Portofino's on Mariner - importat questions

[Caymanbride]

Hello everyone,

 

I just found out that I am able to book Portofinos for my wedding reception in April for a few hours. I am so excited and from this forum, I apparently have a great feast ahead of me.:D I am hoping you guys can help me out with some ???s

 

1. For those of you who have dined at Portofinos on the Mariner, do you have a recent menu? I have looked at the menus on this forum and it looks like it can change from time to time. I saw the one from the FOS but don't know if it is the same menu that they would have across all RCI ships.

 

2. We want to have speeches in between courses. I may only have 2 hours in the restaurant. Do you think this is enough time to eat and listen to people talk?

 

3. Is there dinner music playing in the background at Portofinos?

 

4. We are not aloud to have a microphone. So if someone were to speak really loudly, do you think their voice would project enough so that everyone in the restaurant could here you? It doesn't look like the restaurant is that big so I think it would be OK. We have about 60 guests.

 

Thanks for all your help!! We have never sailed RCI but I am counting down the days until my cruise wedding.

[kavanaugh77]

That may be a touchy subject since the uproar recently about groups takling over public areas. any group tying up a public area maybe subject to rampent complaints and objections from fellow cruisers.

I myself think its great have agreat wedding and enjoy the blessed day.

maybe one day my partner adn I can enjoy the same

may you be blessed with sunny skies, smooth seas and love for ever

take care

:)

[cruzevirgins]

That may be a touchy subject since the uproar recently about groups takling over public areas. any group tying up a public area maybe subject to rampent complaints and objections from fellow cruisers.

 

Unless the reception is taking place during the dinner hours, which I highly doubt it is, this won't even be an issue. I can't see the ship closing down a restaurant and losing out on the extra income...unless of course caymanbride is loaded! :eek:

[kavanaugh77]

Unless the reception is taking place during the dinner hours, which I highly doubt it is, this won't even be an issue. I can't see the ship closing down a restaurant and losing out on the extra income...unless of course caymanbride is loaded! :eek:

 

 

OH I am sure they are paying for it. NOTHING is for free,

RCCL will make plenty off of them thats what they are in business for

[Sue L]

Portofino's is not that huge and I think they would be able to hear someone talking from one side to the other, if everyone is quiet. This is a great way to have your reception.

 

As far as the menu goes, Eggdroperin has them on her signature so you might want to check for her posts. Do you get the full menu or do you get a selection from the menu?

 

I had the filet mignon and it was wonderful. DH had the seafood skewer and it was delicious and presented beautifully.

 

Good luck on your wedding and enjoy the planning.

 

 

Sue

[katiel53]

I haven't been to a wedding on Mariner. I have heard though that the menu choices are limited when a group is going to be using the room. The reason is that all food is cooked to order and there isn't anyway they can cook 60 orders of all different foods to order at one time.

 

When they have the mystery dinner, they don't have the same menu because of the number of people. I would think that the wedding planner or whomever you are dealing with on the ship should be able to provide you with the menu that is available to you.

 

I'm sure your wedding will be beautiful and I wish you all the best of luck.

 

Katie

[Caymanbride]

Thank you all for your good wishes and for replying.

 

I don't want to upset anyone by booking the restaurant. You are all correct... We are definately paying enough for it but it would cost us the same to organize a lunch buffet with Royal Romance (their wedding people) and this way I get the type of reception that I want. I think that in order to be fair to other passengers, they have limited our time in the restaurant so I have it for 2 hours :rolleyes: . They still make what they were going to make that night PLUS whatever # of people they book after our reception is over.

[FitzLA]

The menu is limited for groups. We had a group of 20 who wanted to eat there, and they told us that for any group they limit the menu and it becomes more like the dining room. It is pre-made food. I would check because therefore the menu we can post here won't do you much good. You would usually have to pre-order the menu and they will give you choices. I would check with rccl direct.

[mauraoel]

Thank you all for your good wishes and for replying.

 

I don't want to upset anyone by booking the restaurant. You are all correct... We are definately paying enough for it but it would cost us the same to organize a lunch buffet with Royal Romance (their wedding people) and this way I get the type of reception that I want. I think that in order to be fair to other passengers, they have limited our time in the restaurant so I have it for 2 hours :rolleyes: . They still make what they were going to make that night PLUS whatever # of people they book after our reception is over.

 

The receptions are scheduled for when the restaurant is usually closed so it won't affect anyone. Don't let off handed remarks get to you. There is a forum that talks about wedding cruises that might give you more information, I hope you come back and tell us how it was, I was scheduled to get married on the Mariner on Dec 3 but we decided to rearrange things and got married here in Indy 3 weeks ago, exactly four weeks to our honeymoon! WooHoo! We are talking about going on Mariner again next October to celebrate our first anniversary and possiblly get married again so I would like to hear how it went for you.

 

Good luck,

Maura

[beachchick]

That may be a touchy subject since the uproar recently about groups takling over public areas. any group tying up a public area maybe subject to rampent complaints and objections from fellow cruisers.

I myself think its great have agreat wedding and enjoy the blessed day.

maybe one day my partner adn I can enjoy the same

may you be blessed with sunny skies, smooth seas and love for ever

take care

:)

 

IMO, this is an entirely different situation. This would be a wedding reception for a few hours in one venue (and they will be paying a pretty penny for the privilege). The subject of groups taking over public areas has been where groups of hundreds are given exclusive or special access to numerous public venues for the duration of a cruise, special things such as themed entertainment/shows just for them, or an entire dinner seating. Sometimes the entire atmosphere of the ship changes and the staff concentrates on the group to such a degree that the "regular" pax are largely ignored. That justifiably upsets pax who aren't part of the group.

 

Caymanbride: I can only answer a couple of your questions.

 

2. I guess it depends on the length of the speeches. Will these be short good wishes or will they be extended stories? Honestly, I don't think 2 hours will be enough time to have anything but very brief speeches between courses, and even then you will likely feel incredibly rushed. I hope you are able to arrange for a full 3 hours. If not, then you might consider making sure that the speakers are to-the-point and don't ramble on, or you might consider having the speeches near the end of each course.

 

4. No problem with being heard. It's just not that large a space. Anyone who knows how to project properly will be heard loud and clear; anyone who doesn't know how to project properly will still probably be heard fine.

 

Congratulations to you. I hope you have a lovely wedding and lovely, long, delicious reception. And don't worry about upsetting anyone; it's highly unlikely that anyone would have a problem with it, even if your reception was during the regular dining hours because it would be just the one night.

 

beachchick

[EggDropErin]

Portofino's is not that huge and I think they would be able to hear someone talking from one side to the other, if everyone is quiet. This is a great way to have your reception.

 

As far as the menu goes, Eggdroperin has them on her signature so you might want to check for her posts. Do you get the full menu or do you get a selection from the menu?

 

I had the filet mignon and it was wonderful. DH had the seafood skewer and it was delicious and presented beautifully.

 

Good luck on your wedding and enjoy the planning.

 

 

Sue

 

 

I redid my signature, so I no longer have the links in it, however, I will post the link below. I am going to redo everything once I get my hands on a new RCI TA guide.

 

 

Here is the link....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=276364

[caviargal]

I have dined multiple times in Portofino and IMO it is an excellent selection for a reception...Congrats!

 

Two hours is not a lot of time there, as our meals generally run that long or longer without speeches. Perhaps a set menu will move things along a bit more quickly.

 

I never noticed any background music at all; if it was there, it was very soft.

 

And, yes, I believe the size of the room will make it very easy to hear a speaker.

 

Have a great time!

[pepsicruiser]

Whenever we dined in Portofinos there was a group of musicians (3 or 4) came in and played to the tables. Very nice touch. That is something that you maybe able to pay a bit extra for but will add to your reception while you are eating.

[pepsicruiser]

Whenever we dined in Portofinos there was a group of musicians (3 or 4) came in and played to the tables. Very nice touch. That is something that you maybe able to pay a bit extra for but will add to your reception while you are eating.