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Rita's Cantina becomes Rita's Crabshack on Radiance


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Currently on Radiance of the Seas on an Alaskan Adventure and we noticed that one of our favorite food locations from Allure, Rita's Cantina is getting a makeover to Rita's Crabshack.

 

We asked around and were told me several crew members including GR that the Mexican cuisine was not very popular on this ship and they are trying something new. Got conflicting info on if this was permanent of just for the Alaskan sailings.

 

We will give it a try and report back, although I'm not much of a fish person and I really like Mexican, but if it makes more sense for the audience then I understand the change. Here's a few photos where you can see they are actually re-theming it a bit.

 

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Here was the first sign we saw that we knew something was different! So we went and checked it out about an hour ago, and sure enough, some construction is being done, and Rita's Crabshack is supposed to open tonight!

 

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The sign out front hasn't changed yet, but there is a menu:

 

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And some construction! (Photos take about an hour ago)

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Awesome. We board Radiance on Friday; embarking from Seward. We have enjoyed Rita's happy hour on previous cruises. We'll give Rita's Crab Shack a shake for sure.

 

 

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Our family has always enjoyed Rita's Cantina on Radiance when she is in Australia but it will be interesting to try out this Alaskan alternative when we sail on her next year (assuming it is still an option).

 

Given the menu mentions obtaining the seafood from local fisherman I am guessing they will revert it back to a 'Cantina' when she returns to Australia. Though every time we ate there we pretty much had the place to ourselves so maybe they will try something else!

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I had possibly the last plate of nachos served on the last night of our sailing , have subscribed to this thread , please say hi to Bernadette , just call her Jaunita and she will know who's it's from . Sadly we loved the cantina so will miss it was told that they will be adding mexican to the WJ , just won't be the same but Rita's was not busy the 3 times we were in there

 

 

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Had dinner at Rita's Cantina... I mean Crabshack tonight. The good news is that our one seafood eater thought the fish & chips and the crablegs were GREAT! The rest of us though, aren't big seafood eaters so while we enjoyed hanging out (and the Alaskan Amber beer was great!), we would have preferred the Mexican offerings.

 

That being the overall reaction was positive! Lots of crew and senior management eating tonight, not a lot of guests, though.

 

The location on the ship is good, just beyond Windjammer, but on the downside, it's kind of outdoors, so on an Alaskan cruise, it gets cold there. They could really use some outdoor heaters.

 

The menu (shown in my first post) has a variety of different crab and seafood options. We spoke to executive chef Paul Rouse and he told us this has been in the planning stages for quite a while and whether or not Rita's continues to serve this menu on this ship will be based on customer feedback.

 

Here's a few images from tonight...

 

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They created a little backstory for why Rita's was now serving crab! It was cute!

 

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Having an Alaskan Amber. Good beer!

 

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Some of the menu was presented on the specials board.

 

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The fish & chips come in a bucket! (I could only vouch for the chips, but they were fresh cut and very good!)

 

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Reed's not sure what to do with this thing!

 

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Corporate Executive Chef Paul Rouse came over to chat with us. Crab legs and Fish & Chips get thumbs up!

 

And here's a fun little Vine we made called "How the hell do I eat this thing???"

 

Thanks for reading!

 

--Robb

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Dungeness crab - reminds me of "The Office" in Icy Strait/Hoonah, whole crab about $15 or less.

 

I hope they keep this for the Hawaii sailing in September, it'll be great to have Alaskan Amber on tap:)

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On our last May Alaska cruise I agree that Rita's Cantina was virtually empty almost every night of our particular cruise....Will be on again May 30th and this might just appeal to a lot more cruisers...we'll see.

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Sailing on X to Alaska this summer. Now I wish I was on ROS. I love fresh seafood and would gladly pay to eat there (& I'm a "MDR" type person). I'm getting hungry just looking at it. Makes sense for this market. Alaska=Alaska food.

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I am the person in the Vine video that Robb posted - currently sailing on Radiance. I actually *really* enjoyed the experience at Rita's Crab Shack. The fish and chips were some of the best I have *ever* had and the crab was good as well! I hope this does well and stays for the Alaskan sailings. It's a very fun addition!

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