The Pursuit

[Travels with Lisa]

hi all- it's been about 5 years since we have been on the Pursuit.  Is there anyone out there who has had recent experience?

 

TIA

 

Liz

[Werangels]

We were on at Xmas if that is recent enough. What do you want to know?  

[Travels with Lisa]

2 hours ago, Werangels said:

We were on at Xmas if that is recent enough. What do you want to know?  

How was the food and service?  Do you recall what time the gym and laundry opened?

[marinaro44]

1 hour ago, Travels with Lisa said:

How was the food and service?  Do you recall what time the gym and laundry opened?

On last month's Onward cruises, gym opened at 7 and laundry at 8.

[Mrs.Dukes]

We were on the Pursuit in July. I thought the food was very good. The service was truly excellent!

[Werangels]

For us, service was excellent but food was underwhelming.  The things we found underwhelming were the buffet at lunch which had too many spicy foods which we don’t want at lunchtime.  This left us without a great amount of choice.  We were disappointed with the White Night buffet and won’t partake again.  We also found the quality of the steaks in Prime C were dire….. This could have been down to suppliers in South Africa as all the beef we ate during the month we were out there wasn’t good.  
 

The best was breakfast in Aqualina which was wonderful. 
 

From what I can see in more recent reviews, food has improved.  At least I hope so as we are booked again in a couple of months which may end up being our last cruise if we are again underwhelmed….. 

 

I am sorry as this is probably not what you want to hear.  I hope you have a lovely time.  

[Grandma Cruising]

Don't you use the patio for lunch. That's what we do every day with occasional supplements from Windows buffet (especially gelato)!

[excitedofharpenden]

1 hour ago, Werangels said:

For us, service was excellent but food was underwhelming.  The things we found underwhelming were the buffet at lunch which had too many spicy foods which we don’t want at lunchtime.  This left us without a great amount of choice.  We were disappointed with the White Night buffet and won’t partake again.  We also found the quality of the steaks in Prime C were dire….. This could have been down to suppliers in South Africa as all the beef we ate during the month we were out there wasn’t good.  
 

The best was breakfast in Aqualina which was wonderful. 
 

From what I can see in more recent reviews, food has improved.  At least I hope so as we are booked again in a couple of months which may end up being our last cruise if we are again underwhelmed….. 

 

I am sorry as this is probably not what you want to hear.  I hope you have a lovely time.  

White Night food on Onward three weeks ago was like chalk and cheese compared to Journey in March. Much better. Food overall was improved. My understanding is that they have upped the spend. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

1 hour ago, excitedofharpenden said:

White Night food on Onward three weeks ago was like chalk and cheese compared to Journey in March. Much better. Food overall was improved. My understanding is that they have upped the spend. 

 

Phil 

Great to hear because I would agree with previous posters earlier this year on both Quest and Journey it was rather “cheap” cuts no special Fish or beef products and the other food was more akin to the brunch salads and desserts. 

[excitedofharpenden]

5 minutes ago, uktog said:

Great to hear because I would agree with previous posters earlier this year on both Quest and Journey it was rather “cheap” cuts no special Fish or beef products and the other food was more akin to the brunch salads and desserts. 

I also understand they are looking at a revised Aqualina menu too because it's been noticed that the most popular dish ie Dover Sole has been removed which is crazy. Less adjustment to the Prime C steakhouse menu. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

2 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I also understand they are looking at a revised Aqualina menu too because it's been noticed that the most popular dish ie Dover Sole has been removed which is crazy. Less adjustment to the Prime C steakhouse menu. 

 

Phil 

Exactly what is needed!
 

It would be good if they in time looked at the patio and improved both its evening offerings and how it cooks things as some of the lamb dishes are so greasy. The Patio has great untapped evening potential 

[Werangels]

4 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Don't you use the patio for lunch. That's what we do every day with occasional supplements from Windows buffet (especially gelato)!

We used the patio several times because we didn’t fancy what was on the buffet.  We like to sit outside at the back on Pursuit for lunch which you don’t do when eating at the Patio.  
 

[Travels with Lisa]

6 hours ago, Werangels said:

For us, service was excellent but food was underwhelming.  The things we found underwhelming were the buffet at lunch which had too many spicy foods which we don’t want at lunchtime.  This left us without a great amount of choice.  We were disappointed with the White Night buffet and won’t partake again.  We also found the quality of the steaks in Prime C were dire….. This could have been down to suppliers in South Africa as all the beef we ate during the month we were out there wasn’t good.  
 

The best was breakfast in Aqualina which was wonderful. 
 

From what I can see in more recent reviews, food has improved.  At least I hope so as we are booked again in a couple of months which may end up being our last cruise if we are again underwhelmed….. 

 

I am sorry as this is probably not what you want to hear.  I hope you have a lovely time.  

I appreciate the honesty, thanks.

[oddjob16]

5 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I also understand they are looking at a revised Aqualina menu too because it's been noticed that the most popular dish ie Dover Sole has been removed which is crazy. Less adjustment to the Prime C steakhouse menu. 

 

Phil 

We cancelled our Aqualina and Prime C reservations after the first of two cruises in May. We even had them booked at the old price and still found them not worth it. MDR was as good or even better some nights. Dining on the Sunset Veranda or Patio in warm evenings is also something we enjoy very much. I doubt we will dine on deck ten for the foreseeable future.  

Edited September 17 by oddjob16

[excitedofharpenden]

I do agree with you. The food in the MDR was delicious every night and the menus tempting and of course more varied than the specialties. We did go to Prime C for us to share the chateaubriand for two and Aqualina when we were invited there, but to be honest the service was not special enough to warrant a $50 fee (we had a lot of onboard credit though). Also, the wine service in the MDR was way better and the service equal. 

 

Phil 

[Stem to Stern]

Maybe not the best place to ask this, but since Grandma mentioned The Patio….

 

Questions about dining at The Patio:

 

We enjoy Al fresco dining, but ours is an Iceland intensive on Quest in July.🥶

 

Is The Patio open for dinner?

If so, is The Patio heated?

 

Wondering about our first dinner on embarkation day out in the middle of the Irish Sea.  Thinking chances of dining al fresco will diminish as the cruise progresses.

 

Also wondering about the possibility of having lunch at The Patio on our only sea day on day 2 in the North Atlantic en route to The Faroe Islands.  Is this doable with the proper attire or are we likely to freeze our trousers off?😂

 

Just trying to keep our options open although it is great to read the above comments about good experiences in the MDR.

[Dynacruiser]

9 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

Maybe not the best place to ask this, but since Grandma mentioned The Patio….

 

Questions about dining at The Patio:

 

 

 

In July, we did a similar Iceland cruise.  We had very rainy weather a lot of the time.  You need high-quality rain gear and boots and you'll have to endure it if it happens to you.

 

However, from what I read, the weather changes week to week.  Others had perfect sunny but cool days, so it will be a gamble.  Nevertheless, Iceland is a great place to visit, and if you are a seasoned traveler, you know you sometimes have to endure bad weather.

 

The patio has some heated tables, but not all.   They also give you blankets.

 

The patio is usually open for dinner, but I don't know if every day.

 

On your sea day, there may be a big brunch with jazz music, this is indoors.    Alternatively, there may be a bbq outdoors.  Either the brunch or the bbq are enjoyable, but sometimes they don't have either event and you should not let this deter you from having a great cruise.

Edited September 17 by Dynacruiser

[Travels with Lisa]

14 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I also understand they are looking at a revised Aqualina menu too because it's been noticed that the most popular dish ie Dover Sole has been removed which is crazy. Less adjustment to the Prime C steakhouse menu. 

 

Phil 

Are both menus still available in both venues?

[uktog]

5 hours ago, Travels with Lisa said:

Are both menus still available in both venues?

They were only officially available in both venues immediately post pandemic. They went back to separate menus quite quickly. 

[Travels with Lisa]

Thanks!  I feel so out of the loop.

[federalexpress]

On 9/17/2024 at 4:49 PM, Stem to Stern said:

Maybe not the best place to ask this, but since Grandma mentioned The Patio….

 

Questions about dining at The Patio:

 

We enjoy Al fresco dining, but ours is an Iceland intensive on Quest in July.🥶

 

Is The Patio open for dinner?

If so, is The Patio heated?

 

Wondering about our first dinner on embarkation day out in the middle of the Irish Sea.  Thinking chances of dining al fresco will diminish as the cruise progresses.

 

Also wondering about the possibility of having lunch at The Patio on our only sea day on day 2 in the North Atlantic en route to The Faroe Islands.  Is this doable with the proper attire or are we likely to freeze our trousers off?😂

 

Just trying to keep our options open although it is great to read the above comments about good experiences in the MDR.

I cruised at the opposite end of the world to you, South America, Falkands, Cape Horn in their high summer. The patio sometimes shut in the evening due to poor weather, usually if rainy. But it is covered and there are some heaters. One night we ate there, and on a coolish evening, we asked them to turn the heater for our table off as we were too warm.

 

I think it is less about what you are willing to do- we are fairly hardy types- but what your fellow passengers feel. They will shut it if not enough people are likely to come, to make it worth staffing. Personally I agree with UKtog, it's a much under valued venue. We much enjoyed our two evenings there, the food is plainer than the restaurants but freshly cooked. We noticed the captain there a couple of evenings.

[Rosroz]

Just got off the Pursuit , must say the food in the windows was good for both breakfast and lunch , only used the Patio for lunch as the weather was not the best, the food in Discoveries was excellent we felt they had upped their game. There were a few items in the menu we’ve seen before but some we hadn’t and they seem to have given the food a modern twist which we really liked, we had booked prime c but cancelled as discoveries was good.