Chefs Table Questions

[FrannyK]

Thinking about trying the Chefs Table for our upcoming 12 night cruise.  Would you reserve ahead of time or is it cheaper to reserve on board?  What is a good price?  Would you book on a port or sea day?

[nimbex1970]

Sometimes there are sales online ahead of time.  We book it online to ensure we have a spot and I may weekly check in to see price fluctuations.  If you see a drop, you definitely CAN cancel and rebook, do so immediately to keep your spot.  We only do this on sea days.  The reason that is on the port days we will have a drink or several, lol. There are wine pairings with each course, so I don't want to be tired from an excursion or a few drinks to enjoy dinner.  That's our only reason for sea days.  I haven't seen more than 14 folks at a chef table, so it fills up fast.  Others on the WOS and others have reported a total of 16 guests. 

 

Once on board, if there is space, the price is the full price you see online.

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by nimbex1970

[Sea Dog]

We always purchase the Chef’s Table while on board and always get it at a discount. Usually 50% off if you are willing to be flexible on the day.

[Seville2Cabo]

We usually book online, especially if there is a specific night we want.  We have had issues in the past with it being sold out or the night we wanted was sold out

[CruisingWalter]

1 hour ago, FrannyK said:

Thinking about trying the Chefs Table for our upcoming 12 night cruise.  Would you reserve ahead of time or is it cheaper to reserve on board?  What is a good price?  Would you book on a port or sea day?

 

First off, TOTALLY worth it. We paid $99/pp on our December Symphony OTS cruise and it was far and away the best meal of the cruise. The only thing I didn't particularly like was the venue where it was served, the Solarium Bistro. We had our own private table with the really nice chairs, but nothing really separating us from the buffet that was happening all around us. 

 

But the meal itself, just unreal and the chef was just awesome. I'll be posting a full food review from our Symphony cruise this week and that meal will be the highlight. 🙂 

[FrannyK]

21 hours ago, nimbex1970 said:

Sometimes there are sales online ahead of time.  We book it online to ensure we have a spot and I may weekly check in to see price fluctuations.  If you see a drop, you definitely CAN cancel and rebook, do so immediately to keep your spot.  We only do this on sea days.  The reason that is on the port days we will have a drink or several, lol. There are wine pairings with each course, so I don't want to be tired from an excursion or a few drinks to enjoy dinner.  That's our only reason for sea days.  I haven't seen more than 14 folks at a chef table, so it fills up fast.  Others on the WOS and others have reported a total of 16 guests. 

 

Once on board, if there is space, the price is the full price you see online.

 

Those are excellent reasons to book on sea days.  I really appreciate your input!

[FrannyK]

Thank you all for your input.  I will reserve ahead of time so we can have the sea day of our choice.  Right now the price is $79.99.  Seems like a good price but I will continue to monitor.  

[Ky Bill]

We always book ours ahead using the app and usually at a discounted offering.  We book ahead so we get the night and time which best suits us.

I just booked our Chef's table for our August, 2023 cruise and noticed one of the nights is already full.

Bill

[sixbirches]

Does anyone have a review of the Chef’s Table on Anthem? We are sailing in about a month and are considering booking it.  We’ve sailed many times, but have never done this before. 
Thanks.

[Rogueperson]

I haven't done it on the Anthem since 2016, but when i did, it was in a room off of Chops.  I've always done Chef's Table on every cruise i do.  The menu unfortunately hasn't changed much since 2017, but since you've never done it, it will be new for you, so that will be great.

 

I have actually heard 2nd hand that they have charged more onboard for Chef's Table.  It was only once.  I was on Brilliance on its first revenue cruise back in December of 2021.  I was actually doing a live thread at the time, so someone came up to me and asked me about Chef's Table who saw my live thread while I was onboard.  She then told me that they were trying to charge her 130 bucks for Chef's Table!!!  It might be on shorter cruises where the supply is lower and the demand higher.

 

I have never had @Sea Dog's experience of a reduced price like he has, but what i have seen is that onboard, they will many times offer Chef's Table as part of a package of dinners, which may save you about 20 bucks overall., but not anything of real substance.

[John&LaLa]

22 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

I haven't done it on the Anthem since 2016, but when i did, it was in a room off of Chops.  I've always done Chef's Table on every cruise i do.  The menu unfortunately hasn't changed much since 2017, but since you've never done it, it will be new for you, so that will be great.

 

I have actually heard 2nd hand that they have charged more onboard for Chef's Table.  It was only once.  I was on Brilliance on its first revenue cruise back in December of 2021.  I was actually doing a live thread at the time, so someone came up to me and asked me about Chef's Table who saw my live thread while I was onboard.  She then told me that they were trying to charge her 130 bucks for Chef's Table!!!  It might be on shorter cruises where the supply is lower and the demand higher.

 

I have never had @Sea Dog's experience of a reduced price like he has, but what i have seen is that onboard, they will many times offer Chef's Table as part of a package of dinners, which may save you about 20 bucks overall., but not anything of real substance.

 

We asked in Chops what deals were available and got a 30% discount.  This was on Jewel

[Rogueperson]

2 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

We asked in Chops what deals were available and got a 30% discount.  This was on Jewel

I'm just not cool enough.  I get nope, sorry, we got nothing.  🤣

[sixbirches]

We decided to book it for our March cruise on Anthem. We didn’t want to wait to book until onboard, so we could plan around other evening activities and shows. The cruise planner is offering a 15% discount, so that basically covered the gratuity. The food looks delicious and I’m sure we will enjoy it, especially since we haven’t tried it before.

[jencruzin]

We have always done Chef's Table on a sea day and usually book before boarding.

 

On our previous sailing on Adventure, it was rather disappointing, they held it in the middle of the stairs in the MDR. There was no cozy private room for us, just out in the open, so we are hoping this is not the case on our upcoming Anthem sailing for a 12-night.

Overall, what a fantastic wine pairing dinner!

[sixbirches]

48 minutes ago, jencruzin said:

We have always done Chef's Table on a sea day and usually book before boarding.

 

On our previous sailing on Adventure, it was rather disappointing, they held it in the middle of the stairs in the MDR. There was no cozy private room for us, just out in the open, so we are hoping this is not the case on our upcoming Anthem sailing for a 12-night.

Overall, what a fantastic wine pairing dinner!

I’m pretty sure there is a dedicated room for Chef’s Table on Anthem. It’s inside Chops. I also saw this on the deck plans for Anthem. I’m pretty sure I recall seeing it in the past when we’ve dined in Chops. 

[jencruzin]

2 hours ago, sixbirches said:

I’m pretty sure there is a dedicated room for Chef’s Table on Anthem. It’s inside Chops. I also saw this on the deck plans for Anthem. I’m pretty sure I recall seeing it in the past when we’ve dined in Chops. 

Yeah, I remember that! But given how things have changed (or CAN change suddenly) what happened to us on AOS was that the regular chef's table room was snatched up to accommodate either COVID ops or it was the Bermuda visa entry nightmare, where lots of people didn't fill out a form properly.