Restaurant food charge?

[newcruiser30]

I am worried about the restaurants on board (specifically Portofino). I know that there is a cover charge, but is the actual food free then? No matter what you order? Or do you pay for the food too, just like in a regular land restaurant? I read a couple of posts down about the $14.95 steak and Chops, does that mean that you have to pay for the steak on top of paying for the cover charge? DH is very frugal and is already bugging me about this. :rolleyes:

 

Thank you!

[Retired LEO]

I am worried about the restaurants on board (specifically Portofino). I know that there is a cover charge, but is the actual food free then? No matter what you order? Or do you pay for the food too, just like in a regular land restaurant? I read a couple of posts down about the $14.95 steak and Chops, does that mean that you have to pay for the steak on top of paying for the cover charge? DH is very frugal and is already bugging me about this. :rolleyes:

 

Thank you!

 

Everything is included, except for drinks. The tip is also included, but you may tip more if you so desire.

[NorbertsNiece]

No matter what you order or how much you order..... you will NOT go hungry. It's worth every penny of the service charge.

[cb at sea]

You do know it's not mandatory to eat at any of the "specialty" restaurants! The food in the dining room is included in your fare (with the exception of that "$14 steak!!)

The cover charge for the specialty restaurants is per person, and includes the tip.

[readytolose]

I am worried about the restaurants on board (specifically Portofino). I know that there is a cover charge, but is the actual food free then? No matter what you order? Or do you pay for the food too, just like in a regular land restaurant? I read a couple of posts down about the $14.95 steak and Chops, does that mean that you have to pay for the steak on top of paying for the cover charge? DH is very frugal and is already bugging me about this. :rolleyes:

 

Thank you!

 

The cover charge includes the food and tip. You can tip more if you feel the service warrants an extra tip. The $14.95 steak was in the main dining room, not the specialty restaurants. It was supposed to be a Chops quality steak but without having to go to Chops. I've been hearing rumors that they took that steak off the dining room menu now and just have the regular steak.

 

If your husband is frugal and doesn't want to spend the extra money for a specialty restaurant by all means just stick to the dining room meals. We went to Chops on our first cruise and honestly it was good, but I didn't feel it was any better than anything we had in the dining room. I don't believe we will even do a specialty restaurant this time. We really enjoy the dining room atmosphere.

[NorbertsNiece]

The cover charge includes the food and tip. You can tip more if you feel the service warrants an extra tip. The $14.95 steak was in the main dining room, not the specialty restaurants. It was supposed to be a Chops quality steak but without having to go to Chops. I've been hearing rumors that they took that steak off the dining room menu now and just have the regular steak.

 

If your husband is frugal and doesn't want to spend the extra money for a specialty restaurant by all means just stick to the dining room meals. We went to Chops on our first cruise and honestly it was good, but I didn't feel it was any better than anything we had in the dining room. I don't believe we will even do a specialty restaurant this time. We really enjoy the dining room atmosphere.

 

Oh my goodness..... I thought Chops served better quantities and quality than the MDR.... that notch up the scale....Portofino's however is superior in every way imaginable.... MDR service is A class.... Portofino's A* in every category..... just one person's opinion....

[julia]

The main dining room is very nice!

 

We tend to do the specialty restaurants on ships when we are celebrating a special occasion. Usually the service and ambiance are why we are there. On our last cruise (not RCI) the specialty restaurant had a nice dance floor with a wonderful duet playing, and we were able to dance throughout the meal. It was a VERY nice way to celebrate turning another year older!

[Screwbit]

Portifinos/Chops-vs-MDR ?? No contest, IMHO. Even though I'm paying a surcharge for something (meals) already in my cruise fare, I think the food, the ambience, and the service are well worth it for an intimate evening. At the same time, I'm also one of those people who, after 15 cruises, has come to enjoy dining in the Windjammer over the MDR. Much more relaxed, and I personally find the food just as good.

[sandancer]

Have never tried Chops (DH not a meat eater) but we LOVE Portofino. We used to say we would never pay extra for meals on a cruise but then tried Portofino for a special birthday and then we were hooked. We would not miss going - it is our special treat for the cruise. Well worth the extra cost.

[yogimax]

We also prefer Portofino's to Chops. They have a great filet there.

[readytolose]

See now, with all these posts praising Chops/Portofino's that is the reason I said I don't believe we will do a specialty restaurant this time. Every time I think for sure that we won't I see someone else praise one or the other and then I start thinking again.

 

Honestly I would like to try Portofinos to see how it compares to Chops.

 

Like I said above I didn't think Chops was worth the extra money. Yes, since we were on our honeymoon it was nice to have a dinner with just my husband, but we also really enjoyed our table mates and had a great waiter and drink waiter that made every evening in the dining room fun and exciting.

 

Maybe on our next cruise with no kids we will try Portofino's but this cruise we will have all the kids and 2 of them are not of age for the specialty restaurants to we won't be trying it this time.

[karena1]

We also only do the specialty restaurants for special occasions. We think the food in the MDR is just fine, very good, and DH gets plenty to eat and loves pretty much everything they have.

 

For us, since I am pretty much a veggie and hate seafood, the specialty restaurants are a waste of money. I can get all the salad/veggies I want in the main dining room, so to spend all the money to get that doesn't make a lot of sense. We have eaten at both, and will say for me Portofino's is great. I can get nice pasta there, but we haven't done it in a while and probably won't.

 

The specialty restaurants are a nice option if you want a more elegant dinner and are willing to pay the extra to have that.