Foodie on Mayan Sol Itinerary - Ideas for booking?

[uromac]

Hi

Sailing on the Mayan Sol Itinerary on the Scarlet Lady - We're a foodie family of 4- open to all dining experiences and  looking for ideas on which Specialty dining reservations we should make!

 

All the restaurants look great to us and the reviews also for the most part seem great too! So our question is  subjective but we would love to hear from others what would be your preferred dining rotation and why?  Looking also for recommended  times due to length of meals in relation to evening shows (know already 1 restaurant per voyage). Which dining locations are better for days at sea, Bimini, and Sailaway days in your opinion? Any there any more 'formal' dining venues than others? 

 

Thanks in advance !! 

 

Melissa

[ociana]

Hi Melissa,

 

We didn't do that specific itinerary, but happy to share general thoughts about the food.  I wouldn't call any of them more formal, but I guess The Wake and Extra Virgin feel a but more upscale in decor than the others.  

 

In terms of organizing dining and shows, when we scheduled in the app it required a 2 hour window from the start of the meal to our next event.  Not sure if that is still in effect, but I would say that it is a pretty reasonable window to keep.  Each meal tended to take us about an hour and a half, with Test Kitchen and Gunbae taking a bit longer.  

 

I do suggest considering Bimini as a late lunch, the food there is excellent as well, since they serve in the early afternoon.  Try booking a later dinner that day so you are ok filling up on the pork and rum cakes!

 

Our rotation was based on saving the carbs, so we did Wake > Pink Agave > Gunbae > Test Kitchen > Extra Virgin as our rotation.  We only visited Razzle Dazzle for breakfast (and that was just ok for us), but we did Wake both dinner and breakfast and really loved it.

 

On our next cruise I do plan to change the order up.  Gunbae was on a shore day and both that and Test Kitchen would be tough if you are tired after a long day of adventure.  I would put The Wake or Pink Agave on shore days because you can make them lighter/shorter meals as needed to compensate for the day.  

 

Hope that helps and enjoy your trip!

[sid_9169]

In my opinion, the Wake, Extra Virgin, and Pink Agave were at the very top of my list... Gunbae was also pretty good, but I guess it depends on the crowd of people your sitting with. Razzle Dazzle was good for brunch, and I also did breakfast at the Wake, which was spectacular... On my next cruise, I plan on checking out the Test Kitchen, so I can't give an opinion on that. Also, the pizza place was pretty great, and I would definitely plan on that at some point.

[scaught]

Just throwing my two cents in as someone who was on scarlet lady in December, and will be back onboard in a month.

We never went to extra virgin but I want to try it.
We were underwhelmed by test kitchen. It was interesting enough, but there were some service issues (maybe an off night). All that said, I would only go back if the menu was different. 
The wake was good, but I feel like my steak could have been cooked better (again, maybe an off night). Would definitely go back. 
Pink Agave was probably our favorite. Food was excellent and the cocktails were awesome. Would be very happy to go back. 
Gunbae is fun and the food is good, but it depends on who you're with I guess (unless you have a party of 6 they sit you with another party). The group we sat with was definitely quirky. 
The Dock (back of the boat on deck 7 i think?) was great. It's a small plates kind of thing but those bites were as good as anything else I had on the ship. There's also a really nice outdoor space here that would be good for sail away. 
Razzle dazzle was good for brunch. Some interesting options. We went there a few times.
Food on the beach in Bimini was very good. They also change the menu and start serving other things about halfway through the day.
We also never made it to sun club cafe (serves poke bowls). Eager to give it a try. I think we missed it because it's kind of out of the way.
 

[neverendingcruising]

Someone mentioned timing The Wake with sail away for a view of Miami on the way out, which sounds pretty great. Extra Virgin was our favorite (went on both of our voyages) with Gunbae coming in at a close second.