Has anyone found the specialty restaurants to be too much food?

[flagger]

Ms. Flagger and I were having this discussion the other day about her not wanting to spend the extra funds for the specialty restaurant on [I]Infinity[/I] on our Alaskan cruise. Since her gall bladder surgery years ago, she has not been able to eat a huge meal at one sitting. She knows there will be tons of food options aboard the ship and cannot justify spending $30 to only be able to eat a portion of it.

Having read mixed reviews of it, have any of you ever found it to be just tooooo much food? Usually when we go out, we typically split an entree.

Also does anyone have a link to the specialty restaurant menus from the M-class ships assuming they all serve the same courses?

And finally, has anyone ever eaten there alone?

[Danno]

Actually the meal isn't $30...it's $30 plus what you have already paid for the meal you have chosen not to eat in the main dining room.

Sorry...didn't mean to rant.

Dan

CenturyX1,GalaxyX2,HorizonX5,VolendamX1,

Zenith to Bermuda Oct/04
Century to E.Caribbean Feb/05

**email mrtnb(at)efni(dot)com

[raudacruise]

Flagger,

The portions are not huge. They are actually somewhat smaller than the main dining room. Plus they are served at a much slower pace, so you can really enjoy and relax. Its worth it.

Warning to those that go on Princess. Sabattinis is a gut-buster. There is no way anyone can eat all that food (well at least most folks). 6 cold and 6 hot appetizers, soup, pizza and finally the entree. Ouch [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img].

George & MaryBeth

[Brancaandlexi]

I think the surcharge is actually a TIP!!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

Really, the portions are not that big.

We reserved 2 nights, but cancelled our second reservations. The dining room is fine, JMHO.

Tammy
***********************
Carnival '98
Norway '00
Grand Princess '02
Celebrity Summit '04
***********************
Next Cruise
Celebrity Zenith 14 Days out of Jacksonvile 1/2/05

[aquaholic]

I thought the portion sizes were much to large for a 5 course, supposedly gourmet meal. The portions were quite large and my theory is that they were trying to make up for the mediocre quality with quantity. It's not worth the upcharge at all IMHO.

[cruiseyguy]

It's as much about the "experience" as it is the food. Certainly worth it for one night.

[hdawson]

I found portions of pretty good size, but there are 5 courses plus a couple of samplers and sorbet. I was very impressed with the quality and table side preparation. Overall it was a dining experience like no other that I've had. Looking for the menue.

[twobluecats]

Just returned from 14 night Summit cruise on Saturday. We dined at Normandie three nights (actually all three formal evenings.) I cannot say enough about how wonderful the entire experience was. Our staff was exceptional. The food was outstanding. The courses are as follows:
Soup, salad, OR appetizer (pick one)
Entree
Cheese Cart selections of your choice
Dessert

The presentation is often tableside depending on your selections and the staff are very eager to ensure your complete satisfaction. I would say we left pleasantly full each evening after about two hours or so. Oh yes, they also start the meal with a tiny little appetizer course (just a taste) compliments of the chef. It varies each evening. Also they end with a little tray of assorted bite size desserts. We declined this one evening with no problem An example menu for us was:

Me:
goat cheese souffle
Filet Mignon prepared Steak Diane style tableside
Chocolate Souffle

Him:
Creamy Lobster Broth
Veal Chop
Special Assorted mini-desserts (six minis)

All in all, I would highly recommend the speciality restaurant and consider our time spent there as some of our most fond memories of the trip.

Sidenote-on our final vist, we offered an envelope to the Maitre d' with an additional gratuity for the entire staff. IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY.

[flagger]

Thanks for the input.

Just as an example, most five course meals are just too much food for Ms. Flagger and even I. I would love to gander at the menu though as we do have some time to decide. It would just be wasteful to spend all of that money and not be able to eat it all nor take home doggie bags. Of course I wonder if you can do that.

[babylene]

To each his own. You really have to decide for yourself. We have not yet "splurged". In Can$, it would be an additional $75 over and above what we already paid for the dining room dinner. I can't see myself doing that unless I was with people who wanted to and we wanted to be with them. (Can anyone follow this????)
As it is, we eat too much on a cruise, and we are not really interested in putting ourselves in a situation where we will indulge in more rich food. Enough is enough....better spend it at the spa!!!! jmho

[gardencat]

I am torn on this issue too. Part of me doesn't mind spending a little extra while on a vacation, for a really special dinning experience but part of me thinks that alternative restaurants like this are the thin edge of the wedge that will lead to a decline of quality in the main restaurants and will change cruises from one of the things I really love about them, that you can pay up front and know that you can have a good time and great food without spending above that. I dread the day when the dinning room quality will decline to that of most buffets and the only really great dinners will be available for an extra charge.

Flagger
Why the Weimaraner(sp?) avatar?

[Happy ks]

Whenever we eat a five course meal, I usually do not eat the entire portion of each course. Probably because my favorite course is dessert and I don't want to be too full [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I don't put the value of the food on quantity, but rather quality.

Kathy

[raudacruise]

Just to put things in perspective:

The specialty restaurants are sort of like upgrading from 3 star to 4 star in terms of dining.

Dining consists of several factors and quantity is not one of them.

Quality obviously is and the food is a notch above what you get in the main dining room.

Presentation is a factor. Some foods are cooked and presented table side.

Ambience is a factor. There is more space. Having a romantic evening at a table for two one night on a cruise has a lot to be desired.

Is the surcharge worth it? Obviously, your call.

And Danno, you haven't tried it but you should. Mrs. Danno would love it. Big boats are not as bad as you think.

George & MaryBeth

[LovetheSea]

They are far more generous in portion size than in the main restaurant. I couldn't finish mine and had no more room for the delicious looking dessert.
I think everyone should try it once.

[aquaholic]

A good strategy in any restaurant situation is to eat only half or so of each serving because restaurants in general are notorious for serving massive portions. The only exception would be at the Mobile 5 Star or Michelin 3 Star restaurants where portions should be more reasonably sized to allow for many more courses. I much prefer a variety of food, multiple courses, and smaller servings. The perfect size should leave you wanting more not feeling stuffed! Believe it or not, I've eaten for 4 hours - 12 courses in a fine restaurant (French Laundry) and could have eaten more!

[JNLROSE]

OK, I have to chime in here! On the Summit in Feb, I did NOT think the Normandie was all that great! Was it worth the extra (at the time) $25, yes! Would I do it again, YES! Was it better than the dining room---NO!! At least for the lamb, the food was better in the dining room. Did I love the service & the ambiance???YES!!!!

One just has to think through the entire experience! We're on the Millie next Sep't to Europe, will we do the Specialty, you bet! At least once! Will we miss it on the Mercury in Nov.? Highly doubt it!!!

Flag--just remember, you have to dress to go there!!! They WILL throw you out of THAT restaurant for non-conformation!

Rosie
E-mail me <a href="mailto:JNLROSE@AOL.COM">here</a href>

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;11;26;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]
Look out MERCURY Here we come!!!

September 19, 2005--"Millie in the Med"--We're there!

[wieslaw]

Hello flagger,

We did not dine in the specialty restaurant on the Infinity, but we did do it on Constellation and Millennium.I think the menu was identical or very close on both ships and I believe the other M class ships will have the same menu.
If you want to see the menu go to the link posted below;

This is a very interesting web site of one of the cruise critic members that has the menu posted.

Quote from one of nealberk's posts:

"If you want to see the Olympic menu, take a peek at my site [url="http://www.celebrity-century.com"]www.celebrity-century.com[/url] under food. I know it is not Century related (sorry Lois) but I couldn't help but include the menu. It looks phenomenal......."


It is a little hard to find once you open the link because there is so much information in there.
Click on the link, next; open "The Ship", next: "The Food", next: "Olympic Restaurant",
You will see four pages of the menu.

flagger, if you want to go to the restaurant just for the food.....do not 'waste' your money and do not go.
I have read some of your posts and I do know your position on 'tipping'.....guess what the "$30.00 p/p" is??? Yes, it is mostly a 'tip' to support the salary of the people working there....it is not for the food.

But, if you want to experience a very special event, consisting of not only the food, but the place where it is served, the way it is served by the elite of waiters and head waiters, the quality of chinaware and silverware and all the other parts of this elegant art of dining.....go for it.

Wes

[JNLROSE]

PS, to answer the main thread question, no, they did NOT have too much food!!!! Their porportions were regular "Gourmet" sized porportions in any 5* restaurant!!! We were not over stuffed nor too full! (just to put it into porportion, we are rather small people to begin with)!!!!

Rosie
E-mail me <a href="mailto:JNLROSE@AOL.COM">here</a href>

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;11;26;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]
Look out MERCURY Here we come!!!

September 19, 2005--"Millie in the Med"--We're there!

[WeBeCruisin']

Flagger, the $30 is a gratutity to acknowledge a superior dining experience. Your wife can probably find $15 worth of the food to eat to "justify" her share of the expense. We went to the Normandie on Summit on the Thanksgiving cruise last fall, and it was an outstanding experience. The food was amazing (especially the goat-cheese souffle and the Chateaubriand for two), and there were "surprise" items not on the menu, including a decadent tower selection of end-of-meal truffles, petit-fours, etc. The ambiance and decor were beautiful and historic, featuring actual wall panels from the classic [I]Normandie[/I] liner of the 1930s. The service was extraordinary. My wife needed to go to the restroom during dinner and as soon as she stood, the maitre d' was there to personally escort her to the door of the restroom, and another staff member escorted her back to our table. The cheese selections were a wonderful touch, and even the silverware was extraordinary, including a "sauce spoon", which you don't see very often, even in the finest U.S. restaurants. It was a leisurely relaxed sumptuous meal with absolutely no pressure to finish or move on to the next course. $15 apiece for such a wonderful experience is not really much more than you would pay at MacDonald's or Burger King for a meal. As for your wife's small appetite, she can "nibble" on each entree and still enjoy a memorable dining experience.

[Danno]

If it is a tip...call it a tip and if the service is superior I will gladly give more than the $30. I have no problem with rewarding hard working, talented servers with a generous tip. I'm not a fan of "automatic" tips, however I think they work out cheaper for me. I seem to be more likely to over tip than under tip.

Dan

CenturyX1,GalaxyX2,HorizonX5,VolendamX1,

Zenith to Bermuda Oct/04
Century to E.Caribbean Feb/05

**email mrtnb(at)efni(dot)com

[nywritestuff]

My answer to your question is an unqualified yes. There is way too much food at the specialty restaurant. But then there is way too much food throughout the ship!

After our specialty dinner, my husband and I felt like we ruptured our spleens, and we didn't even eat all of it. I could only eat half of the chocolate souffle (which was fabulous). I felt guilty because it was so good, but I simply couldn't eat anymore. I passed up the cheese course and left some of the side dishes.

Having said that, the ambiance in the Ocean Liners restaurant on the Connie was just amazing. I felt as if I were in a 5-star restaurant. My hubby and I work very hard during the year, and this made us feel extremely pampered. I will never forget that experience. We ate there on the second night, which was a great kickoff to an amazing vacation.

I guess it's all a matter of perspective. Personally, I would do it again mainly for the pampering. And next time, I won't feel guilty for not eating everything.

To me, it was the worth the cost.

[flagger]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by WeBeCruisin':
Flagger, the $30 is a gratutity to acknowledge a superior dining experience. Your wife can probably find $15 worth of the food to eat to "justify" her share of the expense. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Actually it is a $30 per person surcharge. Thank you for the answers to all of my questions.

To whomever asked why I have a weimaraner for an avatar, it is because it is my weimaraner as we breed, raise and show them.

[nealberk]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hdawson:
I found portions of pretty good size, but there are 5 courses plus a couple of samplers and sorbet. I was very impressed with the quality and table side preparation. Overall it was a dining experience like no other that I've had. Looking for the menue.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Check out my site [url="http://www.celebrity-century.com"]www.celebrity-century.com[/url]. Yes, I know the Century does not have a specialty restaurant but I couldn't resist posting the one from the Millennium. I also simplified the links to it (ship then menus will take you right to it) and I fixed two broken links (oops, sorry)

[flagger]

Thank you all again for the information. Just remember for us on our cruise, it will not just be the surcharge for two of us, but several hours charge for babysitting of our daughter. Should we decide to go, we just hope we can co-ordinate the in-cabin babysitting with a night we can get into the specialty restaurant should we CHOOSE to go. Not being CC members of course, we can not book in advance. However we will be in Vancouver two days before so we plan on being the first to board when boarding commences.

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[ocngypz]

I do not think the portions are all that generous. It sounds like a lot of food.. but isn't really.

I have dined in other specialty restaurants on other lines.. where.. yes......I could NOT finish...... but the portions were huge... and entree sides were very generous as well.
I'm all of 5 ft 3.. and 110 lbs....so I am not one of those plate pilers gourmands.

Oh.. btw.. don't forget your sports jacket/blazer!!