Sun King Steakhouse for Dinner: Worth it?

Hi. First time cruiser here. We just wrapped up a wonderful cruise on the Carnival Freedom and it was an amazing experience. I look forward to cruising again - soon!

We decided, for Mother's Day at sea, that we would try the Sun King Steakhouse on Carnival Freedom. Unfortunately, I would not recommend the steakhouse.

First of all, it is an additional $35 a person. For a special occasion, this might seem more than reasonable considering the menu includes filet mignon and lobster.The dining room was amazing but the service was slow. My wife ordered the broiled lobster, which she loved, and I ordered the 14 oz. New York strip steak - medium. After the bread and appetizer, we waited a good 20 minutes longer until our meal finally arrived. Sadly, they had overcooked my steak to well done, which really surprised me because steaks are usually a little under-cooked. The waiter did not serve our food so I had to wait a while to flag him down. I politely showed him the steak was well done and not medium and he agreed. After apologizing, he said he would have a new steak brought out to me in 6 minutes, which surprised me because it was such an exact number - 6 minutes.

Anyway, I was looking forward to the steak and understood that sometimes "things" happen. Unfortunately, I had to wait 20 minutes for the new steak while my wife was just about finished with her meal. This time the steak was cooked perfectly medium and it was quite tasty but after dessert we had to ask ourselves if it was worth it?

Since the service was slow, my meal was not done correctly the first time, and I had to wait another 20 minutes to get my meal, we didn't think spending and extra $70 was worth it. We will just stick to the main dining room and skip the steakhouse next time. Because, and here is the kicker, the main dining room offers the same steak and the lobster from the Sun King Steakhouse for an additional $20 each. So, instead of spending $70, I could have spent $40 and had my very friendly main dining staff (who we really enjoyed) serve us.

Finally, I'd just like to add that the food in the main dining room was really wonderful, and the staff and atmosphere was so much more inviting and friendly. I'm really looking forward to another cruise!

I agree with you 100%. We tried it once and wasn't that impressed with it. In our case though, it was the exact opposite. Every time we took a bite, the waitress was there asking us how we enjoyed our meal, how we enjoyed the special whatever that the chef made "especially for us" that we didn't order and didn't want.

I have been flamed on here before for saying this but we do not like having the wait staff keep coming back to see if we like what we are eating. Just let us eat it. Come back once but not four times. Someone actually condemned for saying that saying that I would then complain because nobody ever came back to ask if I was enjoying my meal. I can't win. Don't be surprised at the replies that you get for your posting.

A lot of people on here don't understand that there are actually people that would rather eat at a chain restaurant than a fancy steak house.

Hopefully our steakhouse meal will be better on the vista in July really worried as we have never been and it will be our 25th and a college and hs graduation!

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DAM, that's a shame. I'm glad you enjoyed the food, though, at least once it came. My experience is that the extra-cost steak in the MDR in fact isn't the "same steak" as served in the steakhouse. It's good, yes, but not steakhouse good, probably because a lot more steaks are being prepared and they're not being prepared to order. To me the steakhouse is worth every penny of $35 - that meal would cost at least twice that much in a restaurant of similar quality on land.

RWolver, if the steakhouse doesn't float your boat, don't go there. To each their own. I agree, if you'd rather eat at a chain restaurant than a fancy one, the steakhouse isn't going to do it for you. I like it as a special treat, something out of the ordinary, a meal that's maybe about more than just what's on the plate. For me the more personal service is part of that experience. But then again, I'm hardly ever disappointed in the MDR, and I've been on more cruises where I didn't go to the steakhouse than ones where I did.

Bon appetite, y'all!

OP, your words seem to indicate to me that you were surprised by the $35 upcharge for the Steakhouse meal. I hope I misinterpreted, because the upcharge is not kept a secret.

As to the overcooked steak, that can happen anywhere...on sea, on land or even in the MDR with the $20 steak. I contend it's probably more likely to happen in the MDR, just because there's more going on in the kitchen.

And about the MDR steak, keep in mind that $20 is for the steak only. You won't get the same starters, desserts or ambience, which is quite nicer in the Steakhouse.

As to the time between courses, keep in mind the Steakhouse is not a quick-serve kind of place. We've allowed a full 90-120 minutes or more for dinner. It is a more relaxed atmosphere.

Sorry to hear the experience wasn't for you. I guess it's just a matter of preference. We have been to the Steakhouse and have no qualms about going again. It has been absolutely worth it for us.

 

RWolver, if the steakhouse doesn't float your boat, don't go there. To each their own. I agree, if you'd rather eat at a chain restaurant than a fancy one, the steakhouse isn't going to do it for you. I like it as a special treat, something out of the ordinary, a meal that's maybe about more than just what's on the plate. For me the more personal service is part of that experience. But then again, I'm hardly ever disappointed in the MDR, and I've been on more cruises where I didn't go to the steakhouse than ones where I did.

 

Bon appetite, y'all!

We don't. We only tried it once because our ship was having propulsion problems and they changed our ports and gave us each $50 OBC. We thought we might as well use it for the steakhouse. Wasn't impressed and never went back.

We were very disappointed in the steakhouse on the Breeze. At $35pp it's a pretty good deal, if it was a good steakhouse. It was mediocre at best, I will say the service and atmosphere was very nice. They could learn a thing or two from Chops or Giovanni's on royal.

We too had disappointment on our first experience with the steakhouse while we were on the Miracle recently. There's a paragraph on it on my review.

Now, as I have posted about on other threads before, we had the $20 NY Strips in the MDR on the Ecstasy last year and we thought they were great and perfectly cooked. My FIL had the same experience on the first night in the MDR with his $20 Filet Mignon. But our steaks in the steakhouse were the opposite.

We might give another ship's steakhouse a shot, but I'd be quicker to order a steak in the MDR.

Everyone has a different opinion.