Glory Emerald Room Supper Club

[minooka]

Well folks, looks like I'm going to buck the trend and say we were not pleased with the meal we had in the Emerald Room supper club. If this was supposed to be "fine dining" it was sadly lacking.

To begin with, the girl who did the presentation of the "meat platter" was like a robot - she just rattled everything off quickly and in a heavily accented voice that was difficult to understand. We were a party of 10 and she stood at the far end of one table so those of us on the other end couldn't hear her at all. Since we had already made our selection from the menu, this wasn't really troublesome but more annoying.

After placing our orders, my husband and brother-in-law asked for coffee as they are big coffee drinkers. They were told "No, we serve our coffee at the end of the meal with dessert"! They stood their ground and insisted upon coffee and she finally relented and agreed to bring it. Can you imagine any server refusing a customer's request? This wouldn't even happen at a Denny's let alone an upscale restaurant! I then asked for a bottle of Asti (ok, I'm a cheap date!) and was again told "No", they don't serve Asti. This was our 9th cruise on Carnival and I have gotten Asti in the dining room in the past. I honestly don't know if they have quit carrying it completely or if it just wasn't available in the supper club. I then asked for a glass of Beringer white zin. I was again told "No" BUT I could buy it by the bottle. For those of you who may not know, Beringer is an inexpensive wine ($8. at any Wal-Mart, less on sale) and is not "bubbly" so a bottle can be opened and served off and on till it is gone. Again, I have gotten this in the dining room in the past. I ended up with a glass of something that was ok but certainly not what I wanted. I can understand selling Dom by the bottle, but Beringer?

The steaks were delicious and only one had to be sent back because it wasn't cooked to order. I had the surf and turf and the filet was superb but the lobster was no better than what we had in the dining room, maybe a little bigger, but I could have had a second one in the dining room if I had asked for it. The side dishes were served with a teaspoon from a bowl the server carried. My husband thinks he liked the garlic spinach but his one mouthful really wasn't enough to form a solid judgment. My béarnaise sauce was bland and tasteless - my friend whipped up a better one in my kitchen in 15 minutes.

When we were finished eating, my husband asked a waiter to remove his plate. They use large, square dinnerware which is lovely but not very practical as they completely cover a table of 4 and it is hard to find a place to put your glass down. This waiter was just standing by and not doing anything. He told my husband "No", he did not remove plates but he would send someone over to do it! Now I realize they each have assigned jobs but how hard would it have been to pick up the plate? The chocolate dessert was very good and large enough to share as it came in 4 individual servings.

We have been fortunate enough to eat in many "high-end" restaurants over the years and this experience didn't even come close and, in my estimation, was not worth the $30. per person extra - the service was far superior in the regular dining room, as was most of the food. This was our 26th cruise so we are not novices at this and do have something to compare it to....just my opinion....

[kyrisong1]

I'm really sorry you didn't enjoy your experience in the specialty restaurant. That said, food is very subjective, but you actually seemed to enjoy most of the meal, your issues seemed to be with the service.

I am pretty sure most of the people that work on the ship find us to have "heavily accented" speech too, and I am flattered and greatful they have gone to the trouble to learn my native tongue, I certainly don't know theirs.

We always eat at least once in the Specialty restaurant and I have eaten in the Emerald 4 times. I totally enjoyed my meals there.

I was very surprised you mentioned the portions were too small. Every meal I've eaten there has been way too much food. The little teaspoon sized things your refering to may have been the little "extras" that the chef sends out to the tables, meant to be nothing more than a little extra treat. So maybe that is what confused you.

When we want wine with our meal, I usually pay the corkage fee and bring my own, because I feel I want the wine I like, which may not be neccessarily what they have. Maybe that would be a better thing to do if you choose to eat in the specialty restaurant again.

To each their own and I hope that you will try them again on your next cruise, you might have just gotten that one time that they were having an "off" night, or perhaps there was some training going on or such.

Anyway hope you enjoyed the rest of your cruise.

Cheers, Carole

[gtalum]

I'm with the OP. To be fair, we've only done the supper club once, on Carnival Miracle. The food was good, but not significantly better than in the dining room, and the service was not spectacular. We'll just take the included meals from now on.

[aggieastrosfan]

When we want wine with our meal, I usually pay the corkage fee and bring my own, because I feel I want the wine I like, which may not be neccessarily what they have. Maybe that would be a better thing to do if you choose to eat in the specialty restaurant again.

 

She should've been able to order anything by the glass that is available througout the ship.

 

I get that maybe they're trying to create an "upscale" experience by not serving coffee before dessert or not serving the "lowly" Beringer by the glass, but if that's what your diners want, and it's available elsewhere on the ship, saying no is just inexcusable. Especially the refusal to clear plates - WOW!

 

Doesn't sound like a very fun experience. I don't blame you for not wanting to go back. My one supper club experience was fine. No complaints, but it was nothing spectactular, and IMO, not worth the $30/pp.

[marym933]

I agree with you! Our experience at the Emerald Room was not a satisfying one either. The food was not even as good as the regular dining room. The iced tea tasted like it had pepper in it. I was afraid to post anything for fear of being "flamed" by supper club lovers. I will save my $30 pp for shore excursions.

[copvet]

Our experience with the supper clubs (Glory-three times) has been nothing but wonderful. They exceded all our expectations without fail. Well worth the $30 PP charge and we even tip them additionally for stellar service. We guess it just the luck of the draw. We will continue to utilize the club at least once per cruise when available.

Bon Voyage!

Wayne & Debbie

[DandS8407]

It's sad to hear someone didn't enjoy the supper club, we were on the Glory about three years back and absolutely loved the supper club, it was one of the highlights of our trip. And, the service was amazing, we felt absolutely pampered. I hope it was just an off day and the service hasn't gone downhill!

[copvet]

We sailed the Glory this past March and like I said in previous post the supper club was great.:)

[wmw1490]

Interesting post. I think critical reviews are important as it helps with decisions for like people. Negative reports are nothing to be flamed about as we've all been to a "great" place to eat that for some reason was not on its game that particular night. I usually give an establishment at least two tries unless they are just way outside my expectations.

 

I'll be on Glory on the 6th and have one night booked in the Emerald room. Following that experience I'll be glad to post my experience and expectations. If nothing else it will be different than the main dining which is in my opinion hit and miss on my cruises.

 

Thanks for posting your experience!

[Tapi]

We went to the Supper Club on the Liberty, and it was phenomenal. However, I have to agree with the OP that the service could've been a bit better.

 

I think a lot of it had to do with the language barrier. Our servers really tried to be polished and charming, but many times it was hard to get them to understand what we wanted. However, once we would get the message through, they were more than accomodating.

 

The food was awesome. It has been almost a month since we ate there, and I can still taste the 24oz Porterhouse steak, salad, soup, and dessert!

 

We went to the main dining room the following day and I ordered the flat iron steak. After having the Porterhouse at the Supper Club, the flat iron steak tasted like what you would get at Denny's. It was OK, but very "cheap" tasting. :)

[emmysmommy]

I agree with the OP about the robotic citation of the meat selection.... I didn't get half of what she was saying. Nonetheless, I enjoyed our experience at the Emerald Room.

[NCTribeFan]

If it was the young Russian lady, then, yes, she speaks very softly. My DD is studying Russian and she got to practice it at the end of the meal by having a little conversation in Russian. I thought the server was a very pleasant young woman who seemed a bit reserved.

 

Of course, I prefer to NOT have waitstaff or room stewards or anyone else fawning over me. I want my service to be as invisible as possible.

 

I had no problem ordering a bottle of wine. I ordered the bottle, had a couple of glasses, and they sent to the dining room so I could continue to enjoy it the rest of the week.

 

Side dishes served with a teaspoon? I think that may be a bit of an exaggeration. Of course, fine dining isn't supposed to be about Super Sized Servings.

 

I don't even remember the sides we had. The beef carpaccio, the freshly-made Caesar salad (with lots of anchovies, please), and the 24 oz Porterhouse was quite enough food. Oh, and the samples of other appetizers they sent out, too. And let's not forget the rich desserts.

 

We enjoyed it very much, as it was our 1st supper club. But I didn't enjoy it $60 + tip more than I would have a meal in the dining room. I'll just eat there in the future and spend the money elsewhere.

[tiger belle]

I just returned from my first cruise on the Glory...we ate at the Emerald Supper Club on the Monday of our cruise, and I was impressed...I will not say it was the best food I've ever had, but it was a change from the dining room and worth the $30 sur charge to me...I can see, though, that others wouldn't think it was worth the extra charge over the regular dining room...if basing the comparison on the food alone, I would say it wasn't worth the extra $30

 

our service was excellent last week...I think I know the server you described with the Russian accent--and her accent was quite heavy and difficult to understand...her service was efficient and pleasant, though...and when my brother asked for coffee at the beginning of the meal, she brought it right to him...my sister-in-law ordered wine and didn't realize at first that she had ordered the entire bottle...it was OK, though, because the wine was excellent, and they sent it to the dining room for us to drink the rest of the bottle there on following nights (and we did)

 

I agree with the poster who noted that the teaspoon sized appetizers were the extras sent by the chef...I tasted them and wasn't pleased with the particular ones we received, but it was interesting to give them a try

 

I ordered a filet, and it was quite tasty...as for the meat presentation prior to ordering, I found it interesting...the guy who presented it to us did not speak with an accent, and his commentary was not robotic to me...we had a few questions for him about certain meats, and he answered them politely and knowledgeably

 

I enjoyed the elegant atmosphere, and the fact that it was more quiet and intimate than the main dining rooms...for a romantic dinner as a couple, I would highly recommend it

[jessemon]

Love the supperclubs. Will be doing it again at least once on the Legend in the fall....

Good frinds...good food.....good wine and good service. What could be better......

[cv322]

If requested (and oftentimes it's not even necessary to specifically request...;)) the sommelier will present a wine list for your consideration...and then it's easy to determine which wines are served by the glass vs. those sold only by the bottle.

 

The items served on, or with, teaspoons are a gift from the chef...they are not side dishes...they are "tastings".

 

We've had dinner in the Emerald Room 4 times so far, & found it to be a great experience each time. We also loved Nick & Nora's on the Miracle and the Golden Fleece on the Legend.

 

I'm sorry the OP had a bad time. I think, perhaps it may also have something to do with the fact that the supper club lends itself to a more intimate experience and doesn't work as well for large groups.

[OZjones12]

I am going on the glory and I hope that it is better when I go! I went on the Valor last march and had one of the best meals I ever have had! Hopefully I am lucky again... sorry about your bad service... I hate that.

[lidolovers]

My dh and I went to the supper club on the Glory last december and were 100% satisfied. Portions were huge, service was great, food was delicious. What more could you ask for? My dh has sampled filet mignon and lamb chops at lots of "high end" restaurants and confidently said that the Emerald's steak and chops were better than any he's ever had. His mouth has been watering since last december! We're going on the Miracle in just over a week and have already made reservations at Nick and Nora's. I expect the food will be the same and just as marvelous.

[cv322]

My dh and I went to the supper club on the Glory last december and were 100% satisfied. Portions were huge, service was great, food was delicious. What more could you ask for? My dh has sampled filet mignon and lamb chops at lots of "high end" restaurants and confidently said that the Emerald's steak and chops were better than any he's ever had. His mouth has been watering since last december! We're going on the Miracle in just over a week and have already made reservations at Nick and Nora's. I expect the food will be the same and just as marvelous.

 

You & your DH will love Nick & Nora's. We had dinner in there twice, the 2nd time being one of the formal nights. We were seated at a table for 2, next to a window on the port side, with the sun setting behind us...it was very romantic. One of the servers offered to take our picture with this magnificent backdrop...and the pic came out great! My SO so handsome in his tux & I looked pretty spiffy myself! A terrific experience and a superb meal.

 

Have a great cruise!