MDR Dinners VS the Speical Resrtaurants Dinners

[mcrcruiser]

We often wondered when booking a special restaurant for dinner  ; which we incur a premium cost ,what are we giving up in the way of cost for the MDR dinner ?  Seems to us then  that the real cost of any special restaurant is in fact  more costly than the published pricing  of each of the special restaurants 

 

 So does any one really know the average cost of the MDR dinner that we all give up to dine in  one of the cruise lines special restaurants at a premium ?

[visagrunt]

I would be surprised if the cost accounting goes this far in the weeds.  The F&B department will know, of course, the full provisioning for the voyage, but that will include stocking all the galleys (including crew galleys) and provisioning is shared across them.  You could drill down to unit costs on some items, but not necessarily all of them.

I don't even think this is programmed into fare calculation, which likely has much more to do with market conditions than it does with cost inputs.

The magic is to set prices at a level that keeps specialty restaurants full (based on the galley's ability to turn over covers) without unfilled demand.  I expect that it has nothing to do with foregone amenity.

[mcrcruiser]

We were thinking that a average dinner in the MDR would be some where between $12.50 to about $15  per person  . However ,we like other peoples opinion  .  

[nocl]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

We often wondered when booking a special restaurant for dinner  ; which we incur a premium cost ,what are we giving up in the way of cost for the MDR dinner ?  Seems to us then  that the real cost of any special restaurant is in fact  more costly than the published pricing  of each of the special restaurants 

 

 So does any one really know the average cost of the MDR dinner that we all give up to dine in  one of the cruise lines special restaurants at a premium ?

The cruise lines, prior to Covid, spent about 12-14 dollars per day per passenger on food according to their SEC filings.  That includes all food purchases, including crew.  So food wise a couple of dollars. Of course with most restaurants the costs are more related to labor and the facility costs than food.

[nocl]

4 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We were thinking that a average dinner in the MDR would be some where between $12.50 to about $15  per person  . However ,we like other peoples opinion  .  

Don't know where you have been eating at but these days more like $25-30 in a medium sit down restaurant on land by the time you consider the appetizer, the soup/salad, the entre and dessert the costs add up fairly quickly.

 

Even in chains like Applebee's it would not be easy to get an appetizer, soup or salad, entre and dessert for less than $20 per person.

[mcrcruiser]

4 minutes ago, nocl said:

The cruise lines, prior to Covid, spent about 12-14 dollars per day per passenger on food according to their SEC filings.  That includes all food purchases, including crew.  So food wise a couple of dollars. Of course with most restaurants the costs are more related to labor and the facility costs than food.

That is interesting because if we now add 10% inflation the price per day  could be  $ 13.20 to $15.40 per person . When added to the cost of  paying  the special restaurant fees  ,it can be into the  $30s or $40s per person  for one speciality restaurant meal plus added tip 

[nocl]

6 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

That is interesting because if we now add 10% inflation the price per day  could be  $ 13.20 to $15.40 per person . When added to the cost of  paying  the special restaurant fees  ,it can be into the  $30s or $40s per person  for one speciality restaurant meal plus added tip 

Keep in mind that is all food per day, everywhere on the ship, including crew.  Breakfast, lunch , dinner, snacks, all of it, including specialty restaurants as well as including the crew dining rooms. So the food cost of any 1 dinner in the main dining room is more like 3-4 dollars at most.

 

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by nocl

[mcrcruiser]

7 minutes ago, nocl said:

Keep in mind that is all food per day, everywhere on the ship, including crew.  Breakfast, lunch , dinner, snacks, all of it, including specialty restaurants as well as including the crew dining rooms. So the food cost of any 1 dinner in the main dining room is more like 3-4 dollars at most.

 

 

imo$3 to $4 per day for a pax dinner in the MDR is much too low  . 

[nocl]

1 minute ago, mcrcruiser said:

imo$3 to $4 per day for a pax dinner in the MDR is much too low  . 

Well that is what the cruise lines pay for food.  A total of $12-14 dollars per day per passenger for all food, including crew.  That is according to their SEC filings which is public information.

 

Of course even in a restaurant on land most costs are labor, the facility, utilities, etc.

 

If you are asking the competitive value compared to a land restaurant that is one question. $30-40

If you are asking what is a cruise lines cost of food for the ding room that is another $3-4

If you are asking what is the total cost to the cruise line of a meal in the main dining room that would include food, labor of dining and galley staff, some calculation of the cost of the dining room and kitchen itself probably determined by some kind of square foot calculation compared to other spaces..  There is no real way to calculate their real cost of one meal in the dining room considering all costs.

[Brentt_M]

I guess I look at it as if the MDR has a value of $X and the specialty dining a balue of $X + whatever the speicialty restaurant fee is.  I don't see it as giving up the value of the MDR. 

[rkacruiser]

I have never given any thought as to the cost difference between dining in the MDR, the Lido Restaurant, or a specialty restaurant.  I am going to dine where I want to dine when I want to do so.

[Torquer]

I really don't understand most of people's posts above.  It has nothing to do with what it costs HAL to serve us the food in the MDR.

 

If I go to a nice restaurant on land, I would pay around $40 USD for what I get in the MDR.  So I can pay $0 extra (over what I paid for the cruise) and get the equivalent of a $40 meal in a restaurant.  Or I can pay $39 extra to eat in the Pinnacle Grill over the $0 meal I get in the MDR.  That means the Pinnacle Grill has to be equal to a $79 meal in normal restaurant.  Well, the food and service is very good in the PG but in my opinion, it is simply not worth $79.

[kazu]

I have never worried about what the MDR dinner meal is worth.

 

What matters to me is how good the specialty dining is and if the food is enjoyable.  The only time I worried was the time we were in the PG and escargot was on the menu in the MDR.  

 

The PG staff happily brought it to me 😉 

As long as the food and service is worth it, I do specialty and don’t worry about what would be a few pennies in the MDR.

[deliver42]

I never even thought about it. I really makes no difference to me. If I want a specialty restaurant, I'll go, and pay the rate. It's my choice to go or not. To me it's like how much is the cruise per night. I don't care. It's the bottom line that counts for me.

[RuthC]

Do I want to dine at a specialty restaurant? Can I afford it? If the answers to both questions is 'yes', then I dine at a specialty restaurant. 
That's all there is to it. The cost of the food I am not eating in the dining room has nothing to do with my decision. 

[visagrunt]

There seems to be some apples and oranges (pun inteded) here.

If we are looking at input costs, then provisioning costs are likely as nocl sets out.  If we use conventional restaurant arithmetic, the cost to the provider is about 300%-350% of food cost.  But, of course, a dining room on a ship is not equivalent to a restaurant on land.  The scale of operation is vastly larger (more akin to a banquet facility than a restaurant), the labour costs are significantly lower and the cost of the physical plant is absorbed elsewhere.

But if we are looking at the revenue per diner--how much the diner has paid for the meal (or would be willing to pay for the meal in a market setting) then it's an entirely different set of sums.

tl;dr:  you could ask three different accountants to run these numbers and they'd provide at least four answers.

[mcrcruiser]

when adding in cost of labor ,equipment ie & then gratuities  of the MDR dinner meals  vs the additional  speciality restaurant  cost , then I wonder whether we could duplicate that  in a land based  4 star restaurant or not ?

[mcrcruiser]

24 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

when adding in cost of labor ,equipment ie & then gratuities  of the MDR dinner meals  vs the additional  speciality restaurant  cost , then I wonder whether we could duplicate that  in a land based  4 star restaurant or not ?

Even though  we love to cruise  & we like HAL above other lines  ,princess being a close 2nd   ,there may be a time that we no longer can cruise  . Thus ,we would hope to substitute a great cruise dinner   from a specialty restaurant  to a land based dinner of equal quality  .Here in North County San Diego we have many very good to excellent restaurants  & if we were to go to downtown  there is little Italy  &  other neighboring  areas with 4 to 5 star restaurants . A favorite  is in the Del Coronado hotel   on Coronado Island   over  the bridge .Many past US Presidents have stayed there ; lot of history 

[Woofbite]

14 hours ago, Torquer said:

I really don't understand most of people's posts above.  It has nothing to do with what it costs HAL to serve us the food in the MDR.

 

If I go to a nice restaurant on land, I would pay around $40 USD for what I get in the MDR.  So I can pay $0 extra (over what I paid for the cruise) and get the equivalent of a $40 meal in a restaurant.  Or I can pay $39 extra to eat in the Pinnacle Grill over the $0 meal I get in the MDR.  That means the Pinnacle Grill has to be equal to a $79 meal in normal restaurant.  Well, the food and service is very good in the PG but in my opinion, it is simply not worth $79.

Don't forget, more and more items in the specialty restaurants cost an additional $10 to $20 or more supplement if you order them. 

[iancal]

Just think of the lost opportunity if you do not stop eating at the buffet until you ill.  

 

What does it matter?  Eat in the MDR, skip dinner altogether, do room service, or eat in a specialty restaurant.   Cannot imagine any way to take the enjoyment off going to a specialty restaurant than trying to determine the so called real cost.  

 

The cost of the specialty restaurant is the price.  The other costs are sunk costs no matter what you decide to do.

[Hlitner]

My goodness!  So perhaps the OP could go have dinner about 5 in the MDR and then have a 2nd dinner in the Pinnacle around 8 🙂

 

[albingirl]

When I am aboard, the last thing I think about is how much is the dinner I am missing while in the Pinnacle Grill or otherwise.  I'm done thinking about money and it's all in the rear view mirror. Time to enjoy!

[taxmantoo]

17 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

My goodness!  So perhaps the OP could go have dinner about 5 in the MDR and then have a 2nd dinner in the Pinnacle around 8 🙂

 

And they'd still have time for the Chocolate Extravaganza 😆

 

[iancal]

We don't cruise for the food.

[mcrcruiser]

51 minutes ago, taxmantoo said:

And they'd still have time for the Chocolate Extravaganza 😆

 

We don't see  the chocolate fountains any longer in a once wonderful  buffet held in the main dining room .another cut in the food budget  .  So when will every thing be A la cart?