Casual dining on M-Class ships

[ejhall]

I was wondering if anyone who has eaten dinner in the casual dining area on either of the M-Class ships (Infinity or Summit specifically) would be willing to share their experiences? It is my understanding that they have the same meal as in the main dining room, but it is served in the buffet area. On my last cruise (on Infinity with my mom) we ate in the main dining room all nights but one and that was in the SS United states, so we never tried the casual dining. My DH has finally agreed to go on a cruise to Alaska with me (bless him!) and he is uncomfortable dressing up. So if we can in reality get the same meal as in the main dining room in the casual area, I'll still look at Celebrity. If not, I will have to look at NCl and their freestyle cruising.

 

Any opinions (good or bad) will be appreciated!

[hajekfam]

From what I checked out on our 03 Millie cruise, it is not the same menu as the dining room. There are 2 or 3 menus that alternate each night. You can, however, order from the main dining room dinner menu for room service.

Please note that dress code may be required for the shows. On some Celebrity ships they do enforce the dress code, on others they don't. On one of our Celebrity cruises, I personally saw people who were casually dressed turned away from the theater on a formal night.

[cruising with marti]

It is not the same menu as the dining room, only 2 or 3 main course choices and they will not be the same choices as in the dining room.

 

We have eaten at the casual dining several times and enjoyed it as a break from the main dining, but be aware the choices are limited.

 

 

Phil

[FLJudi]

I think that the casual dining venue must be where they train their new wait staff. Our service was horrid. Food choices were limited and just ordinary. The Aqua Spa Cafe is open until 8:00pm and is another very good choice - fantastic light fare with a flair.

 

FLJudi

[cruising with marti]

fljudi

 

You are correct, casual dining is where they do training,and they are very slow.

 

Phil

[ejhall]

Thanks for the replies. I was afraid that it was too good to be true.

 

I didn't know that you could get in-cabin dinner service from the main dining room menu in any category other than a suite. That's an option.

 

Thanks again.

[mikiew]

I loved the casual dining........so much.........and we were tired of our obnoxious tablemates, that we ate up there every night. It is right next the to Sushi bar, so my husband would get a big plate of Sushi and take it in for his appetizer.

 

 

We liked the lovely view, quiet environment, and found the help to be very good. There were plenty of choices on the menu.

 

We plan to use it quite a bit on our next M class trip.

 

If you love a dining room with 1000 guests, then maybe this would not be for you, but we found it much nicer, and you could sit with the people you wanted or yourselves.

[nho9504]

We have not eaten there on our 14 day Trans Panama cruise this April. However we were in that area a lot as it is next to the Sushi Bar where we ate every night as snack pre dinner (late seating).

 

The food choices are limited. Pork chops, steak, chicken dishes. Appetizers are not the same as dining room for the same night, but actually I saw the same appetizers show up in dining room menu a few days later - so it is from the "same" general menu. Entrees definitely are less fancy than those served in dining room. On the other hand, it could be better tasting as they are freshly prepared to the order at the buffet kitchen that is nearby.

 

They do require $2.00 tip per person though.

[doree]

We ate casual dining on the Mercury twice in Jan and it was GREAT!!!!!! Service was better than our Main DR waiter!----That is why we ate there b/c our waiter was horrible. We cruise ALOT!!!

[AFT_LOVER]

is in our robes after a shower on the AFT CC balcony. Some stewards bring the meal with soups & salads first, then main course, then desert in the fridge for us to enjoy. We get 2 carafes of coffee, one with dinner & the other with Baileys on the loungers.

 

We do this after a day long excursion whre you are just too pooped to dress for dinner & sit thru a show.......

[HelloSailor]

We loved this option. We were scheduled for early dining which, on a Med Cruise, was far too early most nights. So after pre dinner drink on deck, we'd just wander in and enjoy the beautiful views. I agree with a previous poster, the service was better than in the dining room. The menu, although limited, had plenty of choices (steak, caesar salad, chicken, cheesecake etc).

Also, we enjoyed some nights just having sushi and pizza/pasta out on deck.

Some nights you just can't be bothered dressing for dinner. Enjoy!