Is the Steakhouse worth it?

[zqvol]

Is it worth it?

 

Tough question. The food is good, not as good as most upscale steak houses ashore, but good. $30 good yes, but I have other problems that lead me to avoid it. First the atmosphere is not as intimate at Carnival would like you to believe, it is just anohter room on the ship. There is constant traffic outside and lots of noise. The portions are too big to eat, and to be honest I am not really interested in taking 3 hours for a so so meal on a crusie ship.

[Jeafl]

Is it worth it?

 

Tough question. The food is good, not as good as most upscale steak houses ashore, but good. $30 good yes, but I have other problems that lead me to avoid it. First the atmosphere is not as intimate at Carnival would like you to believe, it is just anohter room on the ship. There is constant traffic outside and lots of noise. The portions are too big to eat, and to be honest I am not really interested in taking 3 hours for a so so meal on a crusie ship.

 

3 hours?? Wow! Our experience was only a little over 1 1/2 hours. I don't think I would do it either if it took 3 hours. I'm glad ours was much less than that!

[parrotthead]

Hey, Kandy.

 

And look! Ruths Chris has a dress code.:eek:

Yeah, and I Guarantee the View is Better from the SupperClub!

;)

RuthsChris does not have the beautiful water outside the window!;)

Ohhh, and when I get home from RCs *I* still have to make my own bed!!

Oh the list goes on...:p

[parrotthead]

3 hours?? Wow! Our experience was only a little over 1 1/2 hours. I don't think I would do it either if it took 3 hours. I'm glad ours was much less than that!

Might depend on how many people are in your party and how busy they are.

I think ours was 1-1/2 to 2 hours. (just the two of us-and we are early eaters)

We love it. Its fun. (of course we are the type to have a nice time what ever we do) We enjoy the time and cant wait to go back. (and come on...its Only $30...-thats the way we look at it...)

[MrPete]

Ours lasted two hours. Lights low, two piece band (gone, I hear), great service.

[Sailor2Cruiser]

I can't afford to pay for my cruises and go to Ruth's Chris so I booked the steakhouse on the Spirit.:) Can't wait. Any suggestions?

[acecombatmom]

It is definantly worth it was on the Dream last week and the food and atmosphere were terriffic. We had a whole group go and It was worth the 30 a person. We go to longhorn at home and spend more money for less food.

[parrotthead]

Ours lasted two hours. Lights low, two piece band (gone, I hear), great service.

Piped in music now, but it was low and not bad.

Just background music.

[parrotthead]

I can't afford to pay for my cruises and go to Ruth's Chris so I booked the steakhouse on the Spirit.:) Can't wait. Any suggestions?

Surf and Turf?

Escargo?

"Study in Chocolate"?

Shrimp cocktail?

Arrivedeci Cocktail? (a delish Lemonchelo martini type yummy thing

[scapino]

Hey, Kandy.

 

And look! Ruths Chris has a dress code.:eek:

 

Ya.... Pants and a shirt.........

[LemurCat]

I can't afford to pay for my cruises and go to Ruth's Chris so I booked the steakhouse on the Spirit.:) Can't wait. Any suggestions?

 

Take your time and savor the meal. It's not to be rushed.

[Sailor2Cruiser]

Surf and Turf?

Escargo?

"Study in Chocolate"?

Arrivederci cocktail?

Shrimp Cocktail?

 

I'm drooling already. So you're saying everything is good.

 

Take your time and savor the meal. It's not to be rushed.

 

We have 4 in the party, and they say it takes up to 3 hours. We're thinking dessert and capuchino's for sure. Then back to our staterooms for a place to lie down!

[parrotthead]

I'm drooling already. So you're saying everything is good.

yes!

~~wasabi mashed potatoes, I still dream about them!

 

 

 

We have 4 in the party, and they say it takes up to 3 hours. We're thinking dessert and capuchino's for sure. Then back to our staterooms for a place to lie down!

If you can waddle back to the cabin...

(just a warning...):p

[crewsweeper]

I sure hope so they are worth it!

 

I like Morton's, but not a huge fan of our experiences at Ruth's Chris. However, I have only been to the Ruth's Chris in Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, while the Mortons have been in Boca Raton and NY.

 

I have never been to anyplace like Peter Luger's, David Burke, Jesse & Jim's, etc.

 

Everybody has differing tastes. So our comparing to other places is often personal and just a point of reference. The local dining reviewer in our town's opinion of the best steakhouse in these parts is a step above Ponderosa, IMO. We 've had okay experiences at both Mortons and RC's in differnet cities. Peter Lugar used to be very good way back last century(the 1990s), but my last meal there a couple of years ago, the meat wasn't quite the same cut. They make a good burger for lunch though! Never eaten at David Burke's and I thought Jessie and Jim was an old bluegrass group:)

[30knotsCruzinspeed]

I had no intention of paying the $30 per person a couple of weeks ago on the Liberty. My mother won a certificate for two free dinners and gave it to my husband and I. We thought the meal was incredible! We live near Chicago and have been to some pretty wonderful restaurants, but we thought the steakhouse was right up there quality-wise.

 

If we had discovered it earlier in the week we probably would have gone again. As great as the service was in the MDR for us, it was definitely kicked up a notch at the steakhouse.

 

Jeafl, we were on the same cruise! I read your review and thought then that we might have been on the same one and this post confirmed it because I saw your ticker clock at the bottom.

btw, I drank many of your daughter's "Green Tiki Torch's" and LOVED them! Congrats to her winning the competition!:D

[Jeafl]

Jeafl, we were on the same cruise! I read your review and thought then that we might have been on the same one and this post confirmed it because I saw your ticker clock at the bottom.

btw, I drank many of your daughter's "Green Tiki Torch's" and LOVED them! Congrats to her winning the competition!:D

 

Thanks! The ironic thing is that she is not much of a drinker. She likes making the drinks more than drinking them. Or so she says...

 

I hope you loved the cruise as much as we did! :)

[lovecarnival]

The lobster alone is worth the money. We were on the Freedom two weeks ago and it was great. The service was great also. We also ate at the steakhouse on the Valor in 2007. Was very good too.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

There are plenty of women who love it too, Bruce ;). Never been one for pasta and wine. I need protein and malted grain.

Your my kinda woman:)

[katiel53]

We love the specialty restaurants on any ship we have sailed. It is a far different experience than the dining room. It is a romantic experience, to us, and far more quiet than the MDR.

 

We also like the total ambiance and having some "down" time. I can't imagine going on a cruise and not going to the specialty restaurant.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

We love the specialty restaurants on any ship we have sailed. It is a far different experience than the dining room. It is a romantic experience, to us, and far more quiet than the MDR.

 

We also like the total ambiance and having some "down" time. I can't imagine going on a cruise and not going to the specialty restaurant.

Im with you on that its very romantic....can you say love it :)

[TheTravelista]

Considering the $30 pp cover charge includes gratuity...I would say its a steal. Its more than worth it.

[itsmebuggy]

I'm sailing on the Dream next week and wondering if I should book the Steakhouse. In your opinion, is it worth spending the extra $30 when you could save the money and eat in the MDR?

we did the steak house on the miracle last year and have already booked it for the dream this year will be one of our treats each year at least 1 night well worth every penny

[MRVEGAS711]

OMG is it worth it, I can't wait to muscle into another 24 ounce Porterhouse!

[twoeights]

We were on the Freedom 08-08 and went to the Sun King on our second night. Even though the $30 was worth it, I was very disappointed with our dinning experience. The porterhouse and lobster you can not go wrong. It was the 4 of us and the place was not full, so why put us next to a 1 year old that the staff had to hold on and off thoughout our meal because of the crying baby? The food was great, but service that should be 5 star was a 2 at best. The waiter was very dirty in cleaning off the table getting ready for dessert. He brushed all the crumbs on the floor to both sides of our table. Are you kidding me. When ordering for dessert we wanted to try a few different things. The waiter said we were allowed only one option. 3 out of 4 of us ordered the cheesecake. The cheesecake was very big. The wow factor as they told me. The waiter should have had common sense to tell us that the cheesecake was big enough for a few of us and tell as to order some other desserts like we wanted to in the first place. I never usually complain, but this was bothering me all night. The next day I had to tell his supervisor what happened. Her answer was I am sorry and this is what Carnival sends us. What a great answer from mangement. I have been on many cruises and always eat in their steakhouses. The food was good, but service was very below par. Chances are very slim that this will happen again. As Carnival told me, this is what they send us. Thanks Carnival for making my 5 star dinning experience with my family priceless.

[kingoftheicedragons]

Despite a lot of responses here, I know for one, I found very few answers to "Is it worth it."

 

But maybe I'm misunderstanding the original poster's question and putting my own spin on it. If I was asking it, my question wouldn't be if it was as good as land-based restaurants, or if it's a good deal compared to land-based food. I'd be asking it as a question of, is it worth $30/person over what they offer in the dining room. Some people talked about ambience, which could come into play.

 

Now, I love food...no, I love quality food. However, you can find quality at some fast food places as much as you can at $100/plate restaurants. I also don't equate food price with food quality as some do, because that's not something that I buy into. Some people do, and they think that just because it's a steak at a fancy restaurant with fancy tables, etc, that it has to be good, and I'm sure they think it is.

 

So, to me, the question of if it's worth it is, is it worth $30/person above and beyond the MDR, and not comparing it to land-based restaurants. The only thing it should be compared to is the MDR for an accurate measure. But that's just me.