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A Guide to Royal Princess Dining

 Linda Garrison

The 3,560 passenger Royal Princess was launched in 2013, and Princess Cruises kept many of the great dining options seen on other Princess ships. In addition, the cruise line added some new eateries where guests can savor interesting dishes. The ship has 14 different places that offer food.

On each voyage, the Royal Princess also offers special extra-surcharge meals designed for a special dining experience. For example, guests can dine at the Chef's Table Lumiere. This small private dining experience is in a lovely section of the Allegro dining room with a sheer curtain enclosing the amazing table and providing just the right amount of privacy.

Another special meal is the Wine Maker's Dinner, which is held in private wine cellar rooms of the Symphony and Allegro dining rooms. This dinner for up to 12 guests focuses on the pairing of wines with each dinner course.

The Royal Princess also offers guests the opportunity to have a special dinner or brunch on their own balcony. This Ultimate Balcony Dining has been very successful on other Princess ships and is a perfect romantic dinner or brunch. Waiters serve the meal by courses and dining al fresco on your own private balcony is certainly memorable.

All of these special meals require advance reservations.

Dining Options

Let's take a detailed look at the dining options of the Royal Princess cruise ship.

• Main Dining Rooms - Symphony, Allegro, Concerto

Crown Grill

Sabatini's.

• Horizon Court and Bistro

International Cafe

Alfredo's pizzeria, ocean terrace seafood bar.

• Casual Take-Away Restaurants - Trident Grill, Prego Pizzeria, Swirls

Main Dining Rooms

The Royal Princess has three main dining rooms, all of which look similar and have elegant decor and more space between tables than some other ships. Diners order from a menu, with multiple selections for appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and desserts. There's also a selection of simpler items (shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, grilled salmon, chicken, steak) that can be ordered if none of the nightly specials appeal to you.

Allegro (deck 6 aft) is the ship's traditional dining room, with two seatings for dinner. With traditional dining, guests sit with the same other assigned travelers at the same table each dinner.

Symphony (deck 5 midship) and Concerto (deck 6 midship) offer Anytime Dining at every dinner. Guests who select this option can eat anytime during dining hours. It's also possible to make reservations at a specific time.

Open seating breakfast from a menu is also offered in one of these dining rooms each day.

The Crown Grill is a popular classic steakhouse found on all Princess ships. On the Royal Princess, it's located just off the Wheelhouse Bar aft on deck 7. This location provides a nice place to meet and have a drink before or after dinner.

This specialty restaurant has a surcharge, but most agree the extra cost is worth it. The premium seafood and meats are exceptional.

Like the Crown Grill, Sabatini's is found on all the Princess ships . As its name suggests, this specialty restaurant features an Italian menu. On the Royal Princess, Sabatini's is on deck 5 forward near the reception desk. In addition to dinner, the restaurant serves a delicious, relaxing breakfast to those guests staying in the suites.

The menu at Sabatini's starts with a selection of antipasti, pasta, main courses, and desserts.

The sommelier staff does wine tastings on the Royal Princess cruise to northern Europe and the Baltic States . The wine and dining room staff pair the wines with appropriate snacks.

Horizon Court

The Horizon Court and Bistro cover much of deck 16 aft on the Royal Princess. This venue is the casual buffet and has multiple action stations serving a wide variety of international cuisines. The buffet is crowded at all meals, but the area is very large and there are never any long lines, so people move quickly through the various stations.

The Horizon Court and Bistro are open most of the day. A continental breakfast is served in the Bistro, followed by a regular breakfast with favorites that will suit travelers from all over the world. Some of the action stations are closed late in the morning to set up for lunch, which then rolls into dinner. One of the action stations is devoted to pastries and desserts and also has premium coffees.

During the cruise, two specialty meals are served at the Horizon Court for an extra surcharge. One is a Crab Shack dinner with many seafood favorites. The second is called Fondues and features several different cheese fondues.

The International Cafe on the Royal Princess is open 24 hours a day and is located on deck 5 in the Piazza. Although the premium coffee and tea are served a la carte, the breakfast, lunch, and dinner items are included in the basic fare. The morning pastries and hot sandwiches for lunch were especially good.

Alfredo's is a sit-down pizzeria on the Royal Princess that can seat 121 guests. It is located on deck 6 in the atrium. The complimentary menu includes a variety of Italian antipasti, soup and salads, pizzas, a calzone and pizza baguette, and delicious baked pasta in addition to desserts.

Gelato Gelateria

Gelato serves Italian-style ice cream and crepes for a fee. In addition to ice cream cones and cups, this gelateria offers sundaes, banana splits, and other temptations. It's a tempting addition to a Royal Princess cruise.

Vines is located in the Piazza on deck 5. This casual bar on the Royal Princess also serves Spanish tapas, Greek mezes, Venetian Cicchetti, Latin American pinchos, and Caribbean cutters to accompany the wine.

Over 30 different wines can be purchased by the glass, and some of the bites are also featured as appetizers in Sabatini's.

The Ocean Terrace seafood bar on the Royal Princess offers a variety of a la carte ocean treasures, including oyster shooters, fresh sushi and sashimi, ahi tuna, and king crab.

Casual Take-Away Restaurants

Along with the numerous sit-down restaurants with their own seating areas, the Royal Princess has several casual takeaway restaurants, most located around the swimming pool on deck 16 . These include the Trident Grill, which serves hot dogs, hamburgers, and other grilled items; Prego Pizzeria; and Swirls ice cream bar, which has complimentary soft-serve ice cream in both chocolate and vanilla.

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Royal Princess Buffet Items

By pris993 , July 11, 2022 in Princess Cruises

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Going on Royal Princess.  My DH has dementia, so we will be eating in the buffet for lunch and dinner.  We do breakfast in cabin.   Wondering if anyone who eats at buffet has any favorite items we might look for when on board.  We are going over Christmas and New Year's, so will be on 14 days. 

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The Royal Princess has various sections in their buffet which includes many different items. Right now I have read that selections are limited to a few serving lines. By Christmas the selections should expand, hopefully. You really have to look at all the different lines to see what is available each day. After a number of days you will remember where the items you enjoy are located.

Dinner entrees normally include some of the same items that are available in the DRs.

Pris, don't forget that you can get food and beverage delivery throughout the ship.  I guess they can deliver to the buffet area if there is anything you want from that menu.

Pre-Covid, I would make a salad at the buffet for lunch (a wonderful selection of salad fixings) and then I'd go grab a grilled chicken breast from the hot dog grill to add to the salad.  That was my favorite lunch.

Also, don't forget the selections from the International Cafe, if your husband would be comfortable in the Piazza.

If I see the chocolate croissants, that what I grab. They’re available at the buffet and the international cafe in the morning. They have various flavours throughout the cruise but it’s the chocolate ones I have to have. I also love the salads at lunch and dinner. You can put whatever you want and I find they have a decent selection of toppings. I also eat too many of those dinner rolls that are soft inside and crispy outside.

Don't forget Alfredo's. Opens for lunch and stays open into the evening for dinner. Waiter served.

My experience with the buffet dinners are that each night there is a different international theme, so each night there are different options.

Rick&Jeannie

10 hours ago, Daniel A said: My experience with the buffet dinners are that each night there is a different international theme, so each night there are different options.

Yes...usually different every night.  Of course there are ALWAYS some of the same selections but as far as the main "theme" of the night often times it is loosely based on the port you're at.

21 hours ago, Lizabu said: If I see the chocolate croissants, that what I grab. They’re available at the buffet and the international cafe in the morning. They have various flavours throughout the cruise but it’s the chocolate ones I have to have. I also love the salads at lunch and dinner. You can put whatever you want and I find they have a decent selection of toppings. I also eat too many of those dinner rolls that are soft inside and crispy outside.

Thanks will have to look for these my DH is from Paris, I am sure he will like the chocolate croissants!!

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• Royal Princess deck plans

Royal Princess deck 16 plan (Lido-Pools-Cabins)

Deck layout and review, review of royal princess deck 16 (lido-pools-cabins).

Fountain Pool area has 2 swimming pools and 4 outdoor Jacuzzies (whirlpool hot tubs) and is served by Mermaid’s Tail Bar (outdoor), the Grill and the Pizza bars.

Trident Grill (poolside fast food bar- burgers, hotdogs, chicken, fries, bratwurst, soda, beer, open 11 am - 9 pm; food is complimentary)

Prego Pizzeria (complimentary, offering fresh pizza by the slice)

Plunge Pool (round-shaped deep pool)

Seaview Bar (portside location specialty cocktails bar with panoramic views – cantilevered 28ft/8,5m over the Royal ship’s edge; featuring bartending shows/bottle-tossing, mixing)

Calypso Cabana (selling picnic baskets, sandwiches, desserts, champagne/wine packages)

Swirls Bar (ice cream parlor)

Horizon Court & Bistro (self-service buffet restaurant, capacity 900 indoor-, and Horizon Terrace 350 outdoor seats); menu includes Italian, Mediterranean, Asian, Mexican cuisine, themed dinner specials, all complimentary; open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, with themed lunch buffet between 11:30 am - 3:30 pm)

Part of the Horizon Buffet are the Crab Shack/seafood bar, and the Fondues/cheese bar (both with $20 PP surcharge), and The Pastry Shop (self-service, complimentary desserts station – cakes, sweets, pastries, chef demonstrations)

Horizon Terrace outdoor buffet area (350 seats) served by the Outrigger Bar

Lido Deck cruise cabins from L101 to L302, of which Inside (categories IB, IC, IE, IF), Balcony (categories BC, BF, BZ), Deluxe balcony rooms (DC, DF, DZ), Mini-Suites (categories MC, MF, M6).

Lido restaurant

Buffet breakdown: Which cruise lines have self-serve buffets, and which ones don't?

It's time to pick up the tongs. Nearly a year since big-ship cruising restarted for U.S. passengers, a few things have changed with regard to onboard protocols — capacity is increasing , social distancing is practically nonexistent and masks are optional . But perhaps none of the changes is as disturbing to me as the return of self-service buffets, with six of the industry's eight major lines allowing passengers to, once again, serve themselves.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good buffet setup. What I don't love, however, is the blatant disregard of buffet etiquette by some passengers. I've seen people sneeze and then touch the communal serving utensils without washing up or — worse — simply forgo said utensils and grab food with their bare hands . Gross!

That's why I was so excited when, as an initial COVID-19 precaution, several cruise lines decided to make their buffets crew-served. Sure, it takes additional staff, and it can be annoying when someone else is in charge of your portions. But it's more sanitary — since some viruses (though not COVID-19) spread via contaminated surfaces — and it also helps to control waste. You can always go back for seconds (or thirds or fourths) if you want more.

But now that protocols are being relaxed, several lines have reverted to self-service. Others never offered a different option in the first place. Here, I'll run down a list of brands that have the serving spoons on the passengers' side of the sneeze guards, as well as the ones that are still holding out.

Carnival Cruise Line

Unlike several other cruise lines, Carnival 's buffets were always of the self-serve variety , even immediately after the line's July 2021 post-shutdown restart. Passengers on all Carnival vessels are able to serve themselves in the onboard buffets.

"Because the crew are all vaccinated, and because 95% of guests are [vaccinated] as well, and after all the professional advice we have taken, the buffets … are going to be exactly as they were, meaning you will serve yourself," Carnival brand ambassador John Heald said of the decision in a June 2021 Facebook post.

Celebrity Cruises

Along with sister brand Royal Caribbean, Celebrity was one of the first lines to say it would temporarily scrap self-service buffets. But the move might not be so temporary after all.

"For the foreseeable future, our buffets will be crew-served and not self-serve," the line told The Points Guy.

Disney Cruise Line

When Disney first brought its ships back into service, it employed crew-served buffets to help minimize the risk of germ spread. Effective April 1, 2022, its vessels' buffets are back to being self-serve.

Holland America Line

Because of its slightly older clientele, Holland America has always been cautious when it comes to buffets. Even before "coronavirus" became a household word, cruise lines had to contend with norovirus.

HAL ships switched to crew-served buffets several years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, partially in an effort to combat potential outbreaks of norovirus, which is easily spread via contaminated surfaces. The line continues to employ the practice on all of its vessels.

"We made the switch to align with premium [cruising] and our goals for service," a representative from the line told TPG.

MSC Cruises

The first mainstream cruise line to restart operations with Mediterranean voyages in December of 2021, MSC Cruises initially began sailings with crew-served buffets. Effective April 1, 2022, it is back to allowing passengers to serve themselves.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian has been one of the most stringent cruise lines in terms of COVID-19 precautions. In the beginning, it was the first — and one of the only — lines to require full vaccination for all passengers, as well as crew members. That has since been relaxed.

As part of NCL's initial return to service, the line had the crew serve cruisers at its buffets, but it has since reverted to self-serve.

Princess Cruises

Princess ' cruise ships currently allow for self-service, with passengers able to pick up their own plates and utensils and scoop their own fare in most areas at the onboard buffets. Some stations are still served by crew members, however.

Royal Caribbean International

As one of the trailblazers in the crew-served buffet arena, Royal Caribbean required passengers to ask the crew for what they wanted when the line's sailings first returned in 2021. Starting April 2, 2022, the brand brought back self-service and issued the following statement:

"Royal Caribbean International will bring back self-service dining in ... the Windjammer Marketplace, Solarium Bistro and at private destinations. Grab-and-go dishes and single-serving portions will continue as a permanent offering."

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