Pay restuarant walk ins

[monkeyinhat]

Anyone ever tried to do a walk up at Portofinos or Chops.

 

I know on one ship it wasnt crowded and we heard they had several empty tables.

 

Just curious if anyone had ever seen or tried it

[Ashland]

Yes..we did this on ROS this past May 2009 in Alaska..around 6:30pm just walked into Chops ..It was pretty empty and they gave us a nice table for two by the window.. around 7:30 it was only about 3/4 full..but I think it might have been just lucky timing, would never count on it....:rolleyes:

[silentbob007]

I'm not sure, but I don't think all of the tables are ever full at one time (mostly one sitting per table per night?). I'm sure they'll take you if they have room for you, but you can't necessarily count on it.

[cb at sea]

They will NOT turn down those extra dollars! If they have a table (and they almost always do!) they will seat you!

[Rala]

I'm not sure, but I don't think all of the tables are ever full at one time (mostly one sitting per table per night?). I'm sure they'll take you if they have room for you, but you can't necessarily count on it.

 

We tried to make a res. for Chops in the morning for that evening and were told it was full, but come back at 4:30 and check. At 4:30 we were told nothing available, but comeback in an hour. We did and lo and behold they had a res. for 7pm the time we had requested .

 

We got there at about ten of 7 and were seated almost immediately. There were many empty tables...probably about half the restaurant. During our dinner which lasted about 1 and a half hours, maybe a little less, there were 2 or 3 tables seated (we were by the door). Still lots of empty tables and when we left the restaurant at about 8:15-ish there was nobody waiting to be seated. During dinner, we asked why we were originally told that they were full and the waiter explained that they never fill all the tables so everyone gets the best service. So don't count on them taking you as a walk-up (no reservation) just because they want your money. Seemed like kind of a dumb way to do business, but I guess it works for RCCL???!!! BTW, this was on the Liberty this past Sept.

[CruisinManiac]

Hmmmm... After a Portofino breakfast one morning, we stop and asked reservations for an 8;00 seating that night. We were told nothing was available, and to call back after lunch - which we did. Still nothing available and were told to try after 5:00. When we returned from our room that afternoon, we had a message that a table was available - at 10:00! :eek: We called and declined. :(

 

Wish now that we had just walked up and checked in person.:rolleyes:

[pcur]

We rarely make reservations. Since we like to eat late, they always have a table available. If not, then we go on to the dining room. If we stay, I usually go tell our dining room staff we won't be eating in the MDR. It's like they get their feelings hurt and think they did something wrong if you don't let them know. Since we do auto tipping, they are paid no matter where we eat.

[leoandhugh]

The one thing is you can't absolutely count on being seated as a walk up just because you see empty tables. Those tables may be reserved for someone coming within the next hour and they honor those reservations first, as they should. I also had the maitre 'd in Portofino tell me that it is not only empty tables, but they try to fill them in an orderly fashion so that the workload on one team of servers is not out of balance with others and with the kitchen. If you know you want to eat in one of the two restaurants, it is much more of a sure thing if you make a reservation:)

[Gilgo Surfer]

Hmmmm... After a Portofino breakfast one morning, we stop and asked reservations for an 8;00 seating that night. We were told nothing was available, and to call back after lunch - which we did. Still nothing available and were told to try after 5:00. When we returned from our room that afternoon, we had a message that a table was available - at 10:00! :eek: We called and declined. :(

 

Wish now that we had just walked up and checked in person.:rolleyes:

 

Is breakfast always available in portofino's or is it just certain days? Do you need a reservation for breakfast?

 

BTW, Portofino's was at least half empty when I ate there in April.

 

Carnival Victory, 2003

Carnival Victory, 2004

RCI Explorer of the Seas, 2009

RCI Explorer of the Seas, January 2010

[flagger]

I had a great chat with the manager of Chops onboard Radiance earlier this month about this.

 

They do basically two seatings within a certain start and stop time just like in the dining room for passenger and meal flow to make it an intimate experience. What can look like an empty restaurant to you is done by design.

 

Our group had both restaurants reserved one evening for both "seatings" and it was not an intimate experience whatsoever. They had many of the waitstaff from our section of the dining room serving in both Chops and Portofino and we ate from a pre-selected menu. It wasn't a bad meal but certainly not the norm.

[negc]

They will NOT turn down those extra dollars! If they have a table (and they almost always do!) they will seat you!

 

The fact that a table is empty when you enter the restaurant doesn't mean that it is not reserved for a party of guests who will be arriving fifteen or thirty minutes later. It is unlikely that you will ever find all of the tables occupied at one time as this would limit the times when the tables could be reserved. If, for example, they filled all of the tables at 6pm, and dining in Chops and Portofino is normally an approximately two hour experience, what would they do about people who wanted to dine at 6:15, 6:30, 6:45 etc., all the way till say 8:15? They would also need to increase the number of wait staff in order to serve all those guests seated at one time. Portofino and Chops are not like the MDR , limited to two seatings each evening. If you walk up and request a table, the only way they can accommodate you is if there are no reservations for that table later that evening.:)

[silentbob007]

Is breakfast always available in portofino's or is it just certain days? Do you need a reservation for breakfast?

 

It is a place reserved for suite guests to take/eat breakfast on some ships.