Considering MSC, Dec/E. Med--dining option ?'s

[giginevelyn]

We are drawn to a particular itinerary for a Christmas cruise but the deal breaker could be no evening buffet. The food on a cruise is not that important to us and we tend not to go to the MDR. We like the flexibility of eating dinner when we want and not dressing up. We do our eating in port and typically just want a light dinner. Our questions are:

 

What are our options without a buffet (besides the specialty restaurants)?

 

Is there room service in the evening? If so, what is the menu like. Any where to view one online?

 

Is there ANYTHING else?? (sis I see pizza somewhere). We will be on the Magnifica and taking 2 young children (8 & 10).

 

If we have to do the MDR, then what type dress is required? How many formal nights on a 8 nt. cruise?

 

THANKS!!!

[Ann Halliday]

On the Magnifica there is no evening buffet. You have to pay for room service and I believe the menu is limited. The MDR is lovely and not very formal. There are 2 gala evenings but not everyone dresssed up -- many of the nights were casual and informal. You can choose from a varied menu so if you wanted to eat light you could chose the soup, salad, and maybe a risotto or pasta. Even on the Captains Gala evening one of my dining mates had on a collared golf shirt and chinos and it wasn't a big deal. Some women are in fancy dresses but most were in sundresses or pants with a nice top.

Enjoy!

[AmoMondo]

Here's my take on your questions

Our questions are:

 

What are our options without a buffet (besides the specialty restaurants)?

Depends on the ship you are considering - Musica (Musica, Magnifica, Orchestra, Poesia) or Fantasia (Fantasia or Splendida) class ships - your only option is one of the speciality restaurants at extra cost if you don't want to do MDR

Is there room service in the evening? If so, what is the menu like. Any where to view one online?

Extremely limited and costs extra - not varied enough to be ana alternative to MDR every evening. From memory - 2 types of sandwich and a club sandwich, salad, soup & a roll, fruit platter and that's about it. On some of the higher grade category cabins they have a premium version that will have stuff like foie gras, chocolate dipped strawberries but again not really a substitute for evening meal

Is there ANYTHING else?? (sis I see pizza somewhere). We will be on the Magnifica and taking 2 young children (8 & 10). Not for free there isn't.

 

If we have to do the MDR, then what type dress is required? How many formal nights on a 8 nt. cruise?

2 formal the rest will be a mix of informal and casual. All will have up to 6 courses - appetiser, soup, saled, risotto/pasta/ main,dessert. You don't have to order from all 6 courses. They laso have a children's menu. Formal is not that formal - probably only 10-15% go all out with long gowns/tuxedos.

THANKS!!!

 

Basically if flexible casual dining when you want is really important to you, MSC is not going to suit.

[Rassa]

Is there a buffet evening dining option on Opera if you don't feel like going to the MDR once in a while? I would only have a glass of water or glass of wine with dinner, it doesn't seem worthwhile buying the drinks package, do they sell water and/or wine by the glass? Do they really not serve coffee after the evening dinner to a group of English speaking people together at a dinner table? If not, I imagine, you can still buy it after dinner at some bar.

Thanks

Rosie

[AmoMondo]

Is there a buffet evening dining option on Opera if you don't feel like going to the MDR once in a while? I would only have a glass of water or glass of wine with dinner, it doesn't seem worthwhile buying the drinks package, do they sell water and/or wine by the glass? Do they really not serve coffee after the evening dinner to a group of English speaking people together at a dinner table? If not, I imagine, you can still buy it after dinner at some bar.

Thanks

Rosie

 

Hi Rosie

The Opera has no alternative to the MDR for dinner. There are no speciality restaurants on this ship - so it's the mDR or an extremly limited room service menu which will cost you extra.

 

They sell wine by the glass or carafe. Not sure what they are charging this year since they brought in the 15% charge but last year it was 3 euros per glass and 8 euros for 500ml carafe - if there are a few of you wanting a glass. It is just the house wine which is fine. You can also order by the bottle if you fancy something nicer and they will keep it for you each day and bring it back the following night, until it is finished. I agree that if you are only drinking those sorts of quantities then the all inclusive or unlimited drinks packages are going to be a waste of money. You can't buy water by the glass it is by the bottle - you can get a book of 14 vouchers which saves a bit of money - as long as you will definitely use all 14. If I didn't finish my bottle of water, I'd take it back to my cabin and usae it to fill up a smaller bottle that I carried around with me during the day for when I wanted a drink onshore..

 

AS for coffee at dinner, no they really do not serve it regardless of your nationality or the language you speak. there are a few exceptions - if you are sailing on one of the UK sailings to the Baltics, then they make a few adjustments for the British market and apparently serve tea and coffee then. In the Med it is a completely different story - you will need to do what the Italians do and go to any of the bars or coffee shop for coffee. The coffee shop is really nice on the Opera - right over the atrium and a great people watching spot. They open from early in the morning (6 or 7 ) until around 1am. You will get a better choice of coffees in the coffee bar. Most other bars (except the Mrtini bar) have espresso machines, so can do espresso, cappuccinos or lattes. If you like Amaretto, I recommend the Amaretto cappucino. They have a liquer coffee of the day each day - so I'm sure it will feature at a reduced cost one day on your cruise.

[Rassa]

Thanks for your answers - it helps and makes us aware. If you expect less, you end up enjoying yourself better. It is abit hard when one is used to the American ships. The itinerary for the Med on MSC is a good one. We have been on Costa before, we just avoid the Italian ships. However, MSC visits some good ports and they have good prices.

thanks

Rosie