Guaranteed specialty restaurant reservations

[mrstanley]

I would like to see Sette Mari at La Veranda become a dinner specialty restaurant requiring a reservation.

The restaurant always has a long line waiting to get in. 
More people may decide to eat there if they could make a reservation.

[GOARMY]

Reference long line waiting outside Sette Mari:  

 

To paraphrase a musical line from Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess"--

 

It ain't necessarily so.

 

Sette Mari at La Veranda opens (usually, and officially) at 1830H. [See below.]  Relatively simple to show up around 1823H--with a cocktail in-hand to observe perhaps a few couples, or a larger group already in the queue. Seating for the first "wave" over in about 5-7 minutes.   

 

Another window of opportunity opens up (usually) around 1945H.  Some of the early seaters are winding up and wining-down. Tables open up. 

 

That has been our experience over many years.  Caveat, as always, YMMV. 

 

[And, what follows is a closely-guarded secret:  Actually, the doors (usually) open a few minutes before 1830H.] 

 

GOARMY!

 

  

[SWFLAOK]

3 hours ago, mrstanley said:

I would like to see Sette Mari at La Veranda become a dinner specialty restaurant requiring a reservation.

The restaurant always has a long line waiting to get in. 
More people may decide to eat there if they could make a reservation.

I totally agree. We have rarely eaten there because of the line and we got in line at least 15 minutes early. We no longer bother to try. A reservation would make me try it again.

[papaflamingo]

We like Sette Mari once or twice a cruise depending on length.  But I have to say, I'd rather it stay the way it is and not be by reservation. That gives everyone an equal opportunity to go any night they want.  If you want to get in, go at 6:15 or go late (or simply get a drink and wait). We go up there when we're ready to eat and if we can't get in we go to Compass Rose. If we really want to eat there we go around 6:15 and just hang out with the other few people there.

Really it's only been a problem on Navigator which only has Compass Rose, Prime 7, and Sette Mari. So restaurant choices are more limited. 

[carolina cruisin]

Agree with above - on Mariner, Splendor, and Explorer - have never encountered a long line.  Will say that we tend to eat early - but showing up at 6:30ish has not been a problem thus far.

[labonnevie]

7 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

We like Sette Mari once or twice a cruise depending on length.  But I have to say, I'd rather it stay the way it is and not be by reservation. That gives everyone an equal opportunity to go any night they want.  If you want to get in, go at 6:15 or go late (or simply get a drink and wait). We go up there when we're ready to eat and if we can't get in we go to Compass Rose. If we really want to eat there we go around 6:15 and just hang out with the other few people there.

Really it's only been a problem on Navigator which only has Compass Rose, Prime 7, and Sette Mari. So restaurant choices are more limited. 

Last November on Navigator we couldn’t get into Sette Mari about 8. 
Popped over to Prime 7 next door. We were immediately seated. 

[papaflamingo]

15 hours ago, labonnevie said:

Last November on Navigator we couldn’t get into Sette Mari about 8. 
Popped over to Prime 7 next door. We were immediately seated. 

I really think that seating in Sette Mari on Navigator is a bigger problem than other ships as Navigator only has Prime 7 and Compass Rose, and Prime 7 seems pretty small compared to the other ships in the fleet.  So Sette Mari becomes the "second specialty" restaurant on Navigator. 

[flossie009]

Sette Mari is never our first choice of dining venue on any of the Regent ships.

However we do prefer the layout of the restaurant on Navigator compared to the other ships.

 

I am not sure that a reservation system for Sette Mari would help and would probably result in less covers being available each evening.

 

 

[Bruce61]

Since the topic is Setti Mari, is there a reason why they only seat half the room and leave an entire side of the La Veranda dining facility empty when seating for Setti Mari?  I am just curious. 

[GOARMY]

As regards the 1/2 empty side at Setti Mari:  Explanation when on Navigator is that that other side is Prime 7--7 days a week for dinner.  That half serves as overflow from La Veranda during breakfast and lunch hours.  

 

GOARMY!

 

 

[TWG_ag]

The only entrees that stand out in Setti Mari are Veal Parmigiana and the Veal Shank. Other than that, it is basically Macaroni Grill. So, when I am on long cruises, I will order one of these in advance every 10 to 12 days in Compass Rose. I have never understood the fascination about going there multiple times a cruise. On our 78-day Grand Voyage on Navigator, we only went there twice, and that was at the invitation of friends  I love the long lines, because it shortens the line in CR.  At home we eat Italian about once every two weeks, so it works for us.

 

[LipstickLeslie]

On 3/12/2024 at 2:04 PM, mrstanley said:

I would like to see Sette Mari at La Veranda become a dinner specialty restaurant requiring a reservation.

The restaurant always has a long line waiting to get in. 
More people may decide to eat there if they could make a reservation.

Have you eaten there, is the food good? What did you like? Is it a buffet or table service?

[cwn]

15 hours ago, LipstickLeslie said:

Have you eaten there, is the food good? What did you like? Is it a buffet or table service?

We love SM. We eat there at least twice a week when on a regent criuse. We go between 6:30 and 7 latest and never have a problem being seated. There may be a couple or two ahead of us but plenty of tables open. Later can be a problem as you need to hit the change over period.to be seated with a wait. Been on a GV on Mariner. WC and Holiday cruise on Navigator and a shorter cruise on the Splendor so a variety of types of cruises pre and post covid and we always frequent †he SM….we love Italian food and do have good non chain food places near our home that we frequent..

 

The service is a combination of buffet for first courses and desserts and table service for main. Or you can be seated and order all courses from the waiter as we do. Just tell them! At first we would always check out the buffet before we went to the table then tell the waiter what we wanted, but we don’t bother now because we know what we like. Sometimes may I stop and look just to see if anything else appeals. We just do not like buffet service period.

 

We like the roasted garlic for the bread, the soups, veal and pastas well most everything.

 

 

[RELS]

16 hours ago, LipstickLeslie said:

Have you eaten there, is the food good? What did you like? Is it a buffet or table service?

 

They automatically bring antipasti. We have requested that they not, or only bring the bruschetta. Otherwise we fill up on the antipasti and have no room for the main course.

 

You can see a sample menu here: https://www.rssc.com/experience/cuisine/sette-mari.

 

We get there at about 6:20 for the first seating. If the weather is good, we love sitting outside.

Edited March 15 by RELS

[cwn]

16 hours ago, LipstickLeslie said:

Have you eaten there, is the food good? What did you like? Is it a buffet or table service?

As Rels says if you are there as they open you can sit out side weather permitting. That is really nice especially during a sail away. We love the little bits of the three antipasti but cancel the bruschetta! The first course choices are on display on the buffet set up are all good. Sometimes we make a meal from those and a soup. 

[RetiredandTravel]

We also love SM and have never had an issue getting a table because we always arrive shortly after 6:30.  The buffet seems like overkill at SM. 

 

We have had good experiences at Prime 7 but felt the steaks were not near steakhouse quality in our opinion.  We didn't feel there was a difference in the quality of the steaks in Compass Rose except Prime 7 had a porterhouse for two if I recall.  Much better setting in Prime 7. 

 

Our experiences at Chartreuse have been poor.  

Edited March 15 by RetiredandTravel

[SWFLAOK]

4 hours ago, RELS said:

 

They automatically bring antipasti. We have requested that they not, or only bring the bruschetta. Otherwise we fill up on the antipasti and have no room for the main course.

 

At our first dinner at SM, the 2 of us were served the antipasti course that would easily have filled 4 for dinner. I am not a big eater and did not enjoy anything served to me after that. We tried it again on another cruise on a different Regent ship, and asked that they not bring us the antipasti. They ignored our request, and brought it anyway. I don't like to waste food, but I wanted to try an entree so I didn't eat any of the antipasti. Our waiter asked us what was wrong, and I reminded him that we asked not to have the antipasti course. I don't remember what I had for the entree, but it wasn't very good. We are not Italian, but I do make Italian food at home. My Osso Bucco is much better than we've ever had on a cruise ship, as well as the restaurants in SW Florida where they use pork instead of veal.