$25 isn't much

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publicdefender

Guest
The idea of eating in the top of the line restaurant for $25 or $30 extra per person intrigues me. Do many ships offer this type of choice? Obviously this is much less than you would pay for any half-way decent meal. I realize the price contemplates some offset for the dinner you would normally eat. Yet the menus I see in the main dining room don't look too shabby either. What do our experienced cruisers think of the value in this regard?
Does anyone know if people make reservations as soon as they board for more things than they intend to go to and then cancel what they don't attend?(or worse, just don't go but don't cancel). Do you get charged when you make the reservation or when you actually use the service? Is there a way to reserve before you board? If I decide to opt for the top of the line eatery, how quickly will I need to make a reservation after I board to avoid getting shut out? I was thinking of taking the family there for Thanksgiving Dinner(but not for turkey). Will I have to act quickly once I board? Thanks for all your help.
 
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YoureMoving

Guest
Hi Publicdefender;

Indeed, $25 isn't alot of money for what you recieve. I know that many people don't want to pay the surcharge, and the nice thing is - it's optional! If you don't want to spend it, you can eat in the dining room and still have a very lovely meal. DH and I went to Nick and Nora's on our Miracle cruise in June, and I can tell you that if I had known how good it was, we would have put in our budget to go there EVERY NIGHT! That was by far the best meal that we have ever had on land or sea! The service was amazing as well. I highly reommend trying one of the specialty restaurants, you won't be disappointed!

Gina
 
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lizardstew

Guest
I've only eaten once at a specialty restaurant....Chops on the Mariner of the Seas. Previously, I thought, "why should I pay when I can get great food in the dining room???" Well, we'll probably make time for a specialty restaurant on every cruise if their is one available....

Gina's right....if you decide not to go, you'll find wonderful food in the dining room But...I highly recommend that you try the specialty restaurant....it's well worth it! :)

We made reservations for our trip to Chops on the first day, because we didn't want to miss miss it if it filled up. They don't charge you until you go, but I don't know if there is a cancellation fee or anything. The fee goes right on your shipboard account. I don't think you can reserve before you board.
 
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publicdefender

Guest
I'm curious Lizardstew.After your great experience with the specialty restaurant on the Mariner you don't mention the "Monarch" voyage. Was it that the Monarch doesn't have such an offering? What % of the ships you've been on have these type of places?
Who do you make the reservation with? Thanks again.
 
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lizardstew

Guest
No, the Monarch doens't have a "specialty restaurant" per se. They have Jade, which is an Asian style restaurant where you can pay exttra for sushi, but they also have sushi every so often in the Windjammer. Also, I only eat the cooked stuff, so I wasn't really interested in paying extra for just California rolls. They DID have a Ben & Jerry's on the Monarch, and I did partake in some Chocolate Brownie for an extra charge. :)

Out of 10 cruises, only one has had a specialty restaurant. So, I guess that would be 10%. This is a relatively new concept...maybe w/in the last few years or so. The Mariner is the newest ship I've been on.....all other ships I've been on were built before the concept caught on (the next newest was built in 1999). Our next cruise, Sapphire Princess, has Sabatini's ($20) and Sterling Steakhouse ($15), and we DO plan on eating at at least one of them...maybe both. :)

On the Mariner, I went to the Chops dining room, and they had a maitre'd right at the door taking reservations. I believe you could also call from the phone in your stateroom and make reservations that way.
 
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Mbandy

Guest
I'm with lizardstew! Chops on the Navigator of the Seas was first rate in both food and service. Portifino on Explorer of the Seas was great too. It's always nice to go for a more intimate dinner on one night of the cruise and I'll gladly pay the $25 service fee.
 
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serene56

Guest
If you make reservations and dont want to go-- you have to let them know in advance or you will be charged. This goes for reservations for supper clubs, excursions -even spa treatments.
 
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publicdefender

Guest
When you reserve a spot at the upscale restaurant do you automatically forfeit your regular dinner seating for that night? If you had an early dinner seating could you go to that and then make a reservation for for the last seating in the "good" restaurant? Do the upscale restaurants have "seatings" like the dining room, or do they just have hours they are open?
A related question is how large are the portions you receive in the dining room? Are we talking real small or Chinese size? Can you have seconds? Even on lobster night? I imagine the cruise lines don't want to throw too much food away so I'll bet the portions are on the small side. I keep thinking every issue is related to whether the staff has seen you "dig". I'm too used to Vegas I guess. Very little there,as many of you know, cannot be had or done for some price.
 
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lizardstew

Guest
You do not forfeit your seat, because in the regular dining rooms everyone eats at a set time and your seat is the same for the entire sailing. If you don't go to the dining room one night, your seats will be empty. I suppose you could eat two dinners, but you'll be hurting!!! I'm usually pretty stuffed after dinner in the dining room, and the one time I ate at Chops, I woke up the next morning still full! I couldn't help but snicker to myself about your question regarding two dinners, because you'll honestly get more food than you can eat!!! :grin There is NO way I could eat two dinners!!!!! If you decide to do this, just make sure it's not on the same night as one of the midnight buffets.

The specialty restaurants don't have "seatings" like the dining rooms...you make a reservation just like a nice restaurant on land.

The portions in the dining rooms are as big as any nice restaurant on land. They are smaller than regular restaurants, but I find them adequate. One thing to remember, is that you can order as much food as you want. If you can't decide between the beef and the fish entrees....order them both!!!! You always have seconds....even on lobster night. I know some people who just order two lobster tails from the get go. Also, many cruise lines have certiain items that are always avaiable, such as a plain chicken breast, sirlion steak and cesar salad. My brother is a big man with a large appetite, so he often orders a regular entree from the menu with a side of chicken breast. :lol

Have you checked out the menus for your ship at all? Here is a link for some menus on the Glory. The menus will likely be the same, or at least very similar. http://community.webshots.com/album/91724526RKHrjt

Here's how dinner works....as you can see, there are 3-4 appetizers to choose from, 2 or so soups, usually 1 or 2 salad choices, 4 or 5 entree choices (usually one beef, one poultry, one pasta/vegetarian/one seafood +), and then 3 or 4 desert choices. If you want, you can have an appetizer, soup, salad, entree and desert, or any combination (or duplication) of the above. Many people order like this, so don't be shy. I'm not into wasting food, but if you don't like somethihng, your waiter or assistant waiter will take it away and bring you something new. Honestly, I have never sent something back and have never had a bad meal in the dining room. I just asked the DB, and he concurs. I use cruises as an opportunity to try new things....they all have wonderful cold soups and very creative entrees.
 
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Cruizer

Guest
I ate in the David's Super Club on the Pride. The three of us ate for a total of $25 (two of the dinners were complementary). I didn't think it was worth it. Not because it was not worth $25, it was. But because it was not worth $25 more than what you get in the main dining room. That said, my sister and brother-in-law enjoyed it more than I did.

When I was on the Navigator I did not take advantage of Chops. On the Norwegian Star next month I will try the extra cost restaurants. I will most likely try it on the Glory in April.

It is best to make reservations ASAP since the extra cost restaurants tend to be very popular and there is not enough room to get everyone in there once.

You can ask for seconds in the main dining room. Nobody leaves a cruise ship hungry!
 
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Erinm

Guest
I really can't justify spending the extra money. Yes it's only $25 each, but why would I spend that when I have a perfectly good meal in the dining room? I would rather spend the $50 (for two of us) on souveniers. But then again, I'm kind of cheap :)
 
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chrlygrl

Guest
We did the Scarletts Dining Room on the Valor in May and it was worth every penny. I got a filet minon that was cooked to perfection, my hubby got the sirloin, my sister-in-law's steak was just the way she wanted it and my future brother-in-law got a 24 oz steak that was almost as big as the plate. The meal was a leisurely 2 hours and 11 courses long. In my opinion it was worth every penny we spent. We had a great meal and great service, above and beyond what we expected. I will definately make reservations again on our next ship. We booked one to two days after we borded the cruise with no dificulties.
 
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Coppertone Girl

Guest
publicdefender :

UHHHHH I LOVE THESE QUESTIONS!!!
no you don't forfeit your regular dining arrangements, you can eat at the supper club (before or after) head to your cabin for a room sevice snack, stop by the SUSHI bar and try a couple of things, go to your regularly scheduled dinner, after that, meet your friends for pizza and then hit the midnight buffett.... CRUISING MY WAY!


I think you reserve for a specific time, not "seatings".

I have been known (actually I'm infamous) to order seconds, and thirds! I had THREE LOBSTERS one nigh... my boyfriend's mom talks about it to this day...

Okay, your comment on throwing away food reminded me of this joke the Maitre D' made.
One guest asked if he could have HALF a caesar salad, the waiter got irritated and walked over to the kitchen. He went to the cook and said "SOME IDIOT OUTSIDE DOESN'T WANT TO THROW AWAY FOOD SO HE WANTS A HALF A CAESAR SALAD" unbeknownst to the waiter, the guest had an additional question and followed the waiter to the kitchen, and was standing right there when the waiter turned around and saw him! he immediately said "AND THIS FINE MAN WANTS THE OTHER HALF!" lol!!!!
 
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serene56

Guest
It tok me many cruises to talk the SO into trying the Supper club out. There was no specialty place on Victory/ or the Sensation. He too felt that since we paid for the dinner in the dining room lets eat there.
Last cruise was over Valentines Day and thats what I wanted. He is now sorry that we never tried it before.
The amboiance is different. We got to sit at a "quiet" table for two. The dining room is nice but it is far from quiet...
In the dining room you have 2-3 maybe 4 of anything. In the supper club we were told only one.
the dining room portions are very small in the supper club there is so much food for that one portion that most people need to be rolled out.
 
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Cori

Guest
DH and I dined at Nick and Nora's on the Miracle during our honeymoon last year, and for us, it was COMPLETELY worth it. It was much quieter than the main dining room, the steaks were AMAZING (and this coming from a girl who was raised on a cattle farm and knows a thing or two about good steaks!)...it was just all-around an amazing experience. Yes, it's $25 more than what you would get "for free" in the main dining room, but it is an entirely DIFFERENT experience. We were completely and thoroughly delighted with it. For that caliber of a dining experience, we would not be able to afford it at a traditional high-end restaurant on land.

As for how fast they filled up, the cruise director started hyping from the minute we stepped onboard to sign up early because seating filled up fast... 6 days into the cruise, they were STILL making the same announcements. So in our experience, they never booked completely up-- though the longer you wait, the less likely you would be to get your first choice of seating time.

And ordering seconds?! After a 24-oz. Porterhouse... the mere thought of seconds is painful, even now!

I would say, however, that I can see how some people would NOT like the specialty restaurants. I would NOT recommend them if:
--you're not a "foodie" who gets excited about a truly amazing meal. If you think Bonanza has the best steaks going, this is probably not for you.
--You have a problem with a 2-hour dining experience. It really does take that long; if you like to get-in-and-get-out-- this is not for you. (We're smokers, and admittedly even we were getting edgy towards the end.)
 
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