We are going next year in June on Liberty of the sea. My daughter is gadding married on the boat in Miami. We are going to have gest from Europe and Europeans like steak.I hope that RCI will change policy and not charge in main dining room!

This is news to me, but if it's like the steak served at Chops it would be worth it. However, if it's like what is usually served as an alternative, there's no way I'll dish out any money. I just may leave the dinner table and go to the Windjammer is I don't like the menu(depending on what the alternatives are). I'm going to make a call tomorrow to see if this is a new standard for the entire fleet.

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I am extremely dissappointed that RCCL has embarked upon this extra fee aboard their ships. It does impact future cruise planning for all of us. If this is a new standard for the RCCL fleet-How long before other cruiselines will follow suit?

BillyBuzzy

I may speak flippantly about going over to Princess but how many changes happen in the cruise industry that don't eventually go industry wide. I live in rural MN and have access to really choice beef that I know how to prepare--it is exceedingly rare for me to order a steak anywhere--I just find the extra charges coming our way tiresome. I encourage others to cruise and they often tell me they prefer all-inclusives as they feel they have "no surprises" in the $$ department. I still prefer cruising for all the cruising is compared to a resort but see their point.

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I don't like it either.

Tex,

You need to fix your Oasis ticker. It either isn't BB code or something, but it goes off the screen.

Totally agree why go and pay in the main dining room when you can get the excellent service and privacy in chops or portofino?

Chris - just noticed that you will be going on the same cruise as me, only 2 weeks earlier. Try not to mess up the ship too much, alright?

We can both see if they charge for steaks.

At the rate that cruiselines are changing,adding and increasing fees and charges-Is the day coming when we shall be bringing doggie bags back to our staterooms ??

BillyBuzzy

My wife and I will be on the LOS 9-13-08. I hope they do not charge extra for steaks. Sometimes she does not care for some of the fancier dishes. If they do start charging extra for meals in the main dining room, that will be a definite negative and we might have to go back to Carnival.

any official word on this and if they are definitely charging or not - Im on Liberty in October and would like to know in advance.

Thanks

It appears to be a test being performed on the Freedom and not the Liberty.

Just returned from Mariner yesterday. They did not charge for steak in the dining room. Steak was offered every night and was generally good (I had it twice). It is the Black Angus Steak and good flavor but sometimes a little tough. But still a good alternative.
As for the food, they did not have Beef Wellington (my favorite) on Lobster night, but still have Escargot and Lobster. We had as much lobster as we wanted. In fact our waiter, Yogit, who was excellent, brought plenty. He even had to take some back.

I agree with the dislike of "nickel and diming," but it will be the future. Drinks have already gone up. However I am an Airline Pilot, and our industry is also "nickel and diming." Bottom line is the industries need to be profitable or they will go out of business. Can't keep up with fluctuating fuel costs, so they must come up with ways to improve income without day to day fluctuations. Thus we increase certain costs or services a bit here or there. However the cruise is still a great deal. A beer is about $4.50. I was in Aruba where an 8 ounce local beer is $5.50. We ate lunch in Orient Beach and for 2 small pizzas and two drinks, the bill was $75.00 Our first cruise in 1998 was $750 per person for inside cabins. This was airline rate and a good deal. You an get on the ship for much less in 2008! Considering the value of money and cost of fuel, it is a FANTASTIC deal.

Hope this helps.

Going on Oasis Feb. 6, 2010. CAN'T WAIT!

I just came off of LOS last week. They did not charge for steak in the dining room and did offer it on a nightly basis. The steak was generally good, although I must admit, I did eat @ Chops, and that meal was absolutely phenomenal - worth every extra cent I paid for it! Great cruise, by the way!!!

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Drinks have already gone up.

I did notice the bar prices were higher on the Sovereign last month than they were on the Rhapsody in June. Looked to be anywhere from 50 to 75 cents higher in most cases.

Dave, you won't have to worry about prices for drinks between 5 and 8:30 pm anymore. At least not on a RCCL ship.

Sonny

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you won't have to worry about prices for drinks between 5 and 8:30 pm anymore

I've been meaning to ask if it is a full bar with the frozen drink machine, etc.

I sure hope they don't charge for steaks on the Jewel when we cruise in January. We have invited friends to go with us who are big NCL fans. This is their first RCCL cruise and I doubt they would be favorably impressed with dining if they have to pay for steaks!

Nadine

Well I hope they don't do this on all thier ships. We travel with our 3 kids and they all order steaks at lest 1 kid per night if not all 3 and many times my husband as well. We will consider other vacation choices if we have to pay 45-60 dollars a night for food and what is it a day for 3 drink cards - $20 more? What good is an all inclusive vacation if you get charged for everything. It kind of irks me like the airlines charging for the FIRST piece of luggage? Like your going to travel with no bags?

Hi All,

Hubby and I just back last night from our 1st cruise together - 7 night Carribean cruise on the Freedom. I can confirm for a fact that I noticed each night on the menu they had an option to order some kind of steak for $14. I don't remember in the whole week if there was ever an option for a non-paid steak. Reading your posts it seems they had offered steak for free previously?? Missed that boat!

Interesting News release concerning the steak on RCI.

<edit to remove link because the link contained profane advertising>

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