Dining changes

[Eli_6]

As an aside, the only part of this that I have an issue with is I wish they would open the ice cream stations earlier because with kids we are often up at 6 or 7 am and wanting a snack by 9 or 10 am.   

[Island Dog]

Will there be "Food Police" making sure portly Hubbies don't eat their wives second entrée?

(asking for a friend...) 🤣

[1kaper]

Just now, Island Dog said:

Will there be "Food Police" making sure portly Hubbies don't eat their wives second entrée?

(asking for a friend...) 🤣

 

I'm going to be watching for this now and will report if I see it.  Better hope we aren't seated near each other. 🤣

[talkorpi]

10 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

I, for one (actually, my family, for four), will not mind paying $48 each for the Steakhouse as long as the food and service quality is maintained.  But I don't want to pay that price and get crappier food and less attentive service than I am used to there.  Everything costs more these days.  We can't expect prices to stay the same on board when they are going up for everything on land.  I just hate it when the quality of the product itself is cut back.

 

I guess I would be in the same boat but on our cruise in May we had the only negative crew experience of the entire cruise on the first night in the Steakhouse.  The food was amazing but we had very bad service and the crew were honestly rude, which was the first time I have ever experienced that in our five cruises.  To me, $100 for two people needs to have great service on top of the food.  

 

Here's to hoping our experience was just a one-off bad night for them.  I wouldn't be back for the new price based on my last experience.

[Eli_6]

2 minutes ago, Island Dog said:

Will there be "Food Police" making sure portly Hubbies don't eat their wives second entrée?

(asking for a friend...) 🤣

As soon as I read this, I knew I would be used by either my husband or my son to order them a third entree.

[Eli_6]

The real question is:  Can we still order three desserts?

[allinwonderland]

1 minute ago, Eli_6 said:

The real question is:  Can we still order three desserts?

I was wondering that too. Or appetizers. And what about breakfast and sea day brunch - will we also be capped at number of plates there?

 

(She asks half in jest, but also half not, as someone whose favorite meal is breakfast...)

[Joebucks]

I got the email and immediately laughed. First thing I thought about was this site and the posts there would be

 

- "Don't you dare post that it doesn't impact you. It might impact someone!"

- "Every bit adds up to a poorer experience. I just like knowing the option to get 3 entrees is there on MY vacation"

 

$48 steakhouse is laughable to me. I was so-so at $35. $100 for a meal where a free one is available is a tough sell. 

 

[Sea Raven]

I know that mine will not be the popular opinion, but I support this wholeheartedly. The sheer amount of food waste that I witnessed just on my October cruise was disheartening. People ordering multiple entrees for breakfast, brunch, and dinner was quite common. Most only picked at each one, some even left whole meals untouched. I guess the thought of "free" food just triggers something in certain people. It is an issue that I hope Carnival can at least try to control.

[Eli_6]

Just now, allinwonderland said:

I was wondering that too. Or appetizers. And what about breakfast and sea day brunch - will we also be capped at number of plates there?

 

(She asks half in jest, but also half not, as someone whose favorite meal is breakfast...)

That's a good question regarding the Seaday Brunch because the menu is a little less clear on what is an entree and what is not...so can you order bacon, eggs, and their french toast or will that be three things?  

[Eli_6]

When I went to my cruise, it appears Chef's Table has gone up to $99 as well...but maybe it had already gone up and I just had not noticed. It seems like it used to be $75 or $85.  That seems steeper to me than even the Steakhouse price because while it is a neat experience, it's not like the Chef's Table is The French Laundry...

[allinwonderland]

3 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

That's a good question regarding the Seaday Brunch because the menu is a little less clear on what is an entree and what is not...so can you order bacon, eggs, and their french toast or will that be three things?  

You know I originally made that comment more joking than not, because I thought the email had very clear language around it only being for dinnertime (when the menu makes very clear what's an entree) but I just checked again and no, it doesn't... I suspect the situation you just described would be a bit more clear (bacon is considered a side dish) but there are others that aren't.

 

I'm not sailing again until January, so I guess I'll be stalking these boards for people's reports of what the situation actually is like.

[1kaper]

3 minutes ago, allinwonderland said:

You know I originally made that comment more joking than not, because I thought the email had very clear language around it only being for dinnertime (when the menu makes very clear what's an entree) but I just checked again and no, it doesn't... I suspect the situation you just described would be a bit more clear (bacon is considered a side dish) but there are others that aren't.

 

I'm not sailing again until January, so I guess I'll be stalking these boards for people's reports of what the situation actually is like.

 

I'm sailing two weeks from Saturday so I'll respond if no one else has. 

[pe4all]

Also just got the email.  No biggie to my family.  I usually do not eat in the steakhouse unless comped by the casino, but $48 fior a full soup to nuts steakhouse meal is still a bargain in my book.

[Island Dog]

I wonder what tomorrow's email is going to reveal? 🤔

[crazy4themouse]

I'm kinda baffled on the moving the lobster to the second "formal" night thing... What does that accomplish?

 

 

[allinwonderland]

5 minutes ago, crazy4themouse said:

I'm kinda baffled on the moving the lobster to the second "formal" night thing... What does that accomplish?

Most other cruise lines offer lobster on their second formal night. I read somewhere that they don't expect you to eat as much by then because you've been gorging yourself for the rest of the trip (that most people slow down their pace of food consumption by about day 3).

[MeganGC1983]

5 minutes ago, crazy4themouse said:

I'm kinda baffled on the moving the lobster to the second "formal" night thing... What does that accomplish?

 

 

Less people attend the second formal night, sometimes it’s even on a port day, so they are betting less consumption. 

[JT1962]

12 minutes ago, crazy4themouse said:

I'm kinda baffled on the moving the lobster to the second "formal" night thing... What does that accomplish?

 

 

I believe less people attend the second formal night than on the first formal night. Also, many notice their clothes being a little tighter by that point of the cruise and decide to slow down on how much they have been eating.

Edited November 2, 2022 by JT1962

[Island Dog]

9 minutes ago, crazy4themouse said:

I'm kinda baffled on the moving the lobster to the second "formal" night thing... What does that accomplish?

 

 

Maybe by then everyone is so full and fat that pairing the lobster with a beef entrée to have Surf and Turf will be unattractive. Across all lines the quality and size of the lobster tail has diminished to the point that I don't desire it anymore.  But many still do.

[1kaper]

39 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

The real question is:  Can we still order three desserts?

 

John has confirmed yes.  You can order as many appetizers and desserts as you wish. 

 

[crewsweeper]

Considering the ribeye alone at the pedestrian Texas Roadhouse is $21 and it's $52 at slightly upscale RuthsChris, $48 for the whole works soup-to-nuts at  the Steakhouse isn't that bad of a deal.  But yes, buy in advance of any price rise is the way to go.

RCL dishes out soft serve specific hours.  No more self-serve.  

Extra charge for 3rd entre will help keep DW from ordering "extra for the table"😁

[sanmarcosman]

53 minutes ago, talkorpi said:

 

I guess I would be in the same boat but on our cruise in May we had the only negative crew experience of the entire cruise on the first night in the Steakhouse. 

It was the same for us on the Panorama and on two separate cruises. Only the steakhouse had host and service staff with attitudes of superiority. If they think all that much about themselves they need to rethink their decision to work on mass market cruise lines serving the North American market. 

[Pyxie]

I'm not bothered as a whole by this, but I am curious if this applies only to entrees or if appetizers and desserts count too. I'm much more likely to order multiple apps than multiple entrees.

 

But you could also argue that since it doesn't specify this applies to appetizers and desserts that it should not (though whether it's worth arguing that is up to you lol).

[1kaper]

Just now, Pyxie said:

I'm not bothered as a whole by this, but I am curious if this applies only to entrees or if appetizers and desserts count too. I'm much more likely to order multiple apps than multiple entrees.

 

But you could also argue that since it doesn't specify this applies to appetizers and desserts that it should not (though whether it's worth arguing that is up to you lol).

 

 

Page 2 I put a screenshot of John Heald saying it does not apply to appetizers or desserts.  You can still order as many as you wish.