Restaurant swap on Sapphire

[georgetheblue]

Not only does the Sapphire have terrible propulsion problems forcing port cancellations, Princess replaced the Sterling Steakhouse with Churrascaria Grill with no notice.  Just wham new restaurant this cruise 5/11.  A Brazilian restaurant does not interest me.  The crew must be thrilled.  Now must carry skewered meats around the room and carve onto customers plates.  I think I got my reservation swapped to Sabatinis.  Who knows?  The swap may cause my credit card to be charged but I’ll get it back onboard if need be.  

My sympathy to the passengers onboard now.  Missing Glacier Bay is huge.  I know there is compensation being offered but still not everyone can afford to go again. 

[EDVM96]

35 minutes ago, georgetheblue said:

 Princess replaced the Sterling Steakhouse with Churrascaria Grill with no notice.

That's not true.

 

Churrascaria Brazilian Grill is available on the Diamond since ca. early February now.
The same press release stated "and coming soon to Sapphire Princess" at that time.
 

Edited May 14 by EDVM96

[AZDuck]

I love it! We go to Fogo De Chao whenever in Scottsdale or Vegas. If you like eating meats its like heaven. 

[JimmyVWine]

2 minutes ago, AZDuck said:

I love it! We go to Fogo De Chao whenever in Scottsdale or Vegas. If you like eating meats its like heaven. 

And I am disappointed for the same reasons.  I don't want my cruise ship to have restaurants that one can go to in Vegas, Times Square or South Coast Plaza.  I don't want Johnny Rockets, or anything from Guy Fieri, or Shake Shack, or meat on a stick.  But that's just me.  I'm sure that there must have been some marketing research done that suggests that I am in the minority.  That said, I was not a fan of the location of Sterling, and when on Sapphire, confined my Specialty Dining to Sabatini's...a trend that will continue if I am ever on that ship again.    

[Jnsplace1]

And I'm one of those that like trying new things.  I have zero interest in a steak house, been to plenty.   I like variety.    

 

count me in.  😉 

[Paula_MacFan]

Someone started a thread on this earlier today as well:

 

As far as the notice -- I am on the Sapphire in a couple weeks and as recently as yesterday my app showed Sterling Steakhouse available for reservations.  Today is shows the Churrascaria venue.  

[EDVM96]

The problem with the Gem Class ships was the location of Sterling Steak House. Located in a corner at the end of Horizon Court, and it even shared kitchen with the buffet. Maybe not enough for the expected fine dining in a steak house at 39$ + tax surcharge.

 

The new Churrascaria also shares the kitchen with the buffet, of course. But the setting is much more casual, and so is the price.

 

I think it was the right move.

 

 

 

 

 

[reedprincess]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

And I am disappointed for the same reasons.  I don't want my cruise ship to have restaurants that one can go to in Vegas, Times Square or South Coast Plaza.  I don't want Johnny Rockets, or anything from Guy Fieri, or Shake Shack, or meat on a stick.  But that's just me.  I'm sure that there must have been some marketing research done that suggests that I am in the minority.  That said, I was not a fan of the location of Sterling, and when on Sapphire, confined my Specialty Dining to Sabatini's...a trend that will continue if I am ever on that ship again.    

If you don't want to go to a restaurant that you could visit in NY, CA, Vegas, etc then Sabatini's or Crown Grill or basically any specialty or casual restaurant would be our, given Sushi, Italian, Steakhouses, pubs, pizzerias, and so forth places abound in all of those.  

Interesting take really.   Especially as you comment that you do eat at Sabatini's on Sapphire - when you can eat at a multitude if various Italian restaurants in any of those cities (or virtually any other city around the world).  What sets that apart and OK for you, as opposed to a churrascaria?  If you don't like churrascaria for whatever reason, that's one thing - but knocking it cuz you can get it in any city is just a wee bit hypocritical given you are fine with Italian at Sabatini's, lol...

[JimmyVWine]

14 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

If you don't want to go to a restaurant that you could visit in NY, CA, Vegas, etc then Sabatini's or Crown Grill or basically any specialty or casual restaurant would be our, given Sushi, Italian, Steakhouses, pubs, pizzerias, and so forth places abound in all of those.  

Interesting take really.   Especially as you comment that you do eat at Sabatini's on Sapphire - when you can eat at a multitude if various Italian restaurants in any of those cities (or virtually any other city around the world).  What sets that apart and OK for you, as opposed to a churrascaria?  If you don't like churrascaria for whatever reason, that's one thing - but knocking it cuz you can get it in any city is just a wee bit hypocritical given you are fine with Italian at Sabatini's, lol...

I simply said that I don’t want to dine at chain restaurants. If there is a Sabatini’s in Times Square or Vegas, I missed them. 

[EDVM96]

6 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I simply said that I don’t want to dine at chain restaurants. If there is a Sabatini’s in Times Square or Vegas, I missed them. 

Technically, Sabatini's is also a chain restaurant, available on most Princess ships. 😉

 

[reedprincess]

15 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I simply said that I don’t want to dine at chain restaurants. If there is a Sabatini’s in Times Square or Vegas, I missed them. 

????

The churrascaria onboard is not part of any chain. Where you got that idea is beyond me - unless you very much misinterpreted @AZDuck's post noting that they enjoy Fogo, which is a churrascaria. - and the one aboard is a similar concept.  

 

Same way Sabatini's is similar to countless untold number of Italian restaurants, chain or otherwise....

 

The new churrascaria is no more part of  a chain or name brand or celebrity restaurant group than Sabatini's or Crown Grill or Bayou or Harmony is - although they're found on numerous Princess ships and you know just what you're getting when you dine in them! 

I presume you won't be eating at The Catch by Rudy or Butcher's Block by Daria or Live by Britto or such either, given they're affiliated with famous chefs, albeit not chain restaurants.. 

 

 

[Auntiejo]

I have 2 Sterling reservations that I made 3 months ago for my upcoming voyage on Sapphire (that is, if we even sail). My beef (pun intended) is that there was no notification. I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for these forums and let’s face it, a large majority of people don’t even know about Cruise Critic so wouldn’t find out until they walked into that area for their reservation.
 

Everyone has different preferences so to each their own but Princess needs to communicate with booked passengers. I’m trying to be open minded and wait until I see a menu before deciding whether to cancel my scheduled dinners but personally any food items from a buffet line hold zero interest for me. I don’t ever eat any meal in the buffet, on a cruise or otherwise. But I realize I’m in the minority on that. 

[Coral]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

And I am disappointed for the same reasons.  I don't want my cruise ship to have restaurants that one can go to in Vegas, Times Square or South Coast Plaza.  I don't want Johnny Rockets, or anything from Guy Fieri, or Shake Shack, or meat on a stick.  But that's just me.  I'm sure that there must have been some marketing research done that suggests that I am in the minority.  That said, I was not a fan of the location of Sterling, and when on Sapphire, confined my Specialty Dining to Sabatini's...a trend that will continue if I am ever on that ship again.    

I don't think any cruise lines have anything really unique. I like steakhouses (I come from a beef steak so have had it all my life) and really have had zero luck lately at Crown Grill or Sterling Steakhouse. We have a Brazilian steakhouse in my town (and it is not Vegas, Times Square or anywhere touristy) and I enjoy it. I would try it on a cruise ship. I am glad they are mixing things up. Let's hope they use higher quality ingredients at this restaurant.

[EDVM96]

15 minutes ago, Coral said:

I like steakhouses (I come from a beef steak so have had it all my life) and really have had zero luck lately at Crown Grill or Sterling Steakhouse. 

Same here. Bad luck, last one on the Royal. I changed my 2nd Crown reservation to Sabatini's instead. 

Edited May 15 by EDVM96

[reedprincess]

9 minutes ago, Auntiejo said:

I have 2 Sterling reservations that I made 3 months ago for my upcoming voyage on Sapphire (that is, if we even sail). My beef (pun intended) is that there was no notification. I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for these forums and let’s face it, a large majority of people don’t even know about Cruise Critic so wouldn’t find out until they walked into that area for their reservation.
 

Everyone has different preferences so to each their own but Princess needs to communicate with booked passengers. I’m trying to be open minded and wait until I see a menu before deciding whether to cancel my scheduled dinners but personally any food items from a buffet line hold zero interest for me. I don’t ever eat any meal in the buffet, on a cruise or otherwise. But I realize I’m in the minority on that. 

Menus and photos from Diamond 

*** Not my photos, courtesy of Keith Harris via FB ***

 

[JimmyVWine]

2 minutes ago, Coral said:

Let's hope they use higher quality ingredients at this restaurant

That’s a concern. I’ve been to several different Brazilian Steakhouses including Fogo (business dinners where I had no say in venue) and the quality of the meat at all of them was average at best. They try to disguise grocery store beef with theatrics. And the side dishes were all afterthoughts. 

[Coral]

4 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Menus and photos from Diamond 

*** Not my photos, courtesy of Keith Harris via FB ***

 

 

 

 

 

I welcome the Brazilian cheese bread! Yum! 

[DallasGuy75219]

3 hours ago, EDVM96 said:

That's not true.

 

Churrascaria Brazilian Grill is available on the Diamond since ca. early February now.
The same press release stated "and coming soon to Sapphire Princess" at that time.
 

🙄🙄🙄

Clearly OP meant no notice to people who already had reservations for Sterling Steakhouse.  I hope you don't seriously expect someone who made a reservation in advance to go scouring the internet for a press release (with Sapphire tangentially mentioned, at that) just in case Princess happened to change the type of restaurant before their sailing.

[EDVM96]

4 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

 

 

The question is, how often do they come around with the filet mignon.

 

[EDVM96]

Just now, DallasGuy75219 said:

I hope you don't seriously expect someone who made a reservation in advance to go scouring the internet for a press release (with Sapphire tangentially mentioned, at that) just in case Princess happened to change the type of restaurant before their sailing.

So whats's the problem? Just cancel and get the refund. Real drama here.

[JimmyVWine]

3 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

The question is, how often do they come around with the filet mignon.

 

Maybe you can use Ocean Now to order it from the app and brought to your table! 🤣

[JimmyVWine]

1 minute ago, EDVM96 said:

So whats's the problem? Just cancel and get the refund. Real drama here.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most difficult to find. 

[wcook]

3 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

meat on a stick

[DallasGuy75219]

9 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

So whats's the problem? Just cancel and get the refund. Real drama here.

The problem is Princess cheerleaders justifying or defending Princess' boneheaded and passenger-unfriendly decisions (i.e., "well if you had read that Diamond Princess press release, you would have known...").

[BlerkOne]

34 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

So whats's the problem? Just cancel and get the refund. Real drama here.

Too easy.