{"id":620,"date":"2010-04-28T01:44:58","date_gmt":"2010-04-28T08:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cruisingdoneright.com\/?p=620"},"modified":"2010-04-28T01:44:58","modified_gmt":"2010-04-28T08:44:58","slug":"the-olympics-gold-medal-evening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/?p=620","title":{"rendered":"The Olympic's Gold Medal Evening"},"content":{"rendered":"

AT SEA ON THE CELEBRITY MILLENNIUM<\/a> \u2014 One question the millions of us who love cruising face is…<\/p>\n

Are specialty restaurants worth the cover charge?<\/p>\n

There’s no final answer, as Regis Filbin wouldn’t say. To some, paying $10 to $35 per person for an upscale night of dining is well worth it, particularly if it’s a special occasion. To others, when food is free everywhere else on the ship, why pay extra?<\/p>\n

On this 14-night cruise, we decided to find out what you get for a $35 price tag. The Olympic is the Millennium’s haute cuisine. Here’s what we discovered, and you be the judge:<\/p>\n

\u2022 The service is extraordinary. The maitre d’s, waiters, bus boys and sommeliers almost read your mind \u2014 they’re at the table the instant you think you might want something.<\/p>\n

* There are unexpected treats integrated with your courses…palenta, sorbet, exquisite little sweets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>* The always-friendly waiters are even friendlier. Told that I was especially fond of seafood and wanted to have something swimming as an appetizer, the head chef de rang (Okan Belir) said he would bring a special dish but wouldn’t say what. It turned out to be one he created himself in 2006, a Mediterranean seafood plate that was exceptional. Then Okan said he’d gladly make it for us again \u2014 if we visit him at his home in western Turkey. How friendly is that?<\/p>\n

\u2022 The quality of food is definitely a cut above what’s being served in the dining room or buffet. I had lobster thermidor and Nancy had steak and lobster. They both exceeded our high expectations.<\/p>\n

* The wine list is more than the high-end varietals you would expect. Imagine picking out what you think is the right wine and having the sommelier talk you into another one, for $7 less!<\/p>\n

* In cruise ship specialty restaurants, the emphasis is clearly on “special.” So, does that word apply to the other person in YOUR stateroom?<\/p>\n

That’s it…I’m done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AT SEA ON THE CELEBRITY MILLENNIUM \u2014 One question the millions of us who love cruising face is… Are specialty restaurants worth the cover charge? There’s no final answer, as Regis Filbin wouldn’t say. To some, paying $10 to $35 per person for an upscale night of dining is well worth it, particularly if it’s… Continue reading The Olympic's Gold Medal Evening<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,36,19,15],"tags":[71,35],"class_list":["post-620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-people","category-reviews","category-ships","category-stories","tag-celebrity","tag-cruises","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}