Chops or Wonderland???

[taglovestocruise]

Chop's pork belly appetizer... almost as big as the steak..

[soremekun]

I vote Wonderland.  I have no evidence but I think it will eventually disappear from all ships or at least available on fewer ships.

[rusty nut]

I, too, was hesitant to try Wonderland. The menu didn't appeal to ma at all, but the couple we were cruising with recommended it so we gave it a try. We came away very impressed.

[Ourusualbeach]

10 hours ago, soremekun said:

I vote Wonderland.  I have no evidence but I think it will eventually disappear from all ships or at least available on fewer ships.

Once they release the deckplans for Odyssey with the full line up of restaurants it should give us  a pretty good idea of what life expectancy Wonderland has.  

[Moltar]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Once they release the deckplans for Odyssey with the full line up of restaurants it should give us  a pretty good idea of what life expectancy Wonderland has.  

 

 

Cruisers on Odyssey of the Seas will be spoiled for choice when it comes to food and drink. In addition to the previously mentioned El Loco Fresh and Playmakers, will be some of the line's most popular dining venues including Izumi, Chop's Grille, Wonderland and Giovanni's Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar.

New for the North American market will be Teppanyaki, a hibachi-style Japanese eatery.

Though full details of the lounges onboard are yet to be revealed, Royal Caribbean did reveal the ship will offer the line's Instagram-worthy Bionic Bar.

 

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, Moltar said:

 

 

Cruisers on Odyssey of the Seas will be spoiled for choice when it comes to food and drink. In addition to the previously mentioned El Loco Fresh and Playmakers, will be some of the line's most popular dining venues including Izumi, Chop's Grille, Wonderland and Giovanni's Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar.

New for the North American market will be Teppanyaki, a hibachi-style Japanese eatery.

Though full details of the lounges onboard are yet to be revealed, Royal Caribbean did reveal the ship will offer the line's Instagram-worthy Bionic Bar.

 

Thanks, missed that and they don’t show on the deck plans. 

 

Looks like Wonderland is here to stay then....at least for the near future. 

[Casino Comp Chick]

On 2/1/2020 at 12:27 PM, Moltar said:

The last few times I went to Chops I swear Outback makes a better steak. I was really disappointed in the quality Of meat and I will no longer go to Chops on future cruises. Wonderland on the other hand I’ve been at three times and each one has been an amazing experience! the food is really good and really creative ways and presenting it.

I ate at chops twice (Anthem) and cancelled my last reservation. I was not impressed. The 2 best restaurants were Wonderland and Jamie’s 

[soremekun]

35 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Thanks, missed that and they don’t show on the deck plans. 

 

Looks like Wonderland is here to stay then....at least for the near future. 

I wonder what will happen when Allure goes in to be Amped.

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, soremekun said:

I wonder what will happen when Allure goes in to be Amped.

Like a Oasis, she will not get Wonderland. On Oasis and Allure they has issues in adding Wonderland.

[Biker19]

26 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Like a Oasis, she will not get Wonderland. 

Was the signage fixed to remove it?

[Ourusualbeach]

4 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Was the signage fixed to remove it?

LOL.  Never even thought to check. 

[ptf2009]

On 2/1/2020 at 11:15 AM, luv2sailAgain said:

I am not an "out of the box" kind of person.  I am definitely "in the box." I like tried and true favorites when it comes to food.   Any restaurant I visit, I order my favorite. That's just me. DD is more adventurous.  She likes surprises. I want to get my money's worth when making any kind of purchase. 

 

The MDR is fine with me.  I've paid my cruise fare.  So instead of spending money on specialty restaurants at sea, I'll just save my money for a special meal when I am at home. The cruise is special. Just the way I roll. . .

 

BUT 

On our Symphony cruise in May, we have a stop in San Juan.  We are going on the Rainforest excursion (late return) and will miss our early seating time.  So, I am wondering if we should try a specialty restaurant.

 

DD will probably enjoy Wonderland's food and fun.  I would enjoy the fun, but the food does not seem to be what I would like AT ALL (with the exception of dessert).

 

Chops seems more of the kind of place I would enjoy.  DD would like it, but she would probably enjoy Wonderland more.  HOWEVER,  after looking at the menu, it seems that the only thing more "up scale" is the meat.  Everything else seems to be available in the MDR.

 

$53 for a filet or $55 for an dining experience where I may not eat much??

 

Are there any "squares" like me that feel you got your money's worth at Wonderland??

 

TIA

You asked for an opinion.....Wonderland is NOT worth it. The food is awful, except the chocolate dessert. The ambiance is very nice...but the food and presentation were just not good. WE ended up going to the Windjammer (which we rarely go to for dinner) when we left Wonderland. Everyone has different tastes so you may like it...we did NOT!

Happy cruising!

[ptf2009]

On 2/1/2020 at 12:10 PM, katiel53 said:

I know I am in the minority, but we did not enjoy Wonderland.  Part of our dislike may have been that we told our waiter we didn't want any seafood.

 

We had the smoked eggs.  I felt they tasted like burned grass would taste with deviled eggs on top.  It took a long time to get the smoked taste out of my mouth.  It wasn't a pleasant smoked taste like that of smoked meat.

 

The tomato water with the bread foam was good.  The veggies served in avocado smash was ok to me, but not to my sister who doesn't like avocado at all.

 

The chicken with an "egg" that we were told was pureed cauliflower was beautiful looking, but dry as a bone.  The cauliflower was like paste that had hardened.

 

The world dessert was the best part of the meal.  For us, it was a one and done and I think we would have been upset had we paid full price, but we had the UDP, so it wasn't expensive, but I'm not sure it was worth what we did pay.

Totally agree with your review of Wonderland.  We were grateful (and would have been mad if we had paid full price) that we hadn't paid full price as it was part of a dining package. As you said...one and done:)!

[csnarpy]

Just did Symphony with another couple who we sail with constantly. We love Chops, BUT this was the first time that we were absolutely disappointed. My wife commented that my steak is much better. Again, we love Chops but not this time.

 

We also did Wonderland. Which, IMO, was incredible, BUT it is all about the experience and not really the food.

 

I really, really recommend 150. This, by far, has the best food on board. I've done all the restaurants minus CK. Get a main and then share the Tenderloin. Best decision we made!

[Moltar]

Wonderland I've eaten at 3 times and each time it was better than the last. I highly recommend.

[Ellaleah]

Wonderland is an experience!  Chops would be a very mediocre steak restaurant on land!

[DrProfessor]

Reading through all the responses has been fun because we have eaten at both just like many.  It is interesting that the two places can produce such polarized opinions (but what isn't these days?).  Thankfully, everyone seems to realize that they are just personal opinions in this case.

 

As for us, we love Chops and will always go back there.  Someone posted about the slab of bacon appetizer - it is awesome.  We have always had a good experience and excellent food no matter what we ordered.

 

Wonderland is definitely worth going to at least once and we are glad we did.  I agree with some of the others, though, that the chocolate globe desert was the best part and really didn't enjoy most of the rest of the food.  (I did like the smoked deviled eggs though).

 

For us, Wonderland was a one-and-done sort of deal.

[VanessaNJ]

I’m so relieved to hear people say that they thought Chops was just average! I’ve only been on one cruise on voyager of the seas and we tried all 3 restaurants; Chops, Izumi, and Giovanis. I was excited for chops and Izumi because I’ve heard so much raving about it. Izumi was average at best. Perhaps it’s because I live in a city with a huge Asian population and it’s super easy to access high quality cheap Asian food that it just couldn’t stack up. Then Chops. Service was great, food was nice but certainly not special. I enjoyed having Mac and cheese because it’s not a big thing at home but the meat was just ok as was the sauce. 
Giovanis was the most amazing place. Service was excellent, the ambiance was lovely, and the food was amazing! And this is coming from someone that lived in Italy and ate Italian food everyday for a year. 
 

My next cruise has 4 specialty dining locations including Chops. I’ll go back there, but I’m not going to feel pressured to have a steak like I did was time because they really aren’t that impressive. I was worried about wonderland as I had heard a few bad things but then I looked further into It and now I’m super excited! Going to try to go there night 1 so that if we decide it’s great we can go back a second time. Sadly no Giovani’s on Ovation but I’m looking forward to Jamie’s too. 

[tcrandal]

Another vote for Wonderland, it's a unique experience and very entertaining. Certainly is not for picky eaters, but those that are open minded about trying new things. We thought going again might not be as enjoyable, but we enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd time almost as much, without the surprises. 

 

Pretty sure the one time we tried Chops it was a bad night in the kitchen. We thought it was subpar for a steakhouse, and not comparable to our meal each time on NCL at their steakhouse. In fairness, you always can have an off-meal and service, so we will try it again on future cruises. 

Edited May 4, 2021 by tcrandal

[dianajo67]

My parents are complete “ meat and potato” types, but they had a blast at wonderland for their 55th wedding anniversary.  The food was a bit unusual in presentation, but not too weird in taste or texture actually!  I think you’d enjoy it.  If you’re still hungry you can swing by windjammer or Sorrentos!

Edited May 4, 2021 by dianajo67