your money vs specialty dining.

[cruisinsince75]

6 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

We were on Regal in January and they had the Nolan Ryan beef.  We ate at the CG one night and it was very good.  We had the surf and turf, so filets with the upcharge for lobster.  We enjoyed it a lot and the couple at the table next to us remarked on our meals and said they looked so good they were making another reservation to come back later in the week and have what we were having 🙂  

 

Having said that we are getting ready to cruise to Alaska in 3 weeks on Sapphire and haven't made any specialty dining reservations.  We usually do CG and Sabatini's (in this case would be Sterling Steakhouse on Sapphire) but decided with the busy port days and higher prices for specialty dining, we're skipping it this time.  Honestly for the pricing I think the Ultimate Balcony Dining is the way to go now as you get more for your money vs specialty dining.

Thanks Paula!  Enjoy your Alaska cruise!

[Retired-N-Happy]

1 hour ago, cruisinsince75 said:

I am disappointed that Seabourn did away with the Grill by TK, but after our last experience there, I noticed it had slipped dramatically. 

 

I can get steakhouse quality at home, but I have to cheat a bit  to accomplish it.  I sous vide the steak first for at least one hour at 130 degrees F, then finish off searing in a cast iron skillet 30-45 second on each side while basting with butter.  Rest 5 minutes and serve.  Now I'm hungry!!! 🤪

 

Don, I'll take mine rare+. Thanks

[robbinsca]

13 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Planks is gross.  You really can't do proper BBQ on a cruise ship.  Chefs rely on liquid smoke and a sickeningly sweet BBQ sauce to make the meat seem like BBQ.  The meat is baked and then charred a bit on the grill.  The best part of the menu is the banana pudding dessert.  Just my opinion.

I love smoking meat at hime and was really looking forward to having Planks onboard. I agree, the taste was chemical rather than true smoke and the meal was greasy all the way through. Not making that mistake again.

[JordanF]

We typically do one specialty dining per cruise, more to just mix it up.  It's the best food on the ship!  But we like the MDR a well, and just don't expect total top end.  The never ending price increases, especially for the steaks, make the whole thing less appetizing.  

 

Come to think about it, the whole cruise is a bit like this.  The art is the best art for sale on the ship even though there is better art elsewhere.  Land casinos often have looser slots than the the ship casino, but you are not on land.  You can definitely get at least as good a massage, for less money and without the hard sell on product on land, but the spa is the best massage available at sea.  Etc...  Would I choose Sabatini's or the CG on land--probably not.  But on a cruise--I just might!

Edited May 6 by JordanF
Correction

[rbtan]

The cuts of meat are USDA "standard" grade in the MDR. USDA Select(no longer choice)in the specialties. Only the Chef's table has USDA Choice/Prime. If you want better try Oceania. They have USDA Prime. Princess will tell you they have "Premium"(there is no such grade) My husband is the food buyer for his company. When you shell out millions each year, you get a pretty good idea what purveyors have to offer.

  I do recommend the Chilean Seabass. Do make SURE it is actually that. Most lines use Sea Bass. Chilean Sea Bass (Patagonian Toothfish) is actually not in the Bass family. It's like calling Founder "Pacific Dover Sole". This fish does NOT exist. It is a fake name spawned by fish vendors.There actually is NO type of Sole in the Americas. You need to go to Europe to find Sole.

Edited May 6 by rbtan
additions

[Coral]

4 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

 

I guess my inference that you were upset about the cost was off somehow.  At 39 pp the charge for the Crown Grill, which does have other non beef choices is still by far the cheapest amongst their main stream cruise line competitors. 

I am allergic to seafood - so eating other items is not an option. 

[Coral]

50 minutes ago, rbtan said:

The cuts of meat are USDA "standard" grade in the MDR. USDA Select(no longer choice)in the specialties.

I would have guessed Select also.

[suzyed]

5 hours ago, cruisinsince75 said:

We are on the Regal this coming Fall.  Do you recall if the beef was from Nolan Ryan's ranch?  I know they announced it in December for sailings out of Galveston. https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2023/12/princess-cruises-brings-the-ranch-to-the-high-seas-with-goodstock-by-nolan-ryan

Sorry, we do not recall...

[suzyed]

4 hours ago, cruisinsince75 said:

I am disappointed that Seabourn did away with the Grill by TK, but after our last experience there, I noticed it had slipped dramatically. 

 

I can get steakhouse quality at home, but I have to cheat a bit  to accomplish it.  I sous vide the steak first for at least one hour at 130 degrees F, then finish off searing in a cast iron skillet 30-45 second on each side while basting with butter.  Rest 5 minutes and serve.  Now I'm hungry!!! 🤪

 

WE have a friend who does the very same thing....nice!

[Retired-N-Happy]

40 minutes ago, Coral said:

I am allergic to seafood - so eating other items is not an option. 

I will assume then that you don't eat a veal chop or lamb chops as well since they are the two non seafood and non beef choices on the menu.

Edit...but of course the main point of my initial response was regarding the price, not the food choices and at 39 pp it is the cheapest compared to the options on Celebrity, Carnival, Royal, NCL and MSC.

Edited May 6 by Retired-N-Happy

[kywildcatfanone]

Never pay an upcharge for a standard grade of meat.

[stejank]

12 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

So true.  The closest to better BBQ was the Guy’s Pig and Anchor BBQ OB Carnival. It was smoked and tasted really good.

That was pre covid though.

Guys Pig and Anchor uses Ole Hickory smokers or at least had them installed.

[PacnGoNow]

4 minutes ago, stejank said:

Guys Pig and Anchor uses Ole Hickory smokers or at least had them installed.

Gotta smoke ‘em!  😋 

[Coral]

55 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

I will assume then that you don't eat a veal chop or lamb chops as well since they are the two non seafood and non beef choices on the menu.

Edit...but of course the main point of my initial response was regarding the price, not the food choices and at 39 pp it is the cheapest compared to the options on Celebrity, Carnival, Royal, NCL and MSC.

I am not a fan of lamb and haven't tried the veal chop. I only tried veal in Austria a few years ago and loved it. I consider veal beef. I remember once having a pork chop that was on the menu.

 

I have enjoyed some of the side dishes when I have gone such as the asparagus, etc.... Makes the charge pretty expensive for asparagus! 🙂