Holland America Westerdam
I used to wonder why anyone would pay for food on a cruise ship when you can get all the food you want and then some at no extra charge. The dining room serves multi-course meals and there’s always a buffet. Cruise ships also offer room service, often for free. But they also all have at least one eatery that has a surcharge, often more than one.
The waiter brought us each an extra appetizer before the ones we ordered.
On my most recent cruise on Holland America’s Westerdam, I had the opportunity to experience the regular dinner service at the Pinnacle Grill, their fancy restaurant. The dinner there is definitely worth the extra charge, but those wishing to spend less money to try the food there can make reservations for lunch instead. It is a different menu for lunch than for dinner though.
Pinnacle Grill has some tasty soup
We had great service with two waiters for our party of five. The menu had lobster available in several dishes, including lobster macaroni & cheese. The first course had a variety of soup and salad options for the appetizer. We all chose something different and everyone liked what they got. Certain menu items include some tableside preparation.
Baked Alaska, still flaming
For the main course, my sister ordered the lamb kabob. This the waiters brought to the table with a cart where they flambéd it tableside before moving the food from the skewer to a plate and serving it. My father’s baked Alaska came to the table in a similar manner. It kind of provides a bit of a show with the meal when they do that.
A delay in dessert service brought us these awesome truffles
Our dessert had a bit of a delay, so in the meantime they served a dish of homemade truffles in several varieties, all very rich and delicious. The dish of truffles alone would have made an excellent dessert, and had more than enough for everyone.
too much good stuff
I expected a small cake with a molten center when I ordered the chocolate lava volcano, but instead got a large pot of melty chocolate goodness. More than I could eat following such an excellent meal.
grilled lobster tail
I ordered soup for my starter, and a stuffed chicken breast for the main course. They also added a small bowl of the lobster macaroni since I had inquired about that, as lobster and macaroni and cheese aren’t normally things people put together. They worked well together though, it tasted quite good. My dad tried the broiled lobster tail, which he liked quite well. I probably would have ordered the lobster too except we had just had lobster the night before at the formal night dinner in the dining room. They cook it differently at the Pinnacle Grill though.
side dishes of potatoes, asparagus, and lobster macaroni & cheese
I also enjoyed my chicken and had more than enough to eat before dessert came, but it’s a cruise so people live it up and I’m no exception. Besides the chicken I had the regular sides of asparagus and potatoes plus they’d brought me the lobster macaroni as well. There’s a reason everyone says people gain weight on a cruise! (We do try to curb the weight gain by avoiding elevators and always taking the stairs.)
It’s not just the food at the pay-extra eateries that make for a special dinner, it’s the service and the extra little things included with the delivery and the whole ambiance of the venue that make the experience worth the extra charge.
pre-meal bread came with a dish of fancy butters
- Pinnacle Grill dinner menu
Cruise Stories 
So this landlubber has a question: from the picture it seems that vessel when its sailing with all its passengers is easily the size of a town. When you’re out there on the open seas, do you ever feel the motion of the ship? The last thing I’d want to feel is sea sick while fine dining. I’m funny that way.
Normally the seas where these ships sail are calm enough not to feel motion on such large vessels, but if it gets stormy enough they will rock. There’s been a few times when everyone looked like drunks staggering down the halls due to the motion of the ship on a couple of our cruises. My cousin who is very motion sensitive (enough to get ill on a plane with no turbulence) was always aware of just the normal forward motion of the ship as it sailed from place to place, but most people don’t notice it.
Say no more. I’m already reaching for the Dramamine.
Hahaha, I bring Dramamine because I have a history of motion sickness. I’ve taken it on occasion as a preventative when the seas were rough, but never actually had a motion sickness problem on a cruise so far.
The food looks delicious. That is a very good tip you mentioned about trying a fancier restaurant at lunchtime. I’ve found that is a great way to try food at finer dining establishments even back on land. Even though the menus between lunch and dinner are different, often the flavor profiles and ingredients for the lunch and dinner menus are similar. So you still get a good meal. And yes, the prices at lunch time are much more in line with more casual dining restaurants in the area.
Great post, although now I’m hungry again after reading this!
Food is something I always look forward to on cruises. That’s a good point about saving money trying the fancier places at lunchtime on land as well as at sea.
why pay go to the lido or main dinig rm. DAH!
You don’t actually have to pay to go to the Lido or the main dining room. They’re included with the cruise.
Yum! this is making me so hungry!
I did the pay extra sushi place on my Alaskan cruise. It was well worth the $15 price, the amount of sushi I ate probably would have cost me $100 at home. I just kept ordering until I couldn’t eat any more.
The pay-extra places do seem to be worth the extra money. The sushi you are talking about was on the Norwegian Sun. Norwegian does seem to have quite a variety of pay-extra places.