Dinner at Sea

[Bridge Maven]

Now that there are more specialty restaurants in a Celebrity ship, do you find that you are eating at pay restaurants more nights during a cruise?

[cruisestitch]

No -- fixed traditional dining is preferred by our group of cruisers.

[TLCOhio]

Now that there are more specialty restaurants in a Celebrity ship, do you find that you are eating at pay restaurants more nights during a cruise?

 

On our June Solstice cruise, we did each of the three speciality dining places. Enjoyed that variety and dining time flexibilities. With a busy and late port schedule, as our cruise had, having dining time variable schedules/options does help. It is hard and impossible to generalize for every cruise passenger and each different schedule. Lots of variables and needs and interests!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 49,634 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[dkjretired]

1 dinner per cruise, 1 trip to Bistro...

[Lois R]

Just sailed Eclipse and tried Select dining for the first time.

Ate in the main dining room 4 nights....1 night with 4 others, 1 night

with 2 others, 1 night with a friend on the activity staff and 1 night

on my own although the hostess sat me at a deuce, I was next to 2

other couples who were quite fun. Went to the show with one of the

couples.

 

The other 3 nights I ate in the pay restaurants. Qsine I ate with 3

friends on the roll call, 1 night in Tuscan on my own and 1 night they

had a Wine Dinner in Tuscan and I went to that one...there were

18 people at that dinner.

[Azulann]

On a ten day cruise , we ate ate in the MDR seven evenings. We ate in Murano's Tuscan Grill and Bristo on Five the other nights.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

On a 7 day cruise on an M-class we ate in the specialty dining room once. We would have attended a wine dinner if there had been one. Our next cruise is 15 days on Century and we will probably do a combination of the specialty restaurant/wine dinner/chef's table 3 times.

 

Mary Lou

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Usually eat in the main dining room. Usually cruise with friends and dinner is a good chance to catch up with everybody.

[MaritimeGuy]

On a recent transatlantic crossing on the Silhouette (11-nights), we did Tuscan once, Q-sine once, the Porch once and the Bistro six or seven times.

 

We probably would've done the Porch a few more times if the weather had been more cooperative... ;) Love the Bistro for lunch or breakfast so we can avoid the crowds at the OceanView!

 

Cheers,

Luc

[Gonzo70]

Definitely. Last Silhouette cruise we did Qsine twice, Bistro twice and once each at Murano, Lawn Club Grill, Tuscan Grille and the Porch. Only one we did not care for was the Porch. We love specialty dining and it is one of our favorite aspects of cruising; that is one of the reasons Celebrity is our favorite line - lots of variety in specialty dining and some excellent options (Qsine, Murano and Bistro on 5 are my favorites). The main dining room food is pretty good, but as someone who eats out a lot in general I really appreciate the opportunity to pay a bit extra and have some excellent meals while on a cruise.

[Lsimon]

Yes - and loving it. The specialty restaurants offer a lot of flexibility as well as food that is far superior to the main dining room. I really wish the MDR food and service was as good as the specialty restaurants, but it isn't so having the restaurants makes a great alternative for getting a nicer dining experience if you're willing to shell out a little extra. The total cost is still far lower than sailing a more upscale premium cruise line. I guess this is one way that Celebrity can remain profitable despite having cruise prices that are about the same as they were 7 or 8 years ago.

 

We took two cruises last winter:

 

A last minute 7 day cruise with just the two of us on the Eclipse. We signed up for Select dining and only ate in the MDR 2 nights. We enjoyed the specialty restaurants 4 times and one night we didn't feel like a big meal and just had dinner in Bistro on 5.

 

We also took a 14 night Constellation cruise that had been planned far in a advance. We had traditional seating in the MDR but had dinner in the specialty restaurants at least 5 nights, maybe 6. This cruise was very different for us as we were sailing with a very large number of cruise friends from prior cruises - well beyond the capacity of any MDR table. We also met some very nice new cruise friends. So we took advantage of the specialty restaurants as a good option for dining with different people. At first we thought it would be overkill and we were almost dreading so many nights in the specialty restaurants but it ended up being great. We got to know the staff in Tuscan Grille and had them prepare some lighter fare than their regular menu a night or two.

[Project_gal]

Gave up on the MDR in 2009 and never use the buffet other than at lunch time. Now only eat in the speciality restaurants even when the ship only has one. So, for us, the more restaurants they add the better.

 

Sue

[bighairtexan]

I usually hit Bistro a couple of times but for dinner, normally I'll hit 1 Specialty restaurant.

[EithneMay]

We cruise 2 weeks at a time, and usually do a speciality restaurant 2-3 times per cruise for dinner and the bistro at least once for lunch.

[Compass Rose Monica]

I try all of the specialty dining - except I haven't tried Bistro on 5 yet. Typically 1 to 2 specialty dining on a cruise. I think the food in the MDR is very good and I prefer not to spend the extra bucks. I will return to Qsine on my next cruise - it was wonderful! Murano's has gotten expensive, although it's one of my favorites.

[boogs]

Although we have no complaints about eating in the MDR, we will go to each specialty restaurant at least once during a cruise, which for us is usually 12 days or longer since virtually every cruise requires us to at least fly across the US, and usually overseas. We do Bistro on Five on embarkation day to avoid the crowds in the buffet area. We like the variety and quality of the dishes, the unique ambiance of the different restaurants, and the top notch service provided there. We tend to look at a cruise as a 'big' vacation and budget so we can treat ourselves well. Avoiding the specialty restaurants seems like a missed opportunity and don't understand why some people are so adamant about avoiding them. Isn't a cruise all about treating yourselves to a variety of experiences?

[mcrcruiser]

We look at cruising as all inclusive except for liquor ie . Thus ,we eat in the MDR for breakfast & dinner & have no complaints;). At sea we also eat lunch in the MDR & when the ship is in port we eat at the buffet:).

 

On our last b2b2b cruises on Millie we ate once in the Olympic restaurant as a treat :D

[Lady Luna]

We booked Silhuette Caribbean cruise for February. Unfortunately the early dining was not available, so they signed us for the late dining. We do not like to start dinner that late, so we would rather go to the dinner buffet. I would like to welcome any feedback from everyone who used it.

For Example, when sailing with HAL in Europe I loved the informal atmosphere and the food was cooked right in front of your eyes, always fresh,hot, delicious and you could eselect any peace of raw meat or fish to be cooked to your liking.

It would be interesting to know what was the experience of Silhouette cruisers.

[Aquahound]

Now that there are more specialty restaurants in a Celebrity ship, do you find that you are eating at pay restaurants more nights during a cruise?

 

I'm intrigued by specialty restaurants. Most nights, I will eat in the MDR. However, on a 7 night cruise, I will normally book 2 specialty restaurants. It's not just a matter of food. I also like the ambiance and more personal service.

[Gonzo70]

We booked Silhuette Caribbean cruise for February. Unfortunately the early dining was not available, so they signed us for the late dining. We do not like to start dinner that late, so we would rather go to the dinner buffet. I would like to welcome any feedback from everyone who used it.

For Example, when sailing with HAL in Europe I loved the informal atmosphere and the food was cooked right in front of your eyes, always fresh,hot, delicious and you could eselect any peace of raw meat or fish to be cooked to your liking.

It would be interesting to know what was the experience of Silhouette cruisers.

 

Celebrity's dinner buffet is more limited than Holland America's. While there is enough variety to have a couple dinners, I would not want to eat all my dinners in the buffet area of Celebrity as it would become a bit repetitive. The options include a sushi station, a pasta station, pizza station and a handful of other options (i.e. often some Indian cuisine, minute steak, etc.). Once you are on the ship you should check in with the Maitre'D and see if you can be switched to early seating or select dining. Silhouette also has some outstanding specialty restaurants, so I highly recommend you take advantage of these venues as well.

[Lady Luna]

Celebrity's dinner buffet is more limited than Holland America's. While there is enough variety to have a couple dinners, I would not want to eat all my dinners in the buffet area of Celebrity as it would become a bit repetitive. The options include a sushi station, a pasta station, pizza station and a handful of other options (i.e. often some Indian cuisine, minute steak, etc.). Once you are on the ship you should check in with the Maitre'D and see if you can be switched to early seating or select dining. Silhouette also has some outstanding specialty restaurants, so I highly recommend you take advantage of these venues as well.

 

Thank YOU Gonzo70 and Bridge Maven. I find Cruise Critic message board a little bit different from others and hard for me to navigatw, so I got lost and opened another thread on this topic. I hope it will not go wasted.

 

We are NOT interested in specialty restaurants.

On HAL in Buffet they had every evening the same dishes as were announced in MDR, but it is not necessary as we would like to eat less, in the afternoon or in the evening, so even limited selection would be great for us. Last year we sailed on celebrity with friends and went together to MDR for the late dinner. No matter how we tried to excersise the discipline, after spending 2 hours at th table we left the Dining room at 10:30 too full for my liking. At such time of the day I would prefer the minimal food intake, but a quality one, not lunch leftovers. That's what my question is about

[cruise kitty]

Out of eleven nights, we ate in Tuscan Grill once, on shore in Istanbul once, & all the rest were in Blu. Now that the dress code in Blu has changed we'd eat there every night!

[CruisingChick]

We only do it one evening per cruise. If it's a 7 night cruise we might not do it at all.

[Gonzo70]

Thank YOU Gonzo70 and Bridge Maven. I find Cruise Critic message board a little bit different from others and hard for me to navigatw, so I got lost and opened another thread on this topic. I hope it will not go wasted.

 

We are NOT interested in specialty restaurants.

On HAL in Buffet they had every evening the same dishes as were announced in MDR, but it is not necessary as we would like to eat less, in the afternoon or in the evening, so even limited selection would be great for us. Last year we sailed on celebrity with friends and went together to MDR for the late dinner. No matter how we tried to excersise the discipline, after spending 2 hours at th table we left the Dining room at 10:30 too full for my liking. At such time of the day I would prefer the minimal food intake, but a quality one, not lunch leftovers. That's what my question is about

 

Based on what you are saying I would highly recommend upgrading to Aqua Class (if it is within your means) and dining in Blu. Blu is the restaurant for those in Aqua Class and it is much quieter than the MDR. Also the food is a bit lighter (i.e. no heavy cream sauces), so you do not leave as stuffed. The pace of the meal is also faster in Blu, so dining time would be closer to a little over an hour for dinner than two hours. Most (including myself) find the food to be a step up quality wise in Blu (versus the MDR) and the ambiance better as well.

 

The HAL dinner buffet is much nicer than Celebrity's (both food quality and variety). Celebrity's buffet is a bit limited, most of the food is prepared in advance (rather than cooked to order) and it is not the same items that are served in the main dining room. Though some do enjoy the dinner buffet on Celebrity for multiple meals, most people find it more suited for snacks (for those with late seating) or for an occasional dinner when one arrives late from port or is tired and wants to eat fast and/or not dress up for the dining room. I would describe the quality of the food at the buffet (for the most part) as fair.

[SusieV]

Absolutely! The more options, the better. Yes, it means we spend more money but we feel that with the cutbacks in the MDR, it enhances our cruise experience enough that it is worth it. If prices continue to go up for specialty dining, we may reconsider our choices.

 

We're trying Blu this time to see if that will be as enjoyable an option as paying for specialty dining.