Is Specialty Dining Worth It?

[BruceMuzz]

Are specialty dining rooms worth it?...........now that you've mentioned escargot...... we were on a "Freestyle" cruise and asked if we could order escargot in the MDR. We were told, "no, but it was available in the French themed surcharge dining room". We dined there one night and enjoyed our escargot which we got for the $25 pp surcharge. More recently we were on "a love boat" and asked for escargot in the MDR. The waiter said we could have them the next evening. When he served them he said, "would you like a standing order for them every evening?" I guess on some lines, specialty dining rooms are "worth it" depending what you'd like to have for dinner that you can't get in the MDR.

 

Over the past 2 years there has been a worldwide shortage of escargot. The shortage drove up costs to a point where your cruise fare was not covering the additional cost. Instead of raising the price of your cruise, most of the mass market cruise lines took escargot off the menu.

This year the shortage is nearly ended and you will see escargot returning to the masses as the prices go down.

[navybankerteacher]

110% worth it!! Some of our most amazing food experiences on land or on water have been in speciality restaurants. It is beyond a bargain the tiny amount you have to pay as a cover, compared to a restaurant on land for that quality of food and service :)

 

You are forgetting the part of your fare which went towards the meal in the MDR which you skip to eat in the specialty restaurant - which should be added to that "tiny amount" to which you refer.

 

That said, if you feel the MDR meals are not fully satisfactory generally - or if there is a particularly uninspiring menu on a given day, or you have a special occasion to celebrate, it makes sense to go to the specialty restaurant.

 

The unfortunate truth, however, is that cruise lines have generally downgraded the quality/service of MDR dinners as a cost saving method -- and, because the concept seems to work (for the lines, not necessarily the passengers), we will probably see a continuing degradation of the MDR experience, because in business any successful net revenue tactic is almost always repeated.