Why would I pay extra for Chops or Portofino when other food is "free"?

It would never have occurred to me to spend extra money just to eat in a "pay" restaurant on the ship when I've already paid for the "free" restaurants.

But, in reading some other threads, I'm beginning to wonder if I should reconsider that snap judgment.

So sell me on the idea. What's the up-charge and what makes it worth it?

Thanks.

I have a copon to eat free at Burger King, but instead I pay to go to the Outback. You are paying for higher quality.

lets be honest, the food in the mdr and windjammer are good, but not fine restaurant quality nor ambience. the specialty restaurants are much much closer to fine,intimate dining:)

we are doing both chops and portofino in 3 weeks and cant wait. just so you know,i do enjoy the main dining room,but like to spoil myself and my wife from time to time,so there you have my 2 cents;)

dave

Its not that the food is bad in the MDR. It is just limited . Food in Chops/Portifino is Excellent. As in my review eat in the specialty restaurants last two nights!!!

On our recent cruise, my mother and her friend had late seating, and we had early - so one night we made reservations and all had dinner together w/o disrupting the MDR tables. I'm sure it could have been done, but we wanted a "special" night for all of us to be together.

The food was spectacular. Even better presentation than MDR and the fillet that I had was fork tender and cooked to perfection. Plus at Portofino we had the most delicious little spreads for our mixed bread basket. My mom is a huge garlic lover, and they gave us a whole head of roasted garlic to mix with our food or spreads. Not on request, just was an extra to the spreads and food.

Service - Impeccable. Honestly can NOT do enough for you.

Overall, it gets you away from the slight hustle and bustle of the MDR and gives you a self-paced fine dining experience. We dined in Portofino once on our 12 day, and honestly, we should have made reservations for 2 separate nights. It was wonderful!

To me it's a lot of littles:

The atmosphere (ambiance) of both restaurants is wonderful.

The service fantastic, not rushing, just nice relaxed service...and they attend to every special need.

The food offerings are quite extensive.

The food itself is defiantly better than the MDR food in all cases (that is not saying that dinning room food is bad, this food is just a cut above...some of the specialty food is outstanding, better than I have had else where)

The sorbet between courses is really a wonderful feature.

There are probably more things but right now that's all I can think of.

It would never have occurred to me to spend extra money just to eat in a "pay" restaurant on the ship when I've already paid for the "free" restaurants.

 

But, in reading some other threads, I'm beginning to wonder if I should reconsider that snap judgment.

 

So sell me on the idea. What's the up-charge and what makes it worth it?

 

Thanks.

The food in the MDR is not bad but they have to prepare thousands of dishes and keep them warm. The food in the specialty restaurants is delicious and cooked to order. We've always enjoyed it at least once on each cruise. Treat yourself!

What is the cost and how is it charged?

It kind of sounds like you're all saying that you can get a 5-star dining experience without paying (or at least not feeling like you're paying) 5-star prices.

Oh, and to the previous poster, can you hook me up with some of those eat free at Burger King coupons? ;)

The food in the MDR is ok, but it is assembly line food. They plate hundreds of meals at a time. The food in Chops and Portofino are made to order and by far a better quality.

For several years, we would walk by these "up charge" restaurants while on a cruise and I would say the same thing as the original post.

Then....

...our TA had a gift voucher waiting for us when we boarded one cruise. It was a tremendous experience. The food and service are without exception the best that we have ever experienced. My wife and I have been married for 36 years and it is without a doubt always a romantic evening for us. We have gone now for our past three cruises and have always chosen the formal night because we just do not care for the aura of the main dining room on that night. And for those who are ready to flame, I do wear a jacket and tie. Give it a try and I think that you will enjoy the experience!

25.00 pp for chops and 20.00 pp at portofino....well worth it, charge to your sea pass, or pre reserve before the cruise and pay with your credit card at that time

go ahead, spoil yourself:cool:

dave

...as I did not answer your question fully. The upcharge is $25 per person which includes gratuity, but even I (the original Mr. Cheap) leave extra due to the high quality of service.

25.00 pp for chops and 20.00 pp at portofino....well worth it, charge to your sea pass, or pre reserve before the cruise and pay with your credit card at that time

 

go ahead, spoil yourself:cool:

 

dave

Ok, then the obvious question: Is Chops 25% better than Portofino?

Or, generally, how are they different and what makes Chops pricier?

What is the cost and how is it charged?

 

It kind of sounds like you're all saying that you can get a 5-star dining experience without paying (or at least not feeling like you're paying) 5-star prices.

 

Oh, and to the previous poster, can you hook me up with some of those eat free at Burger King coupons? ;)

Got back yesterday from a 4-day sailing on the Navigator of the Seas. The charge for Portofino's was $20/person. The charge for Chops was $25/person. You can book either restaurant in advance of your cruise by logging into your reservation at the RCCL website. Your credit card will be immediately charged. Advanced online reservations are limited, so if the time you want is no longer available, you can always make a reservation at Chop's/Portofino's, in person, once you board the ship. The cover charge will then be added to your shipboard account and charged to your credit card at the end of the cruise.

FYI -- You can also cancel your online reservation once you board the ship. You just need to give 24 hours advanced notice and the cover charge will be credited back to your credit card within a couple of days.

I would save your money and continue with your "why pay more?" attitude.

We went to portafino and our honest opinion was the food in the MDR was just a good, and so was the service. We tried it, as should you, but we will never go back to one. We are also under the same school of thought. I paid a bunch of money to eat without having to fork over (no pun intended) more. That is the same reason we stay in an inside statroom.

And to quell the flaming, we eat at 5 star resturants at least 2-3 times a year, and the quality in the for pay resturants on the ships don't come close. However they do try and look and feel like a 5-star.

My fire retardant suit is on :rolleyes:

I would save your money and continue with your "why pay more?" attitude.

 

We went to portafino and our honest opinion was the food in the MDR was just a good, and so was the service. We tried it, as should you, but we will never go back to one. We are also under the same school of thought. I paid a bunch of money to eat without having to fork over (no pun intended) more. That is the same reason we stay in an inside statroom.

 

And to quell the flaming, we eat at 5 star resturants at least 2-3 times a year, and the quality in the for pay resturants on the ships don't come close. However they do try and look and feel like a 5-star.

 

My fire retardant suit is on :rolleyes:

I don't think you need the suit. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and preferences!

My GF and I ate in both Portofino and Chops on our Mariner cruise back in December. We both liked the ambiance in both restaurants and thought that the service in both places was exceptional. We're both wine drinkers and had two great bottles of wine in each restaurant both recommended by the staff. We were both impressed with the food as well. We felt that the food in Portofino was better than the food in Chops, but the food in Chops was still good.

We ate in the MDR the rest of the nights and felt that the food was adequate in quality, taste and presentation. The service in the MDR was good as well.

I felt the extra charges were well worth it and we would do it every cruise. Just the romantic setting and ambiance of the restaurants was what made it worth it as well as being away with 1000+ people in the MDR.

Ok then how do you all justify paying to eat at Johnny Rockets? Isn't that a fast food burger joint, only with a 50's/60's diner decor??? How is this better than MDR?

To reuse someone's Burger King analogy -- I have a coupon for Steak & Shake but pay for Burger King.

It would never have occurred to me to spend extra money just to eat in a "pay" restaurant on the ship when I've already paid for the "free" restaurants.

 

But, in reading some other threads, I'm beginning to wonder if I should reconsider that snap judgment.

 

So sell me on the idea. What's the up-charge and what makes it worth it?

 

Thanks.

I know you have already have replies that will more than cover it. However, I would encourage you to try it and then come back and tell us what you think aftwards. I've followed a couple of your threads today and I remember asking the same questions. I hope you enjoy these cruises as much as I do. Oh, and to show our common tastes, I'll throw in this:

Its not that the food is bad in the MDR. It is just limited . Food in Chops/Portifino is Excellent. As in my review eat in the specialty restaurants last two nights!!!

I'll try and find your review, but what is your thoughts on the last 2 nights?

We just returned from being on the Jewel of the sea going to panama for 11 days. We enjoyed the mysterty theatre at Portofinos. On a scale of 1 to 10 it was a 10. The meal was incredible and all the wine we wanted. It last for 2 1/2 hours and was a nice evening out.

\

 

And to quell the flaming, we eat at 5 star resturants at least 2-3 times a year, and the quality in the for pay resturants on the ships don't come close. However they do try and look and feel like a 5-star.

I completely agree with this statement. We have eaten in both Chops and Portofino and yes, the food and service is somewhat better but is is a far cry from 5 star dining.

I think that the upcharge was worth it to get out of the MDR for a couple of nights. It keeps things fresh and new and the service was the best I've received recently.

I beleive that Chops is priced a little higher due to the cost of a good cut of steak. I preferred the Chops menu over Portofino, but only by a slight margin. (and the fact that I LOVE a good steak) My husbands steak just melted in his mouth. It was a great cut and cooked just right for his taste.

The deserts were wonderful and the staff in Portofino on the Navigator were just tops. We celebrated our honeymoon on our cruise and they went above and beyond for us.

I say it's worth it as the "vibe" in the two restaurants is MUCH different than elsewhere. It rounds out the cruise experience.

What is the cost and how is it charged?

 

It kind of sounds like you're all saying that you can get a 5-star dining experience without paying (or at least not feeling like you're paying) 5-star prices.

 

Oh, and to the previous poster, can you hook me up with some of those eat free at Burger King coupons? ;)

Technically your still eating free, your paying a $25 (I think) per person cover charge, which covers tipping (though some tip additional)

I felt the same way and would not have tried Portofino if I had not won dinner for two there as a door prize at our Meet & Mingle.

I adored Portofino. The food, the service, the atmosphere.

On my next cruise, quite a few people from the group I was travelling with wanted to go to Chops for dinner, so I went.

I was less impressed. It was good, but not over-the-top IMO.

Bottom line, I would pay to go back to Portofino but not to Chops.