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$14.95 for STEAK???

Gracie115

By Gracie115,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Maraprince

Maraprince

Posted
Posted

If what is being offered as an "alternate" is from Chops (extra charge venue), the benefit of ordering it in the regular dining room would be not paying the extra charge to eat at Chops and having to make a reservation to do so and being able to eat at your regular table..

 

Definitely agree that the the food severed in the regular dining room is for the most part, good quality without having to pay any additional charges to eat it. Desserts need improvement, but I don't necessarily see that as a "bad" thing -- better for the waistline that they aren't that good!

 

 

MARAPRINCE

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isujim

isujim

Posted
Posted

Boy........that will teach me to be gone 3 days!:eek: Come back and see thiws thread.........:D

 

Is anyone really surprised??

 

It is all about choice.........for some the choice may eventually be another cruiseline.

 

Rick I agree.........I have said all along this isn't the same company of even 2 years ago.........I can only imagine what it will look like in the next 24 months.........

 

but it will be interesting to see what develops.;)

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hermang

hermang

Posted
Posted
Threeredheads just posted a review of Freedom of the Seas (same sailing as the one I reviewed) and noted the following:

 

"-Food-this was our 6th RCCL cruise and the first time we were disappointed in the dining menu. If you wanted steak, you were charged $14.95! A lot of vegetarian meals. We were much happier with the selection from the Windjammer"

 

NOW will all you RCCL cheerleaders, doubters and nay sayers finally accept the fact that the only steak option on the dinner menu in the main dining room on the August 24, 2008 sailing of Freedom of the Seas was only available at a cost of $14.95????????? Sheeeesh!!!!!!!!

 

First of all - at one time RCCL had a steak on the alternative menu - I think they called it Ranch steak - Ya needed an AX to cut it. Then they "improved it" and called it a Top sirloin - better but don't try it with dentures. The latest iteration ( Feb 2008) was a Sirloin steak maybe 8 oz and was acceptable.

 

If you went to Morton's or Smith and Wollensky I guarantee you wil pay in excess of $35 for a NY Strip and that does NOT include anything but water.

 

If I can get a $35 steak for $15 - I would be glad to do it for a meal or two.

 

I always do Chops or Portofino and consider it well worth the add on.

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chazg

chazg

Posted
Posted

Not having the time to read all the posts so if this has already been discussed please excuse me.

 

I was on the same cruise with Merion_Mom and Steak was not one of the alternative selections any longer. They didn't have the $14.95 Steak either. Our head waiter told us the RCCL was having an issue with their Steak Suppliers and that changes would be coming soon but he could not say anymore.

 

I guess this is the change he was talking about.

 

BTW the Old Alternative was a Black Angus Sirloin not a NY Strip Steak.

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richsea

richsea

Posted
Posted
First of all - at one time RCCL had a steak on the alternative menu - I think they called it Ranch steak - Ya needed an AX to cut it. Then they "improved it" and called it a Top sirloin - better but don't try it with dentures. The latest iteration ( Feb 2008) was a Sirloin steak maybe 8 oz and was acceptable.

 

If you went to Morton's or Smith and Wollensky I guarantee you wil pay in excess of $35 for a NY Strip and that does NOT include anything but water.

 

If I can get a $35 steak for $15 - I would be glad to do it for a meal or two.

 

I always do Chops or Portofino and consider it well worth the add on.

 

Let's face it, if the $14.95 steak was a bargain, you can bet that Royal Caribbean would have issued a news release regarding it, saying that it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. The fact that they kind of just slipped it in speaks volumes, IMO.

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48michelle_s

48michelle_s

Posted
Posted

Just off the Freedom on Sunday and had a great cruise (Diamond member so fair bit of experience). We had a good time but were really disappointed in the quality of the food in the main dining room.

 

In the short term RCCL gained as we paid to eat in Chops (twice), Portofino (twice). In the long term though, they'll lose a good client because for the first time I have been looking at other cruiselines today for our next cruise. We like eating in the dining rooms on an evening and it is a key part of our holiday....but so is nice food that is well presented and included in the not inconsiderable amount we pay.

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CRUISINGCPA

CRUISINGCPA

Posted
Posted

Ok, I'm ususally more of a reader than a replier, but I have to add my 3 cents here. Last week I noticed that the size of the normal container of peanut butter had decreased from 18 oz to 16.8, but the price stayed the same. Now, we consume a lot of peanut butter in my house, should I now boycott it until the peanut butter people increase the jar back to 18 oz? Apparently no one has noticed these things in the past?

I am disappointed that they would actually put a price on a menu - 1 of my favorite things about cruising is sitting down to dinner & ordering anything you want without seeing a price. However, the food is still better than anything I have to cook at home so I will learn to focus away from the dollar sign.

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Jerboy

Jerboy

Posted
Posted
.

 

If you went to Morton's or Smith and Wollensky I guarantee you wil pay in excess of $35 for a NY Strip and that does NOT include anything but water.

 

If I can get a $35 steak for $15 - I would be glad to do it for a meal or two..

 

Sorry, but the NY Strip from CHOPS cannot possibly be compared to the Prime steaks found at Mortons or Smith and Wollensky! Nowhere close to PRIME and nowhere close to the size/thickness.

 

I think if they reduced the price of the steak on the alternate menu to $9.95 or even $12.95 they might get more takers.. but I hope not! I want the sirloin alternative back :(

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negc

negc

Posted
Posted

We will be sailing on Jewel of the Seas next week and will be interested to see if the "$14.95 Chops steak" has made its appearance on the menu. If it has we will be disappointed and are very unlikely to order it, preferring to go to Chops to enjoy the full treatment. However, I only rarely ordered the alternative steak when it was a regular feature on the menu because I never felt it was especially good, so I guess the change won't effect me that much. I'm not thrilled with this development, however, and can only imagine the consequences should the Chops steak be a success. NCL has already introduced a similar concept in its specialty (extra charge) restaurants where even though you have paid an extra fee to dine in them, there is an additional charge for certain "upscale" items on the menu.

 

What RCI may not have counted on is the possibility that if guests can pay extra in the dining room for the better food that previously was available only in the specialty restaurants, they may simply opt to pay the $14.95 for that Chops steak in the dining room and forego paying $20 or $25 just for the ambience of Chops or Portofino.:rolleyes:

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lysolqn

lysolqn

Posted
Posted
It's starting to sound an awful lot like Easy Cruise. :( My guess is that it won't be long before the steak at no additional cost will miraculously and quietly disappear from the menu.

 

2P.P1

 

News flash...it has already disappeared on Freedom!

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hermang

hermang

Posted
Posted
Sorry, but the NY Strip from CHOPS cannot possibly be compared to the Prime steaks found at Mortons or Smith and Wollensky! Nowhere close to PRIME and nowhere close to the size/thickness.

 

I think if they reduced the price of the steak on the alternate menu to $9.95 or even $12.95 they might get more takers.. but I hope not! I want the sirloin alternative back :(

 

If my memory serves me correctly the Sirloin I had at Mortons was a 1# NY Cut. This was 3 yrs ago so my memory is a bit fuzzy but I believe it was around $42 back then. Whild I didn;t bring a scale - I am guessing the steak at Chops was 12 oz. Was the Quality better at Mortons - maybe but here is the rub.

 

Wife and I - each had an appetizer ( Shrimp cocktail $14.95 for 5 shrimp) A glass of Jacobs Creek Shiraz at $10.50 ( bought a bottle of same at BJ's 3 days later for $15.00) We had 2 sides,( split) and coffee - no dessert.

I had the sirloin wife had a petite filet, Tax and tip was like $160 - tell me it why it was worth $120 more than dinner for 2 at chops

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twoputt.plusone

twoputt.plusone

Posted
Posted
Great news. I'd like to think that passenger complaints were heeded. Hope all those unsold NY strips didn't show up in Chops, listed as "double aged".

 

I think you misunderstood the post.;) Initially I posted that I thought it wouldn't be long before the free alternate steak disappeared. Apparently it already had on the Freedom. The only other option was the $14.95 Chops steak.

 

2P.P1

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pmshirl

pmshirl

Posted
Posted
I saw that after I had posted. Something tells me this is only a sign of things to come. If so, it may be time to re-evaluate our vacation options. :(

 

2P.P1

 

Just off the mariner Aug17th. There was no extra charge for any steak in the Main Dining room. What I did notice was, there no longer was lemonade or fruit punch offered in the Dining room, only ice tea. My DH always likes fruit punch, he ordered it and was charged $4.24 from the bar for the glass!

 

We sailed on the Explorer in June, Empress in Feb., and had the lemonade fruit punch option as a free drink in the dining room!

 

IMHO...I think the writings on the wall!:mad: Starting out with certain items and then finally succeed with ALL items! Then what CHOICE will you have?

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lysolqn

lysolqn

Posted
Posted
lysolqn - Thanks for your valuable heads-up. Don't take the nonsense from the Kool Aid Krowd seriously - for whatever reason, there are some folks here who exist to defend a multibillion-dollar corporation against its middle-class consumers. :rolleyes:

 

Thanks much but trust me, it takes a lot more than the Kool Aid Krowd (luv the label!) to ruffle my feathers. I actually find them quite amusing and I'm used to reading posts from the same kind of defenders of the realm over on the Celebrity board. Truth be told, I've been known to poke and prod a bit for my own enjoyment once they expose their insecurities. They can be downright combative and insulting in defense of their favorite cruise line, but they're awfully hard to resist once they get going. Ever notice how the little darlings quietly slip away without a word once they've been proven wrong?

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PSCruiser

PSCruiser

Posted
Posted
I think you misunderstood the post.;) Initially I posted that I thought it wouldn't be long before the free alternate steak disappeared. Apparently it already had on the Freedom. The only other option was the $14.95 Chops steak.

 

2P.P1

 

You're correct - bummer!

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