Pride of America - alternative restaurant questions

[MSRINCON413]

Hello - We are scheduled to cruise on the Pride of AMERICA in November 2005 and we were wondering about the restaurants that charge fees on board. Are they worth it? :confused: Any tips for additional savings once we reach our port of calls. Thanks!

[donna@donnaanderson.com]

Jefferson Bistro--$15 and very well worth it; kid's have no extra charge if they use kid's menu; beautiful restaurant; good service; good food.

Avoid the steak house.Poor service, etc; not worth it.

Could not get into the Italian Rest--it was free and booked.

DId not try East Meets West.

They book up quickly and the first night you can only book for the first night; the next day do all your bookings for the week since they fill up the next day. We always found them half full even though they said they were fully booked up.

[hawaiigal]

We ate at Jefferson's Bistro and the food and service was very good. Service was a little slow, but very attentive and the atmosphere was very pleasant. Also ate at Little Italy. First night was quite good, second night I was disappointed in the Fettuccini Alfredo. This was one of the best cruises I have ever been on. I was in the travel industry for 15 years and cruised quite a bit and now we still cruise at least once per year. The all American staff tried so hard to please and they were all friendly and courteous. I asked for a light bulb to be changed and it was done before I returned to my cabin 20 minutes later! Just go with a good attitude and have a wonderful time!

[gzyteck]

A cruise is what you make it!

[Host CMLA]

I apologize for the inconvenience but I removed a few posts from this thread. The original poster asked a question about surcharge restaurants and ports of call. The thread was taken over by other posts that had nothing to do with the topic. I encourage those of you that were on a different topic to continue the discussion under a new thread. That way members that are interested in a past POAM cruiser's experience can get the details and the original poster of this thread can get the information she's looking for. Again, sorry for the inconvenience.

[crzn4fun]

Can/should we make reservations for dinner at the free restaurants before the cruise? We have a group of 11 going in December for my in-laws' 50th anniversary. We would like to eat together every evening. This is my first time with free-style cruising so I am a little confused about the dining arrangements.

[electricron]

I would make reservations every day at the restaurant of your choice. Or, you can all show up at the same time. Seating 11 people at one table is the major difficulty. There aren't that many tables available that seat that many.

[crzn4fun]

Thanks for the reply. I guess that means we can't make dining arrangements before we board. Oh well, it was worth a try.

[cruisecritter8]

I would make reservations every day at the restaurant of your choice. Or, you can all show up at the same time. Seating 11 people at one table is the major difficulty. There aren't that many tables available that seat that many.

 

 

When can we make our reservations there are 8 of us going on 9/24 on POAm...who do we call to make these ...:confused:

[Host CMLA]

When can we make our reservations there are 8 of us going on 9/24 on POAm...who do we call to make these ...:confused:

Unfortunately, you can't call anyone ahead of time. You can't make reservations until you board the ship. If you have concierge service, use him/her to make those reservations. It might make it easier. If you don't, you need to go to the place where they're set up for taking reservations. Not sure where that is on the POAM.

[travelling mom]

Hi, just returned from the POAM Aug 13 sailing. On the first evening, only 2 speciality restaurants were 1/2 price ($5.00/person), the Jefferson Bistro and East Meets West. Jefferson's Bistro was well worth it, we did not get a chance to try East Meets West. On the 2nd day of the cruise (Sunday) you were able to book dinner reservations for the remainder of your cruise. Make sure you get there early, as there was a very long line. Dinner reservations could be made at the Lobby on Deck 5 to the right of the customer service desk. Little Italy was excellent, and the 2 main restaruants (Liberty & Skyline) were just average.

I hope this helps you and plan to post a review soon.

[missjanet]

I am a little confused about this restaurant. Sometimes I see it referred to as the Teppanyaki Room. Also I've seen mention of a sushi bar but I read somewhere that it was a la carte. Then what does the cover charge include if the sushi is extra? Or do you get out of paying the cover charge if you just want to go to the sushi bar?

 

If someone could clarify this for me, I would really appreciate it. My husband likes Japanese food, but is fonder of sushi than he is of hibachi style cooking.

 

Thanks.

Janet

[travelling mom]

From what I was told, you pay the $10.00/person fee to get into the restaurant, then you have to order a la carte from the menu. All items have additional charges, I can't remember what items were on the menu.

[nicknack]

Do you pay in cash at these alternative restaurants or is it added to your account?

 

Is tipping expected at the extra-cost restaurants? If so, how much?

[travelling mom]

In the alternative restaurants, you will have to provide your server with your room card and the charges will be added to your shipboard account.

[ludela]

I do not understand very well the issue with the special restaurantes Do you pay 10 dollars plus the food? or do you pay 10 dollars and it include the whole meal?

[travelling mom]

I do not understand very well the issue with the special restaurantes Do you pay 10 dollars plus the food? or do you pay 10 dollars and it include the whole meal?

 

We dined at Jefferson's Bistro the first night of our sailing. That particular night the ship was offering a half price offer of $5.00 per person to dine at either Jefferson's Bistro or East meets West. For Jefferson's Bistro, you pay the surcharge of $5.00 per person and if you order your meal from their regular menu, then there is no additional charge. You do have the option of ordering selected entrees from their menu that do have additional charges. Should you choose the later option, you will be billed the $5:00 surchage as well as for the entree charges onto your shipboard account. Only Tea, Coffee or Iced Tea are included with the meal, all other beverages will have an additional charge.

 

We did not try East Meets West, but was told that there would be an additional cost for food in addition to the $5.00 surcharge.