Dining in The Restaurant at lunch

[florisdekort]

11 minutes ago, calm down dear said:

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.

I’m purely speculating, but this might have something to do with the ratio between the total number of passengers on board vs. available crew (crew NOT in self-isolation). If the ship is full and a high percentage of crew has Covid, certain services might simply not be available on a sailing? Just my 2 cents. 

[2SailingNomads]

8 hours 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 

Hopefully that will be the case when we join the Sojourn in a few weeks as we enjoy lunch in the MDR.

[travel4b]

14 hours ago, florisdekort said:

I’m purely speculating, but this might have something to do with the ratio between the total number of passengers on board vs. available crew (crew NOT in self-isolation). If the ship is full and a high percentage of crew has Covid, certain services might simply not be available on a sailing? Just my 2 cents. 

That would make sense.  So how full is the ship at the moment?  

[calm down dear]

8 hours ago, travel4b said:

That would make sense.  So how full is the ship at the moment?  

350, but that makes colonnade rammed and rather misses the point - nowhere does it say you only get buffet for lunch and breakfast ? I repeat only having this venue for breakfast and lunch isn’t luxury in 14 days - it’s cafeteria.

[crickette]

Like many of you, we prefer a sitdown meal with linens, bread offerings, menus and table service.  Buffets are a distant second choice, but what I really dislike is self-service.  On a recent post covid cruise (not SB), there were staff who served at each station.  It was easy to say a little of this and a little of that, and they always responded with "a little more?"  As soon as I turned away from the station with a plate, there were waiters who reached for the plate and guided us to a table attractively set with linens, flowers and cutlery.  There are ways to make buffets less like a cafeteria (which we find totally unacceptable on a luxury restaurant experience).

[travel4b]

48 minutes ago, calm down dear said:

350, but that makes colonnade rammed and rather misses the point - nowhere does it say you only get buffet for lunch and breakfast ? I repeat only having this venue for breakfast and lunch isn’t luxury in 14 days - it’s cafeteria.

If you think 350 makes the Colonnade rammed you should have seen it in August when the ship was sold out. Lordy!!

[florisdekort]

15 hours ago, travel4b said:

That would make sense.  So how full is the ship at the moment?  

 
We’re 369 on Quest currently apparently.

Hasn’t been an issue. 

[JPH814]

Just off 12 days on the Quest.  Yes the MDR was open every day and it was EMPTY! We had one breakfast there - we were one of 3 tables being served.  Frequently walked through during breakfast (often the disembark was on the 4 deck) and never did we see more than 3 or 4 tables occupied.  We were there once during a sea day for lunch for a special wine lunch,  We had 10 involved.  Saw one other table occupied.  Does it really make sense to continue to staff it?

[Mr Luxury]

31 minutes ago, JPH814 said:

Just off 12 days on the Quest.  Yes the MDR was open every day and it was EMPTY! We had one breakfast there - we were one of 3 tables being served.  Frequently walked through during breakfast (often the disembark was on the 4 deck) and never did we see more than 3 or 4 tables occupied.  We were there once during a sea day for lunch for a special wine lunch,  We had 10 involved.  Saw one other table occupied.  Does it really make sense to continue to staff it?

That's exactly the reason that it is often closed.

Use it or lose it.

A bit like a tuxedo and an evening dress.

 

[brittany12]

 

Strongly disagree with assertion use it or lose it.  It's nowhere near the tuxedo and evening dress analogy. No. we are paying for it. If many or most passengers choose not to use this civilized and relaxing food service,  that's no reason  to shut down MDR for breakfast or even lunch so long as the luxury cruise line openly advertises and markets its various dining venues as open for all three meals  and does not tell people buying cruises the MDR will be shut down. If they do that, then lower my fare and stop pretending you are a luxury line. 

[CalmSea]

Yes, we are all paying for keeping the dining room open for breakfast/lunch. As a consumer, we want the best value for our money. As a business, SB wants to provide an attractive product at a competitive price. So, it is a business decision for SB. Is it better to cut back on services somewhere in order to keep the prices down, or is it better to maintain the same service and let the prices rise? Whatever SB does, there are risks involved. We, as consumers, actually have the final say. We can decided where to spend our money.

[JPH814]

21 minutes ago, brittany12 said:

 

Strongly disagree with assertion use it or lose it.  It's nowhere near the tuxedo and evening dress analogy. No. we are paying for it. If many or most passengers choose not to use this civilized and relaxing food service,  that's no reason  to shut down MDR for breakfast or even lunch so long as the luxury cruise line openly advertises and markets its various dining venues as open for all three meals  and does not tell people buying cruises the MDR will be shut down. If they do that, then lower my fare and stop pretending you are a luxury line. 

Maybe the cost savings for those few lunches it is not open are already included in the fare calculation.  Maybe all of us would have to pay more to keep the MDR open for the very few people who use it.  
This is just one of the many decisions businesses make every day.  

[Mr Luxury]

15 minutes ago, JPH814 said:

Maybe the cost savings for those few lunches it is not open are already included in the fare calculation.  Maybe all of us would have to pay more to keep the MDR open for the very few people who use it.  
This is just one of the many decisions businesses make every day.  

It actually doesn't take much working out from a business point of view why they close it.

The MDR does remain open on longer cruises.

I only eat breakfast in the MDR so if its not open then I don't have breakfast.

I never eat lunch on a ship.

[nancygp]

22 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

The MDR does remain open on longer cruises.

I was on the same cruise is the thread starter.  Went to the MDR twice for lunch on the 3 days it was open and it was quite empty except for the group he mentioned and another group, think a different day.

 

We will be on a crossing next year with many, many sea days and it will be interesting to see how many of the sea days it will be opened…we only have 2 port days out of 14 days! 😁

 

nancy

Edited October 31, 2022 by nancygp

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, JPH814 said:

Just off 12 days on the Quest.  Yes the MDR was open every day and it was EMPTY! We had one breakfast there - we were one of 3 tables being served.  Frequently walked through during breakfast (often the disembark was on the 4 deck) and never did we see more than 3 or 4 tables occupied.  We were there once during a sea day for lunch for a special wine lunch,  We had 10 involved.  Saw one other table occupied.  Does it really make sense to continue to staff it?

I don't want to sound argumentative or combative here--because that is not me--but i wish those of you who do not value the MDR being open for breakfast and lunch would listen to those of us for whom it is important.  After all, we support your love of caviar anytime and free flowing champagne.  For some of us,  ambience is everything when it comes to assessing luxury.  And some of us never do buffets.  Having a breakfast/lunch venue with white tablecloths and a menu is very important.  I think there are two issues contributing to the low attendance in the MDR for breakfast and lunch.  One--it is  open so seldom that people cannot count on it or plan for it.  And two---the MDR is only open for about an hour when it is open.  This makes it necessary for anyone planning to dine there to arrange their entire schedule to be able to dine at this hour.  Not always easy.

 

  I have one other compromise suggestion--why not have a much larger sit down menu for the Colonnade for both breakfast and lunch?  We love dining out on the outdoor deck portion of the  Colonnade, but get a bit weary of only having grilled salmon, or a couple of other options available for lunch.  Why not have a more extensive menu to satisfy those who eschew a buffet?  

[Mr Luxury]

52 minutes ago, nancygp said:

I was on the same cruise is the thread starter.  Went to the MDR twice for lunch on the 3 days it was open and it was quite empty except for the group he mentioned and another group, think a different day.

 

We will be on a crossing next year with many, many sea days and it will be interesting to see how many of the sea days it will be opened…we only have 2 port days out of 14 days! 😁

 

nancy

I think you'll find it open every day Nancy on a crossing 

[nancygp]

23 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

I think you'll find it open every day Nancy on a crossing 

Great…plus…the warmer weather will be conducive to dining outside for lunch and dinner 

 

Nancy

[brittany12]

SLSD says it all so perfectly his first paragraph. It captures the feeling a number of us have. Pre-covid the MDR breakfast and lunch attendance was about the same as I'm reading it is now.. They used and still use  just a portion of the big room and have restricted hours for the few handfuls of us who ate there. But for those of us who appreciate its ambience (yes tablecloths1), selections,  relaxed waiter service, and food—the hallmark of SB's reputation since its founding, and akin to what other luxury cruise lines provide—they managed to deal with the economics and still  provided a good product. Even with changing economics, until they put us on formal notice in their literature or online that it is changing, and thus giving the consumer a choice where to spend our money,  they should still do so.

[whogo]

20 hours ago, JPH814 said:

Just off 12 days on the Quest.  Yes the MDR was open every day and it was EMPTY! We had one breakfast there - we were one of 3 tables being served.  Frequently walked through during breakfast (often the disembark was on the 4 deck) and never did we see more than 3 or 4 tables occupied.  We were there once during a sea day for lunch for a special wine lunch,  We had 10 involved.  Saw one other table occupied.  Does it really make sense to continue to staff it?

This is similar to our experience pre-covid on the Quest. I believe the dining room can seat all 450 passengers, weird to be the only diner at breakfast there, probably had four tables max for breakfast and lunch. The dining room was only closed for embarkation day lunch.

 

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, whogo said:

This is similar to our experience pre-covid on the Quest. I believe the dining room can seat all 450 passengers, weird to be the only diner at breakfast there, probably had four tables max for breakfast and lunch. The dining room was only closed for embarkation day lunch.

 

Was it open for only an hour?  Was it well advertised to be open?  Was the menu posted?

[whogo]

6 minutes ago, SLSD said:

Was it open for only an hour?  Was it well advertised to be open?  Was the menu posted?

Breakfast in MDR was from 8:00 to 9:00 daily, longer hours on disembarkation day. Lunch was 12:30 to 1:30. I was usually at breakfast shortly after 8:00, I assume that one could arrive shortly before advertised closing and linger. The [daily] Herald listed opening hours for all bars and restaurants. The breakfast menu did not change, don't remember if menus were posted.

 

The galley lunch was the exception to the empty dining room rule, the place was packed.

 

I do not mind buffets, but thought that drink service in the Colonnade was way too slow. It could be a challenge to find a table, we never managed to sit outside. Again, this was pre-covid, we debarked 2/2/2020.

[commodoredave]

On 10/31/2022 at 11:31 AM, JPH814 said:

Just off 12 days on the Quest.  Yes the MDR was open every day and it was EMPTY! We had one breakfast there - we were one of 3 tables being served.  Frequently walked through during breakfast (often the disembark was on the 4 deck) and never did we see more than 3 or 4 tables occupied.  We were there once during a sea day for lunch for a special wine lunch,  We had 10 involved.  Saw one other table occupied.  Does it really make sense to continue to staff it?

The answer depends on how interested SB is in keeping and attracting the business of people who enjoy having some or many meals at breakfast and lunch in the MDR. In other words, there is both a cost to open the MDR for breakfast and lunch, and a cost of losing customers for not doing so. Other cruise lines seem to find an an acceptable accommodation, whether it's to keep the MDR open for just lunch, when the ship is full, on sea days, during cold-weather cruises, on long voyages, etc.  

[JPH814]

On 11/1/2022 at 2:28 PM, commodoredave said:

The answer depends on how interested SB is in keeping and attracting the business of people who enjoy having some or many meals at breakfast and lunch in the MDR. In other words, there is both a cost to open the MDR for breakfast and lunch, and a cost of losing customers for not doing so. Other cruise lines seem to find an an acceptable accommodation, whether it's to keep the MDR open for just lunch, when the ship is full, on sea days, during cold-weather cruises, on long voyages, etc.  

it seems like Seabourne matches your idea of an accommodation 

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, JPH814 said:

it seems like Seabourne matches your idea of an accommodation 

I think much of this boils down to what our  individual ideas of a luxury cruise encompasses.  I remember a conversation I had with one of our posters here on  Sojourn a few years ago.  He told me that he saw Sojourn as being more luxurious than Ovation or Encore.  I told him that he might be more discerning that I am--but that I preferred the two newer ships.  The real truth is that we all have different perspectives.  As for me, I don't see myself as a cruiser.  In fact, I find myself justifying my love of cruising to various friends who are aghast that I love to cruise.  For me, luxury cruising is not having to deal with crass partiers or as I tend to call them "the Hawaiian shirt crowd" (There is a back story to that--as Mr. SLSD had a lengthy case in Hawaii some years ago.).   For us, luxury is a small ship with fewer guests, white table cloth dining venues, as well as comfortable dining on open deck venues, ordering from a menu.  Since we never darken the door of buffet restaurants in our onshore life, we are not about to dine buffet style on a ship.  It's just that simple.  We work around the dining offerings on SB--and so far, have done ok and have been pleased.  We just hope that Seabourn recognizes and acknowledges that they have guests who do not do buffets --and never have.  I'm not picky about wine--we can usually find a palatable wine on SB. among the included wines--and if we cannot--we'll drink champagne, a kir royale, or other liquor.  We order caviar occasionally--but usually don't remember to do it often enough. Luxury is not one thing or another--it's an overall ambience--and that is what Seabourn needs to maintain.  

 

\

[cruiseej]

3 hours ago, SLSD said:

Since we never darken the door of buffet restaurants in our onshore life, we are not about to dine buffet style on a ship.  It's just that simple.

 

I don't think it's quite that simple. 😉 Onshore, we too don't go to any buffet restaurant. Most are low-quality, mass-volume, all-you-can-eat, lower echelon offerings, and you can't pay me to go to one of those! But over the years, we've been to some fabulous, memorable, brunch buffets at very upscale resort hotels and top-tier city restaurants. You can visit various stations to select food and return to your white tablecloth table, while a waiter refills your champagne glass, and it can be a wonderful dining experience! I'd go back to some of those we've experienced in a heartbeat.

 

Now, I wouldn't say the offerings on Seabourn are at the high level of some of those experiences I've described, but neither are they in any way comparable to Golden Corral or Old Country Buffet or Shoney's or [insert any other all-you-can-eat buffet chain]. Just because I make my own fruit plate, or make a bagel with lox just the way I like it, or have a caesar salad made for me, or have a slice of beef tenderloin cut for me, in the Colonnade does not make it a dark, undesirable experience. At least for us. Too many people crowding a line, poorly presented food displays, unsanitary serving implements — those are things which in my opinion can take an otherwise acceptable buffet experience on the ship to undesirable. And to me, the presence or absence of white tablecloths for breakfast or lunch does not make or break whether the overall experience feels worthy of "luxury cruising".

 

Just my opinions, and yours may differ… my point was really to say that I think there are luxury buffet dining experiences in this world, and that what we may think in terms of onshore buffet restaurants in the US does not define what a more upscale buffet experience can be.