One of the aspects the Princess likes about cruising is formal night– getting all dressed up and taking pictures. If you are sailing on Anthem of the Seas and like to get dressed up, then Grande is your dining venue. At this complimentary restaurant, formal attire is required, including coats for the gentleman. It is time to get fancy with our Grande Anthem of the Seas review.

Review: Grande Anthem of the Seas

As luck would have it, on our 5 day Bermuda cruise on Anthem of the Seas, we were assigned to Grande on night two, which is typically a formal night on most cruises.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

The decor in Grande is elegant, similar to a typical main dining room found on most ships. With larger chandeliers, gold accents, plush chairs, and lots of velvet and textured linens, who couldn’t help but feel fancy in this ballroom-like venue.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

Since the portrait studios on Anthem of the Seas did not open until 6pm, we arrived to Grande right on time for our 5:30pm seating. Being our second night of Dynamic Dining Classic, we bypassed those Choice guests waiting in line and headed in the general direction of Table 108. Given that the room is on the opposite side of the ship, the layout is a mirror image of Chic, but we did recognize some familiar faces and a waiter was kind enough to point out our table for us.

Shortly after being seated, our waiter Manilow appeared, dressed in a suit coat himself, to welcome us to the restaurant and present the menus. We indicated that we would like to get cocktails, so he grabbed us a drink menu, filled our glasses of water, and brought over some bread, which contained a similar assortment as the night before.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

Many of the specialty drinks at Grande feature champagne, just another dash of elegance. The Princess ordered the J’Dore (featuring pear and apple flavors), and I did the Soixante Quinze, made with Hennessy Cognac similar to a sidecar cocktail, my personal favorite. Our cocktails were the perfect pairings for the evening, and given that our total dining time ran close to two hours, I ended up getting a second drink when the entrees arrived.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

During our previous experience at Grande on Quantum of the Seas, dinner took especially long. This time around, we were confronted with the same long delays between the courses. Not sure if it is the menu items or how they stagger Dynamic Dining Classic and Choice individuals, but dinner felt long and dragged out tonight.

For starters, we went relatively light. The Princess did a Caesar Salad (again), which was pretty basic but suited her tastes.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

I had one order of shrimp cocktail- yes, that’s all! Of course, I was really saving room for the lobster and additional entrees. I could have easily had more shrimp cocktail, as they were nice and crisp with a cocktail sauce that had just the right amount of kick, but I needed to pace myself.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

Grande is really all about the entrees, at least for me. The Princess, who is a picky eater, never really gets to enjoy the menus because she primarily eats chicken.

With the current Grande menu, that meant getting the very basic grilled chicken breast from the Classics. The chicken was simple and plain, just the way she likes it.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

I was all about the lobster! While I have been known to throw back four lobster tails in a single seating, this time around I only had two, though not because I didn’t like them. On the contrary, they were much better than the similar lobster tails offered on the Quantum of the Seas menu a year ago. The lobsters came out steamed and fresh, with a serving of melted butter. I actually passed on the butter as I enjoy them cooked as is.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

While you can pair the lobster tails with the Filet Mignon, I actually decided to try the Osso Bucco. Most cruises do not offer much veal, so when I saw this option, I went for it. It was just as good, if not better, than high end restaurants back home. The veal was tender and slid right off the bone. If I didn’t already have two lobster tails, I may have ordered a second serving of this entree.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

Having fully stuffed myself, I now had to find some room for dessert. The wife went with the Red Velvet New York Style Cheesecake. While she usually laments that the cheesecake on cruise ships isn’t really New York style cheesecake, she was pleasantly surprised with this offering.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

Luckily my dessert, the Chocolate Bar, was sweet and small. Along with my coffee, I did all I could to fit in a few bites of the dessert. It was just the right mix of chocolate, paired with my usual vanilla ice cream.

Grande Anthem of the Seas

To recap, our time spent at Grande, while long, was quite delicious. The entrees were the real stars here, but both the starters and desserts were good too. After sampling the rest of the menus on this cruise, Grande would come away as my clear favorite in terms of food. The only down side was the slow service. Our server Manilow was working hard; we could see him literally running around the place. But, with a total dining time of two hours, this is not the restaurant for a quick in and out before a show.

Summary

• Type of Food-  Classics
• Meals served- Dinner
• Dress code- Formal
• Cost- Complimentary

Comments

Have you eaten at Grande? What are your favorite items on the menu? Drop us an anchor below to tell us about your dining experiences on this Quantum-class cruise ship.