When do you go to speciality restaurants? Why?

[CessnaAV8R]

Hey all:

 

I am in the middle of booking some reservations for Qusine, Murano and Tuscan Grill on my 7 day Carribean cruise on the Eclipse. I am curious to know when you book your reservations and why?

 

I know I am going to book Qusine on the last night so we can "pig out" and not feel to full the next day. Not to mention it would be a fun way to end the cruise. However, I am stuck on the nights I want to book Murano and Tuscan.

 

The cruise is for my DW and I. It is our honeymoon. I have been on two CCL cruise's before but neither one had a specialty restaurant. So with the remaining 2 restaurants (Murano and Tuscan Grill) when would you book?

 

Thanks!

[SusieV]

We always go to Murano on the first night because it's emptier and we get to know the staff. We repeat there several times because we love the service and ambiance (and the food!) so we enjoy the first night there.

 

We also like to do a restaurant on the last evening, again because it's less busy.

 

For our upcoming Solstice trip we are trying something new and skipping the MDR entirely! I believe we have 7 nights of specialty booked and the rest we will be in Blu.

 

If it matters to you, the dress code is smart casual in the specialty restaurants so if you don't like to dress up, book for a formal night. Otherwise I'd say maybe book for a port day so you can stay out later if you have early seating?

[Compass Rose Monica]

I always book the specialty restaurants on a non-formal night, as I enjoy the evening and food in the MDR. I never booked any on the first night (agree the specialty dining may not be crowded but I have never seen them crowded) because I like to get to know the MDR staff right off the bat. Our waiter two cruises ago (table of 10) learned our names the first night!

[ghstudio]

On our last cruise, the first night meal in the dining room was actually the best...probably a fluke. we always book on either a sea day or a formal night. I would not book the first night because you don't actually know when your luggage will arrive in your room....and you probably want to dress in something nice for the specialty restaurants.

[cruise kitty]

Formal nights & last night for us, we don't enjoy the MDR formal nights, so dressing casual in the specialty restaurants works for us, also the last night, it's a great way to unwind at the end of the cruise, we carry off our own luggage, so we don't have to do the last night pack & put out scramble, or wait for for our group to be called, it's a much nicer way to end a cruise.:)

[auggiemom]

We decided this year to do the specialty restaurants on Formal nights as well. We are excited to try them :)

[cb at sea]

We always wait to see if we want to book onboard....sometimes, our tablemates are so much fun, we don't want to miss a night with them!

 

On longer cruises (10+ days) we sometimes feel we need to "change it up" for dinner, so we'll book if and when we know that we want to go...

[Mrs.PacManSurfs]

Something we consider when booking a specialty is going on a sea day or a less-intensive port day. Not as exhausted to get ready and enjoy dinner.

[Sloop-JohnB]

Hi CessnaAV8R,

 

We are doing a 7 Night Cruise in January... and based on my research we've determined the following for where we want to be...

 

Night # 1 - MDR - Meet our Tablemates and Dining Room Staff

 

Night # 2 - Sea Day - MDR - First Formal Night

 

Night # 3 - In Port late Afternoon to late Evening... Dinner probably in Old San Juan

 

Night # 4 - Port Day - Good Night for Specialty Dining

 

Night # 5 - Port Day - Good Night for Specialty Dining

 

Night # 6 - Sea Day - MDR - Last Formal Night

 

Night # 7 - Sea Day - MDR - Farewell Evening

 

Hope this is helpful,

 

Cheers!

[mferranti]

We like to do specialty restaurants on formal night. And it's not to avoid dressing formally — we still don the 'soup & fish' as Bertie Wooster would say.

 

Several of the patrons in Equinox's Tuscan Grill last week seemed to agree with us.

[Idahobaker]

Hey all:

 

I am in the middle of booking some reservations for Qusine, Murano and Tuscan Grill on my 7 day Carribean cruise on the Eclipse. I am curious to know when you book your reservations and why?

 

You can book it same day from your telephone in your room. We kept changing our minds on which night to go, so I had to move it three times. If I had reserved in advance, I'm not sure I could have moved it.

 

I was on the Millennium, and the specialty restaurant was a real disappointment. Service was good, but the food was no better than the MDR.

 

Have fun!:D

[Redtravel]

Specialty restaurants are nice. MDR is also good. I seldom prebook. If I happen to see a less than appealing menu in the MDR, I may opt for the specialty restaurant. On my last cruise on Millie, I never went to the specialty restaurant. I have eaten in the Olympic on previous Millie cruises. It's not that special and it costs extra. I am usually happy in the MDR. I also like the buffet. It's quick and not crowded at night. I am easy going.

[texkan]

We went to specialty restaurant onboard Constellation March 2011. Did not think the food was any better than food in MDR. The restaurant was empty the evening we were there (group of 6). Constellation was offering evenings in the restaurant at a discount to get people to eat there. Do not believe that money spent was a good deal. Just my opinion.

[TIMAS]

Not worth the $80. charge above the food that you have already paid for in the MDR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

not worth

[Milhouse]

I'm a bit of a picky eater so I just try to book the specialty restaurants on days that the menu in the MDR doesn't appeal to me/us. We try to go to each specialty restaurant once during the cruise. If we can identify the menu order ahead of time, we'll make reservations soon after we board.

[CessnaAV8R]

Hi CessnaAV8R,

 

We are doing a 7 Night Cruise in January... and based on my research we've determined the following for where we want to be...

 

Night # 1 - MDR - Meet our Tablemates and Dining Room Staff

 

Night # 2 - Sea Day - MDR - First Formal Night

 

Night # 3 - In Port late Afternoon to late Evening... Dinner probably in Old San Juan

 

Night # 4 - Port Day - Good Night for Specialty Dining

 

Night # 5 - Port Day - Good Night for Specialty Dining

 

Night # 6 - Sea Day - MDR - Last Formal Night

 

Night # 7 - Sea Day - MDR - Farewell Evening

 

Hope this is helpful,

 

Cheers!

 

John - Great post. We actually have the same cruise (Eclipse right?). I really want to try all 3 restaurants so I opted for the following:

 

Qsine on night 3 at 10:00 pm (Ship departs at 11) - I might cancel this reservation if I think I want to stay in San Juan until 10:30 pm.

Murano on night 4 at 9:30 pm

Tuscan Grill on night 7 at 8:30 pm

 

I tried booking earlier times but everything is booked up. I suggest booking early if you know you want to eat at one of the restaurants.

[Sloop-JohnB]

John - Great post. We actually have the same cruise (Eclipse right?). I really want to try all 3 restaurants so I opted for the following:

 

Qsine on night 3 at 10:00 pm (Ship departs at 11) - I might cancel this reservation if I think I want to stay in San Juan until 10:30 pm.

Murano on night 4 at 9:30 pm

Tuscan Grill on night 7 at 8:30 pm

 

I tried booking earlier times but everything is booked up. I suggest booking early if you know you want to eat at one of the restaurants.

 

Hi CessnaAV8R,

 

We indeed seem to have similar Itineraries ... Embark - Day at Sea - San Juan - St Thomas - St Maarten - Day at Sea - Day at Sea - Disembark

 

BUT that is it... You are on the Eclipse out of Miami on a Saturday... and I am on the Solstice out of Ft Lauderdale on a Sunday

 

And our Restaurant choices are different as well... The Solistice has Murano - Tuscan Grill - and Silk Harvest (along with Bistro on 5)

 

As it stands right now Mr Sloop & I are thinking we'll just do two of them (at the most) ... as we've heard / read mixed Reviews here on CC.

 

This is our first cruise... so I've done a lot of reading / research

 

We aren't cheapos... BUT we really don't want to spend a whole lot of money for extra eats if the MDR is good to excellent as we have heard (we are a bit of Foodies / Winos in our 3D lives). So dropping another $ 80, $ 100 or more (adding in wine)... doesn't make sense to us when we've already paid for all these supposed good meals as it is ...

 

A special night or two makes sense to us if the occasion is right... or we meet some nice folks we want to socialize with over a meal.

 

Cheers!

[tip]

We always book for the first formal night as we don't care for the aura in the MDR. And for those who concern themselves with such, I do wear and jacket and tie.

[travelfreelasvegas]

We like to do specialty restaurants on formal night. And it's not to avoid dressing formally — we still don the 'soup & fish' as Bertie Wooster would say.

 

Several of the patrons in Equinox's Tuscan Grill last week seemed to agree with us.

 

We like to do specialty restaurants on sea days so we stay in ports as long we can without having to rush back to make the reservation time.

[Cruiser Susie]

I don't know if this will apply to your sailing on the Eclipse or not, but when we sailed the Eclipse last February, booking onboard was just about impossible after the first day. There were hardly any reservations left unless we had wanted to go at 5:15 or around that time. We wanted to switch a reservation from one specialty restaurant to another for the last night, and were told they were completely full and we were lucky to have the reservation we had!

 

OTOH, we have never had a problem booking on the M class ships; in fact, on the Constellation last March, bookings were so far down that they were almost "begging" for guests to come.

 

Whatever nights you choose, you'll really enjoy them. Have a great cruise!

[Bridge Maven]

When we book early seating traditional dining we go to the specialty dining room on nights when the ship stays in port until 6:00 PM or later, so we don't have to rush back to ship for dinner.

[eh2zed]

On sea days or ealy departure days so as not to conflict with maximizing port time.

[Lois R]

Hey all:

 

I am in the middle of booking some reservations for Qusine, Murano and Tuscan Grill on my 7 day Carribean cruise on the Eclipse. I am curious to know when you book your reservations and why?

 

I know I am going to book Qusine on the last night so we can "pig out" and not feel to full the next day. Not to mention it would be a fun way to end the cruise. However, I am stuck on the nights I want to book Murano and Tuscan.

 

The cruise is for my DW and I. It is our honeymoon. I have been on two CCL cruise's before but neither one had a specialty restaurant. So with the remaining 2 restaurants (Murano and Tuscan Grill) when would you book?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi Darryl, congrats on your recent nuptuals:) I know you posted about

this on the roll call too.....hope ya'll will join us all at sailaway:)

I will buy you both a drink to celebrate:D.

[pauly]

When - I usually book before we leave (on the website). I usually make it on a night that either I know or guess is not formal or where the MDR is not serving anything spectacular.

On this next voyage, I might wait until I get on board, as there seems to be specials that you can only get once on-board the ship.

 

Why- The service is awesome, and the food is top notch.