So which 3 ships is Carnival testing simplified menu in steak house?

[quo]

Saw this early and would love to know which 3 steak house restaurants. Have upcoming reservations on Venezia and Mardi Gras and would love to know if these two ships are affected.  thank you!!

 

 

"The elegant restaurant, which is found on 25 of Carnival’s 27 ships, has been quietly testing a simplified menu on three ships that removes the side dishes and shrinks the portions of the sides that are provided – which guests were quick to notice. 

Some posted photos of the limited menu and complained that their entree only came with a small “dollop of mashed potatoes and one carrot” on Facebook."

[PinaCarada]

LOTS of hullabaloo about this on the Book of Face, and John Heald has commented about it too. He doesn't list the 3 ships but from posts I've seen from passengers, it's the Excel class ships. He (and passengers) have confirmed that if you don't like the included sides, you can "swap them out", but to me, that doesn't indicate if old sides like the mac n cheese (that aren't listed on the new menu) are part of the swaps.

 

Anyway, here's John's post:

 

And a page of the "new" menu where the included sides are listed:

 

[shof515]

i got a feeling carnival is going to increase the prices to the steakhouse with this new simplified  menu. this is what most land based restaurants do. Update menu, reduce portion size and increase pricing. yay for paying more for less

[quo]

26 minutes ago, PinaCarada said:

LOTS of hullabaloo about this on the Book of Face, and John Heald has commented about it too. He doesn't list the 3 ships but from posts I've seen from passengers, it's the Excel class ships. He (and passengers) have confirmed that if you don't like the included sides, you can "swap them out", but to me, that doesn't indicate if old sides like the mac n cheese (that aren't listed on the new menu) are part of the swaps.

 

Anyway, here's John's post:

 

And a page of the "new" menu where the included sides are listed:

 

Appreciate the information.  Just saved me some money.  Sad to see this change.

[lasvegascruising]

Oh crap!  I did not know about this change.  I booked the steakhouse for our Jubilee cruise beginning of December 2024 and it is paid in full.  I guess we will give it a try.

[daveo6313]

16 minutes ago, lasvegascruising said:

Oh crap!  I did not know about this change.  I booked the steakhouse for our Jubilee cruise beginning of December 2024 and it is paid in full.  I guess we will give it a try.

 

We were on the Jubilee last month and went to the steakhouse.  At the time I could not really put my finger on it but it seemed like the quality and the quantity really were down.  We usually attend the steakhouse on the first night when we cruise.  I will probably not go to the steakhouse on the excel class ships if this is the new norm.  Also, for the record we were not impressed with Rudi's Seagull either.  We really enjoyed Emeril's Bistro and Chibang.

[CantWait08]

Once the price went above $42 we have not booked. The value just isn't there any longer for us.

[Cloud9Family]

I miss the wasabi mash potatoes!

It wouldn’t be a huge deal if there were more sides to swap. Broccoli, mushrooms, or a baby carrot and Yukon mash or skillet potatoes. Maybe there are other options listed with the other entrees? I’m surprised a baked potato isn’t an option. 
 

I think I’d rather pay full menu prices and have real selections than a simplified menu that still runs $50pp. 

[johnboy036]

Hopefully this test will start and end on the Excel class ships. I go the steak house about every other cruise on the first night but if that menu went fleet wide I would no longer book, as the value for me would not equal the price. 

[Drazil65]

Oh crap!  I did not know about this change.  I booked the steakhouse for our Jubilee cruise beginning of December 2024 and it is paid in full.  I guess we will give it a try.

 

FYI...you can still cancel it and it will be refunded back to the original payment source.  If you have never tried the steakhouse you may want to have the experience anyway since you have nothing to compare it to as far as previous menu choices go.   

[ninjacat123]

10 hours ago, daveo6313 said:

 

We were on the Jubilee last month and went to the steakhouse.  At the time I could not really put my finger on it but it seemed like the quality and the quantity really were down.  We usually attend the steakhouse on the first night when we cruise.  I will probably not go to the steakhouse on the excel class ships if this is the new norm.  Also, for the record we were not impressed with Rudi's Seagull either.  We really enjoyed Emeril's Bistro and Chibang.

When I'm on an Excel class ship, I usually book Bonsai Teppanyaki for that price point.  I love Emeril's but didn't find Chibang that great.  I'd rather go to Emeril's another time instead but the hours there are unpredictable. My one time at Rudi's was so-so but I've booked it again so my DH can try.  We shall see🤞

[LaRue1975]

It’s definitely happening on the Firenze. Last week I ordered the colossal shrimp with the Yukon mashed potatoes. Instead of a generous portion in a separate dish I had a literal smear of the potatoes next to my shrimp. It couldn’t have been more than two tablespoons. The shrimp weren’t exactly colossal either. I think I am done with the Steakhouse. IL Viaggio however is fabulous. If you are ever on one of the Italian ships book it, you can thank me later. 

[thundercrack]

14 hours ago, quo said:

Some posted photos of the limited menu and complained that their entree only came with a small “dollop of mashed potatoes and one carrot” on Facebook."

The menu does say Roasted Baby Carrot, not Roasted Baby Carrots  😬😬

[AmanaCruise2]

I'd rather save my money and go to a nice steakhouse at home than pay for this watered-down menu. I tolerated the removal of the wasabi mashed potatoes, I'm not going to keep accepting additional steakhouse menu deletions. 

[Iluvmykindle]

We were on the Glory last weekend.  On Friday night we went to the steakhouse.  We were told that this was the first day for the new menu.  No sides are now listed on the menu.  I ordered the roasted chicken and it came with a dollop of mashed potatoes and one single carrot.  Both our waiter and the chef we spoke to told us that this was to curb waste.  Some people would order all the sides and just take one bite of each.  This was a common occurence according to them both.

 

[bafinegan]

13 hours ago, daveo6313 said:

 

We were on the Jubilee last month and went to the steakhouse.  At the time I could not really put my finger on it but it seemed like the quality and the quantity really were down.  We usually attend the steakhouse on the first night when we cruise.  I will probably not go to the steakhouse on the excel class ships if this is the new norm.  Also, for the record we were not impressed with Rudi's Seagull either.  We really enjoyed Emeril's Bistro and Chibang.

LOVE CHibang and Emerills.  Guys Pig and ANchor Smokehouse is also really good.

[mdin]

My wife and I always go on the first night. We did it again this past March on Horizon, but we didn't think it was as good as our previous visits. The quality of the food was average at best. The service seemed off as well. It could have been the restaurant was having an off night, but we've decided to skip the steakhouse on our next cruise.

 

On the other hand, we found Jiji's and Bonsai Teppanyaki to be great and worth every cent.

[trvlgirlmq]

Guess I know where we won’t be eating again. How disappointing.

 

Did they remove the lobster? Is this the entire menu? If they were worried about waste they could have put a cap on sides like you could order 2.

Edited Wednesday at 05:23 PM by trvlgirlmq

[RoperDK]

32 minutes ago, Iluvmykindle said:

We were on the Glory last weekend.  On Friday night we went to the steakhouse.  We were told that this was the first day for the new menu.  No sides are now listed on the menu.  I ordered the roasted chicken and it came with a dollop of mashed potatoes and one single carrot.  Both our waiter and the chef we spoke to told us that this was to curb waste.  Some people would order all the sides and just take one bite of each.  This was a common occurence according to them both.

 

This made me chuckle. They say that they are trying to curb waste by limiting options and portions for a pay restaurant, but you can go to the buffet and load your plate with those same mashed potatoes and vegetables for free as much as you want.  To be truthful, we haven't eaten at the steakhouse in years because of declining beef quality.  If I remember correctly, the recent level of sides weren't overly fancy and expensive to begin with and I don't remember them serving large portions either. I do hope that you could order an additional carrot without having to pay extra.  Oh my, LOL. 🤣  I'll take Jiji's any day!  

[Cloud9Family]

57 minutes ago, Iluvmykindle said:

We were on the Glory last weekend.  On Friday night we went to the steakhouse.  We were told that this was the first day for the new menu.  No sides are now listed on the menu.  I ordered the roasted chicken and it came with a dollop of mashed potatoes and one single carrot.  Both our waiter and the chef we spoke to told us that this was to curb waste.  Some people would order all the sides and just take one bite of each.  This was a common occurence according to them both.

 

They could have addressed that by putting a stop to people ordering extra sides since the menu does say one side. I’ve never ordered more than one. 
 

Most land based steakhouses serve sides family style. That’s easy to order one starch and one vegetable and share. Or a variety for a larger party. 
 

They could also charge extra for the extra sides ordered. There’s a few ways to handle the waste issue without limiting the menu. 

 

I just don’t understand the mashed potatoes. I’ve never ordered that as a side in a steakhouse: baked potato, augratin potatoes, lobster Mac n cheese. (Excluding the wasabi mash on carnival- that was unique!) 

[ninjacat123]

I’ve always ordered the mushrooms. Sooo good! I will be sad if that side isn’t available 😿

[mouche]

We ate at the steak house on the Mardi Gras this past Feb, and it was just not good, I got the cowboy steak cooked medium and it was the worst piece of meat I had the whole cruise. Service was not the greatest either, it seems the food quality has gone down or maybe it was just that ship. But for us, we won't be doing the steak house anymore especially for that price and what you get.

 

Edited Wednesday at 05:51 PM by mouche

[mouche]

Steak house pics on the Mardi Gras Feb 2024, where the food was just so so.

 

 

 

 

[silvercrikhix]

Another Carnival cruise experience watered down to be nothing special. 
Glad I canceled the 2 resv for our upcoming Nov cruise.  
We nor anybody with us, or nearby us has ordered multiple sides and wasted them. 
At least be honest about why you’re dumbing down things. We’re not ALL that stupid. 

 

[ZoeyVictoria]

Thank you!  We had the steakhouse booked on the Glory next wee.  I just cancelled.