Are specialty restaurants getting too costly? Poll.

We're seeing a new trend in which cruise lines not only are upping fees for specialty restaurants -- they're also offering extra-fee menu items. On Holland America's Pinnacle Grill, you can pay $45 for caviar and $25 for crab legs. At Chops' Grille on Royal Caribbean, New York Strip costs an extra $18, porterhouse another $19 and tack on $21 additionally if you opt for lobster. Norwegian's Le Bistro levies $10 for lobster and a premium black angus steak for two.

Is this a trend you support? Please vote below in our poll -- and tell us how you feel in the comments below. And feel free to share with us other onboard specialty restaurants that are adding upcharged menu items.

Thanks.

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

I'm a latecomer to the cruising world, so I missed the times where (apparently, according to memories) every dining experience was 5* every night, all included in the fare.

I don't mind paying extra for fees for dining in any particular restaurant onboard. I'll pay if I'm interested, and won't if I'm not. I don't mind a la carte pricing for restaurants; that is, after all, the way most restaurants on land do it. What does strike me as petty - and I don't know if any cruise ships do this - is to charge a flat fee AND have a la carte pricing. But I'll still pay if I think it's worth it.

We don't even consider the cost. We go because we enjoy the different experiences they provide, including type of cuisine, atmosphere and enhanced service. For us taking a cruise is about enjoying different experiences, and dining only in the MDR limits those experiences. Experiencing the specialties is just as important as experiencing the ports of call.

One example of this is Izumi Sushi on RCCL which charges for each item. But due to the custom nature of making sushi, I really don't know another way that this could be put on ships. If it was just the surcharge for the restaurant, then, people might order every single item on the menu, which would be an incredible amount of work and expense. It seems having the individual per item fee in this case makes sense to control how much is ordered and also to allow for the purchase of expensive sashimi grade fish.

As far as Chops goes, the two steaks you mention are both USDA Prime beef, which is much more expensive than the select or choice beef on the rest of the menu. Prime beef costs about 25 - 33% more than choice beef. Also the two Prime steaks on the Chops menu are HUGE - enough for 2 people to share, if not more!

Here's what I think. The cost of cruising has gone down a great deal due to the popularization of cruising. In the past, only the wealthy could afford to cruise, but in the last 20 - 25 years, the price has gone down so that most people can afford to cruise. With lower prices, we have seen the food degrade somewhat due to the lowered prices of cruises. At the same time there seems to be a large segment of the population who are happy with pizza, hamburgers and hotdogs on a cruise ship and want simple dinners - such as "steak and 'taters." For these people having something like escargot may be an extreme culinary adventure. These are the people the "didja ever" menu was for on Carnival. However, there are plenty of other people who want a more upscale experience. The cruise lines can either charge everyone for more expensive foods, which would make the price of cruises go up or have the people who want the more expensive foods pay a bit extra for them. I honestly don't mind paying extra and I factor that into the cost of the cruise for us. Our cruise is a bit more expensive, but on the other hand, we get exactly what we want and if you take into consideration the fact that the cost of cruising has gone down substantially, then really, we are still paying less for our cruises today than in the past.

For us the cost doesn't matter.:)

As long as people keep paying, the cruise lines will offer more and more and ever higher prices.

I don't look at the prices. If I want it, I do/buy/order it. We're talking pennies in the big picture of what it takes to go on a cruise. I have yet to find anything on a cruise that is more than I am willing to spend--with the exception of the bottle of '47 Cheval Blanc in Remy on the Disney Dream.

That said, I do believe that certain items should have a surcharge, even on luxury lines. Caviar is one of them, lobster is not.

We occasionally go to specialty restaurants as a treat. We've also enjoyed the chef's table and private balcony dinners. We don't do them every cruise because we also like eating traditional dining at a large table and miss being with our tablemates.

Next month we'll be on the Caribbean Princess for a 4-day cruise. My travel agent told me that second seating traditional dining had a waitlist. I decided that we'll use that cruise to try some of the venues we have not been to before (Crown Grill and Crab Shack) and to go back to try Sabatini's new menu. (Well, new to us at least. We have not eaten there since 2003.) If they offer the Ultimate Balcony Dinner on that cruise, I'd like to do that as well.

One of our favorite specialty restaurant experiences is Le Cirque night on Holland America ships. It's worth the extra money.

We don't participate in specialty restaurants at all. Cruise fare includes perfectly wonderful and satisfactory food - I refuse to pay more.

We just got off the beautiful new Getaway ~ my biggest complaint? The food! If you want true gourmet cooking I can see where that would not be reasonable for everyone on board but it should be a treat, not a necessity. The food on board the Getaway was cafeteria food at best. Our second best meal was at the steakhouse, forgot the name already, and it was $30 for our meal (had to give card for them to charge for a coke ~~~don't get me started on that) and the food was good. Not great, but good ~ the filet was just right, the sides were just ok. The problem was that the food in the MDRs were not up to par and were consistently not up to par. If we sailed with NCL again, not likely, I would go with a cheaper room and pay the $$$ for the UDP just to get decent food.

We don't participate in specialty restaurants at all. Cruise fare includes perfectly wonderful and satisfactory food - I refuse to pay more.

and she sails with RCCL and Celebrity ~ I completely agree ~ that has been my experience with RCCL also.

I welcomed the idea of speciality restaurants when they first started appearing and don't mind paying extra for the experience. The added variety allows you to take a break from the MDR and try something new. If you don't want to spend the fee then don't. But don't complain about the fee, you can eat in the MDR the entire cruise.

We mainly cruise on NCL and have been there many times, so we get many free dining experiences in the specialty restaurants. We also chose to eat in the MDR's just to try them out and they have been good, no problems. I want to know, if I am referring people to a restaurant, I want to make sure what I am talking about. A lot of friends know we cruise a lot and are always asking.

I always suggest they try Cagney's Steakhouse as it is wonderful, and well worth the cost. Also Moderno meat on the spit restaurant, if you like meat this is the place for you. We don't go often because I don't eat that much meat. Also, the Italian restaurant is very good but I can't remember the name of it right now. Jeffrey Zakarians fish restaurants on the new ships from what I understand is way overpriced. We were on the Breakaway and planned on trying it but I got sick and had to be air lifted off the ship so we didn't get the chance to try it. We are going on the Escape TA 10/29/2015 and will be sure to try all the restaurants in 10 days, can't wait.

We still go to specialty restaurants even though we think the price is getting too high. We can usually get a discount of at least 20% which makes it seem like a bargain.

Mary Lou

Among the many reasons we like Oceania, the specialty restaurants, which are exceptional, are free. The quality of the service and the port-intensive itineraries are higher on the list, but the no charge for the specialty restaurants is an item on the overall list.

I like having alternative restaurants and would happily dine in 3 or 4 per cruise if they are to my taste. HAL's Tamarind Restaurant (on Signature Class Ships) is wonderful and worth the small upcharge. We've enjoyed many a wonderful evening in Pinnacle Grilles.

If HAL's new ships has more venues, I hope to try them all. :)

Among the many reasons we like Oceania, the specialty restaurants, which are exceptional, are free. The quality of the service and the port-intensive itineraries are higher on the list, but the no charge for the specialty restaurants is an item on the overall list.

:) There is nothing free on a cruise ship. ;) There are things that are included in the fare and things for which we pay at the time of use or consumption. The price of specialty restaurants on Oceania is included in the fare.

:) There is nothing free on a cruise ship. ;) There are things that are included in the fare and things for which we pay at the time of use or consumption. The price of specialty restaurants on Oceania is included in the fare.

 

For the hefty prices Oceania charges, some things better be included!

I voted for the 2nd choice and my comments relate primarily to the Pinnacle Grill on Holland America Line ships.

I think the PG is marketed as an up-scale steakhouse. If so, its menu needs to reflect such a venue. To arrive for dinner and discover no lobster available and that one has to pay extra for crab legs detracts from an "up-scale" restaurant that I thought it was supposed to be. Caviar as an extra charge, OK.

Service also needs to reflect such an "up-scale" restaurant. In the "old" Marco Polo Restaurant days before Pinnacle Grill, the service met my expectations. No Pinnacle Grill service has done so as of yet(other than a lunch on the Nieuw Amsterdam during her first Caribbean season). Mostly, my Main Dining Room service has been far better than PG's service. (I know my experience contradicts the experience of many other HAL cruisers.)

I also think that clarity is needed as to what the specialty restaurant charge covers. Gratuity is included to the wait staff? No gratuity? Differing answers are received on different ships and, indeed, different cruise lines.

We don't participate in specialty restaurants at all. Cruise fare includes perfectly wonderful and satisfactory food - I refuse to pay more.

I would agree with you --- up to a point. On NCL, I believe specialty restaurants are indicated because the basic fare does not seem to cover any food qualifying as "wonderful and satisfactory". HAL and Celebrity still serve perfectly satisfactory food in their MDR's (but certainly not the "wonderful" food of recent years). They have clearly modified the quality in recent years.

However, because we cruise for the overall experience, and seek truly outstanding meals ashore - while not cruising - we generally do not frequent the specialty restaurants ------ yet.

As long as people keep paying, the cruise lines will offer more and more and ever higher prices.

We will keep paying the price because we enjoy the specialty restaurants.:)

As to my experiences of Todd English on Queen Mary 2 and Tuscan Grille and Murano's on Celebrity Eclipse, the charges made were equal to the quality of food served, the menu selections offered, and the service I enjoyed.

My experiences on Celebrity Eclipse with those two restaurants rank as #1 in my category of Specialty Restaurants.

Tamarind on HAL's Signature Class ranks as #2, but it is really in a different class than the others, I think.

Love going to extra pay restaurants. Most are worth it.

We live in one of the best food cities in America and usually avoid surcharge restaurants.

For $100 we can have a spectacular meal in Portland, including wine, with some of the freshest, most local food imaginable.

For $90-$100 at a surcharge restaurant, we get a decent steak and a humongous dessert that we can't finish. But remember I've already paid something tonight for the food I'm not eating - so the real cost of the meal is more like $150 or more.

The food isn't good enough in our view to spend at the high surcharge restaurants. That said, we might spend $5-$10 once in a while at lunch just for a change.

In 3 cruises we've done a surcharge restaurant once. On our upcoming 14 day cruise we have no specialty restaurant meals planned.

We have no problem with the prices charged for the $pecialty Restaurants.

They are worth it to us for the atmosphere as well as the food. :)

LuLu