Balcony Dining and Chef's Table Questions

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Which part of the ship did they use for your group UBD?

 

They used the closed side of horizen court, put some planters around the area and cordonned it off (only 1 person had to walk thru the cordonned off area)

The photographer came up there twice as the glare was bad the first time :D

It was great sharing the evening with our friends

[calval]

My wife is an excellent cook and has been fascinated by galley tours on several previous cruises. The Chef's Table experience would be super for her on our next cruise on the Crown Princess. But one question. Neither of us basically drink. A teensy bit of wine rarely. So would this be totally out of place if we were not interested in tasting a bunch of different wines? Has anyone done this that doesn't drink or drink much? How did the staff react to it?

[Colo Cruiser]

My wife is an excellent cook and has been fascinated by galley tours on several previous cruises. The Chef's Table experience would be super for her on our next cruise on the Crown Princess. But one question. Neither of us basically drink. A teensy bit of wine rarely. So would this be totally out of place if we were not interested in tasting a bunch of different wines? Has anyone done this that doesn't drink or drink much? How did the staff react to it?

 

Just answered you same question on the other thread.

 

Not at all, we are not wine drinkers at all and there are many that did not want to sample all the different foods either.

Feel free to consume what you are comfortable with.

The Maitre'D and the Executive Chef will appreciate whatever your tastes are. ;)

[Griff4AU]

We just did both on the CB and they are exceptional experiences.

My wife was wondering why I was racing us on to the ship, and why we HAD to be there early. Well, the Chef’s Table and UBD were the reasons.

You cannot book either ahead of time.

First, the Chef’s Table. It has become so popular, largely because of this forum (as stated by the Maitre D himself) that they often have two, or sometimes three per cruise. Three hours for dinner? No problem, the time absolutely flew by. Spending time in the kitchen with the Executive Chef and Maitre D, while dinner was being served (yet their attention was on you), was very impressive. Some of the courses / appetizers they served while we were in the kitchen were outstanding. Then on to a wonderful dinner in the dining room. No standard fare there. It was such a wonderful experience that I asked the Maitre D if there was any room on the 2nd Chef’s Table during the cruise. He just smiled. This was absolutely one of the highlights of the cruise, and one that we will repeat.

As for the Ultimate Balcony Dining, this was another treat. They only offer 2 per night (it is very time intensive for them). They send a camera man to your cabin for pics. We both had the Surf & Turf, and they were delicious. It was Sterling’s Surf and Turf, and not the food from the dining room. It was the largest filet I have ever had (at 5’10, fairly muscular, and weighing in at 215 – I’ve had my share of good and big meals) and the lobster was excellent. For two plus hours, the waiter (George on the CB) is yours. We almost canceled the UBD as we had already enjoyed Sabatini’s and the Chef’s Table this cruise. I am very glad we didn’t cancel it. We thoroughly enjoyed the UBD. Without question we will do it again.

The next time I sail Princess, if you’re on my ship, you may see me trying to get on board as early as possible to reserve Chef’s Table and UBD again. You’ll be amazed how quickly this big-man can move. “Just one guy’s opinion”, but the Chef’s Table and the UBD are that good!

[Woobstr112G]

We just did both on the CB and they are exceptional experiences.

 

My wife was wondering why I was racing us on to the ship, and why we HAD to be there early. Well, the Chef’s Table and UBD were the reasons.

 

You cannot book either ahead of time.

 

First, the Chef’s Table. It has become so popular, largely because of this forum (as stated by the Maitre D himself) that they often have two, or sometimes three per cruise. Three hours for dinner? No problem, the time absolutely flew by. Spending time in the kitchen with the Executive Chef and Maitre D, while dinner was being served (yet their attention was on you), was very impressive. Some of the courses / appetizers they served while we were in the kitchen were outstanding. Then on to a wonderful dinner in the dining room. No standard fare there. It was such a wonderful experience that I asked the Maitre D if there was any room on the 2nd Chef’s Table during the cruise. He just smiled. This was absolutely one of the highlights of the cruise, and one that we will repeat.

 

As for the Ultimate Balcony Dining, this was another treat. They only offer 2 per night (it is very time intensive for them). They send a camera man to your cabin for pics. We both had the Surf & Turf, and they were delicious. It was Sterling’s Surf and Turf, and not the food from the dining room. It was the largest filet I have ever had (at 5’10, fairly muscular, and weighing in at 215 – I’ve had my share of good and big meals) and the lobster was excellent. For two plus hours, the waiter (George on the CB) is yours. We almost canceled the UBD as we had already enjoyed Sabatini’s and the Chef’s Table this cruise. I am very glad we didn’t cancel it. We thoroughly enjoyed the UBD. Without question we will do it again.

 

The next time I sail Princess, if you’re on my ship, you may see me trying to get on board as early as possible to reserve Chef’s Table and UBD again. You’ll be amazed how quickly this big-man can move. “Just one guy’s opinion”, but the Chef’s Table and the UBD are that good!

 

I'm going on the Emerald (T/A) in Oct. First time for us on princess. Looking forwarrd to trying the Chef's table and UBD, I've heard nothing but excellant reviews for both. Sure hope I am able to get both since they are now so popular.

 

Bob

 

Future: Diamond Princess Aus/Nz 01/09

Future: Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Constellation Europe 07/06

Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Rhapsody Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

Spledour Of The Seas Baltic 09/99

Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

[pryd]

I got the gift of the Breakfast Ultimate Balcony dining by a dear friend. The cruise was a 16 day to Hawaii with my Mom so the Dinner option was just too much and too romantic for a mother and son.

 

I am not sure if it was because of the wait staff, or because I was in the bathroom when she arrived and Mom let her in, but this was the WORST experience I could ever imagine.

 

without asking, she opened the balcony, grabbed the small table dragged it inside cleared off the inside small table, threw a tablecloth down over both and dropped the trays of food down, and left. All this was before I could get out of the bathroom to supervise, or give her a tip (Yeah right) No recheck on us...nothing. We sat on the bed and balanced the plates and serving plates on our laps trying to open the small bottle of champagne at the same time. Food was good, very small portions, and definately a "We won't do that again look" was passed silently between my mom and me.

[traveler525]

What type of foods did they serve at Chef's Table? At dinner, did have a choice (for instance, I do not care for seafood, but DH does).

 

Thank you!

[Josie2]

close toed shoes??? I'm not taking any - only sandals. Is this really enforced?

[rdsqrl]

I'm going on the Emerald (T/A) in Oct. First time for us on princess. Looking forwarrd to trying the Chef's table and UBD, I've heard nothing but excellant reviews for both. Sure hope I am able to get both since they are now so popular.

 

Bob

 

 

You'll love the Chef's Dinner -- rush, rush, rush to the maitre d' as soon as you're onboard and grovel for a spot on the list. It was so worth it.

 

What type of foods did they serve at Chef's Table? At dinner, did have a choice (for instance, I do not care for seafood, but DH does).

 

Thank you!

 

There is no choice; it's a set menu. That said, the evening is not nearly as seafood-heavy as say the Sabatini's menu or the main dining room menus are. Two of the four apps were seafood: caviar and a crab cocktail. Then the risotto course had lobster. The entree was a trio of beef, pork, and venison medallions. The cheese course and dessert were non-seafood. Even skipping the seafood parts, there's still plenty of food! Of course the menus do vary somewhat, but that main theme of a meat-based entree seems to stay the same in all the ones I've read about on here.

 

close toed shoes??? I'm not taking any - only sandals. Is this really enforced?

 

I threw a pair of ballerina-style flats in my bag -- they looked just marginal with my outfit for the evening, but I changed shoes as soon as dinner was over. It was worth it not to be turned away. I believe it's only for the galley portion and it's a safety/health regulation. Two of the women in our group wore tennis shoes because those were the only non-sandal type shoes they had. Ballet flats take up no room and weigh nothing in the suitcase, so it was a minor trade-off for me and I hate closed-toe shoes -- they stay in the closet until the first frost!

[traveler525]

Thanks rdsqrl! We will "rush" to book :-))

[many cruises]

We did the Chef's Dinner on the Crown and I didn't have any closed toe shoes to wear. I wore my open toe shoes and it wasn't any problem. Don't worry about the shoes...this was a wonderful dining experience & everyone should try it at least once!

[DeRon]

close toed shoes??? I'm not taking any - only sandals. Is this really enforced?

I can't believe this. My wife is saying "no way" if this is the rule. I also wonder if really enforced. Who takes closed toe shoes on a cruise besides tennis shoes?

[Griff4AU]

close toed shoes??? I'm not taking any - only sandals. Is this really enforced?

Not enforced at all. The Maitre D said they had to put that on the list "to protect the guest..the feds made them add it as a requirement". I asked if it would be enforced, and he said no. My bride didn't have any and it wasn't even mentioned.

[pamwinn]

I just got off the Dawn today. They didn't even show us a list. We didn't have to wear the white lab coats when touring the kitchen and nothing was mentioned about dress or anything else. The called and told us when the date was, asked if we had any food allergies and that was it until we met them for the meal. I think the rules are changing.

[Griff4AU]

Maybe the Princess copyright cops will get me, but here is a pic from the Chef's Table on the CB for the 22 June sailing. My wife and I are the two seated in the middle. Maitre D on the left, and Joel, the Exec Chef towards the right. The young man with his arm on the shoulder of the Exec Chef is in culinary school and this was a gift to him by his family (everyone else was his family members except us and the couple to the far right). He was amazed. Again, a wonderful experience that I hope Princes continues to support, but not dillute the specialness of it.