Are the Specialty Restaurants worth it?

[steffie]

We did Chops on the Jewel of the Seas for Valentine's Day this year and it was wonderful. Worth every penny. The presentation, the service and the food were outstanding. We will be doing this on every cruise one night for now on. The steaks were the best we have ever had!!!! I am getting hungry just thinking about it!!!!!

[pamssanity]

We were on Mariner and did both Chops and Portofinos'' we did them on our night in Jamaica when there would be Jerk chicken on the dining room menu and the night we were in port late so that we didn't have to rush after a day touring or on the beach..

Chops was fabulous. The presentation was terrific and the food was delicious.. desserts were outstanding. Worth every penny--and so nice to be treated so special.

We did not enjoy the food so much at Portofinos. There was no special presentation and other than fabulous desserts the dinner was just ok. Our next cruise will find us making a reservation at Chops. While you are waiting to go to your cabin when you get on the ship go to the Windjammer and make your reservation. We told others about Chops and they couldn't get reservations as they booked really quickly. Hope you enjoy-- nothing like a Cruise~~~~~:cool:

[mtebor]

I would recommend you try Chops at least once. Yes it does cost extra but you will NOT be disapointed. The dining experience you have is very special. I was sorry to see that Chops wasn't added to Sovereign. I will definitely do it again on my next cruise.

[Erie Dave]

Our experience on the Carnival Conquest was terrible. One of the reasons we will never go on Carnival again at any cost. Our 3 dinners in chops, and the 6 in Portofino's have been nothing short of excellent!

[Smiles3usa]

Value is something difficult to define. I've eaten at both Chops and Portofinos (for the murder mystery). And yes, the food was miles above that served in the dinning room. And, to be honest, the cost was insignificant when considering the superior product and service provided. But for the larger picture, I don't think it was worth it. I believe the alternative restaurants, while great, have served to lessen the dinning room product. It wasn't that long ago that the alternative restaurant product was served in the dinning room. If enough folks decide to venture to the alternative restaurants just once during a cruise, it will sell out, and I think, we will all be losers in the long run. So, just for me, I've decided that we will not patronize those restauants, except for specials like the murder mystery, where the meal is secondary to the night's entertainment.

[gsb]

Will probably go only, if in checking the dining room menus, nothing appeals to us.:(

[Happy ks]

We have eaten at specialty restaurants on other lines, but not yet on RCI. Our experience has been that the food and service are far superior to that in the main dining room. You cannot expect food prepared to order when there are over 1000 people to be served at the same time, it is akin to banquet food. I did not start cruising until the late 90's, but my husband went on several cruises in the 80's. Before my first cruise, he told me that it is a myth that cruise ships serve gourmet meals and to expect food similar to nice chain restaurants or wedding banquets. I'm glad he told me, or I would have been very disappointed.

 

We have always been told, by the servers, that the gratuity is included in the surcharge. The gratuity line on the charge slip is a line that is automatically added for customer discretion and it cannot be deleted. Just mark a line through it, or leave it blank, no big deal.

 

The service and the ambience in the regular dining room is wonderful, we go with the knowledge that the food will not be gourmet and do not expect that. The specialty restaurants are a treat we allow ourselves.

[Texasbob]

open for lunch?

[gsb]

ntnt:(

[JaKetravels]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Honey's Gal]

Wow, such an array of opinions. I have never had a problem with the food in the dining room, but we did try Chops on the Serenade. I absolutely loved it. The food and the service were excellent. For the price of $20 a person, that made it even more exceptional. There is no where here in the Boston area that we could possibly get the same meal for anywhere near $20. We will definitely go to Chops again when we sail on the Jewel. We have not tried Portifinos yet, as I am not an Italian food lover, however I will go if my DH wants to try it, I am sure there is something I would like.

[Lorabele]

We LOVED the speciality restaurant on Celebrity's Summit, so we couldn't wait to try out Chops on JOS. Absolutely NOT worth the money, in my opinion. I didn't see that it was any better than the main dining room. On Celebrity, it was a dining experience, with table-side food preparation, devoted servers, romantic atmosphere, live trio playing soft music.....ah, now THAT was an experience!

 

This was a nice meal in a nice room. Nothing special about the atmosphere, and certainly not any more formal than the main dining room. Food was very good, but I thought the main dining room food was very good as well. Would not pay for it again.