Food and dining on P&O ships

[snaefell]

Didn't work for us on Arcadia last year,turning up at the MDR  & 1830hrs we were told there was an hour & a half wait for a table for 2,buffet here we come!

[davecttr]

2 hours ago, snaefell said:

Didn't work for us on Arcadia last year,turning up at the MDR  & 1830hrs we were told there was an hour & a half wait for a table for 2,buffet here we come!

To make it worse IMO Arcadia has the worst buffet in the P&O fleet. So much so that I am seriously considering taking a smart linen jacket (not the creased variety) on my August cruise and wear it with black trousers and a shirt/tie, it is after all summer.

[room with a view]

Hello,

What are the "upcharges" for Speciality restaurants on the Azura ?

Thanks,

[happy v]

Sindhu £21

Beach house £11/£11.50?

Epicurean £35.

These are onboard prices. They are cheaper if you book ahead 

[Fraann]

On Arvia,  Sindhu is now charged per dish. If you pay a deposit of £10 before departure you will be given a 20% discount on your bill. 
I don’t know if this is the same on Azura but it’s worth checking out and can be a good saving. 

[Fraann]

I also think that the beach house has a discount for booking before departure. It was £11.50 on board but about £9 pre boarding. Again, that’s for Arvia, I assume it is similar for Azura. 

[room with a view]

1 hour ago, happy v said:

Sindhu £21

Beach house £11/£11.50?

Epicurean £35.

These are onboard prices. They are cheaper if you book ahead 

I will book as soon as booking opens ...thanks 

[tring]

17 hours ago, room with a view said:

I will book as soon as booking opens ...thanks 

 

The restaurants have become available to book two weeks before the cruise we are on soon on Arcadia.  I am assuming that is likely the same with all ships.  The potential problem with booking ahead is that you cannot use any OBC for the booking cost, though will use any OBC you have for other costs (e.g. supplements) once on the ship.

 

[Fraann]

Restaurant booking for Ventura is open 15 days before departure. The problem I have is that they have not published the entertainment shows and so we risk being double booked. 

[Fraann]

If you book and pay ahead you will get the same loyalty discounts as on board (eg pacific, carribean etc). But won’t be able to use obc. 
 

[Derek5001]

On 4/17/2024 at 8:00 AM, Selbourne said:

Yes. It’s only on Iona and only on one night of the cruise. It was fabulous. It often sells out on the day that reservations open though (14 days before the cruise?), so you have to be quick. 

It was on two days on Iona last week (Tuesday and Wednesday).  We pre-booked before the cruise.  As a non fish eater, I had the vegetarian option for two courses.  Excellent.

 

Best of all, we'd booked for two children, but in hindsight we thought it wouldn't be suitable for them (they had a kids meal in buffet followed by children's club).

 

Anyway, they wouldn't refund us, but offered our party of eight breakfast in the Epicurean the following day.

 

Wow!!  What a wonderful experience. We didn't know they even did breakfasts there.  We found out it was where the 'suite' passengers had breakfast, but they let us lesser mortals in for £8.50.

 

We splashed out for the final three days of our cruise.  

 

 

[TigerB]

Yes @Derek5001, it is a really nice breakfast in Epicurean; only open to non suite guests on Iona and Arvia though. We will certainly pay to have it on our next cruise, at least once, if not a couple of times.

 

It's interesting what you write about the Norwegian tasting menu being over two days; it does get booked up very quickly.

[Slugsta]

We are off on Arcadia soon and like to book a speciality restaurant for the first night. Please can anyone tell me what the charge is for Ocean Grill? The Sindhu price is on the sample menu but I can't find anything for Ocean Grill. Many thanks.

[purplesea]

I've just checked on My P&O and it states:

 

 

"A non-refundable cancellation charge of £10 per person is payable for speciality dining reservations cancelled less than 24 hours before the reserved time. This charge also applies to each guest who does not show up for their reservation. Reservations will be held for up to 30 minutes after the scheduled time. After 30 minutes, the reservation will be cancelled and the cancellation charge will apply. All cancellation charges will be charged to the guest's onboard account."

 

 

I can also see prices listed on the sample menu for certain dishes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gettingwarmer]

5 hours ago, Slugsta said:

We are off on Arcadia soon and like to book a speciality restaurant for the first night. Please can anyone tell me what the charge is for Ocean Grill? The Sindhu price is on the sample menu but I can't find anything for Ocean Grill. Many thanks.

£12 per person including pre booking discount then loyalty discount. 

[Slugsta]

@Gettingwarmer That's great, thank you.

[Slugsta]

4 hours ago, purplesea said:

I've just checked on My P&O and it states:

 

 

"A non-refundable cancellation charge of £10 per person is payable for speciality dining reservations cancelled less than 24 hours before the reserved time. This charge also applies to each guest who does not show up for their reservation. Reservations will be held for up to 30 minutes after the scheduled time. After 30 minutes, the reservation will be cancelled and the cancellation charge will apply. All cancellation charges will be charged to the guest's onboard account."

 

 

I can also see prices listed on the sample menu for certain dishes.

I think those prices are the extras on top of the basic price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[snaefell]

9 hours ago, Slugsta said:

We are off on Arcadia soon and like to book a speciality restaurant for the first night. Please can anyone tell me what the charge is for Ocean Grill? The Sindhu price is on the sample menu but I can't find anything for Ocean Grill. Many thanks.

It was £15pp when we were on her last year

[SausPud]

On 8/18/2024 at 11:14 AM, Slugsta said:

We are off on Arcadia soon and like to book a speciality restaurant for the first night. Please can anyone tell me what the charge is for Ocean Grill? The Sindhu price is on the sample menu but I can't find anything for Ocean Grill. Many thanks.

 

Also on her soon, well December, but that's soon enough to start thinking and planning dinner options.

Seeing as this is the only ship in the fleet that has Marco Ocean Grill, you would think that the price and costings would be easier to find.

 

If you sail before me, please let me know how much it was and if it was worth the money for the experience.

I appreciate any help you can provide.

[purplesea]

5 minutes ago, SausPud said:

 

Also on her soon, well December, but that's soon enough to start thinking and planning dinner options.

Seeing as this is the only ship in the fleet that has Marco Ocean Grill, you would think that the price and costings would be easier to find.

 

If you sail before me, please let me know how much it was and if it was worth the money for the experience.

I appreciate any help you can provide.

I am sailing on her 28th November so will report back.

[Derek5001]

Sindhu had increased to £22 for the three course meal on Iona w/c 3/8.  Not a bad deal, with 20% off if you'd pre-booked before sailing.

 

We all enjoyed it.  Anything off the menu with a couple of dishes with supplements.  We stuck with the included dishes.

[Slugsta]

6 hours ago, SausPud said:

 

Also on her soon, well December, but that's soon enough to start thinking and planning dinner options.

Seeing as this is the only ship in the fleet that has Marco Ocean Grill, you would think that the price and costings would be easier to find.

 

If you sail before me, please let me know how much it was and if it was worth the money for the experience.

I appreciate any help you can provide.

 

 

I have just booked for the first evening of our cruise and confirm that we were charged £12pp, minus our loyalty discount. That gives us a pre-booking discount which will not apply if we book again whilst we are onboard.

[snaefell]

On 8/18/2024 at 11:14 AM, Slugsta said:

We are off on Arcadia soon and like to book a speciality restaurant for the first night. Please can anyone tell me what the charge is for Ocean Grill? The Sindhu price is on the sample menu but I can't find anything for Ocean Grill. Many thanks.

It was £15pp when we were on her last year,food quality & service were both superb.

It spoilt us rather for a cruise on Royal Carib's Anthem Of The Seas earlier this year where Chops,their equivalent to the Ocean Grill was $54pp + 18% which certainly was an offer we could refuse!

All in all IMO the Ocean Grill is remarkable value for money!😎

[jh1809]

2 hours ago, snaefell said:

It was £15pp when we were on her last year,food quality & service were both superb.

It spoilt us rather for a cruise on Royal Carib's Anthem Of The Seas earlier this year where Chops,their equivalent to the Ocean Grill was $54pp + 18% which certainly was an offer we could refuse!

All in all IMO the Ocean Grill is remarkable value for money!😎

It is, though a few of the fancier dishes do incur a small supplement if you choose them.

[Fraann]

It’s cheaper if you pre buy at home. On Arvia it was £11.50 on board for the beach house but £9.20 booking ahead. Then loyalty discount applied. I assume Arcadia works to the same system, £15 on board, £12 pre booked.