New to Viking

[Shaf143]

In Nov we are taking the WI Explorer for my 70th BD. What is the best dinner suggestion for that day? Does anyone have Manfredi's menu? This is the Nov 17 sail so more info about this itinerary should be available from the first 2 cruises on this itinerary.

 

Thanks in advance

[roothy123]

Don't have menus for Manfredi's, but if you're interested in Chef's Table, I kept 2 of the menus from our dinners there. See: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/viking_star_&page=9 They're from September, so they may have changed, but at least you'll get an idea of what they're like. However, since they change frequently, if you book online pre-cruise, you won't know what the menu will be, so it's a tiny bit of a gamble. You'll also have to choose between 2 times, so if you're picky about eating early or late, it may not be the best choice. We found Chef's Table a little quieter than Manfredi's (both at an early seating and again at the later) but if you want a more crowded, festive atmosphere, you may prefer Manfredi's. Of course, that's only one person's opinion/experience, so things could be quite different for you.

 

More people on earlier cruises (i.e., spring 2015 when Star was launched) seemed to have liked Manfredi's better, but we enjoyed Chef's Table just as much. I am not the most adventurous eater in the world and I still liked or loved all but one or two of the courses on the two occasions we ate there. If I didn't like something, I just put it aside after a few tastes and waited for the next course. I suppose it might have been possible to get something else at that point, but I didn't try.

 

Have a wonderful 70th birthday, wherever you choose to eat!

[Shaf143]

Thanks for the input

[Colo Cruiser]

Don't have menus for Manfredi's, but if you're interested in Chef's Table, I kept 2 of the menus from our dinners there. See: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/viking_star_&page=9 They're from September, so they may have changed, but at least you'll get an idea of what they're like. However, since they change frequently, if you book online pre-cruise, you won't know what the menu will be, so it's a tiny bit of a gamble. You'll also have to choose between 2 times, so if you're picky about eating early or late, it may not be the best choice. We found Chef's Table a little quieter than Manfredi's (both at an early seating and again at the later) but if you want a more crowded, festive atmosphere, you may prefer Manfredi's. Of course, that's only one person's opinion/experience, so things could be quite different for you.

 

More people on earlier cruises (i.e., spring 2015 when Star was launched) seemed to have liked Manfredi's better, but we enjoyed Chef's Table just as much. I am not the most adventurous eater in the world and I still liked or loved all but one or two of the courses on the two occasions we ate there. If I didn't like something, I just put it aside after a few tastes and waited for the next course. I suppose it might have been possible to get something else at that point, but I didn't try.

 

Have a wonderful 70th birthday, wherever you choose to eat!

 

 

Thanks very much for the scanned newsletters and menu! :)

[LesSails80435]

"You'll also have to choose between 2 times, so if you're picky about eating early or late, it may not be the best choice. We found Chef's Table a little quieter than Manfredi's (both at an early seating and again at the later) but if you want a more crowded, festive atmosphere, you may prefer Manfredi's."

 

Roothy--

 

We're aboard Viking Sea for Baltic/Midnight Sun June 19, and find that there are 5-6 different times for Chef's Table (and Manfredi's) for each night we want to reserve. Does anyone know if the ship honors the actual time you reserve, or do they change it to 1st or 2nd seating? Also, how can you be sure traveling companions with a later reservation date can be seated with you in the specialties?

[roothy123]

I'm afraid I can't help on the Chef's Table questions as when we traveled (late Sept.) the reservation system only showed two times for that restaurant. Therefore, I'm curious as to whether there's a bug in the reservation system or whether Viking is now spreading out Chef's Table reservations as they've gained more experience (almost one year of cruising for Star!) I would probably just try to contact Viking to ask your questions, or have your travel agent contact them if you used a TA.

 

As to booking a table with others who can't reserve as early as you can, perhaps someone else will see this and help. I DO know you can do that Oceania using the other person's cruise booking number. However, we cruised alone on Viking and so I never tried to do anything complicated. The early cruisers provided a lot of info and perhaps there's something in an early thread that would help, but since most people just jumped on the same threads without starting new topical ones, it may be hard to perform a search to get the info you need. I would just call Viking.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[LesSails80435]

Thanks. I will call Viking, or have my TA call if I can't get an answer.

[id4elizabeth]

If you have a group of 6 to 10 for your b'day, Manfredi's also has a private dining room (with a magnificent solid wood dining table). This cannot be reserved on-line, and I kinda doubt the customer service agents in CA even know about it. But you can try reserving it by going down to Manfredi's and booking it once onboard. We had several b'days on the maiden 50-day cruise and thoroughly enjoyed the private room. (I don't think Chef's Table has one.)

 

If you wanted to do this, I'd go ahead and reserve Manfredi's online just in case the private room is already booked. Depending on when your b'day is after Nov 17th, you might have 6 - 8 new friends who would be glad to join you.