Specialty Restaurant Pricing Out Of Control

[rudeney]

1 hour ago, Wineaux007 said:

We just booked lunch in Chops on an upcoming cruise.  I was surprised to see from the Royal invoice in the Cruise Planner that they had added the gratuity to the purchase.  In the past I can't recall having to pay gratuity with the purchase of any specialty restaurant.  I thought it was included in the price.  Is this something new?  Last time we paid for a Chops Lunch on sale in the Cruise Planner, the price was the price.  We just tipped at our discretion.   

 

It depends on which version of Cruise Planner your ship uses.  Some quote the price with the gratuity included, others will add the gratuity at check-out.  But I do remember the old days when the specialty restaurant upcharge was sort of consider the gratuity in and of itself. 

[rudeney]

19 minutes ago, gkbiiii said:

Well, my time on the Virgin Scarlet Lady, showed me that it is possible to eat at specialty dining that would do well in Miami Beach.  Best of all, unlike with Royal, all was included in cruise fare, including gratuities! 

 

My wife saw a Virgin commercial on TV and started talking about that since they have kid-free cruises. I found a few online videos from their cruises and we quickly realized that we are probably aa few decades beyond their demographic. 

[gkbiiii]

Oddly most are older passengers, rather or not Branson wants to realize this!

[shellunderwater]

2 hours ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Gas was not 35 cents in the time we are discussing. 

Missed the stated specific timeframe.

[shellunderwater]

On 9/3/2022 at 10:07 PM, bigeagle12 said:

Do they think they are Ruth’s Chris.  Chops is now $69.60/person ($58.99 plus 18% gratuity).  So not only did they raise the price but also added the gratuity which used to be included. 
 

We used to enjoy one or two nights of specialty restaurants.  But not at these prices. The food is not that good.  🙄

Ruth's Chris ribeye alone locally is $65.  No app, salad. Side or dessert.  Plus tax and tip.

 

Last time two weeks ago at Chop's my meal would be $138 @ Ruth's Chris. Plus tax and tip.

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, cruisecontrol27 said:

 This reminded me of my first time ever on RCI as a teen, on the first night in MDR all of us at the "kids" table ordered caesar salads and molten chocolate cakes for dessert. We then proceeded to have caesar salads and molten chocolate cakes every night for the remainder of the cruise. I'd say I still get them at least once out of nostalgia, but who am I kidding - they're pretty great

 

Curiously, the only time I've ever had a molten chocolate cake that was actually molten was in Chops when taking advantage of the BOGO I mentioned in an earlier post. I systematically order it in the MDR and am systematically disappointed because it’s only warm, not molten. I think next time I'll give the waiter instructions to nuke it in the microwave before bringing it to the table. 😂

[AdoraBelle]

3 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

Oddly most are older passengers, rather or not Branson wants to realize this!

That wasn’t my impression last week on Scarlet Lady. I’m middle aged, and was surprised at how much of the ship was younger than me. 

[SargassoPirate]

10 hours ago, Wineaux007 said:

We just booked lunch in Chops on an upcoming cruise.  I was surprised to see from the Royal invoice in the Cruise Planner that they had added the gratuity to the purchase.  In the past I can't recall having to pay gratuity with the purchase of any specialty restaurant.  I thought it was included in the price.  Is this something new?  Last time we paid for a Chops Lunch on sale in the Cruise Planner, the price was the price.  We just tipped at our discretion.   

Some of the historian's here may remember better than me, and if so please chime in.  When specialty dining was first rolled out, the extra charge was to cover tips for the waiters since with the slower pace of the meal, they couldn't make as much as in the MDR.  Then it seems there was an upcharge with tips optional.  Then, the upcharge included the mandatory tip.  Then came pre-booking ahead of the cruise to gin up demand - "OMG, I'd better reserve whileI can still get a table"

 

Once again, it's the basic law of the marketplace.  Charge what the traffic will bear.  

 

I have walked by many specialty restaurants on various cruise ships with lots of empty tables and the maitre d looks like the Maytag repairman.

[Seville2Cabo]

10 hours ago, rudeney said:

 

My wife saw a Virgin commercial on TV and started talking about that since they have kid-free cruises. I found a few online videos from their cruises and we quickly realized that we are probably aa few decades beyond their demographic. 

We have friends we cruise with that are usually Royal or X cruisers and they tried Virgin.  They are in their 70's and had a great time and loved the food.  NO issue with age and said there were all ages on the ship (over 18) Their biggest issue was lack of entertainment.  They said they are open to Virgin again, but still prefer Royal or X

[rudeney]

I was pricing out an Alaska cruise, and staying in the Celebrity Retreat was actually cheaper than a RCCL GS + tips +DBP.  That is definitely an option.  

[sgmn]

13 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Who is "the competitor"? 

Half way down it says Norwegian Cruise Line, not sure if all the menu is from NCL

[soapbxking]

On 9/3/2022 at 10:07 PM, bigeagle12 said:

Do they think they are Ruth’s Chris.  Chops is now $69.60/person ($58.99 plus 18% gratuity).  So not only did they raise the price but also added the gratuity which used to be included. 
 

We used to enjoy one or two nights of specialty restaurants.  But not at these prices. The food is not that good.  🙄

yeah that is pathetic.  not only do they save money by you not eating at one of the included places, but then over price the place you do eat

[Rogueperson]

14 hours ago, Wineaux007 said:

We just booked lunch in Chops on an upcoming cruise.  I was surprised to see from the Royal invoice in the Cruise Planner that they had added the gratuity to the purchase.  In the past I can't recall having to pay gratuity with the purchase of any specialty restaurant.  I thought it was included in the price.  Is this something new?  Last time we paid for a Chops Lunch on sale in the Cruise Planner, the price was the price.  We just tipped at our discretion.   

 

This is fairly new.  In September and December of last year I got chef's table and did not pay a gratuity when i booked it online.

In March, I noticed the price actually dropped (from 89.99 to 74.99 per person).  But when i booked, it added gratuity to be about the same as the 89.99/person previously ($88.49).

can't speak for the specialties.  If you want to take a gamble, note the prices they are charging and see what kind of deals you can find when you board.  Sometimes, you might get lucky and they discount it onboard or with a package they have onboard.  I heard that some people got Chef's Table for 50% off onboard, but my experience was they jacked the price up, at least that's what i heard on Mariner in September when i was onboard.  Someone told me they were trying to charge 129/person.

[PhillyFan33579]

From my experience lately speciality restaurants have been very crowded on every ship/restaurant we have been to, so if anything the prices for speciality restaurants may be too low. 

[rudeney]

9 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

From my experience lately speciality restaurants have been very crowded on every ship/restaurant we have been to, so if anything the prices for speciality restaurants may be too low. 

 

Shhhhhh!  🤣  Seriously, it's the basic economics of capitalism.  When demand outstrips supply, prices will increase.   

[PhillyFan33579]

3 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

Shhhhhh!  🤣  Seriously, it's the basic economics of capitalism.  When demand outstrips supply, prices will increase.   

Just my opinion, but I think the UDP prices have been pretty decent most of this year, especially considering the prices they are currently charging for one speciality restaurant. I assume that accounts for at least part of why speciality restaurants always seem to be crowded recently. 

[rudeney]

Just now, PhillyFan33579 said:

Just my opinion, but I think the UDP prices have been pretty decent most of this year, especially considering the prices they are currently charging for one speciality restaurant. I assume that accounts for at least part of why speciality restaurants always seem to be crowded recently. 

 

I would agree.  I paid $245pp (inclusive of gratuity) for 7 nights.  I intend to eat in specialty restaurants at least 6 /7 nights plus we'll do a few lunches, so that puts the per-meal price around $30.  

[vjmatty]

Just now, PhillyFan33579 said:

Just my opinion, but I think the UDP prices have been pretty decent most of this year, especially considering the prices they are currently charging for one speciality restaurant. I assume that accounts for at least part of why speciality restaurants always seem to be crowded recently. 

 

Well, as the individual restaurant prices go up, the UDP becomes more of a value since UDP cost doesn't seem to increase by much. 

 

Before the UDP and other multi-meal packages, the restaurants were much harder to sell, especially pre-pandemic.  I remember the dining staff practically begging us to spend an evening in Mercado on Celebrity Equinox, offering us half price and a free bottle of wine.  This was October 2019.  Now it seems many passengers use special dining as an escape from the masses.

[Bead Pirate]

23 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

Well, as the individual restaurant prices go up, the UDP becomes more of a value since UDP cost doesn't seem to increase by much. 

 

Before the UDP and other multi-meal packages, the restaurants were much harder to sell, especially pre-pandemic.  I remember the dining staff practically begging us to spend an evening in Mercado on Celebrity Equinox, offering us half price and a free bottle of wine.  This was October 2019.  Now it seems many passengers use special dining as an escape from the masses.

 

Exactly, escaping the crush of the Dining Room. The UDP is good for most of the year but we always also separately book Xmas and New Years Eve dinners to be sure we get a time (I have been closed out on the UDP before in these situations)...

 

Have not eaten in MDR in last dozen cruises or so...

[kidz_rn]

If you know what a "First World Problem" means, this thread is a good example

[vjmatty]

33 minutes ago, kidz_rn said:

If you know what a "First World Problem" means, this thread is a good example

 

Or this entire website....

[shellunderwater]

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

From my experience lately speciality restaurants have been very crowded on every ship/restaurant we have been to, so if anything the prices for speciality restaurants may be too low. 

Well then just wait for Christmas Day dinner at Chops or 150 CP.  

[KeroTravel]

The price seems like a lot, but when we break it down its not that much.  Right now our upcoming cruise for UDP is $272.36 CAD per adult (as per today's exchange that's $207.27 USD), which is only $38 CAD per dinner (if we're only going to do dinner).  Very reasonable - only thing not reasonable is having to fork over $800+ dollars for 3 adults at this very moment. 

[clskinsfan]

13 hours ago, FionaMG said:

 

Curiously, the only time I've ever had a molten chocolate cake that was actually molten was in Chops when taking advantage of the BOGO I mentioned in an earlier post. I systematically order it in the MDR and am systematically disappointed because it’s only warm, not molten. I think next time I'll give the waiter instructions to nuke it in the microwave before bringing it to the table. 😂

The molten chocolate cake is about the only thing Carnival does better than anyone else IMO.

[bigeagle12]

32 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

The molten chocolate cake is about the only thing Carnival does better than anyone else IMO.

And Guy’s burgers, Blue Iguana, and Pizza 🙂