A Breakdown of Eating at Specialty Restaurants

[PhoenixCruiser]

Can you order more than one entree?

 

I believe you will be charged extra for the 2nd one.

 

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[Pitbull1130]

Mariner has chops, one of the best.....If you like steak go for chops....

[MrCruzdoggie]

I hate to be bearer of bad news, but Mariner class ships do not have Chops restaurants. So, you will be limited to Portofinos.

From what I have read, Portofinos is a good option.

Have a good cruise.

 

 

Luvscruising is full of crap Mariner does have Chops its great, great beef

[sandinmypants]

I doubt if we would pay the extra $$$ for the specialty restaurants, but if we did decide to have a "date night" and leave the 9yo at Adventure Ocean, we would go with Chops. My hubby loves steak. I see they have a 1 lb. Tbone, that would have to satisfy him! I could always order the large filet, he'd end up with 1/2 of that, too!

[Arizona Laura]

We eat at Chops once per cruise.

One time the waiter brought out every side dish there was without us asking.

The other times they asked but we had multiple sides..no problem with what we wanted.

We always have the filet...wonderful.

It is well worth the price.

Laura

[Poorplaya]

We eat at Chops once per cruise.

One time the waiter brought out every side dish there was without us asking.

The other times they asked but we had multiple sides..no problem with what we wanted.

We always have the filet...wonderful.

It is well worth the price.

Laura

 

Thanks Laura, I'll take your word considering we're cruising on the same cruise together, lol. I think we are going to try it in the middle of the cruise like wednesday or thursday.

[katiel53]

I think the filet in Portofino is better than the filet in Chops. I don't like having food served family style, even though I know fine restaurants serve the sides that way. That is how Chops serves their sides.

 

 

Also, for those of you who think Portofino is a spaghetti restaurant, you probably will be disappointed. It is far more than your neighborhood spaghetti house. It's my favorite restaurant on all the sips we have sailed, even though some of my favorite items have been removed. Enjoy!

[Irishnana]

Chops gets my VOTE :), although I've never tried the dinner at Portofino's.

 

Glad the does/does not issue regarding the Chops on Mariner has been clarified. Indeed it is there, deck 11 just outside the entrance to the WJ and across the way from Portifino's.

 

Our boyz are treating their Mom's to dinner at Chops on the 2nd formal night of our cruise. YUM, YUM!!!

 

Agree with another poster...I skip the appetizer and order my dessert (best cheesecake ever) to go...still waddle out of there :eek:

[sandinmypants]

I think the filet in Portofino is better than the filet in Chops. I don't like having food served family style, even though I know fine restaurants serve the sides that way. That is how Chops serves their sides.

 

 

Also, for those of you who think Portofino is a spaghetti restaurant, you probably will be disappointed. It is far more than your neighborhood spaghetti house. It's my favorite restaurant on all the sips we have sailed, even though some of my favorite items have been removed. Enjoy!

 

Sides served family style at Chops? What does that mean? I assumed that if my hubby and I booked Chops, we would have a table for 2, is that not true? We would only want to book it if we could have a "date night", this would be a special night out for us. We don't want to sit with strangers and pass the potatoes!

[hardinggrad]

We sailed on the Mariner before it moved to the west coast. We dined in Chops twice. We had a server named Sherbert from India. He was great! I wonder if he is still there. So if you do dine at Chops ask if Sherbert is still there. We just got off the Freedom last Sunday and dined at Portofinos twice and Chops twice. We ordered 2 appetizers/soup each, several side dishes to share, filet mignon each, and dessert each. We also had ice water to drink. We saw a table near us with probably 16 people celebrating a birthday. They all ordered bottled water. Enjoy your dinner at Chops!

[Irishnana]

Sides served family style at Chops? What does that mean? I assumed that if my hubby and I booked Chops, we would have a table for 2, is that not true? We would only want to book it if we could have a "date night", this would be a special night out for us. We don't want to sit with strangers and pass the potatoes!

 

You should not have a problem booking a table for 2, especially if you book early or on embarkation day prior to sailing.

 

Sides are made to feed 2, 3 or more; depending on how many are at your table.

 

Hope this helps :)

[bigtoeswim'n]

The Hubbie and I ate, first time, at the above on Serenade of Seas on our Alaskan cruise. It was great. We had an OBC from booking "next-cruise."

DH said it was THE BEST STEAK HE HAD IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE. I had this great seafood dish that had a great presentation bc of skewer set up. We sat by the window. We always eat early, so the place wasn't that busy.

DH wore a long sleeve white shirt, a black vest with tie, dark trousers with black tennies. We travel light, one roll-on overnight case per person. So, no room for suit jacket or special shoes. I wore a sparkly top, pants with a white strip down the side for warm up stretch, bling, and my dark mukker water shoes. We were not turned away as we looked good from the table up. LOL Oh: We also tipped extra bc we kind of bonded with our waiter. He resembed our second son. I would also suggest not to ask the waiter/waitress to many personal questions concerning his family/wife. We did this out of curiosity. He seemed pained to answer but he did. He was a great guy, Maxima.

I would suggest you don't let them load you down with side pasta dishes unless you are a BIG eater. We both declined the pasta as much as possible. We are not big eaters. I would also suggest you take some baggies ziplock or collapsible containers bc when I asked for a "to-go" box, my waiter had a look of horror on his face. He said he could have the left overs delivered to our room IF we could give him a time. Well, it was formal night, we were heading out to meet the captain, so we didn't know when we would be back. I can only figure that they didn't want us walking around with boxes to "meet the captain." I dunno. DH very much enjoyed his steak, but he wanted the left over for later that evening, but we had to leave them behind!!!! That was not nice. Live and learn.

On our Oct 2010 cruise, I'm packing baggies or a collapsible container.

Hope this helps.

[critterchick]

Why is there a price difference between Chops and Portofino?

Now Smart Casual means 'Jackets for men?'

 

Smart Casual has always meant "jackets for men," but I seldom see anybody in one anywhere on the ship. DH just wears a long sleeved shirt & nice slacks, sometimes a polo shirt. On formal night he wears a tux whether we're in the MDR or a specialty restaurant.:)

 

PS you don't need to be in the room to accept leftovers. They will let themselves in to leave them for you. :)

[Durangler]

 

On our Oct 2010 cruise' date=' I'm packing baggies or a collapsible container. [/font']

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Hehehe....

BYODB

bring your own doggie bag

:D

[Summer35]

Hi,

 

is it necessary to make the reservations before the cruise if we want to sit alone ( just we two) ? i have just been on the reservation site and i was wondering if i should make the reservations now or on board?

 

Greetings from Germany

 

 

Summer

[Cruz4Days]

Hi,

 

is it necessary to make the reservations before the cruise if we want to sit alone ( just we two) ? i have just been on the reservation site and i was wondering if i should make the reservations now or on board?

 

Greetings from Germany

 

 

Summer

 

I just made my reservations for Chops and Portofino for my upcoming cruise however in the past I made them once I got on board. As I recall, they serve their sides family style but you aren't seated family style. We had our own table. Enjoy!

[proudpatriot07]

My fiance and I are going on Freedom this summer. He's a totally foodie and loves most all food except for little green peas (who *really* likes little green peas, anyway? :p ).

 

Thing is, I'm a vegetarian. We want to go to one of these restaurants, but I don't know if they really have much for vegetarians or if Royal Caribbean has a lot of veggie foods. On Carnival there was usually only 1 (maybe 2) things a night... help???

[gerif]

My fiance and I are going on Freedom this summer. He's a totally foodie and loves most all food except for little green peas (who *really* likes little green peas, anyway? :p ).

 

Thing is, I'm a vegetarian. We want to go to one of these restaurants, but I don't know if they really have much for vegetarians or if Royal Caribbean has a lot of veggie foods. On Carnival there was usually only 1 (maybe 2) things a night... help???

 

I'd suggest Portofino then - they have an really yummy mushroom pasta dish and some vegetarian appetizers/salads. If your fiance is a meat eater, their filet is awsome.

[RoofingPrincess]

Also, for those of you who think Portofino is a spaghetti restaurant, you probably will be disappointed. It is far more than your neighborhood spaghetti house. It's my favorite restaurant on all the sips we have sailed, even though some of my favorite items have been removed. Enjoy!

I'm always amazed/amused by the people who equate Italian food with pasta.

Italy has many different regions, each with their own specialties. What most people think of as Italian cuisine (tomato sauce and pasta) is from southern Italy. Northern Italian cuisine is significantly different.

My roomie & I ate at Portofino on our last cruise... she had a seafood skewer and I had broiled tuna steak (and far more of it than I could eat!)

Here's a link to their "current" menu from their website:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/Portofino_Menu.pdf

It's not totally current, though, because the antipasti we had and the tuna steak I had are not on this menu...

[In Range]

We have two nights reserved at Portofino for our cruise. Can you use your soda card in the restaurant? Our first cruise on RCI, so I'm still learning the ins and outs.

[lleydens]

We have two nights reserved at Portofino for our cruise. Can you use your soda card in the restaurant? Our first cruise on RCI, so I'm still learning the ins and outs.

 

 

Yes you can. You are able to use your soda card anywhere on the ship that serves soft drinks.

 

We ate at Portofino last Dec on the NOS and it was wonderful. Everything was wonderful. So much so I was too stuffed for dessert.