P&O International

Ships

• Ventura
• Arcadia
• Adonia
• Azura
• Oriana
• Aurora
• Oceana

Dining

Dining
There are all kinds of different dining options available on board the P&O Cruises fleet. Formal dining rooms. Restaurants created by celebrity chefs and restaurateurs. Grill restaurants. Food courts. Oriental and Pan-pacific restaurants. Tapas bars and pizzerias. Of course the choices vary from ship to ship so check the relevant ship pages for detailed information on their dining options.

There are also different dining styles on each ship, allowing you to opt for the one that suits you: Club Dining, Freedom Dining and Select Dining.

Marco Pierre White By the age of 33, Marco Pierre White had been awarded three Michelin stars, becoming the youngest Briton bestowed with this accolade. Just last year Marco was the Head Chef in ITV's 'Hell's Kitchen 'and has been dubbed the 'godfather of modern cooking'. The White Room on board Ventura, and his planned restaurants on Oceana and Aurora, are destined to be a truly special dining experience. Simple, yet beautiful dishes will be the order of the day - classic Italian fare at its very best.

Gary Rhodes Gary Rhodes' legendary dedication to his craft and relentless pursuit of perfection has placed him firmly at the forefront of today's culinary world. Chef, restaurateur, celebrity and author; his distinguished career and unique mastery of the 'Great British Classics' truly sets him apart. A history of stunning restaurants has won him a constellation of Michelin stars. Through Arcadian Rhodes (Arcadia) and Oriana Rhodes (Oriana), Gary brings his inimitable brand of modern British cuisine to the P&O Cruises table, giving diners the same high quality dining experience enjoyed by visitors to his Rhodes Twenty Four restaurant in London.

Club Dining With Club Dining you'll enjoy the special ambience and sociable atmosphere of the main dining room, as well as silver-service and a five-course menu (six-course on Gala Nights). This style of dining is a wonderful way to share your holiday experiences and meet new friends.

By choosing Club Dining you're opting for the cruising tradition of set sitting times. The same table will be reserved for you and your table companions every night for first or second sitting, at 6.30pm or 8.30pm. You simply need to request your sitting preference when you book and we'll inform you of your table number, sitting and restaurant with a card in your stateroom when we welcome you on board.

Ventura
Saffron and Bay Tree Restaurants

Oceana
Adriatic Restaurant

Aurora
Alexandria and Medina Restaurants

Arcadia
Meridian Restaurant

Oriana
Peninsular and Oriental Restaurants

Artemis
The Coral Dining Room

Freedom Dining
Enabling you to dine at any time you wish, with whom you like, Freedom Dining allows you the flexibility to turn up at selected restaurants anytime you choose, and every effort will be made to accommodate you. Freedom Dining is included in your fare and available on Oceana and Ventura. If the flexibility of Freedom Dining appeals, then please opt for it when making your booking.

Ventura Cinnamon Restaurant
Oceana Ligurian Restaurant

Select Dining
Select Dining is wonderfully flexible, allowing you a change of scene and the opportunity to dine with different people. This is a great way to add variety to your holiday, if you wish to dine earlier or later than usual, celebrate a special occasion or enjoy an intimate meal for two. Please note that a Select Dining cover charge applies.

Ventura East, Ramblas and The White Room (Marco Pierre White's restaurant)
Oceana The Horizon Grill and The Plaza Bistro
Aurora Cafe Bordeaux and The Pennant Grill
Arcadia Arcadian Rhodes (Gary Rhodes' restaurant) and The Orchid
Oriana Oriana Rhodes (Gary Rhodes' restaurant) and the Terrace Grill
Artemis The Grill at the Conservatory

Balcony dining
This is the ultimate in intimate dining at sea. You can dine al fresco as the sun sets on the horizon, or beneath a starry sky, on your own private balcony. Select dishes from an exclusive menu designed by Marco Pierre White and enjoy personal waiter service. This is truly indulgent dining at its very best. This service will be available on Ventura and, from June 2008, balcony dining will be available on all other ships, with the exception of Artemis.

Chaîne des Rotisseurs
The Chaîne des Rotisseurs is a respected international gastronomic society founded in Paris in 1950. The society brings together professional (such as chefs and restaurant owners) and non-professional members from around the world. An invitation to become a member of this organisation is a prestigious honour indeed. Every Executive Chef across the fleet has been inducted into the Chaîne des Rotisseurs to ensure that each ship in the fleet has a member of the society on board.

Dining Times

Meal	Normal Sitting	Late Sitting
Dinner	6.30pm	7.30pm
Lunch	12.15pm	1.30pm
Breakfast	8.00am	9.00am

What about Tipping ?

For cruises before the start of the Spring 2012 European season:

Who, when and how much you tip is entirely up to you. Tips are usually given in cash at the end of the holiday to your Cabin Steward and Restaurant Stewards in the Club Dining restaurants. As a guide, the total amount we would recommend is £3.10 per person (aged 12 and over) per day split between everyone who has served you.

The only exception to this is for passengers who have opted to enjoy the flexibility of Freedom Dining as, with this style of dining you may be seated at a different table and served by a different waiter on each occasion. We will therefore add an automatic service charge of £1.60 per passenger (aged 12 and over) per day to your shipboard account for the Restaurant Stewards. This amount can be increased or decreased at your discretion by visiting Reception at any point during the cruise.

There are a number of other staff members who will all be working to make your cruise experience memorable, from the Wine Steward to the Laundry staff, you may of course also tip any other staff member as you feel appropriate.

Further details on tipping, including the suggested breakdown for the recommended £3.10 per person, per day will be found in your cabin.


For cruises after the start of the Spring 2012 European season:

We are introducing a new tipping policy which follows the current process of those on Freedom dining, which has proven to work well on Azura, Oceana and Ventura and therefore seemed sensible to extend it to cover all tipping across the fleet. The new policy creates clarity for everyone by removing any awkwardness and confusion, whilst ensuring that passengers are still able to recognise excellent service.
A daily amount of £3.10 per person aged 12 and over will be added to passengers' on board accounts and is shared amongst the waiting staff and cabin stewards.

Kids

Enjoy family cruises on the family friendly members of our fleet: Aurora, Azura, Oceana and Ventura. These superliners were created with family enjoyment and comfort in mind. We're dedicated to ensuring the very best for your family on our family cruises making sure your family have a wonderful time with us and return home with amazing memories, which is why we created The Reef - our child and teenagers programme.

Our enthusiastic and well-qualified Reef Rangers have extensive training and experience in planning a wide range of play and leisure activities ensuring that your children will always be in safe hands.

The Reef is our exciting on board programme for 2 - 17 year olds. Split into four age groups, there are a whole host of exciting activities organised daily by our qualified Reef Rangers, to keep children of all ages entertained and to ensure that they have the chance to make friends of their own age.

'Splashers' for 2 - 4 year olds
'Surfers' for 5 - 8 year olds
'Scubas' for 9 - 12 year olds
'h2o' for 13 - 17 year olds

Normally children join their parents for breakfast and lunch but since you might occasionally want to dine on your own, we lay on a special children's tea every night featuring all the food that children will enjoy: sausages, fish fingers and pizza to name just a few. In addition there are many healthy options, such as salads, soups, fruit, vegetables and pasta.