Specialty Restaurant Pricing Out Of Control

[bigeagle12]

Do they think they are Ruth’s Chris.  Chops is now $69.60/person ($58.99 plus 18% gratuity).  So not only did they raise the price but also added the gratuity which used to be included. 
 

We used to enjoy one or two nights of specialty restaurants.  But not at these prices. The food is not that good.  🙄

[Hammer61]

6 minutes ago, bigeagle12 said:

Chops is now $69.60/person ($58.99 plus 18% gratuity).  So not only did they raise the price but also added the gratuity which used to be included. 

Ah, so the price rise via the snaeky back door method? My thread on a simlar topic is now perhaps explained that the Gratuity is now added............

[rudeney]

You might want to check prices at your local Ruth's Chris.  Everything has gone crazy expensive.  We ate at Outback a few weeks ago - no drinks, and it was well over $100 for three of us before the tip.

[neverbeenhere]

Back in the day… a movie and popcorn cost 25 cents total. Yup, prices go up as they should. 

[time4u2go]

31 minutes ago, bigeagle12 said:

Do they think they are Ruth’s Chris.  Chops is now $69.60/person ($58.99 plus 18% gratuity).  So not only did they raise the price but also added the gratuity which used to be included. 
 

We used to enjoy one or two nights of specialty restaurants.  But not at these prices. The food is not that good.  🙄

Agreed, especially considering that you've already paid for a full dinner in the MDR. 

[Mikew0805]

13 minutes ago, rudeney said:

You might want to check prices at your local Ruth's Chris.  Everything has gone crazy expensive.  We ate at Outback a few weeks ago - no drinks, and it was well over $100 for three of us before the tip.

We ate at the Tampa locations the other day. $198 total for two. Appetizer to share, salad each, and ribeye each with one side, and cheesecake to share... not including tip.

 

 

[rudeney]

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

Agreed, especially considering that you've already paid for a full dinner in the MDR. 

 

So what is the cost of a full dinner in the MDR?  By my calculations, it's about $6.  How did I arrive at that?  Well, the least expensive cruise fare I could find is $30 per night per person.  Let's say that half of that is the room, the other half is food.  So $15 among 3 meals: , $4 for breakfast, $5 for lunch, $6 for dinner.  

[grandgeezer]

18 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

So what is the cost of a full dinner in the MDR?  By my calculations, it's about $6.  How did I arrive at that?  Well, the least expensive cruise fare I could find is $30 per night per person.  Let's say that half of that is the room, the other half is food.  So $15 among 3 meals: , $4 for breakfast, $5 for lunch, $6 for dinner.  

$30 p.p. per night is lucky to cover the tax and fees. From prepandemic experience, the $15 per day is probably what it’s worth.

[firefly333]

23 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

So what is the cost of a full dinner in the MDR?  By my calculations, it's about $6.  How did I arrive at that?  Well, the least expensive cruise fare I could find is $30 per night per person.  Let's say that half of that is the room, the other half is food.  So $15 among 3 meals: , $4 for breakfast, $5 for lunch, $6 for dinner.  

How do you calculate solo? My cheapest solo in dec is over $1100. 

 

And everyone has to find the cheapest inside.

 

I was at popeyes today behind a lady who probably spent $50 for her and 3 kids. I was shocked how much prices have gone up. I'd bet others besides me are continually thinking wow did that go up.

[grandgeezer]

2 hours ago, rudeney said:

You might want to check prices at your local Ruth's Chris.  Everything has gone crazy expensive.  We ate at Outback a few weeks ago - no drinks, and it was well over $100 for three of us before the tip.

Two weeks ago we went to our favorite high end restaurant to celebrate my birthday. We each had a 8oz lobster tail, 8oz filet, salad, and one side for $115, no drinks and before tip. They gave us each a free dessert to celebrate the birthday. We go there 5-6 times a year so know we are loyal customers. The service and quality of food is so much better than we have ever gotten at Chops or any other specialty restaurant on any ship.

[JamesEM]

Inflation is affecting all of us.

[Ashland]

Anyone remember when Chop's was $20.00pp....We do 

[joeyancho]

4 hours ago, rudeney said:

You might want to check prices at your local Ruth's Chris.  Everything has gone crazy expensive.  We ate at Outback a few weeks ago - no drinks, and it was well over $100 for three of us before the tip.

That is not expensive.  

[Tin can]

4 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Agreed, especially considering that you've already paid for a full dinner in the MDR. 

 

Good point.

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

Anyone remember when Chop's was $20.00pp....We do 

 

I do. That to me is a sensible mark up when you've already paid for food in your fare. I once managed to get a BOGO before its sad demise that worked out at even less. I'm waiting till I get to D+ now to have dinner in the speciality restaurants unless I can haggle the price down on board.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

There does come a point when its past what i am willing to pay for an extra item. I was looking at the activities on coco kay and the pricing is now way past vaule for money for my cruising party.

Its the same as the onboard dining. For us we work hard and spend our money on our child for the now ( not in a spoiling way) and her future (uni, house deposit) so we dont eat out in the uk anymore. So the mdr food we would expect and often been told by the waiter " a dining experience" to be at a level of food and service of eating out in a nice resturant, and therefor feel no need to eat in the SRs. That being said the MDR food on Anthem summer 2021 was very good (eating out level) but on brilliance Summer 2022 was very poor ( school cafeteria level).

 

As others have said id be happy to pay a surcharge like £20 but not the prices they are asking now. 

[twangster]

As long as other cruisers are paying that rate that is what they will charge.  

 

It's interesting to me how specialty dining became a "must do" during the restart and since.  Prior to the pandemic specialty dining was already beyond my comfort level but they often had promos on board because there were tables available.  

 

For some reason currently specialty dining is often fully booked before a ship boards.  It's a trend I'm not involved with but it's definitely a trend.   People are willing to pay the 2022 higher rates.  When they sell out at higher prices they increase prices to see if people will continue to book it.  The sky is the limit as long as people are willing to pay it.

 

We only have our fellow cruisers to blame.  If no one buys it at the new price they'll lower the price.  

[firefly333]

I just want lobster included again. I object to paying the chops price and then a surcharge to get lobster. I can remember surf n turf when both were included in the chops price. 

[DirtyDawg]

4 hours ago, Ashland said:

Anyone remember when Chop's was $20.00pp....We do 

Yes I remember!

 

But that means I also remember how to use an abacus and navigate the ship with only a sextant! It just means we're OLD! 😁 

[njcruiser10]

a tad different but on the Oasis they charged a $14.95 per person cover charge for Johnny Rockets. This was the last week of August 2022.

Edited September 4, 2022 by njcruiser10

[SargassoPirate]

The basic law of the marketplace is to charge what the traffic will bear.  If people line up to pay almost $70.00 extra when an included meal is available in the MDR or the Foodjammer, then that's what the cruise line will charge.  

 

 

[Georgeny]

Was never a fan admittedly of extra charge dining. We have cruised since 1984 and originally cruises were all about primary things, service and food. When they started added charge dining MDR food was extremely good and it seemed obvious to me that the only way to get people to pay for extra dining would be to dumb down the quality in the MDR. That has certainly occurred compared to pre-speciality restaurants.

 

That said cost and quality differ by consumer. we live in NY metro area. Drink and food prices in shipboard restaurants are similar in pricing but far less quality and service. I would consider CHOPS a nice restaurant locally not a steakhouse. But if your area doesn't have a lot these type steakhouses etc then speciality restaurant can be worth it for the experience.

 

A $15 cocktail is sadly what we would pay at home, but my relatives in Ohio would be driven nuts by that. OMG they charged me $2.25 for a POP !!!!!

 

Ship service as well far less than 1980's, not to say that then was necessarily better cruising. Today cabin amenities and ship amenities far better. There were NO balconies and limited window cabins. Our first cabin the bed was not large enough for me at 6"2" to stretch. One of us had to leave the cabin so other could dress. I will find and include a picture should you consider me exaggerating.

 

Picture taken from cabin door You don't even want to see the bathroom and shower. You could also here a whisper in the next cabin. LOL You cabin see the size of the double bed.

 

George in NY

[CGinMTL]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

As long as other cruisers are paying that rate that is what they will charge.  

 

It's interesting to me how specialty dining became a "must do" during the restart and since.  Prior to the pandemic specialty dining was already beyond my comfort level but they often had promos on board because there were tables available.  

 

For some reason currently specialty dining is often fully booked before a ship boards.  It's a trend I'm not involved with but it's definitely a trend.   People are willing to pay the 2022 higher rates.  When they sell out at higher prices they increase prices to see if people will continue to book it.  The sky is the limit as long as people are willing to pay it.

 

We only have our fellow cruisers to blame.  If no one buys it at the new price they'll lower the price.  

Agreed. It took me about 15 cruises before we even stepped inside a specialty restaurant. We enjoyed the main dining room and the experience of new people. 

Was on adventure in June and wanted to treat my boyfriend to nice steak ( was his birthday and his 1st cruise) I decided chops for lunch was a good price point 

.

Agree on supply and demand. As long as people pay,.

Also, it is marketing. They want people to buy the package. So individual items need to be priced high so the package becomes a good deal 

 

 

[Ourusualbeach]

There are so many more people buying the UDP and that leaves a lot fewer remaining spots for single reservations so they are able to charge more. 

[PolicromaSol]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

We only have our fellow cruisers to blame.  If no one buys it at the new price they'll lower the price.  

 

If no-one buys it they'll think the cruisers have lost interest and open something new in an attempt to get people to pay those rates again.

 

Though, personally, I do also blame the tendency for some folks to make it a "must do" thing, kinda like beach cabanas and other such stuff. When it's a "must do" thing, demand and prices go up.

 

For what it's worth, I just looked and Izumi's and Giovanni's are still reasonably priced. Chops is more reasonably priced at lunch.