Seabourn Odyssey - Restaurant

"oppressive" is not the word I would use to describe any aspect of the Colonnade. And as we will be on Odyssey in 6 weeks I look forward to that

type of oppressive treatment.

 

Happy sailing!

For us the attraction of the Colonnade is the outside seating area which we really like. For the same reason we like to eat out at the Patio Grill. If, due to weather, outside eating is unavailable, then we would probably head for the MDR as often as not.

What puzzles me is that most other lines including RCCL open the MDR for breakfast and lunch daily, no matter if in port or at sea. (Sometimes just a small portion of the DR, but open none the less).

What puzzles me is that most other lines including RCCL open the MDR for breakfast and lunch daily, no matter if in port or at sea. (Sometimes just a small portion of the DR, but open none the less).

 

NCL opens it for breakfast but not for lunch on port days. If you are a Suites/VIP guest, that reserved dining is alway open at breakfast/lunch however.

Seabourn should publish the policy so that customers know what to expect. Discretionary closing of the MDR for breakfast/lunch is not good policy. It is just nice to know what to expect up front as a consistent practice.

"oppressive" is not the word I would use to describe any aspect of the Colonnade. And as we will be on Odyssey in 6 weeks I look forward to that

type of oppressive treatment.

 

Happy sailing!

 

Agree with this.

I also do not find the Colonnade 'oppressive'.

 

To revert to expectations - if I were new to Seabourn, and read the page on restaurant hours (see my post 209) I personally would assume that the dining room was always open for every meal. I can see that SB could argue otherwise, but that is how it reads to me.

Lincslady, I think anyone reading this would expect it to be open. This from my 2016-2017 Cruise Collection booklet.

 

 

Then as I have said, it was open every day on the quest as shown in The Herald each day.

 

 

Which all just goes to show the inconsistency on those cruises where it's not open.

 

Edit: but unless it is adverse conditions I would always have B and L in the Colonnade as I love it there.

Edited October 1, 2015 by ab21au

ab21au - many thanks for the reproduction of the page - if I had known how to do it I would have.

Anyone notice a rather early lunch in the colonnade

11.30 am [emoji486]

Anyone notice a rather early lunch in the colonnade

11.30 am [emoji486]

It isn't all that weird. I have eaten that early in the Colonnade a few times when I slept in on a sea day and then decided to just skip breakfast so by 11:30 I was really hungry. It also is nice to eat an early lunch if one has plans to partake of the many treats served with afternoon tea in the observation bar.

Edited October 1, 2015 by nolatravelgirl

Agree with Nolatravelgirl, we prefer an early lunch to maximize our afternoon adventures. Actually we tend to do an early dinner as well, so that we can be early for the show, early for the bar, early for dancing and anything else going on afterwards...

I thought the outcry about the MDR closures was about being able to eat where you wanted when you wanted?

They don't have something in the Grand Salon every night?

They don't have something in the Grand Salon every night?

 

Usually not on the night of Rock the Boat.

On an 11 day cruise on the Odyssey now from Venice to Barcelona and the MDR is closed every day for breakfast and lunch. However Restaurant 2 is open for breakfast and lunch for a waiter service for the same dishes as in the Colonnade.

On an 11 day cruise on the Odyssey now from Venice to Barcelona and the MDR is closed every day for breakfast and lunch. However Restaurant 2 is open for breakfast and lunch for a waiter service for the same dishes as in the Colonnade.

 

Sounds like a sensible compromise - the dishes would have been the same in the MDR anyway.

 

Maybe someone up high has been reading these comments, and/or listening to those on board.:)

It does make a lot more sense. Colonade and R2 share a galley space and I'm sure it's now more efficient in the main galley on 4 if they can be fully focused on prep.

As the original poster of this subject, I am extremely pleased to hear that the Restaurant 2 was open with waiter service for Breakfast and Lunch on a recent Odyssey cruise.

 

I am very keen to learn that this arrangement is fleetwide.

 

I would also like to ask if this service was available daily and if it is a first come, first served type basis, or is any type of reservation required. And, out of pure interest if the facility was well used.

 

My wife and I have not travelled with Seabourn over the past twelve months or so, and this latest change will have us looking at the brochures once again!

 

If we could get some decent sun lounges brought into the equation, then I would think we have hit the jackpot!!

As the original poster of this subject, I am extremely pleased to hear that the Restaurant 2 was open with waiter service for Breakfast and Lunch on a recent Odyssey cruise.

Note that waiter service has and has always been available in the Colonnade. If you don't want to go to the buffet it is not necessary.

 

I am very keen to learn that this arrangement is fleetwide.

 

I would also like to ask if this service was available daily and if it is a first come, first served type basis, or is any type of reservation required. And, out of pure interest if the facility was well used.

The times I have been to the MDR for breakfast or lunch I have never seen more than 6 tables of guests so I doubt that they will be beating back crowds at R2 for breakfast or lunch. If they were perhaps serving some sort of special B/L that was only available in R2 then you may have more demand, but since it is the exact same menu there won't be huge demand.

 

Sounds like opening up R2 for breakfast and lunch was a way to placate a few very vocal passengers.

On an 11 day cruise on the Odyssey now from Venice to Barcelona and the MDR is closed every day for breakfast and lunch. However Restaurant 2 is open for breakfast and lunch for a waiter service for the same dishes as in the Colonnade.

 

I'd be more than happy with R2 as a compromise, and hope this may be a new policy for days when the MDR is closed at breakfast and lunch.

 

 

There was one day on the South Africa cruise last year when several tours had been cancelled and the weather in the port was awful. It seemed like everyone showed up for breakfast in the Colonnade at 9.45am. There were no seats. They opened R2 as an overflow that morning.

I'm sorry but I do not find R2 serving the same menu as Colonnade with waiter service an acceptable compromise to not having the MDR open for lunch. Part of the fun of having lunch in the MDR is the large windows overlooking the sea and the great views which you do not get at night. R2 is more of a closed atmosphere and does not give you that. It's perfect for nighttime when the views make no difference but not during the day. jmo.

We enjoyed going to the MDR for lunch quite a few times. Enjoyed looking out the windows at the sea, and even taking some pictures of high seas. Service was always good and the atmosphere intimate. Only a few tables were occupied (some by the same people everyday - wonder how they would react to this change in dining program?), but the MDR had only skeleton staffing, maybe only one or 2 waiters and only one beverage person, so there was not a major commitment to staff to run up overhead costs. I just don't get this change. Not a deal-breaker for me, but disappointing.

My guess is they would need quite a lot of staff in the galley for all the different dishes, who would normally be working on prep for the evening meal if not needed to do lunches. Don't know if this is how they work, just a guess.

 

I do agree that the lack of nice sea views in 2 means it is not quite the same as the dining room during the day, however.

As the original poster of this subject, I am extremely pleased to hear that the Restaurant 2 was open with waiter service for Breakfast and Lunch on a recent Odyssey cruise.

 

I am very keen to learn that this arrangement is fleetwide.

 

I would also like to ask if this service was available daily and if it is a first come, first served type basis, or is any type of reservation required. And, out of pure interest if the facility was well used.

 

The service is first come first served with no reservations needed. not heavily used but much more used for breakfast. Lunchtimes only a few people. I have no idea whether it is fleet wide. And Restaurant 2 DOES have big windows for a nice sea view but only on one side. So today while we are anchored off Amalfi for example R2 was facing out to sea so we dined on the outside Colonade deck at lunchtime.