When embarking on a Princess Cruise, one of the most anticipated experiences for many travelers is food & dining. The cruise line has generally been known to have some of the better food options compared to other cruise brands. After 16 days on the Sky Princess, I can say that the food in the dining rooms was above average, but nothing stood out as excellent.
But in all fairness, these days few things are truly excellent when it comes to cruise main dining rooms.
The Essence of Princess Cruises Dining
Princess Cruises has built a reputation for its commitment to quality and innovation in dining. The main dining rooms are the centerpiece of this commitment, where passengers can enjoy a wide range of dishes planned by expert chefs. The menus are designed to cater to a variety of tastes, with an emphasis on fresh, locally sourced ingredients and diverse culinary traditions.
One of the things we love the most about Princess Cruises, is their attempt to make dining experiences align with itineraries. When possible, there will be themed dinners based on the location of the ship on the itinerary. This is a nice touch.
Other surprises in the main dining rooms were evenings where items like Beef Wellington and Lobster Tail were served (at no extra charge).
A lot of cruise lines are doing away with “Steak and Lobster” nights, but Princess still offers these popular items on certain evenings.
TIP: Look which evenings are considered “Gala Nights”, which is when you’ll want to go to the main dining room for the lobster! So if you’re planning on a specialty dining evening, you can book around the Gala Nights.
Exploring the Dining Room Menus on Princess
Princess Cruises regularly updates its main dining room menus to reflect seasonal ingredients and current culinary trends. In 2024, several new dishes have been introduced, alongside some beloved classics. The menus typically include appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and desserts, with vegetarian, gluten-free, and other dietary options available.
Lunch Menu & Dinner Menu below:
Appetizers and Starters: The appetizer section often features a mix of light and flavorful options such as shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon, and seasonal salads. New additions for 2024 include a beet and goat cheese terrine and an Asian-inspired tuna tartare.
Soups and Salads: Princess Cruises is known for its hearty soups and fresh salads. Classic favorites like French onion soup and Caesar salad remain, while new entries like a roasted butternut squash soup and a quinoa and kale salad add variety.
Main Courses: The main courses are where the culinary team truly tries to take some creative effort, offering everything from steaks and succulent seafood to creative vegetarian dishes. New for 2024, the menu includes a miso-glazed sea bass, a vegan mushroom risotto, and a herb-crusted rack of lamb.
Desserts: No meal is complete without dessert, and the main dining room’s dessert menu does not (usually) disappoint. Passengers can indulge in rich chocolate cakes, fruit tarts, and new creations like a lemon basil panna cotta and a deconstructed apple pie. Of course, the Princess Love Boat Dream dessert is always fun. It’s heart-shaped layers of chocolate raspberry mousse and vanilla raspberry cream on a cookie.
Lunch In the Main Dining Rooms
It’s good to know that on embarkation day as well as most sea days, one of the dining rooms will be open for lunch service. They are sometimes themed, for example, “Pub Lunch” which would be fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, etc. It’s a great option to the buffet, for sure.
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Notable Changes to Princess Cruises Dining
Princess Cruises has made several changes to enhance the dining experience in 2024. These changes reflect passenger feedback and the cruise line’s commitment to staying current with culinary trends.
Most of the changes are with how dining rooms are now separated by anytime dining and classic dining with set schedules (early and late time slots). Until recently, it was possible to walk up to any open dining room and get seated relatively quickly, OR you could choose a fixed time in any dining room. But that led to inefficiency mixing fixed dining and anytime dining in the same location. So this change is to address service level concerns and making it easier for fixed dining time passengers to have the same table and same server every night.
