timgram Posted May 3, 2011 #1 Share Posted May 3, 2011 For those of you who have already sailed on the Marina, can you tell me if the culinary classes have a gallery, so to speak, so one can watch people actually participating in the class? If so, can you just wander in there anytime or do you need to "know" someone taking the class? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted May 3, 2011 #2 Share Posted May 3, 2011 For those of you who have already sailed on the Marina, can you tell me if the culinary classes have a gallery, so to speak, so one can watch people actually participating in the class? If so, can you just wander in there anytime or do you need to "know" someone taking the class? There is not a gallery, but there were ten or 15 chairs set up on the inboard section of the room where "visitors" were seated on an unofficial basis. Everyone there seemed to be a family member of someone who was taking the class (although I don't know that anyone actually checked that) and I don't believe that they had a very good view of what was going on in the class. The doors to the culinary center were never locked, but I would think that mid-class entrances would be discouraged, because one enters the room just to the right of where the instructor is speaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DOJO466 Posted May 3, 2011 #3 Share Posted May 3, 2011 There were only 3 or 4 seats open to sit and view when we sailed (Feb26 SFO/MIA) and no one seemed to mind anyone entering at different times. In fact as the classes ended the participants came around to offer a taste of their creation. I enjoyed sitting in when I got too much sun at the pool deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecountess Posted May 3, 2011 #4 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Does signing up for a class operate in the same manner as specialty restaurants? IOW, do concierge and suite level cabins get a "head start" for enrolling? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted May 3, 2011 #5 Share Posted May 3, 2011 There are picture windows in the passageway outside the culinary center where the students can be viewed, but not heard. The doors are double glass doors and folks peeked in all the time. Anyone could sit in the chairs inside. But, the classes were very informal, at least under that instructor. When Betsy was taking her class, and wanted a picture of her "masterpiece", the instructor waved me in the door and I went over to her workstation and took the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted May 3, 2011 #6 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Does signing up for a class operate in the same manner as specialty restaurants? IOW, do concierge and suite level cabins get a "head start" for enrolling? Thanks.No head starts or priority as far as I know. It's treated more like the excursion pre-booking. Your credit card is charged at the same time as the booking, just like excursions. Same with La Reserve, I believe. Classes do fill up early, and they do maintain a wait list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted May 3, 2011 #7 Share Posted May 3, 2011 When it comes to charging $49 for a class I don't think they care what cabin you're sailing in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted May 4, 2011 #8 Share Posted May 4, 2011 I was under the impression that Suite pax who paid in full early had the same early booking advantage as they have with the specialty restaurant reservations. What is it? 90 instead of 60 days out? I confess to being too lazy to look it up at this time of night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillPizzaiolo Posted May 4, 2011 #9 Share Posted May 4, 2011 A quick shout out to you guys. How is it going? We are getting ready to go again. Bill & Jeannie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillPizzaiolo Posted May 4, 2011 #10 Share Posted May 4, 2011 A quick shout out to you guys. How is it going? We are getting ready to go again. Bill & Jeannie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
findacruise Posted May 4, 2011 #11 Share Posted May 4, 2011 I was under the impression that Suite pax who paid in full early had the same early booking advantage as they have with the specialty restaurant reservations.What is it? 90 instead of 60 days out? I confess to being too lazy to look it up at this time of night. I actually booked my class before final payment since I knew what I wanted. It's just like a shore excursion. On TA there were about 5 places for people to sit at the side. They came with participants and watched and took pictures. Occassionally people would look in the door. Chef Kelly did the class and she was great. Wonderful sense of humor and a lot of fun. A piece of trivia: She was an MD (Public Health) in her previous profession and one of the founders of WEB MD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillPizzaiolo Posted May 5, 2011 #12 Share Posted May 5, 2011 We were in three of Chef Kelly's classes. They were very good. We highly recommend them. She is part of the West Coast Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and was a visiting Chef for the classes. She left the ship in port at SFO. The classes were on sea days so as not to interfere with port visits. The handouts were very useful. We also got a hardcover book of recipes from all the chefs on board as well as a book with photos of the entire ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted May 5, 2011 #13 Share Posted May 5, 2011 I think you received the books because you were on Marina's Inaugural passage. We received the same on the Maiden voyage but I think they are not given out with the classes in general As for a place to watch, like other posts mentioned we too had five or six chairs on the side though during our sessions they were unused. Some folks did watch occasionally from the windows through from the adjacent hallway. This is a classroom with a teaching area as opposed to a demonstration kitchen so no gallery. There are two cameras and overhead displays at the front showing the instructor's work area for a better view by the class. They would be at angle to the sides so a little hard to see from the windows perhaps. I would not appreciate folks coming and going through the doors during the instructor's demonstrations and instructions. The doors are at the front of the class room. It would be disruptive. While we are doing our work it would be different. That said, I'd prefer to not inadvertantly be a demostrator for those not attending the classes. If someone wanted to take a look as to what is happening that is fine with me and I'd like to do the same. However, to have an audience sitting on the sidelines, I would not care for that. Again, in my mind different if the person was 'with' a person in the class to watch the fun and maybe take a few pictures but an audience in general would not appeal to me. I agree with other's comments on Chef Kelly. She was an excellent instructor and a lot of fun. In addition to the instructor there were three others, including one of the ship's chefs, who kept a watchful eye, assisted with our work, kept supplies supplied and helped with equipment and cleanup between recipes. The entire experience was great - very well organized despite working around some new equipment issues. The classes moved along at a good pace and were an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. Ingredients were top notch (such huge and succulent shrimp! large variety of fresh herbs, etc). Compare the price with land based cooking classes (where would you even get one with Chef Kelly's calibre) and I think the price is fair. Besides, we were on vacation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBVols Posted May 5, 2011 #14 Share Posted May 5, 2011 We took several of the classes and always gave samples to our guests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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