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Is Alternative Dining Worth It? What do you get?


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We paid $20 on Nav in May at each. Both restaurants are excellent. It was great to spend some quiet time winding down after a memorable day on an excursion. Both are very intimate and offer a lovely romantice escape from your other tablemates to be alone and spend a little time talking goo-goo without interruption. Your not on a time line here so you can take a long as you like to enjoy the meal. We dressed up for dinner here, not in formals, but cocktail. It might not have been required, but it certainly makes it feel more like a 'date' when you both put out some special effort. Its not somewhere I would take the kids as I dont think they would appreciate the point, so order them room service or order from Johnny Rockets and plan to go out later, just the two of you.

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We were on the Nav in May and it was $20/per. Both are lovely, the food is great and the atmosphere is wonderful. We did not dress in formals, but put out that special effort to wear cocktail attire. It certainly makes it feel more like a 'date'. I would not take kids here as I think they would miss the point. Order room service for them or Johnny rockets, then go out just the two of you for a special dinner. It is nice to have time away from your tablemates to enjoy a meal without interruption and have a bit of 'goo-goo' time to spend together. Both are wonderful to spend time at the end of a fun day of excursions to unwind at your leisure without being hurried.

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I loved both Chops and Portifino's. The food, atmosphere, seating, and service are wonderful. Steaks are high quality, Deserts are fantastic.. wonderful! It is a small price to pay IMO, I just consider it an excusion and budget for a trip to both. Go and Enjoy!

That is a GREAT way to think about the cost. Thank you, cinci, for making my brain happy.

 

 

Carol

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The restaurants' own guidelines address two of the questions just raised:

 

1. Only guests 13 and older are welcome.

 

2. The dress is always Smart Casual.

 

3. The wine list is the same, according to the maitre'd of Chops on the Enchantment. That's why I bring my own fine Bordeaux.

 

Carol

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Is there anywhere that posts the dr. menu before going on the cruise so we can choose which night for speciality rest.

When we were on the Radiance in January they were available in Chops right after embarkation.

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After reading all these posts I was starting to get all excited. I kinda liked the idea of thinking of the specialty restaurants as an excursion. But now I'm reading that my only child who will only be 12 will not be allowed in the restaurant. Is that strictly enforced? I ask this only because I couldn't possibly abandon her at supper and leave her by herself. So I guess Chops is out of the question for us and not even an option, though all three of us frequently enjoy long drawn out elegant dinners. My favorite memory of dining out was when our dd was about 8 and she very attentively listened to every word the waiter said and politely spoke up for herself at the end of the dessert presentation and said, "I'll take the Chocolate Bomb, please!" She didn't even consult us, but of course we ended up buying her the $15 dessert! So I guess no memorable special dinners for us on this cruise, right?

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After reading all these posts I was starting to get all excited. I kinda liked the idea of thinking of the specialty restaurants as an excursion. But now I'm reading that my only child who will only be 12 will not be allowed in the restaurant. Is that strictly enforced? I ask this only because I couldn't possibly abandon her at supper and leave her by herself. So I guess Chops is out of the question for us and not even an option, though all three of us frequently enjoy long drawn out elegant dinners. My favorite memory of dining out was when our dd was about 8 and she very attentively listened to every word the waiter said and politely spoke up for herself at the end of the dessert presentation and said, "I'll take the Chocolate Bomb, please!" She didn't even consult us, but of course we ended up buying her the $15 dessert! So I guess no memorable special dinners for us on this cruise, right?
Yes, that is correct. The specialty restaurants are considered an adult experience, and adults appreciate that the cruiseline has this place that is off-limits to passengers under the age of 13. It gives you (and her!) something to look forward to!
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Wow!!! What a response! Thanks for all the feedback guys! I'm new to cruising and just learning how this all works! I think this website is invaluable for exchanging info!!!

 

OK.......Chops it is for hubby's birthday!!! He will be so pleased! I'm gonna also bring a nice bottle of wine and pay the corkage fee.

 

Thanks everybody!!!!

 

Alexindra

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Ncamy, it shouldn't be an issue with your DD eating with you in Chops or Portofino. If you search on some historical threads, the age limit sound flexible as many diners have indicated that they did not encounter any problems taking their sub 13yo kids with them. The main thing is to make sure the kids can make it though the long dinner (there no point in making other diners endure a whining child and there's no point in putting the child into that situation that they'll find boring & have to suffer though). If your DD will enjoy herself, the more the merrier.

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Thanks for posting the Mystery menu- I was asking about it on another post:D

 

I would love it if they have the murder mystery night on our November cruise.

 

Thanks also for the lunch menu- I was curious to see if it was different. I would also love to have this option on our cruise. Was this offered on sea days (we have 6 on our next cruise!).

 

It is nice to know that it is now $20 across the line, I never thought it was fair when it was more expensive in the newer ships but the same menu

;)

 

To Ncamy and Milhouse- there has to be a cut-off age at some point, so please respect the rules and if your children are not 13, do not bring them. Even if they are a "mature" 12. Go on a night your daughter can eat with the Adventure Ocean club and then she will get to do something special too. Then when she is older, she can enjoy the specialty restaurants on a future cruise.

 

Cheers,

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How will they know my dd is 12 and not 13? She will not be enrolled in Adventure Ocean Club because she will be in the teen club (according to the RCI site and the representatives I've talked with on the phone.) Seems to me they will have a hard time differentiating between the girls that are 12 and those that are 13 if all their seapasses say is that they are in the Navigators. Wouldn't it be easier for the cruise staff if they used the next teen level, The Guests, as the cut off? You know, said that kids had to be 15 and up? Then their seapasses would say that they are part of the program for 15-17 year olds. I really don't know how they will know my dd's age unless she has to take her passport with her.

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Believe me, RCI knows, to a day how old your child is, whether she is in Adventure Ocean or the teen club. There is no fudging in their calculations, because they have her birth certificate info, etc.

 

That being said, I personally have no objection to a mature 12 year old at Portofinos or Chops and since they don't know who the 'reservation for three' is for, I highly doubt they will 'card her' at the door of the restaurant. But expecting her to be in a significantly higher age group for the length of the cruise is folly, no matter what someone might have said over the phone!

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They do have a special wine list. An upgrade from the dining room. I have eaten at both Chop's and Portofino's a number of times. I much prefer Chops over Portofino's but I am a steak guy. They are both very nice and very much worth the extra $20/person. On our last cruise (Mariner, 8/14) we had a group of 26 and we all had dinner at Chop's together. They put us in the back portion of the restaurant, making it fairly private and they had the 3 piece string band that plays in on of the bars come and play for about an hour (yes we tipped them quite well). We also met with the Chop's manager a few days before and picked out our wines in advance. As usual, the service was great, food was excellant and a great time was had by all.

 

Mark

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Ncamy- yes, they will not know her age and yes you can probably sneak her in, which is why I (and many other pax) would ask you to obey the rules and not take her. If for no other reason, what are you teaching her? Rules are ok for others but not for her? That when she is 20 but not 21 that drinking is ok?

 

As a former nanny, I do not have a problem with WELL BEHAVED children in an upscale restaurant but I know that it is difficult for many children not to get bored over a long supper. RCI had to come up with a cut-off age. I agree that perhaps one that matched the teen club, or even 18 and up like the Solarium pool, would have been easier/better. But they chose 13.

 

Now it will be up to you to chose to follow the rules or not.

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When we were on Navigator, we didn't go to the part of the aft reserved for teens even when it looked deserted, since it was reserved for themand we didn't want to invade their space, no matter how cool we think we are. Similarly, no matter how mature you think your child is, I'd really appreciate it if the Adult only areas were kept that way.

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I highly recommend both restaurants, giving Chops a slight edge mostly because my wife and I are red meat lovers. We were on NOS in 11/03. Forget if it was $20 or $25 pp - definitely worth it in either case. We found the quality of the meat in Chops to be excellent. Up there with a Mortons-type steakhouse. Very good sides. We had the asparagus with Hollandaise and a mammoth baked potato. Might have had one other also - they just bring it out if they think you'll like it. No extra charge.

 

Service was on par with a fine dining room on land. We went on the second formal night and for whatever reason there was only two or three other tables (we were a table of 4). Had very attentive waiters. They even did some "creative" napkin folding - just let me say these aren't the ones they'd show you how to fold onboard. Some of a very adult nature and very funny. I think the waitstaff was bored so we ended up with three waiters doing "Napkin Idol" - trying to outdo one another. Ended up being one of the highlights of the cruise.

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I totally respect your opinions on the 13yr limit digital_curator & Schplinky because I can see the potential issues. I don't subscribe to the "rules are made to broken mentality" because yes, I agree that rules are established to serve a purpose. However, rules are set for different reasons: safey, order, fairness, etc. I just think rules should occasionally be flexible to fit the situation (ie. if I break the rule, what's the risk involved, what's the potential negative impact, what's the potential benefit, etc).

 

I don't understand how a well behaved 12yo versus a 13yo would impact my dinner. Just reading some of the worst tablemates threads, you can probably do worse than a tween sitting at the table beside you.;) However, I do agree that by breaking the rules you could end up with a "You allowed them but not me. That's not fair!" situation or a "Things have really gone south. How do I kick them out now?" situation. That's why you have to be discreet sometimes.;)

 

Yes, you could consider that it would be setting a bad example for your child but alternatively you could also think of it as showing your child how to be a free thinker. I'm not a parent yet so I know nothing. But I've only been taking notes. :D

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Ncamy- yes, they will not know her age and yes you can probably sneak her in, which is why I (and many other pax) would ask you to obey the rules and not take her. If for no other reason, what are you teaching her? Rules are ok for others but not for her? That when she is 20 but not 21 that drinking is ok?

 

 

Well said.

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When we were on Navigator, we didn't go to the part of the aft reserved for teens even when it looked deserted, since it was reserved for themand we didn't want to invade their space, no matter how cool we think we are. Similarly, no matter how mature you think your child is, I'd really appreciate it if the Adult only areas were kept that way.

 

Good point.

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I don't understand how a well behaved 12yo versus a 13yo would impact my dinner.

 

I think the answer is somewhere to be found in the reasoning that if we all say to this person that 12 is fine, that some person who thinks they're 10 year-old is preternaturally mature for their age will bring them. And on it goes. There was another thread on this board where a man said his 9 year-old is much better behaved than most adults they know and that she enjoys formal dinners. Well, it's not a maturity limit, it's an age limit, in my opinion. Besides that, I find it strange that a nine year-old would want to sit with their parents for 2.5 hours for dinner.

 

 

Yes, you could consider that it would be setting a bad example for your child but alternatively you could also think of it as showing your child how to be a free thinker.

 

True, and that lesson will be well ingrained by the time that child is 14 and considering sex or 17 and considering drinking.

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The restaurants' own guidelines address two of the questions just raised:

 

1. Only guests 13 and older are welcome.

 

2. The dress is always Smart Casual.

 

3. The wine list is the same, according to the maitre'd of Chops on the Enchantment. That's why I bring my own fine Bordeaux.

 

Carol

 

In my experience on three different RCI ships, the wine list was most definitely different in Chops and Portofinos. WHile I also bring several bottles aboard, I found their list to be far superior to that in the main dining room.

 

These restaurants are well worth the price in my opinion. SUperior service, wonderful food and elegant surroundings, child free, all contribute to a lovely experience.

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