Quit Bothering Me!

Just off Freedom of the Seas. We had a fantastic cruise with one exception. Reservations for the specialty restaurants are obviously down since you are constantly asked as you enter the Windjammer if you'd like to make reservations. We signed up for the BOGO before we left, so I just kept saying that we already had reservations. They also stopped us when walking past Sabor. Then, about the 3rd day, they started interrupting our conversations at lunch. I really felt their attempt to sell the specialty reservations was overly annoying. Maybe if they lowered the price more people would actually try these restaurants and they wouldn't have to do their sales pitch all day long.

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Just off Freedom of the Seas. We had a fantastic cruise with one exception. Reservations for the specialty restaurants are obviously down since you are constantly asked as you enter the Windjammer if you'd like to make reservations. We signed up for the BOGO before we left, so I just kept saying that we already had reservations. They also stopped us when walking past Sabor. Then, about the 3rd day, they started interrupting our conversations at lunch. I really felt their attempt to sell the specialty reservations was overly annoying. Maybe if they lowered the price more people would actually try these restaurants and they wouldn't have to do their sales pitch all day long.

 

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There's a lot of selling going on onboard....I miss those good old days where there wasn't. I found the most annoying were the ones hanging out in the Royal Promenade every night hawking Botox and acupuncture onboard our last Mariner cruise :eek::eek:

I have never gone to a pay restaurant on RC.

Only Princess & NCL

I am doing my part to help.....

I have never gone to a pay restaurant on RC.

 

Only Princess & NCL

 

I am doing my part to help.....

 

they don't get much money from me either. Johnny Rockets for an afternoon snack is all I have paid for. I just tell them I am not interested.

We usually just keep walking.

The one gimick we really hate is the "spa" deals.

And the "model" like sellers of offerings.

They are the pushiest people we ever met, and they are persistant.

Guess they have to make their money.

Safe travels.

Just off Freedom of the Seas. We had a fantastic cruise with one exception. Reservations for the specialty restaurants are obviously down since you are constantly asked as you enter the Windjammer if you'd like to make reservations. We signed up for the BOGO before we left, so I just kept saying that we already had reservations. They also stopped us when walking past Sabor. Then, about the 3rd day, they started interrupting our conversations at lunch. I really felt their attempt to sell the specialty reservations was overly annoying. Maybe if they lowered the price more people would actually try these restaurants and they wouldn't have to do their sales pitch all day long.

 

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Sounds like you need another vacation.

I think reservations are down too. We walked into Sabor (Liberty) a Friday night around 7:30 and the hostess immediately said, "Table for two, this way." I interrupted her to say we wanted reservations for Saturday's lunch...and she seemed disappointed. The restaurant wasn't even half full, and we had our choice of ANY time during Saturday's lunch service.

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We had the BOGO offer on Freedom a couple of weeks ago, and both Chops and Giovanni's were near empty when we ate there. That being said, don't immediately dismiss the sales people -- we were offered 20% off Giovanni's (which we didn't take) and half off Sabors (which we did take advantage of...and the restaurant was almost empty as well)

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I haven't experienced any crazy pushing but our group of 14 got a great deal on Chefs Table last year because we all booked together.

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I begrudge having to pay full price for a meal that essentially is already paid for in the price of my cruise. I would be more tempted it if cost an extra £5 or £10 as an addition to top up the price.

I don´t know if Reservations are down, but from my Experience they´ve never really been up.

I´ve seen the pushing Advertising ever since they started to have the specialty Restaurants and whenever I walked past them or on the (admittedly rare) occasions I´ve been to one it was never full.

Just off Freedom of the Seas. We had a fantastic cruise with one exception. Reservations for the specialty restaurants are obviously down since you are constantly asked as you enter the Windjammer if you'd like to make reservations. We signed up for the BOGO before we left, so I just kept saying that we already had reservations. They also stopped us when walking past Sabor. Then, about the 3rd day, they started interrupting our conversations at lunch. I really felt their attempt to sell the specialty reservations was overly annoying. Maybe if they lowered the price more people would actually try these restaurants and they wouldn't have to do their sales pitch all day long.

 

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We sailed the Norwegian breakaway a few months ago and ate at 4 specialty restaurants on a 7 night cruise. We are sailing the Anthem in April and we were shocked at the cost of the specialty restaurants with RCI compared to Norwegian. With Norwegian I definitely felt like the specialty restaurants were more of an "up charge" whereas with RCI I feel like Im paying full price that I would pay at a land restaurant. So we have zero Booked. Wonderland is especially outrageous for being on a ship where a MDR is free.

We quit chops when they added prices to half of their steaks in addition to the already higher prices. And now Giavonnis has gotten rid of the filet...saber is ok but expensive for what you get. We will only go to any of them with BOGO. The food in the MDR is ok with us.

Sabor is the only one I'm willing to give a try at this point in time. I'll be sure to ask for a discount when they pitch me. None of the others interest me. Chops has degraded to being a joke.

Sabor is the only one I'm willing to give a try at this point in time. I'll be sure to ask for a discount when they pitch me. None of the others interest me. Chops has degraded to being a joke.

Once upon a time Chops was a decent value for the price - not anymore. On a recent cruise I expressed my thoughts, to a Chop's manager, that I felt that it was way over priced. He disagreed saying that for all the food you can order it is a great value. Two views, both right to some degree.

My feelings are that Chop's should be an upscale steak house. High quality food and service - a meal to savor and remember. His, and evidentially RCCL's, is a stuffing station, more akin to an all you can eat buffet with table service and over-priced wine.

Sabor is the only one I'm willing to give a try at this point in time. I'll be sure to ask for a discount when they pitch me. None of the others interest me. Chops has degraded to being a joke.

While I am not a foodie, I enjoy good food and eat out often (no chains). I enjoy the specialty restaurants and dislike the MDR and WJ. So go figure is right. On Freedom last Sept and did not notice any hardsell on restaurants

and this is why food posts are useless. The topic about food is sooo objective that anyone new looking for help will more than likely be more confused! Have eaten at Chops 5 of my 6 cruises last year and had wonderful meals and service, go figure?.....K.O.:)

Subjective. Objective would make this much easier to debate. Free pass to you.

I feel that the rise in costs and deletion of certain menu items has made it not as special as it used to be, nor as good of a value. I did not say the current food is bad, and service experiences can vary so not worth a mention on my part except to say generally service is good.

For $50 to $60 for a couple to go, even just a few years ago, and with the old menu it was great. Now you can expect to spend $80++ on more meager selection and be presented with additional upcharge selections on top of that. I do realize some C&A members get BOGO at Chops and it can be included in the First Night Done Right promo bringing the price point lower under some circumstances, but even then I don't think it is as significant a step up as it once was. I am no longer impressed. I've got no issue at all if you continue to enjoy it.

What I find more annoying than the hype for specialty dining reservations is being hounded by photographers every time I turn around. I hate it when I'm interrupted at dinner with an insistent photographer who keeps trying to snap pictures of everyone at the table. At this point in my cruising "career" I could sell them pictures!

I know a person (a nice, kind person who I like) who describes events in a way that always seems to exaggerate the intensity of the experience. For instance, I heard her describe a conversation in which someone said to her, "I don't know, maybe you shouldn't have done that."

In her words, "they just raked me over the coals up one side and down the other."

This wasn't true, but that was her perception.

I wonder if this isn't the case with some of the posts here. I've been on a number of cruises and I've never felt pressured at all. I've been approached with a sales pitch, but I've never been pestered or subjected to the hard sell that some seem to be describing.

YMMV, but I wonder if some folks haven't built this up in their minds a bit more than is justified.

When they ask, say no, thank you. They should leave you alone after that. Works for me.

We just got off the Freedom last Sunday and noticed a presence, but didn't get pressured into trying a specialty restaurant. We did have to walk the gauntlet at windjammers, but kept eyes straight ahead and wasn't bothered. We found the MDR food to be good enough for us, including the steak which is the best I have had on a cruise ship to date, very tender and flavorful. The only time they asked us was once at a meal, and we politely declined and they quickly moved on.

I would say that the ship does have a feel of what you see on the islands with trying to sell you something, just without the pushiness seen on land.

Sounds like you need another vacation.

Agree. A polite 'no thank you' seems to always work for us and we never felt pressured enough to focus on it after a 'fantastic' cruise.

The Wonderland boys were a bit annoying on the Anthem in several public places. I understand it's not as popular as the other restaurants and there's some solicitation on board, but keep it around the Royal Esplanade like everyone else. I thought I was going to wake up with them outside my door or flying next to me on the trapeze in their silly outfits.

There was a very similar thread on the HAL board a few months ago with very similar comments. Personally, I handle these situations like I do the aggressive local vendors on Seven Mile Beach in Negril or similar locations, with a cheerful smile and a polite "Not today, thanks."

Yup they are out in full force on all of the ships!

What really got me is that the first and only time we saw our head waiter last week on the Navigator was when he was trying to sell us a galley tour with champagne and with a "special" lunch to follow in the MDR.

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