specialty restaurants

[skihike1]

What is the deal with the specialty restaurants on a cruise? I can't imagine paying for food when you can eat it for free.... Can someone fill me in?

[Hobiecat01]

Originally Posted by skihike1

What is the deal with the specialty restaurants on a cruise? I can't imagine paying for food when you can eat it for free.... Can someone fill me in?

Please see my answer in your other post.
----------------------------
Sea ya!
Ron and Lee
Canton, Ga
Proud RCCL Platinum Member
"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,
in water there is bacteria." – Ben Franklin

We are proud Oasis Camel Cruiser – April 17, 2010
The Oasis Camels Website

Previous Cruises – 59 Days at Sea!
Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982
Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998
Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999
Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000
Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2002
RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003
RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005
RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006
RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/08
Planned Cruises
RCCL Oasis of the Seas – Our Friends Cruise - April 17, 2010
RCCL Allure of the Seas – Our Neighborhood Cruise - 2011
The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day – 2012?
Princess Cruises - The Med – 14 day – 2013?

[Parkay]

Originally Posted by skihike1

What is the deal with the specialty restaurants on a cruise? I can't imagine paying for food when you can eat it for free.... Can someone fill me in?

Because some of us prefer to have options rather than eating in the same boring place every night. And some of us don't care whether or not it is free in the dining room.

[monkll]

wow...i forgot how rude people can be on these posts

[JHA65]

[I totally agree! You cant ask a question on this board any more with out at least one person getting an attitude...



quote=monkll;22043884]wow...i forgot how rude people can be on these posts[/quote]

[threecats]

Originally Posted by skihike1

What is the deal with the specialty restaurants on a cruise? I can't imagine paying for food when you can eat it for free.... Can someone fill me in?

Just another option. Lots of people love them and swear the food is much better. I have always found the dining room food pretty good and have seen no reason to go somewhere else and pay (again). But maybe I'm lacking the discerning taste of others. Anyway, the nice thing about options is, that you don't have to use them, so everybody can be happy their own way.

[JHA65]

We have sailed with RC 3 other times and dined in the MDR every night of our cruise. It was not boring at all, we always had a great waiter and enjoyed talking with our table mates.

We are sailing the Oasis in March and will not dine at any of the specialty restaurants. I would rather spend my money on our excursions and drinks.

JHA



=skihike1;22040120]What is the deal with the specialty restaurants on a cruise? I can't imagine paying for food when you can eat it for free.... Can someone fill me in?[/quote]

[divaofdisney]

For us, we like to try new things and the new restaurants, but you're right it can get pricy- but the meal is simply to die for!! This time we have booked Chops Grille and 150 Central Park- looking forward to trying them both. But again...its always a personal choice.

[CanuckMO4]

Originally Posted by skihike1

What is the deal with the specialty restaurants on a cruise? I can't imagine paying for food when you can eat it for free.... Can someone fill me in?

I might use a specialty restaurant if I were on board for an anniversary or holiday like xmas,But I do like the larger ships as they offer more choice.Options are wonderful, you really can do as much or as little as you like.Each to there own is what makes it the perfect holiday for each person.

[Hobiecat01]

Originally Posted by skihike1

What is the deal with the specialty restaurants on a cruise? I can't imagine paying for food when you can eat it for free.... Can someone fill me in?

skihike1, here's what I wrote on your other post...

I do not think you need to avoid the MDR during those times. With MTD you should be able to call ahead and get seated immedately when you get to the dining room or just go down and wait just a few minutes while they ready your table. You can ask for a table for two or you may be seated at a table with others. We always sit with others just to meet new people.

As for the specialties, the MDR is very good but not spectacular. The specialty restaurants are smaller, much quieter, much more intimate and the service is vastly better (not that the MDR is bad by any means). But there is a rather large difference in eating a meal with 4 or 5 hundred of your cruisemates and the intimacy of 30 to 40 in the specialties. The wine list is also vastly better.

Chops is excellent and frankly well worth the extra charge IMHO. The steaks are very good and rate with higer end steak reataurants on land (Ruth Chris', etc. IMHO). Remember the charge is essentially the tip for the wait staff, since they only work the specialty restaurants and do not get tips like the MDR staff do. That is also why when you sign up for MTD, you have to prepay your tips, since you most likely will not have the same servers from night to night.

Portofino (renamed Giovanni's Table) on the Oasis, is fabulous. This is my DW's favorite cruise treat. We have known cruisemates that only ate in Portofino or Chops all week.

One thing to note... dinner in the specialties generally takes well over two hours. Everything is wonderfully paced, so if you need to eat and run Chops or Portofino are not for you.

Hope this helps... more questions??? Just ask away, someone here will gladly answer them for you!
-------------------------
Sea ya!
Ron and Lee
Canton, Ga
Proud RCCL Platinum Member
"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,
in water there is bacteria." – Ben Franklin

We are proud Oasis Camel Cruiser – April 17, 2010
The Oasis Camels Website

Previous Cruises – 59 Days at Sea!
Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982
Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998
Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999
Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000
Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2002
RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003
RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005
RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006
RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/08
Planned Cruises
RCCL Oasis of the Seas – Our Friends Cruise - April 17, 2010
RCCL Allure of the Seas – Our Neighborhood Cruise - 2011
The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day – 2012?
Princess Cruises - The Med – 14 day – 2013?

[tazdeb]

Originally Posted by skihike1

What is the deal with the specialty restaurants on a cruise? I can't imagine paying for food when you can eat it for free.... Can someone fill me in?

The specialty resturants provide the service and quality that USED to be standard in the MDR. Since the mass market lines went to megaships and so many meals must be served in a short amount of time , this is no longer possible. So..... The cruise lines still offer that quality and service they just upcharge for it. To me the MDR food is fine, if I'm celebrating something I'll go to a specialty. As for the rude posters, there is a group of posters on these boards who will take any criticism of the Oasis as a personal affront and will blast you for even daring to question anything about it.

[skihike1]

For all of the information, opinions and advice. All very helpful!

[lvstitch]

Originally Posted by Hobiecat01

skihike1, here's what I wrote on your other post...

I do not think you need to avoid the MDR during those times. With MTD you should be able to call ahead and get seated immedately when you get to the dining room or just go down and wait just a few minutes while they ready your table. You can ask for a table for two or you may be seated at a table with others. We always sit with others just to meet new people.

As for the specialties, the MDR is very good but not spectacular. The specialty restaurants are smaller, much quieter, much more intimate and the service is vastly better (not that the MDR is bad by any means). But there is a rather large difference in eating a meal with 4 or 5 hundred of your cruisemates and the intimacy of 30 to 40 in the specialties. The wine list is also vastly better.

Chops is excellent and frankly well worth the extra charge IMHO. The steaks are very good and rate with higer end steak reataurants on land (Ruth Chris', etc. IMHO). Remember the charge is essentially the tip for the wait staff, since they only work the specialty restaurants and do not get tips like the MDR staff do. That is also why when you sign up for MTD, you have to prepay your tips, since you most likely will not have the same servers from night to night.

Portofino (renamed Giovanni's Table) on the Oasis, is fabulous. This is my DW's favorite cruise treat. We have known cruisemates that only ate in Portofino or Chops all week.

One thing to note... dinner in the specialties generally takes well over two hours. Everything is wonderfully paced, so if you need to eat and run Chops or Portofino are not for you.

Hope this helps... more questions??? Just ask away, someone here will gladly answer them for you!
-------------------------
Sea ya!
Ron and Lee
Canton, Ga
Proud RCCL Platinum Member
"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,
in water there is bacteria." – Ben Franklin

We are proud Oasis Camel Cruiser – April 17, 2010
The Oasis Camels Website

Previous Cruises – 59 Days at Sea!
Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982
Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998
Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999
Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000
Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2002
RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003
RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005
RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006
RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/08
Planned Cruises
RCCL Oasis of the Seas – Our Friends Cruise - April 17, 2010
RCCL Allure of the Seas – Our Neighborhood Cruise - 2011
The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day – 2012?
Princess Cruises - The Med – 14 day – 2013?

How do the specialty resaurants work when it comes to ordering food? The only one I have been to is on Disney. You can order anything and everything off the menu. Are you limited on RCCL or can you get how ever much you want?

[Hobiecat01]

Originally Posted by lvstitch

How do the specialty resaurants work when it comes to ordering food? The only one I have been to is on Disney. You can order anything and everything off the menu. Are you limited on RCCL or can you get how ever much you want?

Christine,
You can order what you want. But I will say that once you get an appetizer, salad, entrée, sides and a dessert, you are looking at an ENORMOUS amount of food. And the deserts in both Chops and Portofino are to die for! Do not skip them!

For instance, in Chops, steaks are large, the sides are huge. DW and I got three sides, because we were hungry. As we sat there waiting on our food, we saw others getting their food and saw the size of the side dishes and knew we had made a huge mistake. We could not eat 1/3 of what we ordered… and we are pretty big eaters! Portofino (Giovanni’s Table on the Oasis) is very similar. But… bottom line you can order what you want. You can also order from the other specialty restaurant menus as well (at least on the Freedom class ships - we'll see on Oasis). We have ordered a Chops steak in Portofino, no problem.
----------------------------
Sea ya!
Ron and Lee
Canton, Ga
Proud RCCL Platinum Member
"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,
in water there is bacteria." – Ben Franklin

We are proud Oasis Camel Cruiser – April 17, 2010
The Oasis Camels Website

Previous Cruises – 59 Days at Sea!
Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982
Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998
Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999
Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000
Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2002
RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003
RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005
RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006
RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/08
Planned Cruises
RCCL Oasis of the Seas – Our Friends Cruise - April 17, 2010
RCCL Allure of the Seas – Our Neighborhood Cruise - 2011
The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day – 2012?
Princess Cruises - The Med – 14 day – 2013?

[lvstitch]

Originally Posted by Hobiecat01

Christine,
You can order what you want. But I will say that once you get an appetizer, salad, entrée, sides and a dessert, you are looking at an ENORMOUS amount of food. And the deserts in both Chops and Portofino are to die for! Do not skip them!

For instance, in Chops, steaks are large, the sides are huge. DW and I got three sides, because we were hungry. As we sat there waiting on our food, we saw others getting their food and saw the size of the side dishes and knew we had made a huge mistake. We could not eat 1/3 of what we ordered… and we are pretty big eaters! Portofino (Giovanni’s Table on the Oasis) is very similar. But… bottom line you can order what you want. You can also order from the other specialty restaurant menus as well (at least on the Freedom class ships - we'll see on Oasis). We have ordered a Chops steak in Portofino, no problem.
----------------------------
Sea ya!
Ron and Lee
Canton, Ga
Proud RCCL Platinum Member
"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,
in water there is bacteria." – Ben Franklin

We are proud Oasis Camel Cruiser – April 17, 2010
The Oasis Camels Website

Previous Cruises – 59 Days at Sea!
Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982
Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998
Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999
Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000
Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2002
RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003
RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005
RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006
RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/08
Planned Cruises
RCCL Oasis of the Seas – Our Friends Cruise - April 17, 2010
RCCL Allure of the Seas – Our Neighborhood Cruise - 2011
The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day – 2012?
Princess Cruises - The Med – 14 day – 2013?

Thanks so much for your help.

[gjkubel]

One reason I like them is that even on formal nights, they are smart casual (or whatever it is now called). Some people like the formality of formal nights - I used to be one of them - but these days, I prefer not to have to pack multiple suits and get all dressed up to enjoy dinner. That said, I do think people should respect the dress code and not go to the main dining room on a formal night unless they are dressed appropriately, so we sometimes go to the specialty restaurants on formal nights, get a fantastic meal (it is definitely a step up from the main dining room), and don't worry about getting dressed up.

Conceptually, I think the specialty restaurants are a great option. Cuisine on cruises used to be five star dining. Prices used to be higher too (in real dollars, never mind the inflationary effects -- that is, 15 years ago a cruise used to cost the same $1000 p/p, which in those dollars, was quite a bit). Prices have declined, and so has food quality. That's not to say that it is bad, it is just not great anymore. The specialty restaurants allow the ships to offer the same high-quality food options, but keep prices low for most people.

[leprechaun2]

Does anyone have a chops menu?

[lvstitch]

Are any of the specialty restaruants adults only?

[atlaturne]

people like different things.Thats why they make more than one flavor of ice cream-you eat where you want to-I will do the same

[ctcruiser1721]

Although some object to the additional charge, I must agree that the specialty restaurants are well worth the charge. The food is much better. (You could NEVER get a meal like that in a high end restaurant in NYC for $35 pp.) One can only expect that the food would be better as although the MDR food is good, it is still "mass produced". That said, I also believe, all things considered, there is nothing like the service in the MDR. If you are a first time cruiser, don't miss the nights the wait staff put on the international and fairwell "shows". And it is very nice that the waiter and assistant waiter almost almost remember your drink/beverage choice after the first night.