Best Nights for Alternative Dining on NOs

[Catperson]

We'll be on the NOS next year and would like to book both Chops and Portofinos but don't want to miss any of the excitement of the main dining room and its great food. What evenings do you suggest are best to miss in the dining room. Obviously I want to be in the dining room for formal nights so which nights would these be and are there any other special events that we shouldn't miss out on?

 

When we board the ship I plan on heading straight over to where we make reservations for these restaurants and want to be equipped with the right information. Where do I go, to Chops and then to Portofinos or to the main dining room or elsewhere.

 

One other question, if we were to choose only one of the specialty restaurants, which one should we choose, Chops or Portofinos (do they have some type of italian night in the dining room) and why. Is one restaurant have a nicer ambiance (ie romantic, private) than another.

 

Thank you so much for your replies. I can't wait!

[Patty in NC]

Which itinerary are you doing? I just got off the Navigator yesterday from the Western Itinerary. We went to Portofinos on Thursday night (Cozumel). Our main dining room waiter tried to get us to change it saying it was the best night in the dining room but we were invited by some other people so we didn't have a choice. I saw the main dining room menu for that night and it didn't look all that great to me...rack of lamb, pork chops, etc. Some friends that ate in the dining room that night said it was good but wouldn't have put it as the best. There was a night in the main dining room that was "Italian night". I thought it was very good. The amount of food in Portofinos is tremendous...and it was great.

 

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions.

 

Patty

[Catseyes]

We were on the Navigator 09/03, went to Portofinis' on the Tuesday evening. It was fantastic, great food, wonderful service and very romantic. Did not get to try Chops, but from other peoples opinions it was just as good. You will love this ship. Have a great cruise.

[Catperson]

Thanks Patty and Catseyes for your quick reply. We will be on the eastern itinerary in Dec '06. I know, so far off. I believe formal nights are the days at sea which seem to be Sunday and Thursday, is this correct? I read that Caribbean night is a good night to go to the specialty restaurants. What type of food is served for Caribbean night? Someone else also wrote that these are the themes for each night: Bon Voyage, Captain's Gala, Venetian, Caribbean, C & A Dinner, Chef's Dinner and Feast of Nations Dinner. Can anyone describe what these evenings are all about? Thanks so kindly.

[Catseyes]

The formal nights were Sunday and Wednesday. 'Caribbean' night was on Tuesday when we went to Portofinos'. A lot of people seemed to choose that night for the speciality restaurants. The themed nights just seemed to have a 'chefs choice' on the menu ie an Italian dish for Venetian night, etc., you could dress in the theme if you wanted too ie caribbean shirts etc., but I never saw anyone in these. Hope this helps.

 

Tessa:)

[Patty in NC]

On the Eastern Caribbean itinerary, the formal nights are Sunday and Thursday. It is on Wed. during the Western runs because of the 7:00 departure from Coz. They even move the regular dining time to 6:30 and 8:45 on those nights. As for food, they had prime rib a couple of nights, lamb, turkey, NY strip, veal parmigiana, etc. This was my 7th RCL cruise and overall, the best food of any of them (although I didn't complain about the food before). My husband (who has in the past said the RCL food wasn't very good) even said there has been a big improvement in offerings and quality since our last RCL cruise in Dec.

 

Let me know if you have other questions.

 

Patty

[elleluv]

We do have all the menus, including Chops and Portofinos, from our NOS Eastern cruise posted on our photoshare website at:

 

www.theloves.smugmug.com

 

The daily menus are labeled "Day One", "Day Two", etc., when you hover over them before selecting, so you can see the menu for a specfic day. Maybe looking at them will help you decide.

 

We also have the compasses all posted from the same trip.

 

We loved our NOS cruise! Have a great time! :)

[bookgirl]

We do have all the menus, including Chops and Portofinos, from our NOS Eastern cruise posted on our photoshare website at:

 

www.theloves.smugmug.com

 

The daily menus are labeled "Day One", "Day Two", etc., when you hover over them before selecting, so you can see the menu for a specfic day. Maybe looking at them will help you decide.

 

We also have the compasses all posted from the same trip.

 

We loved our NOS cruise! Have a great time! :)

 

Thanks for the compasses. We are going on the NOS next July for the first time and looking at the Compass has gotten me even more excited!