Dinner on verandah

[KenNBarbie]

Wondering how that works and if you just do a room service menu, or what?

[terrydtx]

Pre Covid we could order dinner from the MDR menu during dinning hours and have it delivered to our cabin. It was brought all at one time and when we tried doing this the meal was mostly cold and disappointing. 

Edited October 19, 2021 by terrydtx

[grsnovi]

I wouldn't think a "normal" (side) verandah would be large enough to be comfortable. Maybe an aft suite?

[oakridger]

Signature suite verandas have the space and a larger table to accommodate a meal. For me, I only like to eat out there in port or on a very calm sea day. It’s too breezy for my preference most of the time the ship is moving. It’s rarely too breezy to have a nice drink out there while under way though!  My favorite is an evening wine before bed while watching the stars!  Enjoy your cruise!

[DaveOKC]

On 10/19/2021 at 6:31 AM, KenNBarbie said:

Wondering how that works and if you just do a room service menu, or what?

Since my Chrome browser is not working with Cruise Critic, I am using Edge now, so thats why the delay in answering you.

 

Anyway, we have dined on our verandah several times and it can be a very nice experience.  First, you have to order during the first hour the main dining room (MDR) is open for dinner (check with room service to verify this timing).  Second, they might not deliver right way, usually takes about an hour (this is due to when the main course for the MDR is set to come out for everyone in the MDR).  Also, as noted already, unless you have a "protected" verandah it can get a bit windy, so keep this in mind.

 

Once we had an injured person in our group and they did not want to go to the MDR but really wanted the prime rib on the menu for that evening.  Dining on the verandah or even the room itself can work out well then.

 

Of course, this information is Pre-Covid, so check once onboard to verify.

[OlsSalt]

Anyone who likes walking around the 360 decks on HAL ships - a treasured feature - learns quickly what the leeward side of the ship feels like and what the windward side of the ship feels like.

 

So make sure your balcony is on the leeward side on that particular evening, if you want to enjoy dining outside. As if wind currents don't have a mind of their own at sea, long with the 20 or so knots of forward ship movement.

 

Might want to save the experience for a port day, that has a late departure.  Overall, we personally find in-room dining awkward, except for hand held items like HAL's wonderful club sandwiches. But the best way to find out is to try it yourself.  

 

Only the Neptune Suites, and mainly on the older ships, have a really good sit down table set-up for real dinner dining,  due to their wider balcony where you can move things around to get out of the wind. Taking your dinner from the Lido buffet out to the covered pool area seating may be the best compromise - kind of outdoors with an ocean view. 

[cbr663]

Your ability to dine on your balcony really depends on the ship and the cabin category that you have.

 

The Nieuw Amsterdam and the Eurodam still have the adjustable coffee tables in the balcony staterooms.  You can easily move the coffee table to the balcony and enjoy a meal there.  The new pinnacle class ships  do not have this coffee table in their verandah staterooms so dining on your verandah means sitting with your plate on your lap.

 

We love having room service breakfast on our verandah.  It's the quintessential cruise experience for us.