MDR lunch and caiar

We are on an upcoming 21 day summer med cruise. I hope the MDR U.S. Open for a la carte lunch. Ant experiences? What is the likelihood of it being open. We don't care for buffets.

Is caviar still ordered freely on the ship?

We are on an upcoming 21 day summer med cruise. I hope the MDR U.S. Open for a la carte lunch. Ant experiences? What is the likelihood of it being open. We don't care for buffets.

 

Is caviar still ordered freely on the ship?

Have never experienced any Ants on board :D ...plenty of smokers though!!

We are on an upcoming 21 day summer med cruise. I hope the MDR U.S. Open for a la carte lunch. Ant experiences? What is the likelihood of it being open. We don't care for buffets.

 

Is caviar still ordered freely on the ship?

Caviar is still (a month ago anyway) freely available.

Lunch in the dining room may or may not be available - we were on Quest in the Med. recently and it was open every day, even though each day was a port day. However, this seems to not always be the case, so you may not be lucky. Some passengers recently managed to persuade the powers that be on board to open Restaurant 2 instead at lunchtime for a waiter served lunch. I believe about 15 or so people took advantage of this; would not suit us as we do not care much for the decor etc. there, even in the evenings. Plus we do like the Colonnade in good weather, sitting outside.

Kent,

At the risk of repeating what has been stated before you can have lunch in the Colonnade without ever going near the buffet. Just ask the server about what is available and he/she will bring it to your table.

And as Linclslady said, caviar is freely available though I do feel many take advantage of this '"treat' by ordering it every day.

We did 2 week [August] Med cruises in 2013 & 2014 and the MDR was closed for all port days...open for the one [only] sea day.

Yes, you can ask your server [always very accommodating] to bring you everything from the buffet but you can't escape the bustle . A recent poster indicated that they could obtain their lunch plate and then dine in Restaurant2 which might be an option albeit not the same as diningroom luncheon.

I gather that the closed MDR frustrates only a small percentage of the clientele.

For myself, it registers as not luxury cruising..more like the food court on HAL..

I gather that the closed MDR frustrates only a small percentage of the clientele.

For myself, it registers as not luxury cruising..more like the food court on HAL..

However the MDR on HAL is open for lunch every day (unless there is a "Mariner" event) allowing passengers to escape the food court chaos. This is an area in which Seabourn could easily improve.

We will be on a 21 day med cruise departing 25 July. Will be very disappointed if MDR closed ever day. It is 2 B2B 11 and 10 day cruises. My husband and I work hard and one of the most relaxing things is a nice " served" lunch in a quiet place mid day. We are not Avid cruisers but are avid travelers. We were last on Seabourn several years ago and did MDR lunch almost every day. Went on Regent last year for 18 day cruise and enjoyed MDR lunch almost every day as well.we are really not buffet people. What do you think? I am worried we will be eating off the ship most days in port......

We are currently on Sojourn in the Med (10 days) and the MDR has been closed every day for lunch. The weather is very hot and it is lovely eating outside but it can get crowded at times. The food has been wonderful.

Odyssey MDR closed for lunch this week and last week.

We will be on a 21 day med cruise departing 25 July. Will be very disappointed if MDR closed ever day. It is 2 B2B 11 and 10 day cruises. My husband and I work hard and one of the most relaxing things is a nice " served" lunch in a quiet place mid day. We are not Avid cruisers but are avid travelers. We were last on Seabourn several years ago and did MDR lunch almost every day. Went on Regent last year for 18 day cruise and enjoyed MDR lunch almost every day as well.we are really not buffet people. What do you think? I am worried we will be eating off the ship most days in port......

To have a quiet lunch in the Colonnade I would recommend you eat early when it opens as it is quieter then. It usually gets busy when everyone comes from trivia just after 1pm. Also the tables outside and down the side are quieter. You will still get staff coming to take your order and serve you regularly. I hope this helps a little.

Julie

The reason MDR is closed is they have found so few people want to eat there at lunch time, particularly when in port. Service is available in both Colonnades and Grill. Or you can eat at any time on your balcony with room service.

I know that Regent,Silversea and Crystal have their dining room open for lunch everyday. We are not buffet people either.

During my time on Seabourn I have never felt that the Colonnade was as awfu and noisy l for lunch as people here make it out to be. Yes there is a small buffet area where one may serve themselves, but this isn't like some large banquet hall with ginormous tubs and bins of unidentifiable food where it is slopped out by a dirty greasy prisoner.

On the table is a menu and you may order anything you desire. When the weather is warm the outdoor tables are in high demand and there have always been plenty of quiet tables inside.

We have never felt rushed or like it was some rushed second rate service. My other question is why are so many folks eating on board the ship for lunch on the majority of port days? There is a great big world of food out there and while I like Seabourn I don't want to eat three generic meals a day in the same place even if the servers are wearing white gloves.

As others have noted there are non buffet options in the Colonade and it is misleading to refer to it as a buffet only restaurant . And Julie offered an option to those who want a quieter dining experience. On the rare occasion where I have been talked into having lunch in the Restaurant (and I am one of those who almost always has dinner in the Restaurant) I have felt as though I was in a morgue Never more than four or five tables occupied. So I have to admit that from a staffing standpoint I understand Seabourn's decision to close it on port intensive cruises. And I also agree with Nola girl that one of the best ways to experience a new place is to enjoy the local cuisine. We lunch out about half the time on our Med cruises.