Dining on the Dream

[Indytraveler83]

Hello,

 

Just a few questions for everyone:

 

1) Is there any advantage to booking the steakhouse in advance, or are you usually ok making a reservation once you are on the ship? Does it book up easily? Which day do you prefer to eat at the steakhouse (only intend to pay for it once).

 

2) We have late dining (only available option) and aren't sure that's going to be very favorable to us on some days as we get hungry earlier than that. So if you could eat dinner on the Dream somewhere other than the MDR, where would you go, and what would you get?

[Rshows24]

Try pasta Bella!! It's delicious

[nwo4life]

1) We have eaten in the Steakhouse many times on NOLA cruises, I don't think they ever fill up. You should be fine waiting to book once onboard. We have dined in the Steakhouse each of the first 2 nights. We enjoyed it more on Elegant night. We are much more relaxed after spending a whole day on board and we have plenty time to get dressed up for dinner. If you are a big fan of the lobster tails in the MDR, this is not the plan for you.

 

2) We rarely eat in the MDR anymore, we rather eat quickly and try to see as much entertainment as possible each evening. We eat a combination of all the available eating options. We usually start at the Taste Bar for a small appetizer. Then head to the pizza place where I get a Caesar salad and my wife gets a slice a pizza. Then it's on to the buffet where my wife gets a garden salad and I will get something from the carving station. Then it's on to the deli for a sandwich.

[cruiseonthebrain]

We cruised the Dream when she was brand new and the Steakhouse was packed every night- no openings available. I don't know if it is still the same. It doesn't hurt to book early- you can always cancel if you get a better MDR time. The only other thing we did besides the MDR and steakhouse was the pizza and it was awesome! Sorry but I hate buffets.

[Indytraveler83]

Good ideas so far. I don't mind a buffet for lunch, but maybe not at dinner. I know there are lots of options, just trying to to figure out which places are best to aim at for dinner

[coevan]

from what I understand Pasta Bella is only open for lunch on the Dream. The first night at the Steakhouse does fill up, because of the free wine. We booked it months ago. We are also signed up for the Chef's Table. This is a great option if your a foodie. Those with bland diets and meat and potatoes attitude will probably not enjoy Chef's Table.

[Rshows24]

Yea pasta Bella is lunch only... Sorry about that, but their lasagna is a must have

[jennifer1t]

First night book steakhouse- they give you a free bottle of wine

[bklsmom]

Good ideas so far. I don't mind a buffet for lunch, but maybe not at dinner. I know there are lots of options, just trying to to figure out which places are best to aim at for dinner

 

Actually for dinner, you don't have a lot of options. Steakhouse or Lido. Pasta Bella is only open for lunch. Lido buffet has been scaled way back at dinner and has much fewer options than years back. The Dream has not had any 2.0 upgrades yet, so all the newer dining options and pay dining options are not available on her yet. Steakhouse is good any night. We usually dine the first night (free bottle of wine) and last night at the Steakhouse. To us, it is worth the price, and beginning and ending our week there is special.

[tkportersat]

They also do the free wine the second night. We can't book the first night because Camp Carnival isn't open...

 

First night book steakhouse- they give you a free bottle of wine

[ladygal4.4]

Go to the Maitre D or the hostess desk and ask for an earlier dining time, one might open up.

 

 

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[ddloml]

Hello,

 

Just a few questions for everyone:

 

1) Is there any advantage to booking the steakhouse in advance, or are you usually ok making a reservation once you are on the ship? Does it book up easily? Which day do you prefer to eat at the steakhouse (only intend to pay for it once).

 

2) We have late dining (only available option) and aren't sure that's going to be very favorable to us on some days as we get hungry earlier than that. So if you could eat dinner on the Dream somewhere other than the MDR, where would you go, and what would you get?

 

1) Keep in mind that the Dream has facilities and amenities designed for 3,000 passengers in a ship that holds 3,600. Be prepared for lines and crowds for everything! On our recent cruise, we thought we could make steakhouse reservations for the 3rd night in the morning, but when we called at 11:00 AM, the earliest we could get was 9:00 PM for our party of 4. For our group, the 3rd night MDR menu was the least appealing - sort of a letdown after elegant night, so that's why we tried for the steakhouse. You probably can wait until you get on the ship, but make your reservation a day or two in advance, especially if you want a specific time. Even at 9:00, the meal was wonderful!

 

2) We enjoy late dining, and always book it. That way we don't need to worry about rushing to dinner following an afternoon excursion or activity. On the days when we felt hungry in the late afternoon, we would go to the deli for a sandwich or snack on a slice of pizza to tide us over until the 8:15 dinner seating. Don't worry about having late dining and thinking you will be there forever. There were always empty tables around us, and our waitstaff was attentive and efficient. We were finished at or before 9:30 each night.

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

We love late dining but, like you, do get a bit hungrier early so we have a post port day or sun day ritual. We all meet up in someone's room as soon as we reboard and then we order a slew of room service items. To not fill up we remove the bread from the shrimp sandwich, tuna sandwich and use it as a dip for our vegie plate. We also get some fruit plates, and for the kids we order chips, which they are happy to deliver. You can also get roast beef, and ham sandwiches and just remove the bread and use as finger food. Eat at 4:30, hungry again at 8:15.

[sunbird21]

Just off Dream today (review coming) we did not rebook and were able to get an 8pm reservation on night one. They do give out a free wine bottle, either Chardonnay or merlot, or 50% off any other bottle.

 

 

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[Indytraveler83]

Just off Dream today (review coming) we did not rebook and were able to get an 8pm reservation on night one. They do give out a free wine bottle, either Chardonnay or merlot, or 50% off any other bottle.

 

 

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Can't wait to see your review, especially since it's so close to our sailing!

[sunbird21]

I'm going to try to start it on the flight tomorrow, but should have part of it up by end of week:)

 

 

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[RobinKY]

We had late dining for the first time on CCL. We usually did my time. I actually liked the late dining. It fit our schedule well. We were late risers, ate breakfast in MDR and would try to catch a late lunch but the specialty stations at the buffet (Tandori, Mongolian, Burrito) are only open 12-230.

 

So if you want to have a late afternoon snack, your options are the grill, deli or pizza. The pizza is lite and wont fill you up for dinner.

[alb1956]

sounds great