Special Menu Night?

[rjp50]

We will be on the Saturn for the "Into the Midnight Sun" itinerary this summer.  On most of our non-Viking cruises there is usually one night toward the end of the cruise that they "up" the menu with things like lobster tails.  Does Viking do something similar and if so would it likely be on the last sea day before disembarkation?  We are trying to determine which nights to reserve for specialty dining and don't want to miss the special night in the MDR if Viking has one.

[katlew]

There is usually a night they serve lobster in the main dining room & I think there was also a seafood buffet night in the World Cafe when we were on that cruise. For the life of me, I cannot remember which night of the cruise it was!

[OneSixtyToOne]

There are typically a few special menus during a cruise where they have a theme, usually highlighting something related to the itinerary. There is always a special seafood theme but it’s not predictable. It is usually available in both the World Cafe and Restaurant. For the big end of cruise event, there is a party held on the pool deck.

[CDNPolar]

We have experienced many specials, including Lobster in The Restaurant a few times.

 

One experience which was our best ever in the World Cafe was a focus on Indian cuisine and we were nowhere near India.  This was memorable for me because there was so much selection like a really full Indian buffet.

 

I have hoped to experience that again, but to date have not.

 

I think that Viking focus more on the destination inspired menu that is available each night as an additional daily option rather than one night or two where the menu offering is heightened.

[duquephart]

"Lobster Night" on a Viking cruise is no big deal - unless one thinks frozen lobster of unknown orign is a big deal.

[CCWineLover]

18 hours ago, duquephart said:

"Lobster Night" on a Viking cruise is no big deal - unless one thinks frozen lobster of unknown orign is a big deal.

Agree - it was a big disappointment.  Can't for the life of me figure out why all the hoopla and fuss about lobster night.  People cancel other reservations to attend and line up early even.  Good news is that it frees up reservations to Manfredi's or CT on that night - you can walk up with no reservations on Lobster Night 🙂

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

23 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Agree - it was a big disappointment.  Can't for the life of me figure out why all the hoopla and fuss about lobster night.  People cancel other reservations to attend and line up early even.  Good news is that it frees up reservations to Manfredi's or CT on that night - you can walk up with no reservations on Lobster Night 🙂

 

FOMO and perceived premium value.

 

Meanwhile on the Expedition ships, every night is lobster night.

[May B]

On 4/15/2024 at 2:19 PM, OneSixtyToOne said:

There are typically a few special menus during a cruise where they have a theme, usually highlighting something related to the itinerary. There is always a special seafood theme but it’s not predictable. It is usually available in both the World Cafe and Restaurant. For the big end of cruise event, there is a party held on the pool deck.

Iirc, our pool party was not at or near the end of the cruise. It’s perhaps itinerary-driven.

[CCWineLover]

15 hours ago, May B said:

Iirc, our pool party was not at or near the end of the cruise. It’s perhaps itinerary-driven.

Yes - very itinerary driven.  We've been on enough Viking cruises to experience pool nights, if any, and all different days.  A lot depends on weather, other events already scheduled, and whether there are sea days or not and how many.  So many things are scheduled these days with Viking that their schedulers onboard have quite a bit of flexibility.  Some events are indeed standard (like the CD solo evening at Star Theatre), but some occur sometimes and not other cruises.

[Hobson1754]

On 4/16/2024 at 8:35 PM, CCWineLover said:

Agree - it was a big disappointment.  Can't for the life of me figure out why all the hoopla and fuss about lobster night.  People cancel other reservations to attend and line up early even.  Good news is that it frees up reservations to Manfredi's or CT on that night - you can walk up with no reservations on Lobster Night 🙂

 

I would normally agree with you Kent about this however on our recent Saturn cruise we had the lobster one night and we enjoyed it - seemed better than we’ve had previously. Don’t know if I’d have cancelled reservation at Chefs Table for it however🤔

[CDNPolar]

8 hours ago, Hobson1754 said:

I would normally agree with you Kent about this however on our recent Saturn cruise we had the lobster one night and we enjoyed it - seemed better than we’ve had previously. Don’t know if I’d have cancelled reservation at Chefs Table for it however🤔

 

Lobster is good, no doubt, but I don't know that it is that amazing to me to get all excited about.  I would be just as happy with any well cooked meal.

 

For me lobster is a feast where you are not just having a tail cut in half, but you have a plastic tub of whole lobsters on a paper lined table, crackers, picks and all the tools, put on a bib and get down to business.

[CCWineLover]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Lobster is good, no doubt, but I don't know that it is that amazing to me to get all excited about.  I would be just as happy with any well cooked meal.

 

For me lobster is a feast where you are not just having a tail cut in half, but you have a plastic tub of whole lobsters on a paper lined table, crackers, picks and all the tools, put on a bib and get down to business.

Totally agree!!

Actually our favorite lobster is Lobster Rolls from James Hooke's in Boston.  Yum Yum !!

Edited April 18 by CCWineLover

[Zippeedee]

Growing up on the north shore of Boston with a father who was a lobster fisherman, I chose to skip the lobster nights and leave it for those who would likely appreciate it. I’m so picky I buy my lobsters alive and cook them myself.

[mwhm]

Recently on a back to back on the Star the "lobster night" was on the next to last night of each leg of the cruise.  Makes sense.  They want you to leave the ship with a good impression of Viking, and people are to busy packing on the last night to have it then.

[CCWineLover]

52 minutes ago, mwhm said:

Recently on a back to back on the Star the "lobster night" was on the next to last night of each leg of the cruise.  Makes sense.  They want you to leave the ship with a good impression of Viking, and people are to busy packing on the last night to have it then.

the last couple cruises we did in the past year had "lobster night" unscheduled, but they appeared on random nights in the middle of the cruise, perhaps coincidentally the evening of a day in port where they restocked supplies.

[tobique33040]

On 4/15/2024 at 9:02 PM, duquephart said:

"Lobster Night" on a Viking cruise is no big deal - unless one thinks frozen lobster of unknown orign is a big deal.

Always ready with a fun comment 😂

[friendlyfifer]

On 4/16/2024 at 2:02 AM, duquephart said:

"Lobster Night" on a Viking cruise is no big deal - unless one thinks frozen lobster of unknown orign is a big deal.

I should think the majority of cruise lines have only frozen lobster. I’ve never seen live lobsters being loaded onto a cruise ship. Why Americans get so excited about a lobster night I have no idea.

[Capt_BJ]

as recent as 200 years ago lobster was fed to prison inmates ...... considered a cheap food

[OneSixtyToOne]

47 minutes ago, Capt_BJ said:

as recent as 200 years ago lobster was fed to prison inmates ...... considered a cheap food

Yes.  It changed after it was canned as rations during the Civil War and later railroads started to serve it. It was probably this cachet of travel and adventure they led it to be seen as a luxury food.

https://www.samuelsseafood.com/blog/from-trash-to-treasure-the-great-american-lobster-history/#:~:text=It wasn't until the,started to become more mainstream.

Edited April 22 by OneSixtyToOne