Is Speciality Dining Worth It?

I'm sure this question has already been asked, but I could not find a post.

My fiance and I are taking a 10-night Italy and Greece honeymoon cruise next June on the Reflection. We are thinking about our dining options. I'm worried that the main dining options might get repetitive after a few days? Is there enough variety that we'd be satisfied with only these?

Are the extra up-charges for specialty dining worth the money? We have a $300 on board credit (and a classic beverage package) as part of our booking promo, so is it worth booking the 4- or 5-night specialty dining package in advance? I'm not sure about Qsine, but Murano, Tuscan Grill, and Lawn Club Grille look very interesting.

This is our honeymoon, so we would like at least a few nights of romantic dinners.

Thanks.

The Main dining room has a different menu eveyrnight and has three everyday items, lots of variety. Personally I believe Celebrity has overpriced their specialty dining keeping in mind that you have already paid for your food though your cruise fare. We don't do it anymore unless we have a special occasion. As far as the Specialty restaurants go, I have found them to be excellent but as I said overpriced. They do have deals, especially first night.

We have always enjoyed Murano. It is a very fine dining experience and IMO well worth the additional charge. We have been disappointed in Tuscan Grill. We've tried it on Solstice, Eclipse and Silhouette and thought that the food was no better than what we could get at Olive Garden (albeit much nicer service). IMO definitely not worth the extra cost.

DH was never interested in Qsine, and we've not done the Lawn Club so cannot comment on those.

If something is "worth it" is solely in the eye of the beholder. That being said, the specialty restaurants have provided some of our most treasured memories of cruises. The French restaurant on the Century and their "Wine Harvest Dinner" is one of the best meals I've ever eaten. The Lawn Club Grille is a highlight for our kids. Qsine is fantastic, but I couldn't see going with fewer than four because of the sharing it inspires. I'm not a fan of the Tuscan Grill, but that's probably just me and a bad experience with the wine steward there. All the other restaurants have refined and inspired food, but Tuscan Grill didn't strike that same note with me.

I'm sure this question has already been asked, but I could not find a post.

 

My fiance and I are taking a 10-night Italy and Greece honeymoon cruise next June on the Reflection. We are thinking about our dining options. I'm worried that the main dining options might get repetitive after a few days? Is there enough variety that we'd be satisfied with only these?

 

Are the extra up-charges for specialty dining worth the money? We have a $300 on board credit (and a classic beverage package) as part of our booking promo, so is it worth booking the 4- or 5-night specialty dining package in advance? I'm not sure about Qsine, but Murano, Tuscan Grill, and Lawn Club Grille look very interesting.

 

This is our honeymoon, so we would like at least a few nights of romantic dinners.

 

Thanks.

Congrats on your honeymoon!

On a 10 day cruise, there will be no repetitions in the main dining room so no need for concern there. Also, if you book a dining package in advance, you will not be able to use your OBC.

Worth the money? That is a personal choice, obviously. We've eaten in every Celebrity specialty restaurant since Normandie about 12 years ago and every other one since, but on a limited basis (maybe 20 times total?). Special night? Absolutely. Would spend the money for that.

We, however, believe that the current costs outstrip the value, especially since you are leaving a usually perfectly fine dinner in the MDR uneaten.

Hi

You are on the Reflection, which has the Lawn Grill, bistro on 5

as well as the Speciality restaurants .

The ultimate dining package is $29per person per day,

Do it , you can dine anywhere on the ship, I imagine 3 sea days, lunch

In Bistro on 5 or the Lawn Grill well worth it,

Plus you can upgrade to the premium drinks package so the cost for

all that would be $480, (using your OBC)

For a honeymoon PRICELESS

Have a great Wedding Day and a Fantastic Cruise,

Spoil your Princess she will love you forever 👍🏻🎉

PS by the way you can only book the Ultimate Package on board

so you can use you OBC, but they only have a limited number

First of all ask for a discount. If the restaurants are not well booked, they will give you one. Generally 30%. However, if there are no discounts, I still think the Lawn Club Grill is worth every penny. Best restaurant on the seas. I have not been on Reflection but I have been on Silhouette and the LCG was so good we went back a second time. It was just as good then. A word of advice if you go, go light on the flat bread. Ours turned out like a pizza and we were so stuffed at the end of the meal, we could hardly walk away from the table.

Tuscan Grill is good too.

If you go for the package, you won't have to worry about asking for a discount.

We're all posting at the same time! Funny, somone said exactly the same thing about Tuscan as I would, about Murano. We have eaten there 3 times on 3 different ships and wondered what all the fuss was about.

Enjoy your honeymoon cruise.

For us, the answer is yes. We go on cruises to experience different things. Sitting in the MDR every night is fine, but it does get a bit routine. We like to dine in each of the specialty restaurants on every cruise for the variety of decor, ambiance, and style of food. We also enjoy the more personalized service and the quieter, less chaotic atmosphere.

Just like at home, we like to try different restaurants instead of eating at the same one every time we go out for dinner. We simply budget for the specialties as part of the total cruise cost, just as we do for excursions, drinks, laundry, transportation, gifts, etc.

There is enough variety in the MDR that I don't think you'll ever feel that it is more of the same. It is very loud in the MDR and tables are so close together that I feel you are nearly seated on top of each other. Although the food is very good, the atmosphere is not our style. As a result, we always reserve a 5 night dining pkg prior to sailing and purchase deals here and there along the way if we feel like it.

I agree with many that the pricing has gotten a bit much considering you are already paying for your food in your cruise fare. However, it is worth it to us so we can enjoy each others company in a great atmosphere and enjoy the IMO step or two up in food quality and service. Our favs are Murano (exceptional dining and service with table-side prep) and Tuscan Grille (great views and great food).

Only you can decide what is right for you.

I like the intimacy of the smaller dining rooms- so for that reason I do pony up for the specialty restaurants on Celebrity. We enjoyed the whimsicalness of Qsine and I love it's location on the M-class ships. Great views from there. Best to make the earliest dinner reservations and you stand a better chance of snagging a window seat. Only a few by the window.

We liked Tuscan Grill because we also had a nice seat by the window and it's more intimate. Food there is just average, but good.

I particularly like Bistro on Five because it's quiet and a nice change of pace form the larger dining venues.

You are on your Honeymoon, ENJOY! I for one love the specialty dinning venues. I have sailed on each S class ship as well as most of the other X ships. I am a great fan of Qsine for a group. For a romantic dinner book a quiet corner in Murano's let the restaurant know you are on your Honeymoon. Have drinks at the Molecular bar and rent a Cabana and have lunch served as you listen to music.

When you board, go to the Bistro on 5 for lunch and avoid the crowd on 14. Order the breakfast on your veranda with Mimosa's and enjoy being pampered.

If you really want to have romance as the center of your voyage, upgrade to Aqua class and dine in Blu, there are several nice corners in Blu to snuggle.

Purchase your dinning package before you board and save, as well as suggested upgrade your beverage package as well.

Congratulations on your Honeymoon. Make it a memory of a life time.:)

The main dining room is really good and if you decide not to do any of the specialty restaurants you will be fine . However, we normally do at least 5 nights in specialty restaurants, we really enjoy the whole experience.

We love the specialty dining (particularly Tuscan Grill) and consider it a part of the cruise experience. We tend to eat there on formal nights because it's just more special there, honestly.

We wouldn't do packages to eat every meal there because we tend to book suites and get Luminae. And if we're not in a suite we're Aqua and get Blu, and we like those venues. But it's nice for a change.

You should be able to get discounts too, at least 20% the first night.

We usually book them ahead of them and pay for them up front so we can get the nights and times we want, but we often get on board and get some better "deals" and they just refund the difference to our on board account. Win win.

As I've posted before, on our Silhouette cruise we never paid full price for a specialty restaurant. Most discounts were 30 percent but we did get 50 percent one night in the Lawn Club. There are folks pushing specialty restaurant reservations every day outside the buffet and where you return from shore excursions. The secret is to not be very fussy about the day and time of your meal and to be willing to negotiate. They almost always seem to have tables to fill somewhere at early or late seating.

As another poster mentioned, if you purchase a package ahead of time you cannot use your OBC to defray the cost. If it were me, I would wait until getting on board and see what deals were on offer. Quite frankly, I think the specialty restaurants are overpriced.

Linda

I'm sure this question has already been asked, but I could not find a post.

 

My fiance and I are taking a 10-night Italy and Greece honeymoon cruise next June on the Reflection. We are thinking about our dining options. I'm worried that the main dining options might get repetitive after a few days? Is there enough variety that we'd be satisfied with only these?

 

Are the extra up-charges for specialty dining worth the money? We have a $300 on board credit (and a classic beverage package) as part of our booking promo, so is it worth booking the 4- or 5-night specialty dining package in advance? I'm not sure about Qsine, but Murano, Tuscan Grill, and Lawn Club Grille look very interesting.

 

This is our honeymoon, so we would like at least a few nights of romantic dinners.

 

Thanks.

Worth it is a personal preference. To me, it is for many reasons e.g, don't have to get dressed up for formal night, don't have to deal with the often craziness of the select dining etc. I've eaten in all of the above restaurants. Murano is EXCEPTIONAL, yes all caps. :) From food to service to the entire experience, phenomenal. Only but, is it really is a 2 hour event. Qsine is gimmicky with borderline food but it's fun with a group as a one time experience. Tuscan Grille was good, nothing more, nothing less if you're from a place with great steakhouses. However, it has the best view. LCG, also good if you stick to the pizza and steak. Salad bar is a basic salad bar. Chicken was bone dry. And whatever you do, don't get the Mac n cheese.

So is it worth it?

I would truly pay the full price for Murano but not for the other.

If, like me last time, want to try them all, I also did the package. But, I'm going again this November and I'm waiting to board to get a better deal nightly.

I'm sure this question has already been asked, but I could not find a post.

 

My fiance and I are taking a 10-night Italy and Greece honeymoon cruise next June on the Reflection. We are thinking about our dining options. I'm worried that the main dining options might get repetitive after a few days? Is there enough variety that we'd be satisfied with only these?

 

Are the extra up-charges for specialty dining worth the money? We have a $300 on board credit (and a classic beverage package) as part of our booking promo, so is it worth booking the 4- or 5-night specialty dining package in advance? I'm not sure about Qsine, but Murano, Tuscan Grill, and Lawn Club Grille look very interesting.

 

This is our honeymoon, so we would like at least a few nights of romantic dinners.

 

Thanks.

Congratulations! I hope you have a lovely time cruising on your honeymoon.

We cruised on Silhouette this April and were quite pleased. We were Aqua and dined primarily in Blu. Blu was excellent for both breakfast and dinner. We did, however, purchase a specialty dining package, to try the other dining venues. I do think Murano is a fantastic choice for a romantic and special dinner. Perfect atmosphere and the cuisine impeccable and delicious. I hope you will consider Murano. We loved it.

We were not impressed at all with Lawn Grill. In fact, we had the worst dinner there and it was terribly disappointing. The salad bar was equal to the salad bar at Sizzler. Our steak was dry and flavorless and our shrimp was very over-seasoned with salt and pepper. It was awful. We did, however, find Tuscan Grill quite good as well as Qsine. This dining venue is fun and inventive. If dining in Qsine, be prepared for food overload. This venue is best when dining in a group, rather than a couple, IMHO.

You can always wait until you're on the ship, see if you find the food "repetitive", and decide then! Specialty restaurants are seldom totally booked!

Never sailed Celebrity but on Princess for the first time decided to pop for speciality dining.

We never found the main dining room "boring" but let's be honest even with a changing menu of specialities as well as a core of the same stuff. The main dinging room is the same every evening, waiting staff roughly the same even in our anytime ( not bad ). Our first experience was very well worth it.

1) Service was better from everyone. In conversation if my memory was correct you are selected and for a reason. We could see/feel the reason.

2) Food, the menu was different and like any finer place not a buffet of choices but what they had wasn't a broader selection at least at the steak place.

3) quality .. no question not mass market you can taste it.

Summary worth as a treat on a special evening!

The Main dining room has a different menu eveyrnight and has three everyday items, lots of variety. Personally I believe Celebrity has overpriced their specialty dining keeping in mind that you have already paid for your food though your cruise fare. We don't do it anymore unless we have a special occasion. As far as the Specialty restaurants go, I have found them to be excellent but as I said overpriced. They do have deals, especially first night.

Agree

I also agree that the food in the specialty restaurants is usually outstanding but Celebrity has overpriced their specialty restaurants. I end up booking the 3 dinner package as formal wear is not required ....but I don't like to be tied to a set dinner time and you mostly have to make your reservations in advance. I've not experienced where they are empty and have a lot of additional tables available for you to go when you choose. Others have stated they have had different experiences though. Maybe it is just because I want to book only the formal nights, so it seems as though they are not as flexible.

I think Murano can be excellent ... got both fabulous and not so fabulous service along with food. I agree that the Tuscan Grill is good but nothing to write home about -- views are fantastic, though. I cannot speak to the others.

If you want to go to the formal evenings, usually the main dining room offers something special on these nights but if you are more into casual attire, then I would book the specialty restaurants for those nights. I like having the choice in not dressing to the nines.

We recently cruised on Solstice and absolutely loved the main dining room for lunch and dinners. We would have been happy dining here every night.

However knowing that specialty restaurants were an available option, we decided to add these just because we wanted to experience the specialty restaurants.

If there was no specialty restaurants on offer, we definitely would have still loved the main dining room as each dinner was a different menu with some amazing dishes on offer.

Would I dine in specialty restaurants again? Definitely yes, because for us it was something that made our cruise that bit more special dining a few times in a smaller more intimate setting.

I've copied below the section on dining room and specialty restaurants from my review.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any queries at all!

GRAND EPERNAY / MAIN DINING ROOM

We found the main dining room food to be just amazing, and definitely the best we have experienced on cruise lines by far. We found all the evening menus and dishes to be just perfect, with a fantastic range of different cuisines, something for everyone.

Breakfast – breakfast in the main dining room we found offered your standard breakfast offerings from bacon & eggs to pancakes to cheese plates and fresh fruits. We dined here a couple of times for breakfast and never had a problem finding a table for two. The only thing I would have liked to see at breakfast time would be a daily Special Of The Day just to spice things up a bit. For example, eggs benedict one day, ricotta pancakes another day etc.

Lunch – lunch in the main dining room on port days was fantastic and again we never found it hard to get a table of two. Available on offer was starters, soups, salads, mains, and of course dessert. This was a great relaxing lunch and we didn’t at all feel rushed.

Dinner – dinner itself was an event every night and something we really looked forward to. We had a table for two as requested, for the late seating of 8.30pm. The tables of two are placed quite close to each other – approx 15cm apart so that you can easily talk to the guests at the tables next to you. The staff in particular were friendly, professional and always happy to help with recommendations, and also made sure you were always happy with your meal when it came out. The menus were four / five courses, and you could select from the standard everyday menu on the left or the daily changing menu on the right. As big foodies, we are always looking for new foods to try and the dining room was perfect for this. The quality was always top notch and on par with some of the great fine dining restaurants of Melbourne. We especially impressed with the quality of the produce while being a restaurant at sea, and could not fault the main dining room at all. Some of the highlights included crocodile, kangaroo, seared duck, steak tartare, frog legs, lobster tail, and our favourite escargots every night!

The soups were just beautiful, especially the cold gazpachos. The bread baskets were popular every night and even though we normally don’t eat bread on a daily basis, we always had a roll or two at dinner, with options of butter, cream cheese or hommus to spread. The wine sommelier in the main dining room was always on hand to take orders and reasonable quick in returning with a beverage.

SPECIALITY RESTAURNTS

For a 12 night cruise, we purchased the 3 restaurant package for US$99.00 per person which could be used for any three evenings of our choice. We found this to be extremely fantastic value at an average of US$33.00 per restaurant.

The food in Grand Epernay was already amazing, and these were another step above.

We also loved that the specialty restaurants each were decorated as individual restaurants, and you no longer felt like you were on a cruise ship of 2000 plus guests but at a premium restaurant on land.

Silks – Silks was the first specialty restaurant we dined at, and found the menu to be a variety of Chinese / Vietnamese / Japanese / Thai cuisines. I had read mixed reviews of Silks as compared to Tuscan Grille & Murano, however we found the food to be delicious and a very modern take on these traditional cuisines.

We ordered a selection of dishes to share, so that we can sample a few different ones. We both started with a tom yum soup which was fresh and clean, and really set the bar for the rest of the dishes to come. We continued with beef and chicken satay sticks which were amazing, and then dumplings which were tasty however not the highlight. An order of squid infused salmon sushi followed, with one dish coming out as a generous six pieces of sushi with ginger and wasabi accompaniments. For mains we shared chicken pad thai noodles which were beautiful and smokey, and beef green thai curry with rice which was full of flavor and really packed a punch. Dessert was a coconut tapioca based pudding which was nice, but not wow. Overall, a fantastic dinner, definitely worth the cover charge, with quite a large menu to select from.

Tuscan Grille – We visited Tuscan Grille twice, once as part of our package and once as part of a wine event (more to come on the wine event dinner), and definitely glad we did. A steakhouse style restaurant, the food was up a notch from Silks, and the service to match. Starters included octopus carpaccio, French onion & gruyere soup, steak tartare, and a fried goats cheese salad. The filet mignon was the standout main course, and cut just like butter. We did also offer a plate of the truffle ravioli to share which was just beautiful and the pasta paper thin. Dessert wise I had heard great reviews of the tiramisu however found it to be quite heavy and cream based, as opposed to the traditional mascarpone tiramisu which I am used to. I had a few bites, but much preferred my partner’s crème brulee with popping candy. The sommelier here in particular was amazing. We let him know we were on the premium beverage package and he offered to wine match our dishes based on our package, which made a fantastic dinner even better.

Murano – Wow. We saved Murano for our last evening on the cruise so that we could end the cruise with a bang. French inspired cuisine, this restaurant was the best of the three and you would be forgiven for thinking you were in a fine dining establishment in the heart of Paris. There were two menus to select from – a standard menu with starters, entrees, cheese course and desserts to select from, or alternatively a degustation menu for US$90 per person additional which also came with wine match, and you could select from two options for each course (FYI for the degustation option, the US$90 covered the costs of the wines, and could not be used in conjunction with the beverage packages). We were leaning towards to the degustation menu regardless of cost however opted against it, as we wouldn’t experience their famous table side lobster. Ordering from the standard menu, we started with the goats cheese soufflé and creamy lobster bisque which were both amazing. They had caviar available as a middle course at market price however as we don’t know a lot about caviar, we didn’t know if we would appreciate the taste vs the cost, so we gave this a miss and continued to entrees. My partner ordered the five spice crusted venison loin which was cooked Medium Rare and to perfection. If Murano was a restaurant on land, I would go back just for the venison. I ordered the signature lobster which was a cognac flambéed lobster tail prepared table side. This dish is an event in itself, with the waiter cooking this from scratch right in front of you, explaining each step as he goes. We then moved on to a cheese course with a selection of their cheeses from the cheese cart. A beautiful variety of cheeses from your goats cheese to your brie to your blue. Petit fours were bought our next as we had a bit of a break, before finishing with a selection of six of Murano’s best desserts. This was perfect to share between two, and a fantastic way to end an amazing dinner.

Most of the comments have obviously been food focused but location is important too. Tuscan Grill has enormous windows overlooking the wake of the ship. Book a table for two there and you will love it. It is now a tradition in our family to dine in Tuscan first night. We book for just after sail away if we can and watch the lights of the port disappear.

Most of the comments have obviously been food focused but location is important too. Tuscan Grill has enormous windows overlooking the wake of the ship. Book a table for two there and you will love it. It is now a tradition in our family to dine in Tuscan first night. We book for just after sail away if we can and watch the lights of the port disappear.

That's a fantastic tradition and what a fantastic view!

We were very disappointed with Eclipse this July. They have overpriced them and the menus in Murano and Tuscan grill have not changed for years. The food is nothing special and the sides in TG are oily and cold. Have fresh vegetables gone out of fashion??. They are just milking it.