For charge restaurants - yay or nay?

[Butterbean1000]

We ate at the steakhouse on our last cruise for Valentine's Day. It was good, but we probably won't do it again. The food on the cruise is not a major concern for us. We prefer to spend our money on other aspects of our vacation.

[tandemcruzr]

There's not a single show, comedian, music band, bar, or slot machine that I would consider more enjoyable! :)

 

Very well said. Although we are retired, we enjoy each others company in the Steak House.

[happy cruzin]

You hit the nail on the head. I choose not to spend 3 hours of MY time attempting to eat way to much food. As for the ambiance?. I would not wait 20 or 30 minutes between courses. There is so much I like to do in the evening and stuffing myself is not one of them.

 

I guess if I drank it might be worth while sitting there drinking a bottle of wine while the wait staff take their time bringing my food out. The portions are way to large for our liking now days. I would have to go jog on the track for 2 miles if we ate everything they brought us.

 

Of course some people are foodies and can handle the volume of food they serve and the 2 to 3 hours it takes. Each to his own. I am not saying the food is not wonderful just not worth it to us anymore.

 

That is an exaggeration - I believe - and certainly never our experience.

DH and I often eat in the Steakhouse - and when we finish one course they bring the next. The guests set the pace and we are often out in about the same time as the MDR.

[SNJCruisers]

I do not live in large metropolitan area. Thank goodness. I never said I would spend it on the ship.

 

Just to insult someone is a little low to try to get your point across.

I was not insulting you at all, all I was doing was inferring that you wanted to spend the 70 dollars that you would have spent on the meal at the steakhouse elsewhere on board. And I made a factual statement that the same 70 dollar meal for two in the steakhouse would cost twice that price in a large city or even more than that in NYC.

 

You stated that you had gone to the steakhouse 5 or 6 times on all of your previous cruises except your last one, so obviously the up charge was worth it to you on multiple occasions.

[Out to sea!]

wow i just looked at the menu, and i have to say i am disappointed. i was really looking forward to eating there on the new 2.0 upgrades on the pride. but for a sushi bar you only have 4 choices of rolls, and 4 choices of sashimi. do they hand roll them in front of you at least or are they pre made and just handed out. my wife is a vegetarian and loves sushi like avocado roll or cucumber roll. they have no vegetarian options. hoping if they actually hand roll your order in front of you they could make an avocado roll or a cucumber roll.

 

Oh, I have no idea if they hand roll them or not. I just walk by the place often......I don't eat there. ;)

[deborahjo]

That is an exaggeration - I believe - and certainly never our experience.

DH and I often eat in the Steakhouse - and when we finish one course they bring the next. The guests set the pace and we are often out in about the same time as the MDR.

 

Sorry but on the Liberty October of 2013 it was at least 20 minutes between courses when we ate at the steakhouse. No exaggeration. We had to ask about our food 2 different times.

[skiracer0112]

For me as a solo cruiser most of the time I have not dined frequently in the specialty restaurants. That said I met another solo cruiser on my last cruise on the Breeze who also wanted to try the steak house. We both throughly enjoyed the experience, while not a romantic evening for the two of us I could definitely see it being a great splurge for a couple.

 

For those who enjoy sushi, it was good I thought better for a lunch as you could order just a few pieces.

 

The menu for Cucina I thought looked good but not outstanding relative to the italian restaurants I have at home so I only ate there for lunch at the free pasta bar which was also good.

 

For the ultimate experience I would definitely recommend the chefs table which while expensive at $75 I thought was completely worth it for a special occasion.

 

Although not on the Breeze, the specialty restaurant I hope that they roll out to more of the fleet is JiJi's, currently only on the sunshine. It was an outstanding meal and was one of the best asian meals I have ever eaten. I dined there twice on a 7 day cruise because it was so good.

 

All in all I can easily find plenty of great items on the MDR menu but for those special occasions I will definitely visit the specialty restaurants as they are definitely worth the additional expense. My recommendation would be to check with either guest services or the Maitre 'D ahead of time to plan the night so you don't miss anything in the MDR you really wanted to try.

[Butterbean1000]

Sorry but on the Liberty October of 2013 it was at least 20 minutes between courses when we ate at the steakhouse. No exaggeration. We had to ask about our food 2 different times.

 

We did not get great service on our one trip. We were a table of 6. About 1/2 after we arrived, a table of 4 arrived and sat right next to us. They started receiving thier food way ahead of us. We complained and was told that a tables with less people get their food first. What??? We were there at least 1/2 hour before them. The maitre'd brought us a free bottle of champaigne as an apology. All in all, the service was very slow. We spent at least 3 hours there.

[Qchell]

My DH and I have eaten at the steakhouse 3 times now and while my husband assures me it actually did take 2-3 hours.. at no point did we feel like we were wasting any time or that it was taking too long.

 

Of course it actually bothers me that these days when you go into a restaurant they are trying to turn tables over so quickly that it feels as if your dessert is being served moments after your appetizer.

 

We really appreciate the steakhouse, have thoroughly enjoyed every meal, enjoyed the atmosphere, the experience and appreciated being able to actually sit and enjoy the meal without being rushed out the door. And even then we were so full that desserts often got packed to take back to the room to enjoy later. To us it is VERY much worth the price.

 

I wholeheartedly recommend trying at least once to form your own opinion. (and yes the chocolate delight is out of this world!!!)

[happy cruzin]

Sorry but on the Liberty October of 2013 it was at least 20 minutes between courses when we ate at the steakhouse. No exaggeration. We had to ask about our food 2 different times.

 

 

That would be discouraging! 😖

 

Thankfully - we've never run in to that and have always enjoyed our meals at the Steakhouse on many ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[JohnSpo]

That is an exaggeration - I believe - and certainly never our experience.

 

DH and I often eat in the Steakhouse - and when we finish one course they bring the next. The guests set the pace and we are often out in about the same time as the MDR.

 

I agree that the guests set the pace. My steakhouse dinners usually are about 1 1/2 hours at a nice comfortable pace. This is not much longer than in the MDR.

[cruise_girl2002]

steakhouse for sure!!! I went to the steakhouse on the conquest in September (solo cruise) and it was a big highlight for me! GREAT food and excellent service.

[richstowe]

We usually enjoy one additional fee restaurant per cruise. Once is enough when the MDR food is good.

Carnival's steak places don't compare to high-end steak place on shore but I've paid a similar

amount for just the expensive steak place as for the day on the ship including the Carnival steak rest.

The food in the MDR is good and very adequate for us. I'm sure the food in the pay restaurants is better and seems like most people rave about it but I have never believed in encouraging them to charge for what was normally included in the cost of the cruise. They only add on more and more as time goes one.

I completely agree that paying for what was once free is annoying . It seems that some believe

that the more you pay for something the better it is. :confused: To be fair some extra fee options are new .

[travelgolightly]

Agree. Another ploy to make more money by making you think you are doing something oh so exclusive! Cruise ship food no matter how you dress it up!

 

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Forums mobile app

[dave_k58]

I cook better than most. Son is a medallion wearing chef. We owned our own restaurant. I enjoy the buffets.

 

I am really happy to see this post. I enjoy the buffets too.

[dave_k58]

I was not insulting you at all, all I was doing was inferring that you wanted to spend the 70 dollars that you would have spent on the meal at the steakhouse elsewhere on board. And I made a factual statement that the same 70 dollar meal for two in the steakhouse would cost twice that price in a large city or even more than that in NYC.

 

You stated that you had gone to the steakhouse 5 or 6 times on all of your previous cruises except your last one, so obviously the up charge was worth it to you on multiple occasions.

 

I think the steakhouse is priced more or less appropriately. I live in Texas and love a good steak. I can't remember if they were advertising that the steaks were " prime" - but I would think probably not. The service was good.