Which Speciality Restaurant?

[paphoslady]

We will be cruising on Eclipse for 2 weeks in March 2020 and just wanted everyone's thoughts on which is the best speciality restaurant to book? We have never tried any of the speciality restaurants on Celebrity but really enjoyed Chops Grille on RCL a couple of weeks ago.

[chemmo]

39 minutes ago, paphoslady said:

We will be cruising on Eclipse for 2 weeks in March 2020 and just wanted everyone's thoughts on which is the best speciality restaurant to book? We have never tried any of the speciality restaurants on Celebrity but really enjoyed Chops Grille on RCL a couple of weeks ago.

 

Murano’s is wonderful. Tableside flambé service of certain items, lovely menu choice, you really feel you are enjoying a special occasion.

 

Tuscan Grill, steak and pasta. Better than Chops in my opinion. Fabulous wake views.

 

Le Petit Chef, fun rather than fine dining but a lovely experience.

 

Sushi on Five, does offer some none sushi options.

 

If you are only going to do one I would recommend Murano’s but why not look at the cost of a package and enjoy them all!

 

Other free alternative evening options are....Oceanview cafe offers some fresh cooked items along with regular buffet fare, great option on days you are exhausted after an excursion. Room service, no charge until 11pm and you can order from the MDR menu not just from the room service menu during the hours the MDR is open.

 

Enjoy!

Edited September 17, 2019 by chemmo

[GastroGnome]

I have to say I don't like Muranos.  It is a spectacle; but the menu and the tableside service is - to me - dated. The service is excellent - but the decor very dark.  The cheese board is good though!  Tuscan grill has stunning wake views. The menu is basically steak, fish and pasta.  But the quality is high.  I seriously dislike LPC - but I don't deny it has novelty appeal.   Only be very careful if you have someone in your party with an astigmatism or any light sensitivity.  If you can't see a 3D image you won't be able to see this properly and the projector halo is very disturbing to people with light sensitive migraine or epilepsy.  

 

My choice would be Tuscan!

 

[ladylemondrop]

We love Murano, and Tuscan, would say try them both if you can!

[JackB60]

We liked Fine cut but frankly could a good steak in any restaurant in the city we live. We liked Rooftop grill for the ability to eat outside (if not too windy). Our family still is talking about Le petit chef. It's a memorable experience and a lot of fun. LPC is the one specialty my family said we must do next cruise!

[Hlitner]

DW and I have a love affair with Murano!  Their style of cuisine and fine dining suits us and it is our favorite restaurant at sea (even when compared to some dining venues on very expensive luxury lines).  About 3 years ago we booked a back-to-back cruise on the Silhouette (total of 21 days) and bought a discounted dining package for 16 days that got our cost per meal down to about $25 per person/meal.  We ended up dining in Murano 10 times and probably had just about every item (some more then once) on the menu.  In order to do this booking we backed away from our normal Aqua Class and booked a decent balcony (better location then any Aqua Class cabin).  The money we saved by NOT booking Aqua covered our dining package with enough let over to buy some decent bottles of wine.

 

Murano is not for everyone.  It is a more formal dining atmosphere and dinner can easily become a 2 hour experience (although you could certainly dine in a little over an hour).

 

Hank

[Mimiya11]

My vote is for Murano, hands down.   

 

 

[Mimiya11]

30 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

DW and I have a love affair with Murano!  Their style of cuisine and fine dining suits us and it is our favorite restaurant at sea (even when compared to some dining venues on very expensive luxury lines).  About 3 years ago we booked a back-to-back cruise on the Silhouette (total of 21 days) and bought a discounted dining package for 16 days that got our cost per meal down to about $25 per person/meal.  We ended up dining in Murano 10 times and probably had just about every item (some more then once) on the menu.  In order to do this booking we backed away from our normal Aqua Class and booked a decent balcony (better location then any Aqua Class cabin).  The money we saved by NOT booking Aqua covered our dining package with enough let over to buy some decent bottles of wine.

 

Murano is not for everyone.  It is a more formal dining atmosphere and dinner can easily become a 2 hour experience (although you could certainly dine in a little over an hour).

 

Hank

 

This is exactly what our plan is for our next cruise (well when we book one 🙂 )  While we enjoy AQ for Blu, we like the idea of offsetting the price difference and just buying a dining package.   

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, Mimiya11 said:

 

This is exactly what our plan is for our next cruise (well when we book one 🙂 )  While we enjoy AQ for Blu, we like the idea of offsetting the price difference and just buying a dining package.   

We used to love Blu, but about 4 years ago realized we were getting bored with their menu.  The quality of Blu also seemed to have declined over the years (some would disagree).  I have also never been a fan of the AQ cabins on the Solstice Class ships as many are right under the pool deck or in the huge shadow of the superstructure (above).  We actually think the balcony cabins a couple of decks lower are in a much better location.  If Aqua were priced the same of close to a lower category balcony we would likely book it again.  But otherwise we will look for good deals on regular balconies and dining packages.  That being said, we have no future plans to cruise on Celebrity.  Of our 5 cruise bookings for the next 15 months not one is on Celebrity!  The various cut-backs on the line, coupled with pricing, has driven us to other lines where we find much better value (even Seabourn is a better value) and quality.   We recently did a last minute cruise/booking on the Summit (it was a great cruise) but only because we were able to snag an excellent last minute deal (a good balcony cabin for about $100 per passenger day).   We also recently took a 14 day Seabourn cruise in Alaska that actually cost us less then a comparable suite on Celebrity!  And trust me that Celebrity is no Seabourn.....not even close.  In the Caribbean where we used to cruise Celebrity for at least a couple of weeks every year we now find MSC's Yacht Club a much better value.  And Celebrity does not even come close to comparing with the Yacht Club when it comes to service and quality.  Other friends have abandoned Celebrity for Oceania and/or Viking.  Granted that these lines are more costly than X if you book regular balconies (or lower) but are very price competitive when you compare like accommodations.

 

Hank

[Mimiya11]

56 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We used to love Blu, but about 4 years ago realized we were getting bored with their menu.  The quality of Blu also seemed to have declined over the years (some would disagree).  

Hank

 

We found our experience on the Reflection in Blu fantastic once we moved to another area, where the wait staff and sommelier were outstanding and all meals were great (our opinion of course).  Our first two nights had a too high energy waiter and an awful sommelier with no customer service skills so we asked to be moved (notice how Blu usually seats you at the same table?) Menu for us was great except for the breakfasts, which really need to be updated. Boring for sure.  While we enjoyed the breakfast calm in eating in Blu over the buffet, we did go to the buffet a few times only to have some more variety.     

We tend to choose a ship by itinerary but some of the lines are cost prohibitive for us.  Trust me I keep looking 🙂  

  

 

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, Mimiya11 said:

 

We found our experience on the Reflection in Blu fantastic once we moved to another area, where the wait staff and sommelier were outstanding and all meals were great (our opinion of course).  Our first two nights had a too high energy waiter and an awful sommelier with no customer service skills so we asked to be moved (notice how Blu usually seats you at the same table?) Menu for us was great except for the breakfasts, which really need to be updated. Boring for sure.  While we enjoyed the breakfast calm in eating in Blu over the buffet, we did go to the buffet a few times only to have some more variety.     

We tend to choose a ship by itinerary but some of the lines are cost prohibitive for us.  Trust me I keep looking 🙂  

  

 

We spent around forty years seeking out decent cruise bargains....always with an eye on itinerary.  But around 5 years ago we started to get frustrated with all the cut-backs on our favorite lines.  Then, several of those lines (Celebrity being the worst) started increasing prices in a major way.  X tried to hide the increases by the use of amenity packages (often overvalued by the cruise line) to hide the increases.  Others had been telling us for several years that we should consider some higher quality options which they insisted was not much more expensive once you factored in what was being delivered.  Now we find ourselves looking at many of the higher quality lines for bargain pricing (it does happen).  Princess has also gained back more of our business (we had stopped cruising this lines a few years ago because of quality issues)...partially because of some fantastic itineraries.  We have one future Princess cruise which embarks at Rome and works its way through the Suez canal later stopping at places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and eventually making its way to Singapore and then on to Sydney.   A recent Caribbean Princess cruise (which was discounted for those of us who booked at the last minute) went round trip from NYC to Greenland and a few Canadian ports.  It was actually the largest cruise ship to ever visit Greenland.   Meanwhile, Celebrity continues to do the same old same old....but at much higher prices :(.  If we are going to do the same old itineraries on X, we are only going to do it when we get terrific deals (like on our most recent Summit cruise).  As to the Edge (and sister ships) we do not feel any strong draw towards cruising on those vessels at their inflated costs.  We would want a real balcony (not impressed with the Infinity cabins) which is price prohibitive (our recent Seabourn cruise was less costly).   And then there is the argument that if one wants good cuisine (like we USED to get on X) then perhaps Oceania is a much better option then X.

 

One facet we love about the cruise industry is the huge amount of competition.  If one line does too much quality cutting or price increasing there are always other lines (offering higher quality and more reasonable pricing).   We suspect that eventually Celebrity will find that happy medium....but right now we are not impressed.  The recent fiasco with On-Demand movies just shows that Celebrity is currently a ship floundering around in a big sea.

 

Hank

[drakes2]

12 hours ago, GastroGnome said:

I have to say I don't like Muranos.  It is a spectacle; but the menu and the tableside service is - to me - dated. The service is excellent - but the decor very dark.  The cheese board is good though!  Tuscan grill has stunning wake views. The menu is basically steak, fish and pasta.  But the quality is high.  I seriously dislike LPC - but I don't deny it has novelty appeal.   Only be very careful if you have someone in your party with an astigmatism or any light sensitivity.  If you can't see a 3D image you won't be able to see this properly and the projector halo is very disturbing to people with light sensitive migraine or epilepsy.  

 

My choice would be Tuscan!

 

Ate at Muranos once when on the Silly and to be honest wasn't crazy about it. Prefer Tuscan grill for the food and view.

[Cruiseincan]

15 hours ago, paphoslady said:

We will be cruising on Eclipse for 2 weeks in March 2020 and just wanted everyone's thoughts on which is the best speciality restaurant to book? We have never tried any of the speciality restaurants on Celebrity but really enjoyed Chops Grille on RCL a couple of weeks ago.

 

Tuscan grille sounds like its for you then. Ive had the normal steaks and upgraded steaks and they are all excellent, massive portions. Get the anti pasta shared plate, the pork belly, some short rib pasta and a nice steak and you are set. Polish it off with a pistachio creme brûlée. Wow. Now I'm hungry. 

 

Ive heard great things recently from family who went to murano. Just haven't experienced it myself yet. Enjoy, bring turkey pants.

[shipshape sam]

Murano's and if you like fish, Dover Sole.  They filet it table side.  My go to cruise treat. 🙂

 

 

 

 

[Nymich]

Murano and it's not even close imo  Get the chateaubriand for two with lobster prepared at the table had it two weeks ago on Equinox Sooooooooo Good!

 

Tuscan distant 2nd

Edited September 18, 2019 by Nymich

[dkjretired]

11 minutes ago, Nymich said:

Murano and it's not even close imo  Get the chateaubriand for two with lobster prepared at the table had it two weeks ago on Equinox Sooooooooo Good!

 

Tuscan distant 2nd

 

Agree, chateaubriand for two with a lobster is out of this world.  They also have unique appetizers and desserts that you can't get anywhere else in the fleet.   Goat  cheese soufflé's, dark chocolate soufflé's and my favorite desert Grand Marnier Soufflé's.   I know the GM Soufflé's if available in I believe Blu but it is not the same, just a soufflé's with sauce, Murano makes it with the sauce incorporated with the soufflé's. 

[hcat]

Book one each week..

 

Tuscan...we enjoy it , food is  good with nice variety. Also offers lunch some sea days with an abbreviated menu and lower charge.

 

Murano is the top level of  dining.... menu, food  and service are excellent. Great desserts. You can skip courses in Murano if the meal time is too long abd drawn out.  

[George C]

Love Tuscan grill 

[Gordoncruickshank]

Personally I like the food in Murano but dislike the pretentiousness of the staff there. We have fallen out of love with Tuscan a few cruises ago as the service varies from being superb to being terrible. It all depends on whether the waiter is paying attention to all his guests or whether he is chasing tips from one of the big tables they have. If the latter you end up being ignored. This has happened too many times there for us to recommend it to anyone.

 

If you have not tried them they are worth a visit but we have decided, for the moment, to stick to Luminae where you are almost guaranteed the service 

[4774Papa]

The Celebrity specialty restaurants are so expensive that we have rarely used them.  We like the one that had crepes and it was only $10, but it is no more.

[drakes2]

37 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

The Celebrity specialty restaurants are so expensive that we have rarely used them.  We like the one that had crepes and it was only $10, but it is no more.

I would have to agree with you especially when converted to Canadian currency. The meals in the MDR are fine and have already been paid for so don't feel the need to go elsewhere but to each his own. 

[dkjretired]

46 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

The Celebrity specialty restaurants are so expensive that we have rarely used them.  We like the one that had crepes and it was only $10, but it is no more.

 

I agree and we have only done them on special occasions but it should be noted that no one should really pay the full price.

[katiegirl1264]

We live near a major city so a nice Italian restaurant or a good steak is not exactly a rare treat. We do also like the MDR's and frankly the buffets are often perfectly good. We all loved Le Petit Chef. This was an experience we have never seen before and offers technology we have not seen in any restaurant even in major cities. Our waiter explained it plays around the world for much higher cost than we paid on our ship. We were all enthralled and delighted and so was everyone in the restaurants with us. I can't remember ever saying that about a dinner - ANYWHERE. It was our family's favorite by a long shot. We all are looking forward to seeing it again.