Trouble filling specialty restaurants?

[Clarea]

So what do you all think about the situation currently with both Chops and Giovanni's showing nothing available for the 13 night 10/25 Brilliance sailing ? Really full? Closed to reservations until we board? Not that this is the end of the world, but it seems kind of strange.

Just a guess, but they probably have space held back for onboard booking.

[margeecruiser]

Trainman, what a great explanation of how things work in the speciality restaurants. It makes complete sense when you think about it.

 

I love the way you always are the voice of reason

 

Margee

[shipshape sam]

We like to eat between 5:30 - 6:30 and many times we are the first diners.

 

We have eaten at various times at Speciality restaurants and your timeframe would tend to always be more open.

 

We also have tried eating when they opened and had the place to ourselves for almost 1/2 hour before the next diners came in.

[BillOh]

The last few 7 day Caribbean cruises I only saw specials for the first nights.

[DonnaK]

We already paid for our meals with our fare....no need to pay extra when we are perfectly satisfied with other options. :)

This is how we feel, too!

[nelblu]

I wonder if they hold back tables for the higher rated Pax. As an instance, some years ago, we sailed on the Serenade over Valentine's week. As soon as we boarded, we went to Portofino's to make reserves for Valentine's day. In previous sails over the same week we had no problem getting reservations for Porto for V D and RCL even provided roses for the ladies. This time, the MD could only give us a 9:30pm reserves, however we said no thanks and asked to be wait-listed in case of any cancellations. Sure enough, we got a call that a 6:15 slot opened up. We were glad and while dining, which took about almost hours, there were a lot of empty tables during that time period--Boy were we confused. By the way, no roses for the ladies.

[LMaxwell]

If they were booking well they wouldn't roam the ship offering 50% discounts. They must figure that getting some revenue is better than nothing at that point. I'd rather take my chances on a fat discount onboard than pre-booking/pre-paying and finding out others got a better deal and/or had the ability to burn OBC there. Believe me, if they could fill every seat at list price they would do so. They don't want empty tables and their kitchens have more than enough capacity to feed only 25-50% of seating capacity.

 

I think people are starting to look at 70, 80... $100 bills for a meal on a cruise ship and going "what the heck? this is absurd. what about the meal I paid for already?"

[Hoopster95]

Great explanation Trainman, thank you. I never ever did specialty until about 2 yrs ago on Oasis, now I do specialty as much as possible (when reasonable... ie. only Chops + Izumi on Legend, so I won't eat at only those two venues for an entire 10 day cruise).

 

Legend last March... Chops was relatively full the three nights I dined on 10 day cruise. There was no on board discounting. I can point out exactly what I ate those three night and cannot remember the other 7 nights (6 MDR & 1 Izumi). Although MDR was decent, Chop's put MDR to shame and the extra few $$ was a bargain in comparison.

 

Radiance 2 weeks ago... All specialty dining empty and on sale. Embarkation day 50% any specialty for everyone, used my D+ BOGO on day 2. Chef's Table $20 off (reg $70, offered to us $50). Mystery Dinner sold out, stayed at regular price. Giovanni's final night 20% off. Giovanni's, Chef's table, Samba's specialty dinners highly outclassed MDR (as should be expected). I'm pretty sure from what I've seen discounting is totally cruise dependent. I asked the Giovanni's Maitre'D final night on Radiance and she said this cruise was different than most, very few people booking. And normally for them final night is busy but ended up quite slow on this sailing.

 

 

We all know food is subjective on our reviews and with our personal tastes, but in my personal opinion for the most part the specialty venues have been outstanding and even 2 years later I can recall what I had and what my experience was. For me, much better food than MDR on average and were high-light evenings. I think some of the regulars here who refuse any specialty whatsoever should try one with an open mind and perhaps plan to share the best RCL dinner they've ever had with a group of friends they're travelling with. :D

[Hoopster95]

If they were booking well they wouldn't roam the ship offering 50% discounts. They must figure that getting some revenue is better than nothing at that point. I'd rather take my chances on a fat discount onboard than pre-booking/pre-paying and finding out others got a better deal and/or had the ability to burn OBC there. Believe me, if they could fill every seat at list price they would do so. They don't want empty tables and their kitchens have more than enough capacity to feed only 25-50% of seating capacity.

 

I think people are starting to look at 70, 80... $100 bills for a meal on a cruise ship and going "what the heck? this is absurd. what about the meal I paid for already?"

 

Yep, I can see this and agree with it. Then we must all have to accept to pay more for our cruises. A quick google search shows that a 1990 $1 is actually $1.86 today.

 

So maybe RCL can go back to the glory days of no specialty but increase the quality and service food in the MDR to what many experienced cruisers remember which seem to now be offered in specialty... we can also go back to what a dollar payed for in 1990 before inflation and cost of living increases. If a 7-day balcony back then cost $1000pp, why do we not see balconys at $2000pp? Cruise prices are the same as many years ago from what I've been told. Something has to give no?

[dasi11]

I think it is not so much the extra cost but the quality of the restaurants. I went to my first specialty restaurant on Voyager in 2001. It was fantastic and worth the extra cost! It was a 5 star meal. Much better than the dinner in the MDR. But now the food quality in the specialty dining room has really dropped.... I still remember the steak and shrimp quality in 2001. The tiramisu served in a large chocolate cup, chocolate dipped strawberries on the side. Now, I have not even seen the strawberries in D+ lounge anymore. Those little extras made the whole experience worth the extra money. The dining room food quality is just average and the the specialty dining is not much better. I don't mind the average quality food since it keeps me from gaining weight on a cruise and spending 3 months starving to loose the weight after the cruise. But the extra cost of the restaurants for the same quality food is not something I am interested in now....

[LMaxwell]

Yep, I can see this and agree with it. Then we must all have to accept to pay more for our cruises. A quick google search shows that a 1990 $1 is actually $1.86 today.

 

So maybe RCL can go back to the glory days of no specialty but increase the quality and service food in the MDR to what many experienced cruisers remember which seem to now be offered in specialty... we can also go back to what a dollar payed for in 1990 before inflation and cost of living increases. If a 7-day balcony back then cost $1000pp, why do we not see balconys at $2000pp? Cruise prices are the same as many years ago from what I've been told. Something has to give no?

 

Cruising has definitely gone past the tipping point on this. Years ago the fares subsidized everything, even, to a large extent, the optional add ons. Drinks were usually much cheaper than land bars, and the upcharge for specialty dining was very modest. Now as fares have gotten lower to fill ships, the add ons have gotten way out of whack valuewise.

 

cruising is becoming an a la carte, coin operated vacation. I like going on a cruise to put my wallet in the safe and not look at menus with prices on them. I find up charge items at upcharge restaurants on cruises offensive and chintzy. It was not long ago that two could dine on anything at Chops for $50. Now, if you want an actual steak or a lobster, for two people you're pushing $100 without any discount.

 

MDR quality has gone downhill with the advent of specialty. But as they took the MDR downhill...they discovered they could take specialty down too, and raise prices. There are some people who associate cost with quality; not quality with quality. The higher the price, the better something must be, right?

 

I just think it is getting a bit out of hand with pricing versus quality and value.

[Hoopster95]

The higher the price, the better something must be, right?

 

I just think it is getting a bit out of hand with pricing versus quality and value.

 

 

I get what you're saying. So let's solve this issue... double everyone's cruise prices up front to allow for no upcharges and provide the ultimate "specialty" service and quality everywhere on the ship like in the old days, and then no one will complain about declining service, declining quality, etc :)

 

Personal opinion here only, not speaking for everyone... I've had superb experiences and quality in specialty in comparison to MDR consistently last last few years, and have seen MDR get better in the last year'ish or so as well. I wish I had the experience from pre-2000's to perhaps know better where the more experienced cruisers are coming from.

[ShakeDaddy]

We already paid for our meals with our fare....no need to pay extra when we are perfectly satisfied with other options. :)

 

Boring certainly comes to mind. :o

 

If you choose to pass on amenities and upgrades and only eat in the buffet and MDR that's on you. Very much like those who will say that I only book inside rooms, why would I pay more for a balcony when I have already paid for an inside room. Enhancing your vacation experience with amenities and variety creates great memories.

 

Noticing your signature things do seem to clear up in my understanding your personality and logic, and brings me to the ONE Question of ......

 

Isn't booking with the same cruise line over and over again getting a bit Boring?? :rolleyes:

[Firefighterhoop]

Both times on Grandeur they seemed to be looking for people to fill the Specialty Restaurants. They were coming around to the Lounges and everywhere else each night trying to get people to come in and offering 2 for 1 pricing most of the week.

 

I have been on a few ships like this as well and some that are the complete opposite.

[Susie51]

Just recently off Radiance (Alaska) and took notice each night that Rita's Crab Shack and Izumi were empty...and the reason I did was on my two prior cruises before that on Jewel and Mariner the speciality restaurants were also mostly empty each night...From what I've seen recently it looks like these dining venues are not the big success RCI thought they would be. JMHO and what I personally noticed on my particular cruises.

 

I'll be on Jewel of the Seas in Jan. What is on the menu at Rita's Crab Shack?

[jstraw20]

Both times on Grandeur they seemed to be looking for people to fill the Specialty Restaurants. They were coming around to the Lounges and everywhere else each night trying to get people to come in and offering 2 for 1 pricing most of the week.

 

This is really good info, thanks for sharing it. We'll probably be doing Grandeur this spring, never encountered a 2 for 1 deal before.

[Hoopster95]

I'll be on Jewel of the Seas in Jan. What is on the menu at Rita's Crab Shack?

 

Hey Susie51. I'll be doing a full review of Rita's Crab Shack and menu in my Radiance review with photos coming up in the next day or so. I think it may be the only full review of Rita's here on CC.... and I think you'll see why!! :(

Click the link to the review in my signature below "Radiance - Vancouver to Hawaii"