Is the $20 steak and lobster MDR upcharge identical to the Steakhouse option

[Joebucks]

Is the $20 steak and lobster MDR upcharge identical to the Steakhouse option? I understand I won't get the same appetizers and desserts, etc. 

[Elaine5715]

27 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

Is the $20 steak and lobster MDR upcharge identical to the Steakhouse option? I understand I won't get the same appetizers and desserts, etc. 

Not the ones I have seen but my tablemates were very pleased each time.

[Snipes]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

Is the $20 steak and lobster MDR upcharge identical to the Steakhouse option? I understand I won't get the same appetizers and desserts, etc. 

I have ordered a steak and a lobster tail on two separate occasions and both were overcooked and not the same as getting them in the steakhouse. It also took longer than they other table food, I tried this option during a cruise that reservations were difficult to get at the steakhouse, so that could have impacted it as well.

[coevan]

even if the cut of meat was the same, the grills at the Steakhouse are super hot and sear the meat. The MDR galley does not have the same equipment.

[young_ens]

So, lobster tails are no longer part of the MDR formal night menu?  I'd say it sucks, but the lobster isn't that great imo (best lobsters come from cold waters, we have fantastic lobster where I'm from). 

[schazzy]

I'll just say that we enjoyed the strip steaks we had in the MDR on the Ecstasy 2 yrs ago, cooked perfectly. My FIL had a Filet Mignon in the MDR on the first night on our cruise last year and really enjoyed it, again, cooked perfectly. Later on that same cruise at the steakhouse, our steaks were not cooked right at all, and the whole experience was a kind of a let down after hearing how great it was from others. Again, that may have been an off night, but it left us in no hurry to make reservations there again, but we would gladly order the steaks in the MDR again. Of course this is just my opinion and experience, YMMV.  

[schazzy]

9 minutes ago, young_ens said:

So, lobster tails are no longer part of the MDR formal night menu?  I'd say it sucks, but the lobster isn't that great imo (best lobsters come from cold waters, we have fantastic lobster where I'm from). 

 

Spiny lobster tails are still on the menu in the MDR on elegant night on cruises over 5 days. The lobster for the $20 upcharge they are referring to is a cold water tail. 

[Markmom18]

I always order the steak n lobster in the MDR. But, after the last 2 times, most recent the Freedom last February, before that the Elation in 2016. I give up, I cannot justify even $20 for what I've received. Tastes vary of course, and this my opinion.

 

Freedom & Elation served puny lobster, and dried out. Both times the steak was the better of the two. Ya know , in general I just don't think the Caribbean OR "Cold Water" lobsters Carnival serves are anything to get too excited about. Tasteless, until I put the piece in butter.  A bit of seasoning would help!  

 

I'd skip paying, and on your next Port , find a place and order a tasty local fish instead. 

🐟🐟🐟

Bobbi 

Edited February 4, 2019 by Markmom18

[schazzy]

7 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

I always order the steak n lobster in the MDR. But, after the last 2 times, most recent the Freedom last February, before that the Elation in 2016. I give up, I cannot justify even $20 for what I've received. Tastes vary of course, and this my opinion.

 

Freedom & Elation served puny lobster, and dried out. Both times the steak was the better of the two. Ya know , in general I just don't think the Caribbean OR "Cold Water" lobsters Carnival serves are anything to get too excited about. Tasteless, until I put the piece in butter.  A bit of seasoning would help!  

 

I'd skip paying, and on your next Port , find a place and order a tasty local fish instead. 

🐟🐟🐟

Bobbi 

 

The problem is no matter which lobster tail you get, it was previously frozen and while seafood can be perfectly fine after it's been frozen, lobster of any kind IMO needs to be cooked from fresh or it's not any good.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

Both the steakhouse menu and the MDR menu state:  "Maine Lobster Tail".

[jimbo5544]

12 hours ago, schazzy said:

 

Spiny lobster tails are still on the menu in the MDR on elegant night on cruises over 5 days. The lobster for the $20 upcharge they are referring to is a cold water tail. 

Another answer is yes, they are still available.

 

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, schazzy said:

 

The problem is no matter which lobster tail you get, it was previously frozen and while seafood can be perfectly fine after it's been frozen, lobster of any kind IMO needs to be cooked from fresh or it's not any good.  

Are you a chef?

[linbobky]

15 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Both the steakhouse menu and the MDR menu state:  "Maine Lobster Tail".

the menus have always said they were Main Lobster Tail. i have never seen spiny lobster tail on the menu.

[schazzy]

2 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Are you a chef?

 

Well, I was a line cook for several years in my younger days and worked with and learned from several chefs, and I consider myself to be a pretty darn good home cook after over 20 years of practice. But, my profession or culinary skill has nothing to do with my opinion of whether or not a food tastes good to me or not, that would fall under my many years of experience in eating food. And having had the good fortune to have eaten both fresh cold water lobster in New England or spiny lobster in the Bahamas, frozen lobster tails in comparison are no where near as good to me no matter where they are served.  

[jimbo5544]

2 minutes ago, schazzy said:

 

Well, I was a line cook for several years in my younger days and worked with and learned from several chefs, and I consider myself to be a pretty darn good home cook after over 20 years of practice. But, my profession or culinary skill has nothing to do with my opinion of whether or not a food tastes good to me or not, that would fall under my many years of experience in eating food. And having had the good fortune to have eaten both fresh cold water lobster in New England or spiny lobster in the Bahamas, frozen lobster tails in comparison are no where near as good to me no matter where they are served.  

I was just trying to determine whether it was your opinion of it was something you did for work.  Thanks

[schazzy]

39 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Both the steakhouse menu and the MDR menu state:  "Maine Lobster Tail".

 

18 minutes ago, linbobky said:

the menus have always said they were Main Lobster Tail. i have never seen spiny lobster tail on the menu.

 

It stated Maine lobster tail on the menu on my last cruise as well, but I can tell you without a doubt that it was a spiny lobster they served my FIL on elegant night. A Maine lobster tail's shell won't be orangey-pink with little white spots down the sides, that's a spiny lobster. When we were in the steakhouse, they brought a trolley over to the table that had showcased the meat and seafood options in their raw form, and the lobster tail there was definitely a cold water tail, may or may not have been from Maine though.     

[NutsAboutGolf]

5 minutes ago, schazzy said:

 

 

It stated Maine lobster tail on the menu on my last cruise as well, but I can tell you without a doubt that it was a spiny lobster they served my FIL on elegant night. A Maine lobster tail's shell won't be orangey-pink with little white spots down the sides, that's a spiny lobster. When we were in the steakhouse, they brought a trolley over to the table that had showcased the meat and seafood options in their raw form, and the lobster tail there was definitely a cold water tail, may or may not have been from Maine though.     

Thanks for sharing!

 

IMO, the main reason to go to the steakhouse is its a nicer atmosphere with assumed slightly better service.  

[NHNEV2003]

I've ordered the filet mignon, medium, a # of times in the MDR. It is brought from the steakhouse, not the regular galley.

 

It has been consistently excellent each time.

 

I have not ordered the lobster from the steakhouse so can't speak about that.

[coevan]

Do you really think someone is going 8 decks down to deliver you a steak? 

[K&RCurt]

On the Sunshine last week my DW got the Lobster tail in Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse as well as the "Steakhouse selections" Lobster Tail in the MDR one night.  The one in the Steakhouse was larger and come out hotter and was more tender than the one in the MDR.

 

We spent a week in Maine over our summer vacation last year, and I grew up in New England.  I do not bother with "Maine" Lobster anywhere South of Connecticut!

[coevan]

Really, we had live Maine lobster out of a tank in an upscale seafood restaurant in Colorado. We have fresh sushi in Colorado now too. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

Perhaps someone who knows John Heald to refer him to this thread?

 

Cold vs Warm tails.

I just went to google, entered "carnival lobster" and clicked images.  It searches, TA, yelp, here, other cruise sites and travel blogs.  First two dozen images are indeed cold water lobster and I haven't yet seen an image of a spiny lobster tail.  Also,  its good to see they include the shell since often those who use spiny lobster simple plate the tail meat with the shell removed which makes it hard to tell the difference.  I encourage if anyone receives a tail that has a band of yellow around the tip of the tail to take a picture and point it out to carnival as it could be the suppliers fault.

 

Fresh vs Frozen tails. 

"Even experienced lobster eaters have a difficult time telling the difference between cryogenically frozen Maine lobster and the freshly cooked variety, according to the results of blind taste tests."

https://www.supermarketnews.com/archive/little-difference-between-fresh-and-frozen-lobster-study

Most everything on a cruise ship is going to be frozen, the key is always fully thaw it out but if the staff guesses the wrong number, they may need to cut corners to thaw it out which often results in an unfavorable product.  Yet even if that happens, you have butter, lemon and possibly lots of wine in you already therefore the average person may not even notice that the lobster wasn't thawed or cooked the best it could have been.  It comes down to the process and the enforcement of the process to whether they'll just say they're out of product or if the cooking staff will be '"dinged" so they determine "lesser" product is better than no product at all.  I would have to imagine the majority of lobsters are cooked correctly or the chefs don't last long; like most any meat, simply overcooking it is bad.  A properly thawed and cooked frozen lobster tail will still be delicious if you like lobster and there's a very good chance you've been unknowingly served a frozen tail before wrongfully assuming it was fresh.

 

MDR vs Steakhouse tail differences.

Very difficult to determine the process Carnival uses and if it varies by the ship.  We would have to know if the cooking staff can even determine the difference between between MDR orders and steakhouse orders, if they're instructed to use larger tails for the steakhouse and finally are they even following those instructions or just grabbing the first tail they see.

[kona_wahine]

Pay the extra few dollars and go to the steakhouse. I ordered it once, not worth it in MDR

[Athankfulheart]

Ordered the lobster because tablemates didnt want to pay for steakhouse. The lobster wasnt as good as the steakhouse. Wont purchase again. 

[jimbo5544]

On 2/4/2019 at 1:39 PM, coevan said:

Do you really think someone is going 8 decks down to deliver you a steak? 

Scratching my head on the 8 floors comment, I did not see any reference as to which ship this was on.