Breakfast - Diamond Princess

[lodewyk]

Good day to all,

 

I will be taking my first cruise in January 2009 (Sydney-Auckland) with my mother (I know it sounds sad ;), but she's coming to visit her immigrant son who has 'abandoned' his parents, sister, brother, dog, cat, etc to come and live in NZ :D, and the cruise is a surprise gift to her).

 

Anyway, I'm an early riser; she's not. I would like to know from you what the best options for breakfast would be early in the morning. I'm not keen on room service every day. I know the dining rooms open at 7.30, but maybe that will be too formal. Is the Horizon Court "manageable" at that time of the morning? I should like to have a seat with a view where I can have breakfast in (relative) peace and quiet. Would that be possible in HC? I have read that some people rush to Horizon Court in the morning, take the best seats and not rise again until it's time to go to bed. Is that really true, and if so, how does one get around it? Is there a way to politely request them to move along", so to speak, or is it just one of those things that one will need to live with? I suppose it's a question of cruise etiquette.

 

Many thanks,

Lodewyk

[cherylandtk]

I am not sure where you heard that HC is full all day long, but that has not been my experience. Much more of a rush hour type of thing with open tables most of the time, and unless it is an early port day, 7:30 should not be all that busy. Also, be aware that often there is plenty of open seating on the other side.

 

Dining room is not fussy or formal for breakfast either. Much more like a comfortable chain restaurant, so don't feel you should avoid it. Certainly try both out and pick your preference. There are loads of comfortable chairs near the windows in other areas of the ship if you want a cozy place to settle down for an hour or two and read a book. Look outside the Explorer's Lounge and meander around that deck or just off the atrium and I am sure you will find several suitable areas to plunk yourself down while Mom is sleeping in.

[Toto2Kansas]

Good day to all,

 

I will be taking my first cruise in January 2009 (Sydney-Auckland) with my mother (I know it sounds sad ;), but she's coming to visit her immigrant son who has 'abandoned' his parents, sister, brother, dog, cat, etc to come and live in NZ :D, and the cruise is a surprise gift to her).

 

Anyway, I'm an early riser; she's not. I would like to know from you what the best options for breakfast would be early in the morning. I'm not keen on room service every day. I know the dining rooms open at 7.30, but maybe that will be too formal. Is the Horizon Court "manageable" at that time of the morning? I should like to have a seat with a view where I can have breakfast in (relative) peace and quiet. Would that be possible in HC? I have read that some people rush to Horizon Court in the morning, take the best seats and not rise again until it's time to go to bed. Is that really true, and if so, how does one get around it? Is there a way to politely request them to move along", so to speak, or is it just one of those things that one will need to live with? I suppose it's a question of cruise etiquette.

 

Many thanks,

Lodewyk

 

I quite breakfast in the HC is a bit difficult to even picture. Since it is one very large room, quiet isn't really something I would call it. If you arrive early enough though, you might be able to find a semi-quiet corner.

 

As to politely requesting a guest 'move along' to make space where you want to sit, sorry, but that just doesn't happen, and I think if you attempted to do something like this, you had better have your boxing gloves on at the time. ;) ;)

[Nylsor]

I think the HC opens at 6.30am so it should be fairly quiet then but Horizon Court on the Diamond is usually quite busy whatever time of the day you should visit. We ate breakfast there most mornings on our recent cruise and it certainly wasn't peaceful, particularly on port days. There are many seats along the windows where you have a wonderful view but its just the luck of the draw whether you'll get one of these. In our experience, no-one seemed to 'hog' these tables after finishing their breakfast. They are tables for four so you can always ask to share. If you are seated alone at one of these tables I'm afraid the likelihood is that someone will ask to share with you! There is a very good variety of food on offer in HC. If you should choose room service, you have a very limited choice unless you have a suite. No experience of breakfast in the dining room so can't comment on that. The Diamond's a lovely ship. Have a great cruise.

[Hlitner]

Think of the Horizon Court as a large cafeteria with many tables. We have found that on longer cruises (with more older well-traveled passengers like moi) there are large groups of passengers that will spend hours sitting in the Horizon Court having their coffee, socializing, etc. This does sometimes cause a little difficulty in finding an empty table. On the other hand, there are always plenty of empty seats at tables that have some other passengers, and its quite correct to simply ask if you might join strangers (we have made many friends this way). We have seen some folks who do not want to sit with the masses simply get some breakfast and take it back to their cabins. Its hard to fault the cruise lines for any related hassles since they all generally offer sit-down breakfast (and lunch) in the dining room, room service breakfast, and even additional options on some ships that might have some alternative venues (such as a patisserie) or the concierge lounges on some RCI ships (available only to Diamond members or suite passengers). As to a seat with a view that is quiet, keep in mind that your are traveling on a large mass-market cruise ship with around 3000 other passengers. If you truly want quiet, you can book a cruise on one of the more exclusive lines (such as Silverseas, Seaborne, etc) that can easily meet all your requirments. Or course those ships will cost you about $1000 per day, but that is the price you pay for meeting your demands.

 

Hank

[sultan_sfo]

My experience is with Sapphire. I went to HC about 3 times "each" morning for breakfast on SYD/LA (don't ask me why -- I am a small eater). Dining Room is open till 9:30 am -- so no problem till then. HC is still packed at 8am (the programmed pax who have to eat breakfast at 8am). Around 9am -- many empty tables in the center part of HC on both sides. Then 9:30 - 9:40 am -- crowded because of all those who rushed to the dining room and it had just closed! After 10am again no problem.

 

There are buffet crew members ready to help any elderly and those with mobility difficulty. Please do not hesitate to seek their help. There was also an omelet station always open until 10am on both sides of HC but outside the food area among the tables.

[HALFMAST78]

We sailed on the Diamond in January 06 and often ate breakfast in the dining room. It was not at all formal for breakfast and I preferred the food to that at the buffet. You may be seated with other diners, however, to fill up the tables. Enjoy, it's a beautiful ship!

[Colo Cruiser]

Breakfast in the DR is the way to go and definately not formal. ;)

[Cruisin' Chick]

We have often asked other passengers if we can join them in the Horizon Court. Not a problem. In fact, we'll often have a great conversation and will end up running into some of these people later on in the cruise.

 

One thing my hubby will do in the morning, is get up before us and go to the Horizon, get his made-to-order omelet. Then he'll make up a tray of breakfast goodies (he gets the tray from our cabin steward) and brings back to the cabin for my daughter and me.

[lodewyk]

Thanks for all the great advice everybody!

 

It would appear that both the diningroom and Horizon Court are good options. I must say that the idea of getting breakfast from HC, taking it down to the stateroom and having it out on the balcony REALLY appeals to me! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that this is a better option than ordering the room service breakfast?

 

Also, I'm dependant on proper espresso in the morning. I have been advised that the coffee on board is not the greatest, and will therefore take my own plunger and coffee. Question: where would I get hot/boiled water, considering there aren't any kettles in the staterooms? Do I ask the steward? Again, I'm open to correction.

 

Lodewyk

[rugbypopsie]

On the Star and Pacific Princess I think there was continuous boiling water at the serve yourself coffee station in HC.