Restaurant opening hours/extra cost restaurants

[Marple Sue]

I'd be glad to know what time restaurants close in the evening. Also what are the costs of visiting alternative restaurants and are they worth it? Thanks.

[John Bull]

I'm guessing it depends which ship, mebbe even which itinerary.

 

On Dream last week, from memory last service in the main dining room was around 9.30pm, but the Lido buffet was still operating around midnight.

 

I don't recall the cost of premium dining, but as with most things on-board on Thomson it was lower than other cruise lines.

Years ago premium dining was decent value-for-money, but nowadays on all cruise lines the cost is similar to restaurants at home & doesn't seem to reflect the fact that you're not eating at the included restaurants.

 

We've found the main dining room food & service on all Thomson ships to be very acceptable, so no need for premium dining unless mebbe you want to splash out for a birthday / anniversary / whatever.

I suggest you wait until you're on-board before you decide whether to book - then you can see for yourselves. And there might be a promo offer.

 

JB :)

[Vitalsign]

I've always found them worth it at approx £20 supplement but couldn't eat them every day - far too rich

You can also choose a steak or lamb chops in the MDR for your main for a supplement of approx £10 and have the menu starter and dessert We've done this a lot and it's good value and very nicely presented

[campolady]

Which ship are you going on? On Discovery 2 there was a price rise between May and October this year - in May it was 19.95 Pounds p.p.in Kora La and 22.95 Pounds in Surf and Turf but by October it was 22.95 Pounds in Kora La and 28.95 in Surf and Turf.

 

Like Vitalsign we have always enjoyed the steak or lamb chop options in the MDRs of Dream, Majesty and Spirit (think the price had risen to 12 Pounds when we were on Majesty at the end of last year) but this wasn't available on Discovery 2; you could pay 10 Pounds - I think - for hot stone steak in the Glass House but that wasn't somewhere we wanted to use for dinner. Hopefully the MDR steak and lamb chop option is still available on some of the other ships in the Marella fleet.

[John Bull]

I've always found them worth it at approx £20 supplement but couldn't eat them every day - far too rich

You can also choose a steak or lamb chops in the MDR for your main for a supplement of approx £10 and have the menu starter and dessert We've done this a lot and it's good value and very nicely presented

 

 

Yes, the premium restaurant at something under £20 as I recall.

 

And the option of rump steak (didn't notice lamb chops) in the MDR at £9.95

Which kinda validates my point .........

At around £16 per kilo retail, a 200/250kg steak costs £3 to £4 or less.

Everything else, incl the veg, is the same

Of course you're not tucking into the standard menu meat, and there's no VAT as there is in the UK.

Yet the supplement is £9.95 - that's a handsome mark-up for Thomson.

Or am I emulating my festive friend Ebenezer? :o

 

BTW the house red , only served in the AI drinks package, is truly awful. One reason we didn't buy that package.

We did buy the 7-bottle wine package & that was good value at £99. A choice of 5 (6?) reds & the same with whites. Went wrong with the first, a pretty poor Chianti, but the next we tried was a Portuguese cab-sauvignon which was very acceptable, & we stuck with that one.

 

JB :)

[Vitalsign]

This year we ate in Mistrals for £19.95 on 2 Dream cruises and had fillet steak in MDR for £9.95 on Dream and yes Campolady (sorry I forgot this) for £12 on Majesty in September

[Pensioncruiser]

They do have offers, mainly on change over day and sometimes if you book them all but you can't book until you are onboard. JB The wine selection is much better, more acceptable, on the Discovery.

 

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[Marple Sue]

Thanks everyone for your help. We take Discovery on 21 January and love decent wine and quality spirits. We were not aware these were extra! Our first cruise;). Any other pointers would be much appreciated.

[John Bull]

Thanks everyone for your help. We take Discovery on 21 January and love decent wine and quality spirits. We were not aware these were extra! Our first cruise;). Any other pointers would be much appreciated.

 

Thomson often offer cut-price all-you-can-drink packages or package-included cruise bookings.

But don't worry that you're missing out, cos the cruise prices they charge often allow for that.:rolleyes:

 

Others may disagree with me, but.........

I would recommend that you don't buy the package on-board unless you drink like fishes & don't care exactly what you drink- and that doesn't sound like you.

The standard drinks package price is around £180 pp pw.

We were offered a cut-price package (£119 pp pw) when we booked - and declined that !! .

 

Whilst most things on Thomson are good value, IMHO their all-you-can-drink package isn't.

The package is quite restrictive - only draught beers (John Smiths or a lager), only about half the cocktails, only fountain soft drinks, only unbranded spirits, only one wine of each colour - and that pretty awful wine is by the glass only, etc etc. Everything else carries a supplement of around £1 to £2.

For a decent £14.50 bottle of wine, those who have the package get a magnificent discount of about £3 !!!

 

Buying as you go, the prices are about the same as provincial pubs - beers around £4, cocktails around £4.60, wine from £14.50 a bottle.

We spent about £125 each over 7 days - 3 or 4 drinks per day plus a shared bottle of wine.

...............................................................

 

The fly-cruise transfers are brilliant.

And unlike most cruises you're not thrown off the ship by 9am on the last day.

Altho you have to vacate your cabin by 8am, you have the run of the ship until your flight transfer is called.

..........................................................

 

Thomson are the only cruise line I know that charges for settling your on-board account by credit card.

So take your debit card & use that for your on-board account.

.......................................................

Caribbean-bound?

 

US Dollars are fine pretty-well anywhere except Cuba.

Don't get your dollars from ship's exchange bureau - all cruise lines offer lousy exchange rates.

And don't rely on ATMs ashore - a lot of them dispense only local currency.

So get your US dollars to spend ashore before you leave, from the usual suspects - M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury, ASDA, Post Office etc or on-line.

Don't accept notes bigger than $20, and try to get some $1 and $5 notes - they help with your bargaining-power and avoid you getting change in local currency from shops that deal primarily with locals.

..................................................

 

The Caribbean is the easiest place in the world to explore.

There'll be taxis & minibuses at the ports offering tours for 25% to 33% of the cost of ship's tours. Drivers at the port are trustworthy & friendly, they know their island & they know the importance of back-on-board time. Negotiate a price (US dollars), itinerary & timescale before you board, pay when you get back - it's the norm.

Tours are mainly about half a day, take your beach gear and the driver can drop you off near the ship at a beach, shops, market, whatever, at the end of your tour.

Activities - like snorkelling from a catamaran, 4x4, zip-lining, river-tubing & such can't usually be fixed up on-the-fly so book those with the ship.

.......................................................

 

Ship's wifi (almost all ships) is expensive, so make use of wifi hot-spots ashore. If you want to use a bar with free wifi, check that others are happily tapping away before you order a drink - quality of wifi signal varies enormously. Servers will give you the bar's password. Be aware of others around you, cos free wifi comes with the risk of hackers.

.......................................................

 

There'll be plenty of experienced Caribbean cruisers amongst your ship-mates - they're a friendly bunch & will willingly help you out with advice.

-......................................

 

My last post today, I have a date with Santa.

 

Have a great cruise.

JB :)

[Jim The Scot]

Thomson often offer cut-price all-you-can-drink packages or package-included cruise bookings.

But don't worry that you're missing out, cos the cruise prices they charge often allow for that.:rolleyes:

 

Others may disagree with me, but.........

I would recommend that you don't buy the package on-board unless you drink like fishes & don't care exactly what you drink- and that doesn't sound like you.

The standard drinks package price is around £180 pp pw.

We were offered a cut-price package (£119 pp pw) when we booked - and declined that !! .

 

Whilst most things on Thomson are good value, IMHO their all-you-can-drink package isn't.

The package is quite restrictive - only draught beers (John Smiths or a lager), only about half the cocktails, only fountain soft drinks, only unbranded spirits, only one wine of each colour - and that pretty awful wine is by the glass only, etc etc. Everything else carries a supplement of around £1 to £2.

For a decent £14.50 bottle of wine, those who have the package get a magnificent discount of about £3 !!!

 

Buying as you go, the prices are about the same as provincial pubs - beers around £4, cocktails around £4.60, wine from £14.50 a bottle.

We spent about £125 each over 7 days - 3 or 4 drinks per day plus a shared bottle of wine.

...............................................................

 

The fly-cruise transfers are brilliant.

And unlike most cruises you're not thrown off the ship by 9am on the last day.

Altho you have to vacate your cabin by 8am, you have the run of the ship until your flight transfer is called.

..........................................................

 

Thomson are the only cruise line I know that charges for settling your on-board account by credit card.

So take your debit card & use that for your on-board account.

.......................................................

Caribbean-bound?

 

US Dollars are fine pretty-well anywhere except Cuba.

Don't get your dollars from ship's exchange bureau - all cruise lines offer lousy exchange rates.

And don't rely on ATMs ashore - a lot of them dispense only local currency.

So get your US dollars to spend ashore before you leave, from the usual suspects - M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury, ASDA, Post Office etc or on-line.

Don't accept notes bigger than $20, and try to get some $1 and $5 notes - they help with your bargaining-power and avoid you getting change in local currency from shops that deal primarily with locals.

..................................................

 

The Caribbean is the easiest place in the world to explore.

There'll be taxis & minibuses at the ports offering tours for 25% to 33% of the cost of ship's tours. Drivers at the port are trustworthy & friendly, they know their island & they know the importance of back-on-board time. Negotiate a price (US dollars), itinerary & timescale before you board, pay when you get back - it's the norm.

Tours are mainly about half a day, take your beach gear and the driver can drop you off near the ship at a beach, shops, market, whatever, at the end of your tour.

Activities - like snorkelling from a catamaran, 4x4, zip-lining, river-tubing & such can't usually be fixed up on-the-fly so book those with the ship.

.......................................................

 

Ship's wifi (almost all ships) is expensive, so make use of wifi hot-spots ashore. If you want to use a bar with free wifi, check that others are happily tapping away before you order a drink - quality of wifi signal varies enormously. Servers will give you the bar's password. Be aware of others around you, cos free wifi comes with the risk of hackers.

.......................................................

 

There'll be plenty of experienced Caribbean cruisers amongst your ship-mates - they're a friendly bunch & will willingly help you out with advice.

-......................................

 

My last post today, I have a date with Santa.

 

Have a great cruise.

JB :)

 

Drink packages and whats available differs from ship to ship and there are branded spirits available.

 

Discovery drinks package and what was available was substantial and excellent,branded spirits,bottles of beer etc when we cruised on her.

 

Do agree that some others are restrictive eg Majesty and the

Dream but some branded spirits are/ were available.The Dream initially was much like Discovery on choice and variation however over the years the drinks package has been somewhat watered down to include less and less

[campolady]

Thanks everyone for your help. We take Discovery on 21 January and love decent wine and quality spirits. We were not aware these were extra! Our first cruise;). Any other pointers would be much appreciated.

 

We have sailed on Discovery 2 twice this year and the ordinary drinks package was excellent with premium brands and a wide selection - we certainly felt no need to upgrade and on the odd occasion we did fancy something off the premium menu just paid the small supplement of around 1.50 Pound.

 

By the way Sue - from your name I wondered if you are from Marple in Cheshire?

[Wefewee]

Thanks everyone for your help. We take Discovery on 21 January and love decent wine and quality spirits. We were not aware these were extra! Our first cruise;). Any other pointers would be much appreciated.

 

Hi Marple Sue - not sure if you made an error here but, please check your dates - our Discovery Cuban-Fusion cruise leaves from Montego Bay on January 23rd.

[Marple Sue]

Hi There. I think you might be on Discovery 2. Have a good trip.

[Wefewee]

My Bad, sorry - and you have a great trip!

[Vitalsign]

Wefewee you are definitely on Marella Discovery 2 from Montego Bay as these are the only cruises offered to Canadians especially for Havana

Marella Discovery 1 cruises from Bridgetown Barbados

Marella Celebration from La Romana Dominican Republic

The latter two offered to British cruisers only I believe