"Where we ordered the Chops Filet Mignon in the MDR for an Additional $16.95".....WHAT???

[John&LaLa]

3 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Based on our recent experience in Chops on Harmony in April, this might currently be a stretch - my medium rare filet was raw, and DW's half chicken was Cornish game hen sized and overcooked to the point of inedibility - She could hardly cut it with my steak knife, and forget about trying to chew it.

 

Ask for another

[orville99]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Ask for another

Took a half hour to get the first one...

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We have ordered this filet in MDR a couple times and was good but not the same as Chops.  

You can order a NY Strip steak in the MDR for free every night. 
 

Edited May 13, 2022 by BirdTravels

[sailor05]

Am I better off ordering on the planner now at $53 each or waiting to get on-board to get C&A price?

 

I personally like going to Chops better because it just seems like better meat, better appetizers, better service and if one's steak isn't cooked just right they fix WAY faster than in the MDR.

[John&LaLa]

21 minutes ago, sailor05 said:

Am I better off ordering on the planner now at $53 each or waiting to get on-board to get C&A price?

 

I personally like going to Chops better because it just seems like better meat, better appetizers, better service and if one's steak isn't cooked just right they fix WAY faster than in the MDR.

 

Deals are hit or miss, but try and 'negotiate'

[Cruiser 5452]

Let’s see,  if I go to Chops for Dinner it runs $53 per person.   If I go to Chops for Lunch, it costs a little over $25 per person.  I can get the Chops Steak in the Main Dining Room for roughly $18.  In the Main Dining Room I also have a choice of several other entrees, appetizers, and Desserts.  I don’t think that I can justify paying an additional $35  for the ambiance and quiet.  I work too hard for my money to pay $35 for quiet and ambiance.   I know money is not object to many of you cruisers out there,.   I would guess if you put the Chops cooked steak next to the MDR “Chops” steak, most people would not be able to tell the difference.  For those of you that money is not an object to you, more power to you.

[Norwich Cruiser]

9 hours ago, tigerwilf said:

I have done both and the steak was cooked perfectly in both locations.

Same here whenever we’ve ordered the chops steak in the MDR it’s always been cooked perfectly to our medium rare tastes.

[billslowsky]

13 hours ago, Cruiser 5452 said:

Let’s see,  if I go to Chops for Dinner it runs $53 per person.   If I go to Chops for Lunch, it costs a little over $25 per person.  I can get the Chops Steak in the Main Dining Room for roughly $18.  In the Main Dining Room I also have a choice of several other entrees, appetizers, and Desserts.  I don’t think that I can justify paying an additional $35  for the ambiance and quiet.  I work too hard for my money to pay $35 for quiet and ambiance.   I know money is not object to many of you cruisers out there,.   I would guess if you put the Chops cooked steak next to the MDR “Chops” steak, most people would not be able to tell the difference.  For those of you that money is not an object to you, more power to you.

I'd rather have the fun waiters in the MDR than the stuffy atmosphere of Chops.  And as a bonus, people dress more comfortably.

[nelblu]

20 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

The C&A BOGO at Chops  cost us over $80  for the second person on a recent Harmony cruise.  It was a nice  experience but we are still deciding if it was worth the cost.  We took two family members and used  both our BOGOs  so it was in the $170 range.    Other evenings we had a lovely table in the dining room and frankly it never occurred to me to suggest we simply order the Chops Filet. 

 

Yes, the appetizers were good in Chops, the vegs just OK, but  the  dessert wasn't any better than the MDR. 

 

OP - thanks for the reminder.

M  

 

 

 

Your math escapes me.  How large was your party.  The average Chop's cost in the $55 range per X grats.  Therefore, if a party of 4 and using 2 BOGOs, it should be $110 + grats.

[orville99]

44 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Your math escapes me.  How large was your party.  The average Chop's cost in the $55 range per X grats.  Therefore, if a party of 4 and using 2 BOGOs, it should be $110 + grats.

On Harmony two weeks ago, Chops was $69.95/pp + 18% gratuity. Even with the BOGO it cost me  more than $90.

[zap99]

On 5/13/2022 at 4:13 PM, BecciBoo said:

It's really all relative John.  I don't think the sides and desserts are any better than MDR. Which means I am paying for just the meat at $90.  I think paying the $17 is way better even if the prep is different in Chops.  But hey, to each their own.  The other specialties may be worth the extra, but to us Chops...not so much.  And Tyman, we did do lunch on Adventure  last month, and it was substandard to all other times we've done it. That's what made us decide to skip Chops from now on.

In English money, on Anthem a meal for 2 in Chops is £80. Having already paid for MDR........pass.

[Cruising89143]

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

On Harmony two weeks ago, Chops was $69.95/pp + 18% gratuity. Even with the BOGO it cost me  more than $90.

We were on the NV last week. I pre purchased Chops prior to the cruise and the price was $41.99 pp before we added the gratuity. I have it booked twice (pre purchased) for our cruise in three weeks on the same ship and it was $49.99 pp. Interesting the fluctuation between ships. Celebrity just raised their specialty dining prices last week by 18% so I’m sure that we will see prices rise even more. 

[orville99]

45 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

We were on the NV last week. I pre purchased Chops prior to the cruise and the price was $41.99 pp before we added the gratuity. I have it booked twice (pre purchased) for our cruise in three weeks on the same ship and it was $49.99 pp. Interesting the fluctuation between ships. Celebrity just raised their specialty dining prices last week by 18% so I’m sure that we will see prices rise even more. 

It went up $20/pp between our February cruise and our April cruises on Harmony. Current purchase on board per person pricing for our remaining 2022 cruises:

Mariner - $58.99 +18% service charge = $69.60 pp

Harmony and Wonder - $64.99 +18% service charge = $76.69 pp

Jewel - $52.99 +18% = $62.52 pp

[nelblu]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

On Harmony two weeks ago, Chops was $69.95/pp + 18% gratuity. Even with the BOGO it cost me  more than $90.

WOW!   When I pre-booked Chops +1 on Anthem Easter sail it was $67.99 + grats.

Edited May 14, 2022 by nelblu

[shof515]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

On Harmony two weeks ago, Chops was $69.95/pp + 18% gratuity. Even with the BOGO it cost me  more than $90.

I am booked on the Oasis next year and it is $64.99 + gratuity

[Cruising89143]

6 minutes ago, orville99 said:

It went up $20/pp between our February cruise and our April cruises on Harmony. Current purchase on board per person pricing for our remaining 2022 cruises:

Mariner - $58.99 +18% service charge = $69.60 pp

Harmony and Wonder - $64.99 +18% service charge = $76.69 pp

Jewel - $52.99 +18% = $62.52 pp

I just checked the prices for our August B2B on the NV. Chops would be $58.99 if we waited to purchase on board. I purchased for $49.99. No mention of a gratuity being added but we have always added a cash gratuity when closing out the check.
 

On Celebrity as of last week they’re now adding 18% on checkout on some ships that have the “old” price. On other ships they simply raised the price by 18% and no added gratuity at checkout. So confusing. I have no idea of what will happen later this year when we dine on the Solstice. We purchased at the cheaper price with no 18% gratuity added. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[orville99]

23 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

No mention of a gratuity being added but we have always added a cash gratuity when closing out the check.

The 18% is automatically added. Whatever gratuity you put on the tab goes on top of that. In the restaurant industry that's called a plus plus (you are tipping on an already tipped total.)

[cruisegirl1]

4 hours ago, nelblu said:

Your math escapes me.  How large was your party.  The average Chop's cost in the $55 range per X grats.  Therefore, if a party of 4 and using 2 BOGOs, it should be $110 + grats.

We were four adults. Two BOGO and two paid.    
 

We paid $81.24  PER PERSON  for the two other adults.  This included the dinner rate, 18% gratuity, and I believe tax as  we were still in Florida when we purchased the meal.  

 

 I wish I had the receipt with the full breakdown of the purchase. All I have is the single line on each of our folios. 

 

 

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

On Harmony two weeks ago, Chops was $69.95/pp + 18% gratuity. Even with the BOGO it cost me  more than $90.

Similar costs for us. I think our dinner rate was a few $ less but still too high in my opinion. 

 

 

 

I believe that the restaurants are priced so passengers will buy the dining packages. Just this morning we looked at an upcoming cruise  and  remarked that  three meal package for about $100 PP   plus gratuity was  perhaps a much better option than using a BOGO. 
 

m

[Cruising89143]

8 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

 

I believe that the restaurants are priced so passengers will buy the dining packages. Just this morning we looked at an upcoming cruise  and  remarked that  three meal package for about $100 PP   plus gratuity was  perhaps a much better option than using a BOGO. 
 

 

We haven’t tried purchasing the UDP as we like being in charge of booking the restaurants, days and time slots prior to the cruise. On RCI we dine just about every evening in a specialty restaurant and I don’t like waiting until I’m on the ship to see if we will be able to book what we want. 

 

 

[mek]

I've ordered the Chops steak in the MDR several times and it has always been great.  My husband and I are light eaters and usually find there is just too much food in any specialty restaurant and it's not worth the extra $'s for us to go.

[smokeybandit]

I've never had a good steak on a cruise ship, both MDR and specialties.  It always seems like the steak had been sitting in a cooler for who knows how long.

[BecciBoo]

The best steak I ever had was right here off my Hubs smoker...reverse sear ribeye!  Dang!!!!!!!

[BekkaW]

On 5/13/2022 at 5:13 PM, BecciBoo said:

It's really all relative John.  I don't think the sides and desserts are any better than MDR. Which means I am paying for just the meat at $90.  I think paying the $17 is way better even if the prep is different in Chops.  But hey, to each their own.  The other specialties may be worth the extra, but to us Chops...not so much.  And Tyman, we did do lunch on Adventure  last month, and it was substandard to all other times we've done it. That's what made us decide to skip Chops from now on.

 

The goats cheese salad is amazing! I would almost go there for that dish alone. Way better than anything in the MDR - and I do like the MDR and go there regularly, but for me Chops is definitely a step up across all courses.