Cover charges re restaurants RCI

[darceyg]

Royal caribbean --- Chops Grille or the Portofino Italian restaurant. What is the cost of cover charge when dining in speciality restaurants. Grateful for information of dining options.

 

Independence of the Seas ............ July 2008

 

 

Darceyg

[greatdanemom]

On our last RCCL it was $20 per person...and worth every penny!

 

Cheryl

[sharod]

On our last RCCL it was $20 per person...and worth every penny!

 

Cheryl

 

I will second that one!!! Definitely worth every penny. Book immediately once you get on the ship, reservations fill up FAST!!!!! The first evening we called Portifino to make a reservation and there were only a few times left!!!! Once we ate there we regreted not booking with Chops.

[cb at sea]

They are both great restaurants. Worth the money, but if you don't want to spend the extra, your vacation will not suffer. (What they offer in the "specialty" restaurants USED to be standard in the dining room.) If you want to spend the money, do it--you will be quite pleased. If you prefer not to give RCI an extra $40.00--then don't! It's entirely up to you and your pocketbook!

[isujim]

2 of my last 3 cruises portofino was only $15pp.........last cruise it was $20......so I think it sometimes depends on which ship you are on......but regardless......worth every penny.

[Cruise-Nut]

Well worth the $20pp. I always tip an extra $10pp because of the great service and food. I usually book each restaurant at least once per cruise. Never had a bad experience. I know I have eaten at them over 20 times. One cruise, my wife and I ate at Chops 4 times. The Manager invited us as his guests 2 of those times. He was our waiter on our very first cruise about 15 years ago with RCCL. You will regret not going in my opinion. Enjoy!

[crusinmama06]

It was $20 pp on Freedom and I have to say that I am the ONLY person on CC that didn't love Portofino...lol.

 

I need my meal to move at a faster pace and I KNEW it would be 2.5 hours but it didn't help to convince me that I wanted to sit there that long. I like the pace of the dining room better. And our DR team was soooo darn good, they made the Portofino team look bad...lol. :D

 

Sorry :o take it for what it's worth. I am the oddball ;)

[sharod]

It was $20 pp on Freedom and I have to say that I am the ONLY person on CC that didn't love Portofino...lol.

 

I need my meal to move at a faster pace and I KNEW it would be 2.5 hours but it didn't help to convince me that I wanted to sit there that long. I like the pace of the dining room better. And our DR team was soooo darn good, they made the Portofino team look bad...lol. :D

 

Sorry :o take it for what it's worth. I am the oddball ;)

 

What time was your reservation?? We ate at 5:30 and I think we were the first ones there. Maybe that's why our dining pace was faster. I can't remember exactly, but I think we were on our way out the door in a little less than 2 hours. Our courses moved very smoothly, really no waiting in between. We had the salmon, lobster, shrimp, and scallop skewer and it was delish!!! For dessert, my husband had the flourless chocolate cake. I had the Tiramisu.

 

Just to add, our server's in the main dining room were excellent!!!!! We ate at the Windjammer on the last evening (not sure why:confused: , maybe just to try something different), and then regretted not going to the dining room. We really missed being with our server's. Although we did stop in briefly before dinner to give them their tip envelopes and to thank them for the wonderful job they did!!

[Cruisechic470]

I would like to try one of the specialty restaurants. Which do you prefer: Chops or Portofinos?:confused:

[crusinmama06]

What time was your reservation?? We ate at 5:30 and I think we were the first ones there. Maybe that's why our dining pace was faster. I can't remember exactly, but I think we were on our way out the door in a little less than 2 hours. Our courses moved very smoothly, really no waiting in between. We had the salmon, lobster, shrimp, and scallop skewer and it was delish!!! For dessert, my husband had the flourless chocolate cake. I had the Tiramisu.

 

Just to add, our server's in the main dining room were excellent!!!!! We ate at the Windjammer on the last evening (not sure why:confused: , maybe just to try something different), and then regretted not going to the dining room. We really missed being with our server's. Although we did stop in briefly before dinner to give them their tip envelopes and to thank them for the wonderful job they did!!

 

7pm...maybe I just eat too fast...lol. They brought the basket of different breads/dips almost right away. Then we waited for the salad. Then the salad was gone and the plate sat in front of me until the pasta was ready, 30 minutes later, pasta all gone and we wait another 45 minutes for the main course.

 

And there was a honeymoon couple next to us that I felt BAD for. They were on their main course when WE got there. By the time we got dessert they were just getting the check to sign. Their meal was really long.

 

I know I know, they say "It takes time to prepare the food and this meal will last 2.5 hours to make the food as your order it"

 

I am Italian American so maybe I was a little picky about the "Italian Food" lol...it's kind of hard when you are always surrounded by really good Italian food to wait that long for Italian food that was just ok to me.

 

And like I said...food is SUBJECTIVE. I am the ODDBALL. No one has EVER complained about Portofino...just me. :p

[sharod]

Here's a few pics from Portofino

 

Lobster, salmon, shrimp, scallop skewer

 

Flourless chocolate cake

 

Tiramisu

 

 

ETA: Michele, you are not an oddball, everyone has likes and dislikes, and that is fine. BTW, I have a daughter that spells her name the same way you do, with 1 L.

[PhoenixCruiser]

It was $20 pp on Freedom and I have to say that I am the ONLY person on CC that didn't love Portofino...lol.

 

I need my meal to move at a faster pace and I KNEW it would be 2.5 hours but it didn't help to convince me that I wanted to sit there that long. I like the pace of the dining room better. And our DR team was soooo darn good, they made the Portofino team look bad...lol. :D

 

Sorry :o take it for what it's worth. I am the oddball ;)

 

We had the same experience with Portofino on our Navigator cruise, gosh it took forever!! And :D the total opposite with Chops! The service in Chops was wonderful, and so was the food :D

 

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[ms-getaway]

I dined at chops on the 4th of may..It was $20pp and worth 4x more than that . Our service was wonderful and the 5 courses were all soooo very good. where can you have crab cakes and yellow fin tuna tartar, lobster bisque, a wonderful salad, filet mignon with all the fixings, and a dessert to die for. All while watching a sunset?

 

Have a great dinner remember to book early:)