Arcadia Speciality Dining vs Aurora

[galeforce9]

I wonder if anyone can share their views please.  We love Aurora. Speciality dine every night, mostly in the glasshouse but sometimes in Sindhu.  
 

However, the itineraries on offer in 2025 seem to us to be better/more interesting on Arcadia.   Although we sailed on Arcadia a lot when it was the newest ship, we haven’t been on since an Acapulco/Panama Canal transit over 10 years ago. 
 

I can see Arcadia now has Sindhu, Ocean Grill and perhaps a pop up Glasshouse on sea days?   I think then it had a restaurant called East and Gary Rhodes.  The Arcadia choice concerns me given how much we visit them. 
 

I am assuming Sindhu quality will be the same across both ships.  
 

How does Ocean Grill compare to the Glasshouse on Aurora?   I presume it is better than the Beach House?  Does it have many covers?  

 

Finally, is the Glasshouse pop up, assuming it continues, any good/comparable between Arcadia and Aurora.  
 

thanks 

[Selbourne]

Sindhu on Arcadia is much better than the one on Aurora IMHO, as it is a discrete restaurant rather than an extension of the atrium. Some of the tables are a bit close together but unless it’s full you can probably select one of the better tables. Sindhu menus seem to vary quite a bit between ships at present. We have been on both Britannia and Iona in the last 2 months and the menus (and quality) were very different (Iona was the better one). 
 

Ocean Grill is a very nice fine dining restaurant, so nothing like the Beach House or Glass House. Sadly there is nothing comparable on Aurora. It’s more traditional than Epicurean. Our last visit there was spoiled by loud live music (singer and guitarist) performing in the middle of the restaurant, which we were not told about when we booked a few days before, so it’s worth checking on that before confirming, if it’s not your thing. 
 

Others will advise on the pop-up Glasshouse, but I doubt it’s a patch on the one on Aurora, which is our favourite Glasshouse in the fleet by a mile as it’s in a quiet area, unlike the atrium versions that the newer ships have. 

[galeforce9]

23 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Sindhu on Arcadia is much better than the one on Aurora IMHO, as it is a discrete restaurant rather than an extension of the atrium. Some of the tables are a bit close together but unless it’s full you can probably select one of the better tables. Sindhu menus seem to vary quite a bit between ships at present. We have been on both Britannia and Iona in the last 2 months and the menus (and quality) were very different (Iona was the better one). 
 

Ocean Grill is a very nice fine dining restaurant, so nothing like the Beach House or Glass House. Sadly there is nothing comparable on Aurora. It’s more traditional than Epicurean. Our last visit there was spoiled by loud live music (singer and guitarist) performing in the middle of the restaurant, which we were not told about when we booked a few days before, so it’s worth checking on that before confirming, if it’s not your thing. 
 

Others will advise on the pop-up Glasshouse, but I doubt it’s a patch on the one on Aurora, which is our favourite Glasshouse in the fleet by a mile as it’s in a quiet area, unlike the atrium versions that the newer ships have. 

That’s a really helpful reply thanks Selbourne.  If I could just trouble you one bit more, do you recall the cover charge on the ocean grill please?  I appreciate that they can vary.  It seems there are few menu items that are at a supplement so I presume it is reasonably high given the ingredients.  

Edited September 7, 2023 by galeforce9

[Selbourne]

38 minutes ago, galeforce9 said:

That’s a really helpful reply thanks Selbourne.  If I could just trouble you one bit more, do you recall the cover charge on the ocean grill please?  I appreciate that they can vary.  It seems there are few menu items that are at a supplement so I presume it is reasonably high given the ingredients.  

I don’t I’m afraid, but it was pre-Covid so probably very different now anyway. I have a funny feeling that items might have been individually priced, but I’m sure that someone will come along shortly and give you the info. I do recall that the food was very good. 

[davecttr]

The pop up Glasshouse on Arcadia uses the Intermezzo bar area opposite the Ocean grill, using its galley. The menu is restricted to small plates only and there is a small choice of wines. The food was OK when I ate there. Surprisingly we had 9 sea days but IIRC it was open 3 times.

[Cathygh]

The cover charge for Ocean Grill was £15 last month. Excellent food, Sindhu was also the best I've had for years. I didn't try Glasshouse but I would have done if it had been open in the evening. 

[galeforce9]

On a follow up, how easy or difficult is it to book ocean grill please?  Does it book up before boarding?  Could we book most nights without problem?   I wondered how big it was?  Particularly as speciality dining options on Arcadia are limited.  Thank you 

[Splice the mainbrace]

We were on Arcadia last month and went to Sindhu and Ocean grill for one meal at each, the food was excellent in both. There wasn’t a problem booking for Sindhu but Ocean grill was showing as fully booked on the day that we wanted (mind you we decided to book several days into the cruise) however we went down to the restaurant to book in person, which turned out to be a mistake for them fitting people in.
 

The food and waiter service in Ocean grill was very good but spoilt by the extremely slow service, at one point a number of tables were waiting over 40 minutes for the main after finishing their starters, one couple walked out while waiting without paying and 2 other tables didn’t order a pudding as they had run out of time before going to the show, an 8 to 8.15 booking should be ok for a 10.30 show. The head waiter admitted that they had too many bookings for the capacity of the kitchen, he was knocking money off peoples bills as recompense.

 

I’m sure that it was a particularly bad night otherwise people wouldn’t go back there. Personally we are more than happy with the quality and experience in the mdr but the choice is quite restricted nowadays.

[Cathygh]

8 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

On a follow up, how easy or difficult is it to book ocean grill please?  Does it book up before boarding?  Could we book most nights without problem?   I wondered how big it was?  Particularly as speciality dining options on Arcadia are limited.  Thank you 

ATM you can't pre book either Sindhu or Ocean Grill, but it was no problem getting what we wanted on board

[Cathygh]

5 hours ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

We were on Arcadia last month and went to Sindhu and Ocean grill for one meal at each, the food was excellent in both. There wasn’t a problem booking for Sindhu but Ocean grill was showing as fully booked on the day that we wanted (mind you we decided to book several days into the cruise) however we went down to the restaurant to book in person, which turned out to be a mistake for them fitting people in.
 

The food and waiter service in Ocean grill was very good but spoilt by the extremely slow service, at one point a number of tables were waiting over 40 minutes for the main after finishing their starters, one couple walked out while waiting without paying and 2 other tables didn’t order a pudding as they had run out of time before going to the show, an 8 to 8.15 booking should be ok for a 10.30 show. The head waiter admitted that they had too many bookings for the capacity of the kitchen, he was knocking money off peoples bills as recompense.

 

I’m sure that it was a particularly bad night otherwise people wouldn’t go back there. Personally we are more than happy with the quality and experience in the mdr but the choice is quite restricted nowadays.

I remember now, we were in Ocean Grill on August 25th and although we weren't affected some tables near by had very long waits for starters and mains. 

[jh1809]

On the evening I dined in Ocean Grill last month I didn't have any lengthy waits. That may be because I like to eat very early and so booked for the earliest possible time (I can't remember now, but it was either 6:00 or 6:30).

 

Very good food, and not many items (and none that I chose) carried a supplement. 

Edited September 9, 2023 by jh1809