Chops - Is it worth it?

[dreamer976]

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 the Chops martini?

[cruzin lady]

 

There is probably still a buy one get one coupon for the first night of the

cruise.

 

Cruzin Lady

[Static events]

I have been to many top restaurants in London and often order steak and IMO the steak in Chops beats them all!!

 

It's the best steak you will find on land or at sea!!

[jm313506]

Where can you get two-for-one coupons?

[Clarea]

Where can you get two-for-one coupons?

The coupons are in the booklet you get from being in the loyalty program, Crown & Anchor. After you have enough cruises, you reach Diamond level and that level has a coupon for a 2 for 1 specialty restaurant on the first night.

[gerif]

The coupons are in the booklet you get from being in the loyalty program, Crown & Anchor. After you have enough cruises, you reach Diamond level and that level has a coupon for a 2 for 1 specialty restaurant on the first night.

 

Not Diamond. The coupons are for Diamond Plus and Pinnacle only.

[galavant3]

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. (:

 

Agree. The steaks are not prime so I would agree with the "Outback" reference. The atmosphere is better than the MDR but, for us, the service isn't as good in Chops.

[Clarea]

Not Diamond. The coupons are for Diamond Plus and Pinnacle only.

You are quite right, sorry for the misinformation.:)

[bigque]

Chops is worth it to me. Enjoyed it last time and will enjoy it next time. The food threads always amaze me how there are a lot of people on CC that evidently eat exclusively at 5 star gourmet restaurants all the time and then expect the same when they cruise. Wolfgang Puck and Gordon Ramsay should start a cruise line because they would get a lot of business from folks from CC.

[swheels]

We have been at Chops on 4 different ships and each have been excellent food and service. Would not hesitat to dine at Chops.

[pittnh]

Very subjective; it is nice for a change of pace, more intimate experience. And the filet was very good. But some of the other choices weren't as super; the porterhouse was a little underwhelming. Appetizers very good, but I didn't think they were that much better than MDR. Same with deserts.

 

If you are on a tight budget I would say stick to MDR, but if you have a few extra bucks it is a fun night. Just don't expect Ruth Chris steak quality.

[galavant3]

Chops is worth it to me. Enjoyed it last time and will enjoy it next time. The food threads always amaze me how there are a lot of people on CC that evidently eat exclusively at 5 star gourmet restaurants all the time and then expect the same when they cruise. Wolfgang Puck and Gordon Ramsay should start a cruise line because they would get a lot of business from folks from CC.

 

I think it is just very subjective...everyone's taste are different. For me, the best entree on the ship is the Braised Lamb Shank. I'm sure there are many people out there that would not enjoy it at all.

[sr4mjc]

I've had good steaks, I've had not so good. We think it's worth it to avoid the MTD for formal nights and will visit again on the Radiance in Sept.

 

About the $30 drink credit, on the Brilliance in March they were insistant this had to be used for a bottle of wine. That is not how it is worded when booking. They absolutely would not budge. This was the worst experience for us with food and service at Chops, but I am hoping it is an outlier. Has anyone else used the credit for drinks other than wine? It's certainly not a good value if there are non-drinkers or non-wine drinkers at the table.

[DebJ14]

We think it is worth it and book Chops and any other alternative restaurants on all the cruise lines. The atmosphere is much more conducive to conversation than the dining room and the food is so much better.

We also think being able to eat breakfast and lunch in Chops or whatever the alternative restaurant happens to be is worth booking a full suite. Not having to wander the Lido with a plate of food looking for a seat is a nice perk.

[tneah]

I think it's hit or miss. First time at Chops on FOS, we thought is was not worth it. We tried again just last week on Oasis. It was much better tasting and experience.

 

 

Also, if it's just the fillet you are considering. You can order and pay an additional $14.95 in the MDR for the fillet. My piece I ordered was very large. You add this to other main dishes to share?

[julesbeara]

The Goat Cheese Souffle is delicous. We've never had a bad meal at Chops. Our waiter was overly attentive on the Radiance last April.

[ryano]

No longer really worth it to me........They took my favorite steak (bone in ribeye) AND my favorite dessert (REAL cheesecake) off the menu :(

 

My one and only experience with Chops was a very positive one though.

[RealDeal]

Yes, it's totally subjective, but we did Chops on Allure and would never do it again. For us it was no better than the MDR (and we consider ourselves to be foodies). I would go as far as to say we disliked the veggie sides (& I'm a vegetable freak) and the steak was just OK. The desserts everyone raves about were also just OK for us. I wouldn't call it an awful experience but just not something I would pay extra for. Frankly, if it were free & we had a choice of Chops or the MDR, we'd really have to think about it. Luckily, when we went we had a voucher from our TA.

[glendon3281]

We're D+ and get the BOGO coupons. Only been to Chops twice, on the EN & IN. Both times it was disappointing and well below my expectations. The MDR service was MUCH better.

 

On EN, the waiter was "busy" chatting with his coworkers (the place was empty). On the IN, the waiter was "busy" doing paperwork and training for their new promotion. Had to ask for water, dirty dishes piling up on the table, etc. The steak was better than in the MDR but the other items were average....just presented in a fancier style.

 

Bottom line:

I REALLY wouldn't waste $30/pp and am even "on the fence" about using our BOGO coupons again.

[scubadiverswife]

My dh and I love chops. For us it's one of the highlights of the cruise. We have always had great service and the double creamy mash is naughty but gorgeous. Definitely worth a visit. Hopefully we will visit there twice during our upcoming cruise. :)

[2+2]

We ate at both chops and portifino. I had fillet at both. Both were very good. At least 12oz. and tender. Not the best I ever had, but did make my top ten for sure. I am from Nebraska, so I have had a few steaks in my day. Think Ruth Chris with just a little less flavor. Chops did have a choice of four different sauces and had family style sides. I actually liked the taste of Portifino's fillet better. At Portifino we did what was called the celebration special that included a thirty dollar credit for drinks. Awesome and made it special. We got the drinks we wanted and were charged for slightly over. It seemed we had extra desserts at Portifino also. Went both days at sea. We will always remember that first night. Worth every cent. If you have a special occasion,I would let them know too.

[Rala]

Agree. The steaks are not prime so I would agree with the "Outback" reference. The atmosphere is better than the MDR but, for us, the service isn't as good in Chops.

 

We have always had very good service and the atmosphere/ambiance is lovely. I think the steaks are mostly a notch or two above Outback,but not nearly as good as you would get at a high end steakhouse here in the USA (ie. Peter Luger's, Ruth's Chris, Morton's). It is still a very good meal with generous portions...we always eat there at least once on our cruises. Hope you enjoy it if you go!:)

[CruisesOnMyMind]

I have had Chops "New York Strips" on many ships as it is my favorite cut. DH prefers Porterhouse.

 

This month on the Enchantment was the absolute best steak I have had on RCCL. So full of flavor and so tender. We went 3 times over 12 nights.

 

I do find it does very ship to ship. With that being said we have never had a bad steak in any Chops. I have had better ones in Portofino's at times on some ships.

 

You need to try it for yourself!:D

 

I will not compare it to a land based steak house as we are on a cruise ship that has to cater to thousands of people.

[MommaBear55]

My DH is a new convert to Chops. He had resisted going for several cruises. We finally did it for our 36th anniversary. The service was attentive, that vege sides wonderful and the sauces excellent. The blue cheese on the BC tomato salad was amazing. Steaks were good, not great but still well worth the up charge. We'll go again.

[moesyk4]

I think it's interesting there is such a variety of answers! I don't order steaks from restaurants very often because I think they all taste the same...I just don't get the appeal. I'm talking like at Outback, a chain steakhouse, Applebees, etc. Just blech.

We have on occasion gone to very nice restaurants with 50 dollar steaks, and have enjoyed those much more...but not $50 more (and that was just for the steak)...we've eaten at those places half a dozen times.

We did Chops on Freedom and it was hands down the best meal and best steak I've ever had...from the 10 dollar steak all the way up to the $50 one. Every course was amazing. This was however, about 6 years ago when Freedom was new so it may have changed since then. I couldn't even compare it to the MDR.