Menus in Advance?

[billichka]

My Wife and I are looking forward to our April 2023 Tahiti to Hawaii cruise.  Are the nightly restaurant menus released in advance - as in prior to the cruise commencing?  It would be great to book the TK Grill in advance, safe in the knowledge that we are not going to miss out on any of our favourites (like fried chicken night in the Colonnade) in the other restaurants that night.  

[Flamin_June]

The TK Grill menu does not change, apart from the odd single 'special' item. The Fried Chicken night is one of three or four TK AD Hoc style menus that are offered in the Colonnade once every several days. You can book those once on board. In Pre-Covid and Seabourn App times the Ad Hoc nights were not listed in advance, but notified the day before in the paper Herald. We very much like the Ad Hoc offerings and style* and would check the dates with the Colonnade front desk host on embarkation day and ask to to be booked in for each one.

We will be on Odyssey in April, so will probably see you on an Ad Hoc night😋.

* Talking about 'style', in the early days of Ad Hoc nights on Seabourn they used to serve the complementary wine in glass tumblers, as one might do at home for an informal weekday supper. It was a nice touch, I thought, but, as I recall, many guests were unhappy and wanted their wine in stem glasses....

[frantic36]

13 minutes ago, Flamin_June said:

It was a nice touch, I thought, but, as I recall, many guests were unhappy and wanted their wine in stem glasses....

 

Because those of us who prefer white wine prefer not to warm up the wine in a non stemmed glass. We don't like over-chilled white wine but the unstemmed wine glasses make it difficult to us to get our wine to the right temperature. 

[Flamin_June]

Thanks Julie!

We are both red wine drinkers and rarely have white wine, so what do we know....🙃

[rallydave]

4 hours ago, billichka said:

My Wife and I are looking forward to our April 2023 Tahiti to Hawaii cruise.  Are the nightly restaurant menus released in advance - as in prior to the cruise commencing?  It would be great to book the TK Grill in advance, safe in the knowledge that we are not going to miss out on any of our favourites (like fried chicken night in the Colonnade) in the other restaurants that night.  

The simple answer is no menus are not available prior to the cruise commencing.

[calliopecruiser]

3 hours ago, Flamin_June said:

in the early days of Ad Hoc nights on Seabourn they used to serve the complementary wine in glass tumblers, as one might do at home for an informal weekday supper. It was a nice touch, I thought, but, as I recall, many guests were unhappy and wanted their wine in stem glasses....

That's still the way it is -- the stem isn't about formality, but to avoid handling the bowl of the glass and thus warming the wine. 

[lincslady]

IMO it is mainly that wine just looks more attractive in the traditional glasses - plus the warming of the white, and if it is interesting enough it is nice to give it a swirl and sniff before tasting.  (Though this is unlikely to apply to the included ones).

[Hlitner]

57 minutes ago, lincslady said:

IMO it is mainly that wine just looks more attractive in the traditional glasses - plus the warming of the white, and if it is interesting enough it is nice to give it a swirl and sniff before tasting.  (Though this is unlikely to apply to the included ones).

We oenophiles tend to get set in our ways and perhaps forget that wine is somewhat of an adventure of the senses.  While I understand the reasons for using stem glasses for whites, I would also point out that many folks have found it very acceptable to use the very popular stemless glasses.   Companies such as Reidel (established in 1756) now manufacture and market stemless white wine glasses.  Some might even argue that allowing whites to gradually warm (in the glass) releases flavors that (both good and not so good) that are missed at the cooler temperatures preferred by many folks.  Perhaps there is some wisdom in the idea of opening our minds along with our senses :).

 

Hank

[billichka]

10 hours ago, rallydave said:

The simple answer is no menus are not available prior to the cruise commencing.

So I decided to go ahead and book TK Grill only to find that there are no reservations available... 4 months before the cruise!  😭

[Mr Luxury]

16 hours ago, lincslady said:

IMO it is mainly that wine just looks more attractive in the traditional glasses - plus the warming of the white, and if it is interesting enough it is nice to give it a swirl and sniff before tasting.  (Though this is unlikely to apply to the included ones).

You don't need glasses for the included wines

[Flamin_June]

52 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

You don't need glasses for the included wines

Yes, probably best not to see what they are pouring you 🙄

 

 

 

Only joking, the included wines are mostly serviceable, some quite decent in a vin de table way, though it is true that some are underwhelming, to say the least and to be avoided. So one actually does need glasses.

 

11 hours ago, billichka said:

So I decided to go ahead and book TK Grill only to find that there are no reservations available... 4 months before the cruise!  😭

It seems the Fiji to Hawaii leg of the April 2023 trans-Pacific has been sold out for several weeks already. But don't despair there can often be last minute cancellations, so check with the hosts day to day, or ask to be notified

[labates629]

On 12/12/2022 at 3:24 AM, billichka said:

My Wife and I are looking forward to our April 2023 Tahiti to Hawaii cruise.  Are the nightly restaurant menus released in advance - as in prior to the cruise commencing?  It would be great to book the TK Grill in advance, safe in the knowledge that we are not going to miss out on any of our favourites (like fried chicken night in the Colonnade) in the other restaurants that night.  

Before you embark you can see the daily menus on the Source app, including the specials in TK Grill.   Just click on each restaurant to view.  You can then figure out which menu will be offered each day to plan. 
 

Once you are onboard that feature disappears and you can only view the menus altogether on one page/link.  
 

You will have no problem getting a reservation on board for the Grill. 

[cruiseej]

14 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

You don't need glasses for the included wines

 

So you're suggesting to bypass glasses and drink directly from the bottle? 🤣

[lincslady]

From what I have gleaned abut Mr. L, he wouldn't dream of drinking any included wines.  Not nearly grand enough.

[Mr Luxury]

11 hours ago, lincslady said:

From what I have gleaned abut Mr. L, he wouldn't dream of drinking any included wines.  Not nearly grand enough.

I tried a red and a white on the Seabourn Legend in 1991 and have bought wine from the wine list ever since.

I can then guarantee a certain level that I would expect at home.

It works for me.

[Mr Luxury]

15 hours ago, cruiseej said:

 

So you're suggesting to bypass glasses and drink directly from the bottle? 🤣

Seriously,I have seen some guests do just that.

[twochromic]

1 hour ago, Mr Luxury said:

Seriously,I have seen some guests do just that.

I insist on a straw. You never know where that bottle has been.

[highplanesdrifters]

21 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Seriously,I have seen some guests do just that.

That's because they were horrified at being given a stemless glass.

[Flamin_June]

22 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

I tried a red and a white on the Seabourn Legend in 1991 and have bought wine from the wine list ever since.

I can then guarantee a certain level that I would expect at home.

It works for me.

While we were on Odyssey some years ago there was a seriously wealthy gentleman  (whose own yacht was in dry dock being refurbished) who had a number of crates of wine from his cellar shipped on board. The maître d'hôtel would bring a selection, together with a humidor, to the back of deck 7, where he often sat with his entourage after dinner. One evening I was leaning on the  deck 7 rail, sipping a Remy Martin VSOP while gazing out to sea. One of the entourage, a foreign Attaché  to Prince Albert of Monaco, drifted over for a chat and happened to ask what I was drinking.

"Cognac - Remy..."

"Bah! Swill!" he exclaimed , while gently removing the glass from my hand and tossing the contents overboard, "Try some of this" ,  he said, decanting a generous pour of red wine into my now empty brandy glass.

It was like sipping the nectar of the Gods. Unfortunately I did not manage to catch a glimpse of the lable on the bottle.

Edited December 15, 2022 by Flamin_June
spelling & grammar

[florisdekort]

On 12/12/2022 at 6:36 PM, billichka said:

So I decided to go ahead and book TK Grill only to find that there are no reservations available... 4 months before the cruise!  😭

They only open up a very small number of tables for online bookings. We never bother. Just go see the seating hostess after boarding and they’ll book you in. We’ve never had a problem.  

[Mr Luxury]

2 hours ago, Flamin_June said:

While we were on Odyssey some years ago there was a seriously wealthy gentleman  (whose own yacht was in dry dock being refurbished) who had a number of crates of wine from his cellar shipped on board. The maître d'hôtel would bring a selection, together with a humidor, to the back of deck 7, where he often sat with his entourage after dinner. One evening I was leaning on the  deck 7 rail, sipping a Remy Martin VSOP while gazing out to sea. One of the entourage, a foreign Attaché  to Prince Albert of Monaco, drifted over for a chat and happened to ask what I was drinking.

"Cognac - Remy..."

"Bah! Swill!" he exclaimed , while gently removing the glass from my hand and tossing the contents overboard, "Try some of this" ,  he said, decanting a generous pour of red wine into my now empty brandy glass.

It was like sipping the nectar of the Gods. Unfortunately I did not manage to catch a glimpse of the lable on the bottle.

A bit rude really,you might not have liked red wine. 

Blossom Hill red it probably was 😁

[lincslady]

Even I draw the line there.

[skybluewaters]

3 hours ago, florisdekort said:

They only open up a very small number of tables for online bookings. We never bother. Just go see the seating hostess after boarding and they’ll book you in. We’ve never had a problem.  

 

Are you referring to the seating hostess in TKG?  Are they available there in the early afternoon on the day of boarding? 

When I called Seabourn to ask what the best way to book onboard was, they said I should go to the Square and speak to Guest Services/Relations. 

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, skybluewaters said:

 

Are you referring to the seating hostess in TKG?  Are they available there in the early afternoon on the day of boarding? 

When I called Seabourn to ask what the best way to book onboard was, they said I should go to the Square and speak to Guest Services/Relations. 

We always go to the hostess in TKG after lunch on the day we board.  She has been available at that time.  We have never booked through Guest Services.  We have had our TA book for us ahead of the cruise as well.  

[Mr Luxury]

Never book the TK Grill ay Seabourn Square.

Always go and see the hostess who will be at TK in the afternoon on most days