Why Pay Xtra for Food

[ezmony54]

I have been on several carnival crusies and I am wondering why you would want to pay extra to go to anywhere but the main dinning rooms. I mean wow the food is so great and you can get about anything including great steaks. Tell me why spend 50.00 . I know since so many do it , it has to be some reason... Thanks , Ez:cool:

[mrdood]

I have been on several carnival crusies and I am wondering why you would want to pay extra to go to anywhere but the main dinning rooms. I mean wow the food is so great and you can get about anything including great steaks. Tell me why spend 50.00 . I know since so many do it , it has to be some reason... Thanks , Ez:cool:

 

Because it is a superior dining experience, appreciated by those of us who enjoy a 5 star experience and worth every penny at $30 person.

 

The question is no different than why would you pay extra for a balcony room or suite - the answer is always - personal choice and financial capability. There are those that would question you why you would spend $$ to go on a cruise periond - and you have been on several. ???

[ezmony54]

Well I guess I've shown my class, as I thought the food in the dining rooms were 5 star. Hard to imagine it could be that much better but then again i am ez:cool:

[GoinCruisin]

Well I guess I've shown my class, as I thought the food in the dining rooms were 5 star. Hard to imagine it could be that much better but then again i am ez:cool:

 

The dining room does not even compare to the supper clubs... the food is of superior quality in the SC, the service is impeccable. It's well worth every penny and then some. The food in the dining room is nice, but NOTHING like the food in the supper club.

[GoinCruisin]

double post

[salty dingo]

Same reason there is McDonald's, Outback, and Ruth's Chris. All three serve beef. All three are tasty. Very different costs for the beef, though.

 

Different people will choose different dining experiences based on their budget and taste.

[lhall85917]

I wondered the same thing and we never did got to a pay restaurant on the ship until NCL gave us a dinner at one of their restaurants for compensation for changing cabins this summer. It was the best meal I've ever had!!:D I am the world's pickiest eater, don't like many foods and stick with bare meat and potatoes. At the steakhouse I had surf and turf and ate the whole thing!! DH had a 24 oz. Porterhouse and his was just as excellent!

 

The whole experience is more intimate, the food is higher quality and service wonderful! It's worth a try one time, just to see what you think. ;)

[Cotton]

EZ - Please don't think you are inferior class just because you enjoy the dining room food and don't care to have a meal in the supper club. (Hey y'all, he was simply asking a question, y'know?):)

 

I think the dining room is just fine, sometimes excellent, so I doubt I would go to the supper club if one were available. Maybe...? I don't believe it's always a matter of 'affording it'. The $30 surcharge is not that much for a gourmet meal, and I'm sure it would be fantastic. Over the many years of my life, I've dined in some of the finest restaurants in NYC, San Francisco, Honolulu, L.A., Houston, and other cities. I enjoy the cuisine wherever I go, but I'm not a food snob.;)

 

Maybe the average cruiser does not normally have meals such as those served in the dining room, and to them, it's a new experience, new tastes, and very good food, period. And it is. If they (or I) don't choose to go to the supper club, that's ok, too.

 

EZ - Most of the regular posters on this board know I'm a retired chef from the only 5-star restaurant in N.O. Big deal (not); however, it doesn't mean I would chide anyone for their own opinion and preferences...especially for something like going to a supper club.

 

To go or not to go....that is the question. And one that only the individual can decide.:)

[Knights on the Beach]

Excellent response, Cotton. I totally agree with what you're saying. On our upcoming Legend cruise, we may try the supper club (for the first time) -- or we may not. I haven't decided yet. We'll be celebrating our 25th anniversary, so I'm inclined to go ahead and do it. It's not a matter of being able to afford it, I'm just not sure I want a third "formal" night -- and I don't want to miss out on the regular dining room on the two formal nights.

[phroggie]

I have been on several carnival crusies and I am wondering why you would want to pay extra to go to anywhere but the main dinning rooms. I mean wow the food is so great and you can get about anything including great steaks. Tell me why spend 50.00 . I know since so many do it , it has to be some reason... Thanks , Ez:cool:

 

In general, I agree with you, but consider this: a dinner in LA on par with the dining room would run you at least $30. As for a full blown supper club like on Carnival, I'm not going to even hazard a guess. In short, at $30 gratuity included, plus what you already paid for the dining room, it's an incredible bargain.

 

That said, being vegetarians, it did not appear so enticing to us. Especially considering the how great the vegetarian entrees are in the dining room.

[jsmeeker]

I

The whole experience is more intimate, the food is higher quality and service wonderful! It's worth a try one time, just to see what you think. ;)

 

 

That's pretty much it, I think. I too sailed NCL, and did alternate dining three different nights. Two of those were extra charge, one was not. Overall, I DID like the main dining rooms (the NCL Star had two). But you summed up the difference nicely.

 

Dinner in the main dining rooms is essentially a giant banquet. And they have TWO each night. That means everything really needs to be cooked and plated pretty much in advance. It's not really done to order. But the specialty restaurants can run more like a traditional land based, fine dining restaurant. Food cooked to order. You order a steak, and they fire it (actually start cooking) it at the appropriate time so it is finished when the other entrees for the table are finished. All that is timed so it's ready to go out after you've finished the starter courses. Nice and fresh. There is also a difference in dining in a room that has 70 seats as opposed to one that has hundreds and hundreds of seats. Sure, the guys and gals in the main room do a nice job, but it's a lot to keep up with. You also get the added benefit of dining exactly when you want to, exactly WHO you want to dine with. That's not always the case at a traditional dining room.

 

But it's not like these alternate places rival the very best on land. It's no French Laundry, it's not like a four star place in NYC, or a top place in other big cities. However, for a lot of people on the cruise, it may be their best shot at having a really nice, intimate, fine dining experience. The slight upcharge make for a very modest splurge

 

FWIW, I actually took a look at the Supper Club menus. (I think for the Conquest, but I suspect it's fleet wide) and compared it to the regular dining room menu (again, I think Conquest, but it's probably the fleet wide menu) and to be honest, found the Supper Club menu (the entrees) to be a bit "plain sounding". The items on main menu actually seemed a little more "inventive" and "interesting". Still, I suspect that the food is better executed in the Supper Club. A steak there will be better than the main room (and will be larger), for example.

 

If I sail Carnival, would I do it? Yeah, I would. But just once. I'd enjoy the rest of my dinners in the main room (never the buffet). I'd even take lunch and dinner in the main room as often as possible as well. Nothing like a proper, sit down, full service meal while on vacation. :)

[PeggySand]

My DH was not too keen on the idea of paying additional $$ for food on our cruise on RCL Mariner of the Seas this past November. I talked him into it, and he has thanked me ever since!! We have also had our share of fine dining experiences, but the steaks we had that evening were FAR FAR better than any meal we had ever had! Actually, all of the courses were fantastic, and the desserts were incredible. Trust me, the Tiramasu (sp?) in the dining room and the Tiramasu (sp?) in the Supper Club were not even CLOSE to being in the same league!! My advice?? Try it at least once just for the new experience..... that's what vacations are about, right?

 

Have a great time, and don't sweat the small stuff!!

 

Peggy

[Curt Jerome Wild]

That said, being vegetarians, it did not appear so enticing to us. Especially considering the how great the vegetarian entrees are in the dining room.

Left Coasters Unite!:D

Okay, so really same thing, there's nothing at all in the Extra Dining options at Carnival that make it worth any vegetarians (because the dining room already has so many great options). (just for any vegetarians reading this):o

- Most of the regular posters on this board know I'm a retired chef from the only 5-star restaurant in N.O. Big deal (not); however, it doesn't mean I would chide anyone for their own opinion and preferences...especially for something like going to a supper club.

Love it Cotton. My brother is a chef at a really expensive well known restaurant in Beverly Hills, and he loves the Carnival dining room food. (Maybe you become less of a food snob when you work at a 5-star restaurant?). He always says, for what they have to do, and the price, and the options, he is more than pleased with what they serve in the dining room. He didn't want to bother (although, yes to each his own) with the extra $ Supper Club option, because he says that for what you get for the money, they do an incredible job in the dining room.

And I wouldn't "chide" anyone either.:)

CJW

[Gr8tChoice]

My DH is a very frugal (okay, cheep!) person.

When we were planning our Valor trip lasta year I jokingly started saving my change each day and told DH that I was saving up the $$ to pay for the dinner club one night.

 

We did have dinner there and the meal was Incredible! Even DH agreed that it was worth the $30 pp. I would do it again because it was such a different experience for me on a cruise ship that I'm not sure I soaked it all in the first time.

 

I may not do it every cruise but it was a fun, different experience and after all, isn't that what it's all about?? :)

[ezmony54]

Thank you all for taking time for your replies. I think I will just enjoy the dinning room food that is paid for and that i enjoy so much and save the dollars to take better half out to special dining when we are on dry land.By the way wife perfers Ruth Chris and I perfer Outback and the dollars have nothing to do with it. And Cotton I would have loved to bring my wife to your place and tried it in New Orleans. Plan on taking her to Emerils sometimes soon but I am truly a Paula fan myself.......Yall have a great day, ez

[FriscoLady]

One supper club "perk" that no one mentioned.....

 

The waiters don't sing and dance!;)

[ezmony54]

Thank you all for taking time for your replies. I think I will just enjoy the dinning room food that is paid for and that i enjoy so much and save the dollars to take better half out to special dining when we are on dry land.By the way wife perfers Ruth Chris and I perfer Outback and the dollars have nothing to do with it. And Cotton I would have loved to bring my wife to your place and tried it in New Orleans. Plan on taking her to Emerils sometimes soon but I am truly a Paula fan myself.......Yall have a great day, ez:cool:

[cruisecastle]

I have been on several carnival crusies and I am wondering why you would want to pay extra to go to anywhere but the main dinning rooms. I mean wow the food is so great and you can get about anything including great steaks. Tell me why spend 50.00 . I know since so many do it , it has to be some reason... Thanks , Ez:cool:

 

 

Uh, because it's even better food and better service.

[rvrgirl]

Love it Cotton. My brother is a chef at a really expensive well known restaurant in Beverly Hills, and he loves the Carnival dining room food. (Maybe you become less of a food snob when you work at a 5-star restaurant?). He always says, for what they have to do, and the price, and the options, he is more than pleased with what they serve in the dining room. He didn't want to bother (although, yes to each his own) with the extra $ Supper Club option, because he says that for what you get for the money, they do an incredible job in the dining room.

And I wouldn't "chide" anyone either.:)

CJW

 

I agree with your brother. The dining room food is fine. And it has nothing to do with your budget. We always pay for balcony cabins, but never eat in the supper club. Our choice.

[Luvsdaislands]

I have only been on one cruise and I didn't know they had a supper club until I started researching for my second cruise. I have decided that one night we will eat in the supper club, my reason for paying the extra for the supper club is the experience that my teens will have. And for $30 each that is just a fraction of the cost for a restaurant of that type in my hometown area, which as a single parent would probably set me back about $150, since I can spend close to $100 in Tony Roma's!

So my personal reason is experience for the kids and it's cost effective.

One Luv

Luvsdaislands

[Knights on the Beach]

One supper club "perk" that no one mentioned.....

 

The waiters don't sing and dance!;)

That does it; I'm not going if they won't entertain us. ;)

[emmysmommy]

We did Nick and Nora's on the Miracle and the Emerald Room on the Glory and they both had exceptional service and excellent food. We typically cruise around the time of our anniversary so we make reservations for the Supper Club as a nice little intimate dinner alone.

[Guest YesitDonna]

So kids are allowed in the supper club? the only time i have been to one of the extra pay restaurants on a ship was on Disney and you have to be 18 to go there. I guess they just like to have a place for adults to get away and have a romantic dinner.

[picklebongo]

If the food is so good and the service is exceptional, why not just make it part of the norm for the whole cruise experience?

[GoinCruisin]

If the food is so good and the service is exceptional, why not just make it part of the norm for the whole cruise experience?

 

Most cruiselines offer a specialty restaurant. The supper club holds FAR LESS people over the course of the entire evening (approx 180 meals I think, over the entire course of the evening, not the 3000 the dining room fixes), due to the time and preparation. Very simple, if they fixed the food for the entire ship, the quality would be diminished and you would be left with what you have now.