7 reasons you should treat yourself to a cruise ship specialty restaurant
Cruise lines are quick to say that they offer multiple meals in a day in restaurants included in your fare, but modern cruise ships still have plenty of extra-fee dining venues to tempt your tastebuds and wallet.
All cruise lines include complimentary meals in the main dining room (known as the MDR in cruise lingo) and usually also a buffet and casual poolside dining. Additionally, all mass-market cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America and Disney Cruise Line offer "specialty restaurants" where you can dine if you're willing to pay. Upscale and luxury cruise lines also have more intimate, reservation-required restaurants but typically include at least one meal per cruise there in your fare.
Specialty restaurants are, well, special. They're typically smaller venues with a themed menu and often a higher quality of food than you'll find in the main dining room. Specialty dining could include high-end steakhouses, fancy chef's table experiences or restaurants dedicated to the cuisine of a region like Italy, France or Southeast Asia.
On the big cruise ships, these shipboard restaurants carry a per-person surcharge or a la carte menu prices. Some are more affordable, charging around $25 for a meal, while others (like Disney Cruise Line's Remy or Royal Caribbean's Empire Supper Club) cost upward of $100 per person.
While the cruise lines want you to spend money at these special eateries, you can certainly have a delightful culinary experience dining only at the included restaurants on board. How do you decide whether the splurge is worth it? Read on to learn why you might want to treat yourself to a specialty restaurant meal, whether just once or on several occasions, on your next big-ship cruise.
You like variety
The No. 1 reason cruisers book specialty restaurants is that it's fun to try new things on vacation. Sure, you can eat in the main dining room every night and enjoy a varied menu. Most cruise lines will offer a few meat and seafood dishes each night, along with a vegetarian option. Carnival Cruise Line typically features an Indian dish and some kind of daring dish (alligator fritters or escargot) nightly.
However, you're still going to the same banquet-style grand venue or a cavernous buffet each evening. You might want to change it up and have a special night to look forward to, with a different ambience and a new menu to check out. Specialty restaurants are ideal for adding variety and a change of scene to your evening plans.
On Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, you can choose from restaurants specializing in Italian, Japanese and California casual cuisines; steak, seafood venues, comfort food and pub grub venues; and a supper club. Add that to a variety of included dining options, such as various cafes and buffets and grab-and-go pizza and tacos, and you'll never be bored at mealtime.
You're a foodie
I have enjoyed plenty of fine meals in cruise ship main dining rooms, but, if I'm being honest, I think the food is almost always better in the specialty restaurants. Because you're paying a premium, the chef has more resources to invest in the best provisions (think Prime beef, local seafood that was fished sustainably and small-batch cheeses from independent dairies) and isn't churning out dishes en masse.
For example, many cruise ship steakhouses, such as Celebrity Cruises' Fine Cut Steakhouse, offer high-quality USDA Prime ribeye and New York strip. Carnival Cruise Line's Rudi's Seagrill features lobster and crab in several dishes, as well as mussels and oysters.
The menus are also more apt to include where the ingredients were sourced. Look for small ranches and vineyards, dairies and olive oil purveyors.
Want another reason to book that specialty restaurant? Many cruise lines partner with renowned chefs who create the menus and train the staff at their shipboard venue. On select Royal Caribbean ships, for example, Jamie's Italian — a prix fixe restaurant — was created by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. The menu dazzles with White Oak Pastures beef short rib, San Daniele prosciutto and coppa piccante made by Nduja Artisans, a family-run salumeria in Chicago.
Other celebrity chefs with restaurants on big-ship cruise lines include Emeril Lagasse and Guy Fieri (Carnival), Daniel Boulud (Celebrity) and Arnaud Lallement (Disney Cruise Line).
Related: The ultimate guide to cruise ship food and dining
You want a more intimate setting
More often than not, cruise ship specialty restaurants are much smaller than the main dining room and far less crowded than the buffet. That in and of itself can be a valid reason to pay a bit extra for a quieter and calmer experience.
If you prefer a slower-paced dining experience at the time of your choosing, a specialty restaurant has your name on it. Generally speaking, these restaurants accommodate fewer people and operate on a traditional restaurant reservation system, so you can dine when you want and with whom you want versus a set early or late dining time or at a mixed table with strangers.
For example, on multiple MSC Cruises ships (including MSC Seaside, Seashore, Seascape and Seaview), you can enjoy high-end Angus beef at the Butcher's Cut steakhouse. The venue can accommodate from 72 to 121 guests, depending on the ship. MSC Cruises' Seaside Class ships have a maximum capacity of upward of 5,000 people, so dining at this venue is a welcome treat if you've spent the day jockeying for a lounger by the pool.
Smaller restaurants also often equate to a better experience when it comes to service. The maitre d', waiter and sommelier will all have more time to tend to your table and provide more personalized recommendations.
Related: 12 dining mistakes you must fix on your next cruise
You love a value
The ability to try new types of cuisine or dine somewhere you normally never would is a huge draw of the specialty restaurant phenomenon. Though meal prices have gone up significantly since the beginning of the pandemic, you can still try menu items designed by top chefs and interesting cuisines for less than you would on land.
At Norwegian Cruise Line's Onda by Scarpetta, a three-course meal consisting of a burrata starter, veal entree and chocolate cake for dessert will cost you $73. The same burrata-veal-cake dinner at New York City's Scarpetta restaurant will set you back $95.
Similarly, an original burger and fries at the Johnny Rockets near me costs about $15. You'll pay a $12.99 cover charge per person on Royal Caribbean's shipboard outlet of the fast food chain, and that will get you your choice of sandwiches, sides, desserts and even fountain soda. Milkshakes, floats and alcohol cost extra.
Related: Which cruise brand is right for you?
You're celebrating a special occasion
Are you celebrating a special occasion, or is it just date night and you want to do it in style? Book a specialty restaurant in either of those scenarios, and you won't be disappointed.
When you make your reservations, be sure to tell them if it's your birthday, anniversary, graduation cruise or retirement party. Oftentimes, the chef and waitstaff at a specialty restaurant have the time and ability to do something special — maybe a special toast or dessert designed for the occasion.
Specialty restaurants are nearly always romantic. Believe it or not, Remy aboard Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy is an incredible dining experience, but it comes at a cost. You'll pay $135 per person for a dinner inspired by French culinary traditions and an additional $120 to $160 per person for wine and Champagne pairings. It's a toss-up whether you're paying for the excellent French cuisine or an adults-only ambience with no kids in sight.
Related: Best cruise food: These are the cruise lines with the best food at sea
You've upgraded to a more inclusive fare
Specialty dining on a big ship is a no-brainer when the cost of the meals is already included in your fare.
For example, Norwegian Cruise Line's Free at Sea promotion gives cruisers two included meals at specialty restaurants on board. You'd have to pay a 20% gratuity, but otherwise, a meal with one entree, plus sides and dessert, would be covered.
Choose Princess Cruises' Plus Package, and you'll get two free meals at casual eateries, such as Alfredo's (pizza), Kai Sushi, Planks (barbecue) and Steamers (seafood). Upgrade to the Premier Package for unlimited dining in casual venues and two free meals in the nicer specialty restaurants on board, such as Crown Grill (steak) or Sabatini's (Italian). While you'll have to pay extra for these inclusive packages, they come with so many things — such as crew gratuities, Wi-Fi and a beverage package — that you can save a lot by bundling purchases together.
You usually sail luxury ships
If you're used to sailing on small, upscale luxury cruise lines, you will be accustomed to intimate dining rooms adorned with unique works of art, custom china and extras like Hawaiian sea salt and high-end virgin olive oil on the table.
Sail aboard a mass-market cruise line, and you might be taken aback by the massive multistory main dining room, with its noise, the sheer number of people dining together and the tiny tables pushed so close together that you might as well be dining with others — even though you reserved a table for two.
Don't get me wrong. You can have an incredible dining experience in a cruise ship's main restaurant, but it might not be the atmosphere you prefer if you're used to luxury.
Related: The 10 best meals you can have at sea
The thing is, sometimes you want a big ship experience for the other amenities it has, such as an expansive spa, Broadway-style shows, waterslides, laser tag or even a skydiving experience. The newest mainstream ships have gorgeous and enormous suites that come with VIP treatment and exclusive or priority access to ship amenities. And you don't need to give up your food fantasies on a ship like that because you have plenty of specialty restaurants to dine at instead of the buffet.
Take Norwegian Dawn, for example. It can accommodate 2,340 passengers at double occupancy. It offers a huge main dining room but also seven sit-down specialty restaurants like La Cucina Italian restaurant, Le Bistro French restaurant, Bamboo Asian restaurant with a sushi bar, Teppanyaki, Moderno Churrascaria, Cagney's Steakhouse and Los Lobos Cantina. If you are willing to pay extra for specialty restaurants, you could eat at a new venue nightly and never set foot in the main dining room on a weeklong sailing.
Bottom line
If your budget allows, try one or more specialty restaurants on your next cruise. They are a valuable addition to the options on many cruise ships and give you the opportunity to try new cuisines, sample food from famous chefs and get a breather from the megaship crowds.
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