Specialty Dining Package … Murano every night possible ?

[chemmo]

34 minutes ago, hawkesbaynz said:

Currently in Luminae on Silhouette having a fantastic breakfast. Have found the buffet too busy and unenjoyable even with only 1300 on board.

 

There has been no availability for Murano last three nights of the cruise. Spoke to a couple who are wait listed. It would be remiss of X to allow folk to eat there every night whilst others cannot even get one opportunity. 
 

We had a fantastic meal in Murano. A decent quantity. Why anyone would need more than one entree beats me. 
 

Enjoying the Luminae evening meals. My wife, who has a limited selection of meats/ fish she will eat, has chosen off the MDR menu.  If the entree portion is small the waiter has always advised adding sides. She noticed I am 6’3” and about 15.5 stone. No need for double entrees but frequently added the escargot. 
 

Dieting next week I am told. 

 

This time last week we were just getting off. 
 

Totally agree with what you said about Murano’s. My advice has always been if you want a specific day pre book and if not book a package and head straight to one of the speciality restaurants on boarding and secure your bookings. Often too late mid cruise to secure. It definitely is the one restaurant on S class that can fully book…

 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise…Strongly recommend one sea day skipping breakfast and heading to The Porch for lunch. It is a pay for but we loved the fact that even on a dull day you felt you had enjoyed an al fresco Mediterranean cafe experience. The bbq wings were delicious!

 

Enjoy!
 

 

[chemmo]

5 hours ago, texanitalian said:

Thank you. We will be on the Equinox next month and will be celebrating our anniversary.

If they are restricting numbers on Equinox as they are on Silhouette I would pre book…Sometime the timing is more important than the cost.

 

Sincere best wishes on your anniversary!

[neverlaysup]

On 9/23/2021 at 3:10 PM, barneymag said:

Hi All

 

We’re boarding (🤞) Silhouette on Monday and thinking of booking a 3 or 4 night Specialty Dining package. Looking at the various menus Murano has so many great options we would like to dine there multiple nights if not all nights ….. is this possible ? or are you forced to eat in different restaurants on the 3 or 4 nights ? 
 

Also is it possible to order two appetisers and one main course in Murano ? I tend to enjoy trying many different appetisers if they’re not too filling and Murano’s look great. Quite often don’t bother with a dessert as I don’t have a particular sweet tooth (although I love great cheeses ) so is the cheese course available as well as a dessert or instead of ?
 

Thanks in advance for any advice

We had a five night package on our 12 night Equinox cruise last week and ate at Murano 5 times!

[chemmo]

35 minutes ago, neverlaysup said:

We had a five night package on our 12 night Equinox cruise last week and ate at Murano 5 times!

I think we all need to be clear about ships and locations at present. Different locations may have different rules. Silhouette definitely had restricted numbers in Murano’s a week ago. Equinox may not…The original poster was asking about Silhouette whilst still cruising from Southampton. 
 

neverlaysup, so glad you were able to enjoy Murano’s so many times, we had fantastic service there on our last cruise before lockdown….

[texanitalian]

6 hours ago, chemmo said:

If they are restricting numbers on Equinox as they are on Silhouette I would pre book…Sometime the timing is more important than the cost.

 

Sincere best wishes on your anniversary!

Thank you!

[fizzy1]

You can dine in any speciality venues as you want . When you board go straight to any of them and a member  of staff can book you in for wherever  you want when as long  as they have room. Be time flexible though  

Edited September 26, 2021 by fizzy1

[DCPIV]

On 9/24/2021 at 12:12 PM, fstuff1 said:

fyi: i'm used to chilean sea bass. the Mediterranean sea bass was NOTHING like the chilean variety

 

They are very different fish. The Mediterranean branzino is a true sea bass. The Patagonian toothfish is a "sea bass" in (marketing) name only. 

[fstuff1]

3 hours ago, DCPIV said:

 

They are very different fish. The Mediterranean branzino is a true sea bass. The Patagonian toothfish is a "sea bass" in (marketing) name only. 

marketing worked, i guess.
i like the chilean sea bass MUCH better

[RICCruisers]

On 9/26/2021 at 3:32 PM, fstuff1 said:

marketing worked, i guess.
i like the chilean sea bass MUCH better

You should like it better. The cost is usually 2-3 times more than branzino. 

Edited September 27, 2021 by RICCruisers

[phoenix_dream]

On 9/26/2021 at 7:04 AM, fizzy1 said:

You can dine in any speciality venues as you want . When you board go straight to any of them and a member  of staff can book you in for wherever  you want when as long  as they have room. Be time flexible though  

I don't believe that is true when you buy the package.  Because the prices differ from specialty restaurant to specialty restaurant, if they allowed you to always pick the most expensive (in this case Murano I'm assuming) then too many people would be aiming for just that and defeat the purpose (from a Celebrity standpoint) of offering a package.  This may be working differently with capacity so low, but this is how it used to work if I remember correctly.

[Guppy99]

On 9/25/2021 at 10:07 AM, chemmo said:

I think we all need to be clear about ships and locations at present. Different locations may have different rules. Silhouette definitely had restricted numbers in Murano’s a week ago. Equinox may not…The original poster was asking about Silhouette whilst still cruising from Southampton. 
 

neverlaysup, so glad you were able to enjoy Murano’s so many times, we had fantastic service there on our last cruise before lockdown….

It doesn't matter what ship you are on. The point is that if you book the nights, you can go as often as you want. First come first serve. They don't restrict the number of nights in order to hold the days/times open in the hopes others will want them.

[Guppy99]

7 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I don't believe that is true when you buy the package.  Because the prices differ from specialty restaurant to specialty restaurant, if they allowed you to always pick the most expensive (in this case Murano I'm assuming) then too many people would be aiming for just that and defeat the purpose (from a Celebrity standpoint) of offering a package.  This may be working differently with capacity so low, but this is how it used to work if I remember correctly.

This is correct. You book every night individually on any restaurant. However, if you buy a package, some of them only allow you to pick specific restaurants and one time each.  No big advantage to buying a "package" imo.  After paying so much for a cruise, if you are going to spring for specialty dining, any little it of savings and the inherent risk of being disappointed doesn't seem to make sense.

[NantahalaCruiser]

18 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

This is correct. You book every night individually on any restaurant. However, if you buy a package, some of them only allow you to pick specific restaurants and one time each.  No big advantage to buying a "package" imo.  After paying so much for a cruise, if you are going to spring for specialty dining, any little it of savings and the inherent risk of being disappointed doesn't seem to make sense.

On our last sailing (Sept 2019) there was no restriction.  Had a 4 meal package and dined in Murano twice.

 

Booked the package over a year in advance when the 4-night was only $125 per person; by the time we sailed the package for new purchasers had been increased to $149 pp - no longer that much of a deal. 

[fizzy1]

24 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

This is correct. You book every night individually on any restaurant. However, if you buy a package, some of them only allow you to pick specific restaurants and one time each.  No big advantage to buying a "package" imo.  After paying so much for a cruise, if you are going to spring for specialty dining, any little it of savings and the inherent risk of being disappointed doesn't seem to make sense.

Ok, i stand corrected . We have always been able to eat in all the speciality at least twice on a 2 week cruise if not more. We only eat in these restaurants in the evening 

[fizzy1]

34 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

It doesn't matter what ship you are on. The point is that if you book the nights, you can go as often as you want. First come first serve. They don't restrict the number of nights in order to hold the days/times open in the hopes others will want them.

I thought  this was the case too

[Guppy99]

16 hours ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

On our last sailing (Sept 2019) there was no restriction.  Had a 4 meal package and dined in Murano twice.

 

Booked the package over a year in advance when the 4-night was only $125 per person; by the time we sailed the package for new purchasers had been increased to $149 pp - no longer that much of a deal. 

That's what I meant. In the grand scheme of things $24 is not really a factor. DEpends upon the ship too. A 4-night package on the Summit would require you spend two nights in at least one restaurant as there are only 3 specialty dining (excluding sushi on 5 because that is al a cart

[jg51]

.

In case anyone wants to know the September, 2021, specialty dining package prices, etc., on Equinox -- especially folks who are new to Celebrity -- here is the info (as stated on an official "X" flyer), including facts that contradict one or two statements posted earlier on this thread:

 

"Now, when you book a dining package, you have full control over your dining experiences!  With our newly updated specialty dining package program, YOU choose how many visits fit your schedule, when you want to dine, and whether it will be for lunch or dinner (subject to restaurant availability).  You can visit the same restaurant every night or try all our restaurants throughout your cruise.  It's totally up to you!"

 

"Specialty Restaurants:

Murano, Tuscan Grille, Le Petit Chef at Qsine, and Sushi On Five"

 

"Pkg.    Price     Save (based on an average $45 cover charge

3  = $129  [7%]

4  = $149  [23%]

5  = $182  [26%]

6  = $204  [35%]

7  = $233  [38%]

8  = $265  [36%]

9  = $299  [36%]

10 = $331 [36%]

11 = $353 [40%]

Additional visits available."

[In other words, if a couple wants to dine in SRs every night of a 9-night cruise, that would be an 18-meal package -- possibly very deeply discounted, rather than double the price for a 9-meal package ($299 X 2 = $598).]

Please notice that the first restaurant's name is "Murano," not "Murano's" (as though there was someone by that name who owns or runs the place ["Eat at Joe's ... Eat at Murano's"]).  The restaurant is named after a place in Italy, not after a person or a family.  Murano is a series of islands, linked by bridges, in the Venetian lagoon. 

 

Also, now that there are Edge-class ships, it is advisable for us at CruiseCritic to take the trouble to spell out the name of the second SR -- "Tuscan Grille" -- when speaking about it, to avoid potential confusion.  Unfortunately, "X" blundered by using simply "Tuscan" as the name of one of the four MDRs in the E-class ships.  Those ships have no "Tuscan Grille" specialty restaurant.

.

Edited October 4, 2021 by jg51

[Cruise a holic]

On 9/23/2021 at 8:31 PM, bonvoyaged said:

The Silhouette is our favorite ship…be sure to try the grill on top of the ship as one of your specialty dinners. It’s outside and the food is all grilled and it’s our favorite of all of the specialty restaurants.

We also love the Lawn club grill- our favorite sp restaurant.  The Grill is only available on the Reflection and Silhouette.  We miss it on the S class ships that do not have it.    I would also recommend that people try it.

Edited October 4, 2021 by Cruise a holic

[chemmo]

6 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

We also love the Lawn club grill- our favorite sp restaurant.  The Grill is only available on the Reflection and Silhouette.  We miss it on the S class ships that do not have it.    I would also recommend that people try it.

On both Reflection and Silhouette it is the range of ambiance of the restaurants we have enjoyed as well as the range of food…The ‘formality’ of Murano, the family  BBQ feel of Lawn Grill, the Mediterranean cafe feel of The Porch…

 

Like you, much as we enjoy any S class ship we do miss the additional dining options of these two.

[fstuff1]

15 hours ago, jg51 said:

"Specialty Restaurants:

Murano, Tuscan Grille, Le Petit Chef at Qsine, and Sushi On Five"

 

"Pkg.    Price     Save (based on an average $45 cover charge

3  = $129  [7%]

4  = $149  [23%]

5  = $182  [26%]

6  = $204  [35%]

7  = $233  [38%]

8  = $265  [36%]

9  = $299  [36%]

10 = $331 [36%]

11 = $353 [40%]

 

 

the math doesnt add up.

for 7 meal (38% discount): $233/7 = $33.29 each

 

but 38% discount off $45 is $17.10.

so $45 - 17.10 = $27.90 should be the price per meal.

 

and how does the meal package work on sushi on 5 since it's ala carte pricing?

 

Edited October 4, 2021 by fstuff1

[jg51]

1 hour ago, fstuff1 said:

 

the math doesnt add up.

for 7 meal (38% discount): $233/7 = $33.29 each

 

but 38% discount off $45 is $17.10.

so $45 - 17.10 = $27.90 should be the price per meal.

 

and how does the meal package work on sushi on 5 since it's ala carte pricing?

 

.

Sorry, "fstuff1."  Those are questions for you to ask Celebrity. 

 

We just copied the numbers that were in the flyer -- verbatim -- which is why we used quotation marks, when appropriate. 

 

We don't know (from experience) how financial matters are handled at the sushi nook.  We seem to recall reading here (two years ago?) that someone using a dining package at S-on-5 begins to pay a-la-carte amounts once he/she goes past a certain cutoff point (maybe $35 or $40).  Someone else will probably confirm or correct this.

.

.

Edited October 4, 2021 by jg51

[RICCruisers]

1 hour ago, fstuff1 said:

 

and how does the meal package work on sushi on 5 since it's ala carte pricing?

 

It doesn’t. Sushi/Raw on 5 is up to $35.00 per person on the package. Not a “good deal” to use it at that restaurant. 

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, chemmo said:

the Mediterranean cafe feel of The Porch…

 

I've seen you mention that twice. We never got any Mediterranean vibe -- either from the menu or the look of the place -- from The Porch. More like an East Coast US seafood place (fish tacos? lobster roll?) and not a particularly atmospheric, fresh or inventive one. Doesn't help that the couple of times we tried it, service was abysmally slow (once it was SO slow that they didn't charge us....)

[chemmo]

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I've seen you mention that twice. We never got any Mediterranean vibe -- either from the menu or the look of the place -- from The Porch. More like an East Coast US seafood place (fish tacos? lobster roll?) and not a particularly atmospheric, fresh or inventive one. Doesn't help that the couple of times we tried it, service was abysmally slow (once it was SO slow that they didn't charge us....)

Perhaps based on personal experience? To me it simply reminded me of the many restaurants we have called in for lunch when visiting Spain, the Balearic Islands, the Greek Islands….Not ‘high end’ venues but a pleasant spot with the smell and breeze of the sea. Obviously, it reminded you of East Coast seafood seafood places.

 

Also we  usually dine in The Porch at lunch frequently after a swim,  the sun is shining…We are relaxed, happy and comfortable….Re the menu, the seafood tower reminded me of the shared platters you can enjoy again by the Mediterranean, particularly Spain and Portugal. Obviously not real fresh fish but enjoyable nonetheless….

 

I think the point I have tried to make is that (in my opinion) the Porch offers something different to the ambiance of the other speciality restaurants….A good place to enjoy a light lunch perhaps with a sangria or quality beer rather than a fine wine…

 

Service does make a significant difference in how you remember a venue…when we visited it on Silhouette and some years ago on Reflection service was perfect…We are back on Silhouette next year and will definitely enjoy a lunch or three there!

[Guppy99]

On 9/25/2021 at 4:26 AM, chemmo said:

 

This time last week we were just getting off. 
 

Totally agree with what you said about Murano’s. My advice has always been if you want a specific day pre book and if not book a package and head straight to one of the speciality restaurants on boarding and secure your bookings. Often too late mid cruise to secure. It definitely is the one restaurant on S class that can fully book…

 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise…Strongly recommend one sea day skipping breakfast and heading to The Porch for lunch. It is a pay for but we loved the fact that even on a dull day you felt you had enjoyed an al fresco Mediterranean cafe experience. The bbq wings were delicious!

 

Enjoy!
 

 

Could not disagree with you more.

Why on earth should they withhold reservations because people were too lazy or uncertain to book in advance? First come, first serve...as with everything.  Why should this be any different? They deserve to be able to plan and fill the restaurant as certainly and early as possible. That's good management.