Speciality Restaurants

[Antmadmanda]

We're sailing on the Azura 29th June this year. Was interested to know what opinions people may have of the speciality restaurants. Are they worth paying he extra for?

[sagaris]

We're sailing on the Azura 29th June this year. Was interested to know what opinions people may have of the speciality restaurants. Are they worth paying he extra for?

 

We had a meal in Sindhu on Azura in Feb. It was worth every penny of the £15 cover charge, and I don't like "Indian food" i.e curry.

 

The food and the service was sublime:)

 

Molly

[Elviex]

Agree with Molly, tried Sindhu and are booked in twice on the May cruise. Not sure Seventeen was really worth it so haven't booked for that one, although if there are on board offers might reconsider!

 

 

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[Antmadmanda]

Oh good, thank you for replying. I've booked for Sindhi. Will probably wait for Seventeen. Has anyone tried it? Is there an Italian restaurant on board?

 

 

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[tom_uk]

I haven't been on Azura yet - that will come later this year - but we have been on Ventura several times and have eaten in The White Room a couple of times. I blogged from both of those cruises and did posts about these meals: the first one (2011) is here and the second one (2013) here.

 

My understanding is that 17 and The White Room are both MPW restaurants, so the experiences should be similar.

[hunnibunni123]

Oh good, thank you for replying. I've booked for Sindhi. Will probably wait for Seventeen. Has anyone tried it? Is there an Italian restaurant on board?

 

 

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One part of the buffet turns into an italian Trattoria in the evening. This is a lovely place to dine but gets busy so you need to be there before 6pm to queue. The first few will get seated, and the rest will get a bleeper for when your table is ready. Some meals on the menu are included in the price of cruise but you can pay a charge for some meals. For example I had the lasagne which was "free" But my mom had a seafood platter which was £9.99, and well worth it apparently.

 

Sindhu was beautiful too, and well worth the £15pp. The ambiance was lovely, so calm and peaceful, and great service.

 

We dined in the glass house for an evening meal. That was very nice. You pay per meal rather than a cover charge per person. Again service was good.

[daiB]

I haven't been on Azura yet - that will come later this year - but we have been on Ventura several times and have eaten in The White Room a couple of times. I blogged from both of those cruises and did posts about these meals: the first one (2011) is here and the second one (2013) here.

 

 

 

My understanding is that 17 and The White Room are both MPW restaurants, so the experiences should be similar.

 

 

Tom I am sure that is not true. 17 has never been advertised as having anything to do with MPW. However after experiencing both I have to say that there is little difference and the food in 17 is excellent.

 

 

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[Somerset Cruiser]

We have tried both but neither recently, however on Azura in February we spoke to many who had dined in one or the other and the consensus was mixed. The moral being, try it and see for yourself :)

[Gilpet]

Last July we ate in Sindhu and even though I don't normally like Indian food we had a delicious meal. We also ate in the Trattoria area of the buffet on four separate occasions and the food was wonderful - especially the "cook- it-yourself" steak (for want of a better description lol) - I believe we paid an additional £6.99 for this but I'm not completely sure.

 

Gill

[Movietone]

Can't recommend Sindhu highly enough. Don't make the mistake of thinking it is just an 'Indian'. It was varied and interesting and the depth of flavours was amazing.

Be aware that there are 2 menus that alternate so if you want to have 2 meals check the dates.

[Antmadmanda]

Thank you everyone.

 

 

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[Patsy Flower]

Hi,

 

I have a couple of questions if anyone can help.

 

How far in advance of a cruise can the speciality restaurants be booked via the personaliser?

 

Also, we are doing a 7 night cruise on Arcadia and would like to try East and the Ocean Grill. I know that on longer cruises Menu 1 and Menu 2 are alternated. Would just Menu 1 be offered on a short cruise or would there be an opportunity to try both menus?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[Elviex]

I booked on the Personalise a couple of weeks ago for our May cruise....

 

 

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[Antmadmanda]

I've booked for 29th June!

 

 

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[NauticalMiss]

Oh good, thank you for replying. I've booked for Sindhi. Will probably wait for Seventeen. Has anyone tried it? Is there an Italian restaurant on board?

 

 

Our limited experience of specialty dining is mixed.

 

Azura: Last November, we found Freedom dining in the Meridian a bit hit-or-miss, so we dined at XVII twice and loved it, really loved it. The food was sublime and the service was impeccable. Didn't try Sindhu. Please note that a previous poster was correct - XVII is not connected to Marco Pierre White.

 

Arcadia: We found Freedom dining in the Meridian restaurant to be an excellent experience each time. We had pre-booked Ocean Grill before our departure so went along anyway. Very disappointing; nothing 'wrong' with it but the MDR was so good that we felt that Ocean Grill was not an improvement. Dined at East for a different menu choice focused on Asian fusion. Enjoyed the food but the ambience was flat. The curtains were closed and we were unable to view the setting sun - would have been spectacular.

 

Hope that helps.

[judeb23]

We're sailing on the Azura 29th June this year. Was interested to know what opinions people may have of the speciality restaurants. Are they worth paying he extra for?

 

Just back from fab cruise in the Caribbean on Azura, March 7th to 23rd. As others have said, Sindhu is different, not the run of the mill Indian at all. Service and atmosphere excellent and very good value for the £15 cover charge. We went to 17 and had a good meal but we felt it was pricey for the menu on offer the night we went (there are 2 menus over a 2 week cruise). Other diners on the night, mostly couples, had similar views. For the £56 surcharge plus the wine etc we could have got just as good a meal in Manchester. However, we were on holiday so its up to you really. It was a nice change from the MDR and a much more intimate setting. Just a pity the captain and his friends were so raucous and unaware what an occasion it was for some of us, despite getting a lot of filthy looks from many couples nearby. One of whom later complained so hopefully he won't repeat his folly! have a good holiday.

[Host Hattie]

How does the 2 menu thing work on a 2 week cruise ? Does it change every other day or is 1 menu for the first week, another for the second ?

 

We will be on Ventura.

 

Thanks

[tom_uk]

It changes every few days - perhaps every four or five days, IIRC. So in the course of a two-week cruise you'll certainly see both menus, perhaps even twice.

 

If you make you booking on board they'll have display copies of all the menus they'll be offering when you do so.

[Host Hattie]

Many thanks

[Rosefan]

We have dined in both Sindu and 17 on a number of occasions we enjoy trying both menus (they alternate every 4/5days) we feel both worth the cover charge. 17 being £28 each but at home could not get the same quality and dining experience for anything near that price. Although this is down to personal taste, it is a big part of our holiday and Azura a ship of Choice for us. Not forgetting the Glass House with their taster menus (£30 each or £45 when Olly is hosting) it's easy to book when on board.

 

 

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[Rosefan]

Should point out that the Glass House taster menus are 4 courses and 4 wines to accompany them, not the normal pub grub menu that is also on offer.

 

 

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[Britboys]

Went to XV11 when on Azura in 2011 and thought it was fantastic. I felt it was very similar to the Rhodes restaurants on P&O both in terms of menu and style of service. Sadly (purely imho) MPW is much inferior to Gary Rhodes.

[P&O SUE]

Hi,

 

I have a couple of questions if anyone can help.

 

How far in advance of a cruise can the speciality restaurants be booked via the personaliser?

 

Also, we are doing a 7 night cruise on Arcadia and would like to try East and the Ocean Grill. I know that on longer cruises Menu 1 and Menu 2 are alternated. Would just Menu 1 be offered on a short cruise or would there be an opportunity to try both menus?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

We went to the White Room on Ventura last year for 7 nights and the menu changes half way through the week

[alvin moondust]

We dined in The White Room on Ventura for Nics 40th and it was very nice indeed.

 

Both East and Sindhu were absolutely fabulous, We nearly didnt bother with East on Ventura but my goodness the flavours where absolutely fantastic and the service and ambience was great too, We actually made a point of going back next day to tip the staff directly as were not carrying cash on the night.

 

We only managed to get in to Sindhu for lunch but again it was fabulous.

[johncandt]

We loved all the speciality places and went to Sindhu and XVII twice also the trattoria is good they usually do two sittings so turn up at either 6pm or 8pm and they will try to fit you in,tip if you have the lava rock cook it yourself steak and you like your steak rare or med rare ask them to either bring it to the table raw or give you a side plate to put it on as if you leave it on the lava and eat it by the time you get to the last bit its still cooking and more than well done !!!.. another point booking XVII when onboard can be difficult if you want a particular day or time as they get booked up quickly,,,,