Top Floor Dining Packages

Just back from Quest and note they now have Dining Packages - which effectively mean that the specialty restaurants are booked out by lunch on Day 1!! They do represent very good value IMO.

3 Table Tour - $60pp

1 night at Aqualina; 1 night at Prime C and 3rd night at either

4 Table Tour - $80pp

2 nights at Aqualina; 2 nights at Prime C

Chefs Table Plus 2 - $115pp

1 night at Aqualina; 1 night at Prime C; 1 night at Chefs Table

Chefs Table Plus 4 - $155pp

2 nights at Aqualina; 2 nights at Prime C; 1 night at Chefs Table

Chefs Table Tour $255pp

3 nights at Chefs Table.

Seriously! you are only saving $5 per person.. not a huge savings. have not figure out chef's table yet. . but one of those meals = 4 of my dinners in Prime C.

Thanks for the info. I remember reading about this at one time but no prices or details had been finalized. We have yet to try any of the specialty dining but we do have ten nights on the Journey coming up and a $100 OBC to blow!

Seriously! you are only saving $5 per person.. not a huge savings. have not figure out chef's table yet. . but one of those meals = 4 of my dinners in Prime C.

The Chefs Table is a specially prepared menu, as I recall there is a French night, an Italian night and a Californian night and they include paired wines. The table is usually hosted by an Officer (it was when we attended) and the menu items are not available anywhere else onboard. I think they have been offering it for two years or so now. Its something you also find on Celebrity

My mom and I did the Italian Chef's dinner in May. It's typically held at the large table in Prime C, but we were lucky and had it in the Drawing Room. One of the staff members is the host for the evening, we had the Chief Safety Officer, 3rd in command. The ship's sommelier guided us through each paring. The food was delicious (the soup and homemade pasta were probably my favorite things I ate on the ship) and the wine pourings were very generous in size. Overall it was a very enjoyable experience.

Seriously! you are only saving $5 per person.. not a huge savings. have not figure out chef's table yet. . but one of those meals = 4 of my dinners in Prime C.

I think you are actually saving $15pp on the 3 Table Tour and considerably more on the rest.

I bought the $80 package on my last trip and used them all in Prime C, but did order some items off the Aqualine menu at times. My observations of the Chef's Table, both how often it was being held in Prime C and talking to sommelier Pierre is it's very popular. I've done it before, but for me there's a lot of food and I don't eat fish so that course or courses with the wine pairing is a waste personally.

Phil

Just back from Quest and note they now have Dining Packages - which effectively mean that the specialty restaurants are booked out by lunch on Day 1!! They do represent very good value IMO.

 

3 Table Tour - $60pp

1 night at Aqualina; 1 night at Prime C and 3rd night at either

 

4 Table Tour - $80pp

2 nights at Aqualina; 2 nights at Prime C

 

Chefs Table Plus 2 - $115pp

1 night at Aqualina; 1 night at Prime C; 1 night at Chefs Table

 

Chefs Table Plus 4 - $155pp

2 nights at Aqualina; 2 nights at Prime C; 1 night at Chefs Table

 

Chefs Table Tour $255pp

3 nights at Chefs Table.

That seems very good value and I think we may possibly take advantage of the three table tour or the Chef's Table plus 2 on our forthcoming Quest and Journey cruises. :) We just booked Quest today.

I can't wait to be back on Quest again.....Journey too, but Quest has my heart!💗

The Chefs Table is a specially prepared menu, as I recall there is a French night, an Italian night and a Californian night and they include paired wines. The table is usually hosted by an Officer (it was when we attended) and the menu items are not available anywhere else onboard. I think they have been offering it for two years or so now. Its something you also find on Celebrity

Ann

I have done 4 or 5 of them. I still need to try the CA one-which I will do this summer on a sea day. I did them at the old price and new price.. I did not mean cost but the amount of food served to me. I eat about half of it.

I have seen an officer but I had a guest jewerly host. Julianna would host but Dina never did.

What you wrote is very helpful to new guests so thank you.

Can dining packages be bought in advance of sailing or can it only be done on board?

Can dining packages be bought in advance of sailing or can it only be done on board?

You cannot book in advance and it was recommended, to me, that you actually book when you are on the pier doing check in. As I said, by the end of lunch on the first day most times were already booked!

Just back from Quest and note they now have Dining Packages - which effectively mean that the specialty restaurants are booked out by lunch on Day 1!! They do represent very good value IMO.

 

3 Table Tour - $60pp

1 night at Aqualina; 1 night at Prime C and 3rd night at either

 

4 Table Tour - $80pp

2 nights at Aqualina; 2 nights at Prime C

 

Chefs Table Plus 2 - $115pp

1 night at Aqualina; 1 night at Prime C; 1 night at Chefs Table

 

Chefs Table Plus 4 - $155pp

2 nights at Aqualina; 2 nights at Prime C; 1 night at Chefs Table

 

Chefs Table Tour $255pp

3 nights at Chefs Table.

So nice meeting you and your husband last week! We really enjoyed our Chef's Table +2, and for the two of us it represented a $60 savings...although savings is relative as the meals in the main dining room are lovely.

For us the best part was it caused us to try the Chefs Table, which truly was one of our favorite meals ever, and we love food! It was so far beyond the one we had tried on Celebrity. No one hosted the dinner, but we really enjoyed our dining companions and our sommelier Grace was very attentive and charming. I was so glad I happened to book the meals during our first lunch, only because I kept walking by the table that was set up. We met quite a few people disappointed not to be able to get reservations. At no time did all the tables appear full, but they must carefully stagger reservations for quality experiences.

I was so happy to be able to revisit some of last years favorites...the lobster citrus salad, Dover sole, the chilled seafood platter. So sad, it's something from Trader Joes tonight!

Can dining packages be bought in advance of sailing or can it only be done on board?

The Specialty Dining Packages can only be purchased on-board at this time. Sorry.

I don't recall reading about the Chef's table prior to this post. Is there a menu posted indicating what they offer for meals? Another question...since I'm not able to drink wine (although DH would love the pairings) what can you order to drink with dinner besides wine that would be included?

I don't recall reading about the Chef's table prior to this post. Is there a menu posted indicating what they offer for meals? Another question...since I'm not able to drink wine (although DH would love the pairings) what can you order to drink with dinner besides wine that would be included?

I don't remember a menu ahead of time, only the theme, French, Italian, or California. We have done two, and each time one guest at the table did not drink, usually they drank mineral water instead. Both the tables we attended were hosted by the food and beverage manager, which made for great conversation and a fun night. We had booked a third, but when we heard it would be hosted by the guest lecturer we cancelled. We didn't think it would have the same appeal as neither food nor wine was their specialty.

I don't remember a menu ahead of time, only the theme, French, Italian, or California. We have done two, and each time one guest at the table did not drink, usually they drank mineral water instead. Both the tables we attended were hosted by the food and beverage manager, which made for great conversation and a fun night. We had booked a third, but when we heard it would be hosted by the guest lecturer we cancelled. We didn't think it would have the same appeal as neither food nor wine was their specialty.

I didn't say I don't drink ;)....I don't drink wine...gives me a migrane type headache. How appropriate would it be to ask for a glass of beer or some mixed drink? I would love to try this...just trying to figure out what type food each night has...French, Italian, Calfornia, obvious but there are a lot of different foods from those parts of the world.

Just check the menus before booking.

Just back from Quest and note they now have Dining Packages - which effectively mean that the specialty restaurants are booked out by lunch on Day 1!! They do represent very good value IMO.

 

3 Table Tour - $60pp

1 night at Aqualina; 1 night at Prime C and 3rd night at either

 

4 Table Tour - $80pp

2 nights at Aqualina; 2 nights at Prime C

 

Chefs Table Plus 2 - $115pp

1 night at Aqualina; 1 night at Prime C; 1 night at Chefs Table

 

Chefs Table Plus 4 - $155pp

2 nights at Aqualina; 2 nights at Prime C; 1 night at Chefs Table

 

Chefs Table Tour $255pp

3 nights at Chefs Table.

Thanks, Les. Great cruise and so nice to meet you.

The value of these packages are very good. We have done all venues on previous cruises and recomend them wholeheartedly. This time we saw the packages and got a litlle dissapointed as it made it so much more difficult to get just one night at speciality reataurants, and we were just not able to get one. Well,- for us it didn't matter, we had beautiful dinners in the Windows Cafe and can say that we had the best places in the "house" as we sat outside by the raillings enjoying the silky air and the sun setting in the wake.

The food. OMG the food! (I sound like an american) We had so much good food. I told Fabio that we were impressed and that this time they had really surpassed themselves. I know the buffet can be a bit tricky and that some people prefer to be served at a table from a menu, but we have never had so good food on Azamara before. Fabio alternates between Quest and Journey, but as he said, it is the crew in the kitchen that actually puts the food on your plate.:)

Imagine what it's like on ships where there is no up-charge for the specialty restaurants. To get our two guaranteed specialty reservations on our upcoming Regent cruise for the dates we want, we'll be signing in at 1am on August 25th on the Regent web site. If we're lucky, we'll get a table for two for my wife's birthday. If we're able to book any additional reservations once on-board, it will be at shared tables for four or six. This is luxury?

I suspect Oceania, where there is also no up-charge, would work similarly. It can be argued whether the food served in specialty restaurants is worth the up-charge, but, for me, it's worth it for the access.

......So much for this information.

We are on Quest in 12 days time and we will now be ready and prepared to book speciality restaurants.

We left it far too late on our last trip, mainly because we loved Discoveries, and when we did fancy a change the only times offered to us were very early or very late. We took the late option and the restaurant was practically empty????

Jen

Thanks for the information Bonnie.:D

Hi Everyone,

To the OP : Thanks for the helpful information. As we are big fans of Azamara specialty dining, I'd definitely purchase the Chefs table +4. I've never tried Chefs table, but the reports are excellent. This seems like a very good deal to me.

It's very unfortunate that Azamara does not allow advance booking. Seems like a huge lost opportunity for pre-cruise revenue. There was a time that you could book 1 specialty dining reservation online, but that's long gone, as the Azamara website continues to deteriorate.

Bonnie : If Azamara ever gets their website and LCV program back on track, kindly suggest that Azamara considers online (and/or phone) Specialty Dining purchases as a LCV benefit - with Discoverer level and above, getting priority. I believe that would be a very welcome benefit for your LCV members.

Hi Everyone,

 

To the OP : Thanks for the helpful information. As we are big fans of Azamara specialty dining, I'd definitely purchase the Chefs table +4. I've never tried Chefs table, but the reports are excellent. This seems like a very good deal to me.

 

It's very unfortunate that Azamara does not allow advance booking. Seems like a huge lost opportunity for pre-cruise revenue. There was a time that you could book 1 specialty dining reservation online, but that's long gone, as the Azamara website continues to deteriorate.

 

Bonnie : If Azamara ever gets their website and LCV program back on track, kindly suggest that Azamara considers online (and/or phone) Specialty Dining purchases as a LCV benefit - with Discoverer level and above, getting priority. I believe that would be a very welcome benefit for your LCV members.

Andy,

You must be a mind reader.

I suggested this very change in an email to Richard Twynam, UK MD today as a possible enhancement to LCV.

Think it could be a very popular with guests.

Hi Everyone,

 

To the OP : Thanks for the helpful information. As we are big fans of Azamara specialty dining, I'd definitely purchase the Chefs table +4. I've never tried Chefs table, but the reports are excellent. This seems like a very good deal to me.

 

It's very unfortunate that Azamara does not allow advance booking. Seems like a huge lost opportunity for pre-cruise revenue. There was a time that you could book 1 specialty dining reservation online, but that's long gone, as the Azamara website continues to deteriorate.

 

Bonnie : If Azamara ever gets their website and LCV program back on track, kindly suggest that Azamara considers online (and/or phone) Specialty Dining purchases as a LCV benefit - with Discoverer level and above, getting priority. I believe that would be a very welcome benefit for your LCV members.

Thanks Andy, A great idea as what concerned me is that suite guests, who are able to dine in the restaurants every night 'subject to availability' may not get a table any night! :eek:

Another negative for Azamara IMO. We liked the flexibility of deciding when onboard if we want to dine at a specialty, and due to the upcharge they never were crowded. I guess that was the issue these packages were intended to fix!