Chops - Is it worth it?

We will be on FOS in April and I would like to try to Chops. With all the "free" food I'm hesitant to spend another $30.00/pp for dinner. Please tell me "Is it Worth" the extra expense? Also, my DD age 14 will be with us, when I go to make reservations it allows me to book her as well - I would have thought this was an "adult" only dining experience? Am I correct that she will be allowed to dine with us?

Thanks,

Tammy

We will be on FOS in April and I would like to try to Chops. With all the "free" food I'm hesitant to spend another $30.00/pp for dinner. Please tell me "Is it Worth" the extra expense? Also, my DD age 14 will be with us, when I go to make reservations it allows me to book her as well - I would have thought this was an "adult" only dining experience? Am I correct that she will be allowed to dine with us?

 

Thanks,

Tammy

IMHO it is worth it. We usually go twice during a sailing. We take our 5 year old son when he is with us, BUT we go at 5:30 and are out of there by 6:30. When it is only the two of us we do it differently. He loves steak too.

If your daughter is like our son take her, if not she can always stay back in the cabin and watch tv or whatever you are comfortable with. She might like that more, but only you know that. You also have 24 hours to cancel on board with no penalty. If I remember the policy is no children after 7pm, but I have seen younger kids there much later than that, compared to our DS.

Hope this helps,

Andrew

Absolutely worth it.

Really only you can answer that. Yes the "other" food is included in your cruise fare, but if you like high quality, well cooked food over mass produced banquet food, then I would guess it is worth it. Chop's is not 5 star food, but it does beat the MDR anytime. If you are happy with MDR food, then it would not be worth it.

Totally worth it!!! Not sure if your daughter is a foodie, I hated just about all food at that age, but it might be nice for her to have a fine dining experience

We have gone 18 times on our 11 RCI cruises, most recently 9 days ago on the Allure, and Nov. on the Liberty..IMO ( food & food cost is VERY subjective), Chops is definitely worth it and here's why:

1) Quality of food & service MUCH better than MDR

2) Romantic, laid-back atmosphere & low lights, quiet music

3) Table for 3 at a window over-looking the sea- how can you beat that?

4) Great choices for appetizers, entrees, & side dishes NOT found in MDR ( crab cakes & roasted potatoes w/proscuitto to DIE for! Porterhouse, NY Strip, Filet Mignon, Pork Chops,Lamb Shank, Fish,etc..) AND you can SHARE all between 3 of you!

5) You're not dining with 1500 other noisy diners & 300 waiters running & criss-crossing all over the place with food & trays..

6) Chops is SUPPOSE to be for 13 & over, so your DD is fine, but they don't seem to enforce this rule that much. And yes, you can book her on line,too...

As you can tell, I'm a big fan of specialty venues. If you want just food,usually mediocre or just "OK" ( at best IMO) with little variety, then go to the MDR..if you want something SPECIAL, a real dining experience that would cost EASILY $75-100 per person ( remember ALL appetizers, salads, side dishes ,entrees & dessert as much as you want for $30 pp!!), then go to Chops. You can also view their menu on line...just my opinion...

Big Al

My experience in Chops two months ago was NOT worth it. Food was fine but service was several steps below what I was getting in the MDR. Nothing terrible, but loooong wait between some courses and then the following course was delivered while we were still eating that one. Had to ask three times to get my water refilled. Had to ask for Bearnaise sauce [never offered]. Chops was only half full, so that should not have been a problem. No extra gratuity for that service. YMMV

Thom

I was incredibly UNDERWHELMED by both the quality of the food and the service on board EN our one and only time at Chops.

really.. the steak was no better than any other restaurant and quite frankly the service was was quite lacking as compared to other experiences ( in fact our MDR staff was far more attentive and personable that cruise)

while we don't regret spending the money, we won't return unless OBC covers the fee.

the DR is for pax 13 and over, and children under 13 may dine BEFORE 7 pm.

Tried it, was not impressed with the service or food.Certainly not worth an extra $60 for two.Crying,fussy toddler at large table next to us.After some people complained they moved them to a larger table but the fussy child stayed.

In our opinion it is worth it. We usually dine there once each cruise. Food is great, plus if you are a martini lover order the Chops martini. We have only been able to order it there. It is great. Enjoy...

YES...but....it is possible to catch them on an "off" night. On Oasis last summer it was absolute perfection. Last week on the 3 day Allure Valentine cruise, however, we were very disappointed. It seemed like the restaurant was very overbooked. The lady next to me sent her steak back three times and finally gave up. I thought maybe she was just really picky until our steaks came out overcooked, dry and flavorless. I would have sent them back but it was SO late in the evening that we just wanted to get out of there. It was a 9:00 PM reservation so about 10:30 when we were served the steaks. We asked for our desserts to go and they piled both of them (mud pie and red velvet cake) right on top of each other on the same plate and covered it with plastic wrap. :confused:

Still...we'll be dining at Chops on the Freedom this summer as I think this was just an off night for them.

We try to go at least once on every cruise. I believe if you try it you'll be pleasantly surprised! :)

i don't think it is worth it. Remember that it is a dining surcharge, meaning that you already paid a certain amount for an included meal that night. So just to knock some numbers around, let's say that MDR meal has cost you $15 (just picking a number). You are forfeiting that $15 and paying an additional 30, so the actual cost of the meal is $45.

While the sides and desserts are good, the meat itself is just average. it is comparable to mid-grade land-based steak places. Which translates to frozen rather than fresh, and select or choice rather than prime beef. It is certainly not the "best steak at sea" or anywhere else.

For me, if I want some Outback during my cruise, I go to Chops. But that doesn't happen too often. it seems to coincide with those cruises for which my travel agent has given me free specialty dining. (:

We will be on FOS in April and I would like to try to Chops. With all the "free" food I'm hesitant to spend another $30.00/pp for dinner. Please tell me "Is it Worth" the extra expense? Also, my DD age 14 will be with us, when I go to make reservations it allows me to book her as well - I would have thought this was an "adult" only dining experience? Am I correct that she will be allowed to dine with us?

 

Thanks,

Tammy

Absolutely worth it. Fine for a 14 year old.

We will be on FOS in April and I would like to try to Chops. With all the "free" food I'm hesitant to spend another $30.00/pp for dinner. Please tell me "Is it Worth" the extra expense? Also, my DD age 14 will be with us, when I go to make reservations it allows me to book her as well - I would have thought this was an "adult" only dining experience? Am I correct that she will be allowed to dine with us?

 

Thanks,

Tammy

my thoughts.....I enjoyed the MDR immensly, so I guess it really isn't "worth it" to spend it on Chops. But it was nice for a change of pace and it is a great atmosphere. Filet was awesome, but others in our party who had other entre's weren't as impressed. Also we took younger kids and they do have to pay full price even though they brought them a "free" kid entre from the MDR.

Chops was the BEST food we had on the Allure BY FAR!. I would without a doubt eat in Chops again, you will not be disappointed.

My bf that is not a meat eater said that it was the best meat he ever tasted and he simply does not like red meat. The red velvet cake is to die for and service was the best in the ship.

YES...but....it is possible to catch them on an "off" night. On Oasis last summer it was absolute perfection. Last week on the 3 day Allure Valentine cruise, however, we were very disappointed. It seemed like the restaurant was very overbooked. The lady next to me sent her steak back three times and finally gave up. I thought maybe she was just really picky until our steaks came out overcooked, dry and flavorless. I would have sent them back but it was SO late in the evening that we just wanted to get out of there. It was a 9:00 PM reservation so about 10:30 when we were served the steaks. We asked for our desserts to go and they piled both of them (mud pie and red velvet cake) right on top of each other on the same plate and covered it with plastic wrap. :confused:

 

Still...we'll be dining at Chops on the Freedom this summer as I think this was just an off night for them.

We were on that Allure 3 nighter and we dined Fri ( formal night) and although it was busy & loud, we all thought it was TERRIFIC!!...I've dined there 18 times with no "off" nights...BUT as I said, it is really getting away from the loud & mediocre cuisine MDR that I like..if you want something classy, QUIET, romantic & soft music, a place where you can talk & watch the sea ( on the Freedom you can- Oasis ships,no)...we love it PLUS my wife is worth it- she works very hard and taking her to a room with 1500 other people is NOT this husband's idea of a special treat- neither is the Outback BTW- that's even noisier than the MDR IMO!!!

Big Al

Was on Oasis in this month and ate at Chops and I had the best filet mignon I have ever had and I am not a steak person I'm a fish person so if I was ready to go back again that week it was good .

We just got off Freedom a few hours ago... We booked both Chops and Portofino for 2 nights each... All 4 nights were fabulous!

My husband is a Chef for an upscale steak house and MDR just wasn't going to cut it... For us, the extra charge is worth it for the higher end ingredients used in both specialty restaurants...

As for the cost... You cannot get a meal on land with those ingredients for anywhere near that price...

Eating there 2 nights we tried everything they had to offer as far as apps and sides...

Chef enjoyed it immensely...

We are looking to book Chops for the first night of our cruise. They are currently offering a $30 drink credit if we book ahead. Not sure if we should take advantage of this offer or wait until we get onboard to see if they are offering any other discounts. Does anyone know if they usually have any discounts for the first night? I seem to remember they have in the past.

In our opinion it is worth it. We usually dine there once each cruise. Food is great, plus if you are a martini lover order the Chops martini. We have only been able to order it there. It is great. Enjoy...

What is a Chops Martini?

Back to this topic - Out of the five or six meals I've had at Chops on various cruises, only one was less than fabulous (it just so happened to be on the Freedom). I didn't like our table (sitting in a very tight row of 2-tops, which were filled while the whole 2nd room had only one table with people at it), plus our server seemed to be in such a hurry, I would barely have eaten 1/2 of my appetizer or salad when he would appear with the next course - just not a good experience that night.

Overall, though, all other experiences at Chops just couldn't be improved upon, unless they were free . . . so, yes, I feel that $30 is more than fair for the experience that you usually get there.

DH and I have never eaten at a specialty restaurant...but we just booked dinner at Chops on the Allure :) 46 days and counting!!!

We thought dinner at Chops on Freedom was outstanding. Twinkle is the best server there. Wonderful lady!

You probably take your 14-year-old to nice restaurants at home from time to time. For sure go to Chops! Very worth it! :)

LuLu

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Totally worth it for both the food and service. Nice relaxing meal. On a recent Enchantment cruise I dined with some fellow cruisers on our last night of a 12 night cruise. We all agreed it was the perfect ending to a wonderful cruise.