Dining in The Restaurant at lunch

[Mr Luxury]

On 11/24/2022 at 12:32 PM, JPH814 said:

My suspicion is that cruise line executives are well aware of the opinions regarding breakfast and lunch on "all days/"  They can easily see it in the number of people who eat in the MDR when it is open.  Most likely they are making a business decision:  the cost of staffing vs the disappointment of a few customers.  Are they willing to incur extra costs spread out to all passengers to satisfy the few?   

It's not hard to see why the decision has been made but some guests are oblivious to the reason behind it.

 

[SLSD]

28 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

It's not hard to see why the decision has been made but some guests are oblivious to the reason behind it.

 

Not oblivious at all--just disappointed.  There is a difference!

[Mr Luxury]

7 hours ago, SLSD said:

Not oblivious at all--just disappointed.  There is a difference!

I did say some

[Oslo Dutch]

What is the situation right now? (Spring-summer 24)  Is the main dining room still closed for breakfast and lunch? Considering a cruise with Seabourn but just don't like these buffet venues, and whenever on a cruise try to avoid them  if possible.

[johng75370]

1 hour ago, Oslo Dutch said:

Is the main dining room still closed for breakfast and lunch?

Last I heard the policy is the same:  The Restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch on sea days, and closed on port days.  Depending on your itinerary you might find that it works for you.   If you are on Ovation or Encore there is also the Sushi restaurant open for lunch, I believe on all days.  

[artlee]

30 days till our Transatlantic on Quest. 10 of 11 nights at sea. Hopefully that means the Restaurant will be open most every lunch aabd breakfast! 🙂

[jjs217]

Just off the Quest.  Breakfast and lunch in the Restaurant was available most days.  Only time it was closed was when there was some special thing going on upstairs by the pool or at the Colonnade.  Not very many people used the Restaurant at breakfast and lunch, but I do not like buffets, so I let the MD know as often as possible how much I enjoyed having it open, if only for a few of us.

[Vineyard View]

7 minutes ago, jjs217 said:

Just off the Quest.  Breakfast and lunch in the Restaurant was available most days.  Only time it was closed was when there was some special thing going on upstairs by the pool or at the Colonnade.  Not very many people used the Restaurant at breakfast and lunch, but I do not like buffets, so I let the MD know as often as possible how much I enjoyed having it open, if only for a few of us.

Was that only on Sea Days?  We do not like buffets either. When in port we are off the ship at lunch. We often ordered cooked breakfast off the menu outside the Colonnade,  and that was lovely. 

Edited February 24 by Vineyard View

[jjs217]

1 minute ago, Vineyard View said:

Was that only on Sea Days?  

No - everyday.  The only time we didn't go the DR for breakfast or lunch was if there was a conflict with our excursion of zodiac expedition.  One lunch was cancelled because the majority of the passengers were going to be off the ship at lunch time.

[Vallesan]

1 hour ago, jjs217 said:

No - everyday.  The only time we didn't go the DR for breakfast or lunch was if there was a conflict with our excursion of zodiac expedition.  One lunch was cancelled because the majority of the passengers were going to be off the ship at lunch time.

Interesting!

We sailed the Greek Islands, 14 nights, last September on the Encore and the GDR wasn’t open any day for breakfast. We really missed it. We much prefer the ‘serene’ atmosphere in the GDR to the ‘hustle and bustle’ of the Colonnade.

[Hlitner]

On our last SB cruise our suite was located on the Restaurant deck.  We would constantly walk through the Restaurant (going to and fro to our suite) and noticed that the Restaurant was always near-empty at both breakfast and lunch.  It was normally to see no more than 2 or 3 couples using the facility for those meals.  While I do support the venue being open (a luxury line should always provide options) I can understand the inefficiency of providing staff to an empty venue.   We once felt bad for the staff (standing around looking bored) so actually stopped for breakfast (once).  It felt strange to be the only folks dining in the large Restaurant and we did miss chatting with others in the Colonnade.

 

Hank

[jjs217]

1 hour ago, Vallesan said:

Interesting!

We sailed the Greek Islands, 14 nights, last September on the Encore and the GDR wasn’t open any day for breakfast. We really missed it. We much prefer the ‘serene’ atmosphere in the GDR to the ‘hustle and bustle’ of the Colonnade.

Perhaps it was because we were in Antarctica/South Georgia/Falklands.  If you weren't on a zodiac, you were on the ship.  Maybe most people are off the ship during the day in Greece.  So, destination probably has something to do with it.

[stan01]

On 2/23/2024 at 5:37 AM, Oslo Dutch said:

What is the situation right now? (Spring-summer 24)  Is the main dining room still closed for breakfast and lunch? Considering a cruise with Seabourn but just don't like these buffet venues, and whenever on a cruise try to avoid them  if possible.

 

It seems right now it is variable and not predictable.  We've seen and heard of open on sea days only, seldom or never open, and open most days.  I think it determined by the discretion of the chef and hotel manager.  There's clearly less waiter and bartender staff on board than in the past and they are rushed.  I don't think that's what people want to hear ...