First impressions

Onboard the Quest and all is well. We were all greeted at embarkation by the cruise director, Heather. That sets the mood for things to come. First impressions are so important. The last time we were welcomed by the cruise director was in 2009 by Nick Hale.

Bravo Heather

On the down side, however, the MDR will be closed for lunch for our entire cruise. :mad:

Onboard the Quest and all is well. We were all greeted at embarkation by the cruise director, Heather. That sets the mood for things to come. First impressions are so important. The last time we were welcomed by the cruise director was in 2009 by Nick Hale.

Bravo Heather

 

On the down side, however, the MDR will be closed for lunch for our entire cruise. :mad:

Very surprised to hear that - we were on Quest very recently in the Med. and the MDR was open every single day, and all days were port days, for an hour at lunchtime. Maybe some staffing has changed to cause the difference - we had Martin as Chef, Guenter as HD and someone called Ulrike as maitre'd, not that we saw her.

P.S. Just struck me - the weather was so good most days on our cruise that nearly everyone wanted to have lunch outside at the Colonnade, and probably the MDR was hardly used at lunchtime. Certainly that is what we love in good weather - in port, often looking at a lovely view, and having a lunch which you can choose or have completely served to you by the wait staff.

The past two summers during our Med cruises the MDR was closed all days for lunch. The only exception was the 1 sea day. We were not happy.....so this year we are on a different line in the Med.

The outside area of Collanade is lovely but not huge and certainly can't accommodate everyone. While there are good aspects to this dining venue, we do not love chafing dish buffets and all of the bustle and do not consider this (when the only offering) a luxury experience. We both work and don't have leisurely lunches together except during vacation.

Not disagreeing at all, Paula, I do think the dining room should be open for lunch; just wondering what the reason behind this is. And annoying not to know in advance if it would be open on the cruise one wishes to choose.

I asked staff an they said not too many people chose it. So???? Some cruises don't have many people in the casino or the shops or,or,or.

I really find it discouraging. I love SB but won't sail with the MDR closed.

There was a note recently expressing the impression that the MDR is understaffed [dinner]. Perhaps SB is hiring fewer dining staff? Anyway, I don't find it luxurious or relaxing to be forced to eat at a buffet. Yes, I know there are some items you can order. The room is very active. Just me..........

Les Picatins,

Don't wish to derail your post.

Now that you have a day or two, could you share some other impressions please. Paula

We disembarked the Quest on Tuesday after spending a month on the ship. I never wanted to eat in the MDR for lunch, but when I passed thru it seemed empty.

Mediterranean cruises have few sea days, so even the Colonnade is relatively empty at lunch time. I can understand why they wouldn't keep a third venue open.

Besides, the weather is nice....and the Colonnade is great and has waiter service.

The dining room was not understaffed at dinner on Quest recently.

Paula obviously feels more strongly than most of us about the lunchtime venues - a further note would be that (although I know she would not like it!) of course a great many people eat at the Patio Grill at lunchtime, which does help to keep the numbers in the Colonnade down. It never felt overcrowded, although not always possible to get a table for 2 on the 'outside', and the ship was absolutely full.

I'm new to SB and cruising the MED in the summer ..

How does waiter service work at a buffet? Are there items NOT on the buffet that you can order from the waiter? Or do you select what you wish from the buffet and they plate and serve you?

Thanks,

As with dinner, our lunch choices usually depend on what is on the menu, the weather and, if it is a port day, what our touring plans are.

We will usually lunch a couple of times in the MDR. But it is rarely busy and I can understand why Seabourn might choose to close it on port days. The reality is that most people will lunch at the Patio Grill (my issue with the Patio is finding a table in the shade) or the Colonnade. Sometimes they even open up Restaurant 2 as overflow from the Colonnade.

Personally, I don't feel strongly enough about the issue to change my cruising preferences.

Rachelfran,

There is a buffet of both hot and cold dishes and then there are special lunch dishes each day, usually a fish and a pasta, which you can order at the table. There is always a hot carved item at the buffet, like turkey, roast beef, roast pork, etc. They would bring you that as well, but i like to get it for myself because I like to see what they are offering with it, and I also don't like a lot of food on my plate. We usually do a combination, wherein we order a special, usually the fish, almost always outstanding, and while we're waiting, we help ourselves to salad from the buffet. But they will bring you anything you see. It's really very well done.

I'm new to SB and cruising the MED in the summer ..

 

How does waiter service work at a buffet? Are there items NOT on the buffet that you can order from the waiter? Or do you select what you wish from the buffet and they plate and serve you?

 

Thanks,

I personally don't mind the buffet and often like to take small two or three bite servings of all the items on offer. The chafing dishes are small and are refreshed often so it isn't just sitting around for hours. There are also different stations so you don't have to join a long conga line to get an item. There is a hot food line, salad bar, dessert station, side items station and bread/cheese.

Rachelfran,

There is a buffet of both hot and cold dishes and then there are special lunch dishes each day, usually a fish and a pasta, which you can order at the table. There is always a hot carved item at the buffet, like turkey, roast beef, roast pork, etc. They would bring you that as well, but i like to get it for myself because I like to see what they are offering with it, and I also don't like a lot of food on my plate. We usually do a combination, wherein we order a special, usually the fish, almost always outstanding, and while we're waiting, we help ourselves to salad from the buffet. But they will bring you anything you see. It's really very well done.

Thanks!

Sounds great! I'm very excited.

I have always found the service in the Colonnade to be warm and attentive.

There is a soup of the day as well as 2 specials [fish & pasta are common]

listed on a chalk board as you enter the Colonnade. The soup tureen usually has a server at its side but the chafing dishes are mostly self service which is fine. Staff carves the item of the day. There is a square buffet bar that includes appetizers, composed salads, cheeses and desserts.Most people seem to serve themselves. At your table you will find a list of 'always available' which includes burgers, minute steak & other items.Once seated you are asked your beverage preferences and whether you wish to order any special. With the buffet structure there is the allure of trying new items and having just a bite more of a favorite item. Most SB passengers seem to enjoy this venue. We have also....we just prefer to also have a MDR experience, especially when we are not going off at ports we have visited many times previously. To my knowledge, none of the other luxury/ high end lines keep their MDR closed for lunch.

I'm not sure if they still do it but Regent had their MDR open for lunch. However, most tours seemed to return to the ship after the MDR had stopped serving lunch.

Sea days of course it was open but I thought SeaBourns restaurant was open for lunch on sea days. Maybe that was only the little sisters.

Les Picatins,

 

Don't wish to derail your post.

Now that you have a day or two, could you share some other impressions please. Paula

Aside from our disappointment with the MDR being closed for lunch (despite the fact that it is still advertised as a dining option for lunch on their website), the rest is all standard Seabourn the way we know and enjoy. The staff seem to be on their best behavoir. With the staff from the Spirit and the Legend now at home and most likely waiting for new contracts there must be a little added pressure to perform.

I'm not sure if they still do it but Regent had their MDR open for lunch. However, most tours seemed to return to the ship after the MDR had stopped serving lunch.

 

Sea days of course it was open but I thought SeaBourns restaurant was open for lunch on sea days. Maybe that was only the little sisters.

Yes the MDR is open for lunch on Regent (if you are not afraid of food poisoning). It is also open for lunch on Silversea, Crystal and Windstar.

To my knowledge, none of the other luxury/ high end lines keep their MDR closed for lunch.

The MDR on Hapag-Lloyd's Europa 2 is closed for lunch.

For some time its been Seabourn policy not to open the MDR at lunchtime on seven day cruise segments.

There are also one or two other differences on seven day segments including the non-provision of a guest list and the lack of 'early-bird' coffee etc in the observation lounge.

The MDR was certainly open at lunchtime every day on a recent 16 day Odyssey cruise.

Good News! That is, for those of you who dislike buffets as much as we do.

Just back from having lunch in the Colonnade. On our way out, with our clothes wreaking of garlic (greek buffet and too cold to sit outside) one of the asst. Maître d's sensed our displeasure and informed us that since they closed the

Restaurant at lunch, we could be served lunch in Restaurant 2. This information must be secret because the Herald lists this venue as closed for lunch and even after sending the mid cruise comment card to the Guest Services manager with our disappointment we were not informed. Walking past R2 it appears to be closed, but we stuck our heads in and yes there were passengers being served. We'll be dining there tomorrow for déjeuner.:)

Good to hear this...and that you are having a very good cruise.

For previous poster, our cruises were more than 7 days...and why should 7 day cruisers do without the luxury experience SB advertises?

Good News! That is, for those of you who dislike buffets as much as we do.

 

 

 

Just back from having lunch in the Colonnade. On our way out, with our clothes wreaking of garlic (greek buffet and too cold to sit outside) one of the asst. Maître d's sensed our displeasure and informed us that since they closed the

 

Restaurant at lunch, we could be served lunch in Restaurant 2. This information must be secret because the Herald lists this venue as closed for lunch and even after sending the mid cruise comment card to the Guest Services manager with our disappointment we were not informed. Walking past R2 it appears to be closed, but we stuck our heads in and yes there were passengers being served. We'll be dining there tomorrow for déjeuner.:)

We were offered this too after expressing our displeasure on spirit in the Caribbean. We had been on board for the preceding two weeks and ate in mdr each day for lunch. We declined, not wanting to sit in an otherwise empty restaurant. We like waiter service but not in a library atmosphere!

We were offered this too after expressing our displeasure on spirit in the Caribbean. We had been on board for the preceding two weeks and ate in mdr each day for lunch. We declined, not wanting to sit in an otherwise empty restaurant. We like waiter service but not in a library atmosphere!

The Colonnade does have waiter service. They will really effort to get you what you want, even if it's not on the menu. The assistant maître d iOS always around...the afternoon colonnade chefs are really nice and accommodative guys,,,,

give discounts on these cruises when services are cut(ie the dining room closed for lunch)???? Funny that it seems there is the 2 definitions of luxury....Luxury & Seabourn Luxury!

Seabourn like McDonalds is cutting menu choices & perhaps Seabourn will install drive thru windows for dining.....