intothevoid0214 Posted May 31, 2015 #1 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Hello all! I just cruised with my GF on Independence Of The Seas and dined at Giovanni's. Prior to this cruise my last cruise was in 2008 and that ship had Portofino's. I found that there was a difference in both restaurants, in my opinion Portofino was way better in every way. Giovanni's to me was very mediocre at best. What happened to Portofino's? Why did they do away with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cflower04 Posted May 31, 2015 #2 Share Posted May 31, 2015 They have made it more family friendly I suppose... Chops is the more formal of the two now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted May 31, 2015 #3 Share Posted May 31, 2015 For whatever reason, Royal is changing all Portofinos to Giovannis. I suspect they were looking to create a less formal and more family style venue. Giovanni's is also open for lunch at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dacsmom Posted May 31, 2015 #4 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Food is so subjective, I thought Giovanni's was fantastic. Portofino's was just Ok for me. I do agree that has a more relaxed feel to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajuncowgirl13 Posted May 31, 2015 #5 Share Posted May 31, 2015 For whatever reason, Royal is changing all Portofinos to Giovannis. I suspect they were looking to create a less formal and more family style venue. Giovanni's is also open for lunch at times. Where do you go to make a lunch reservation once you get on the ship?? I want to try the restaurants on sea days for lunch :) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted May 31, 2015 #6 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Where do you go to make a lunch reservation once you get on the ship?? I want to try the restaurants on sea days for lunch :) We go directly to the restaurant to make reservations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggertastic Posted May 31, 2015 #7 Share Posted May 31, 2015 We ate in giovannis last week and I loved the food, much better for me than portfolios. The lamb chops are wonderful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajuncowgirl13 Posted May 31, 2015 #8 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Sabor and Giovanni's are the only ones open for lunch right?? And it's just on sea days??? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted May 31, 2015 #9 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Sabor and Giovanni's are the only ones open for lunch right?? And it's just on sea days??? Izumi too, and the open days probably vary by ship. As I recall on Allure, Giovanni's was open on boarding day, but I've not seen that on other ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cflower04 Posted May 31, 2015 #10 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Sabor and Giovanni's are the only ones open for lunch right?? And it's just on sea days??? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Giovanni's is definitely open for lunch when you embark! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intothevoid0214 Posted May 31, 2015 Author #11 Share Posted May 31, 2015 We dined twice at Chops Grille, love that place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajuncowgirl13 Posted May 31, 2015 #12 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Giovanni's is definitely open for lunch when you embark! On freedom of the seas?? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intothevoid0214 Posted May 31, 2015 Author #13 Share Posted May 31, 2015 On freedom of the seas?? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk They should be, they were on Indy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCruisers Posted May 31, 2015 #14 Share Posted May 31, 2015 We like both ... but the nod goes to Giovanni's! :) LuLu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summerknight Posted May 31, 2015 #15 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I will miss portofino but will definitely try Giovanni's. "Family Style" concerns me because we not have the same food tastes. We enjoy the change of pace/ambiance that specialty dining brings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted May 31, 2015 #16 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I will miss portofino but will definitely try Giovanni's. "Family Style" concerns me because we not have the same food tastes.We enjoy the change of pace/ambiance that specialty dining brings. Our experience is that the appetizers were family style, but the entrees were individually sized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missus Makkem Posted May 31, 2015 #17 Share Posted May 31, 2015 liked Portofino but really love Giovanni s. I really like their Chocolate cake,it has marzipan under its chocolate covering and I always have a piece to go , just to have it the next day, sitting on my balcony with a cup of tea, wish I was there now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCruisers Posted May 31, 2015 #18 Share Posted May 31, 2015 (edited) Our experience is that the appetizers were family style, but the entrees were individually sized. Yes, each of us ordered different entrees. They also brought us different (smaller sized) appetizers when we requested. Enjoy! LuLu Edited May 31, 2015 by OCruisers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul65 Posted May 31, 2015 #19 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I miss the Portofino version of tiramisu (in a chocolate bowl, with fresh raspberries at the bottom and served with a B-52 shooter on the side), but I enjoyed Giovanni's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intothevoid0214 Posted May 31, 2015 Author #20 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I miss the Portofino version of tiramisu (in a chocolate bowl, with fresh raspberries at the bottom and served with a B-52 shooter on the side), but I enjoyed Giovanni's. I liked Giovanni's but from what I remember I really just enjoyed the overall experience of Portofino Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggertastic Posted June 3, 2015 #21 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I miss the Portofino version of tiramisu (in a chocolate bowl, with fresh raspberries at the bottom and served with a B-52 shooter on the side), but I enjoyed Giovanni's. Yum, start a campaign. Giovannis served me a spoonful from a big dish. It was tasty enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChollaChick Posted July 3, 2015 #22 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Any idea when the change from Portofinos to GT is going to happen for Liberty? I am sailing her on November 1st and the reservation tool no longer lists Portofinos which makes me sad. I'm hoping that it's just a glitch or that at least GT will be open by then, but now thinking there will only be Chops for a 12 night cruise. Disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigque Posted July 3, 2015 #23 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I will be trying Giovanni's in October for the first time! There seems to be some interesting items on the menu that I would like to try. I really did Love the Seafood Skewer at Portifino and will miss that! :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteukmcr Posted July 3, 2015 #24 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Any idea when the change from Portofinos to GT is going to happen for Liberty? I am sailing her on November 1st and the reservation tool no longer lists Portofinos which makes me sad. I'm hoping that it's just a glitch or that at least GT will be open by then, but now thinking there will only be Chops for a 12 night cruise. Disappointed. Liberty has the last Portofinos installation in the fleet according to our wait staff when we sailed her in Oct 2014 and this would change to Giovannis when she next goes into dry dock. Is she due for dry dock before your sailing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted July 3, 2015 #25 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Liberty has the last Portofinos installation in the fleet according to our wait staff when we sailed her in Oct 2014 and this would change to Giovannis when she next goes into dry dock. Is she due for dry dock before your sailing? I see a hole in Liberty's schedule between Jan 10 and Feb 7, 2016. Maybe this is the dry dock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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