Suite dining questions

[vent1020]

So, I know one of the suite perks is..........

 

Specialty dining delivered to your suite from any restaurant (cover charges apply)

 

I have a couple of questions for anyone that had done this.

 

We'd like to eat one of the specialty restaurants in our cabin.(kind of a more intimate romantic dinner type of thing)

 

Here's my questions:

 

1. How far in advance should you notify your butler that you want to do this? Same day? A couple of days in advance? An hour?

 

2. With the UDP, can you use it as one of your meals to eat in your room(and not have to pay) or does have to be eaten in the actual restaurants, Cagney's, Le Bistro...etc?

 

3. Will they bring ALL the food at once or is it done courses, like it would be at the restaurant.

 

4. We'd also like to have some wine with dinner. I assume they would not bring that? Sans buying a bottle of wine to split, any suggestions on how to make that happen? Have one of us go get a couple of glasses from the bar prior to dinner and then grab maybe a couple more during dinner?

 

Any other things you can point out would be great. Thanks.

[Two Wheels Only]

1. How far in advance should you notify your butler that you want to do this? Same day? A couple of days in advance? An hour?

A few hours notice is fine. If you try and do it "on the fly" the wait will be long as others who have made requests before you will be taken care of before you.

 

2. With the UDP, can you use it as one of your meals to eat in your room(and not have to pay) or does have to be eaten in the actual restaurants, Cagney's, Le Bistro...etc?

In suite with or without SDP. If using SDP, the "payment" is the same as if you were at the actual restaurant. The UDP (unlimited uses) is no more.

 

3. Will they bring ALL the food at once or is it done courses, like it would be at the restaurant.

It's usually all at once. Since the butler is usually busy with other guests (the butler isn't just for your suite), doing "courses" would be too time consuming. It can be done but even then, the courses would just be sitting in the butler pantry down the hall. He/she won't run back and forth to the actual restaurant for each course.

 

4. We'd also like to have some wine with dinner. I assume they would not bring that? Sans buying a bottle of wine to split, any suggestions on how to make that happen? Have one of us go get a couple of glasses from the bar prior to dinner and then grab maybe a couple more during dinner?

Get it/them yourself.

 

Any other things you can point out would be great. Thanks.

You can mix and match restaurants. It's more work for the butler (tip appropriately) but can be done. Ask the butler for restaurant menus (when you first meet him/her) if they aren't already there

[vent1020]

Thanks.

[sverigecruiser]

4. We'd also like to have some wine with dinner. I assume they would not bring that? Sans buying a bottle of wine to split, any suggestions on how to make that happen? Have one of us go get a couple of glasses from the bar prior to dinner and then grab maybe a couple more during dinner?

 

 

They will serve wine but you have to pay for it.

[garycarla]

Keep in mind there is quite some distance between your room and the restaurant. And, not only do they have to prepare the food, but it needs extra attention to pack it for transport. Going back and forth for an hour to serve courses is a bit challenging.

 

And, if one or two other suites are having dinner at the same time...well... again, challenging.

 

Wine - easy to bring some glasses back to the room. We do it often and even take a larger water bottle to store in fridge. Beverage package does not include room service drinks.

[triptolemus]

 

Here's my questions:

 

1. How far in advance should you notify your butler that you want to do this? Same day? A couple of days in advance? An hour?

 

2. With the UDP, can you use it as one of your meals to eat in your room(and not have to pay) or does have to be eaten in the actual restaurants, Cagney's, Le Bistro...etc?

 

3. Will they bring ALL the food at once or is it done courses, like it would be at the restaurant.

 

4. We'd also like to have some wine with dinner. I assume they would not bring that? Sans buying a bottle of wine to split, any suggestions on how to make that happen? Have one of us go get a couple of glasses from the bar prior to dinner and then grab maybe a couple more during dinner?

 

1. Same day is sufficient notification. Do it in the morning if you have the time. A phone call will suffice.

 

2. The dining package can be used for suite dining.

 

3. They can bring it in courses if you would like. IT IS UP TO YOU. (rant warning) Personally, I get a little tired of posters on this forum being overly sympathetic to the poor hardworking crew and how busy they are. That doesn't mean I do not respect the service staff's time, but they are there to provide that service. It is up to the staff/crew to manage the logistics of providing service, not the passengers. You can be both respectful and get the service you desire. They are not mutually exclusive. The problem with them bringing 3 courses at once is your table winds up stacked with plates and covers. For me, if DW and I order MDR food, I have them bring it all at once. If we order specialty, I ask them to bring courses. When I do ask for courses (and you didn't ask this), I tip separately for this service at the conclusion of the meal.

 

4. Buy a bottle of wine, or bring your own. There is glassware in the suite. No need to run for glasses. If you don't think you'll drink a whole bottle (what's the matter with you?), just ask the butler to bring two glasses with your dinner.

[Two Wheels Only]

The problem with them bringing 3 courses at once is your table winds up stacked with plates and covers. For me, if DW and I order MDR food, I have them bring it all at once. If we order specialty, I ask them to bring courses. When I do ask for courses (and you didn't ask this), I tip separately for this service at the conclusion of the meal.

From my experience, the courses are all delivered at once and (from what I understand) the courses just sit covered in the pantry. The butler may bring them into the stateroom separately but it isn't "really" in courses as it would be in the restaurant.

 

For some of the smaller suites (H5, H8), I can see how the small tables could be a problem. For us (4) table space isn't a problem since we have the room.

 

There's nothing wrong with requesting courses but I'd rather have everything in front of me. It feels "fake" if the food is just down the hall.

 

Plus, having the butler dote over us while we eat would feel weird.

[triptolemus]

From my experience, the courses are all delivered at once and (from what I understand) the courses just sit covered in the pantry. The butler may bring them into the stateroom separately but it isn't "really" in courses as it would be in the restaurant.

 

For some of the smaller suites (H5, H8), I can see how the small tables could be a problem. For us (4) table space isn't a problem since we have the room.

 

There's nothing wrong with requesting courses but I'd rather have everything in front of me. It feels "fake" if the food is just down the hall.

 

Could be. I guess I if they can keep the food at the proper holding temperature, I would be okay with it. I'd hope they have food warmers in those pantries if that's what they are in fact doing.

[BirdTravels]

1. How far in advance should you notify your butler that you want to do this? Same day? A couple of days in advance? An hour?Be kind to your butler and give him some notice. Same day fine. Just not "I called an order, can you serve it now"

 

2. With the UDP, can you use it as one of your meals to eat in your room(and not have to pay) or does have to be eaten in the actual restaurants, Cagney's, Le Bistro...etc?

Use the SDP to pay for your room service.

3. Will they bring ALL the food at once or is it done courses, like it would be at the restaurant. Howe we you want. The default is to serve it all at once. BUT many suite tables are very small and other courses may be piled up on the coffee bar. If served by courses, your butler may be running around with other deliveries and there may none significant waits once you call him for the next course. And the food is brought up from the galley all at once and held in the butler's pantry down the hall.

 

4. We'd also like to have some wine with dinner. I assume they would not bring that? Sans buying a bottle of wine to split, any suggestions on how to make that happen? Have one of us go get a couple of glasses from the bar prior to dinner and then grab maybe a couple more during dinner?order the wine and pay for it.

 

Any other things you can point out would be great.If you are on a mega ship, you can always order from the Havens restaurant for free. Or the MDR on all ships. Thanks.

Enjoy!

[vent1020]

Thanks again for the answers and just FYI, I was just asking if they serve it in courses, not that I wanted them to do that. I'd be happy with it all coming at once although to ensure the freshness of everything, we may just opt to eat at the restaurant.