Dining in The Restaurant at lunch

[turtlemichael]

5 hours ago, florisdekort said:

With that attitude, perhaps you should book a private yacht. 

They even do buffets on private yachts I hear.

[SLSD]

8 hours ago, kjbacon said:

I think you are right that it is best to have low expectations for SB, especially Quest.

 

There isn’t enough Kool Aid in the world for me to like their daily buffet only options or to buy into that as a 6* experience.

 

You are also right not to look for any variety in breakfast options like Huevos rancheros on a SB ship. Others ships yes, SB no.

I don't think I communicated very clearly.  I've lived in Texas all my life (and frequently travel to New Mexico).  We have great huevos rancheros in both places and make them ourselves.  This is the reason I am unlikely to look for the dishes OR order them on a Seabourn ship wherever it might be.  While there are chefs who might make the best version ever, I think it is unlikely.  By the the same token, I'm not looking for fried chicken (even Keller's) on a ship.  We have access to some of the best where we live.  We know it when we taste it.  Fried chicken is just not a luxury or a big deal to us.  We have some of the best in the south four blocks from our hosue. 

 

Basically, I want Seabourn to offer whatever they think they can do best--not necessarily what I am used to or what I can have any day of the week at home. This does not equate with having low expectations. 

 

 While I do ask for iced tea on board, I'm generally open to their offerings.  

 

I've been looking at Regent's offerings even though I had never considered them as a cruise line in the past.  I see that they have more restaurants--as well as more passengers.  Since we don't cruise with cuisine being our focal point, it would take some figuring to compare apples to oranges.  I am NOT saying that Seabourn is perfect or even optimal at this time.  What I am trying to say is that if you cruise wanting a broad panoply of whatever you think every ship SHOULD offer and they DON'T offer your expected dishes, you are going to be disappointed.  Since we are satisfied with what they think they do best, we ARE satisfied.  At the same time, I do have concerns that SB (and Carnival as a whole) are on the ropes financially.  I am not being a cheerleader here, but just saying that our expectations are not all about food.  There is also the ambience of the ship and other intangibles.  

 

I totally understand that SB is not for you and why.  It does not deliver what you are looking for--not in perks in a top echelon suite or in cuisine.  Those things are important to you--they are not to us.   Perhaps we will try Regent when we return to cruising, but I am not entirely convinced yet that we would like it as well as we like Seabourn.  (Our favorite SB ships are Ovation and Encore).  By the way, this is not an argument, just an attempt to explain that others may have a different perspective.  

Edited October 17, 2022 by SLSD

[nancygp]

Currently on the quest..the restaurant was open for breakfast and today is a port day!!

 

great dinner in the restaurant last evening and the vast majority of guest dined there..:very good and attentive service from lovely crew members

 

enjoyed embarkation lunch and todays breakfast at the colonnade outside

 

very pleased so far with our first Quest sailing and any minor stuff has been pleasantly  taken care of

 

hapoy sails,

 

Nancy 

 

 

[tjcox9]

29 minutes ago, nancygp said:

Currently on the quest..the restaurant was open for breakfast and today is a port day!!

 

great dinner in the restaurant last evening and the vast majority of guest dined there..:very good and attentive service from lovely crew members

 

enjoyed embarkation lunch and todays breakfast at the colonnade outside

 

very pleased so far with our first Quest sailing and any minor stuff has been pleasantly  taken care of

 

hapoy sails,

 

Nancy 

 

 

Do you know how many passengers onboard? THX

[sullaRaffaello]

18 hours ago, frantic36 said:

Rather harsh and judgemental much 🤔.

No.

[sullaRaffaello]

18 hours ago, florisdekort said:

With that attitude, perhaps you should book a private yacht. 

No, just an elegant luxury ship run by a line that knows what luxury is.

[nancygp]

12 hours ago, tjcox9 said:

Do you know how many passengers onboard? THX

Around 370 passengers.

 

Nancy

[MBP&O2/O]

On 10/16/2022 at 11:45 PM, sullaRaffaello said:

Those 95% don't belong on an elegant ship.

Unless they are late back from an excursion and would feel unncomfortable with their attire in what is essentially an elegant restaurant ? I would .... but that is me.

[lincslady]

I think because Seabourn staff are generally friendly and personable , and passengers get to know them ,  we try to think of their welfare also, which is why many  people do not mind the restaurant being closed for lunch on port days, so that these young people can have some time off.  (Should be open on sea days though).  Plus some passengers like to find somewhere good to have lunch in port.

 

370 sounds like the ideal number of passengers, not too busy but enough to have some atmosphere.

[saminina]

14 hours ago, sullaRaffaello said:

No, just an elegant luxury ship run by a line that knows what luxury is.

Fact is, this is 2022 and SB is just a nice, upscale line operated by Holland America.  Doubtful anyone employed by HAL knows anything about the creation and first ten years of SB.   Today's SB has little in common with the offerings of six years ago.  Starting with the caviar and working its way down to trivial things like crew recruitment and service levels.   I wonder how long the good Austrian hotel managers will stick around.

 

 

[sullaRaffaello]

9 hours ago, saminina said:

Fact is, this is 2022 and SB is just a nice, upscale line operated by Holland America.  Doubtful anyone employed by HAL knows anything about the creation and first ten years of SB.   Today's SB has little in common with the offerings of six years ago.  Starting with the caviar and working its way down to trivial things like crew recruitment and service levels.   I wonder how long the good Austrian hotel managers will stick around.

 

 

I suspect you're right. I'll be on the Sojourn for the crossing in a few weeks, and be comparing it to my last times on Seabourn on the Spirit and Legend in 2009 and 2010 respectively. If it is what you say and what I read on this post is true, I'll most likely never travel on Seaboard again. 

[Catlover54]

13 hours ago, lincslady said:

I think because Seabourn staff are generally friendly and personable , and passengers get to know them ,  we try to think of their welfare also, which is why many  people do not mind the restaurant being closed for lunch on port days, so that these young people can have some time off.  (Should be open on sea days though).  Plus some passengers like to find somewhere good to have lunch in port.

 

370 sounds like the ideal number of passengers, not too busy but enough to have some atmosphere.

 

"Many people" are often  fine with cutting services they do not use, even if others really enjoy those services :).  

Also, with all respect, I find the  implication that pax who prefer the MDR for lunch do not care about welfare of crew, friendly and personable or not, to be not only not on point, but a bit insulting.  

 

Perhaps the money spent on unlimited caviar on demand (which DH and I order once in a while but could do without), or on allowing pax to order cocktails to their suite (which create extra staffing stress, so we just go and pick up our own), or on having cooks prepare "special meals with 24 hours notice" (which create extra kitchen/food service planning and staffing needs and can interfere with other pax getting proper service), or the whole mystical Andrew Weil spiel, could be cut and used to hire a few extra staff to man the MDR at lunch, like we used to have ?  Or how about moving to just once a day suite freshening, like in a 4 star hotel, instead of twice a day? There are many other options to consider to cut costs so the profits of Carnival can be improved (and don't get me wrong, I'm all for profits -- if there aren't  any, long term, there will be no cruise line). . 

 

Or, here's an idea: how about *hiring more people* , and/or spend more time training them, and/or hire good management to ferret out existing wasteful redundancies in staff efforts, to allow the MDR to remain open at lunch, AND maintain the other services too, AND still allow the paid staff to have nice port breaks -- just like SB and other 'luxury' lines used to manage to do. 

 

Of course, given huge recent inflation, e.g., the rising cost of food and labor, this would require charging more for 'luxury' cruises.  I frankly don't know what it would cost, or if there are enough pax in the world willing to pay more per diem, and if so, how much more.  It certainly appears that there are more pax these days willing to participate in redefinitions of what a 'luxury' cruise is.  DH and I didn't even mind the buffet lunch on SB in the Colonnade or at the pool  in the pre-Covid past, at times when the quality and service were better (even if not "luxury"), we were very hungry after a busy active morning excursion,  and we just wanted to get on with getting near instant, reasonably tasty food.  We still had a *choice* to go to the MDR for peace and quiet, however -- that was the luxury, and we had no interest in slave-driving crew. We still don't.  

But we may want to do more land trips, or just stay at our beautiful home, instead of paying thousands a day to eat convention food at a buffet and have to beg for a diet coke refill from overworked crew. 

Edited October 19, 2022 by Catlover54
Typo

[lincslady]

Oops!    Catlover 54    I certainly did not intend to insult anyone; must tell myself to see posts from every possible point of view in future before posting, I suppose.  Although it might all get a little bit bland on these boards.

 

[florisdekort]

41 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Oops!    Catlover 54    I certainly did not intend to insult anyone; must tell myself to see posts from every possible point of view in future before posting, I suppose.  Although it might all get a little bit bland on these boards.

 

No need to apologize. Nobody ever said “pax who prefer the MDR for lunch do not care about welfare of crew”. What was said is that if only very few people show up to these lunches on port days, it makes sense to get rid of them so the crew can enjoy some time on shore - which makes total sense to me as I’ve experienced days with only one or two tables showing up. 

 

It baffles me how eager some people are to feel insulted these days. No wonder the same people complain about just about everything on the ship. 

[Catlover54]

33 minutes ago, florisdekort said:

No need to apologize. Nobody ever said “pax who prefer the MDR for lunch do not care about welfare of crew”. What was said is that if only very few people show up to these lunches on port days, it makes sense to get rid of them so the crew can enjoy some time on shore - which makes total sense to me as I’ve experienced days with only one or two tables showing up. 

 

It baffles me how eager some people are to feel insulted these days. No wonder the same people complain about just about everything on the ship. 

 

LOL! Nobody ever *specifically*  said 'pax who prefer the MDR for lunch do not care about welfare of crew.'   What lincslady said, however,  is that "many people"   [presumably lincslady  et al, pre-Covid as she has not cruised since on any line ] " do not mind the restaurant being closed for lunch on port days, so that these young people can have some time off."  The statement *implies*  that those who do not want it closed don't care about the young people having time off, (presumably because their petty MDR lunch is more important to them than young people having time off),  and also suggests that there is no other way of having those young people  have time off -- a fallacy.  

It also implies that the Colonnade eaters *care* so much about young people having time off, and their virtue is why they eat there as opposed to the MDR -- as opposed to just acknowledging that is what they prefer to do and so they don't care about closing the MDR. 

 

 SB (or Carnival) has obviously made the decision that they don't want to antagonize the caviar eaters (though they keep that option secret, so only SB insiders know about it), the cocktails-to-suites-orderers (ditto), and  the repeated special-meals-orderers (same), i.e., the old-timers who post here, until they die out, and meanwhile condition the younger more casual and/or newcomer crowd to like mediocre buffets and learn to  think of them as 'luxury'. Others who like MDR quiet lunches can just get lost. That is their competitive right, of course, and it is my right to go elsewhere as long as other lines have MDR lunches and don't copycat SB.

Decisions by SB, by Colonnade eaters, and by MDR eaters, fundamentally have nothing to do with virtuous caring about crew .  It is just about profit assessments  (for SB) , and for pax, it is about their personal eating preferences.  There will hopefully be a win-win and match for some, and sad departure for others, and an increase in a different and new demographic. 

 

You can also go ahead and continue (for whatever reason) to ferociously defend SB 100% of the time for 100% of issues, and repeat that  I don't like *anything* at all about SB despite my having clearly stated what I like as I go along in my cruises, along with what I don't like.  My rating in my review was of 3/5 of my recent Quest cruise, not 1/5  and accompanied by a statement that I wish I could rate the cruise a 0, as some have written.  

 

You are insulted that I criticize SB, but sorry, I plan to continue to honestly report my point of view accompanied with specific facts supporting those views, (unless mods decide they only want to hear good things, like some FB cruising forums do, e.g., where they ban all criticisms and only want to hear happy talk). But this  website is, at least for now, still called "Cruise  Critic ", not "I Adore Seabourn, Which Can Do No Wrong".  

 

I will leave my comments at that on this issue, and I wish you and others, i.e., the virtuous who care about staff, well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SLSD]

6 hours ago, lincslady said:

Oops!    Catlover 54    I certainly did not intend to insult anyone; must tell myself to see posts from every possible point of view in future before posting, I suppose.  Although it might all get a little bit bland on these boards.

 

I did have to laugh a bit at your post Lincslandy.  I've always thought that ordering a special dinner just for yourselves or group is a bit indulgent.  Talk about causing extra work!  And, like Catlover, we have never ordered cocktails brought to our suite.  We also don't ask for special celebrations for our birthdays or anniversaries.  I've always thought those kinds of things could be seen as in imposition on the hardworking crew.  In other words, when is enough enough?  

 

Initially we were very reluctant cruisers as we don't like crowds or. noise or (did I mention Hawaiians shirts)?  And yes, we like lunch in a serene restaurant that is not a buffet and has more on the menu than grilled salmon everyday.  Perhaps Seabourn will not be for us going forward.  

Edited October 19, 2022 by SLSD

[lincslady]

Never ordered a special dinner or cocktails in our suite, so not guilty on that one at least.

 

And of course no line is for everyone - I feel they all have their own 'personality', like people, and if you find the one which suits you then  you can forgive the odd thing which is not perfect.  A bit like your spouse/partner.  And I  have been known to be critical of Seabourn sometimes on here.

[adolfo2]

On 10/15/2022 at 2:31 AM, turtlemichael said:

I may have missed it but is the MDR open for breakfast? If not, was it open pre-covid?

I've had breakfast in MDR (Minute Steak) but long time ago

[adolfo2]

On 10/13/2022 at 12:23 PM, SLSD said:

We also enjoy a sit down white tablecloth setting for lunch--not every day---but often.  Unfortunately, Seabourn only appears to open the The Restaurant for lunch on sea days.  

This is sad as our 14-day has ZERO days at sea 😞 Would be nice to have the opportunity for Restaurant Lunch & Breakfast on a few of them.

[highplanesdrifters]

We love ordering special dinners, specifically Indian. We find the food on Seabourn and Silversea can get a tad boring if you favor spicy and ethnic fare. We meet with the chef and pick a day when it is convenient for the Chef and their staff. We have also hooked up with some waiters and they have arranged special dishes from their native country. Food is a cultural connection. I love to hear from staff what their favorite native dish is, and they are proud to represent their country.

 

On SS Cloud in June we were lucky to have Chef Pia. She is a culinary Goddess. Each night she presented authentic ethnic dishes on the regular MDR menu, and was still pleased to double down on the Indian night for us.

 

The Colonnade and La Terrazza are buffet zoo's at lunch and breakfast. 

 

Lest you think we do not care about staff:

We have never ordered cocktails to the room, but understand that some have reasons to do so. Besides who wants a diluted cocktail.

We also tell housekeeping one cleaning a day is fine.

In Antarctica we would find out which day our cleaning staff was scheduled for an excursion. They are not allowed to go unless their cleaning is finished. We banded together with others on our floor to give them the day off so they could be assured to make the excursions. During a humpback feeding frenzy or iceberg shows our group gathered up staff and got them on our balconies for the amazing shows. 

[saminina]

I'd rather be served from the menu  and not feel badly for not eating it.   A special ordered dinner that did not turn out as expected is more difficult to leave on the plate.   This happened when ordering veal parmesan and it was a disaster.  Only ordered after the hotel manager lightly bugged me to do a specially prepared dinner.   And no, it was not offered in response to a complaint about food.

 

Yes, the specially prepared Indian cuisine is the number one request for this category.  No thank you.

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, highplanesdrifters said:

 

 

The Colonnade and La Terrazza are buffet zoo's at lunch and breakfast. 

 

We have a Seabourn friend who calls it "eating at the trough" and I can't get that image out of my head.  He and I preferred having breakfast in the MDR.   We never do buffets anywhere in our on land life and dislike them just as much on a ship.  This is one of the things which kept us from cruising for years (that and the specter of Hawaiian shirts---you know I am half way kdding here) until friends persuaded us to join them on a Silver Sea Greek Island cruise years ago.  We joined them (against our better judgment) and had a fabulous time.  Later, we discovered we liked Seabourn even more than we liked Silversea.  It was the intangibles that might not matter to others--the feeling of the ship, the slightly less formal feel, the engaging cruise directors, the better entertainment, the attempt to surprise with extra events (like a morning caviar party on the bow of Sojourn in Alaska while viewing glaciers) etc. 

Edited October 19, 2022 by SLSD

[brittany12]

Hey Catlover54.  With you all the way, even though I am highly allergic to cats. You have said it perfectly and I agree.  All of what you offered. The MDR is a must and should be open even on port days, as it once was. If you call yourself luxury even in these weird times you must play the role fully. Buffet service is not luxury and it can be like eating at the trough. After a dozen SB cruises, and now four years off, we are putting our toes back in the water for the Dec 9 Quest Panama Canal cruise. Ports all look pretty crappy, like Belize, best from the rear view mirror,  but who cares. Its back on the sea on a favorite ship of ours that once had the greatest captain the history of the cruise line, Capt Larson. RIP. And we hope we find the MDR open for lunch every day...along with not just caviar, which seems to be so many peoples obsession nowadays, but high quality caviar the way it once was.

[Catlover54]

7 minutes ago, brittany12 said:

Hey Catlover54.  With you all the way, even though I am highly allergic to cats. You have said it perfectly and I agree.  All of what you offered. The MDR is a must and should be open even on port days, as it once was. If you call yourself luxury even in these weird times you must play the role fully. Buffet service is not luxury and it can be like eating at the trough. After a dozen SB cruises, and now four years off, we are putting our toes back in the water for the Dec 9 Quest Panama Canal cruise. Ports all look pretty crappy, like Belize, best from the rear view mirror,  but who cares. Its back on the sea on a favorite ship of ours that once had the greatest captain the history of the cruise line, Capt Larson. RIP. And we hope we find the MDR open for lunch every day...along with not just caviar, which seems to be so many peoples obsession nowadays, but high quality caviar the way it once was.

 

I wish you a wonderful time! Just getting back to sea, if this is your first time since Covid, is very special.

The Panama Canal is of course magnificent, and near Belize are several choices for viewing Mayan ruins (if you're into ruins).  We had a good time there on our SS Moon cruise of the area a few months ago. 

[highplanesdrifters]

7 hours ago, SLSD said:

"eating at the trough"

🤣🤣🤣so true.