The evolution of cruise "specialty" pay venues

I think it partially has to due with cruise demographics changing. The cruise industry has seen a 50% growth in the past decade. Much of this growth is due to younger cruisers, many with children.

I haven't seen cruise fares increase substantially since I began cruising in 2001. Granted, I tend to cruise off season, so peak cruise fairs may be a different story.

What I have observed go up are gratuities, port charges, excursions and alcohol prices. Alcohol is a cash cow for cruise ships.

If one is frugal, you won't spend a cent more that the rack rate. I personally splurge for the alcohol package.

As for specialty dining, I've found it quite good and a good value. Sabor at lunchtime for $15 is a steal. The amount of food the three of shared would have been $80-100 at an upper scale Mexican restaurant.

Chops is also a good value. I can order the filet mignon in the MDR for about $16-18 (I don't remember the amount). This steak is on par with a $55 steak from Morton's in DC or Ruth's Chris steak house.

I was able to get Chop's for lunch at a discount of $18 per person. We'll definitely get our money's worth from this lunch experience.

Other than that, we probably won't spend any other money on board.

As always, mileages and experiences will vary!

Thanks for bringing up Sabor. In my opinion Sabor is a classic example of nothing special coming with an up charge. I have tried it twice and personally classify it as low grade dog food. In the past, Sabor food, if found at all, would have been only in the midnight buffet. Today, the cruise lines charging for these type venues are a travesty. I certainly get the steak house but Johnny Rockets, Sabor and room service or lack thereof......please.......and sadly there is no end in sight.

 

We cruisers have no one else to blame but ourselves for all these ridiculous "pay" venues which now litter ships. We had a chance to boycott several years ago during their introduction but instead it was embraced. What started out as $10.00 nominal upcharge has now turned into (in some cases) $100.00 per person. In tandem the included or shall I say "Free" venues continue to decline in value, taste and service virtually forcing passengers to eat elsewhere. Funny thing is, in the vast majority of these "specialty" for fee venues the food quality is at the level of what used to be included in your cruise fare. These days, to get the better quality of food and overall upgraded dining experience the price continues to climb. SMH

I agree.

I forgot about Johnny Rockets surcharge! Each cruise line is different in this regard.

The two venues I really enjoy on Carnival are Guy's Burger Joint and the Blue Iguana Cantina. These are good examples of, as of now, no-cost venues.

I don't know, we don't have a problem with the dinning that is included. The dining room is just fine and I don't see the food as bad as some others seem to. There's lots to choose from.

We had a OBC last cruise so we went to Sabor because I had wanted to try it for a while but, being one of the frugal ones, I didn't want to spend my money on it. Whats the point when the included dining was just as good. So we went, considered it free as it was with 'found' money, and really enjoyed it. We may have to go back it was that good for us. That was the only paid dining we had done.......until our next cruise.

I have purchased the BOGO plan that, I believe, is for the first and second nights. I did this in the hopes we will get Jamies and Wonderland, two restaurants I have been wanting to try. Had I not got a BOGO I would happily gone to the regular dining rooms and had what we consider a fine dinner. Total cost of the BOGO was $100 for the two of us. I'm happy and if I do get the restaurants I want I'll be even happier. Fingers crossed.

I forgot about Johnny Rockets surcharge! Each cruise line is different in this regard.

 

The two venues I really enjoy on Carnival are Guy's Burger Joint and the Blue Iguana Cantina. These are good examples of, as of now, no-cost venues.

Agreed. Folks can say what they want about Carnival but IMO they get it right when it comes to pay venues. They upcharge for the Steak and Italian venues but provide plenty of free (included) options. Guys, Blue Iguana, Mongolian Wok, Tandor, Pizza Pirate....all great and good taste.

There are still many of us who never set foot in specialty restaurants and are very satisfied. I noticed on my last cruise they were dropping the price and running specials to get people to eat at the upcharge places. If you cruise a lot and get bored in the MDR I can see the appeal but most cruisers aren't cruising more than once a year (guessing). I'm just thrilled I don't have to cook or wash the dishes.

We cruisers have no one else to blame but ourselves for all these ridiculous "pay" venues which now litter ships. We had a chance to boycott several years ago during their introduction but instead it was embraced. What started out as $10.00 nominal upcharge has now turned into (in some cases) $100.00 per person. In tandem the included or shall I say "Free" venues continue to decline in value, taste and service virtually forcing passengers to eat elsewhere. Funny thing is, in the vast majority of these "specialty" for fee venues the food quality is at the level of what used to be included in your cruise fare. These days, to get the better quality of food and overall upgraded dining experience the price continues to climb. SMH

"Several years" being at least 14 years, right? Our first experience with a specialty restaurant was on Adventure way back in 2004.

And you make it sound like someone has a gun to your head forcing you to spend the money. It's not as if it's *really* that hard to not go to these restaurants. As a matter of fact, it's really easy to not go.

However, it must be tough that so many people disagree with you, and are quite happy to go to the specialty restaurants. So much so that they are adding more of them to ships. The only way that happens is that people are happy to spend the money.

If it makes you that unhappy, do something else. I'll be happy to have the fares drop due to lack of demand from people like you.:D

Totally agree, Rolloman.

And while you're NOT forced to utilize the "for fee" places, if you want a similar dining experience to what you had in the past, that's the only way to do it.

This is nothing new. NCL had charges 20 yrs ago, Royal when Voyager came out. Choice is ours, pay or don't. By adding these extra's for everything cruise base prices are cheaper then they were 25-30 yrs ago even without inflation... I'd rather pay for what I want, a cheaper cruise and not for extras...

"Several years" being at least 14 years, right? Our first experience with a specialty restaurant was on Adventure way back in 2004.

 

And you make it sound like someone has a gun to your head forcing you to spend the money. It's not as if it's *really* that hard to not go to these restaurants. As a matter of fact, it's really easy to not go.

 

However, it must be tough that so many people disagree with you, and are quite happy to go to the specialty restaurants. So much so that they are adding more of them to ships. The only way that happens is that people are happy to spend the money.

 

If it makes you that unhappy, do something else. I'll be happy to have the fares drop due to lack of demand from people like you.:D

Congrats on being the first rude responder. First off, not unhappy, secondly I am simply pointing out what it used to be versus today. It used to be top service and gourmet food in the main dining room for the price of your cruise. Today, in comparison the service and food quality in the main dining room has drastically gone down hill. In order to get something even close to what it was for free, you have to go to a higher end specialty restaurant in the $40.00+pp range. To make matters worse, even low end fast food experiences have an upcharge.....example Johnny Rockets, Sabor and room service.

Totally agree, Rolloman.

 

And while you're NOT forced to utilize the "for fee" places, if you want a similar dining experience to what you had in the past, that's the only way to do it.

Well stated CB.

It really wouldn't take much to have a noticeable, significant change in quality of included food in the cruise fare. I think Royal allots somewhere around $13-15 per person, per day in spend for food. With their purchasing power if they increased that even on the high end by 20% you are talking $3 per day more, translated out (cost pass through) to $21 per person on a 7 day cruise baked into the cruise fare for "better" food.

Would people pay $21 more for a cruise with better food? Almost certainly they would, but you hit the law of diminishing returns with specialty dining. It has to be better enough to justify the prices. And what was once a nominal fee the cruise lines have figured out that many newer cruisers are conditioned to paying "full rate" at other types of vacations. The old Chops menu was probably worth the $25-30 upcharge; the newer menu with frozen desserts, less steaks, and upcharge seafood is probably worth $15-20 upcharge, but if people are willing to spend almost $50 a person, the cruise line will charge it.

Cost is a big identifier for people as to "better". Some people won't spend $30 or $40 more because it's not "better enough." Take the same thing and make it $80-$100 more, even without any change to quality, and those people snap it up because more expensive = more exclusive = better.

The more pay venues they get:')

The more my requested table for 2 or 4 or 6 depending on my sailing will be available at the MDR, the less crowed the free venues will be and cruise fare will remain relatively the same

Thank you folk for continuing sponsoring those fee venues :)

 

We cruisers have no one else to blame but ourselves for all these ridiculous "pay" venues which now litter ships. We had a chance to boycott several years ago during their introduction but instead it was embraced. What started out as $10.00 nominal upcharge has now turned into (in some cases) $100.00 per person. In tandem the included or shall I say "Free" venues continue to decline in value, taste and service virtually forcing passengers to eat elsewhere. Funny thing is, in the vast majority of these "specialty" for fee venues the food quality is at the level of what used to be included in your cruise fare. These days, to get the better quality of food and overall upgraded dining experience the price continues to climb. SMH

I totally agree, and have thought this same thing for a few years now. I have never been to a specialty restaurant, but I do believe the MDR food (in my experience) is certainly declining. Maybe it's my skepticism, but I wonder if it's an effort to push people to pay for specialty dining, since it is supposedly better.....

I wouldn’t be surprised if RC is going to slowly get rid of the main dining room.

The new ships they are building don’t have the traditional main dining room just a few smaller ones they could easily convert to up charge.

We usually eat at windjammers or splurge on a specialty now and then.

On our last cruise on the ovation I was talking to this lovely lady.which dressed me down about eating in the buffet,sub standard pig trough ,she said.

I replied it the same food,she said,what nonsense.

So we put to the test.

The grand then up to windjammers.it was the same food but in windjammers it was fresher.

Congrats on being the first rude responder. First off, not unhappy, secondly I am simply pointing out what it used to be versus today. It used to be top service and gourmet food in the main dining room for the price of your cruise. Today, in comparison the service and food quality in the main dining room has drastically gone down hill. In order to get something even close to what it was for free, you have to go to a higher end specialty restaurant in the $40.00+pp range. To make matters worse, even low end fast food experiences have an upcharge.....example Johnny Rockets, Sabor and room service.

You are welcome.

But your memory is quite a bit different than mine. The MDR was good, but not that good. Never has it been high end restaurant good, especially on our first cruise in 2001.

Still, you make this sound like a new thing that we could have all ended. It’s not. Nor, based on the people we see there, is it that burdensome.

So don’t go. Or don’t sail, and save me money. I’m totally fine with the latter.

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You are welcome.

 

But your memory is quite a bit different than mine. The MDR was good, but not that good. Never has it been high end restaurant good, especially on our first cruise in 2001.

 

Still, you make this sound like a new thing that we could have all ended. It’s not. Nor, based on the people we see there, is it that burdensome.

 

So don’t go. Or don’t sail, and save me money. I’m totally fine with the latter.

 

 

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It certainly is nothing new and I have not even remotely stated such, however the fact remains it continues trending the wrong way. Like others have stated, it would seem we are being conditioned to pay extra for our meals, so much so the main dining rooms are on the verge of being totally eliminated. With the current trend it will soon be buffet or pay extra.

It certainly is nothing new and I have not even remotely stated such, however the fact remains it continues trending the wrong way. Like others have stated, it would seem we are being conditioned to pay extra for our meals, so much so the main dining rooms are on the verge of being totally eliminated. With the current trend it will soon be buffet or pay extra.

Sorry your cruising memory can only date to (2001), in essence disqualifying you from the discussion.

I for one would rather pay for a cheaper cruise in general and then be able to splurge on a specialty restaurant if I want to. I also like the option of being able to get a table for two or a table for 10 depending on if I am feeling social or not. I also like being able to decide when I want to eat with anytime dining. Many others feel the same way I do and would rather cruise this way instead of being forced to eat at the same time each night with the same people with better main dining room food without an up charge.

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We cruisers have no one else to blame but ourselves for all these ridiculous "pay" venues which now litter ships. We had a chance to boycott several years ago during their introduction but instead it was embraced. What started out as $10.00 nominal upcharge has now turned into (in some cases) $100.00 per person. In tandem the included or shall I say "Free" venues continue to decline in value, taste and service virtually forcing passengers to eat elsewhere. Funny thing is, in the vast majority of these "specialty" for fee venues the food quality is at the level of what used to be included in your cruise fare. These days, to get the better quality of food and overall upgraded dining experience the price continues to climb. SMH

The cruise lines certainly could bring the MDR dining experience up to the level of the specialty restaurants. Now, how many do you think would welcome paying another $70 dollars a day in cruise fare?

We cruisers have no one else to blame but ourselves for all these ridiculous "pay" venues which now litter ships. We had a chance to boycott several years ago during their introduction but instead it was embraced. What started out as $10.00 nominal upcharge has now turned into (in some cases) $100.00 per person. In tandem the included or shall I say "Free" venues continue to decline in value, taste and service virtually forcing passengers to eat elsewhere. Funny thing is, in the vast majority of these "specialty" for fee venues the food quality is at the level of what used to be included in your cruise fare. These days, to get the better quality of food and overall upgraded dining experience the price continues to climb. SMH

While I’ll agree with you that the food in the MDR is not nearly as good as it was 20 years ago I disagree that the decline is in anyway related to the number of specialty restaurants on board.

20 years ago I paid the same or more for my tiny cabin on the Majesty as I’m paying today for a larger balcony cabin on the Oasis class ships. The food quality would have been reduced even if specialty restaurants had never been added.

As far as decreasing the quality of food to deprive people to the specialty restaurants.....specialty restaurant seating represents at best 10-15% at most of the seating capacity of the ships. It’s there to provide options for those of us who have grown with the times and do not want to cruise the same way as our parents did.

There are still cruise lines out there that offer what your looking for, you just have to be prepared to pay for them.

I wouldn’t be surprised if RC is going to slowly get rid of the main dining room.

The new ships they are building don’t have the traditional main dining room just a few smaller ones they could easily convert to up charge.

 

We usually eat at windjammers or splurge on a specialty now and then.

On our last cruise on the ovation I was talking to this lovely lady.which dressed me down about eating in the buffet,sub standard pig trough ,she said.

I replied it the same food,she said,what nonsense.

So we put to the test.

The grand then up to windjammers.it was the same food but in windjammers it was fresher.

I am not sure where you get the idea about not having a main dining room. We were on Harmony last August, the mdr looks a lot like the one that Oasis has. Pictures that I have seen show the same mdr on Symphony

We have only been cruising since 2010 (all on Royal) but I would not really say the food quality in MDR has dropped off appreciatively as it was just chain restaurant level even in 2010. Still we have no issues with eating in MDR most the time, our 12 day cruise last May we ate there all but two nights.

Depending on which ship you cruise on there is anywhere from 2000 to 6000 passengers on board and the majority are eating in MDR and probably enjoying themselves. MDR has been packed every night we have gone and the majority of cruisers seem to be enjoying themselves. The idea they are forcing passengers to eat elsewhere is ludicrous, they would not be able to accommodate all of them in the specialty venues anyway.

But don't fool yourselves thinking the reason for any perceived decline in MDR is due to the addition of specialty venues. Even if the cruise lines did not have specialty restaurants the food quality/service would be approximate to current standards as cutting food cost to reduce overhead costs is low hanging fruit and they will continue to do that. They even do it in the specialty venues (i.e. Chops).

We have only been cruising since 2010 (all on Royal) but I would not really say the food quality in MDR has dropped off appreciatively as it was just chain restaurant level even in 2010. Still we have no issues with eating in MDR most the time, our 12 day cruise last May we ate there all but two nights.

Depending on which ship you cruise on there is anywhere from 2000 to 6000 passengers on board and the majority are eating in MDR and probably enjoying themselves. MDR has been packed every night we have gone and the majority of cruisers seem to be enjoying themselves. The idea they are forcing passengers to eat elsewhere is ludicrous, they would not be able to accommodate all of them in the specialty venues anyway.

But don't fool yourselves thinking the reason for any perceived decline in MDR is due to the addition of specialty venues. Even if the cruise lines did not have specialty restaurants the food quality/service would be approximate to current standards as cutting food cost to reduce overhead costs is low hanging fruit and they will continue to do that. They even do it in the specialty venues (i.e. Chops).

You make a good point and appreciate that you datestamp your perspective. I think if you went back to the 1990's up through maybe 10 or 12 years ago it was definitely an elevated experience overall. There is definitely a built in delta, and if you are going to charge more, there should be.

I guess the difference is, whether this can be proven out or not I can't say, just my perception, MDR food used to seem to be selected and prepared to a standard, and now it is to a cost. And that pretty much sums up the experience; pared to a cost, not scaled up to a standard.