Speciality Restaurants.. are they worth the extra cost?

Recently on the Royal Princess I was given the opportunity to experience both of their speciality restaurants whilst on board. Sabatinis the Italian and the Crown Grill for the meat eaters. Both have a supplement of $25 per head and offer something a bit different from the run of the mill main dining.

If I am honest, I very rarely go for speciality dining as I am nearly always satisfied with the  food provided in the main dining, I haven’t had to cook it start with, so that’s the 1st best thing.. I do also sometimes wonder if they are worth the extra cost, especially since the price of your cruise includes full board plus more.

Cruise line and ships vary on what they have to offer and the extra price you pay dependent on the dining you choose.

I always suggest to guests that speciality dining is something nice to do for a treat such as an anniversary, birthday or some other special celebration. However, I do know people that only ever choose to eat in the speciality dining rooms rather than the main dining room, some because they prefer the more intimate style of dining and others because they want the best the ship has to offer. But are they always better?

On recent cruises that I have been on, some I have enjoyed and others I would not pay again to go to. MSC Preziosa for example, the 1st speciality dining we encountered was not what I expected and I would have prefered to have eaten in the main dining, the menu was limited and the food was soso, but then we also experienced a seafood speciality dining whilst on board and it was amazing, so it can be hit or miss.

MSC Preziosa
The setting was lovely the food was not so.

With Fred Olsen, I personally thought the food in the main dining room was better than some of the speciality dining I had experienced on other ships, so did not see the point of trying their a la cart menu for an extra £15 per person. I had even been told by someone that the menu was not that much different, and the speciality dining was something that they had not long been introduced.

With the Royal Princess, I thought Sabatinis was OK, I again personally would probably not pay to go again unless I really hankered after the lobster, the selection was varied and if you wanted, for $25 you could have the whole menu.

Crown Grill on the other hand, a meat lovers paradise was amazing and I would pay the $25 to go again and again, the food was outstanding.

Another favourite of mine is the options available on Celebrity, I know that they have varied costs depending on which type of speciality dining you go for, as do other cruise lines. The main one I love to try, more so for the experience than anything else, is Qsine. You order your meals by iPad and it seems to be a bit of a Heston Blumenthal type dining experience, with a play on food.

So, when you cruise do you like to pay a little extra for speciality dining? Have you had a good or a bad experience? Do you think some are or are not worth the extra cost?

Dawn

x