Not BIG on specialty restaurants... Package, or wait for Offers on Board?

[yorky]

In our view Celebrity has one stand our speciality restaurant that is close to as good as it gets on standard cruise lines and that’s Murano, it’s worth every penny of the upgrade cost. Booked as you enter the ship you should get offered a discount.

[jagoffee]

I have to agree with Mike...if you like the MDR why even bother with paying extra for specialty dining? We've sailed 8 times and with one exception have never had a bad meal in the MDR (the one we had was celebrity chefs and our waiter TOLD us not to order it!) From strictly a financial POV, you've already paid for your meal in the MDR, why would you pay double to eat in one of the specialties? We checked out Qsine and found menu to be a little too "out there" for us and we're probably closer to your Mom's age than yours. We did like Tuscan menu but were turned off when we realized dinner would cost over $100 for the two of us if we had wine with dinner. We do like Aqua Spa for breakfast and lunch (we can sleep late and eat light) and the Mast Grill is great but there's very little shade. Luminae and Blu are not open to "the public".

 

If you do not feel that the meal in the Speciality Dining venue is worth at least twice of what you are actually paying, then it is probably not worth it for you.

IMO the speciality dining charge does not even come close to covering the actual cost of the meal.

We have had some cruises where will do not dine in the Speciality dining venues, but usually do once or twice. We think the Murano’s is outstanding. We also usually enjoy Tucsan (usually at a discount) because we love the “home made” pasta.

We do not enjoy Qsine and we have only tried it once. We would hate to think you are determine the value of the Speciality Dining based on just the Qsine.

 

If you have never experienced Murano’s, you might want to see if you can get a discount and try it.

 

Of course there is nothing wrong with leaving the experience for others.

 

Enjoy

[Hydrokitty]

And that's why there's so many different choices....what's important to one person isn't to another. I have no problem with the quality of the food in the specialty restaurants, I'm sure it's delicious. What I have a problem with is paying "double" for it....I've already paid for the dinner in either the MDR or the buffet and I don't get a refund if I don't eat in either of them so what I'm paying for in the specialty restaurants is actually in addition to the meal I've already paid for.That's why I do n't eat in them. :D

[helen haywood]

I agree. I’ve seldom had a bad meal in the MDR, and even if I did, there is always the Buffet and Cafe al Bacio. So even when we have a lot of OBC I can’t make myself use it for specialty restaurants. We have made an exception going a couple of times to Sushi on 5 as between the discount we get and the fact that we share s couple of things, our bill is always around $25 total.

 

 

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[yorky]

And that's why there's so many different choices....what's important to one person isn't to another. I have no problem with the quality of the food in the specialty restaurants, I'm sure it's delicious. What I have a problem with is paying "double" for it....I've already paid for the dinner in either the MDR or the buffet and I don't get a refund if I don't eat in either of them so what I'm paying for in the specialty restaurants is actually in addition to the meal I've already paid for.That's why I do n't eat in them. :D

 

You’re paying an addition but getting a standard of food and service far higher than the MDR in Murano. Think we paid around an extra £60 for the two of us and had a meal that would be £150/200 in Glasgow. The meal in the MDR would be around £60/70. In our view Murano is a bit of a bargain.

[villauk]

You’re paying an addition but getting a standard of food and service far higher than the MDR in Murano. Think we paid around an extra £60 for the two of us and had a meal that would be £150/200 in Glasgow. The meal in the MDR would be around £60/70. In our view Murano is a bit of a bargain.

 

 

Have you put a few extra zeros on by mistake :evilsmile:;p?

[Traveling Library]

We loved the Lawn Grill. Lots of meat so we learned to not "fill up" on the flat bread appetizer and salad bar. We booked on board. Sometimes discounts are offered if they need to fill the restaurants. Just ask, all they can say is "no."

[Pavovsky]

Are discounts on speciality restaurants regularly offered? Our plan is to buy some in a package but be open to do others of the price is right.

 

 

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[Muffinz]

Are discounts on speciality restaurants regularly offered? Our plan is to buy some in a package but be open to do others of the price is right.

 

 

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on our recent cruise in Solstice we came back from an excursion once and someone from Sushi on 5 was offering all you can eat for $20US per person I think and a couple of times when we came out of the OVC after lunch / afternoon tea we got stopped by a couple of people trying to talk us into dinner at Tuscan Grille or Murano for a reduced price.... they were a bit pushy but polite when we said no thanks

[Pavovsky]

on our recent cruise in Solstice we came back from an excursion once and someone from Sushi on 5 was offering all you can eat for $20US per person I think and a couple of times when we came out of the OVC after lunch / afternoon tea we got stopped by a couple of people trying to talk us into dinner at Tuscan Grille or Murano for a reduced price.... they were a bit pushy but polite when we said no thanks

 

 

 

Thanks. Sushi offer sounds good.

 

 

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[movie buff]

I think it all depends on how many people have bought packages and how heavy the reservations are. I am on the Solstice 12 night cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver. They were in port for two nights sailing at midnight on the second night. They were pushing hard selling dining packages. They offered 30% off all speciality restaurants on the first two evenings. I had purchased a 7 night dining package prior to leaving home. It brings the price down to about $23 a night per person. With 30% off it will still cost you more being at least $32 a person. If you book at least 5 nights you save the most. So well worth buying a package in my opinion if you enjoy the speciality dining which I personally love. You get the best service and the food is a step or two above the main dining room. I just enjoy the smaller space with less people. It's all good no matter what you decide. Something for everyone.

[Pavovsky]

I think it all depends on how many people have bought packages and how heavy the reservations are. I am on the Solstice 12 night cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver. They were in port for two nights sailing at midnight on the second night. They were pushing hard selling dining packages. They offered 30% off all speciality restaurants on the first two evenings. I had purchased a 7 night dining package prior to leaving home. It brings the price down to about $23 a night per person. With 30% off it will still cost you more being at least $32 a person. If you book at least 5 nights you save the most. So well worth buying a package in my opinion if you enjoy the speciality dining which I personally love. You get the best service and the food is a step or two above the main dining room. I just enjoy the smaller space with less people. It's all good no matter what you decide. Something for everyone.

 

 

 

Thanks. Best I can see is about 25 euro a night/27 dollars based on a 6 night package. Very tempted to book. Got a great rate so happy to spend a bit more on speciality dining. We like slower meals with good food and service.

 

 

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[fizzy1]

I think it all depends on how many people have bought packages and how heavy the reservations are. I am on the Solstice 12 night cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver. They were in port for two nights sailing at midnight on the second night. They were pushing hard selling dining packages. They offered 30% off all speciality restaurants on the first two evenings. I had purchased a 7 night dining package prior to leaving home. It brings the price down to about $23 a night per person. With 30% off it will still cost you more being at least $32 a person. If you book at least 5 nights you save the most. So well worth buying a package in my opinion if you enjoy the speciality dining which I personally love. You get the best service and the food is a step or two above the main dining room. I just enjoy the smaller space with less people. It's all good no matter what you decide. Something for everyone.

 

 

 

I agree. We are on the 14 night Sep Med cruise with Silhouette in Sep and we have a 8 night package , the rest of the time we will eat in OV. This is only the second cruise with Celebrity . On our first cruise with them we had a 3 night package and the rest of the 2 weeks we ate in OV as we didn’t like the main dinning room at all . Food was only ok but we were all crowded together like a cattle market and hated the crazy hustle and bustle.

 

 

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[ghstudio]

I thought the word "sushi" meant raw seafood and I found out I was wrong.

 

From vocabulary.com

 

Sushi is a popular Japanese dish made from seasoned rice with fish, egg, or vegetables. ... Sushi comes from a Japanese word meaning "sour rice," and it's the rice that's at the heart of sushi, even though most Americans think of it as raw fish. In fact, it's the word sashimi that refers to a piece of raw fish.

[Er12001]

And that's why there's so many different choices....what's important to one person isn't to another. I have no problem with the quality of the food in the specialty restaurants, I'm sure it's delicious. What I have a problem with is paying "double" for it....I've already paid for the dinner in either the MDR or the buffet and I don't get a refund if I don't eat in either of them so what I'm paying for in the specialty restaurants is actually in addition to the meal I've already paid for.That's why I do n't eat in them. :D

 

Thanks Hydrokitty, and to everyone else that has chimed in. Great feedback all around!

Def. looking forward to trying out the MDR and deciding later on in the cruise what specialty restaurant to try, but I think will def. book Murano as a "special occasion" to just celebrate being on vacay with Mum.

Happy Travels Everyone!