A Princess gets her Crown

One of the wonderful perks for any suite guest on Princess Cruises is the perk of having an included specialty restaurant meal on embarkation night. One of the caveats though, especially with the new Dine My Way part of the Medallion app, is to manage to book the reservation for the restaurant and time you want without being made to pay for it at the time of booking said reservation. Some cruisers have had success using the app by having it say $0 total when they got to the page for confirming the charge. Others have been charged and spent a few minutes once onboard at Guest Services to have the charge refunded. If you, as a suite passenger, get to the payment page while booking pre-cruise and it says anything other than $0 total charge or a discount of the usual charge making $0 total, it's better to wait until you are on board to make the reservation. My efforts on the app to make a reservation in the months leading up to the cruise yielded both results so I opted to wait knowing that we had the help of Thor to make arrangements. 

The Enchanted Princess has three main specialty restaurants that would cost extra to dine there. The cost is a blanket cover charge with the exception of a small cost if you choose to order a second entree. And just like the Main Dining Room (MDR), any drinks besides tap water, milk, lemonade, iced tea, or regular coffee will cost extra if you don't have a beverage package. Even if you have an included dinner as part of your booking or this suite perk, you will be charged for drinks without a package. One of the little known pluses in Princess' alcoholic beverage package is that while you can get regular size water bottles at any time included, you can only get the larger one liter bottles of water included while dining in a specialty restaurant. On RCL as Star Class, we noticed that when we asked for water in a restaurant, they automatically brought us bottled water while serving non Star Class passengers from a communal pitcher. We drink tons of water, especially at meals, so as long as something keeps getting refilled in our glasses, we don't normally care where it comes from. I was surprised though that once we asked for water, we weren't offered either bottled or tap. Of course, if I'd bothered to stop them before pouring and ask for bottled instead, it would have been no issue. Dad chose sparkling water so by default, he always was brought a bottle. The Crown Grill (Steakhouse) and newer addition to the Princess fleet, Bistro Sur La Mer (French restaurant) each cost $29 per person to dine there. The third option is Sabatini's (Italian) which saves a few dollars by only costing $25 per person. 

There's no limit to how many nights you can dine there, as long as there is reservation space and you pay the cover charge each time. I've heard from cruisers who hate the MDR so much that they intentionally book specialty dining for every night. Then again, others who say why pay extra when the MDR food is perfectly fine. 

One of the other upcharge options if you prefer something a little more intimate is the Salty Dog Gastropub. At last check, a meal here cost $18 per person and featured a more limited menu of small plate options. If you're into trying unique drinks and craft beers, this venue also has an extensive drink menu that you can partake whether you dine in the Gastropub or not. This often gets confused with the poolside grill that serves complimentary burgers, hot dogs, and a few new options always known as the Salty Dog Grill. 

Having sailed on several ships in the Princess fleet and having seen three different iterations of the Sabatini's menu, we were in agreement that if we could only do one specialty dining experience per cruise, we'd want it to be The Crown Grill. I craved the formerly named truffle fries (now called garlic and herb fries on the menu) and I wanted a redo from the last time. The last time we dined in The Crown Grill, I ordered the entree called "Maine Lobster Tail" Over the years, we've seen both small dishes per person of the sides and larger dishes to share. I chose to get the lobster entree by itself expecting to have plenty of food with the sides added. When this lobster tail came, my plate looked so empty with just the tail and a halved lemon. The halved lemon was physically bigger than the lobster tail. Dad's steak took up the entire plate and he graciously offered to share. This time I went from having adamantly decided to get the biggest steak entree listed to deciding to splurge and spend the extra $10 charge to the "Surf and Turf" option which is listed as the lobster tail and filet mignon. I'd heard of other cruisers switching it up to get the other steak cuts with the lobster tail and I was tempted to do that as well. 

With delivery of our drinks, the new presentation of bread arrived. Instead of a variety basket of bread options, all tables at The Crown Grill now get this pull apart cheesy garlic bread. Cheesy, Garlic, and Bread are three magic words to this Italian American but honestly, the bread's consistency seemed a little too tough. We each tried some and declined getting anymore. 

I only wish I could remember the name of the lovely gentleman who was our waiter this evening. He was delightful to chat with, gave great suggestions and recommendations, and was on the ball with our timing of service and drink refills. 

As we sat waiting for our food, a kind and funny gentleman by the name of Silvio Zampieri stopped by our table. At first we thought he might be the manager or Maitre'D of The Crown Grill dropping by each table to make sure all was well. Then as we chatted, we learned that he was actually the Director of Restaurant Operations for all of the eateries onboard. He surprised us with an offer to have a specialty dinner comped or as he put it "a gift on behalf of the company." It took us blockheads a bit to understand that he wasn't referring to tonight's dinner or the other one we had booked for later as part of the sale we booked under. Good thing I packed the stretchy pants! I'd like to apologize for any time Dad called you Sergio instead of Silvio. I also apologize to the crew who had been at the front podium when we stopped on the way out to ask for Silvio's name (we wanted to be sure to get his name right when we wrote up crew commendations) and their first instinct was of concern that we wanted to report a bad experience. When we returned to the cabin, we discovered the little papers that come with any gifted item detailing the item, the gifter (in our case it says Compliments of Princess Cruises), and a message to contact the dineline for reservation. 

Now back to the food porn everyone wants to see. For my appetizer, I chose the Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops, Salmon Caviar, Herb Beurre Blanc with wilted fennel and leeks. The scallops were a truly jumbo size and nicely seared. The sauce was tasty and helped with dipping the tough garlic bread. 

Dad's appetizer was the Hand-Cut Beef Filet Tartare with plancha sear, fried quail egg, smoky dressing, and crispy polenta sticks. He seemed to enjoy all of his dish. I tried a bit and just can't seem to get used to the taste and texture of a tartare style dish. However, I'm not sure I'd eaten quail egg before so bonus new food try!

And of course you have to try the Black and Blue Onion Soup with fresh thyme, Jack Daniels, and roquefort crust. We both enjoyed bowls of our own until I made myself save room for the rest of dinner. I managed to not end up with any dripped on my shirt so double win! Dad was pleasantly surprised that he liked this soup but was convinced he'd never had it before. 

For an entree, Dad went with the regular 8 oz Filet Mignon with a peppercorn sauce. He chose mashed potatoes as his side. I've taken to requesting my meat cooked medium after too many dried out meals but Dad is still choosing to go for medium well.

And the aforementioned Surf and Turf- 8 oz filet mignon, Maine lobster tail 6-7oz, served with drawn butter and your choice of sauce. I ordered béarnaise sauce (which also makes for an interesting fry dip), the garlic and herb fries, and asparagus as my sides. See, I threw some green veggies in there. Dad and I have a love/hate relationship with asparagus. Dad only likes it if it is thin and slimy out of a can. I only like it if it's prepared fresh like below so it still can be cut up without sliding across the plate. Unfortunately, even though it was served family style, the rest of my family wouldn't try it. I must say though, this was quite the redo from last time because that Maine lobster tail was so huge, I couldn't even tell the filet was underneath at first. The lobster tail was tastier than the filet but both were enjoyable. In all transparency, the $10 charge never showed up on my account. Whether that was a Sky Suite thing, a travel blogger gift, or the luck of someone deciding not to bother processing it, I can't say. While it was a charge I would have happily paid for such a wonderful entree, I thank you for the savings. Especially since it goes right back into the next cruise fund. :)

The infamous truffle...err..garlic and herb fries were actually a bit of a letdown. It seemed like they were fried too long and had the texture of matchsticks. I think we'll be going for the Roasted Marrow Bone & Shallot Crushed Potatoes rather than these fries next time.

When it comes to sweets for dessert, I didn't like the first three newer options since I don't love apple, key lime, or caramel in desserts. Having seen tons of other cruisers share photos of the new Chocolate Journey addition called the Warm Chocolate Mousse Trifle, I felt like we had to try it. Little bit of Princess factoid we learned later is that after spending quite a hefty sum to partner with Norman Love for a few years, Princess bought the rights to the name and the recipes from him. So now, what used to be listed on menus as "Norman Love's Chocolate Journeys" just says Chocolate Journeys and he is legally not allowed to make the dishes for anyone else. 

This dessert is described as "Warm Chocolate Mousse layered with light and airy cinnamon sponge cake, spiced cream, cookie crumbles, and creamy vanilla gelato. Fresh grapefruit segments add a tangy accent." I've watched enough food competition shows to know that the weirdest sounding ingredient combinations can actually end up being really tasty; and not only if you're having a weird pregnancy craving. My first impressions of this dish - if you're a chocoholic, you'll be in dessert heaven. Dad polished his off. After he was done I asked what he thought of the grapefruit segments. "There was grapefruit in this?" Me, who is more of an occasional chocolate eater, found it surprisingly enjoyable taste and texture wise. Once I'd consumed enough that it seemed like I was getting nothing but chocolate sauce for several spoonfuls, it became too rich tasting for me. I intentionally sought out the grapefruit to taste and found it such a contrast that I couldn't eat the entire grapefruit piece. I'd order this again if there was 1) no more grapefruit and 2) a kids size version. Or even, if you could add creamy peanut butter to this to balance out the sweetness. A fishbowl (as I affectionately call this and the other dessert from Sabatini's) of vanilla gelato covered in the flavors of a Reese's cup with those other non grapefruit items would be delicious - feel free to add my suggestion to the menu Princess' culinary team! 

After dinner, we headed to the Princess theater to enjoy the first show of the cruise. Usually these Welcome Aboard shows the first night introduce you to the Cruise Director, maybe feature some cruise officer/staff introductions and then provide a medley of the future entertainment you'll be seeing as the cruise goes on. Tonight's show was simply devoted to a little introduction from the Cruise Director Marcus and a full set performed by comedian Robbie Printz. We actually prefer the non straight singing/dancing shows so this was a nice change.

We also enjoyed taking advantage of another Sky Suite perk, reserved theater seating. April was always great about messaging us via WhatsApp to check in and confirm whether we'd need the seats saved. Then she'd meet us at the seats shortly before showtime to ask about our day and if we needed anything for tomorrow. I appreciated that the seats were up a bit from the front center floor seats and that Dad got to have the aisle seat he prefers. Having April to handle issues also comes in handy when other passengers take your reserved seats. The "reserved" seat toppers stay on those spots all the time as we found that they were there during an afternoon event as well. However, the extra touch of having April watch out for those seats until we arrived was only for the evening shows. One evening she offered to grab drinks and we agreed to her suggestion of water. Each time after that, she'd come back after we were seated with water bottles for all her two rows of reserved seating group. 

When we returned to the cabin this first night, we discovered a surprise left on the couch. The Katie Loxton bag held a cute clutch purse and the two boxed items are collapsible water bottles from the onboard shops. Later in the cruise, April asked Dad if he liked the hat she got him because the clutch purse was meant for me and the hat for him. Sorry Dad, but I'm the one with the cruise ship branded baseball cap collection, that's mine now! ;) I may have worn it with my medallion and a medal from winning Pictionary as my "Cruiser" Halloween costume this year.