Portofinos vs Giovanni's

[bobmacliberty]

Loved Giovanni's on Allure. One of the best cruise dining experiences we've had. Not so much on Freedom. I'd take my Portofino experience on Liberty several years ago over my recent Giovanni's experience on Freedom. I too loved the seafood skewer at Portofino.

[ChollaChick]

Liberty has the last Portofinos installation in the fleet according to our wait staff when we sailed her in Oct 2014 and this would change to Giovannis when she next goes into dry dock. Is she due for dry dock before your sailing?

 

If the dry dock is early 2016 we will be sailing prior to then... hmmm... here's hoping Portofinos is still available when we sail. :)

[reallyitsmema]

If the dry dock is early 2016 we will be sailing prior to then... hmmm... here's hoping Portofinos is still available when we sail. :)

 

We are sailing on the Jewel in September and are going to Portofino too since it will be gone after its 2016 drydock. We are also going to make sure we go to Seaview Cafe too since that is the last one that is left on the Radiance class ships.

[sjb317]

I always loved Portofino and was not thrilled the restaurant was changing to Giovanni's but I've found I love Giovanni's just as much if not more. The gnocchi with bleu cheese is amazing, and the osso bucco is the best I've ever had. Not sure I miss Portofino at all!:D

 

Sherri:)

[Jamiee]

got off Grandeur today, and went to GT our 1st night. My hubby had the ossobuco,and said it was one of the best he's ever had also. I had the pappardelle pasta dish, and also the chocolate cake for dessert. Both of our meals were delicious!

[G-Force]

We tried GT for the first time on our last cruise. There were four of us. We shared nearly every appetizer on the menu. Our entree's were fantastic, the service was awesome. We went nuts at dessert - little of this, little of that...

 

Walked out fully satisfied. Yes it was less formal than Portofino, but still very much worth the money and time.

[George C]

Giovanni's is definitely open for lunch when you embark!

 

It was not open for lunch on Naviagtor on 1st day, lunch was just the sea days, but really loved the food and lunch there twice and also dinner, also liked Izumi, did not care for Chops.

[American Bear]

We ate in giovannis last week and I loved the food, much better for me than portfolios. The lamb chops are wonderful

 

Agreed. We like Giovanni's much more.

We found Portofinos all show, thought it was more expensive, and the food wasn't to our liking.

[casinostreer]

Ate at Giovanni's on Allure 3 years ago and really enjoyed it. (It was our first time trying a specialty restaurant - so we didn't know what to expect.)

 

Then we ate at Portofino's 2x on FOS last year (and only because we didn't have any more night to eat there.) We LOVED Portofino's.

 

So - we're really hoping that Giovanni's is as good as we remember it. We had a terrible experience at Chops - so I doubt we'll be back. :(

 

Definitely trying Sabor - actually on the first night of our cruise. :)

Edited August 31, 2015 by casinostreer

[kalliekae]

Guess we had a unique experience because Giovanni's on the Oasis in 2013 was the worst meal ever. The service was awful and the food was inedible. I'm not exaggerating. My dh is quite a foodie and was extremely disappointed. The waiter was snooty and did not come back to see if we needed anything after delivering the entre which took almost an hour to receive after ordering. We had to ask the maitre'd for assistance to get our drinks refilled. I'm definitely hesitating to book it on the Allure in November.

[TheCount]

We have been a fan of Portofino;s and when the fleet announced Giovanni's replacement we were not pleased. Fact being we have been in Giovanni's 3 or 4 time since changes mostly on Oasis Class. The experience was not ideal, nor was the food experience. We should have stayed in the MDR or some other Specialty on the Oasis class. As for Freedom class, our next trip out is on Indy in mid October and will give Giovanni's one last try to see if there has been any improvements. Agree with the prior posts, in the Tiramisu in Portofino's was much better, the Seafood Skew, will be missed (my wife's favorite), and the Oso Bucco the Giovanni's tries to do, is not up to the Portofino's made dish (even with the too much salt)

 

We will are giving G's one last try. Good, may be back. Bad, we won;t be eating at Giovanni's and asking for our money back!

[TheCount]

Guess we had a unique experience because Giovanni's on the Oasis in 2013 was the worst meal ever. The service was awful and the food was inedible. I'm not exaggerating. My dh is quite a foodie and was extremely disappointed. The waiter was snooty and did not come back to see if we needed anything after delivering the entre which took almost an hour to receive after ordering. We had to ask the maitre'd for assistance to get our drinks refilled. I'm definitely hesitating to book it on the Allure in November.

 

We tend to agree with you on all the points.