Solstice Specialty Dining - Help Us Decide!!

[InTheWASide]

Hey all,

 

We're headed to Alaska in a couple months and it's our first time ever on Celebrity. We also booked Aquaclass so we have access to Blu everyday.

 

As far as the specialty venues go: Silk Harvest, Tuscan Grill and Murano - is there one that we MUST DO? Are there TWO that we can't live without? Do we NEED to try all 3?

 

Here are our preliminary thoughts from the online menus:

Silk Harvest - Menu sounds great, we'd find lots that we like, but is it REALLY worth $30 per person on top of the cruise fare?

 

Tuscan Grill - Some of the stuff sounds amazing and I think this is almost a for sure yes. But do you guys know something we don't about it?

 

Murano - The menu is interesting. Only one appetizer appeals to either of us but with the rest I think we could find things that we like. It's also the most expensive, so does that mean it's the "best"? SIDE QUESTION - What is the 5 Senses thing on the online menu?

 

So we'd REALLY appreciate your suggestions. Please select the one you would go with and include any extra thoughts/opinions below. Thanks!

[helen haywood]

Tuscan Grille has the best views aft. Make sure your reservation comes before dark so you can enjoy the sunset.

[jerseygirl3]

Hey all,

 

 

 

We're headed to Alaska in a couple months and it's our first time ever on Celebrity. We also booked Aquaclass so we have access to Blu everyday.

 

 

 

As far as the specialty venues go: Silk Harvest, Tuscan Grill and Murano - is there one that we MUST DO? Are there TWO that we can't live without? Do we NEED to try all 3?

 

 

 

Here are our preliminary thoughts from the online menus:

 

Silk Harvest - Menu sounds great, we'd find lots that we like, but is it REALLY worth $30 per person on top of the cruise fare?

 

 

 

Tuscan Grill - Some of the stuff sounds amazing and I think this is almost a for sure yes. But do you guys know something we don't about it?

 

 

 

Murano - The menu is interesting. Only one appetizer appeals to either of us but with the rest I think we could find things that we like. It's also the most expensive, so does that mean it's the "best"? SIDE QUESTION - What is the 5 Senses thing on the online menu?

 

 

 

So we'd REALLY appreciate your suggestions. Please select the one you would go with and include any extra thoughts/opinions below. Thanks!

 

Murano is very formal and romantic. We always enjoy it. Tuscan Grille is prob our fave. The ribeye steak is to die for. We're not big fans if Asian food so can't speak for silk harvest.

 

 

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[TLCOhio]

Tuscan Grille has the best views aft. Make sure your reservation comes before dark so you can enjoy the sunset.

 

Excellent above point by Helen on the views out the back from Tuscan Grille. With only an eight-day cruise, that does affect your planning and considerations. We just got back from doing the Solstice last month in Australia and New Zealand. Below are some of my visuals for a few highlights from these speciality places. We also did a Solstice June 2011 and enjoyed all three dining places at that time. Silk Harvest is nice, but it seems to have faded a bit since our previous visit based on our January experience. Tuscan Grille and Murano are both wonderful. Blu is very nice, too. Dined there once during our most recent cruise. Lots of great options on this ship. Much depends on your personal taste, style, interests. Tell us more about your needs!!

 

Reactions and added questions? More details and visuals from the Solstice on the below live/blog.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Just back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 38,633 views for this fun posting.

 

 

For dining in Tuscan Grille on the Solstice in January while sailing from Australia to New Zealand, we started with a nice glass of sparkling Italian wine (Prosecco Spumanti). Fun, especially as the glass kept being re-filled!! One bread stick (got to save room for the later “good stuff). My first choice for “primi piatti” was this pictured crab cake with a good sauce. It’s called Polpette do Granchio. Roasted pepper caponata and basil emulsion. The main course was Lobster Papardella Alfredo (not shown here). But, the best is always saved for last . . . a nicely designed and super tasting of this Italian favorite, Tiramisu. I also had some Limoncello to top off the dining delights. Did we like it all? Absolutely!! Plus, we had lots wave action to see (and survive) from this great viewing position on the back of the ship with its big glass windows on the fifth floor of the Solstice. :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My wife and I ordered Châteaubriand for two at Murano. Here is it being prepared table-side. The second pictures shows how it looked on my plate with its fricassée of baby vegetables. There were the options of Béarnaise & Cabernet sauce. I had to be fair and could not choose between these two great options. Solution? How to decide? Have BOTH!! Great decision.:

 

 

 

 

 

For dessert, the choice was Grand Marnier soufflé. The sauce? Crème Anglaise á la Gousse Tahitienne.:

 

[kitty9]

We've tried Silk Harvest a couple of times and were totally disappointed. The food, imho, is not very good and a few of the dishes came out burnt, on both of our visits. I don't think that restaurant is worth the extra money.

[BEAV]

We disembarked Solstice last week from an 18 day Aussie voyage. I would go with both Tuscan Grille and Murano, and skip Silk Harvest. We live in the Bay Area and have access to wonderful Asian food, and our opinion was that Silk Harvest didn't come close and $30 was definitely excessive for the quality. We thoroughly enjoyed 3 nights each at Murano and Tuscan Grille.

 

Enjoy!

[justcrusn]

Murano is very formal and romantic. We always enjoy it. Tuscan Grille is prob our fave. The ribeye steak is to die for. We're not big fans if Asian food so can't speak for silk harvest.

 

 

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It's funny you like the ribeye and I DIS-LIKED it. I thought it was too thin, I love a thick steak. My bride had the filet and it was a thick cut, tender and delicious. I was wishing I had ordered that, but we usually order different courses to sample more.

[4774Papa]

Needed another option, zero specialty. Dining in BLU is enough.

[ozark74]

If you are in Aqua and eating in Blu that is like eating a specialty restaurant

every night. But if I was doing one I would do Murano. The sole is great.

[makkblin]

We always travel in Aqua Class because we love Blu. That said, we always take

advantage of the 25-50% off on the first day of the cruise(discount depends

On the length of the cruise) and go to Murano. The Dover sole, veal chop,

And lobster Murano are fantastic. We've tried the other specialty restaurants in the past but Blu is so good, we only do Murano when it's on sale.

Makkblin

[FortyNinerLiz]

We disembarked Solstice last week from an 18 day Aussie voyage. I would go with both Tuscan Grille and Murano, and skip Silk Harvest. We live in the Bay Area and have access to wonderful Asian food, and our opinion was that Silk Harvest didn't come close and $30 was definitely excessive for the quality. We thoroughly enjoyed 3 nights each at Murano and Tuscan Grille.

 

Enjoy!

You nailed it!! We used to live in Mill Valley and worked mostly in SF and Silk Harvest is overpriced. Love Tuscan Grill first and Murano second. If Lawn Club Grill was available, it would replace Murano as second.

[InTheWASide]

We always travel in Aqua Class because we love Blu. That said, we always take

advantage of the 25-50% off on the first day of the cruise(discount depends

On the length of the cruise) and go to Murano. The Dover sole, veal chop,

And lobster Murano are fantastic. We've tried the other specialty restaurants in the past but Blu is so good, we only do Murano when it's on sale.

Makkblin

 

I'm actually glad you brought this up. I've heard about the discounts the first night and I'm intrigued. However I've also heard that the first night in Blu is one of the best and you "Can't miss it"

 

How do the specialties stand up to Blu on night 1?

[InTheWASide]

We disembarked Solstice last week from an 18 day Aussie voyage. I would go with both Tuscan Grille and Murano, and skip Silk Harvest. We live in the Bay Area and have access to wonderful Asian food, and our opinion was that Silk Harvest didn't come close and $30 was definitely excessive for the quality. We thoroughly enjoyed 3 nights each at Murano and Tuscan Grille. Enjoy!

 

You nailed it!! We used to live in Mill Valley and worked mostly in SF and Silk Harvest is overpriced.

 

We've tried Silk Harvest a couple of times and were totally disappointed. The food, imho, is not very good and a few of the dishes came out burnt, on both of our visits. I don't think that restaurant is worth the extra money.

 

Thanks. Being in Seattle I suppose it's a similar situation for us though the Asian cuisine highlights on this coast are definitely San Francisco and Vancouver. The menu sounded great and my concern was more over quality for the money. Appreciate it.

Edited March 3, 2014 by InTheWASide

[InTheWASide]

Needed another option, zero specialty. Dining in BLU is enough.

 

If you are in Aqua and eating in Blu that is like eating a specialty restaurant

every night. But if I was doing one I would do Murano. The sole is great.

 

Really appreciate the specific comparisons regarding access to Blu for the whole week.

[InTheWASide]

Lots of great options on this ship. Much depends on your personal taste, style, interests. Tell us more about your needs!!

 

We've done around 30 cruises total. I used to work for HAL, now I'm a TA. DH does work for HAL still. Never tried celebrity but it's been on the list to try every since this class of ships came out. Since it's our first time on Celebrity we wanted to "try it the right way" so to speak.

 

The upgrade to Aquaclass just sort of happened as there was a major price drop before final. We booked 123go and got the classic beverage package and we've upgraded it. We're going to Alaska for the 4th time so we're getting some tours out of the way that weren't financially possible on previous trips.

 

We like the specialty dining on the other ships we've been on. On HAL, Pinnacle Grill is great and we LOOOOVE Tamarind. The steakhouse on Carnival has always been really good. We even view it maybe just a hair above HAL especially for presentation and variety on the menu. NCL has tons of great options - We've done Cagney's, Le Bistro, Teppenyaki, Italian... liked them all quite a bit.

 

We didn't want to finally get on Celebrity and not try the various dining rooms, but the catch is that we know we've already paid for one the whole week with Blu so we kept hitting a roadblock when we would go to discuss it.

[InTheWASide]

Of course after I get the feedback saying Silk Harvest really isn't worth the money, then I discover the Specialty Dining Packages. $85 for all 3 per person... so at that point Silk Harvest is $5...

 

But will I regret having one less day in Blu?

[hulamoon]

I can barely drag my husband out of Blu to try a specialty restaurant. If you love steak houses with an Italian twist Tuscan is excellent.

 

I like Murano too, if the menu appeals do it in another cruise, maybe not this one as you may not want to give up so many Blu experiences, and Tuscan is very filling.

 

Sometimes Murano had a luncheon and that is great way to give it a try.

 

Silk harvest is not tamarind, so skip it. But I like Murano and Tuscan better than pinnacle grill.

 

Occasionally they discount on board.

 

Have a great time, I think the solstice has a nice vibe and I am interested in hearing your experiences when you return.

[Cy'all@C]

Definitely NOT all three. That would be too many days away from BLU. And doing two is not a good value (by giving up the "basically free" third meal). So I voted ONE for Murano. It's very romantic and service is impeccable! See the offerings for BLU and go on your least desirable night. If you can find one! As much as we enjoyed our Murano experience, our tablemates in BLU told us we missed what they thought was the best meal of all in BLU. Be assured you won't be disappointed even if you enjoy your "specialty dining" every night in BLU!

 

Trudy

[cruisetrail]

I voted for Tuscan Grill and Murano.

[TeaBag]

Another vote for Tuscan. Silk Harvest is very disappointing compared to the Chinese food in Vancouver.

[happybos]

Absolutely loved Tuscan Grill - we did it 3 times on our 12 day New Zealand cruise in December - 2 dinners and a lunch - to take advantage of the wonderful views out the back window BUT the view is not the reason it has become our total favourite. The staff were lovely and the food was really good and very generous. The absolutely can't miss item is the tiramisu - the most delicious dessert ever! We also tried Murano, which we found a little disappointing, and Silk Harvest, which I thought was ok but my DH really enjoyed. When they found out he is Dutch and loved Indonesian food (close cultural links) they went out of their way to make a special Indonesian celebration dish especially for him that was not on the menu. He loved it.

 

 

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[Lsimon]

On a 7 night cruise in AQ, especially my first with Celebrity, I'd plan on doing just one specialty restaurant.

 

I would pick between Tuscan and Muranos. Pick whichever menu appeals to you more. You might want to check out the restaurants on the ship to see which atmosphere you like more. Both have great food. Muranos is a bit more elegant in all aspects, but if you are not sure about the menu your answer is made.

 

The Five Senses menu at Muranos is a wine pairing menu that includes a glass of wine selected for each course. The menu is a more limited because of this. If you like the menu selections they include then it is a very nice choice. If you'd rather order different menu items then take a pass.

 

While Silk Harvest was fun I too thought the food was just OK and nothing special. Could be because we also have great Asian restaurants in Chicago area. If you love Asian food and don't have nice Asian restaurants available to you in your home area then this might be a bit more attractive. We've cruised with cruise friends who went there multiple nights and loved it while we just took a pass.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Lsimon

[The Mommy]

Tuscan and Murano are FAB - Silk Harvest was a huge disappointment

[Duanerice1]

Needed another option, zero specialty. Dining in BLU is enough.

 

x2 But, we are not foodies and Blu suits us fine.

[ILCruiser]

I agree with JustCrusn. I too prefer a thicker cut of steak, preferably a NY Strip, and I was very disappointed in the steak offered at Tuscan Grille. Everything else there was good leading up to the main course (including the service), but the steak was a big letdown.

 

I would take Murano over TG. The food and service there is over the top.