specialty restaurants

[ruby32]

When we sailed on the Regatta in a veranda stateroom for a 14 day trip, we had 1 guaranteed reservation in each of the 2 specialty restaurants. For a 14 day sailing on the Riviera, how many reservations are guaranteed for each of the 4 specialty restaurants if you are in a Penthouse Suite ?

[JimandStan]

When we sailed on the Regatta in a veranda stateroom for a 14 day trip, we had 1 guaranteed reservation in each of the 2 specialty restaurants. For a 14 day sailing on the Riviera, how many reservations are guaranteed for each of the 4 specialty restaurants if you are in a Penthouse Suite ?

 

On Marina & Riviera specifically, Penthouses are guaranteed one reservation in each of the four Specialty Restaurants, unless the voyage exceeds 18 days, when it bumps up to two reservations per restaurant.

Edited January 12, 2014 by JimandStan

[RJB]

On Marina & Riviera specifically, Penthouses are guaranteed one reservation in each of the four Specialty Restaurants, unless the voyage exceeds 18 days, when it bumps up to two reservations per restaurant.

2 reservations per restaurant starts at 18 days or more. Does not have to exceed 18 days. :):)

[marky63]

Do reservations become an issue if you wait until you are on the ship? in other words, are we likely to be able to get in each restaurant on a 14 day cruise assuming we are flexible about which one we eat in on any given day?

[Paulchili]

Do reservations become an issue if you wait until you are on the ship? in other words, are we likely to be able to get in each restaurant on a 14 day cruise assuming we are flexible about which one we eat in on any given day?

 

You will be guaranteed your number of reservations even if waiting till boarding but you will have very little choice as to which night, what time and whether you share or not (or what size table you'll have).

Not something I would do - YMMV.

[TERRIER1]

On Marina & Riviera specifically, Penthouses are guaranteed one reservation in each of the four Specialty Restaurants, unless the voyage exceeds 18 days, when it bumps up to two reservations per restaurant.

 

Is this for Penthouses and up only? We are on a 32 grand cruise in 2015 in a B4 and were told we only get one reservation per specialty restaurant.

[orchestrapal]

Is this for Penthouses and up only? We are on a 32 grand cruise in 2015 in a B4 and were told we only get one reservation per specialty restaurant.

 

I believe you were given misinformation. We have been on several Grand Cruises and have always gotten at least two plus all the ones the butler offered us.

[JimandStan]

Is this for Penthouses and up only? We are on a 32 grand cruise in 2015 in a B4 and were told we only get one reservation per specialty restaurant.

 

Everything depends on the Ship, the length of the cruise and the type of accommodation booked, but according to the "rules" which have been set forth, one reservation per Restaurant would be correct for that voyage:

 

Number of reservations (Regatta, Insignia, Nautica):

Owner's Suite, Vista Suite, Penthouse Suite and Concierge Level Veranda

0

• -7 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant
  
• 8-17 Sailing Days: 2 reservations at each restaurant
  
• 18+ Sailing Days: 3 reservations at each restaurant
  

Veranda, Ocean View and Inside Stateroom

• 0-7 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant
  
• 8-17 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant
  
• 18+ Sailing Days: 2 reservations at each restaurant
  

Number of reservations (Marina and Riviera):

Owner's Suite, Vista Suite, Oceania Suite

• 0-7 Sailing Days: 1 reservation at each restaurant
  
• 8-17 Sailing Days: 2 reservations at each restaurant
  
• 18+ Sailing Days: 3 reservations at each restaurant
  

Penthouse Suite

• 0-7 Sailing Days: 1 reservation at each restaurant
  
• 8-17 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant
  
• 18+ Sailing Days: 2 reservations at each restaurant
  

Concierge Level Veranda, Veranda, Ocean View and Inside Stateroom

• 
  
• 0-7 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant
  
• 8-17 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant
  
  • [*]18+ Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant
    

Number of guests per table:

All reservations have a maximum of 8 guests per table.

[orchestrapal]

Thanks for clarifying the number of reservations for all. Since we never make use of all of ours we have never paid much attention to the actual numbers.

[TERRIER1]

Thanks for clarifying the number of reservations for all. Since we never make use of all of ours we have never paid much attention to the actual numbers.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I thought it was strange that we would only get one reservation per restaurant since the cruise counts as two points towards your awards status.

[Paulchili]

Thanks for the clarification. I thought it was strange that we would only get one reservation per restaurant since the cruise counts as two points towards your awards status.

 

It does seem strange to have only 1 reservation/restaurant for a 32 day cruise :confused:

I suspect you'll be able to get additional ones once onboard.

[MVPinBoynton]

Are the specialty restaurants much better than the main dining room or is it just the different selections that are so desirable?

[JimandStan]

Are the specialty restaurants much better than the main dining room or is it just the different selections that are so desirable?

 

 

Neither, the food is uniformly good.

 

It's just that the Specialty Restaurant Reservations are "allowed" by cabin stature and they have evolved into something of a status thing.

 

We find the Grand Dining Room to be perfectly lovely, and particularly on a longer voyage the variety of its' menus are greatly appreciated.

 

The Specialty Restaurant menus never change.

[Mura]

You probably will get a lot of different answers to your question. We personally tend to do the GDR more than specialty restaurants. We DO like Jacques a lot, however, and we have more dinners in Terrace on the "O" ships than we do on the "R" ships.

 

But I've seen lots of comments from people who seem to dislike the GDR a lot.

 

We like it because of the variety of menus which change each day. The menus in the specialty restaurants are pretty much "set". And we've always had quite good service.

 

We also tend to prefer Polo to Toscana, and haven't been that impressed with Red Ginger (we've been there a whole two times). If you read through these various threads you'll find many people who feel the opposite.

 

It's hard to know what you yourself will prefer until you try them.

 

Mura

[MVPinBoynton]

Thank you for the comments. I feel pretty confident that I will be most pleased with any of the dining venues. Since the menus don't change at the specialty restaurants, once per restaurant should be quite adequate.

[Paulchili]

Neither, the food is uniformly good.

 

It's just that the Specialty Restaurant Reservations are "allowed" by cabin stature and they have evolved into something of a status thing.

 

We find the Grand Dining Room to be perfectly lovely, and particularly on a longer voyage the variety of its' menus are greatly appreciated.

 

The Specialty Restaurant menus never change.

 

We seem to represent the other end of the spectrum.

We rarely eat in the MDR (other than for breakfast). If we do not have a specialty restaurant reservation (and we always try for extras) than we usually dine at the Terrace on the O ships. On the R ships, we do dine in the MDR more frequently due to fewer dining choices and the difference in the Terrace Café (so far, anyway).

As always - YMMV :)

[caviargal]

We did not care for the Terrace at dinner on Riviera.

 

We would happily have dined at a specialty restaurant each evening but could not get more than one reservation per venue.

 

We had dinner once in the MDR and it was fine but not memorable.

 

We had breakfast every day in our room.

[Mura]

Paul,

 

I'm not so sure that you're at the other end of the spectrum -- although you are as compared to US, but we're only one couple.

 

It seems to me from posts I've seen on CC that more people are averse to the GDR than are in favor of it. Of course it's hard to really judge since most passengers do not post here.

 

I find it interesting that some people disliked dinner in Terrace on Riviera ... we've only been on Marina (for two cruises) and like Terrace there very much. Of course, it often depends on whomever is in charge of the kitchen.

 

The last time we were on Regatta (about 16 months ago) someone mentioned that Terrace there had vastly improved when a new chef arrived.

 

Mura

[MVPinBoynton]

As someone who is looking forward to their first O cruise, I have been surprised that people would not be pleased with the GDR. I have only heard about how wonderful the food is all over the O ships; and are looking forward to finding out for myself. I realize that everyone's tastes are different when it comes to food; but I didn't expect there to be those that didn't even want to eat in the GDR.

[Mura]

Mike,

 

We are actually two who DO prefer the GDR. There have been cruises (on the "R" ships) where we never went to a specialty restaurant, but bear in mind on the smaller ships there are only two. (On Marina/Riviera we really like Jacques.) We've never been that enthused about Toscana (sorry, folks) and while we do like Polo, we wouldn't want to go there too often.

 

Again, it can depend on the length of your cruise -- the GDR menu seems to change every two weeks, but if you're on a long cruise, you're going to get repetition, just as you would in the specialty restaurants.

 

I have heard stories about disastrous meals in GDR -- but we've never encountered them. One frequent dinner companion told us about a horrendous dinner (as I recall more in terms of service than food quality, but I could be misremembering) which caused them to refuse ever to return.

 

I thought that was an extreme reaction since we'd had slow service on one or two occasions (but one of them was on Renaissance which probably no longer counts). But our meals have always been pleasing. My friends call me a gourmet cook (I don't) but I do think that if I had a really bad meal I wouldn't hesitate to say so.

 

Also, for us, a recent development is the ability to order from the specialty restaurants OR GDR to be served in your room. That wasn't always the case. But we've been taking advantage of that ability on recent cruises. (I think you have to be in PH or above for this perk.) If we are really tired after a day's tour it becomes very appealing to be able to have your butler bring your dinner to you in the room.

 

I sometimes wonder if many passengers just assume that the specialty restaurants are of course better, and therefore they prefer them to the GDR. Would we be as fond of the specialty restaurants if we had to pay for the privilege?

 

I do wonder!

 

So, if we're ever on a cruise together, we should go to the GDR together ...

 

Mura

[neepawa]

On our 10 day port intensive cruise on Riviera, we dined twice in the GDR, once each in Polo, Jacques and Red Ginger; Toscana is not our favorite.. The rest were in Terrance where we enjoyed the grilled lobster, lamb chops and steaks.

Cheers,

Don

[Paulchili]

As someone who is looking forward to their first O cruise, I have been surprised that people would not be pleased with the GDR. I have only heard about how wonderful the food is all over the O ships; and are looking forward to finding out for myself. I realize that everyone's tastes are different when it comes to food; but I didn't expect there to be those that didn't even want to eat in the GDR.

 

There is no right (or wrong) answer to this matter - it's simply a personal choice. You will be able to come to your own conclusions and set your own preferences after your cruise.

Same for Toscana (or any other restaurant on the ship) - some love it , others not so much.

The food on Oceania IS great, no matter where you chose to eat it. :D

Enjoy!

[Waswo]

I really liked the MDR on the Marina and would be perfectly happy with eating all meals there. Of course we will eat at the specialty restaurants, but the MDR is excellent. I am not a foodie, however.

[MVPinBoynton]

Thanks for the additional posts. I am sure I will enjoy the O food way too much. :D

[JimandStan]

I really liked the MDR on the Marina and would be perfectly happy with eating all meals there. Of course we will eat at the specialty restaurants, but the MDR is excellent. I am not a foodie, however.

 

In laymens terms, the Oceania Grand Dining Room is the equal of Seabourne and Crystal, superior to Celebrity, and miles ahead of Princess or Holland America.

 

Queens Grill on Cunard is superior to Oceania, particularly at breakfast where their Jam trollies bring in an old world charm that is irreplaceable.