Dining in The Restaurant at lunch

[SLSD]

29 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

SLSD - it is true that you are able to sign up for specialty restaurants ahead of time based on your stateroom category, as well as excursions. That said, it’s also pretty easy to book these once you are on board if you wish to change, or add additional times. I would say also that once on board, there are no differences in services nor treatment based on category of stateroom  We have experienced very talented cruise directors who participate in entertainment and are very good. We are not big night entertainment show people, so I can’t comment on those differences, but we do enjoy their live offering at different venues prior to dinner. 

Some of the surprises you mention that SB offers is one of the reasons we are trying them for the first time!  Some of the upscale luxury advertised is also why we are booked with SB in 2023. We are really looking forward to those experiences.  So without sailing on them yet, I can’t comment to the differences, but we are truly looking forward to finding out for ourselves. 
 

I will add that we would not hesitate to sail on Viking given the right itinerary, and I hope to say the same about SB after our time on board next year - first cruise since Covid. 

I think some of the surprises on SB can be somewhat spontaneous and not advertised.  Hot chocolate for everyone on a cold day in Alaska while viewing a glacier, a special French tea, or a chocolate tea.  We've only seen the marina on one cruise as it is often cancelled due to sea/weather conditions.  I do not think you will be disappointed by the Seabourn atmosphere.  

[calm down dear]

Agree with SLSD when we passed under the worlds longest suspension bridge as we entered the Dardanelles quite late at night, many went out on deck around the observation bar and unprompted glasses of limoncello arrived (it was quite cold and appreciated).

Back on topic the Herald dining guide by default says the restaurant is open “occasionally” for breakfast and lunch. So far there has been no such occasion  and have been told that that is an error and there are no plans for it. I was listened to by the maitre’ d, who in solution mode said that I could sit down in sushi bar and be served - which is true if I wanted that (and it is indeed a very pleasant venue) or just take any table at colonnade and they will bring me food from the buffet - I fear I’ve confused them and they now think I have some sort of arthritis as in my English way I was trying to convey that I don’t really like carrying a plate laden with food around a wobbling ship. Oh well. 

[SLSD]

34 minutes ago, calm down dear said:

. I was listened to by the maitre’ d, who in solution mode said that I could sit down in sushi bar and be served - which is true if I wanted that (and it is indeed a very pleasant venue) or just take any table at colonnade and they will bring me food from the buffet - I fear I’ve confused them and they now think I have some sort of arthritis as in my English way I was trying to convey that I don’t really like carrying a plate laden with food around a wobbling ship. Oh well. 

One of my objections to the buffet is eating food that has been around so many people and utensils.  It's not a matter of being served the food instead of serving it to myself.  I don't want to eat that food!  And, I am not a germaphobe.  I would prefer a well curated menu and a place with a  pleasant ambience to dine.  I think the issue is that some people don't understand what others object to or what they are looking for.  

Edited October 25, 2022 by SLSD

[brittany12]

Will someone now on the Quest or recently on the Quest please advise us about the MDR rules for breakfast and Lunch? I am about to get on a Quest Panama Canal cruise in Dec and would really be po'ed if the MDR is not open for both. There are no sea days. I am not paying these nose-bleed  prices for buffet style meals twice a day. None of us should.  And I entirely agree with SLSD's reasoning about the real objections to buffet Colonnade dining —there or anywhere. I want my meals to a come out of kitchen and not from the buffet line.

[SLSD]

10 minutes ago, brittany12 said:

Will someone now on the Quest or recently on the Quest please advise us about the MDR rules for breakfast and Lunch? I am about to get on a Quest Panama Canal cruise in Dec and would really be po'ed if the MDR is not open for both. There are no sea days. I am not paying these nose-bleed  prices for buffet style meals twice a day. None of us should.  And I entirely agree with SLSD's reasoning about the real objections to buffet Colonnade dining —there or anywhere. I want my meals to a come out of kitchen and not from the buffet line.

I think you can pretty much count on the MDR NOT being open for breakfast or lunch on your cruise.  In the past, I have only seen it open on sea days and not on all of those.  

Edited October 26, 2022 by SLSD

[brittany12]

If this is sadly so, complaining onboard to F and B manager or on this website is not enough. Letters to SB management and calls to your trusted TA. Put the heat on. If these are the rules,  let's demand that they be published in the fancy brochures we get in the mail and on their website or else it is false and misleading advertising. 

[Catlover54]

19 minutes ago, SLSD said:

I think you can pretty much count on the MDR NOT being open for breakfast or lunch on your cruise.  In the past, I have only seen it open on sea days and not on all of those.  

 

You have not been on board in several years.  

Lunch is almost always closed if the ship is not sailing, might be open if it is at sea (consolidating other people's reports since Covid on varioius ships)

 

Breakfast was open most days on Quest on my late September cruise. 

[SLSD]

18 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

 

You have not been on board in several years.  

Lunch is almost always closed if the ship is not sailing, might be open if it is at sea (consolidating other people's reports since Covid on varioius ships)

 

Breakfast was open most days on Quest on my late September cruise. 

And that is exactly what I said.  Thank you for confirming. 

Edited October 26, 2022 by SLSD

[nancygp]

1 hour ago, brittany12 said:

Will someone now on the Quest or recently on the Quest please advise us about the MDR rules for breakfast and Lunch? I am about to get on a Quest Panama Canal cruise in Dec and would really be po'ed if the MDR is not open for both. There are no sea days. I am not paying these nose-bleed  prices for buffet style meals twice a day. None of us should.  And I entirely agree with SLSD's reasoning about the real objections to buffet Colonnade dining —there or anywhere. I want my meals to a come out of kitchen and not from the buffet line.

I’m currently on the quest and the restaurant is open for breakfast daily and was open for lunch on the 2 sea days and the day we arrived in Halifax in the early afternoon

 

nancy

[Catlover54]

19 minutes ago, SLSD said:

And that is exactly what I said.  Thank you for confirming. 

 

You said one can count on MDR not being open for breakfast.

that is not correct

[calm down dear]

So far in 10 days on Encore, no mdr breakfast or lunch “and no plans to do so”.

Edited October 26, 2022 by calm down dear
Typo

[Mr Luxury]

9 minutes ago, calm down dear said:

So far in 10 days on Encore, no mdr breakfast or lunch “and no plans to do so”.

How many sea days have you had?

[Catlover54]

44 minutes ago, calm down dear said:

So far in 10 days on Encore, no mdr breakfast or lunch “and no plans to do so”.

 

1 hour ago, nancygp said:

I’m currently on the quest and the restaurant is open for breakfast daily and was open for lunch on the 2 sea days and the day we arrived in Halifax in the early afternoon

 

nancy

 

For Brittany's sake, as she will be joining the Quest in December and MDR B/L are important to her, let's hope that the breakfast in MDR remains open daily like it is now , and also at least stays open for lunch on sea days and/or a semi-sea day like Halifax 2PM arrival   (if not other days).  

Maybe the Panama canal cruise will have more pax on board, more personnel, and minimal Covid, e.g., enough to make it logistically possible to keep breakfast open and have more open lunch.

 

Calm Down Dear is obviously having an opposite experience on Encore, with neither B nor L open in MDR. At least on Encore for lunch he reports one can eat Japanese in a sit down quiet venue (if one is in the mood for that) , but there is no equivalent for a quiet breakfast.

 

Otherwise, it sounds like YMMV ship to ship, cruise to cruise, sea day or not,  Covid count to Covid count.  And  as Brittany said, brochures should simply not advertise that MDR is open at breakfast and lunch absent an emergency (something more "emergent" than 2.5 years of Covid, since the presence of Covid now has to be assumed to be mainstream and baseline, though in varying degrees).

 

However, another point raised before that  I want to emphasize: even if the MDR remains open for breakfast, as it was on our Quest cruise most days, for anyone taking early morning excursions (many), it was useless since it was only open 8-9:30 or so.  DH and I are not generally formal sit-down breakfast eaters, but especially if people will be going on an excursion, with often limited or late lunch availability, it is important to many to be well-fueled for the day (in a relatively quiet place)  before they set out.

 

So if pax want  to give SB feedback (even though SB likely does not care as long as they can more or less fill ships without the MDR eaters), I suggest including the MDR breakfast (if/when open) timing issues.

 

 

[brittany12]

Thanks for your insight Catlover54, but I am a province in France spelled with two t's and not a she with just one.😉That's okay. Yes, the short breakfast hours in the MDR are not great if one has a morning excursion. Then there is no choice other than room service. Lunch is a different story. I can remember many a day in port on previous SB cruises pre-covid and eating  a relaxing lunch in the MDR overlooking the enchanting port scenery while savoring a glass or two of wine. As I would be doing on land. Which is the way it should be on luxury lines charging luxury prices. It becomes an activity rather than a rush-job to eat and vacate. It's also  a great place to stay away from the crowds if one is on an avoid covid at all costs mission. I just want transparency. IF SB must limit the days so substantially where THE major dining venue in the ship is closed for breakfast and lunch on such a continuous basis for any reason and because of real extenuating circumstances, that should be publicized to all well in advance. 

[Catlover54]

10 minutes ago, brittany12 said:

Thanks for your insight Catlover54, but I am a province in France spelled with two t's and not a she with just one.😉That's okay. Yes, the short breakfast hours in the MDR are not great if one has a morning excursion. Then there is no choice other than room service. Lunch is a different story. I can remember many a day in port on previous SB cruises pre-covid and eating  a relaxing lunch in the MDR overlooking the enchanting port scenery while savoring a glass or two of wine. As I would be doing on land. Which is the way it should be on luxury lines charging luxury prices. It becomes an activity rather than a rush-job to eat and vacate. It's also  a great place to stay away from the crowds if one is on an avoid covid at all costs mission. I just want transparency. IF SB must limit the days so substantially where THE major dining venue in the ship is closed for breakfast and lunch on such a continuous basis for any reason and because of real extenuating circumstances, that should be publicized to all well in advance. 

 

LOL, sorry about the rechristening!

 

I hear you on all the points, including  Covid (not just the old noro).  I too miss the leisurely lunches with wine  (referred to by those who believe we make mountains out of molehills, as "boozey" lunches, or "3 martini lunches").

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Catlover54
Typo

[saminina]

2 hours ago, brittany12 said:

 I can remember many a day in port on previous SB cruises pre-covid and eating  a relaxing lunch in the MDR overlooking the enchanting port scenery while savoring a glass or two of wine. As I would be doing on land.

Does anyone book Seabourn to live a lesser life on board than they do on land?   I would be wasting time addressing the issue to anyone other than hotel manager.  I would expect his response to be something along the line of "choose four bottles of cab.  Can we call it even?"

Sounds fair to me.    Not really, but we have to stick within reasonable compensation.   He is the only person that can make the call.

[PaulaJK]

I think that this is more likely a  SB policy. ..and I don’t expect a positive response from onboard management. As I mentioned previously ,

SB Sojourn closed its MDR for lunch ( and most breakfasts) long

before covid came into our world. If you loathe buffets, extra

exposure to germs, and the limited offerings of the patio grill, you

really need to consider whether SB is for you. The ‘extras’ often

center on alcohol. At the same time, Sojourn is very well maintained and the crew is fabulous.

[calm down dear]

16 hours ago, PaulaJK said:

I think that this is more likely a  SB policy. ..and I don’t expect a positive response from onboard management. As I mentioned previously ,

SB Sojourn closed its MDR for lunch ( and most breakfasts) long

before covid came into our world. If you loathe buffets, extra

exposure to germs, and the limited offerings of the patio grill, you

really need to consider whether SB is for you. The ‘extras’ often

center on alcohol. At the same time, Sojourn is very well maintained and the crew is fabulous.

Agree with you but here on encore the sushi place has been packed at lunch underscoring people like a sit down non buffet. I think they ought to use Keller or MDR but with a very short menu almost like a prix fixe say 2 starters, 2 plates of the day and a dessert. Ditto breakfast, why not have Keller do an American waffle breakfast or brunch ? Again maybe just 2-3 dishes ? Perhaps these ideas not everyday but trust me 14 days of colonnade breakfasts are not luxury.

[hoosier74]

Isn't brunch usually a buffet?

[SLSD]

38 minutes ago, hoosier74 said:

Isn't brunch usually a buffet?

Only if you frequent places who serve it as such.  We certainly do not.  Restaurants in our city serve a sit down white tablecloth brunch, ordered from a curated menu.  

[travel4b]

18 hours ago, calm down dear said:

Perhaps these ideas not everyday but trust me 14 days of colonnade breakfasts are not luxury.

You got that right!!

[commodoredave]

We rarely have breakfast in the MDR on a cruise, so that is not a big factor for us. On warm-weather cruises, we rarely have lunch in the MDR and prefer sitting outdoors at the buffet restaurant. However,  on cool weather cruises, particularly longer ones, we definitely want the option to have lunch in the MDR.  Consequently, we now only book SB for shorter, warm-weather cruises. And we book other luxury lines, including Silversea, for the longer, cooler-weather cruises. If SB would like more of my cruise business, it's they who will have to change, not me.

[florisdekort]

On 10/26/2022 at 1:50 PM, brittany12 said:

Will someone now on the Quest or recently on the Quest please advise us about the MDR rules for breakfast and Lunch? I am about to get on a Quest Panama Canal cruise in Dec and would really be po'ed if the MDR is not open for both. There are no sea days. I am not paying these nose-bleed  prices for buffet style meals twice a day. None of us should.  And I entirely agree with SLSD's reasoning about the real objections to buffet Colonnade dining —there or anywhere. I want my meals to a come out of kitchen and not from the buffet line.

We just boarded Quest yesterday, Montréal to Miami.
 

The Restaurant is open for breakfast every day from 8 am to 9 am.

 

The Restaurant is open for lunch on all 4 sea days from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. It’s also open for lunch on the day we sail from New York - which probably is because our departure time is 12 noon. 
 

Hope this helps.

 

Floris 

[Mr Luxury]

Good news,enjoy the trip

[calm down dear]

51 minutes ago, florisdekort said:

We just boarded Quest yesterday, Montréal to Miami.
 

The Restaurant is open for breakfast every day from 8 am to 9 am.

 

The Restaurant is open for lunch on all 4 sea days from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. It’s also open for lunch on the day we sail from New York - which probably is because our departure time is 12 noon. 
 

Hope this helps.

 

Floris 

Exactly and this is the most infuriating thing, how come you get a choice and we haven’t ? I sort of understand (but don’t agree) no mdr at lunch on port days , you are getting mdr for breakfast everyday. Today the port was pleasant but most places closed and there wasn’t much to do aside walking and with a 830am arrival most were back for lunch - colonnade was rammed, we had to wait for a table at 1.30pm.