Cruises Charging for Food

[kimdeaton1]

You know what I'm noticing now that I don't like? Cruises are charging for certain dining experiences on board.. I just don't know about this. Its kind of like how airlines are charging for bags.

Eventually they will have it so all "good quality" food will be for a cost but then if you want cheeseburgers or pizza, that is free.

I hope that the cruise industry as a whole will see that they are making little $$ in their efforts to make more by doing this.

 

[ABW]

as long as I have cruised I have noticed they do this. But it doesn't bother me too much since there are so many great, inclusive food options. I have never paid extra for food or soft drinks and I have never had a bad eating experience personally I like cheeseburgers and pizza :doubleup: dinner has always been incredible and I haven't had any issues there and there are always great options like filets and lobster and a ton of stuff i have never tried and probably would never get that experience otherwise lol. While I don't like that they charge extra for some things like i guess a steak house or haagen dazs ice cream (stuff like that anyways) it's not a deal breaker cause there are still so many good options. I haven't come off a cruise hungry yet :bigsmile:

 

[Lurline63]

Doesn't bother me much. The food in the main dining room remains, for the most part, no charge (some lines are experimenting with special entrees for a cost) -- and it is far better than anything I can make at home. We do have some specialty restaurants we enjoy once a cruise, including the Italian-themed restaurants on NCL and HAL. I also enjoy Pinnacle Grill on HAL for lunch. Yet, you can usually find us in the main dining room for dinner as there are many options from which to choose from the regular menu.

 

[Kruzr41]

I think it was NCL that started doing this, charging for a specialty restaurant, more than 20 years ago. So it hasn't invaded the DR much yet. RCL charging xtra for their "top" steak is the only one I can think of, and I wouldn't pay that in the DR or bother with ANY 'steak' on RCL. RCL does have some great food, steak or beef in general, isn't on the list. But I never go hungry on RCL. And Carnival's Steakhouse is an unbelievable bargain. The same meal would be over $100 per person plus tip on land.

 

[sailaway2010]

As with everything else in these troubled economic times, companies are looking to make a profit any way they can and it's a strategy that is working. It's not surprising or unusual, as they say, everyone's doing it. It's the way of the future, you might as well get used to it. Quite frankly, I enjoy the steak house type restaurants on the ship. I like the coffee shop desserts and I'm willing (albeit, reluctantly) to pay for them. I factor all of the extras into my decision to take a cruise. By the way, Guy's Burger Joints are on some ships and the cheeseburgers are not free.

 

[kimdeaton1]

See this is new to me with the whole "charging for food" thing they are doing. I just don't want to see these specialty restaurants get too big in the cruise ships so that the only food you can enjoy will be at these places. I can see where its headed.. and my concern is that in the future it will be that you are looked down upon if you just went on the cruise and ate their food the ship offered for free..

 

[sailaway2010]

"Looked down upon" by whom? I wouldn't worry about what anyone thinks of me, especially people or companies who don't know me. I cruise to relax and enjoy myself, not concern myself with who's watching me. Live and let live, I say.

 

[phillipsmi]

I would agree on some cruise lines, however we just came back from a cruise on Oceania. They have a food based cruises where all of the food is out of this world and there is a Bon Appetite culinary kitchen on board where you can take food cooking classes. We took two of these classes and were pared up with great chefs.

The cruise that we booked was through www.cruisingwiththechefs.com on Marina cruise ship. We started in Barcelona where we spent 3 days before the cruise at the Meridian hotel. I was fantastic. We hit the local markets on Las Ramblas and brought food and wine onto the ship. We took classes while at see on the Bon Appetite culinary cooking center. It was a great experience. While at one of the markets we got some of the best olive oil I have ever tried. It was a very green color almost glowing and the flavor was very fresh and interesting not like anything I have ever tried. We got it in the main market in Barcelona on the Ramblas. I brought back three bottles of it. I really recommend contacting these guys and booking a cruise with them on Oceania ask for Rodney he was really helpful.

 

[stevecathy]

Hi Kimdeaton1 I agree with your post. Paying 20 to 30 dollars extra per person to have a fine dining experience is a no no in my book. That's what the formal dining rooms are for. To provide a fine dining experience. I can go to the Lido or windjammer eating areas if I want a hamburger and fries.