Silhouette Dining Poll

first Celebrity cruise... MDR or 6 night specialty dining package?

Which would you do and which specialty restaurants would you choose not to miss if that is your choice?

THANKS

first Celebrity cruise... MDR or 6 night specialty dining package?

 

Which would you do and which specialty restaurants would you choose not to miss if that is your choice?

THANKS

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If your on a 7 night cruise, I wouldn't do a dining package. That being said, Morano's is a great experience.

Rollie

If your on a 7 night cruise, I wouldn't do a dining package. That being said, Morano's is a great experience.

We like Murano a bit better ;)

We have done 5 cruises on the Silhouette and have 5 additional booked over the next two years.

Our latest Silhouette cruise was a transatlantic from Rome to Florida in November of 2017. 15 days and ate 13 nights in mdr and 1 in Buffett and one in Quisine with the cruise critic group, and had no complaints about the food. Just off the Eclipse, 14 nights with12 in mdr and 2 in Buffett, no speciality resturants. Next month 8 nights on Summit and then back to the Silhouette in May for a 14 night cruise in Europe.

We cruise often and have tried all the specialty restaurants and find that they are no longer that special. Nor is there a need or a desire to dine in any of them with some exceptions like a group when food reviews are not very complimentary.

Everyone will state that food is subjective to your tastes and your pocketbook, but the mdr provides a very good meal with choices that meet most cruisers palettes.

As a change, in 02/19 we are doing a b2b in Aqua on the Silhouette; which we have done in the past because they tell me the menu has updated.

Hal

We did an 8 night cruise on the Silhouette in Sept and got a 4-night dinner package. Our favorite restaurant was the Lawn Club Grill which we went to twice.

They often run specials on the ship which can be a savings over a package.

Was on a 9-nighter on Silly at end January, bought a 4-night dining package and went to Tuscan Grill twice, Lawn Club Grille and Murano once each, MDR 4 times, buffet once. I'd say if you're a foodie then get a 3-night dining package on a one week cruise. If you're a budget-conscious foodie, don't! ;)

Thank you! We are from Chicago and accustomed to GREAT food! So far the results lean toward MDR;) We will see who else chimes in!

BTW, on our last cruise, (Disney cruise 15 years ago) we ate twice in the Italian specialty restaurant and loved it!

For the current sale, we would do a 6 night dining package @ $154/pp (about $25pp per meal) or one night in Murano if we can get in (sold out cruise) @ $50pp.

THANKS for your advice! Please keep it coming!!

We have an 14 nighter coming up on Silhouette. We have an 8 night dining package and the rest will be buffet . Don’t like the main dining room atmosphere

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Thank you! We are from Chicago and accustomed to GREAT food! So far the results lean toward MDR;) We will see who else chimes in!

 

BTW, on our last cruise, (Disney cruise 15 years ago) we ate twice in the Italian specialty restaurant and loved it!

 

For the current sale, we would do a 6 night dining package @ $154/pp (about $25pp per meal) or one night in Murano if we can get in (sold out cruise) @ $50pp.

 

THANKS for your advice! Please keep it coming!!

Most cruises are sold out, or close to it. Two things to consider; onboard, the first night specialty restaurants are usually heavily discounted, the other evenings they are often discounted 20% or more. Granted, it is a risk. We have never paid full price, but we are willing to walk away and go to the MDR if no discount is available, and we are quite flexible about the time we eat.

You should ask the Maitre 'd at the restaurant where you wish to dine about a discount if they don't advertise one.

I have to decide by tomorrow for the 20% off. It’s a toss up right now! Thanks for weighing in!

I would appreciate any other opinions I can get before we decide!

Have been onboard Silhouette for three weeks now. Every week they have menus number 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 6 and 7. You can probably look them up online. Menu 1 is the prime rib. Menu two is the beef tornados. Menu 6 is the lobster and beef wellington. Menu 7 is the turkey and steak diane. We dont really like the others. I would compromise on a specialty package of 3-4 nights.

I have to decide by tomorrow for the 20% off. It’s a toss up right now! Thanks for weighing in!

 

I would appreciate any other opinions I can get before we decide!

Have been onboard Silhouette for three weeks now. Every week they have menus number 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 6 and 7. You can probably look them up online. Menu 1 is the prime rib. Menu two is the beef tornados. Menu 6 is the lobster and beef wellington. Menu 7 is the turkey and steak diane. We dont really like the others. I would compromise on a specialty package of 3-4 nights.

MamaChach - I 100% agree with comments from TommyD3.

This is your first Celebrity cruise and you should experience all that your stateroom fare has included for you. Specialty Dining is nice and adds a special experience. I know food is subjective, but in my humble opinion, you don’t need to dine only in specialty dining venues to get excellent food.

Enjoy your cruise.

Walter

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I have to decide by tomorrow for the 20% off. It’s a toss up right now! Thanks for weighing in!

 

I would appreciate any other opinions I can get before we decide!

How many nights is your cruise, and what ship are you on? (I read the posts above and didn't see that info, which is important; apologies if I missed it.)

If you are on a 7-night cruise, I would not recommend a 6-night package, especially on your first Celebrity cruise, where I think you really should get a feel for things, including trying some of the specialties, but not obligating yourself to dining at them for virtually the entire cruise.

My wife and I will be sailing on the Silhouette's 15-night westbound TA this fall, and we just bought the 6-night specialty dining package on sale, but that's because it's not for most of the nights, we've sailed on the Silhouette before (love her), and we know where we would like to dine. Also, as wonderful as we've found Tuscan Grille and Murano, we find that we can't do "fine dining" too many nights in a row. Sometimes, you just want to break things up by serving yourselves in the buffet (and I mean that quite seriously).

If you happen to be on the Silhouette or Reflection, the Lawn Club Grill is terrific. We've eaten at Qsine several times (with groups and by ourselves) and have decided we are done with the gimmicks.

Celebrity is wonderful; enjoy your cruise!

I have said this many times now. The MDR has changed on Celeb ships since the intro of Luminae. A maitre d on the Eclipse, in Feb said to us off record, that the MDR is now really poor to make Luminae and Blu look better.

But if it is your first cruise or even your 6th, you wont notice much difference. As for us elite plus cruisers, things have really changed. Now to get quality dining you have to book Suites or Aqua. Having said that, the Oceanview Grill in buffet for dinner was amazing. Guess all classes eat there , so the quality has remained the same.

We are on a 7 night silhouette sailing. Thank you for your opinion!

You can't be on Silhouette and not go to the Lawn Club Grill. Turtle is right!

Dining package is the way to go. We rarely eat in the main dining room because food and service are not as good in main dining and we really enjoy the specialty venues. The only one we don't like is Qsine. Enjoy your cruise.

My husband and I really like the MDR. Sometimes it's hectic in there with the waiters rushing about to meet everyone's needs. We don't mind the hubbub. If you're wine drinkers, you should ask your head waiter to message the sommelier for you as soon as you are seated. The food is good to very good. The menu is set up as three courses - starter, entree and desert, but if you like four, your waiter will bring them to you one at a time. Sometimes, my husband and I will order an extra main course to share. For a first time on Celebrity, you should try the MDR.

There are two restaurants I would like to try on our next cruise - Qsine and the Lawn Club Grille. I'm not going to buy a package now because there's a really good chance that discounts will be offered on board and I wouldn't want to miss the MDR for six nights. We may buy the three day package. The MDR dinner menus are posted around one on a board outside the MDR and sometimes your head waiter may have a copy to show you the night before. If you're not happy with the menu, call the specialty restaurant of choice for reservations.

We like to attend tea in the OVC, in lieu of dinner, at least once during the cruise. There are lots of delectable tidbits to try. Later in the evening, we go to Cafe al Bacio for dessert. If you like sushi, there was a crew member, making the rounds in the OVC, trying to sell Sushi on 5 reservations, at a discount. Reps from various restaurants set up a table at the OVC to sell packages at least a few times during the cruise.

Since you're from Chicago, I will advise you not to bother with the pizza :)

We don’t mind trying speciality restaurants but the charges now are just silly and their menu offerings are stagnant. Yes you can get discounts but haggling shouldn’t be part of a ‘modern luxury” cruise. Qsine has very little for my veggie OH, Tuscan was underwhelming and Murano has been style over substance, really who uses cloches to reveal food these days? . We are now happy to stick with the MDR and if still hungry browse the buffet which has some lovely offerings to top up on. They need to revamp their speciality restaurants.

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I’m a native San Franciscan who loves excellent food (and I’ve found a lot of it in Chicago btw:D). Not prissy food, but solid favorites or creative new dishes made with love from quality, fresh ingredients. It’s unrealistic to expect such quality on a 3,000 passenger cruise ship, so I don’t expect it. That being said, the Celebrity MDR has been very good overall.

I’ve not dined in Luminae, but I completely disagree with the post intimating that the food in Blu is much better quality than the MDR. Last year, I spent 16 nights on Reflection (MDR) and 10 nights on Summit (Blu). The two cruises were only weeks apart. The dinners in Blu were not one bit better than those we’d had in the MDR. The ambiance & service in Blu were a step up, yes. The quality of the food, no. BTW the service we had in the MDR was excellent on Reflection.

In June, we’ll board Silhouette for 14 nights. We sailed on her in 2013 and we’re looking forward to sailing on her once again. We will dine in the MDR most nights. We will either purchase a 3-night specialty dining package or book only one night in Murano to celebrate our anniversary. Should we purchase the package, we’ll book two nights in Murano. IMO Tuscan Grill is meh (though it was once much better) and Lawn Club Grill can be very good, but often isn’t, so I guess I’d book our third night in LCG and hope for very good;).

I agree with the people who suggested that you should not book a large package for a 7-day cruise. In your place, I’d stick with the MDR or book only a 3-night package to try Murano, Tuscan Grill, and Lawn Club Grill, or just book Murano for a special night. IMO Murano is hands down, the best for romantic special occasions. LCG has a fun ambiance. Good luck with your decision. I hope you have a wonderful cruise! Cheers:cool:

Our first Celebrity cruise was on the Infinity in September 2017. We enjoyed the MDR and did not feel the need to pay extra for the specialty dining. Each night offered something interesting, and even "different" to try. Even though the MDR is large and "busy", we still received excellent service.

I highly recommend Murano. DH and I find that to our taste, it's the one specialty restaurant on Celebrity that's worth this upcharge for the food and tableside preparations, service and ambience. We find Tuscan like an overpriced Italian chain restaurant and not special in any way to be worth the charge. Qsine is fun for its quirky food presentations if you go with a large group to taste more things. But for us it's a "one and done, been there done that" kind of experience. DH hates sushi, so we don't frequent Sushi on 5. Lawn Club, although good is nothing special for us since we grill year round and are quite adept at producing excellent meals. The Porch may be a treat for lunch if you're on Silhouette or Reflection, but we find the prices a bit steep for what they offer. We've enjoyed our meals in Blu as well as the MDR. Of course, like everywhere, some nights you'll like the menu more than others, but over all the food on Celebrity ships is good. On a 7 night cruise, I'd do one night in Murano and be happy the rest of the time in my included dining venue.