Is pizzeria an option on Gala nights?

[bigilla]

Hi. We are cruising on the Splendida in 3 weeks time. I ve had a look at sample menues for the gala nights and it seems the food won t suit us and my 3 year old.

 

Is it possible to skip the gala night and eat at the Pizzeria, or will it be closed on these nights? Thanks in advance

[riclop]

Pizza will be open and the grill is also open but the buffet is closed.

[bigilla]

Thank you very much riclop.

[Capricruiser]

Why would you want to substitute a gala dinner for a piece of pizza?

[drblue]

Why would you want to substitute a gala dinner for a piece of pizza?

Hello Capricruiser,

The gala nights are usually formal affairs that are much longer than a regular dinner. While many older people look forward to these nights, many families often try to avoid them because children (especially young boys) cannot honestly stay still for such a long period of time. These nights usually also involve one of those awful baked Alaska desserts that some people like, which means an even longer wait to end the meal.

 

So, most families prefer an open seating arrangement to focus on having fun and also to let other people enjoy their dinners in peace without listening to children complanining about one thing or another. That is why a casual pizza dinner is much more enjoyable than a formal dinner with lobster tails or even filet mignon. Now that I travel with my 3 year old son, (when we eat at the main dining room), I usually just order 1 or 2 courses to get it all over with relatively fast. While most cruiselines around the world have already figured out that a casual dining option if more palatable for families, I guess MSC is one of the few cruiselines that has not gotten around to adopting the open seating options or to have a buffet available during dinner time. That is OK, as long as cruisers know what they are getting and then plan accordingly.

 

We are booked on an 11-day Eastern Med cruise in January 2011. We are 2 adults and 1 child who is 3 years-old. So, I have informed myself as much as I can about the MSC experience to be prepared and deal with the experience there. It does not mean that one cruiseline is necessarily better than another one - just different.

 

I am certanly looking forward to our MSC cruise on the Magnifica, even when they do not offer a casual dining option for dinner. We'll manage.

[AmoMondo]

Hi drblue

 

I fully understand the explanation you provided on why some families prefer to avoid gala night.

 

From my own experience there are the same numebr of courses on a normal evening to a gala evening on MSC, so it doesn't take any longer than a normal one, unless you decide to eat more courses. Admiitedly if you choose to stay to the end of the final one, there will be a bit of a dely, while they do the baked alaska parade and presentation of the chefs and mDR senior staff but again, there is nothing to stop you leaving before then if you've finished. No one will mind at all.

[Satincruz]

Hi. We are cruising on the Splendida in 3 weeks time. I ve had a look at sample menues for the gala nights and it seems the food won t suit us and my 3 year old.

 

Is it possible to skip the gala night and eat at the Pizzeria, or will it be closed on these nights? Thanks in advance

 

 

The alternative pizzeria is not free, though.

 

I'm not sure how expensive it is, but you may also want to keep some extra food from lunch on the gala days, and take it back to the fridge in your cabin so it will be there for the evening, just in case you end up needing it. This is also actually a good idea to do almost everyday (and especially if you/your 3-yr-old find something that you really like). This way you'll never be without food (in case you miss a meal by getting back late from a port, etc).

[Satincruz]

I thought of one more idea. If your child has any favorite foods/snacks, you may want to pack some along. These could be good for when you're out at ports for a long time, and also as bedtime snacks or anytime in a pinch. I actually always bring along some chocolate candies for myself and for helpful crew members (these are the hardest things to get on the ships nowadays!)

[drblue]

The alternative pizzeria is not free, though.

 

I'm not sure how expensive it is, but you may also want to keep some extra food from lunch on the gala days, and take it back to the fridge in your cabin so it will be there for the evening, just in case you end up needing it. This is also actually a good idea to do almost everyday (and especially if you/your 3-yr-old find something that you really like). This way you'll never be without food (in case you miss a meal by getting back late from a port, etc).

Hello Satincruz,

Thank you for the suggestions for keeping a "food reserve" on the fridge. It sounds very practical, especially having a 3 year-old with us. It might even allow us to skip a formal dinner.

We are booked on a port-intensive itinerary, and we might often come back at one of those ackward times when it is too late for lunch but way too early for dinner (especially with later European dining times). I will definitely take with me a few of our favority snacks (granola bars, trail mix,etc) to tie us over until a meal time.

Thanks again.

[bigilla]

Thanks to everyone here. DRBLUE you hit the nail straight on the head (hope this is correct!). You understood exactly my worries re the gala nights. I am packing some snacks for my daughter in my luggage and i will do some sandwiches at breakfast to take with us when we are on excursions.

 

Re putting some food in the fridge: Very Good Idea thanks.

 

Also, my daughter will be celebrating her birthday onboard and I think it s going to happen when there is a gala night. Does anyone know if they will bring her the cake on a gala dinner?

 

Thanks again

[Essiesmom]

Thanks to everyone here. DRBLUE you hit the nail straight on the head (hope this is correct!). You understood exactly my worries re the gala nights. I am packing some snacks for my daughter in my luggage and i will do some sandwiches at breakfast to take with us when we are on excursions.

 

Re putting some food in the fridge: Very Good Idea thanks.

 

Also, my daughter will be celebrating her birthday onboard and I think it s going to happen when there is a gala night. Does anyone know if they will bring her the cake on a gala dinner?

 

Thanks again

Do not count on being able to take sandwiches ashore. Many countrieshave laws about taking 'fresh foods' off the ship/plane. No fruit, sandwiches. Only sealed, prepackaged foods like granola bars, little boxes of cereal. EM

[lousk]

Just got off 19 days on poesia & it had 5 gala nights. 3 of those dw & i skipped & had pizza instead at no charge. Never was there a charge for pizza & it was available every night.

 

Lou

[AmoMondo]

Just got off 19 days on poesia & it had 5 gala nights. 3 of those dw & i skipped & had pizza instead at no charge. Never was there a charge for pizza & it was available every night.

 

Lou

 

but people need to bear in mind this will not be the case on European cruise - expect to pay extra

[drblue]

Thank you all for sharing valuable suggestions and previous experiences. It will all help with our next cruise. I will take into account the differences between Caribbean nad Mediterranean sailings. The best suggestion so far has been to "save" some food in the fridge since I might not be able to bring fresh food onboard the ship.

[Satincruz]

Thanks to everyone here. DRBLUE you hit the nail straight on the head (hope this is correct!). You understood exactly my worries re the gala nights. I am packing some snacks for my daughter in my luggage and i will do some sandwiches at breakfast to take with us when we are on excursions.

 

Re putting some food in the fridge: Very Good Idea thanks.

 

Also, my daughter will be celebrating her birthday onboard and I think it s going to happen when there is a gala night. Does anyone know if they will bring her the cake on a gala dinner?

 

Thanks again

 

I'm pretty sure that the waiters would still bring out a birthday cake during a gala dinner, but if you decide not to go to the restaurant on gala night, you could instead ask them if they would do it for lunch that day, or either do it for the night before or after gala night. The rest of the cake is something else you could save in the fridge.

[Satincruz]

Thank you all for sharing valuable suggestions and previous experiences. It will all help with our next cruise. I will take into account the differences between Caribbean nad Mediterranean sailings. The best suggestion so far has been to "save" some food in the fridge since I might not be able to bring fresh food onboard the ship.

 

You're welcome ;)

 

Otherwise, I think you can take fresh food back ON to the ship, but just not take any off (the way they won't let you bring any fresh fruit into California). But you can probably take off little boxes of cereal from breakfast, and also the granola bars and things like that that you brought from home.