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Question about Chops Grille


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Does the 20 or 25 dollar surcharge cover the tip for the waiters? We plan on trying chops on our next cruise, and want to know if we need to tip the waiter or waitress. Any help is appreciated, I just want to make sure those hardworking waiters and waitresses are compensated. Thanks!!

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This question is asked frequently, and folks always get all possible answers to the question, plus more: The gratuity is fully included, the gratuity is not included, and you may even read that the gratuity is partially included.

 

My personal recommendation is to send email directly to RCI and ask the question.

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We were just at Chops a couple of weeks ago on the Mariner. Something (what?) I read on the ship, did say the gratuity is included in the $20. However, I had previously read here on the boards that the waiters only receive about $2 of that. Considering the truly excellent service we received, we chose to leave more. We just added it to our SeaPass, when they brought the bill. There was a space for additional gratuity, right below the total.

 

As a side note, the food at Chops was wonderful. My mouth is still watering, just thinking about it. :D

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I figure we will also leave something extra. What is the menu like and the general atmoshpere of the dining room--is it crowded, noisy or a nice relaxing place? How does the service compare to the main dr. Same quest also re Portofino if you know?

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we were on the jewel over christmas break. we actually ate at portofino twice and chops once. the food, ambiance and service at portofino was just about as good as ANY 5 star restaurant we've ever eaten in. (we live in new jersey and frequent new york in case that means anything). we were not as impressed with chops. my son oredered the roast chicken and it was really undercooked. we sent it back 2 times. by the time it came back finally, we had fed him parts of our meal. he never ate his chicken. my other son ordered a steak medium well and it was really red inside. that was just our experience. millions of other people love it. as for tips, we gave extra in the form of cash. this way we were sure it got to the wait staff.

majesty '03

jewel '04

serenade '05

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Thanks for the update. Also really appreicted the menu that was posted for Portofino--sounds fabulous. I am now thinking maybe two nights Portofino & 1 at chops..What about Seaview Grill? I have another delicate ques. With so many nights out of the reg. dining room, what did you do about tipping your assigned waiters?

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We were just on the Mariner and loved our night at Chops. First, the $20 does include gratuity but we chose to leave more since the service was outstanding. The food was excellent and you can have several appetizers, entrees and/or deserts. My sister and I made it a several course meal. I would compare it to a high end steak house as well and it was fantastic!!

 

The evening we were there it was very quiet and adult atmosphere I would say.

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Here's another vote for Chops. My husband, 15 year old son, and I absolutely loved it while aboard the Mariner last week. All 3 of us ordered the 10 oz filet mignon (they also have a 7 oz petite cut...the above posted menu is not quite up to date), and it was excellent and cooked to perfection. The appetizers were equally good. I had the portobello caps, and DH and DS had the shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were huge! All 3 of us had the Clam Chowder and it was excellent, as is the Clam Chowder in the dining room. The side dishes are served family style, with the exception of the baked potatoes (which were practically the size of footballs :eek: ). We ordered the mashed potatoes (which were a little bland - salt and pepper took care of that), sauteed mushrooms, and fried onion rings. Dessert was also great. DS and I ordered the Mississippi Mud Pie, which was absolutely decadent. Not sure what my DH had for dessert, as I was too absorbed in my Mississippi Mud Pie to pay attention to him. ;)

 

We booked another cruise while onboard the Mariner (for the Explorer next January), and much to our disappointment, we were told it doesn't have a Chops onboard. DH actually suggested switching to a different ship so we could eat at Chops again on the next cruise. :D I laughed at him when he suggested it, but wow, I really did enjoy that meal.

 

edit: Forgot to add, we made our reservation for 6:30 (our normal dinner time was 6:00) for Caribbean night in the dining room. When we asked our waiter in the dining room which night was the best to miss to go to Chops, he recommended Caribbean night without any hesitation and proceeded to tell us how bad the food normally was in the dining room on that night. :eek: I started laughing when he was describing it. To give the dining room credit though, the other 6 nights we dined there we had really great food and excellent service. Anyway, at 6:30 Chops was practically empty, and remained so for about an hour. Even then it wasn't crowded, and was still quiet and relaxing. We got an excellent table - a comfy corner booth. It even had little pillows.

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What makes this confusing is the bill RC brings you when you are done.

 

YES, the fee is SUPPOSSED to cover the wait staff........however the bill they bring you at the end of the meal shows:

 

Chops Surcharge $20 (something along this line)

 

Gratuity __________

 

Total ___________

 

At least this is the way it was done on the Brilliance which left you the impression the gratuity was not covered. It confused me the first time I went. Like anything else, we left extra money when service was outstanding.......but your surcharge is intended to cover the tip.

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In a message from April, TonyRic relayed that there was an "Additional Gratuity" line at Portofinos on Navigator.

 

I doubt there is any significance to the different labels on different ships -- just another case of relatively innocuous inconsistency.

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we were on a 7 night jewel cruise, ate in the dining room twice, portofino twice, chops once and the windjammer buffet twice. when it came time for tipping, we didn't know what to do. on the one hand, why should we tip when we weren't there and on the other hand...why punish the wait staff because it wasn't their fault that we didn't eat there, especially since they rely on tips. so.....when we had to tip, originally we were only going to pro rate it for the 2 nights that we were there. we felt it wasn't enough so we gave exactly half of the suggested amount. i'm sure that there will be people that will think this was wrong (one way or the other) but that's what we did.

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Thanks for all the info--still looking for Chops menus--will try again after this post. We will probably consider Cruz Obsessed's approach very carefully as we plan to be in the dr for limited time--just the formal nights & maybe the first & last night of cruise. We felt guilty leaving our table mates several times on our last cruise to do the specialty Restaurants but also wanted toi be alone a few nights. Maybe they will change the way tips are done if many take this route but we cannot afford to pay double tips. To eat out of the dr three times will be $300 plus tips plus eating out in Aruba. Can anyone describe the seaview cafe for lunch and or dinner? Thanks

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when we went on the jewel this past dec. my kids were bummed that it didn't have a "johnny rockets". well...let me tell you....the seaview is awesome and the best part is......except for the drinks....the food is free. we ate a few lunches there and....several 10:30 p.m. "snacks". (and by snacks i mean burgers,shakes,fries etc.). they have an amazing "veggie" sandwich with avocado and sprouts, plus a fresh fruit plate which was amazing. i am told that johnny rockets charges and in my opinion, seaview ROCKS.

on another subject....at the solarium, they make the most outstanding crepes. the best part was it was always empty (the cafe). get the one with choc and strawberries.

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