Head to a cruise ship specialty restaurant for culinary pampering. These intimate restaurants serve up great food along with extraordinary service, which make them the perfect place for a romantic date night.
While some ships have must-do complimentary venues — Silk Road (with cuisine by Chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa) on Crystal Cruises, Prime 7 steakhouse on Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Red Ginger on Oceania Cruises' Riviera and Marinaimmediately spring to mind — others require a fee.
Here are 10 cruise ship specialty restaurants worth the extra bucks. Prices are per person and reservations are required.
Remy, Disney Cruise Line
On Disney's Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, this adults-only restaurant takes inspiration from the animated film "Ratatouille." Be sure to try one of the multi-course tasting menus, created by Chef Arnaud Lallement of the Michelin 3-star l'Assiette Champenoise in France and Disney's award-winning Chef Scott Hunnel. The menus feature fine ingredients such as King Crab and Kobe beef. The cover charge is $75, extra for a wine pairing. There's also a new five-course all-dessert experience and a Champagne Brunch, each $50 (plus $25 if you add a champagne pairing).
Teppanyaki Restaurant, Norwegian Cruise Line
It's partly about the food — simple yet yummy Japanese cuisine — but mostly about the entertainment. Dining at Teppanyaki is a social event and a family favorite. You sit with fellow passengers around a hot cooktop while your chef slices and dices and cooks your meal, with humorous commentary and antics. Prepare to enjoy yourself while you sample miso soup and meat, seafood and/or veggies with fried rice. The extra charge is $25, half-price for kids.
Le Champagne, Silversea
The six-course menu at Le Champagne changes continually, as chefs source local and artisan ingredients, but the results are always impressive. Even on Silversea's ultra-luxury ships, with fine cuisine offered everywhere, it's worth it to pay an extra $40 for an intimate, foodie gathering at the only Relais & Chateaux restaurant at sea. Splurge further on the impressive wine pairings.
Aqualina, Azamara Club Cruises
Aqualina's floor-to-ceiling windows provide views and the Mediterranean-inspired menu serves up taste sensations on Azamara's Journey and Quest. Start with the seafood bouillabaisse, move on to osso bucco or lobster (available steamed, broiled or thermador), then splurge on a Grand Marnier Souffle. Cover charge is $25. There's also the option of starting your evening with pre-dinner champagne and caviar bar (a fee applies).
Qsine, Celebrity Cruises
Food can be playful, as proven in this entertaining restaurant experience ($45) available on six Celebrity ships. The fun starts with Qsine's menu, presented on an iPad, and continues with shareable dishes in creative combinations and presentations. If you order M's Favorites, for instance, you get a bookcase with shelves full of tastes including lamp chop pops, falafel, hummus and goat cheese cigars.
Ocean Blue, Norwegian Cruise Line
You know him as the scholarly looking judge on Food Network's "Chopped," but Chef Geoffrey Zakarian shows himself to be a competitor with his contemporary seafood restaurants on the Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway. For $49 you can dive into such treats as a decadently buttery lobster risotto and Zakarian's signature Dover sole. Start your meal (for an extra fee) at the raw bar. Watching the sunset from one of Ocean Blue's outdoor tables is a particularly romantic option.
150 Central Park, Royal Caribbean
In the tree-lined Central Park neighborhood onboard the world's largest cruise ships,Oasis and Allure of the Seas, Miami-based, James Beard Award-winning Chef Michael Schwartz presents impressive "farm to ship" cuisine. Two six-course menu options feature ingredients sourced from small Florida producers, in dishes such as pan-roasted pompano with artichoke puree, roasted porcini, truffle-mushroom vinaigrette and Swank Farms sorrel. Cover charge: $40, wine pairings from $75.
Sabatini's, Princess Cruises
Princess switched this casual-yet-refined restaurant from family-style to à la carte and upped its menu offerings. Start with antipasti, then try an appetizer such as burrata cheese, indulge in the pasta of the day, and finally go for an entrée such as lobster served three ways or grilled veal chop with mushroom ragout. Be sure to save room for the tiramisu. It's $25 for adults, half-price for kids.
The Pinnacle Grill, Holland America Line
Holland America's Pinnacle Grill ($29) does excellent preparations of steakhouse classics such as a 32-ounce Porterhouse. Special "Evening at Le Cirque" dinners up the ante, with dishes created by chefs from New York's famed, James Beard Award-winning restaurant Le Cirque ($49). New options on select ships include a special menu by Michelin Star Chef Jonnie Boer of The Netherlands and a chef-hosted Master Chef's dinner created by HAL's consulting Master Chef Rudi Sodamin ($89).
Tamarind Grill, Holland America Line
This top-deck restaurant on the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam features an impressive menu of authentic Asian dishes, carefully researched by Chef Sodamin. For $20 you can sample multiple courses, whether your tastes run towards sushi and sashimi, satay, pot stickers or pho. Entrees are also pan-Asian in scope, including Szechuan shrimp and wasabi and soy-crusted beef tenderloin.
Contributed by Fran Golden, USA TODAY
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