?A La Carte Dining

[GeriatricNurse]

Cunard will be introducing a la carte dining in the Verandah Grill onboard their newbuild "Queen Elizabeth". The food items will be priced individually & the gratuity will be included in the cost.

Do you think HAL should introduce a la carte dining?:)

[sail7seas]

I've been saying for several years I foresee it will be 'pay as you eat', in the near future. You want a hamburger? Pay for it. You want a sandwich, that will be $2.50. I am convinced that is the way we will be eating on ships. They will be like a hotel where you get a menu with prices.

 

I can't imagine there are many cruisers who will applaud that move.

I do foresee some tiny little eaters who will say it's great so they won't pay for all the food those with larger appetites are eating but suspect there won't be too many with that opinion.

 

Such a new style for eating/dining on ships will make a substantial change that most likely will send many back to resort hotels/All inclusives and away from ships.

 

 

[kakalina]

We would probably start looking elsewhere to spend our vacation dollars should this ever occur. I don't like it at all.

[IRL_Joanie]

Cunard will be introducing a la carte dining in the Verandah Grill onboard their newbuild "Queen Elizabeth". The food items will be priced individually & the gratuity will be included in the cost.

 

Do you think HAL should introduce a la carte dining?:)

 

I do not go to restaurants on land that have pay per items, and I sure will nt pay for it on a cruise ship!!

 

Joanie

[sail7seas]

I do not go to restaurants on land that have pay per items, and I sure will nt pay for it on a cruise ship!!

 

Joanie

 

:confused: You don't go to restaurants that charge for what you order? Huh? If you order an appetizer, you pay for it. An entree? You pay for it? Dessert......

 

You only eat in places that are price fixe for entire meal?

[IRL_Joanie]

:confused: You don't go to restaurants that charge for what you order? Huh? If you order an appetizer, you pay for it. An entree? You pay for it? Dessert......

 

You only eat in places that are price fixe for entire meal?

There are places in the US (not sure what their names are) that charge for the meat, charge for the veggie, charge for every single bite you eat. That is what I am talking about.

 

Generally, hubby and I will get an all inclusive dinner at a restaurant that includes the appetizer, entree and dessert for 2. It is a couple dollars cheaper and you are not penny antied to death. We generally pay $20 - $30. total for the meal with taxes.

 

In those other places, ypou pay $$ for appetizer, $$ for entree, $ for each veggie and/or side, $$ for dessert. Usually that totals up to $20 - $30 for each person...

 

You do the math...

 

Joanie

[navybankerteacher]

There are places in the US (not sure what their names are) that charge for the meat, charge for the veggie, charge for every single bite you eat. That is what I am talking about.

 

Generally, hubby and I will get an all inclusive dinner at a restaurant that includes the appetizer, entree and dessert for 2. It is a couple dollars cheaper and you are not penny antied to death. We generally pay $20 - $30. total for the meal with taxes.

 

In those other places, ypou pay $$ for appetizer, $$ for entree, $ for each veggie and/or side, $$ for dessert. Usually that totals up to $20 - $30 for each person...

 

You do the math...

 

Joanie

 

I'm sure there are places which offer very cheap prix fixe dinners -- and I imagine that is what you'll get - a very cheap dinner. Generally, I would prefer to costruct my own menu than swallow the daily special.

 

But this is beside the point of this thread: do cruisers want every item on their cruise to be charged separately? I very much doubt it, although lines appear to be sneaking in that direction by introducing specialty restaurants and then letting MDR quality slip.

[luvs2travl]

We would probably start looking elsewhere to spend our vacation dollars should this ever occur. I don't like it at all.

 

I think this would be included in our "deal-breakers" as well. Bad, bad idea and we would be looking at spending our $$$'s elsewhere, too.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I did read that about Cunard wanting to charge per item in one of the restaurants.

 

Should HAL go that way -- we are gone.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I do not go to restaurants on land that have pay per items, and I sure will nt pay for it on a cruise ship!!

 

Joanie

 

The majority of the restaurants we go to charge for the appetizer -- charge for the salad -- charge for the soup -- charge for the entree -- charge for the dessert.

And a few even charge for each side dish.

That we can handle.

But to pay for each item on a cruise ship -- no way.

[CtheW0rld]

no need to get all excited. cunard has a restaurant where you pay for what you order. exactly like a land based restaurant. it is an optional restaurant, much like the pinnacle grille concept, but pay by the item rather than a set price.

 

i don't mind if HAL adds one, as long as they don't take away from any of the public spaces to do so.

[sail7seas]

We ate at one of those "a la carte" restaurants last night and had an amazing dinner. (Can you imagine - $8 for sauteed spinach with a few portabello mushrooms :eek: as one of our side dishes. ) Very delicious. Diet starts today. :D

 

[Jacqueline]

I guess it is a regional thing. We do not have prix fix meals here and those places that do are much more costly than a la cart dining.

But back to the point- sure if it is a specialty restaurant on the ship, why not charge by the dish or for the whole meal? This does not differ much from the current concept of paying for dining in special venues.I do not need to eat three or more courses at every meal, not do I even though it is included in my cruise fare.

Cruisers cruise in part for the inclusive experience. I cannot imagine this changing. Sure they are nibbling around the edges and have been for years to generate more revenue...

[kakalina]

For those of you interested in the article:

 

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2010/07/cunard-queen-elizabeth-verandah-restaurant-qe2-mary-2-dining-/101927/1?loc=interstitialskip

[fann1sh]

When I eat in a restaurant, I never order a soup, an appetizer or a dessert. I keep an eye on both my wallet and my waistline.

 

But, one of the things I enjoy about cruising is sampling food I would never order in a restaurant.

 

Cold fruit soup? :eek: Who knew it was so delicious? (Well....other than the experts on this board, I mean.)

 

I often order an unfamiliar entree, because I know there will be enough other food - or I can ask for a substitution.

 

I don't eat more on a cruise. I do waste food by sampling all the courses but not finishing them.

 

A la carte would change that - and end a pleasure specific to cruising.

[LSEA]

I am sure Cunard has studied this every which way but I wonder if they will have a minimum? Will they allow people to come in to share some appetizers or maybe a dessert? If there is no minimum couldn't they end up filling tables that have checks much lower than a typical fixed price?

[sail7seas]

If it doesn't generate the proceeds they anticipate, it will be changed very quickly. Space on a ship is at such a premium they will not waste the square footage. Will be interesting to watch.

 

[European_CruiseGirl]

 

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But, one of the things I enjoy about cruising is sampling food I would never order in a restaurant.

 

Cold fruit soup? :eek: Who knew it was so delicious? (Well....other than the experts on this board, I mean.)

 

I often order an unfamiliar entree, because I know there will be enough other food - or I can ask for a substitution.

 

I don't eat more on a cruise. I do waste food by sampling all the courses but not finishing them.

 

A la carte would change that - and end a pleasure specific to cruising.

 

 

I agree 100%. I love to be able to sample the food. I'm not that adventurous with food at home (or land based holidays if they are not all inclusive) because I hate the idea that I'd order something expensive and then would not like it.

[SilvertoGold]

One restaurant with a la carte would be fine: just another Pinnacle, with a different pricing method.

But if HAL were to turn every food venue on their ships into a la carte, then we would expect a substantial reduction in cruise fares.

 

Otherwise we would be gone from HAL so fast it would make your head spin. This would be the ultimate deal breaker. Although we adore HAL, the ships, the crew, the itineraries, the Mariner program, we just would not endure a pay-as you-eat system.

[shandryl]

Cruise fares are already down in price. At one time not too long ago......if you went on a cruise it WAS a vacation of a Lifetime and was for the rich. (just saying)

 

There is so much food wasted on the ship as it is. Maybe charging would cut down on the waste. With food/fuel and everything else going up, this would not suprise me if the cruise lines charged for most of the food you eat.

[bob brown]

Perhaps it would be okay for one small specialty restaurant to go this way, but there will always be an all food included, in at least one restaurant on a cruise ship.

There was an exception to this (EasyCruise), but they are no longer in business, so their experiment was a failure.

 

At the other extreme, the luxury all-inclusive cruise lines seem to be doing very well, and are adding new and larger ships to their fleets.

[Taxguy77]

I read the article about Cunard earlier and think it will be great. We don't eat heavy meals in the evening, and I could get two items (apetizer & entre) for about $20 incl. tip. Most cruise lines specialty venues are $20-30 plus tip for more food than I would be comfortable with. If others want more it's available. They will still have specialty venues with prix fixe pricing.

 

I seriously doubt any line is considering ANY pricing in the MDR.

[sevenseasnomad]

One restaurant with a la carte would be fine: just another Pinnacle, with a different pricing method.

But if HAL were to turn every food venue on their ships into a la carte, then we would expect a substantial reduction in cruise fares.

 

Otherwise we would be gone from HAL so fast it would make your head spin. This would be the ultimate deal breaker. Although we adore HAL, the ships, the crew, the itineraries, the Mariner program, we just would not endure a pay-as you-eat system.

 

Totally agree! We would not eat in an a la carte restaurant either. It took me ages to get my husband into an alternative restaurant on a cruise ship, and he still complains about having to pay the extra fee for the food.

[sail7seas]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I read the article about Cunard earlier and think it will be great. We don't eat heavy meals in the evening, and I could get two items (apetizer & entre) for about $20 incl. tip. Most cruise lines specialty venues are $20-30 plus tip for more food than I would be comfortable with. If others want more it's available. They will still have specialty venues with prix fixe pricing.

 

I seriously doubt any line is considering ANY pricing in the MDR.

 

 

 

 

The mass market cruise lines are not spending $20 pp per day for all the food that is now offered as included in the price.

 

 

[ballgown1]

If the food is ordered and paid for by the item, then would the cruise fare decrease? I ask because I am a new cruiser (taking our first one in a few days) and I was thinking that, as it stands right now, the food is included in the cost of the fare. So, then, if the food cost is no longer "taken out of" the fare, would the fare decrease?