Did Specialty Restaurants Price's Go Up?

[ghstudio]

We were interested in buying a dining package, but there were so many restrictions on dates times and restaurants. We are planning a special occasion cruise so wanted to be sure of specific times and dates. There is no flexibility, and as I'm not fond of Qsine / silk harvest so I guess we'll be booking fewer nights BUT getting exactly what we want!

 

I guess you dont get a deal without giving something up!

 

The packages do specify how you must divide the meals among the specialty restaurants (1 night at Muranon, 1 night at Tuscan Grill, etc)....but they have no restriction on the times or days you can book dinners at the restaurants.

[curtdesilets]

Wow...I just checked my Summit sailing in May. Yes! $45 Murano and Qsine!

 

$90 extra per dinner for two is getting a bit much in my opinion.

 

 

I agree!!

 

And that does not include wine or tip !!

 

They are selling 3-dinner packages for $85 apparently, so that's not too bad.

[shoreham01]

Too much for us unfortunately. We will have to see if we have any OBC left before booking a speciality restaurant. We certainly would not even consider for one second paying $45 each for a meal when there are so many included options on the ship.

[waterbug123]

I agree!!

 

And that does not include wine or tip !!

 

They are selling 3-dinner packages for $85 apparently, so that's not too bad.

 

You are partially wrong. The specialty restaurant cover charge DOES include the tip, although it seems that many (including us) leave an additional tip for good service.

[Tony UK]

You are partially wrong. The specialty restaurant cover charge DOES include the tip, although it seems that many (including us) leave an additional tip for good service.

 

I didnt realise that tip was included in speciality restaurants. I tried to find something about this on the celebity site but couldnt find anything. We'd probably tip anyway but I'd like to understand how much of the fee was for tips. Anyone know?

[Gonzo70]

I didnt realise that tip was included in speciality restaurants. I tried to find something about this on the celebity site but couldnt find anything. We'd probably tip anyway but I'd like to understand how much of the fee was for tips. Anyone know?

 

While nobody knows for sure, an educated guess is approximately $5 of each cover charge goes to the servers. This is based on suite guests being asked to leave a $5 gratuity when receiving a complimentary dinner at a specialty venue and several people reporting having heard this number floated by staff during conversations with them.

[ghstudio]

Too much for us unfortunately. We will have to see if we have any OBC left before booking a speciality restaurant. We certainly would not even consider for one second paying $45 each for a meal when there are so many included options on the ship.

 

That's a rationalization....If you have money left on your OBC, then it will either be refunded to you at the end of the cruise....or you can take it out of your account in the casino (at a 5% charge). You are really spending your own money whether or not you have an OBC left.

[Tony UK]

Thanks Gonzo - thats a good guide.

[TeachAloha]

I went online & locked down the 5 dinners for $129 package before it went up. It does require us to make the 1st reservation for the first or second night of the cruise- but does not tell us where we will be (We're on Connie so only 2 options)

 

My question- I did not have my Credit card with me so it's status is "awaiting payment" does anyone know how long I have to get the information entered?

[TommyD3]

While nobody knows for sure, an educated guess is approximately $5 of each cover charge goes to the servers. This is based on suite guests being asked to leave a $5 gratuity when receiving a complimentary dinner at a specialty venue and several people reporting having heard this number floated by staff during conversations with them.

 

I was wondering about "suite guests being asked to leave a $5 gratuity"? I have received complimentary specialty dining for being the high cruiser and was never "asked" to leave an extra tip. In fact one time I tried and the restaurant manager refused it !!! I have not traveled in a suite since the new complimentary specialty dining. How specifically is the tip requested? Is it on the dining reminder left at the cabin the morning of the reservation? Just curious.

[cruisegirl1]

Many add an additional gratuity so the specialty diner will be well over $100.

 

I agree it is a nice dinner, but I guess everyone has his or her price point for “extras” . $10 is certainly not a big deal in the scheme of things, but most have personal limits in regards to spending money.

 

 

Some folks book an expensive suite at a hotel (or ship) , order fine wine, but will balk at a $25 luggage fee, or the cost of a passport. It is all about choices and price points.

M

[phoenix_dream]

To me, the issue is not that an extra $5 will break me pe se. It is a value decision. I thought the prices were too high already, and increasing them puts them over the price point I will pay. I consider the value of the food, service, and experience, as well as the fact that we are already in essence paying for our MDR meal that night as well. As it happens, on our upcoming cruise we booked a 5 restaurant package for the first time ever, which is a much better deal when calculated per night. I am glad we did, as I doubt I will be booking a Specialty restaurant in the near future at those rates.

 

I do understand that years ago the cruise prices were generally higher (although I would argue that for many cruises, I am appalled at how high they have risen in the past year as compared to a couple years ago). But did one ever consider that perhaps in years long past the cruises were way overpriced at the time?? They had not yet expanded their marketing strategy to hit the huge middle-class and higher demographic of today - they appealed to a more affluent class of passengers (with the exception of Carnival I guess). We have no way of truly knowing if that is the case or not - it may very well be. They got the money to build and build and build more and bigger ships from somewhere. That somewhere is likely excess profit. Also, the ships are now much larger and I suspect the per passenger cost to the cruiseline has also decreased considerably due to economy of scale. The economy of scale argument likely also applies to purchasing power for their staples as well. These arguments do not account for the entire pricing differential I know, but the many, many pay-for-play options since initiated certainly add to the equation.

 

I realize I am jumping all over the place with thoughts in this post, but to add another - it seems to me that much of what Celebrity is doing these days is trying to position themselves as more of a premium, rather than mainstream line, and trying to attract higher income passengers. This may fall within the 'if it costs more it must be more exclusvie, therefore I must have it" thinking. I have sailed the line for over 20 years and love it, but I wonder if it is starting to become a line I will no longer be able to afford in a few years. It would be a shame if that were the case. It was the one cruiseline where one could expect a first class ambiance for the price of a mainstream line. IMHO that seems to be fading away.:(

[miataman19]

I went online & locked down the 5 dinners for $129 package before it went up. It does require us to make the 1st reservation for the first or second night of the cruise- but does not tell us where we will be (We're on Connie so only 2 options)

 

My question- I did not have my Credit card with me so it's status is "awaiting payment" does anyone know how long I have to get the information entered?

 

I did the same thing but deceided to call Celebrity instead. Much easier actually talking to someone. They give you all the details..Booked the 5 night also.

[Gonzo70]

I was wondering about "suite guests being asked to leave a $5 gratuity"? I have received complimentary specialty dining for being the high cruiser and was never "asked" to leave an extra tip. In fact one time I tried and the restaurant manager refused it !!! I have not traveled in a suite since the new complimentary specialty dining. How specifically is the tip requested? Is it on the dining reminder left at the cabin the morning of the reservation? Just curious.

 

The $5 gratuity advice was printed on a confirmation card left in my suite when I sailed on Equinox.

[MTemple212]

I agree!!

 

And that does not include wine or tip !!

 

They are selling 3-dinner packages for $85 apparently, so that's not too bad.

 

The upcharge is actually a tip as well. You do not have to include a tip on top of the charge, unless you choose to.

[J&G]

We'd already decided not to dine in the specialty restaurants anymore after 2 meals that weren't anywhere near worth the extra money when we were on the Eclipse. The chauteaubriand we ordered in Murano was way overcooked and I sure don't know what cut of meat they used (I know it's supposed to be tenderloin but it sure wasn't that night) but I had a hard time cutting into it with my knife.

[Meena]

We just got off the Summitt sailing and the food in the MDR was awful. On the last night it was not even fit to eat. They had canolli for dessert and the filling was described as lemon marscapone, blah, blah. Well, the filling was like air and not even a whipped cream air; the shell was like a hard crust; no taste whatsoever. The bread basket each night contained the same tasteless variety; not like former days when you didn't know which roll to sample first. EVen the breadsticks were stale. We found most meals in the MDR to be this way. They want you to eat in the speciality restaurants; the prices are nuts when the MDR food is supposed to be included in the cruise price. Now they've raised the price to dine in these restaurants; it's absurd. The food on the old Celebrity was never like this; we remember the lemon in gauze bags; those tasty crunchy potato baskets accompanying the most tender of steaks. They are all gone for sure. We've taken over 21 Celebrity cruises and have cancelled our trip for next Feb. We enjoyed sailing out of San Juan for the itinerary, but we don't want a repeat of the food on this ship. I've made my complaints known to Celebrity and was called by a rep the other day. They read the complaints; however, there is no remedy to fix the problem because they are still making money.

[twosit]

The upcharge is actually a tip as well. You do not have to include a tip on top of the charge, unless you choose to.

This is how we originally understood the up charge to be. They called it a "service charge". I posted about this a while ago...I think you and I are the only ones under that impression. FYI--We tip extra anyway.

[YOW]

They want you to eat in the speciality restaurants; the prices are nuts when the MDR food is supposed to be included in the cruise price.

 

It's been said by some here that there is a deliberate attempt to drive down MDR quality in order to increase traffic in the revenue-generating venues. I can't say with certitude that this is incorrect, as I don't work for Celebrity. But logically, it doesn't make sense. There's only space for a few hundred pax per night to dine at the specialty venues on S-class ships, and even less on M-class. That would leave roughly a couple thousand pax with mediocre food in the MDR. I'm not saying Celebrity are not cutting costs -- all cruise lines are. But I can't buy into the theory that it's a concerted effort to drive pax into for-pay venues; there's just too much risk in that strategy that would alienate too many customers.

[ticktoneer]

Went online tonight to book my specialty restaurants and the Tuscan Grill is now $35 per person and Murano is $45 per person. Do they Increase the the price closer to sailing date? I sail next week on Reflection.

Shocking that this is the third rise in 3 years !!!!!!!!!!

[Lois R]

Here is a link Laura posted...prices went up as of March 1st:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1803858

[Cruise Junky]

I have to wonder about the increase. Is it because of all the OBC that people are getting these days that they don't mind paying $90. But Celebrity seems to be trying to attract a lot of new cruisers with their different promotions. If you've never tried their specialty restaurants before would you be willing to hand over $90 for a meal over and above what you've paid for in the MDR. I'm not sure I would.

[gambee]

I have to wonder about the increase. Is it because of all the OBC that people are getting these days that they don't mind paying $90. But Celebrity seems to be trying to attract a lot of new cruisers with their different promotions. If you've never tried their specialty restaurants before would you be willing to hand over $90 for a meal over and above what you've paid for in the MDR. I'm not sure I would.

 

I would not be willing to pay that much for one venue. However if they keep their packages at the current prices it is really not a bad deal. We bought the 4 venue one and each restaurant comes out to a little over $31, not bad.

[cruisecrasy]

One must consider that the actual cruise fare they are paying today is lower than yrs ago thus the reason for poorer quality MDR/buffet food. Cruiseship companies have to make profit somehow..

The cruiselines decided to keep cabins full it was better to keep fares low and to offer specialty dining for those willing to pay for it. Others can simply eat in the MDR and/or buffet..their choice but fares can not be increased much for fear of alienating many cruisers and especially newcomers who are attracted by those low fares and have no experience with great meals in the MDR/buffet!! The packages are actually a good deal compared to single prices..

 

If you don't like it though then pay much higher fares and cruise with Crystal - that will be a real shock to your wallet but the food is better!! :)

[TommyD3]

One must consider that the actual cruise fare they are paying today is lower than yrs ago thus the reason for poorer quality MDR/buffet food.

 

The Exciting Deals are definately less than years ago but some of the regular prices are getting steep. The 14 night Eclipse cruises this summer are over $4000 pp for Aquaclass. Over the last couple of years I would pay about $2000 pp for 14 nights in Concierge. I refuse to pay almost $300 pp per day (plus port charges, taxes and airfare) for Celebrity.

 

Their pricing is getting like the airlines, jumping all over the place:)