There are many great reasons for going on a cruise, such as unpacking just once, great entertainment, interesting ports of call and certainly, great dining.
However in recent years, more and more cruise lines are opening specialty restaurants onboard that require you pay additional in order to eat there.
What's that all about? What happened to first or second seating in the main dining room (as opposed to having the buffet in the area where we usually have breakfast)? Well, times have changed.
Cruising has become an activity appealing to a much larger portion of the population than it was a decade ago and the cruise lines are waging sea battles to attract them with new ships, luxurious amenities, exotic ports of call and, yes, variations in dining venues.
The first time I encountered this change was on a cruise from Buenos Aires to the Caribbean about a decade ago.
We had opted for second seating dining and were told to be sure that we made our reservations for alternate venues when we arrived in our stateroom.
I had no idea what he was referring to.
We went to the concierge and he enlightened us.
There were now four areas where full meals were available (in addition to the coffee bars, snack areas, ice cream shop and pool side orders.
) You could choose from the main dining room, of course; the buffet (for breakfast, mid-night "spreads", casual lunch and dinner); and the newest additions, the Asian Rim and the Italian Ristorante.
And so begins the culinary experience at sea.
What a great idea.
You would go to the main dining room for gracious, formal American/Continental dining or have some sushi in another.
What a great dining experience.
The Asian dining room was beautifully decorated, the staff was extremely familiar with the menu and made excellent recommendations, and the food superb.
The only unwelcome surprise was an additional charge.
Charge for food on a cruise? We were told that it was for waiters' gratuities, and in my opinion, it was well worth the small extra charge.
Fast forward to the present.
Cruise fares on many lines have been reduced, so that the ability to cruise is affordable, even in this gloomy economy.
Economists will tell us that if one aspect of a commodity is reduced in price it is very possible that corollary aspects of that commodity may increase; the cruise lines are not in business to lose money, so creative innovations have been introduced.
Welcome to the "alternate" restaurant! I think this is a great improvement, not that shipboard dining was ever dull.
In fact it's quite the opposite.
The options were vast and there was no reason not to enjoy a "tasting menu" of numerous entrees or appetizers, other than the added calories and your waist line, but lately I've heard complaints about lesser quality of food and fewer choices, so let's explore some of the new haunts and find out why we're paying for them.
Start with a floating steak house.
This, I think, is one of the best ideas of all! A first rate steak house is not inexpensive (don't think Outback, rather, think Morton's or Capital Grill.
) A prime, well-marbled rib eye can set your credit card reeling, then add the ubiquitous creamed spinach and baked potato and your kid's college fund is momentarily depleted.
On a ship, the equivalent steak house experience can be had for the modest amount of $25.
00 per person on the new Allure of the Seas Sambas Grill.
True, this is a Brazilian steakhouse, not Morton's or Ruth's Chris, but have you ever eaten in a Brazilian steakhouse? You're in for a treat and I'll bet you don't have too many of them in your hometown.
Worth twenty-five bucks? Yes indeed.
The Norwegian Cruise Lines offers as many as thirteen different restaurants per ship including a French Bistro, Japanese, Tex-Mex, etc.
, costing somewhere between $10.
00 to $25.
00 additional per person.
I would not pay extra for Tex-Mex and I wonder how French the Bistro is.
I'd make inquiries before signing on to that one.
Nor would I sip a $3.
26 Grande Latte at a Starbucks at sea.
I can get Starbucks on almost any American city and by the dozen.
I'm not knocking Starbucks, I love their coffee, but come on!! I'm on the sea to escape my humdrum day-to-day yet I see tons of people standing in line every day on the ship.
That's the beauty of it.
We all have choices and opinions and cruise lines are meeting that need.
Celebrity Cruises has at least one specialty restaurant per ship.
At Murano you can begin your meal with escargots tortellini with a fricassee of morels, pancetta lardons and roasted garlic parsley foam, crispy seared sweetbreads cooked with shallots, capers, basil puree and sun dried tomato or pan seared Palmex foi gras, heirloom tomato confite, duck rillettes in a feuille de brick with roasted ginger and toasted hazelnuts.
I have no idea what half of that stuff even is, but it sounds like a recent episode of Top Chef Masters or Iron Chef.
You then get a choice of various homemade soups and salads followed by entree choices that include Main lobster, pan seared filet mignon, a seafood risotto, sautéed duck breast or mushroom crusted Colorado rack of lamb.
Are you full yet? There's still an extensive dessert selection.
All of this for $30 per person.
In summation, are the specialty restaurants worth the extra cost? If you enjoy a new restaurant every night; wish to try "exotic" foods; crave a romantic hand-holding evening at an ocean-view window, with the full moon crafting a brilliant path right toward your table, then most assuredly go for it, but if you want to keep the costs down (but why? You're on a vacation...
maybe the one you've been looking forward to for years), then go to the main dining room or the buffet or, yeah, room service.
There is always plenty of free food around the ship, but we suggest you consider trying an alternative restaurant at least once during your cruise, or you'll be missing a new experience, with new tastes in new surroundings.