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Navigator of the seas specialty restaurants

bonvoyagebites
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bonvoyagebites

bonvoyagebites

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Hi everybody! We went on a cruise on Navigator out of Galveston, back in October. We had a great time. We have been really bad about keeping our blog updated and posting here to share and learn from all of you. While we were on board the Navigator, we went to 3 of the specialty restaurants.

 

I would have to say that the dish I had at Sabor was the BEST fish dish I had ever eaten... I ordered the Pan Seared Red Snapper and was amazed at how good it was. I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

 

Giovanni's table was recommended by some of the fine folks on here, and it was also quite the great dinner. They serve somewhat smaller portions, but you can choose many of them and we left STUFFED! I am not a tiny person by any means, so that's saying something :)

 

We have a blog post about it as well, and hope to get up to date on some of our other posts from that trip (we've been holiday-slackers). Check it out at http://www.everywhereandback.com/navigator-specialty-restaurants/

 

If you have been to our blog before, you may have noticed a name change. Turns out Bon Voyage Bites isn't very friendly if you put it into French ... oops. I will look into changing our username on here as well (any advice? I haven't looked into it yet).

 

Has anyone else any experience in the NOS Specialty restaurants?

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George C

George C

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I am a little picky on Italian restaurants, but have done Giovanni's 4 or 5 times and every meal was great , also really liked Izumi and did that multiple times on last 2 cruises also, Chops was a disappointment on both visits. Did not try Sabors.

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George C

George C

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Has Chops lost it's WOW factor?

 

We haven't been on RCL in 8yrs and in the day Chops was the best steakhouse at sea.

 

I think Chops is one of the worst now, prefer Celebrity or Hal or Princess for steak restaurants, best bargain was Giovanni's for lunch it was 15 or less ( only open sea days)

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knittinggirl

knittinggirl

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We ate at Sabors, Giovannes and Chops on Navigator a couple of years ago.

 

Loved Sabors and Giovannes! Got to get the Guacamole at Sabors.

 

Now Chops was another matter. They'd just brought out new menu and it was disappointing. We missed the sides. Actually the last few times, excluding Legend w/ the old menu, were disappointing at Chops. We'd almost sworn off Chops, but on Serenade, we decided to give it another try. We completely changed our appetizers and sides, and were pleasantly surprised. I still miss the Dungeounous Crab Cake, their Crab in Shrimp cake is not the same. We still hate the pretzel rolls (and I'm a pretzel lover). Just another plug to bring back the Dungeonous Crab Cake if Royal is reading.

 

Still, we'll probably avoid Chops unless they have a special. And the special went from 3 for $65 to 3 for $70 on our last B2B. I remember when we got 3 for $55, so $70 is pretty disappointing. On the second leg of our B2B, we opted for just the BOGO Diamond Plus Benefit.

Edited by knittinggirl
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garnetpalmetto

garnetpalmetto

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Is the Sabor lunch menu the same as dinner?

 

(Okay, what I am really asking is whether I can still get the tableside guacamole at lunch...let's be real.)

 

Signed,

 

Avocado Addict

 

I believe so, I know Sabor operations on the Voyager and Freedom classes are slightly different than they are on Oasis, but on Oasis it was the same menu for lunch and dinner.

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monkeyinhat

monkeyinhat

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Just wanted to add that I called Royal today about another matter but asked while I was on the phone about Specialty lunches

 

I know that you get more accurate info here on cruise critic than you do from RCI phone employees

 

Was told Sabor and Givonni's both open for lunch-- $15.00

(I believe the 20.00 as told on here is probably correct)

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cruzinisgood

cruzinisgood

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We were on the NOS this past April. We ate at Chops and enjoyed the food. There were 8 in our group and I believe they all liked their meals.

We also did Sabor's for lunch, which we didn't think was that great. Glad we did lunch.. We love Mexican but just wasn't happy.

Definitely do Chops again.

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bonvoyagebites

bonvoyagebites

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It's always neat to hear the experiences of different people. I would eat Sabor again and again, yet your experience was poor. I am sorry to hear that, and wonder if it was just an "off" day . I didn't try chops, as others had said it was "OK"... I'd love to try Chops and go back to Sabor again.. maybe it's time to book another trip.... hmmmm. ;)

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Toddcan

Toddcan

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It's always neat to hear the experiences of different people. I would eat Sabor again and again, yet your experience was poor. I am sorry to hear that, and wonder if it was just an "off" day . I didn't try chops, as others had said it was "OK"... I'd love to try Chops and go back to Sabor again.. maybe it's time to book another trip.... hmmmm. ;)

 

I absolutely love Chops - I've only been there 3 times, but we always had great good. The shrimp cocktail was amazing. Steak was perfectly cooked, and the desserts were spectacular. But, price has risen by over 40% over the past 2 years, so we are now opting out. We are not unhappy with the other offerings, so we'll do those.

 

Sabor - cannot wait to try. We're booked on our next cruise. Might even book twice if we like the first time as much as I think we will. And at $25 - it's reasonable, imo.

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  • 1 month later...
garnetpalmetto

garnetpalmetto

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In the specialty restaurants, is it all you can eat? Or is it just one appetizer, one dinner and one dessert?

 

It depends on the restaurant. In Johnny Rockets, for instance, it's all the menu items you can eat, while shakes are extra. At Chops it's unlimited appetizers/sides and one entree. I'm not sure about Sabor since I've not been to a Sabor on a non-Oasis class ship.

Edited by garnetpalmetto
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