Meldrum
-
Posts
91 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by Meldrum
-
-
1 hour ago, h20skibum said:
Are they listing Kai Sushi as a specialty? This article has listed it as one of the casual restaurants that would be part of the Plus 2https://thetravelista.net/travel/cruise/sun-princess-dining/
Yes, it is listed as 'Speciality Dining' in the Princess app with a cover charge of $39.00 per person.
-
1
-
-
We are booked on the march 29 sailing from Rome to Rome. We cannot book Dining reservations yet, but we can see what we can book and at what price:
Crown Grill, The catch by Rudi, Kai Sushi: $39.
The Butchers block by Dario, Umai Teppanyaki/Hot Pot: $49.
Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria: $35.
-
1
-
2
-
-
5 hours ago, chrismch said:
Looks like Viking has a Philippino lounge band like many of the other cruise lines, too. We love listening to live music and my husband always enjoys chatting with the band afterward as he's a musician.
On Viking, band musicians and singers are very approachable. We could request any song we liked and they played it/sung it the same night or if they were not familiar with it, they will study it and try to perform it on the next occasion. The Philippine singer remembered most names of the passengers in his audience after only asking it once, days earlier. The Philippine guitar player even allowed a passenger to play music (harmonica) with him, live on stage in Torshaven bar. I’m sure your husband will like this!
-
1
-
-
Although evening entertainment is not Oceania's strongest point, there is almost every night something to see and hear in the Lounge. Typically, there is one musician (violinist, flute player…), one good singer or duo and one comedian or magician during one cruise. On other evenings there are the production shows with the onboard talents and occasionally a movie is shown. After the show there is live music in Horizon, featuring mostly songs from the Great American Songbook. I can't remember how many times we listened to songs like 'Fly me to the moon' or 'Strangers in the Night' on Oceania cruises :-).
On Viking, entertainment in the theatre is even less impressive. On our last cruise there were three production shows if I can remember well, with songs from Abba, The Beatles (one destination on our cruise was Liverpool) and the third one I forgot. There was also one guest singer on board with two different performances. The other nights Viking showed a recent movie on a big screen on the pool deck, complete with popcorn and seats with blankets. After the show or movie there was live music in Torshaven, a kind of dark Night club, which we actually liked a lot. There, the onboard band played music accompanied by two singers or there was just one guitar playing singer. It was repetitive after a few days with again many American songs. Viking is a Scandinavian company, but they do a lot of marketing in the US and the ships have a majority of American passengers, hence the choice of music.
-
We sailed with Oceania many times, both on O and R ships. This year we sailed in July with Viking and in August with Oceania. We did appreciate Viking a lot, also for its excellent cuisine. We had a number of the same dishes on both cruises and sometimes Viking was better (e.g. Beef Wellington), other dishes were better on Oceania (e.g. Soufflé Grand Marnier) but most dishes were very good on both ships. Viking’s speciality restaurants are included and those on Oceania as well. We like Red Ginger on Oceania a lot, Chef’s table on Viking not so much. Toscana (OC) and Manfreddi’s (VI) are both excellent Italian restaurants. The buffet restaurant is slightly better on Oceania, and way better on special nights, like the Italian night. We found the pool grill on Viking better than Waves on Oceania, but both have excellent gourmet style burgers! Afternoon tea is much better on Oceania, however during tea time you can also visit Mamsens on Viking for excellent waffels, cakes and open sandwiches (smörrebröd).
We found breakfast room service better on Oceania, but only on a higher category cabin (concierge level and above) a hot breakfast is served. On Viking every cabin category can order hot food (e.g. Eggs Benedict) during breakfast room service, but their morning Coffee is almost undrinkable. Luckely, most cabines have a Nespresso Coffee machine on Viking (not so on Oceania).
In 2020 we have another cruise with Viking as well as a cruise with Oceania. We prefer Viking for cruises in the North (British Isles, Iceland, Alaska...) or in a cold saison and Oceania in warm regions like the meditteranean. The reason is this: Viking has a pool area that can be completely covered when it is cold or raining. On a cold or cloudy day, on a Viking ship we can still read a book, listen to some music, take a swim or step in to the jacuzzi and have some drinks. Holiday style! When it is raining or too cold, there is not so much you can do on an Oceania ship. That and the large indoor Wellness area on Viking with sauna, steam room and thalasso pool, makes it the perfect cruise line for us for all seasons and regions.
-
4
-
2
-
-
13 hours ago, clo said:
Like, how long? Can you say to your server that you're leaving soon if they can rush it a bit? It's not like they're making Hollandaise from scratch. Or do you like to sleep in? We're early risers so no biggie. Plus we don't do organized tours but rather DIY so our time is quite loose.
I would say around 35 to 45 minutes, depending on how busy it is. The breakfast delivery service is mostly very punctual, if you ask for 8:00 am, it will almost always be delivered at 8am. So if we are on an excursion, this is our prefered breakfast method. No stress to start your day.:-).
-
15 hours ago, drkitkat123 said:
So if you include the vegetarian and vegan meals in your choices (I would presume that a non-veggie person can order and eat them), is there still a reduction in choices?
Yes, I believe so, certainly for starters, soup and salads which include items that are repeated every day.
For the main courses, if you like vegetarian/vegan, than there is not a big reduction (maybe one choice less than back in 2015).
-
The Preismanns website is indeed a good source. Thank you to remind me about their site!
When I browse the menus from 2015, I see a lot has changed since then. On our last cruise (August 2019), there was less choice in the GDR. The same soup (lobster bisque) and salad was returning on the menu day after day. If I remember correctly there were only 4 or 5 choices for the main course (versus 7 choicesin 2015) and it always included a vegetarian and a vegan option (only 1 veg option in 2015). If you're not vegetarian or vegan you now have even fewer actual choices. Oh well, economics, healthy food and trying to avoid spoiling food are also important issues these days.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, Tansy Mews said:
On lazy days (or when you don't have to be off the ship early), have breakfast in the Grand Dining Room. Lovely and relaxing.
Frances
I know, but it usually takes too long and our next cruise has no sea days. We'll definetly try this on the last morning if we are not in a rush to go home.
-
If you book a concierge level veranda, you can always shower at the Spa deck. My friend, who is not so tall, prefered this instead of the cabin shower. The shower in the lower cabines is very small also on the refurbished ships. And sitting on the toilet is also very uncomfortable, with your knees hitting the wall. Despite that, we still prefer a Concierge level Veranda before a Penthouse. We do not need the canapés in the afternoon or the services of a butler or the extra space in the room and balcony.
-
1
-
-
The new tv’s on the refurbished R-ships do not have a free HDMI-port. And they do not have a dvd-player. The list of on-demand movies is however large enough, with many recent titles.
-
We booked our 7th cruise with Oceania, but for the first time we are not in a Concierge level or Penthouse Cabin.
I am afraid we will not have hot breakfast through Roomservice. Is that correct? What if I add Eggs Benedict on the Breakfast card that you hang on the cabin door at night. Would they deliver it or refuse the request?
Off course, we can always have breakfast in Terrace, but having breakfast in our cabin is so relaxed and feels so luxurious :-).
Does someone have a photo of the breakfast request card from a lower category cabin?
-
Medlrum - grilled shrimp sounds good - is the fish or lobster tail also grilled in Terrace? (sorry not meaning to hijack the OP's thread)
Yes, it's all available at the grill station. If you want, you can order your personal surf-and-turf. It's simple as well, but very tasty!
-
To answer the OP's question: it is a boring dish. Just some shrimps with a slightly spicy sauce if I remember correctly. The presentation was also very simple. Didn't ask it again altough I really like shrimps, scampi and lobster. In Terrace you can order grilled shrimps with butter sauce and you can combine it with fish or lobster tail.
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
-
The menu on paper is also in very small print, I could barely read it. I think it's an A3 size layout printed on A4. We never received them on Riviera or Marina either.
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
-
If you simply attach an iPad or other device on a free HDMI port, you are not fiddling at all. We disconnected the dvd-player from the television in our suite and instead connected my iPad. On disembarkation day, we reconnected the dvd-player.
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
-
There are always some 'A taste from Jacques' dishes on the menu. I suppose you can order these. Just look at the menu outside the GDR on the day you want to order in. The GDR menu is also included on a seperate paper inside the daily currents. Trust me, there are too many choices!
-
On Riviera in a PH suite we only asked our butler once for a 3 course dinner. I remember we ordered from Polo grill and Toscana (indeed, same kitchen). Food was not hot enough, so it was a one time experience.
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
-
Oceania replied and confirmed there is no additional deposit required but the already paid €300. It's our TA that wants more money in advance... Has anyone had the same experience with their TA?
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
-
Update: when we were onboard we asked the Concierge to see an unoccupied Oceanview and Veranda stateroom. These have Samsung televisions without HDMI or VGA inputs, only analogue inputs. Concierge told us that by July 2017 these staterooms will be refurbished and will get new televisions.
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
-
-
No, this time we booked an Ocean View. I suppose it's our TA that wants a larger deposit. I have contacted Oceania to find out who charged my credit card and why.
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
-
Update: the 'low deposit' seems to be untrue. We paid €300,00 deposit for our next cruise, booked onboard. This was immediately charged from my credit card. Now, two weeks later, Oceania charged another €1200 from my credit card as an extra deposit for that cruise! The Ambassador onboard never mentioned this! Is this a normal procedure? Or is it because we are Europeans?
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
-
We also booked a cruise while onboard Insignia. Price was slightly lower than showed on their website. We received $100 OBC for the cruise we were on. Deposit was only €150,00 (we are Europeans). What convinced me to book onboard was the 'Best Price Guarantee'. If we see the price dropped, we can ask and get the lower price. You cannot do this when you booked online or with a TA as we have experienced in the past. With Oceania's prices going up and down, this is an important benefit of booking onboard. It is true that we booked a cruise and cabin category while we are not 100% certain that we will do that cruise. We can still cancel and we can change to another cruise (only once though). If we cancel we will have to pay back the $100 OBC we received, but that's fair.
On our cruise there were a lot of passengers who booked their next cruise(s) onboard. Some booked for friends or relatives and they receive the same lower price and benefits (except the $100 OBC of course).
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
Sun Princess - Original
in Princess Cruises
Posted
Maybe there is a mistake in the app. The description of Umai Teppanyaki is definitely wrong. In the description the cover charge is $149, but the correct price should be $49 (I hope). If Butchers Block, also $49, is included in the Premier Package, why would Umai not be included? Unless $149 is the new correct price, which is not likely.