Have pay for dining venues reached their saturation point?

[judyzoo]

Who does one ask for these specialty restaurant discounts?

[FUN33]

Who does one ask for these specialty restaurant discounts?

 

They will ask you - crew members will often be outside the Ocean View offering discounts after breakfast and lunch. You can also go to the individual restaurant and inquire what deals they are offering.

[ghstudio]

They will ask you - crew members will often be outside the Ocean View offering discounts after breakfast and lunch. You can also go to the individual restaurant and inquire what deals they are offering.

 

Additionally, even if they don't offer, you can quietly make them an offer....they can say yes, no or counter your offer.

[CruisingChick]

Additionally, even if they don't offer, you can quietly make them an offer....they can say yes, no or counter your offer.

 

On one of our cruises the Maitre'd of Normandie asked us how much we wanted to pay. I said we had not visited since the price was $35 pp and when they started raising the prices we decided to no longer go. He said fine you can come for $35, my DH said that's not the point. The point is the price should be lower for everyone not just us. We did not take him up on his offer.

[ghstudio]

Hi, I am going on my very first cruise in August (Reflection) and have only JUST found out that we have to pay extra to eat at the speciality restaurants! I thought the beauty of cruising was that you could eat anywhere! Reading through your posts though I see that it is best to book these on board as you get a discount? Is this right? I have also booked the all inclusive drinks package and I do hope thats not a con too!!

 

Every cruise line is different...and most, other than the luxury lines, have specialty restaurants or charge for various things you might expect to be free.

 

Some if not many of us never eat in the specialty restaurants, unless they offer some irresistable deal (like 50% off). For breakfast, you have the buffet, the MDR or the aqua spa cafe..all free. For lunch, the buffet, MDR, aqua spa cafe, poolside grill. Dinner in the buffet or MDR. Menus in the MDR change daily and some items change every day in the aqua spa cafe and buffet area. On many cruises, they have one outdoor BBQ lunch by the pool. Finally, don't forget room service is always available. Net of all that is that you have many choices without paying anything extra....and for a sweet snack, you can get pastries/cookies at cafe B accio and made on board ice cream free as well.

 

Yes, there are some extra meals...the specialty restaurants like Murano, Lawn Grill, Silk Harvest, Qsine...but you really don't need to dine there..in fact the reason you often get discounts offered on board is that no one else is dining there so they have empty tables.

 

Don't worry...you'll have plenty of choices of where to eat meals without spending anything extra....

[CanadianDee]

On one of our cruises the Maitre'd of Normandie asked us how much we wanted to pay. I said we had not visited since the price was $35 pp and when they started raising the prices we decided to no longer go. He said fine you can come for $35, my DH said that's not the point. The point is the price should be lower for everyone not just us. We did not take him up on his offer.

 

LOL. This is *my* husband.

 

I'd be all, "oh, yes please, let's go with the discount", and he'd be, "nope, no way, it's the principle of thing".

 

I love him and his principles dearly. :)

[judyzoo]

Thanks for your suggestions. I may try for the 50% discount. Otherwise, we'll be eating in the main dining room every night.

[hobbsie65]

You guys have opened my eyes to this extra dinning 'experience' !! We are doing a NZ cruise in November & do not want to bring formal wear with us so I was going to book these on formal nights but you guys are right so I am glad I read this thread before paying on-line. We will wait until we get onboard to see if there are any deals but if not we are more than happy to eat in the buffet - it is included & saves me some money for tours

[Debbie1573]

I wasn't going to do the formal nights, but one of my friends convinced me they are great fun, so we will go with the flow and do them! My husband doesn't even possess a dinner suit so we have to go and buy that, he also doesn't possess many pairs of chino's so I have had to buy them too. This cruise is getting more and more expensive by the minute ! LOL.:D

[LuAnn]

Not paying $50 pp to "dine" in one of the special restaurants!! Sorry X...love the line...and have sailed it often..but not paying that kind of $$...that's 100 for the 2 of us...duh....and I won't be doing that anytime soon!! No matter how much SBC I have...it is not going there...and I think the $$ have gone over the top!! LuAnn

[Martinjjd]

On our Solstice cruise in March we were surprised how much better the three specialty restaurants were than on our cruise 12 months earlier.We had no complaints at that time but they were all extra special this time.We were pleasantly surprised with Silk Harvest after having read some mixed reviews & the other two were superb.Well worth the cost & there were 50% discounts offered on first night.

This is a worthwhile option for those who have not tried them & for others it is your own choice.We will definitely be including the three specialty restaurants again on future cruises.

[Redtravel]

Years ago when the specialty restaurants charged a lot less than now, I ate in many of the restaurants. Some were good, some were bad, most were okay. Over the years, I haven't seen any significant changes to menus or food. The only change has been the price. On our last 14 night cruise, we opted to spend some of our OBC on dinner at Tuscan Grill. It was good. Nice change from the MDR. Was it worth spending the extra money? No I think that many people are resisting the extra fees for dining in the specialty restaurants. On the night we dined in Tuscan, it was ,mostly empty. six tables were filled. Since you have already paid for a dinner in the MDR, the extra fee is absurdly expensive. The specialty restaurants need to change their menus, lower their fees, and offer a really different experience. Qsine was a blast the first time I dined there. Great experience with lots of fun. IT isn't as thrilling on repeat visits. I enjoy the MDR. Different menu each night. I would like it if the MDR was open everyday for lunch. I hate buffets. I have a difficult time collecting food. I can only use one hand. I hate needing help in the buffet. I like the Bistro once in awhile. Room service is okay for lunch. I would enjoy some small sandwiches at lunch at the Cafe Al Bacio.

[CruisingChick]

Back in the day when Celebrity first started the specialty restaurants on the M class ships they offered live music - a harpist - and also had an incredible cheese course which is now NOTHING like it was and also had impeccable service. It was only $25.00. Now it's twice that much and not nearly the experience it use to be.

[nyfeds]

We just completed our first Celebrity cruise on Silhouette. We were Aqua and had access to Blu, which we found to be excellent for both breakfast and dinner. We purchased a dining package to give the specialty restaurants a try. Murano was excellent. Tuscan Grill and Qsine quite good. Lawn Grill was a really dismal disappointment. We felt like we were dining at a Sizzler! Salad bar was bland and nothing special at all. Steak was dry and flavorless. Shrimp and scallop brochettes were very heavily seasoned just with salt and pepper. The cooks appeared to be clueless in proper preparation. We expressed our displeasure to the manager and he continually pleaded with us to return at his expense to give them another try. We did not take him up on the offer, but appreciated his concern.

 

We have another cruise on Eclipse in Aug. I plan to cancel the dining package we previously bought for that cruise and may consider dining in Murano only. Blu was outstanding so why pay for specialty dining?

 

What surprised us was that the specialty restaurants were not that busy or full. I do believe excessive costs, per person, is the cause. We, too, found a pretty hard sell on dining packages and specialty dining venues. We took the ship's galley tour and at the end of the tour, we were taken into each dining venue and encouraged to dine there.

[CruisingChick]

I plan to cancel the dining package we previously bought for that cruise and may consider dining in Murano only. Blu was outstanding so why pay for specialty dining?

 

Especially since you are already paying more to eat in Blu than those that eat in the MDR.

[Debbie1573]

Hi, can anyone help? My husband and I plan to go ashore on a couple of the Greek islands and visit the beach, so does the ship supply beach towels or do we have to bring our own ? :confused:

[mickey89]

Hi, can anyone help? My husband and I plan to go ashore on a couple of the Greek islands and visit the beach, so does the ship supply beach towels or do we have to bring our own ? :confused:

 

Much better to ask these type of questions on your Roll call, many people will be able to help.

The answer to your question is YES, towels will be available just before the exit, normally deck 2. Water will also be available (at a cost) as well.

[mferranti]

As far as I know, beach towels are not available in any of the pay-for-dining venues.

 

(Just wanted to get back to the topic. ;) )