Specialty Restaurant Pricing Out Of Control

[mac_tlc]

We only do the specialties using the D+ BOGO, even though you pay the full onboard price for the BO. As prices keep going up, there will be a point where we will pass.

 

mac_tlc

Edited September 4, 2022 by mac_tlc

[baldilocks]

We usually go to Chops for lunch for some $$$ savings. Same food and not crowded. I stopped at a Burger King for a light lunch....one small fry, one regular cheeseburger and a small shake....the cost was just under $8. Yikes !!! 

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

8 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

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. 

After two nights on the same Brilliance cruise as yourself I complained to the Head Waiter plus the Food & Beverage manager. My main complaint about the MDR was that the food was cold. After complaining from there on in we had piping hot food . I actually found that when served hot the quality and portion size was superior to P&O . Sadly the food on RC not up to the standard of Azamara although Azamara quality had slipped a little in April this year compared to pre pandemic. I would also add that if US forum members think Speciality dining is getting expensive think about us poor Brits at £1=$1.15 !

[BecciBoo]

14 hours ago, bigeagle12 said:

 

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

We were quite disappointed in Chops first time post Pandemic on Explorer last March.  I said we'd just do a chops steak in MDR from now on for just a fraction of Chops at $16.95. Our upcoming Sept shorty on Grandeur, Chops-$44.99 on sale.  We just signed up for Giovanni's-$34.99 on sale...we gotta get our Pork Belly fix😜  But Chops is just giving you the same old tired veggies and the same steak you get in the MDR. Notagonna

[ARandomTraveler]

6 hours 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.  

That's true, it does seem like it's a lot more popular now. A couple years ago when they offered me discounted specialty dining on board I wouldn't even consider it. I felt like it was nickel-and-dime -ing.  
 

I bought the dining package for my upcoming cruise for the first time, and for whatever reason, my view on it has shifted and I now feel like it's a reasonable extra expense.
 

I wonder if it's partly because of the rise of subscription services becoming the norm. What I would have considered a nickel-and-dime expense 4 years ago, I now feel is totally reasonable. 
 

While I feel like paying an additional $245 per person is a negligible expense for dining, and am not yet to the point where I think it's gotten outrageously high, I do agree that the cost will continue to go up if so many people keep buying it. Pretty soon it will be like the deluxe beverage package.
 

What surprises me is that it seems like more people are willing to buy the deluxe beverage package than the dining package, even though it's almost 3 times more expensive. I guess the argument there is that there's already food options included, but the alcohol is not. 

[BecciBoo]

14 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

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.

 

 

Thanks for reminding me why we don't ever go there.  It was novel back in the day and much cheaper, but even then we got much better steak at many places in San Antonio...Boudro's on the Riverwalk for one...excellent and twice cheaper!,  so we've only ever been to Ruthie's twice back around 1996.

[BecciBoo]

12 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I was at popeyes today behind a lady who probably spent $50 for her and 3 kids.

No no no, what you meant to say is she feeds her family on $50 per meal just outa the grocery!🤪

 

WE can barely feed ourselves on what they're charging these days.  My weekly grocery haul is triple what it was 2 years ago. I worry for folks who can't even afford burger!

[BecciBoo]

9 hours ago, FionaMG said:

 

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.

Exactly as the sides are exactly what you'd be getting downstairs!  So who couldn't afford to offer steak for $15 more.

[rudeney]

So it seems I did not explain my logic as to how I arrived at the estimated price for included food.  What I did was take the cheapest cruise fare I had seen, which was a solo, interior cabin on our upcoming Voyager 7-night cruise.  I had actually priced that out because our youngest (adult child still living at home) kept whining about being left behind and my wife felt sorry for her.  So, I priced it out just to see what it would cost and it was $409 and some change.  About $160 of that was taxes and port fees, so the fare was $35 per day (sorry, not $30 as I used).  Regardless, my thought process was to guess that for the cheapest cabin, half the fare would be allocated to food and half to the room. 

 

Of course I would not say that half of every fare is for food.  It would be crazy the think that half the price of a $5,000 suite is for food.  I was just trying to get to some idea of what a dinner in the MDR might cost so that I could add that to the price of dining in a specialty restaurant to get it's true cost.  So if that's the case, the cost for Chops on my next cruise is listed at $59 in CP, add $6 for the "price" of dinner in the MDR and the real cost is $65.  Yes, it's probably too expensive for what it is, just like everything on a cruise ship or most any vacation.  

[BecciBoo]

8 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

school cafeteria level).

Depends on your age and where you went to school!  LOL  Back in my elementary days, Santa Rita cooked all food on site, complete with hot homemade yeast roles, 2 choices of meat and 2-3 veggies plus the best little square of cake you could eat...all for only 50cents a meal!  My mouth waters even now!  We used to get 2 rolls and smother them in butter and throw packets of sugar on top, they were so warm and fluffy and killer!  Gone are the days!😭

[BecciBoo]

No wait, I think it was 50 cents a week for that little blue ticket they punched!

[rudeney]

2 hours ago, vjmatty said:

Maybe my math isn’t what it used to be but it sounds like you’re quoting about half the cost of the OP’s Chops price. 

 

My point was that even a run-of-the-mill family-dining chain restaurant is expensive now.  Oh, and that $100 wasn't three steaks - my wife had chicken and the daughter had pasta, I had the only steak.  I guess I'd put Chops on par with Outback.  Actually, I'm not a big Outback fan, so I'd probably ranks Chops above it, but Chops is definitely no Ruth's Chris.  

[Ashland]

7 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

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! 😁 

Love those old memories...Being OLD and remembering is better than the other option.

[taglovestocruise]

Some of the packages are unbelievably cheap.  We have a 10 night Quantum with 6 sea days coming up.  Package today is $211.99. That puts the cost per meal, dinners and sea day lunches, at $13.25 per meal.   $13 for chops is a steal.  Question is do we really want to eat at Chops 6 times, Jamies 6 times, Wonderland 6 times. We decided no, it would be to repetitive.  

[Seville2Cabo]

We have not been to the MDR since being on the Jewel in 2016.  First night was so crowded, we were seated next to a couple on their honeymoon and there was no private conversations.  Plus, the tables were so close together the waiter could not fit between the 2 tables.  We were with another couple and it felt like a table for 6.  Ate at specialty dining the rest of the cruise,

 

Now we buy the UDP every cruise.  The experience for us is so much better and I have never had bad service or bad food.  We are on a 15 night PC cruise and the UDP is not offered.  We bought 2 5 night packages.  Will do Chef's table one night and figure out the rest of the nights.  Maybe try MDR or Windjammer (only had dinner once in Windjammer)

[George C]

We paid 200 each for UDP for a 8 night allure cruise so 25 for each dinner , plus several lunches, great deal .

[poocher]

4 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

The sweet spot for me is 3 night specialty dining for $100. 
I like the change of scenery throughout the week. 

I am considering that for our Harmony cruise in May.  $100 plus gratuity so around $120pp for 3 meals doesn’t sound bad and Harmony has a lot of options.

[poocher]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

Depends on your age and where you went to school!  LOL  Back in my elementary days, Santa Rita cooked all food on site, complete with hot homemade yeast roles, 2 choices of meat and 2-3 veggies plus the best little square of cake you could eat...all for only 50cents a meal!  My mouth waters even now!  We used to get 2 rolls and smother them in butter and throw packets of sugar on top, they were so warm and fluffy and killer!  Gone are the days!😭

When I was in elementary school, they sent us HOME for lunch.  No such thing as a cafeteria until you got to high school.

[cruisegirl1]

3 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

We only do the specialties using the D+ BOGO, even though you pay the full onboard price for the BO. As prices keep going up, there will be a point where we will pass.

 

mac_tlc

We are just about there. often it costs us more to use our  BOGO and purchase a 3rd night  meal, than to simply purchase a 3 night package.  I like the package prices and think it is great that it is offered to everyone, but it is strange that RCCL treats a first-time cruise with better offers/perks than a loyal customer. 

[Jam0610]

16 minutes ago, poocher said:

I am considering that for our Harmony cruise in May.  $100 plus gratuity so around $120pp for 3 meals doesn’t sound bad and Harmony has a lot of options.

Agree with you. We have 3 night package on the Ovation next week.

[mek]

8 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

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.  

 

 

I guess I eat at often enough at places like Capital Grille, Morton's. etc., that I don't need to pay extra on a cruise for a steakhouse dinner that's nowhere near as good.

[SWACruising]

The biggest benefits to us with the UDP is the smaller venue, individually cooked meals, lower sound level in the specialty restaurants. It's just so much more intimate. The food quality is better then the MDR and occasionally on par with a land based steakhouse. It's just a better experience for us. To each their own.

[Morecruisesplz]

2 hours ago, rudeney said:

So it seems I did not explain my logic as to how I arrived at the estimated price for included food.  What I did was take the cheapest cruise fare I had seen, which was a solo, interior cabin on our upcoming Voyager 7-night cruise.  I had actually priced that out because our youngest (adult child still living at home) kept whining about being left behind and my wife felt sorry for her.  So, I priced it out just to see what it would cost and it was $409 and some change.  About $160 of that was taxes and port fees, so the fare was $35 per day (sorry, not $30 as I used).  Regardless, my thought process was to guess that for the cheapest cabin, half the fare would be allocated to food and half to the room. 

 

Of course I would not say that half of every fare is for food.  It would be crazy the think that half the price of a $5,000 suite is for food.  I was just trying to get to some idea of what a dinner in the MDR might cost so that I could add that to the price of dining in a specialty restaurant to get it's true cost.  So if that's the case, the cost for Chops on my next cruise is listed at $59 in CP, add $6 for the "price" of dinner in the MDR and the real cost is $65.  Yes, it's probably too expensive for what it is, just like everything on a cruise ship or most any vacation.  

Back of restaurant tour told us they allocated $16.50/for each guests meals. That was pre-covid.

[Morecruisesplz]

28 minutes ago, SWACruising said:

The biggest benefits to us with the UDP is the smaller venue, individually cooked meals, lower sound level in the specialty restaurants. It's just so much more intimate. The food quality is better then the MDR and occasionally on par with a land based steakhouse. It's just a better experience for us. To each their own.

We tell Chops every cruise that if we could get a salad and shrimp cocktail for reduced price we would eat there the entire cruise. We just don't eat that much at any one meal.

[rudeney]

37 minutes ago, mek said:

I guess I eat at often enough at places like Capital Grille, Morton's. etc., that I don't need to pay extra on a cruise for a steakhouse dinner that's nowhere near as good.

 

I pay to eat in specialty restaurants because I want a better experience and food than the MDR.  I really don't expect it to be equivalent to a high-end steakhouse.  Yeah, the price is probably "too high", but pretty much everything about cruising is.