Worth It? Specialty Dining on Royal Caribbean - Giovanni's Table Review Independence of the Seas

[@andredegruchy-bott9140]

Jamie's Italian is still on Quantum of the Seas! 🙂 We ate there Nov 2023 and will again on Feb 2025. I also can confirm that Celebrity do bring the bottle to the table, I tasted and then he poured. (was on Edge Feb 2024}. I too watch the glass delivery! If its delivered by hands around the top near the rim - it goes back!

[@vickieholm8287]

Morgan you're the best. You're funny and so much fun even describing the mondane.❤

[@rhondalyn100]

That water fountain clip in your intro? I laugh every. single. time. Soooooo funny!!! 🙂

[@stcrombie]

We cruise on Holland America. Our favorite up-charge restaurant is the Pinnacle Grill. We MUST eat there at least once a week for the fillet and the Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia baked Alaska! Mmmm. Now I must sit quietly and re-live the memory.😌

[@billcook4768]

My view is that the cost of speciality dining should be discounted, since you’ve already paid for a meal in your cruise fare. That looked like a nice enough meal, but I sure as hell wouldn’t pay $50 on land, and certainly not on a ship where I’m expecting a discount.

[@linnm1152]

It used to be that you could get unlimited specialty dining for about $25 per meal per person. The pandemic shut down changed that! We don't order specialty dining anymore unless it's BOGO or another discount.

[@Carol_in_Spain]

Two stand out for me. Both on Holland America ships. They are Pinnacle Grill and Rudi’s Sel de Mer

[@julieb7882]

You're correct on the pricing. We booked a lunch at Giovanni's for our upcoming transatlantic. We got it for about half price on a special sale. My favorite experience of speciality dining on Royal Caribbean was Wonderland. I don't plan to do it again, but was fun once. Chef's table was fantastic. However, you and your sister would need to let them know your food needs in advance.

[@timbrown1790]

We were just on the Symphony last week, and Jaime's was still open

[@morrispearl9981]

I was just on a cruise on Oasis of the Seas. There was a large group of people who are on gluten free diets (they had t-shirts, badges, etc.). One floor of the main dining room was designated as all gluten free, and in the Windjammer some things were labeled as gluten free.

[@tracygriffiths6292]

After our last Royal cruise on Odyssey of the Seas, when she was a new ship, I told my spouse I wouldn’t cruise on any Royal ship again without the specialty restaurant package because we felt the included food was so poor. Izumi was fabulous though. Considering what Royal is now charging for their cruises, it doesn’t make sense for us to cruise on them when HAL, Celebrity, and luxury lines have drastically superior food quality and presentation. We usually only pay extra for food if it’s a special occasion or it’s a big family cruise. Thanks for the great content once again.

[@IAmMiami]

I'd go to JWB on Margaritaville before any Royal specialty restaurant. Current top 3 are Le Bistro, Rudi's Sel De Mer & Eden.

[@happycruiser]

Oh no, you will now be in my head for Morgan approved bathroom doors, and Morgan approved handling of my wine glass.

[@judycater2832]

Mine too!

[@lisakeul3435]

I was just on the Harmony of the Seas and they still had a Jamie's Italian.

[@pen4tenn]

I agree with the hands near the drinking area on my glass. My view on Specialty dining is if it cost me $100.00 for the two of us that is really over $100.00 because we have an already paid for meal we did not order. I expect great service and better than MDR meal. :) Enjoyed the video and the one of you and your sister in Labadee looked fun. I am a bit tight and do not spend on specialty dining much, sometimes we skip it all together.

[@ddno1stnalwys]

When cruising RCL. We always pre pay for the basic speciality dining plan. We love Izumi and it's our must go to. We have gone to Giovanni, but only when it was opened for lunch and I'm really not a fan of the Steakhouse.

[@lwkjr]

Great timing. 2 weeks till my trip on the Independence of the Seas. Even today, I look back on my restaurant experience and those things we were taught you do not forget. I notice all the details even to this day.

[@happycruiser]

I expect high level of service from what should be "fine dining". Murano on some Celebrity ships...now that is fine dining. All plates served at the same time, cloche removed at the same time for everyone, some meals done table side...and surprise...you get to see the bottle of wine you are being served. The only place I would take a glass of wine without seeing the bottle would be something like a pizzeria.

[@JuneRaeder-MacKinnon]

Again I will mention you MUST notify the cruise line of any food allergies ahead of time!!

[@user-lv5gs6sp9n]

Agree with your wine glass observations. How they are filled (at the table please) and handled by the stem

[@Knightnurse90]

Morgan you need to go on the 80’s or 90’ cruise. No kids at all on the ship !! Love the eggplant in Giovanni’s as well as the gnocchi !

[@allisondavis8921]

I enjoyed my Royal Cruise BUT! They have the WORST food of all cruise ships. That is the main reason they are not my number one cruise line. Their ships have so much to do but the food is just awful. Disney was hit or miss with the food they seem to have improved. If Royal upped their food game they would be a contender for first place for regular fun family kid friendly cruise vacation. I guess each line has it place. Carnival is my favorite for everyday food and Disney is my favorite for specialty dining. I also love the Disney shows. Thanks for the info on the RC specialty dining. The food did not look good to me but you said it tasted good and that is what counts. Once I become a empty nester we will explore the luxury upscale ships and I am wondering what my thoughts will be. A Viking cruise to Egypt is in my future!

[@ChristianLehrer]

It’s not nit picky, you already paid good money for your cruise, now your paying a hefty up charge for a specialty restaurant. You have every right to expect a more upscale experience. Independence is replacing Anthem at Southampton next year. Glad we are going on Anthem this year. Can’t see paying even more to go on an older ship with fewer included venues. Will add we have had very good service in the MDR on Royal. My pet peeve is they keep cutting the Windjammer’s hours and the older ships like Indy don’t offer much more that’s included.

[@ysykes489]

Great video Morgan! Our favorite specialty restaurant so far was 150 Central Park on the Allure. I felt the service was great (as it should be for what you are paying). The food was fabulous and our wine was poured at the table. (yes, now I'm going to be watching it from now on more closely LOL) The last time we ate at a Giovanni's was probably 8-10 years ago and we weren't overjoyed. We never have been back to that particular restaurant. I always love how honest you are about your experiences. I am living vacariously thorough you until we get on the Apex here in a few weeks. Take care as always....sending love from Ohio (Wynona)

[@KarynHill]

I haven't done a specialty restaurant yet, although I plan to in November. And yeah, I hate when wait staff touches the rim of my glass. Or the business part of my utensils. I don't ask for new ones, I just scrub them with my napkin. I don't want to know what they'd do if I asked them to get me new ones.

[@maryjanekolesar8325]

Nice to see you back ❤ Poor cockrells; silver lining with the chicks😊

[@Carol78787]

We are all thinking about it now!! LOL

[@sharonbirkett]

Ok, you ruffled my feathers, but I needed them cleaned…😂😂😂 have a wonderful day

[@ae9074]

Harmony of the seas has jamie Italian. We had pretty much what was in your photo last week. You are right it was very good

[@beccacarrillo]

I don't recall seeing wine service include the bottle being brought out if you only order a glass. I've only seen the bottle if you ordered...the bottle. Just my remembrance of it. As for specialty restaurants, we've eaten at the Crown Grill (Princess's steak restaurant) twice...on two different sailings...and we'll probably do it again. We were especially pleased with the quality and flavor of our steaks (and we love the special salts they present with the meat) and sides and with the level of service. This was all before the lockdown, and I've seen critiques that those items we loved are also lacking these days. Will have a chance to judge for ourselves when we cruise on Princess again later this year. We'll also be trying the Princess Italian restaurant...Sabatini's. Have heard great things about them and looking forward to trying it out ourselves. In fact, that's where we'll eat for my birthday celebration in September.

[@rachelfrank8647]

I agree with your pet peeve!!

[@m.m.4645]

Re handling the wine glasses, or glasses in general : I am with you!!!!!!!!! I hate it as well when the glasses are touched that way. Aaaaarrrrggggghhhhh We will be on a b2b with RCL at the end of March. Since we are living in Germany hopefully all those strikes of trains, airlines and what ever will be over. Or after more negotiations will happen later! We are -after this Video considering a visit to a speciality Restaurant on RCL again. Usually we do not book any. Hubby is not too fond of Italian food... We will see. Greetings to Hamburg from the Southwest corner! 🙋

[@RagingBacon916]

on my honeymoon cruise on Celebrity circa Feb'23, all the mains came with some bullshit veggie on the plate *just like this filet*, like some weak-ass steamed carrot, or a couple raw unseasoned cherry tomatoes, etc etc. I told my wife it's like someone was really proud of their online dietician certificate and made the cooks put something healthy on the plate 'because its healthy lolz". I felt it cheapened the whole experience, what would have been fine dining became fit for a retirement home!

[@awsalminen]

Thank you for the great content Morgan. We had a similar subpar food experience at Giovani’s on grandeur last month. Cannoli was only half filled and some food was cold. Wait staff was amazing though. We always enjoy your content and look forward to the next video

[@stillaknickfan4838]

He right about the glass rim I don't touch the rim of a cup/glass at home. Even if I just washed my hands. Feels like using the bathroom without washing one's hands. That ain't right.

[@debbie8935]

I think the lack of other diners Specialty dining is the huge price increases. The menu didn't look like anything special. Last summer I bought a 3 night package on Celebrity and there were hardly any other diners in the restaurants. The food was good, but I won't pay extra again. Not worth the increased prices to me.

[@live2skide1]

MDR they never "pour the wine" but instead bring you a glass. Sounds like some training is in order for the wait staff at Giovanni's. I love the Crown Grill on Princess. Sounds to me like Royal is doing the "dynamic pricing thing" so you never know ahead of time what the price might be. Love a discount as I am a frugal traveler. (My last "steak house dinner onboard was on MSC.....and unfortunately....I indulged in the drink package and don't remember more than "snippets" of that event!) Sigh....shame on me, but got my $$$$$$$$$$$$ worth on the package...lol

[@judycater2832]

😂😂😂

[@barbara6110]

Such a great video!! YES to everything you said about serving glassware!!. I agree the restaurant did not seem worth the upscale price. You do such a good job...love the content. Also, agree about the wine...would have refused the glass.😮

[@brandicruises]

Yes! I absolutely notice how my drinks are handed to me. No way a classy place should have waitstaff handling wine glasses like that. They should be able to grip the stem and place the glass on the table like a normal person. Maybe the staff was new? Either way, they were not trained properly and that surprises me. Like you keep mentioning: I expect more from RCCL.

[@robynwood550]

My pet peeve is when the water pitcher touches my glass. How many other glasses were touched before mine!

[@craigweightman799]

Hola on msc is my favourite speciality restaurant with really good food and at £17.99 all you can eat its a winner for me. 👌

[@Knightnurse90]

Their filet is my favorite !!

[@Knightnurse90]

Are at Jamie’s last week on Mariner and was very underwhelmed 😢. Must be a ship to ship thing

[@midwestiowashooter]

It’s interesting as I’ve had RC staff bring the bottle out when I eat main dining. That’s very odd service for a specialty dining location from my experience. Couple more cruises this year and hope this doesn’t happen. Fav spot is Chops with the pork belly and truffle fries 🤤

[@gategirl2262]

As a gluten free eater. I prefer main dinning room for my meals. Only time i jave gotten sick from gluten where at specialty restaurants.

[@michelleevans9869]

Yes on the hands 😂

[@lorirobarge-ej6on]

We always go to Sabos, the Mexican restaurant, if the ship has it.

[@queetbeet312]

I would probably order the mushroom risotto 😂😂😂

[@pauladams7360]

If I had a waiter bring me a glass of wine I would refuse to receive it! I MUST see the bottle and read the label before it is poured. Normally you will receive a small tasting followed by the pour. Great restaurant review Morgan..

[@kinghenry100]

Nothing wrong with expecting good service standards. I dont want a dirty glass.

[@charlie44266]

Izumi is my RCL must go restaurant. Everything else is a step down from Izumi: Others, including Giovani's are still good but not great. Many on-shore modest price restaurants at the port cities are better than what is on the ship.

[@debbiekeltz-wolk7691]

I totally agree with you about the quality of the food on Royal Caribbean. Since the start up after Covid the quality, taste and variety of food is lacking. I am vegetarian and sometimes there is nothing on the main dinning room menu that I can eat. I will eat fish and one night they had a salmon on a bed of potato with bacon bits. I asked the waiter if they could just make me a piece of salmon with the potato and no bacon bits that would have been ok. Nope! They no longer make anything different than is presented on the menu. Before the shut down they did. But I was told that adults can order food from the kids menu if there isn't anything that you like on the adult menu. Now we did have a wonderful meal at Jamie's Italian. The food was great, but the waiter was so much fun. My husband made a comment about the type of olives and the waiter gave him a whole lesson on the different types of olives. He was really funny. We also went to Giovanni's Table and you are right, the food was good but nothing wowed me to want to go back there again. We had done a murder mystery dinner that night in Giovanni's and that was a fun experience but again the food was meh!

[@SunnyTravels]

I love NCL. I'll book a cabin your $100 more and get "perks." 150 minutes of Wi-Fi, specialty dinners ($10 gratuity). Then it's worth it. Just the price of Internet is worth it.

[@JC-bl9bo]

We love both Giovanni's and Jaime's. Jaime's is not closed on all ships, we ate there twice just last week on Anthem of the seas.

[@MAB_Canada]

I was under the understanding that you should never hold a wine glass by the bowl because it warms the wine. I would think any competent waiter would know to only hold the glass by the stem.

[@rhondawilson1206]

I don't care for paying twice for the same meal....however I usually will try the steakhouse.

[@skeletor9121]

My favorite specialty restaurant so far has been Murano’s on Celebrity. And I must add, I’ve never had a bad meal at Chops Grill on RCCL.

[@susanmontalbano4921]

I do not eat sugar, so I was equally surprised when we went to a specialty restaurant, and they had no sf options. They brought me nothing after paying 157.00 for dinner.

[@jackredmond6023]

We were big fans of Bistro Sur La Mer on Princess ships. They had a far superior steak than the Crown Grill. Unfortunately, they replaced them with The Catch by Rudi. The Catch is really good as well, but I don’t feel like they are quite as good as Bistro Sur La Mer was.

[@brandonthailand2062]

Main dining italian is good enough for me. No need to pay extra.

[@ReadytoGoMelissa]

Morgan, I was just on Symphony of the Seas last month and Jamie’s Italian was still open. I know the restaurant chain closed on land but I believe many Royal ships still have it… for now

[@thejokerspeaks]

Ridiculous. Virgin Voyages is about as fun ship as I would consider nowadays, and not that I don't like the fun features and shows, but the quality keeps falling, and we've become pickier. It helps to fly from Las Vegas where I can spike the pre/post cruise experience a bit. I don't tend to pay for specialty restaurants, other than when Johnny Rockets was $5, or Bistro on 5 (now Sushi on 5) was $5 on X. In 2019 I paid for Murano on Celebrity for a holiday lunch special, because the ship had no vegetables, and I felt malnourished halfway to Hawaii. Last May I paid $90 for a Japanese dinner from a Celebrity chef, one of only 6 sailing with guest chefs on HAL's 2023 sailings.

[@monicadziuk5635]

The only time I've had the bottle brought to the table is when I ordered the bottle. I've never had them bring the bottle when I order a glass. But now I'm going to pay more attention and ask. Because it makes total sense that you would want to see the wine being poured. Also, from the picture of your sister's filet, I thought the potatoes were some sort of macaroni and cheese. I also don't like how all the food is grouped so closely together, but that may just be me. I'm cool with a plan steamed veg. That's how I make them at home, but that is not normal for a restaurant. I am curious how the filet was. Could she have cut it with a butter knife or did it require a steak knife? I'm very particular about beef so I rarely order it unless I'm someplace tried and true. I will be getting the branzino on my next cruise.

[@judycater2832]

Thanks for another great video Morgan. ❤❤❤

[@habracken8004]

I usually go on Royal Caribbean & they do serve a lot of broccoli & cauliflower in the MDR.

[@TracyKMainwaring]

When we first cruised in 2007, we were given onboard credit and went to Chops. It's was $25/pp. We lived in a small town, few "nice" restaurants and with 3 young kids, we never went out anyway. So we LOVED Chops. But then it went up to $50/pp and it's not worth it. We can go to wonderful restaurants where we live now at the same price. Also watch for when they refill water glasses from a pitcher-- the pitcher should not touch the room of your glass.

[@Jimmy-Mc]

I find most specialty restaurants to be hit or miss in terms of food and service. One I consistently enjoy is Le Bistro on NCL.

[@JoeHusosky]

Chops on Royal is probably the only specialty that you get what you pay for at that price (not full).

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Meat, meat, and more meat! :-P

[@JoeHusosky]

@@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides at least it's gluten free 😀

[@travelingfool9096]

did NCL, you get one free. I wanted Lobster. I know they no longer serve in the MDR. So I figuredI'd do the seafood restaurant, it's a 25 buck up charge there. WTF. It was my mistake not looking at menu. I found the menu limited and wasn't happy with what I got. I should done different restaurant. But they book up quick. you do pay gratuities, which is around 10 bucks ( per person), that was too much. No wait ima paying 50 bucks , too cheap for that. I am certain my experience this fall on NCL will be better.

[@MaxrunnMutt]

Jamie’s is not closed. What are you talking about? I ate there on my cruise last week on Harmony of the Seas (June 2024)

[@JuneRaeder-MacKinnon]

I will tell the server even at McDonalds to get me a new cup/glass if they put there fingers in the cup/glass or near the top of the glass. I am very picky about that.

[@donnaschuepbach3830]

I don't eat veal, lamb, beef, or anything from the ocean, so specialty dining (on my usual cruiseline - Princess) usually has NOTHING for me on their entree menu. RC looked better for me. OMG, I hate the touching of the rim of my glass/cup! But, I'm a minor germaphobe 😂 How about wiping down the tables with the same cloth as they wipe the seats!

[@bodyloverz30]

My experience on Voyager out of Galveston, exactly poor in every way!

[@williamwatson689]

Rcl is pricing as though this is their last money grab before lenders become Captain.

[@lisaanderson8235]

Oh. You totally got boxed wine at Giovanni's. 🍷(Clarification: my opinion, not based in fact)

[@judycater2832]

😮😮😮

[@hollypotter6989]

Had a server scratch his neck and ear canal entrance then grab a couple of beers from the bar and serve them to customers. I left a review on yelp and have never been back. Found out later it was the assistant manager. Gross! 🤢

[@taralovette3854]

I hope it was not box wine

[@hollypotter6989]

With so few diners they probably would have gone for a 50% discount if you had bargained a bit. The food looked good but on a cruise food should be included. Specialty dining is too expensive and being forced to pay for good food is wrong.

[@aaimginggraphics2411]

hey have u ever sailed virgin??? i think u will have a different opinion about the food

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

I have. Twice, actually! You will NOT HATE Virgin Voyages if... Sunday Sofatime Cruise Review of Valiant Lady kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJXXmI2Vl9x5l6M

[@kinghenry100]

I never bother with speciality dining. There is so much choice elsewhere.

[@LoveLiveCruise]

It wasn’t worth nearly $100US to me. Virgin Voyages has spoilt me. All speciality dining, No main dining room, no up charges.

[@feelosophy1921]

It looked like pudding to me. Also, I want the wine bottle brought to the table and poured if it costs more than $9, sorry.

[@debbie8935]

They don't serve Tiramisu anymore. It's a pudding cup. Food quality is down. It's ok, but nothing special.

[@machellep1]

Sorry those are not prawns, those are regular everyday variety shrimp . Your plates look like Ruby Tuesdays nightly specials. Nothing especially special in that whole dinner. I so far have not found a specialty restaurant worth the cost.

[@alkruzins1168]

Giovanni definitely poor value We enjoy Chops at lunch 50% off and almost same menu as dinner

[@gwynethglas-brown9171]

Oh i can fully agree on the fingers inside or round the glass. Not first time i had to send my glass back because of finger prints plus the glass didn’t look clean. My experience on ferries & Restaurants 🫣. I am really Surprised that not all cruise ships have caught on that Gluten free is required quite a bit such a shame That theres not much variety for those that need ,🤔.Lets hope it improves over the time . Have a Good weekend 🥰

[@incantations446]

The whole dirty hands in the glass thing. 🤮 I always notice things like this

[@heatherhalstead169]

Please don’t say balsamico 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Sorry, that's the German word for it. Sometimes my brain gets confused with these 2 languages fighting for dominance in my cerebrum :-P