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Chef's Table


jimvern1966
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I just have to share..... My mom and I sail Sunday on the Liberty. I decided yesterday that we should try to book the Chef's Table.... So I made the reservation on the website. This afternoon I received an email confirming our reservations and that our on board account would be charged after boarding. I'm so excited. :D

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I just have to share..... My mom and I sail Sunday on the Liberty. I decided yesterday that we should try to book the Chef's Table.... So I made the reservation on the website. This afternoon I received an email confirming our reservations and that our on board account would be charged after boarding. I'm so excited. :D

 

 

 

It is a unique and very enjoyable evening, enjoy!

 

 

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We have never done a Chef's Table.. not because we aren't adventurous eaters, but because we have been concerned about the atmosphere of the evening. Meaning... we are very casual people (not so casual that we would wear shorts or tank tops to the dining room), but we don't like to get super dressed up either (more like slacks/polo for DH and a sundress for me). We are on vacation and want to be comfy. :)

 

Please don't flame me on this, but we were concerned about the other passengers at the table, as we don't like to be around shall we say "stuffy" people. When we are on vacation we want to relax and not have any pretenses or awkwardness at dinner.

 

Can anyone share their experiences with the other passengers at the Chef's Table?

 

Is there set menu on each ship or does it vary? Is wine included in the dinner? Does anyone have any recent menus that that can share?

 

Thanks,

Angie

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We have never done a Chef's Table.. not because we aren't adventurous eaters, but because we have been concerned about the atmosphere of the evening. Meaning... we are very casual people (not so casual that we would wear shorts or tank tops to the dining room), but we don't like to get super dressed up either (more like slacks/polo for DH and a sundress for me). We are on vacation and want to be comfy. :)

 

Please don't flame me on this, but we were concerned about the other passengers at the table, as we don't like to be around shall we say "stuffy" people. When we are on vacation we want to relax and not have any pretenses or awkwardness at dinner.

 

Can anyone share their experiences with the other passengers at the Chef's Table?

 

Is there set menu on each ship or does it vary? Is wine included in the dinner? Does anyone have any recent menus that that can share?

 

Thanks,

Angie

 

We did the Chef's table on the Freedom in January of 2016 with the outgoing menu. There were I believe 13 people including my wife and I. None of us knew each other prior to the experience. There was a range of people there from 3 ladies on like girls cruise, some couples and some singles. Ages from 20s to 60s. The dress was all over the place from casual to one guy who dressed all the way up. Everyone felt comfortable. I wore a button up shirt with a tie but no coat. We met in the lobby bar and an crew member checked us off the list and started pouring champagne while we kinda made small talk. We then went to the dinning room annex which housed a large banquet table that we all sat around. They plied us with champagne as they gave us a tour of the galley in operation and Hors d'oeuvres then kept the wine flowing the entire time. The dinner itself is laid out in courses and encourages you to converse with your table mates with breaks between the courses as various chefs and senior crew and the magician all come by. We all became fast "cruise friends" and spoke with each other as we saw one another the remainder of the cruise. (This was the night of the first port of call.) They took our picture and sent it to our room the next day as a gift. I will admit that I'm kind of an introvert and not real outgoing and friendly in strange groups but the whole experience was so polished and well orchestrated that everyone had the grandest of times. (Except for that one guy who's wife made him come and all he wanted was a cheeseburger. You can just look our our group photo and know who I'm talking about.) There is one waitress/waiter who kinda heads up the service and ensures your wine glass never goes empty. I do not recall what I tipped her, but it was significant and well earned. Do it!

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Do you choose your wine? Do they charge for it or is it part of the PKG? Tia

 

Both the table wine and the champagne are included in the PP charge. You could chose between red and white wine (or both), I do not recall what the label was but I do vaguely recall them opening the bottles. We are not real big into wine but we found it quite agreeable. The chef would suggest we drink the white or red wine with a particular course and the waitstaff kept your wine glasses full the entire time. I don't think the vintage changed during the meal. They would also take specific orders for cocktails or specific wines and charge them to your S&S account. (We had Cheers which worked as well.) I recall the dressed up gentlemen was a wine aficionado and ordered some specific wines. He was also a great conversationalist and we had a lot of fun talking to him. I do not recall the champagne label either but I drank several glasses of it before they switched to wine for the main courses. I think I may have ordered a cocktail from the bar then just drank wine the remainder of the time. It flowed freely all you can drink wine and champagne.

 

 

We have pleasant memories of this event. It was the "perfect" cruise day. We had gone on a fabulous Uxmal tour in Progresso, come back to the ship and had a few drinks then had this marvelous chef's table experience. Afterwards was, admittingly, a bit of a blur. This day was the reason you cruise. Like an addict I've been searching for it everyday since then. In fact DW, who is not a cruise addict all, asked if I had booked the chef's table again for our upcoming Breeze cruise in January and was quite pleased when I told her I did about 5 minutes after booking the cruise nearly a year in advance.

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Did it in Anthem and it was the highlight of the whole trip! We did it the first day so it was discounted. Only had 6 people and it was sold out the rest of the week. Go with an open mind and stomach! Just a tip you easily lose track of how much you drink. I was a bit hung over next day and couldn’t do ifly. Enjoy!

 

 

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We have never done a Chef's Table.. not because we aren't adventurous eaters, but because we have been concerned about the atmosphere of the evening. Meaning... we are very casual people (not so casual that we would wear shorts or tank tops to the dining room), but we don't like to get super dressed up either (more like slacks/polo for DH and a sundress for me). We are on vacation and want to be comfy. :)

 

Please don't flame me on this, but we were concerned about the other passengers at the table, as we don't like to be around shall we say "stuffy" people. When we are on vacation we want to relax and not have any pretenses or awkwardness at dinner.

 

Can anyone share their experiences with the other passengers at the Chef's Table?

 

Is there set menu on each ship or does it vary? Is wine included in the dinner? Does anyone have any recent menus that that can share?

 

Thanks,

Angie

 

Chef's table is great experience at a fraction of the price of anything comparable on land in a major city in U.S. On the people part, absolutely no way on knowing what personalities or state of drunkenness anyone might be at any time on a cruise, so no way to guide you there. Would say we have never had an issue, most people upbeat and having a good time.

 

Cuisine changes. It has been different from time to time, and you may find some unique offering pioneered by the team on your ship for that evening. The mystery makes it all the more entertaining.

Enjoy it, We always do.

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We did it last week on the Dream and it was truly worth every penny. What an incredible culinary experience! There was a wide variety of people at our table of 16, and I would never say any of them were stuffy or snooty in the least! [emoji4] Everyone chatted freely with each other and we all had an excellent time. I can't recommend Chef's Table enough!

 

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I did the Chef's Table For the first time on the Vista. It was, hands down, the best dining experience I've ever had. Granted, my experience was a little different than what most would find. The dedicated Chef's Table room on the Vista is beautiful and looks out into the galley. But, what truly made the experience so memorable for me was the company. I had organized the Chef's Table for our roll call, so I knew everyone in our seating from the group. I certain that the chefs never knew what hit them! LOL

 

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Loved doing the Chef’s Table. You will be asked ahead of time if there are any foods you can’t eat or don’t like. Don’t hesitate to let them know because if that food is part of the menu, the Chef will prepare a separate item for you for that particular course.

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