Carnival Cruise Line Hikes Prices for Specialty Dining Venues

[jimbo5544]

20 minutes ago, maintain242001 said:

I've been on ten or so cruises probably ate about that many times in the MDR and post covid it hasn't been great. We had a couple first time cruises in our group  last week who wanted to try it out so we went but I'm not in a rush to go back. Brown gravy isn't Au Jus even though carnival seems to think it is.

Ok, different strokes for different folks.

[CantWait08]

We have been on Celebration/Mardi Gras 7 times and never had dinner in MDR. Too many other options.

 

As for the Steakhouse/Rudi's, we will go when casino pays but do not see $50 of value in the meals. At $30/35 it was a great option, but at $50 we will eat elsewhere. Emerils offers a Beef Tenderloin with Chimichurri that we find to be the best steak offered on Celebration.

 

[jimbo5544]

10 hours ago, CantWait08 said:

We have been on Celebration/Mardi Gras 7 times and never had dinner in MDR. Too many other options.

 

As for the Steakhouse/Rudi's, we will go when casino pays but do not see $50 of value in the meals. At $30/35 it was a great option, but at $50 we will eat elsewhere. Emerils offers a Beef Tenderloin with Chimichurri that we find to be the best steak offered on Celebration.

 

Options are a wonderful thing

[carol louise]

On 12/6/2023 at 3:44 PM, staceyglow said:

It's what the market will bear. 

 

Anyone who knows anything about pricing knows that if you sell out of a product well in advance of its expiration date, you aren't charging enough. 

And I have seen several relatively recent recent posts about the Teppenyaki and the Chef's Table being sold out. 

 

SEE also:  FTTF. 

See also: cabanas on Half Moon Cay. My sister and I have been cruising since the early days, watching them seem all to be filled whenever we visited even as the price just kept going up and up. So we imagined HAL and Carnival executives shaking their heads saying to themselves “we haven’t reached the maximum, so let’s raise it again.” They are still available now for our 4/2024 cruise at $699.

 

It’s an optional expense for cruisers, so each person can decide if this special extra is worth it. To the extent such extras keep cruise fares more affordable it’s good. Just a different pricing model to the luxury lines where nearly everything is included in the fare, whether you take advantage or not.

Edited December 18, 2023 by carol louise

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, carol louise said:

See also: cabanas on Half Moon Cay. My sister and I have been cruising since the early days, watching them seem all to be filled whenever we visited even as the price just kept going up and up. So we imagined HAL and Carnival executives shaking their heads saying to themselves “we haven’t reached the maximum, so let’s raise it again.” They are still available now for our 4/2024 cruise at $699.

 

It’s an optional expense for cruisers, so each person can decide if this special extra is worth it. To the extent such extras keep cruise fares more affordable it’s good. Just a different pricing model to the luxury lines where nearly everything is included in the fare, whether you take advantage or not.

I have said many times here, cruising continues to evolve.  It is not just Carnival, they are all evolving.

[carol louise]

3 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

I have said many times here, cruising continues to evolve.  It is not just Carnival, they are all evolving.

So true. It’s fascinating to observe how the lines operate, from a business point of view. Regarding the cabanas, I expect some executives—when someone first suggested building three-sided sheds on the beach with air conditioning and a fridge with snacks and charging big bucks to rent it for a few hours—wondered if anyone would pay so much extra for that. And the rest is history, as they say.

[glrounds]

On 12/6/2023 at 5:51 PM, weezal said:

rudi's and steakhouse were $42 at the beginning of 2023

Apparently I've been away for awhile. I think my last steakhouse offering was $35 !

[mz-s]

21 minutes ago, glrounds said:

Apparently I've been away for awhile. I think my last steakhouse offering was $35 !

 

It wasn't that long ago that the steakhouse was $35. Things change quickly nowadays.

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, carol louise said:

So true. It’s fascinating to observe how the lines operate, from a business point of view. Regarding the cabanas, I expect some executives—when someone first suggested building three-sided sheds on the beach with air conditioning and a fridge with snacks and charging big bucks to rent it for a few hours—wondered if anyone would pay so much extra for that. And the rest is history, as they say.

The facts are if it was so out of touch (the pricing), people would not pay.  When that point is reached, one of two things will happen, either they will adjust the price, or it will wither on the vine and die.

[Pellaz]

Even with the price increases, Carnival's specialty dining is still either less than, or on par with, the prices on the other mass-market lines...Chef's Table excluded.

 

[L1211]

On 12/18/2023 at 8:16 PM, Pellaz said:

Even with the price increases, Carnival's specialty dining is still either less than, or on par with, the prices on the other mass-market lines...Chef's Table excluded.

 

I enjoy carnival, but booking NCL for March because of the value when adding in dining and drink packages.  Guess it all depends on what you put the most value on… Carnival was significantly more with those added in on top of cruise fares. 

[mz-s]

On 12/18/2023 at 8:16 PM, Pellaz said:

Even with the price increases, Carnival's specialty dining is still either less than, or on par with, the prices on the other mass-market lines...Chef's Table excluded.

 

 

Only if you don't consider NCL a mass-market line I guess. I'd definitely agree that Virgin isn't a mass-market line.

[Carguylee]

Is it worth the $ compared to a similar land experience... not usually from my experiences, they usually seemed to be over priced. As someone else mentioned I could see $30 Range for steakhouse/seafood, and $15-20 for others. 

 

We do usually go to a couple of specialty dining options during a 7 day. My only issue with the main dining room is it usually takes so long. I would prefer to keep it to an hour, but MDR usually is about 1.5 which is usually a factor in choosing another place. 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Carguylee

[jimbo5544]

11 hours ago, Carguylee said:

Is it worth the $ compared to a similar land experience... not usually from my experiences, they usually seemed to be over priced. As someone else mentioned I could see $30 Range for steakhouse/seafood, and $15-20 for others. 

 

We do usually go to a couple of specialty dining options during a 7 day. My only issue with the main dining room is it usually takes so long. I would prefer to keep it to an hour, but MDR usually is about 1.5 which is usually a factor in choosing another place. 

Options are a good thing

[jimbo5544]

23 hours ago, L1211 said:

I enjoy carnival, but booking NCL for March because of the value when adding in dining and drink packages.  Guess it all depends on what you put the most value on… Carnival was significantly more with those added in on top of cruise fares. 

Cagney’s turns out to be WAY more that CCL steakhouse due to a la carte.  NCL is the king of nickel and dime pricing, always has been, always will be.

[havanadaydreaming]

Just off Magic.

 

Capitano definitely worth $24 (although casino paid ours)

[notscb]

On 12/6/2023 at 3:36 PM, Bill Miller said:

or do you need specialty dining

 

For me, specialty dining has to be considered carefully as I've already paid for food onboard. My thought process tends to go "is the experience/food/etc. worth $XX above what I've already paid for MDR/Buffet/Etc." I try to consider what the cost I've already paid for food that day is, add i whatever the cost of the specialty is and decide from there.

 

For me, $150 for a tasting menu p.p. for a chef's table experience isn't worth it- especially since they've started limiting the included alcohol pairing. Even the steakhouse at $50/p.p. isn't worth the product they're giving, unless it's maybe the first night and you get a free bottle of wine (even if it's cheap) and the MDR is a mess (because it's the first night).

[mz-s]

5 hours ago, havanadaydreaming said:

Just off Magic.

 

Capitano definitely worth $24 (although casino paid ours)

 

I had the tomahawk pork chop and really liked it.

[Knights on the Beach]

On 12/12/2023 at 2:39 PM, maintain242001 said:

MDR on the celebration last week was pretty awful if you talked to people. We only went once on the last elegant night and its amazing how multiple people can order the same thing and it be so different from plate to plate. Service was good but the food is not great. Pivoting a bit from the original point of this topic but if prices are going up again the food quality better reflect that. Demand is high so they can raise prices right now that's how it works but the food on celebration last week was pretty blah. I dont expect a five star rated meal but there has to be something in the middle.

 

We were on the 12/10 Celebration cruise and actually thought the food in the MDR was really good for the most part. We checked the menus ahead of time and had dinner there 4 times that week, which is much more than we went on other recent Carnival cruises. We've been on Mardi Gras 4 times - the first cruise, we only ate in the MDR twice, the second cruise once and not at all the next two because the food and service just weren't good. We really liked the new menus and enjoyed our meals in the MDR on the nights we went. Some of the desserts weren't worth the calories but the apps and entrees were on point.

[UpstateCruizer]

On 12/6/2023 at 3:44 PM, staceyglow said:

It's what the market will bear. 

 

Anyone who knows anything about pricing knows that if you sell out of a product well in advance of its expiration date, you aren't charging enough. 

And I have seen several relatively recent recent posts about the Teppenyaki and the Chef's Table being sold out. 

 

SEE also:  FTTF. 

I totally agree with this. However my most recent cruise 11/26-12/3 left me wondering if the decline in food quality is going to result in higher revenue from paid venues. I mean some of the most basic menu items were absolutely awful and that was with the new menus! Luckily we have cruised so often that food isn’t a deal breaker for me. 

[mz-s]

52 minutes ago, UpstateCruizer said:

I totally agree with this. However my most recent cruise 11/26-12/3 left me wondering if the decline in food quality is going to result in higher revenue from paid venues. I mean some of the most basic menu items were absolutely awful and that was with the new menus! Luckily we have cruised so often that food isn’t a deal breaker for me. 

 

I don't know honestly, to be honest I'm not really plugged in to what first timer and new cruisers behaviors are. Do they book premium dining often or do they stick with the included food.

[simplelife]

Unless we have a special occasion such as a birthday, we don't eat in the specialty restaurants. All the more reason not to now. 

[simplelife]

On 12/20/2023 at 10:12 PM, Carguylee said:

Is it worth the $ compared to a similar land experience... not usually from my experiences, they usually seemed to be over priced. As someone else mentioned I could see $30 Range for steakhouse/seafood, and $15-20 for others. 

 

We do usually go to a couple of specialty dining options during a 7 day. My only issue with the main dining room is it usually takes so long. I would prefer to keep it to an hour, but MDR usually is about 1.5 which is usually a factor in choosing another place. 

That's what it used to cost - IMO not worth it since it has gone up. I also remember that the extra fee was called an additional service charge for the level of service in the specialty restaurant. Now it seems and extra tip above the fee is expected?

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, simplelife said:

That's what it used to cost - IMO not worth it since it has gone up. I also remember that the extra fee was called an additional service charge for the level of service in the specialty restaurant. Now it seems and extra tip above the fee is expected?

Expected is an interesting word.  Some here would say it is included (and to a degree it is) and some would say no.  We always tip extra, but that is us.

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, simplelife said:

Unless we have a special occasion such as a birthday, we don't eat in the specialty restaurants. All the more reason not to now. 

Options are always a good thing,