Radiance Dining Upgrade

[jalewis2520]

We are planning our 1st ever cruise. I've noticed the ability to upgrade to he Radiance dining package for $70 per person for coverage charges to Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table, Izumi & Samba Grill. Is this worth doing? Is the food that much better than the included options of the main dining room and Windjammer? I'm not a fan of sushi, can you get an alternate for that, or is it just lost? Thanks in advance for any input.

[critterchick]

We are planning our 1st ever cruise. I've noticed the ability to upgrade to he Radiance dining package for $70 per person for coverage charges to Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table, Izumi & Samba Grill. Is this worth doing? Is the food that much better than the included options of the main dining room and Windjammer? I'm not a fan of sushi, can you get an alternate for that, or is it just lost? Thanks in advance for any input.

 

I've not heard of this - how many times can you dine at the specialty restaurants for that price? And how long is your cruise?

 

I think that on most ships the specialty restaurants blow the MDR out of the water. But if you prefer the experience of a single table with the same waitstaff and tablemates for the cruise, you can only get that by having a traditional dining experience. I'm kind of over that.:)

[AussieVisi2r]

The $70 give you one visit each to Chops, Giovanni's Table, Sambo and to Izumi's. Izumi's had hot rock meals with chicken and such - so would not be a waste. The MDR is lovely but the other 3 places were fantastic.

Or for $120 you can also do the Chef's Table and trust me. It was unbelievably sensational. as well as a big saving.

Raina.

[Tagsalong]

From their Dec 05 news release:

 

Guests aboard Radiance of the Seas may choose the Radiance Dining Package, which includes Chops Grille, Giovanni’s Table, Izumi and Samba Grill for $70 per guest. The Radiance Chef’s Dining Package adds the Chef’s Table, offering an opportunity to experience every onboard specialty dining venue at $120 per guest. Splendour of the Seas also offers a Chef’s Dining Package for $105 per guest, which includes the Chef’s Table, Chops Grille and Izumi.

[Iluvcruising2]

We are planning our 1st ever cruise. I've noticed the ability to upgrade to he Radiance dining package for $70 per person for coverage charges to Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table, Izumi & Samba Grill. Is this worth doing? Is the food that much better than the included options of the main dining room and Windjammer? I'm not a fan of sushi, can you get an alternate for that, or is it just lost? Thanks in advance for any input.

 

I would jump on this. But this isn't my first cruise. I only had my first speciality restaurant experience on Brilliance recently. I put up some pics on Portofino on another thread.

 

The downside for you would be that after eating at all the speciality restaurants, you may find that the food in MDR and Windjammer's to be 'inferior'.

[Iluvcruising2]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1514512&page=2

 

Pictures are here. (Portofino)

[Starry Eyes]

There are nice free options on the ship. As a first timer, I ate mostly in the dining rooms with some visits to the buffet. Park Cafe is a recent, free addition to radiance; I really enjoyed it. If I were a first timer, I would probably decline the package, mostly use those venues and probably only a visit or two to a specialty restaurant, especially if it is a port intensive itinerary. But that is me. If you on the other hand are a real foodie, buy the package, especially if it a longer or less port intensive cruise.

 

Enjoy your first cruise:D

[brocgmt]

The port of New Orleans continues to experience disorganization problems. During disembarkation on Dec. 17th, Royal Caribbean lost my suitcase. I returned home without it. Five days later Fedex delivered it to my home in Arkansas.

[cruisenfever]

We did the $70pp dining package on our 9/27 cruise on Radiance. It was a wonderful opportunity to experience the new dining venues that were added to Radiance during her dry dock. Our cruise was 17 days so we had plenty of time to try all 4 restaurants.

 

The food is a step above the MDR and WJ food. We enjoyed Chops, as that is one of our favorite alternate restaurants and Samba Grill. Was not overly impressed with Giovanni's and wish they would bring back some of the entrees featured when it was Portofino. Izumi has many other dishes to try besides sushi.

 

Rita's, which is not part of the dining package, was our all time favorite because it was casual, the food was good, the portions more than adequate and the prices were reasonable.

[Gerrym]

I've not heard of this - how many times can you dine at the specialty restaurants for that price? And how long is your cruise?

 

I think that on most ships the specialty restaurants blow the MDR out of the water. But if you prefer the experience of a single table with the same waitstaff and tablemates for the cruise, you can only get that by having a traditional dining experience. I'm kind of over that.:)

 

 

I did laugh at that, how on earth do you 'get over' the desire to visit the top class restaurants on board a ship?

 

..LOL!!!

 

 

 

:) :)

[cruisecrasy]

I did laugh at that, how on earth do you 'get over' the desire to visit the top class restaurants on board a ship?

 

..LOL!!!

 

I took what 'critterchick' to mean is that she got over wanting to dine in the MDR nightly with the same staff (& possibly the same tablemates also). I feel the same way! Best thing RCCL ever did was add specialty restaurants to their ships with the exception at least of the Rhapsody of the Seas unfortunately - hmmm RCCL?

 

The MDR can not be considered a 'top' restaurant by a long shot & hasn't for quite some time now IMHO anyway after over 30 yrs of cruising! :)