Celebrity Vs. RCCL/RCI seeking details on specialty Dining

[vespertino]

Greetings fellow foodies!

 

It's been a very long time since I cruised on Royal and Celebrity. but I'm considering an Xmas cruise on Royal with my spouse (who is a very picky eater and somewhat reluctant to try a cruise). I was hoping to hear feedback from those who have experience with specialty dining on both Royal and Celebrity and can tell me how they differ and if there is a quality difference.

 

In the past I enjoyed the specialty dining on Celebrity and found it was well worth the extra charge. I was so pleased with the Normandie and the Ocean Liner's restaurant that I found myself booking those instead of going to the MDR- I especially enjoyed the afternoon tea! My only real complaints stem from their occasional inability to serve cold-red rare meat, specifically beef and duck- I know this has to do with food safety issues on ships, they'd rather be safe than sorry but I'm willing to take the risk even if they are not. Occasionally the induction stoves in the kitchens limit technique to a degree (creme brulees tend to suffer most from that). I had not tried the specialty dining on the one cruise I had on Royal.

 

I'd like to stick with specialty dining over the MDR if we pull the trigger for an Xmas cruise on Royal, are there any ships that are better than others? Are there consistency problems with the food served or are the chef's dead-on nearly every time?

 

How is Izumi for sushi and ramen? Most of the trip reports I've seen that mention Izumi's hibachi experience but almost never mention what the sushi/sashimi and ramen are like. I love authentic ramen and used to live a couple blocks from Ippudo in NYC. I'm very experienced with authentic Japanese cuisine in general, not just sushi. I wouldn't expect the sushi to be anything like Yasuda or Masa, but is it better than crummy supermarket sushi? I saw it mentioned once that Izumi had an omakase available- has anyone had this that can report?

 

How does the steakhouse experience in Royal differ from good steakhouses on land- examples would be Craftsteak, and Del Frisco's Double Eagle. How good is the dry aged beef? It is on par with good steakhouses on land, or less so? As I've had issues in the past with getting things rare, is it difficult to get dry aged steaks cooked rare?

 

I would love to hear about any specialty restaurant on Royal where you felt the food was exceptional- where did you eat and what did you get?

 

Any info would be great! Thanks very much :D