Overall Score
| BERLITZ'S RATING |
| |
Possible |
Achieved |
| |
| Ship |
500 |
426 |
| Accommodation |
200 |
165 |
| Food |
400 |
219 |
| Service |
400 |
269 |
| Entertainment |
100 |
85 |
| Cruise |
400 |
287 |
| |
The ship’s two dining rooms (the London, forward, with windows on two sides, has 706 seats; the Paris, aft, with windows on three sides, has 1,090 seats), and both are non-smoking. Each dining room spans two decks, and incorporates a dozen domes and chandeliers. The Paris dining room has a two-deck-high wall of glass overlooking the stern. There are tables for four, six and eight (and even a few tables for two that the line tries to keep for honeymooners).
There’s a choice of either fixed time dining (6pm or 8:15pm), or flexible dining (any time between 5:45pm and 9:30pm). Although the menu choice looks good, the cuisine delivered is adequate, but quite unmemorable.
The ship also has a serve-yourself casual Lido Buffet – for breakfast and lunch, while for dinner this turns into the Sea View Bistro for use as a casual alternative eatery – for those that do not want to dress to go to the formal dining rooms. The buffet and bistro include speciality stations where you can order omelets, eggs, fajitas, Chicken Caesar salad, and pasta and stir-fry items. And, if you’re still hungry, there’s a midnight buffet around the corner.
The dining room entrances have comfortable drinking areas for pre-dinner cocktails. There are also many options for casual dining, particularly during the day.
The South Beach Club (a lido cafe) is the ship’s informal international self-serve buffet-style eatery, with seating on two levels. Included in this eatery are the New York Deli (typically open 11am–11pm), and the Hong Kong Noodle Company (for Chinese cuisine, with wok preparation), and a 24-hour pizzeria (this ship typically serves an average of more than 800 pizzas every day).
There is a grill for fast foods (such as chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs), and a salad bar – all part of the poolside South Beach Club. In addition, there is a self-serve ice cream and frozen yogurt station (no extra charge).
At night, the South Beach Club is turned into the “Seaview Bistro” (typically in operation between 6pm and 9pm) and provides a casual (dress down) alternative to eating in the main dining rooms, serving pasta, steaks, salads and desserts. The good thing is that, if you want to eat 24 hours a day, you can do it aboard this ship, which has something for (almost) everyone.
Berlitz Guide © Apa Publishing 2010.
Berlitz Guide © Apa Publishing 2008
