Pay to dine! Have I missed something?

[Arzeena]

We have only cruised once so far (Celebrity Century) and we are booked onto our second next year (Celebrity Eclipse). I'm really surprised reading through the various threads on the forum, the number of cruisers who seem happy to dine at the 'pay to dine' restaurants and then to say how reasonable it is at only e.g. $30 per head! Indeed many seem to plan to do so before even tasting a mouthful of food in the MDR or Buffet. I get the impression that many people who do this are not 'rich', but fairly ordinary cruisers! I don't really get it. Its rare to read a review on any major cruise line that says the 'inclusive' food was poor and there appears to be so much choice that surely most people can find something they like on most occasions, so why plan to pay to dine when you have already paid for it in the cost of the cruise?

 

I am not rich, but I don't struggle either. I love to travel and don't skimp on comfort, so its not that we couldn't eat in the pay to dine places if we really wanted to, but I don't like to waste money on things like that or excessive shopping. I like to spend the money on a 5* hotel room or to upgrade my Stateroom instead.

 

Have I missed something?

 

Yes you have......it's called 'choice' :) Each to their own.

Edited August 24, 2013 by Arzeena

[Priya2]

Yes you have......it's called 'choice' :) Each to their own.

No, I absolutely get 'choice'. I said I was surprised, not against it. I was just curious to read the views of those more experienced than myself! ;)

[MrsZillaSmith]

I did the Teppenyaki on NCL and it was well worth it!!! Best entertainment and dinner we had.

Having said that I agree that it is a shame the quality if MDR has gone down

[herbanrenewal]

We enjoyed our first experience with a specialty restaurant when we had some OBC from our TA and had prepaid all our reserved extras.

 

we've not had gourmet dining in the MDR, but perfectly acceptable food for us. still if the opportunity arises to do it again I would be happy to - i just wouldn't spend the extra unless it was with perks from the TA

[bouhunter]

It's just us, but we've grown weary of the banquet/large/hectic atmosphere in the MDR. The food is generally average, which is all that can be expected when you're feeding 1000 people at a time. And we got tired of pasta's, chicken, pork etc, we'd rather have better beef and seafood for the most part on vacation. Our last prime rib on RCCL in the MDR was pathetic - small, thin, and tough. Service, atmosphere and food are definitely better in the speciality restaurants (at least on Royal Caribbean) so we choose to pay to eat there (usually 3-4 nights on a 7 night cruise). They are cooked to order meals, not mass produced and plated for a 1000 at a time. That in itself is going to make a difference. Not to mention better food quality to start with and better desserts! It's just a matter of choice and priorities, like cabin choice, drinks, etc.

[SeagoingMom]

We enjoyed our first experience with a specialty restaurant when we had some OBC from our TA and had prepaid all our reserved extras.

 

we've not had gourmet dining in the MDR, but perfectly acceptable food for us. still if the opportunity arises to do it again I would be happy to - i just wouldn't spend the extra unless it was with perks from the TA

Yes, herbanrenewal (How ya doin', Herb? :rolleyes: -- love your screen name! :)) brings up a good point, and that is, if you have OBC's you want to spend or some discount on the specialty restaurant, by all means, try it! At least that way you can form your own opinion.

[Gardeneroflove]

one thing to keep in mind, is the the pay to dine places are 18+, so kid free. That might very well be part of the reason some do.

 

We never have, and seeing as how we now have an under 18, it'll be awhile if we ever do. Though, if we had an obc, I could see us trying it.

 

I'm one who would be happy to skip mdr and have room service. I'm kinda lazy.

 

On the other hand, we pay for coffee when there is coffee included. That's pretty much the same thing (on a cheaper scale). I'm not drinking crappy coffee. lol.

[I'm here]

When we have dined at speciality restaurants aboard ships, we haven't enjoyed the experience on our own as much as being on the table for 8 for the duration of the cruise. So, we don't tend to go to them unless we have company with us. We shall probably do it this cruise as we have another couple coming with us who are our cruise friends. Much better to dine with another couple. Don't mind paying the surcharge though to get better service and food.

[cibumcupio]

OP, I think you're forgetting that the MDR isn't really free, but you are paying for it from your cruise fare. That means the specialty restaurant isn't just $40 or something but $40 plus whatever you already paid for the MDR. For example, if I were to eat at a land restaurant like Qsine, it would cost a lot more than $40 per person, so that's why people say that it's a steal. I think it costs Celebrity $12 per person per day for food or something like that; though the quality of the meal, in my opinion, if you were to pay for it in a land based restaurant would be about $30 per person. So then it's more like should you pay $30 to eat in the MDR or $70 to eat in Qsine. And $70 for something like Qsine on land would be about right, or even cheaper than what you would expect.

 

So I think the reason people say the specialty restaurants are not overpriced is because rarely would you find the same quality of food on land for the same price as the fee for the specialty restaurant. It would usually be double that. So then it's a matter of would you rather pay X for the MDR or X+Y for the specialty restaurant. And on some nights the 4 star quality MDR is perfectly fine, and on other nights you want to pay that little extra for the 5 star.

Edited September 14, 2013 by cibumcupio

[calliopecruiser]

I think it costs Celebrity $12 per person per day for food or something like that;

 

Mainstream cruise lines spend less than $10 per person per day for food (2013 report), though that number is per person, not per passenger (i.e. includes crew). Of course, that's not the retail price of what you'd pay in a restaurant -- if a restaurant meal cost them $10, you'd likely pay $30 for it.

[simplelife]

We have done a specialty restaurant only once -it was my birthday and we went to the steakhouse on HAL. It was a wonderful experience - we thought of it as an excursion - but not one we generally do. We find the selection and quality of free choices to be just fine, and prefer to spend our money on other things. When it comes to saving money, we follow the old rule of "eat on the ship, drink in port".

[MCAT48]

We've only ever been on ncl and have always gone to le bistro, la cuchina, and moderno. La cuchina is only 15 pp. we enjoy it just as not if not more than the mdr. I'm on vacation so I "splurge".

[griffy116]

We don't just toss money in a fire, but we would think of the specialty restaurants as an excursion. We've talked about it and I've read all the information for the cruise line. Here are the reasons we don't do the specialty restaurants. The reviews I've read talk about the leisurely time they spend dining, which to me means a l-o-n-g time. I'm probably just impatient, but spending 2-1/2 hours dining isn't a luxury to me. It would be painful. Since there are always at least 4 of us traveling, we have always requested and gotten a table for just us, so we enjoy being able to have just our family at a table in the MDR, same as in the specialty restaurant. Reviews talk about how quiet and serene it is and seem to love that aspect. We are Diamond and ate breakfast one morning in the room reserved for Diamond/Diamond+ and we just really didn't enjoy the reserved, quiet aspect at all. We enjoy a bit of the buzz going on in the MDR...not the singing waiters, but just the general atmosphere. We always love our waiters. We've been fortunate and never had a set of bad waiters/asst. waiters. We can now get escargot and shrimp cocktail every night (RCCL) in the MDR and both are favorites of my Grandson. We've got plenty of outstanding restaurants in our area (Atlanta) so it's not as if we wouldn't be able to tell the difference in gourmet or banquet food, but we've always had an enjoyable meal in the MDR and can spend the $30 pp to go toward a meal at home. On the cruise, the MDR is just a part of the cruise that we enjoy. We love the tutti salad in the MDR for lunch on sea days. My Grandson loves the burgers in the MDR at lunch and is even willing to run by the cabin and switch from swimsuit to shorts to hit the MDR for lunch. He occasionally goes to Johnny Rockets for lunch and it's an upcharge, but that's his choice. Breakfast we alternate between the MDR and windjammer since some of us prefer the WJ and some the MDR for breakfast and we always find something we like, no matter which we choose. All in all, if we were dissatisfied with the food or experience in the MDR, we would opt for the specialty restaurants, but so far, we've always found the MDR is perfectly enjoyable.

[Lovely other]

If I was going to pay over the regular cruise fare to eat I'd much rather use a local restaurant in a port and have decent regional food at the same price as the so called speciality restaurants onboard.

[AmativeDame]

I am a budget minded person. We spend as little as possible, I cut coupons and find small ways to earn on the web.

 

We will likely go to the steakhouse on our trip this year. For us, its a way to get an experience that we don't get at home. Could we do fine dining here? Sure we could... but I would have a harder time justifying it, We would also be looking at 2-3 times the cost.

 

Could we make due with the mdr? Sure, but this would also be something extra special for us. In my eyes that makes it worth it.

[notentirelynormal]

I've done the specialty restaurants three times since we started cruising in the early 80s. The first experience was when "pay" restaurants first started. We didn't know what it was about and neither did the staff. We had just come back from port and decided to have Mexican. We stopped at the restaurant and were surprised that we had to pay. Horrible service and the food was just okay.

 

Fast forward to our next two experiences. Both were on the same cruise on the Ocean Princess. Small ship, one regular restaurant and the specialties change every other night. We decided to try Sabatinis. I guess it was my fault for not reading the menu completely. I expected Italian food but it was really all about sea food in the vast majority of items. I don't eat sea food so that limited my choices. I had heard SO many people talk about the huge amount of food. We went with our regular dinner mates and I have to tell you. We're still waiting to get the vast amount. Portions were barely enough for each of us to get a bite of each dish. They most certainly did not bring a lot. We were hungry shortly after we left. All of us were disappointed and it takes a LOT for that to happen for my husband.

 

Then we decided to try the steak house (Sterlings I think). Worst steak ever and service was really slow. I don't feel I got any value for those three meals and doubt I'll do it again.

 

On the other hand, on one ship they had dinner tables set up on deck and my brother and SIL tried it and thought it was fabulous.

 

I think this is very personal and you have to decided if it's for you. For us, it is not.

Edited November 13, 2013 by notentirelynormal
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[joejoe 59]

The food in the MDR and windjammer is good. I've preferred some things over others, and of some things I've said, "It's okay, but I wouldn't order it again", but I've also had things so good that I've come home and searched for the recipes. In general, I skip the bread; it's just ordinary stuff, and it's not worth the calories in comparison to the other choices. I really like their soup options. Dessert often is just so-so -- I definitely make better in my own kitchen -- but occasionally something'll pop up and be incredible.

 

So why do people pay extra for specialty restaurants? I think it's the gotta-have-something-special attitude that's become pervasive in the last couple decades. Going on a cruise (or any other vacation) is already something special in and of itself, but many people feel they have to have that little-something-extra to make their vacation "their own", to make it a little better than the standard experience. It's the same reason people insist that they "must" have a suite, or "must" book a cabana on the private island, or "must" book an exclusive shore excursion.

 

In the end, if you choose to spend extra and go to the specialty restaurants, you'll enjoy the meal. If you choose not to do so, you will not find yourself gnawing on stale bread crusts.

 

Very well said, & oh so true. :)

[orangepeel]

I am still trying to get past having to pay for soft drinks. My first cruise was ages ago and non-alcoholic drinks were included. Next few cruises were with Disney and the same type of thing; all drinks but booze and specialty coffees.

 

This summer we booked an Alaskan cruise with NCL and were surprised we had to pay for non-alcoholic drinks. No problem, we brought on bottled water and saw many people bringing cases of soda on board.

 

We are doing a cruise over Christmas with RCCL and found out we can't even bring our own bottled water on board. WTH. The cost to buy a case of water from them, $80ish bucks. Oh, and they tacked on a $10 gratuity as well.

 

I know that this is minor to some people but it REALLY irked me. It seems like money grubbing by the cruise lines.

 

So, that whining aside now....we did pay for two specialty meals on the Alaskan cruise. My kids love Benihana style restaurants, there was one on board so we took them to it as a treat. The other was going to the steak house my mom wanted to try. I can tell you the quality of steak in the steakhouse was MUCH higher than the MDR steak. Think comparing a Ruths Chris steak to say a steak at Denny's. The steakhouse version was thick, a very good cut and well trimmed of fat. The MDR steak was thinner, a poorer cut and had a lot of fat on it.

 

All other meals were MDR or the buffet. We felt NCL had such terrible food at the included places that none of us want to cruise with them again.

 

On our cruise next month we booked two specialty meals; one on Christmas Eve and one for my dads birthday. Only reason we did that should be pretty obvious. Other than that we will stick with the venues that are included in the cruise. Hopefully the food in the included venues on RCCL will be better than NCL!

[lauriekivitbay]

We ate at Cagneys on NCL Jewel and the food was totally worth the cover charge. It was the only restaurant we went to that had a cover charge that cruise but then it was my 50th and we celebrated with a bottle of champagne that the casino gave to me free ;) Hubby arranged for a rose and a piece of birthday cake for me. We lucked out as the ships photographer came by and we got a beautiful picture. Hubby also told me to splurge and get my hair and make up done at the spa and arranged for a portrait session and we ended up with beautiful pictures!

[orangepeel]

We ate at Cagneys on NCL Jewel and the food was totally worth the cover charge. It was the only restaurant we went to that had a cover charge that cruise but then it was my 50th and we celebrated with a bottle of champagne that the casino gave to me free ;) Hubby arranged for a rose and a piece of birthday cake for me. We lucked out as the ships photographer came by and we got a beautiful picture. Hubby also told me to splurge and get my hair and make up done at the spa and arranged for a portrait session and we ended up with beautiful pictures!

 

Yup, Cagneys was the place I was referring to in my post also. I will say again that place was worth the additional cost.

 

What was your take on he rest of the food on the Jewel?

[lauriekivitbay]

Yup, Cagneys was the place I was referring to in my post also. I will say again that place was worth the additional cost.

 

What was your take on he rest of the food on the Jewel?

 

 

We loved the food on the Jewel .. We ate at the Garden Café lots and also the main dining room a few times. We had no complaints at all on our cruise.. hence the back to back cruises in May 2014 ...

[voyager89]

We have only cruised on the Oasis, and I was by then well aware of all the pay restaurants. on embarkation day, we were reached about by this guy that offered us a specialty restaurants package for 75 dollars pp, for 3 restaurants. My partner doesnt speak english and I was very hesitant but then he said ¨come on is not like you cant afford it look at you¨and he started listing every single brand we were wearing. Sunglasses, watches, bags etc. :eek: Not to brag but we do like expensive stuff. He got me to it!! so I said yes and got the package. Later on I realized there was no sense on paying for food we are getting for free. I decided to cancel it :p

 

I am sure we would have had amazing meals, but we were absolutely happy with the food included on our fare there was no need to. We decided we rather spend 150 dollars in restaurants we actually HAVE to pay for when we were in Miami