MDR Arvia

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, pete14 said:

Just a thought. Can those of you who are regular patrons of Michelin starred restaurants let us know whether they use table cloths?

Some do, some don't.  Fat Duck in Bray, yes. Down the road ( or up the river ), the coach in Marlow ,no.

[Ardennais]

I’ve only been to Ynyshir and there were no tablecloths in their Michelin restaurant. 

[Ardennais]

It depends on the table itself. I like rustic looking tables, not shiny ones. I don’t like shiny furniture. 

[terrierjohn]

26 minutes ago, pete14 said:

Just a thought. Can those of you who are regular patrons of Michelin starred restaurants let us know whether they use table cloths?

Never been in one so have no idea, but even though we now use place mats, as do most of our relatives, I do prefer tablecloths in the MDRs when cruising, it goes to differentiate them from the buffet.

[Windsurfboy]

Without  tablecloths tables , chairs , table mats etc need to be chosen very carefully , and kept immaculate. If done properly look superb. However hard to keep up standards. A clean white tablecloth can hide a lot of sins

[pete14]

Thanks for your replies. Perhaps to reflect what you say, they should have a tablecloth MDR and a no tablecloth MDR - take your pick.

[grapau27]

We like tablecloths even when eating breakfast on our ships balcony.

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

We like tablecloths even when eating breakfast on our ships balcony.

Graham  - you can't buy class! 

[Interestedcruisefan]

On 12/24/2022 at 2:29 PM, Camberley said:

Anything remotely approaching fine dining in the MDRs is most certainly an alien concept but tablecloths do marginally lift things: I find they add to the experience just a little and sets a nice tone…despite the mediocrity that sometimes follows.

It's all comparitive of course

 

Fine dining can mean many things to many people

 

Of course realistically fine dining at cannot current top level cannot happen in any large dining room anywhere in the world. Mass produced meals are incomparable to fine dining

 

My daughter is a chef

 

She works In Michelin star restaurants as well as freelance

 

The 2 star she worked at had 13 chefs plus 3 Kitchen porters  per sitting

 

They were preparing meals for just 40 covers at a time between them

 

Price of the meal £150 plus vat per person plus 12.5 per cent service charge added on

 

And that's in the Midlands. Would be a lot more in London etc

 

We do not pay anywhere remotely close to fine dining prices when we cruise so to expect fine dining in MDR is no longer realistic

 

What we get is INCREDIBLE value, decent quality very edible 3 course mass produced and mass served meals

 

Realistically for dinner in MDRS on P and O we are paying next to nothing.

 

If you want better than that then speciality restaurants can increase the quality and intimacy and still offer excellent excellent value

 

Closer to fine dining but nowhere near what's out there nowadays in the real world

 

Like I say it's all comparitive

 

We go to cruises for great value holidays. We don't expect fine dining. But we are very happy with what we get for them money

 

In the UK right now it would cost you the same for a very average 3 course meal for two as it would for a whole day and night of accommodation, dining and entertainment on a cruise eating as much as you like all day and night

 

Anyone complaining about cruises should look at what's happening in the normal world

 

We paid £50 plus for fish and chips takeaway for 4 people the other week!!

 

Very average 3 course pub meals for 2 can cost close to £40 per person now. Nothing like fine dining at all

 

We could cruise from Southampton around Europe for 14 nights on P and O for less than £50 each per night!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Interestedcruisefan

[Interestedcruisefan]

On 12/26/2022 at 11:15 AM, Ardennais said:

I’ve only been to Ynyshir and there were no tablecloths in their Michelin restaurant. 

Many modern Michelin stars wouldn't consider tablecloths

 

Plenty of old fashioned ones still would

 

Both can be equally brilliant

Edited December 28, 2022 by Interestedcruisefan

[zap99]

23 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

It's all comparitive of course

 

Fine dining can mean many things to many people

 

Of course realistically fine dining at cannot current top level cannot happen in any large dining room anywhere in the world. Mass produced meals are incomparable to fine dining

 

My daughter is a chef

 

She works In Michelin star restaurants as well as freelance

 

The 2 star she worked at had 13 chefs plus 3 Kitchen porters  per sitting

 

They were preparing meals for just 40 covers at a time between them

 

Price of the meal £150 plus vat per person plus 12.5 per cent service charge added on

 

And that's in the Midlands. Would be a lot more in London etc

 

We do not pay anywhere remotely close to fine dining prices when we cruise so to expect fine dining in MDR is no longer realistic

 

What we get is INCREDIBLE value, decent quality very edible 3 course mass produced and mass served meals

 

Realistically for dinner in MDRS on P and O we are paying next to nothing.

 

If you want better than that then speciality restaurants can increase the quality and intimacy and still offer excellent excellent value

 

Closer to fine dining but nowhere near what's out there nowadays in the real world

 

Like I say it's all comparitive

 

We go to cruises for great value holidays. We don't expect fine dining. But we are very happy with what we get for them money

 

In the UK right now it would cost you the same for a very average 3 course meal for two as it would for a whole day and night of accommodation, dining and entertainment on a cruise eating as much as you like all day and night

 

Anyone complaining about cruises should look at what's happening in the normal world

 

We paid £50 plus for fish and chips takeaway for 4 people the other week!!

 

Very average 3 course pub meals for 2 can cost close to £40 per person now. Nothing like fine dining at all

 

We could cruise from Southampton around Europe for 14 nights on P and O for less than £50 each per night!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your post puts things in perspective . At our local Pizza restaurant it costs over £50 and we get 20% discount. A decent 3 course meal for 2 is well over £60. On a cruise, 3 meals a day. We don't expect fine dining , just quite nice will do.

[Interestedcruisefan]

44 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Your post puts things in perspective . At our local Pizza restaurant it costs over £50 and we get 20% discount. A decent 3 course meal for 2 is well over £60. On a cruise, 3 meals a day. We don't expect fine dining , just quite nice will do.

 

And that's what we get

 

Quite nice breakfast

Quite nice burgers, pizza, snacks

Quite nice lunch

Quite nice afternoon tea

Quite nice MDR dinner

Quite nice more buffet and snacks if we want

(Loads of choice for the above. Unlimited quantity)

Ok entertainment

Nice views each day

Lots of Travel

Ok room accommodation

Warmth, heat and light!! (As much as we want!) Lol

Clean tablecloths !!

Clean towels

Beds made

Rooms cleaned

 

For less than £50 per person per day if you cruise inside cabins from southampton

 

Not sure how much of the £50 per person above I should allocate to my MDR dining 3 course meal?

 

Whatever you choose for that figure its not comparable to what you would spend in the real world for fine dining

 

Right now my wife and I are paying £67.50 per person per night for a Premier Inn in a rough part of London including breakfast only whilst we manage a few events here

 

So just the room and breakfast has  blown the £50 budget above

 

Edit plus £5 parking per night (plus every morning we wake up we are still in the same place!)

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Interestedcruisefan

[PaulManchester]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

It's all comparitive of course

 

Fine dining can mean many things to many people

 

Of course realistically fine dining at cannot current top level cannot happen in any large dining room anywhere in the world. Mass produced meals are incomparable to fine dining

 

My daughter is a chef

 

She works In Michelin star restaurants as well as freelance

 

The 2 star she worked at had 13 chefs plus 3 Kitchen porters  per sitting

 

They were preparing meals for just 40 covers at a time between them

 

Price of the meal £150 plus vat per person plus 12.5 per cent service charge added on

 

And that's in the Midlands. Would be a lot more in London etc

 

We do not pay anywhere remotely close to fine dining prices when we cruise so to expect fine dining in MDR is no longer realistic

 

What we get is INCREDIBLE value, decent quality very edible 3 course mass produced and mass served meals

 

Realistically for dinner in MDRS on P and O we are paying next to nothing.

 

If you want better than that then speciality restaurants can increase the quality and intimacy and still offer excellent excellent value

 

Closer to fine dining but nowhere near what's out there nowadays in the real world

 

Like I say it's all comparitive

 

We go to cruises for great value holidays. We don't expect fine dining. But we are very happy with what we get for them money

 

In the UK right now it would cost you the same for a very average 3 course meal for two as it would for a whole day and night of accommodation, dining and entertainment on a cruise eating as much as you like all day and night

 

Anyone complaining about cruises should look at what's happening in the normal world

 

We paid £50 plus for fish and chips takeaway for 4 people the other week!!

 

Very average 3 course pub meals for 2 can cost close to £40 per person now. Nothing like fine dining at all

 

We could cruise from Southampton around Europe for 14 nights on P and O for less than £50 each per night!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely spot on. Value for money on a modern cruise ship with P and O is, frankly, off the scale. Our evening meal probably works out at around £5pppd. I think that is magnificent. All power to P and O.

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, PaulManchester said:

Absolutely spot on. Value for money on a modern cruise ship with P and O is, frankly, off the scale. Our evening meal probably works out at around £5pppd. I think that is magnificent. All power to P and O.

I doubt the cost of the ingredients come to more than £1.50

[Interestedcruisefan]

18 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I doubt the cost of the ingredients come to more than £1.50

Similarly

 

On the £150 plus vat per head proper fine dining 2 Michelin star menu

 

I doubt the cost of the ingredients comes to more than £3 per head

 

Lots of tiny portions. Every guest has a tasting menu with lots of very small portions

 

Its all about the effort thats goes into them

 

 

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Similarly

 

On the £150 plus vat per head proper fine dining 2 Michelin star menu

 

I doubt the cost of the ingredients comes to more than £3 per head

 

Lots of tiny portions. Every guest has a tasting menu with lots of very small portions

 

Its all about the effort thats goes into them

 

 

A quick Google search shows a budget of around $10 to $15 per person per day for all food, so lets say £10 pppd for P&O.  Even that seems high to me !

[Interestedcruisefan]

31 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I doubt the cost of the ingredients come to more than £1.50

 

Cleaning the white tablecloth probably costs similar!!

 

Lol

[jeanlyon]

very interesting reading all this.  We have just been away for our 30th anniversary, staying in a couple of lovely pubs/inns in Cornwall.  Dinner for two most evenings was about £50 including a bottle wine.  Now I should add that one course is enough for us.  With starters and dessert it would have been about £72.  The food was tasty and well presented.

 

I find the MDR menus are very boring.  meat and two veg!  Duck, Beef or Chicken and the fish is often sea bass which I dislike.    I do like different things, like a tasty curry, lasagne, prawn provencale.  None of those ever seem to be available on P&O

[Dermotsgirl]

Ariva was in Funchal yesterday, the first port on her maiden cruise, so there's a slew of reports on FB.

 

Looks like there have been some significant issues, and many comment about the MDR Christmas dinner. Even though it was prebooked, people still had to queue for an hour to give into the MDR, and the actual meal was very disappointing. Lots of other comment too and Captain Camby has been on the PA apologising for the problems.

 

I think it was always going to be a risk, having the maiden and the Christmas cruise as one and the same thing.  

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

 

And that's what we get

 

Quite nice breakfast

Quite nice burgers, pizza, snacks

Quite nice lunch

Quite nice afternoon tea

Quite nice MDR dinner

Quite nice more buffet and snacks if we want

(Loads of choice for the above. Unlimited quantity)

Ok entertainment

Nice views each day

Lots of Travel

Ok room accommodation

Warmth, heat and light!! (As much as we want!) Lol

Clean tablecloths !!

Clean towels

Beds made

Rooms cleaned

 

For less than £50 per person per day if you cruise inside cabins from southampton

 

Not sure how much of the £50 per person above I should allocate to my MDR dining 3 course meal?

 

Whatever you choose for that figure its not comparable to what you would spend in the real world for fine dining

 

Right now my wife and I are paying £67.50 per person per night for a Premier Inn in a rough part of London including breakfast only whilst we manage a few events here

 

So just the room and breakfast has  blown the £50 budget above

 

Edit plus £5 parking per night (plus every morning we wake up we are still in the same place!)

 

And I should have said thats me having scoured the area for the best value best quality deal for a room with breakfast and booked well in advance

[Interestedcruisefan]

24 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

very interesting reading all this.  We have just been away for our 30th anniversary, staying in a couple of lovely pubs/inns in Cornwall.  Dinner for two most evenings was about £50 including a bottle wine.  Now I should add that one course is enough for us.  With starters and dessert it would have been about £72.  The food was tasty and well presented.

 

I find the MDR menus are very boring.  meat and two veg!  Duck, Beef or Chicken and the fish is often sea bass which I dislike.    I do like different things, like a tasty curry, lasagne, prawn provencale.  None of those ever seem to be available on P&O

How much per night to stay in the accommodation this time of year Jean?

 

I assume you are paying for b and b?

[Interestedcruisefan]

14 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Ariva was in Funchal yesterday, the first port on her maiden cruise, so there's a slew of reports on FB.

 

Looks like there have been some significant issues, and many comment about the MDR Christmas dinner. Even though it was prebooked, people still had to queue for an hour to give into the MDR, and the actual meal was very disappointing. Lots of other comment too and Captain Camby has been on the PA apologising for the problems.

 

I think it was always going to be a risk, having the maiden and the Christmas cruise as one and the same thing.  

Agreed

 

 

 

[Camberley]

4 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

It's all comparitive of course

 

 

 

Well yes, of course it is!  And nobody expects fine dining from an MDR…nothing remotely close. Good food - and consistently - would be nice though. But horses for courses 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Camberley

[Camberley]

On 12/26/2022 at 10:53 AM, pete14 said:

Just a thought. Can those of you who are regular patrons of Michelin starred restaurants let us know whether they use table cloths?

I dine 2-3 times a month at Michelin restaurants (it’s a real passion of mine) - and most I have dined in have tablecloths. Not all, but most. And several of those that don’t, tend to have nice thick wood tables (like rustic oak, for example) and not excess clutter….also good for setting a nice tone.
 

And tone is important for me….like dressing up formally is important for some but less important for others.
 

But despite my preferences it is the food, company and general atmosphere that count most for me at a meal. But it is good we all have our quirks etc

Edited December 28, 2022 by Camberley

[Fionboard]

2 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

very interesting reading all this.  We have just been away for our 30th anniversary, staying in a couple of lovely pubs/inns in Cornwall.  Dinner for two most evenings was about £50 including a bottle wine.  Now I should add that one course is enough for us.  With starters and dessert it would have been about £72.  The food was tasty and well presented.

 

I find the MDR menus are very boring.  meat and two veg!  Duck, Beef or Chicken and the fish is often sea bass which I dislike.    I do like different things, like a tasty curry, lasagne, prawn provencale.  None of those ever seem to be available on P&O

All have been available on Arcadia this cruise.