Restaurant Bookings

[seasicksherds]

Hi all, First cruise is this July on Preziosa sailing out of Venice, I'm looking for guidance on how to get full use of the restaurants on board ...

Is it a necessity to book prior to our departure or when we board the ship ...???

Will we be given the same table every night in the MDR ( I'm guessing this is Main Dining Room)...???

How does that work if say we wanted to eat in a different themed restaurant the following night..???

 

We have experienced missing out on booking a table when on previous holidays in AI resorts due to them being full so want to make the most of our first cruise.

 

We appreciate any helpful tips and heads up on anything that will make our cruise memorable..... Thank you..... Mike:confused:

[Janet&Carl]

Hi Mike - you will be assigned a table in the MDR (main dining room) at either first or second sitting. This table will be yours for the duration of the cruise and you will have the same staff serving you each evening. You are welcome to go to another restaurant instead of MDR - they are not usually full. You book directly and if you want to ensure your table you can book at the very start of your cruise. Our experience was that the themed restaurants were not as good as MDR so why pay more?

 

The menus for MDR are posted outside the MDR so you can see if you fancy it before you book a specialty one.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Janet&Carl

[seasicksherds]

Thanks J&C..

[jkgourmet]

J&C, do note that certain bits of information provided above not necessarily accurate on cruise lines other than MSC.

 

On most other cruise lines, the specialty (extra charge) restaurants are superior to the MDR in both food and service. Which is not to say that the MDR on those ships is bad - it's just that some speciality restaurants on some ships are extraordinarily special.

 

And on certain ships speciality restaurants do book up ahead of sailing for the most popular times. That is quite common in several NCL restaurant venues.

 

We sail on MSC for the first time in September, so I cannot comment specifically on their MDR food. But we have found that we need to keep our expectations about food reasonable on cruise ships. Keep in mind that it's banquet food, often frozen, prepared for 3000+ people. Given those requirements, we've found ALL cruise lines do an okay job with food while others are often amazing.

 

I say this because once you experience your first cruise, you're likely to get hooked! Enjoy.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forums mobile app

[seasicksherds]

Hi jkgourmet, can you just clarify for us, if we want to eat anywhere other than the MDR, is it included in our holiday or will be additional fee.

Such as the Eataly or La Locanda Pizzeria Wine Bar, Sports and Bowling Diner..

 

It's a bit of a minefield trying to find out how all these itinerary's work.

 

We have chosen the Allegrissemo package for our drinks and hope these drinks can be had in most of the bars and restaraunts around the ship.

 

If you can help folks please reply...cheers Mike & Jeni....:confused:

[Cruisergal1208]

Hi jkgourmet, can you just clarify for us, if we want to eat anywhere other than the MDR, is it included in our holiday or will be additional fee.

Such as the Eataly or La Locanda Pizzeria Wine Bar, Sports and Bowling Diner..

 

It's a bit of a minefield trying to find out how all these itinerary's work.

 

We have chosen the Allegrissemo package for our drinks and hope these drinks can be had in most of the bars and restaraunts around the ship.

 

If you can help folks please reply...cheers Mike & Jeni....:confused:

 

Not jkgourmet, but will answer for you. the places you mentioned do charge fees or fixed prices for dining there. Also, your drink package should be accepted in any of the bars and restaurants. Reservations can be made once on board if you so chose to eat in them. The Pizzeria was very good, IMHO. Never ate at the Eataly Steakhouse or Italian restaurant. Felt them too pricey for the food. Again, just my opinion. Never saw those 2 places with very many eating there. The Galaxy also charges to eat there. Hope this helps.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Cruisergal1208

[seasicksherds]

Again many thanks, it's a big learning curve. lol:)

[Waihekean]

Again many thanks, it's a big learning curve. lol:)

 

Hello, I gather this is your first cruise, so you might not have heard about roll calls as yet. This is where us CC'ers talk to eachother that are on the same cruise. It is mainly for fun, but also for sharing tips, maybe set up excursions together or transfers together to reduce costs, alert eachother for pricedrops on cruise fares, advice etc.

 

Now because the MSC board is a very small board here on CC the roll calls are very quiet, but there is actually one for your cruise. Only one other roll caller has responded and not for a while, so "we have fallen off the page" This means has been inactive and then you do not appear on the first page when you open it. So will post a message there for you then it is easier to find, as it will be then on the first page.

Go to the section Roll Calls, then look up MSC roll calls, then Preziosa, then the date July 19th 2014. Go to the one from Waihekean.

 

I have done several cruises to the Mediterrean and in general "a cruise fan":D Done a lot of research over the years. BTW this will be my first cruise on MSC, but just ask away...