Anyone Not Book Specialty Dinners?

This is the first cruise I'll have been on that offers specialty dining. I've always enjoyed the Main Dining Room. We do like good food but are not super picky and have always found good selection (even for someone like me who doesn't eat meat or chicken).

Now there are all these fancy specialty options. I just figure we're paying enough for the cruise / flight that why would we need to pay extra for it? Maybe I would feel different if it was just DH and I and it was say, an anniversary, but we are travelling with our kids and so we have no plans to try them. Perfectly fine with the MDR. It'll still be a nice end of day sit down meal.

Are we the only ones that stick to the MDR and do not book specialty dinners?

We have previously eaten in Specialty restaurants but sadly, did not find them to be worth the extra charge (in the minority on this, I know). We will stick with the MDR on some nights and the dinner buffet on other nights.

For us, it depends on the situation. We used to do more specialty dinners, but over the years have felt those dinners are not so special anymore, and the prices are too high. We are OK with the MDR food, and actually find the Windjammer to have a good selection for dinner most of the time.

I have been on many cruise ships with specialty restaurants. I have never booked one and have never found a reason to book and use one. I will not say it will never happen but for now I see no reason why I would book and use one.

Only did a specialty restaurant once . It was birthday celebration for a friend of ours . Her husband arranged the dinner.

Never have yet. So much food already included in the price, why pay extra.

My DW and two young daughters got off the Indy a couple weeks ago. Never once did the a MDR not offer something we didn't like. We didn't do any of the specialty restaurants and have no regrets about it.. one way to save money. I thought the steak that was on the MDR menu and available anytime was delicious.

Are we the only ones that stick to the MDR and do not book specialty dinners?

the quick answer to this question is ... no. There are lots of people that do not book the specialty restaurants. Overall, it is quite possible the majority of passengers don't. I have been to a couple over the years, but only because we were traveling with a group of 12 and some of the group wanted to go. I have always found plenty of good food choices in the complimentary places, so have not felt the need to go to the specialty places.

We only tried a specialty restaurant once to see if it was worth it and were not impressed. It is doubtful we will ever do another.

I have done the specialty dinners a few times...usually because I had OBC to use...or traveling with someone & could use my bogo coupon...but lately it just hasn't seemed worth it to me..betwen the MDR, WJ, Room Service or Park Cafe I can always find something I want to eat...

We have never done specialty restaurants. The main reason is the 2 lines we have been on their specialty restaurants are adults only and I won't leave my 3 kids out. But I also don't see the point in paying extra.

Simple, Non-picky eaters here -- enjoy any meal that I don't have to cook. We, too, like the food in the MDR.......there is always something on the menu which we enjoy. We've tried the Specialty Restaurants a couple times (special events), but didn't feel like it was worth the money.

We stick with the dining venues that are included with the fare. I'm not opposed, but so far we've always found the included venues offer meals that are satisfying to us. We aren't foodies. We're pretty easy to please.

Have tried several, don't feel the need to pay extra for a meal when the MDR works for us.

USed to love Chops, value fell off and not worth it to us anymore.

This is situational. There is no 'need' to book specialty dining as RCI offer very good variety in their MDR.

When traveling with a multi-generational family it was much easier and preferred to just stay with MDR fare and we did not even consider specialty dining.

When I travel solo or meet friends onboard, I have actually learned to have a preference for the extra attention and added flexibility that specialty dining provided.

As travel is 'experiential' and specialty dining provides 'enhanced experiences' I never find the value in the food but in the added attention, upgraded menu options and presentation along with the 'to some degree' exclusivity that specialty dining provides.

One odd benefit I have found I enjoy is often being surrounded by officers and ship staff that often fill the vacant seats available to them and find this sometimes provides a different environment than found in the MDR.

Thank you for all the replies. This is great as reading posts, I got the feeling that most do pay extra for specialty dining. But it seems like we will be fine just sticking to the main dining room. We've always enjoyed it in the past (I guess the one fear is that the quality has gone down in the MDR to force people to pay extra for the specialty...but doesn't sound like that's the case)

We have never eaten at any of the specialty restaurants, either. Usually can find an appealing option depending on the days' schedule elsewhere in either MDR or Windjammer. That said, we will probably try Sabor on our upcoming Freedom cruise in November.... DH loves Mexican. :)

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We did one once. It was very nice, but nothing I would be in a hurry to do again. It wasnt that much nicer than MDR and I dont think I could justfify the $$$ However, I am not all that interested in food, so its a no brainer... I probably spend those $$$ on something that somebody else isnt bothered about.

Horses for courses!

We tried Chops on our last cruise, and were not impressed with the difference in quality from the MDR. My next specialty dining experience is going to be the Windjammer. Never had dinner in there so its special to me:D

Once was enough for us. Came away still very hungry, went straight up to the buffet to finish our meal. we are small to average size 65 yr active seniors

Yep we booked a meal in Porto Fino for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. We wanted an intimate meal for 2. What we actually got was a Murder Mystery Evening. Yes we go extra for our pre paid pennies, but actually it wasn't what we wanted nor what we had booked. The food wasn't that great either. We preferred the Main Dining Room and wouldn't book a speciality restaurant again.

We tried Chops on the Freedom two years ago. The food was marginal at best and we felt not nearly as good as the dining room food. We felt ripped off and we would not do a specialty restaurant on RCCL again after that experience. We have tried specialty restaurants on other lines (Disney and Celebrity) and found the food to be worth the extra money.

This is the first cruise I'll have been on that offers specialty dining. I've always enjoyed the Main Dining Room. We do like good food but are not super picky and have always found good selection (even for someone like me who doesn't eat meat or chicken).

 

Now there are all these fancy specialty options. I just figure we're paying enough for the cruise / flight that why would we need to pay extra for it? Maybe I would feel different if it was just DH and I and it was say, an anniversary, but we are travelling with our kids and so we have no plans to try them. Perfectly fine with the MDR. It'll still be a nice end of day sit down meal.

 

Are we the only ones that stick to the MDR and do not book specialty dinners?

We have never booked a specialty dinner. We have been on 6-7 cruises and always eat in the main dining room for dinner. We enjoy quick lunches such as pizza, burgers, or sandwiches for lunch. Freedom of the Seas had a great lunch in the Windjammer. I feel we pay enough for cruise not to have to purchase meals.

This is the first cruise I'll have been on that offers specialty dining. I've always enjoyed the Main Dining Room. We do like good food but are not super picky and have always found good selection (even for someone like me who doesn't eat meat or chicken).

 

Now there are all these fancy specialty options. I just figure we're paying enough for the cruise / flight that why would we need to pay extra for it? Maybe I would feel different if it was just DH and I and it was say, an anniversary, but we are travelling with our kids and so we have no plans to try them. Perfectly fine with the MDR. It'll still be a nice end of day sit down meal.

 

Are we the only ones that stick to the MDR and do not book specialty dinners?

We have eaten in specialty restaurants only twice (and we've been on 28 cruises). The first time our kids gave us a RCI gift certificate; the other time the Diamond Concierge gave us dinner at Chops to celebrate my 80th birthday and our 60th wedding anniversary.

Both times we had excellent experiences, but since we are always happy with something in the MDR I think we'll keep specialty dining for special celebrations.

I am concerned about the changes Dynamic Dining will make - my husband's and my tastes are quite different, and I wonder how we'll both we able to get something we like with the themed dining rooms. Since we prefer the smaller ships, however, I don't think it will happen anytime soon - at least until the bugs have been worked out

Margy

This is the first cruise I'll have been on that offers specialty dining. I've always enjoyed the Main Dining Room. We do like good food but are not super picky and have always found good selection (even for someone like me who doesn't eat meat or chicken).

 

Now there are all these fancy specialty options. I just figure we're paying enough for the cruise / flight that why would we need to pay extra for it? Maybe I would feel different if it was just DH and I and it was say, an anniversary, but we are travelling with our kids and so we have no plans to try them. Perfectly fine with the MDR. It'll still be a nice end of day sit down meal.

 

Are we the only ones that stick to the MDR and do not book specialty dinners?

You aren't alone! I could have written these exact words.

I enjoy the MDR every night, and see no need to spend additional money for food when there is already a bounty of satisfying food available without an upcharge.

There are so many other things that I would rather put the additional money towards!