Please explain why YOU pay extra for specialty dining?

[RoyalDiamond]

I completely understand the original question. I used to think the same way....WHY would I pay to go to a specialty restaurant when I can eat elsewhere without paying extra? Well, being cruise addicts, and with our 30th cruise coming up next month (in 3 and a half years), we were getting bored with the unchanging menu in the MDR (first night is ALWAYS prime rib, etc). I've never disliked the MDR, it just got a little boring with the same menu cruise after cruise. During our first many cruises, we loved the MDR experience. Then, upon attaining diamond-plus status, our "buy one get one free" coupon was there for a specialty restaurant, and we tried it. Now we always go to the specialty restaurants. The entire experience is fantastic. In fact, we usually don't go to the MDR at all any more for dinner (we do go to the Windjammer some nights). We are very lucky to have been on so many cruises that we got "bored" in the MDR. But, as stated, for the first 10 or 12 cruises....we loved the MDR.

[travelberlin]

We eat at the speciality restaurant once in a while in the hope that food will be better than in the MDR. This is not always the case...

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It is a way for the cruise lines to make extra money ..

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Some nights the menu just doesn't look very appealing and it does seem to get repetitious, so its nice to have those other options, even if you have to pay a little extra. But on our last cruise taken last month, we just had such a wonderful time with our table-mates we never made it to the specialty dining and looked forward to meeting them each evening.

 

I remember on one of our past cruises, our waiter was just horrible. He would never want to accommodate my husband, his requests were simple and he always seemed to be put-out. Anyway, on the 3rd evening my husband asked to have the pasta dish, which was one of the main courses, as an appetizer, since there really wasn't anything else he wanted and our waiter refused, said it was not possible. Well we knew that it was absolutely possible and we just never went back to the main diningroom after that. We spent the remainder of our dinners in one of the specialty dining options and had two of the "best" waiter/waitress teams ever!!! I know we probably should've mentioned it to the headwaiter/matre'd - but we aren't complainers and just decided it wasn't worth the aggrevation. I have to admit, I find the food better at the "pay-for" dining options, too. ;)

[vickiw0318]

We too got tired of seeing the same menus (The food isn't an issue - I generally can find something good about food I haven't prepared) and of the long time it took to eat dinner at one of the set seatings. When they started offering MTD, we jumped on it. Most of the time, we eat in the Windjammer. When we do eat in the dining room, we enjoy the shorter service time. Occasionally, we will do a specialty restaurant. (Not so much as we used to since they took the flourless chocolate cake off the dessert menu at Portofino.) We did buy one of the specialty dining packages for our upcoming Allure cruise, but that is me wanting to see and experience as much of the ship as possible.

[Familygoboston]

Why do you go out to eat when you can stay at home and cook?

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with either argument, I think people do what they like on a cruise, but this isn't a valid point...dining in the specialty restaurant is like making dinner at home, leaving it on the counter and going out to dinner

 

I completely understand the original question. I used to think the same way....WHY would I pay to go to a specialty restaurant when I can eat elsewhere without paying extra? Well, being cruise addicts, and with our 30th cruise coming up next month (in 3 and a half years), we were getting bored with the unchanging menu in the MDR (first night is ALWAYS prime rib, etc). I've never disliked the MDR, it just got a little boring with the same menu cruise after cruise. During our first many cruises, we loved the MDR experience. Then, upon attaining diamond-plus status, our "buy one get one free" coupon was there for a specialty restaurant, and we tried it. Now we always go to the specialty restaurants. The entire experience is fantastic. In fact, we usually don't go to the MDR at all any more for dinner (we do go to the Windjammer some nights). We are very lucky to have been on so many cruises that we got "bored" in the MDR. But, as stated, for the first 10 or 12 cruises....we loved the MDR.

 

I think for a lot of folks this is it...if you have some dietary limits ( vegetarian, or you don't eat shellfish, don't like ethnic foods etc) after a few cruises, the MDR menus get a little repetitious, no matter your opinion about whether it's good or bad.

[negc]

At home we frequently go out to a local family style restaurant where the food is "good" and the prices are reasonable. Occasionally, or sometimes for a special event,however, we treat ourselves to an excellent meal at a fine restaurant and pay a higher price to do so. That is pretty much the same as dining in the main dining room, where we find the food and service generally to be very good, but occasionally wish to dine in a smaller venue with a fancier menu and sometimes more formal service. :)

[Tak8]

I view the specialty as a treat. Sometimes, I stop by Dairy Queen for a Blizzard. It would be cheaper to eat the supermarket ice cream, but I deserve it.

I guess it all comes down to how you want to spend your money. I could ask the gamblers, why they go to the casino or why passengers spend money on a excursion when they already have the activities on ship to occupy their day.

[daveky]

With my many cruisings, I first had a hard time paying for the specialty restaurants with Chops and Portifinos. But, especially with the Oasis, enjoyed the different experience of the specialty restaurants. I think it's a personal preference (option), it you want to try the extra restaurants, go for it, if not, no problem. Personal preference, not a requirement or should not bother people who do or don't, it 's your vacation. For me and Chops, in the original days of cruising, it was advertised the best steak was in your MDR. Now, advertised for the best steak on the ship, it's at Chops. (and I agree). Steak from Chops is what used to be in the MDR. It's all about revenue and "ad ons" for the cruise line.

 

Dave

[missbogota]

After eating the first time in Chops on a 2009 cruise, we haven't returned to the MDR since. We love the food, privacy and service we receive in the specialty restaurants. That's what I love about cruising... we can do whatever we want to do!

[joe6666]

Next thing you know the cruise line will be selling a specialty restaurant "package", and that package will allow you to eat in the MDR. That will cost $50 per person per day.

All the peons will eat free in the WJ buffet.

And the Chops and the like will be “pay per person” at $75 p/p per meal.

[teddie]

I find the MDR food to be "very good", especially the beef dishes (prime rib, beef tenderloin eg). There is always something to enjoy. That being said, it's also fun to try a different venue, and the upcharge is small. We don't do specialty dining on every cruise we take, but have on the majority of them.

 

Teddie

[Havingfun2010]

I look at it this way. No food on the ship is free. It's part of the price. So the speciality restaurant is a small upcharge, something like when you fly first class. You still travel the same distance, but you get a better chair.

 

I'm content with the MDR, but one day, I decided to try Portafino's, and it was the best steak I had on a ship. The service was awsome, and the relaxed atmosphere sealed the package. So we do it once every cruise.

 

Now on the flip side, eating at Johnny Rockets instead of the MDR is like paying for first class, and and paying extra for a hamburger. That I won't do, and don't ever expect to do it.

 

So in a nutshell, we pay extra for all kinds of things in life, and on the ship, including the type of stateroom you pick. Go for it, and enjoy.

[BND]

We eat there because the food is that much better than the MDR. The filet is excellent and it's definitely more upscale than the MDR. We eat at Ruth's Chris on occasion and the specialty restaurants are a lot cheaper.:D

[sn2792]

But even when you 1st started cruising the food was "Mass Produced" Anytime you have a Ship that has 100's or 1,000's of people, the food is going to be Mass Produced. The people that cruised before you probably said the same thing about the food on your 1st cruises and the people who are new to cruising now who like the food, will probably say the same thing 10 years from now...... "The food in the MDR back whe I started cruising in 2012 was better thatn it is now in 2022..It has really gone down hill"!

 

Yes food was mass produced, but the quality was better and there were more choices on the menu. I enjoy having really good food when I am on vacation, so the upcharge for better food is worth it to me.

[time4u2go]

Next thing you know the cruise line will be selling a specialty restaurant "package", and that package will allow you to eat in the MDR. That will cost $50 per person per day.

All the peons will eat free in the WJ buffet.

And the Chops and the like will be “pay per person” at $75 p/p per meal.

 

You joke about this, but I can certainly envision a day when there is a charge to eat in the MDR. After all, who ever thought that airlines would charge people to transport their luggage? :rolleyes:

[GTMoose]

We normally hit Portofino's at least one night every cruise; we try to book it on the night the MDR menu has a Caribbean theme, or some other type of food where the options don't look appealling. I enjoyed Chops, but DW is not a steak eater, and it would be a waste for her to not eat steak there. We've had some good meals, and some not so good meals in the MDR, but that's probably true for a lot of chain restaurants for that matter. I still like to go to the MDR, even though the "performances" are a bit trite and cheesy. It's funny to see the first-timers really get into it.

 

I've never had dinner at the Windjammer. I like it for lunch and snacks, and sometimes for breakfast, but a buffet for dinner has never interested me.

[Bakincakes]

Well evidently many more people are willing to pay an upcharge and get out of the MDR. Ships are adding more and more specialty dining venues with upcharges attached to them.

 

 

We don't mind paying whatever it costs to enjoy meals in a beautiful, quiet atmosphere. After so many cruises we are over the clatter in the MDR and the substandard meals.

 

Lines must agree..they are now offering specialty dining packages...more and more pax want to get out of the MDR in order to have better meals and be able to eat them in an elegant atmosphere away from the masses and the organized chaos that can be the MDR.

[farnamcoach]

My mind just can't wrap around why anyone would want to pay extra for eating in a specialty resturaunt when the food is so good (and included) in your cruise price for the MDR.

 

Would love your reason's why. Though not sure if I can be converted to wanting to pay when there is free food. :)

 

We eat in the specialty restaurants EVERY night. I think the food and atmosphere are mediocre at best.

[jonbgd]

I enjoy the food in the MDR and always find something on the menu I enjoy. I have never had a bad meal just bad items. Almost always have great service.

But it is nice to have a relaxing meal with my Gf or our friends. Freshly cooked to order, no rush and it is better than what I would get in the Mdr.

So for us it is worth an extra $20-30pp for a great meal and service

[brmoqueen]

My mind just can't wrap around why anyone would want to pay extra for eating in a specialty resturaunt when the food is so good (and included) in your cruise price for the MDR.

 

Would love your reason's why. Though not sure if I can be converted to wanting to pay when there is free food. :)

 

We tend to sail b2b's and the menu is BORING and BLAHHHHHH...at least I know I'll get a couple of good meals by eating in the specialty restaurants!

[loubetti]

Somebody mentioned it above that cruise prices on the whole have gone down a lot since the "good old days" when the food in the MDR was as good as the SR food is today. I'm too young to know if that is the case, but if it is true then what RCCL and the other cruiselines have done is a form of pricing that allows those who wish to have better food pay extra for it while appealing to the masses with overall lower prices. So long as food doesn't continue to go downhill in MDR or prices rising by much in the SR's, I'm fine with this practice. It'd be interesting to see in the future whether the MDRs get significantly smaller in size.

 

You are correct. On most cruise lines, years ago, the free food and service were darn good. On some (Celebrity) it still is. Note who owns Celebrity! ;)

 

Cruise prices are about where they were 20 years ago, while expenses have escalated. What to do? Cut back and make the free food mediocre, if not bad, and push folks to the paid venues, and charge more for other stuff too.

 

The good 'ol days are pretty much gone when it comes to mass market cruise lines like RCI.

 

I mean no disrespect to ANYONE here, but many folks would not know good food if it slapped them upside the head! I read tons of reviews here and it becomes very apparent when I read them.

 

The mass market cruise lines are pushing you to their paid dining venues, it's as simple as that.

[jd1966]

Mainly for a change of pace on the longer cruises. Plus the food is a little better and the service is more personal.

[KathyPet]

Good food is such a individual taste that there is no way to rely on anyone's review. There are many cruisers who have been fortunate enough to eat at some very, very good restaurants. I live about 30 minutes away from THe Inn at Little Washington which is consistently rated as one of the top 10 restaurants in the country and have had the good fortune to eat there 3 times. Other people may come from areas where their dining choices might be limited to chain restaurants like Outback and Red Lobster. So is my opinion of the food in the MDR likely to be different than someone who has not had the opportunities to eat in some fabulous restaurants. Of course it is. So while one person may find the food in the MDR to be quite good others will not. RCCL is a mass market cruise line and I think the food in the MDR will reflect that. RCCL has figured out a way to make extra $$ while satisfying their customers who want a different more individualized dining experience.

[mek]

It's simply something different for us to do and provides a nice break in the cruise. My DH doesn't like Italian food, so we normally go on that night.