Royal Caribbean ships have some premium dining locations onboard. We hit the Chops Grill on our recent trip on the Odyssey and it was a nice departure from standard dining.
We’re fairly newly reacquainted with cruising as a travel and vacation option. My eldest roommate and I hit a cruise back in 2013 to the Galapagos Islands and prior to that we’d been on cruises as youth. Last year we took our first cruise with our junior adventurer and it was a blast. Feeling rather ambitious, we booked cruises for February and August 2026; we just came back from the great blizzard journey of the Odyssey of the Seas.
The thought of doing a premium dining experience might seem silly when there’s plenty of all-you-can-eat options aboard these vessels. However if you’re looking for something a little special, or yeah, premium, there are places to choose from. We decided that hitting the Chops Grill was right for us.
What’s great about Chops is that you can get a taste of it right from your normal dining experience. For an added fee, there are menu offerings from Chops that you can get. On our 2025 cruise on the Liberty of the Seas, our junior adventurer ordered off the Chops menu one of the nights and got a filet mignon. He said it was fantastic.
About Chops
Chops Grill is one of Royal Caribbean’s signature and premium restaurants. It’s considered an American steakhouse and edges closer to the finer dining side of things.
Did I feel underdressed in my dad uniform of a polo shirt and khaki semi-dress cargo shorts? No. Frankly these things don’t bother me much anymore. But there is a more eloquent air about the location where some cruisers might want to get a little more dressed up. The Chops webpage says the dress is “smart casual.”
“Our signature American steakhouse slices up sizzling ways to elevate your meal,” says the Chops webpage. “A butcher’s display sets the tone — and the flavors — with mouthwatering specialty cuts like high grade wagyu beef and bone-in tomahawks. Watch through the open kitchen as seasoned chefs perfectly prepare your premium selection to your liking and serve it alongside your choice of savory sides — just be sure to save room for dessert.”
The offerings at Chops are prix fixe and diners can get whatever they want off the menu. Yes there are some premium items at the premium restaurant, but that’s pretty much to be expected at this point. While it may seem like Royal Caribbean is shaking us upside down to get that last nickel outta our pockets, the value at Chops is greater than what you’d probably get shoreside — baring the fact you have free food waiting for you elsewhere.
Price
Since we dove into the topic of cheddar on this expedition, what’s it gonna cost to slice up a piece of premium beef in the Chops Grill? The price varies from $65.00 + for dinner and $25.00 + for lunch. Kids eat for $15.00 each.
Aggressive marketing
There were multiple times throughout our voyage where crewmembers were trying to get us to book a premium dining location. They snagged us on day one and offered a fairly steep discount on our dining experience. The crewmember who booked us offered us a tiered discount with 50 percent if you decided to dine that first night with the discount tapering off as the voyage went on.
We booked our package and got I believe 30 percent off for the night we decided to dine at Chops. What was slightly discouraging, though, was that other crewmembers offered us better deals later on in the cruise still prior to our dining date.
We just stuck with the original booking. Don’t think that haggling with a crewmember will get you anywhere. It did not — in multiple places. Save the haggling for trying to get a discounted conch shell in Nassau — which we did not make it to due to weather.
There were plenty of times and places where premium dining was being pushed at guests from every corner of the ship. On one hand, it’s rather annoying. On the other hand, they did hook us in and get us a discount. Annoying? Yes. Effective? Also yes.
Location
Chops Grill is located on the ship.
Okay, really, the restaurant is located in different spots on different ships. On the Odyssey of the Seas, Chops is located by the Schooner Bar, starboard side, on the fifth deck.
Menu
There’s a number of different menu options to choose from at Chops Grill. As noted, everything is included unless otherwise stated. Some of the different class ships have different offerings. For example the larger vessels have a tomahawk steak. That wasn’t on our Odyssey though (otherwise I would have gotten it).
Starters
- COLOSSAL SHRIMP COCKTAIL — Horseradish cocktail sauce, remoulade, lemon
- PAN-SEARED CRAB CAKE — Chipotle aïoli, fresh herbs
- TUNA TARTARE* — Avocado, ginger, wasabi caviar
- GRILLED BLACK PEPPER BACON — Slow-cooked Berkshire pork, sweet and spicy glaze
- WILD MUSHROOM SOUP — Scented with white truffle oil, chives
- CRISPY GOAT CHEESE SALAD — Green apples, candied walnuts, cranberries, balsamic dressing
- CHARRED BEEF CARPACCIO* — Rare charred beef, parmesan cheese, arugula, truffle-mustard dressing
- THE WEDGE — Iceberg lettuce, blue cheese crumbles, smoked bacon
- LOBSTER BISQUE — Brandy, tarragon, cream
- CAESAR SALAD — Romaine, shaved parmesan, Caesar dressing, fresh baked crôutons
Shareable sides
- GRUYÈRE CHEESE TATER TOTS — Crème fraîche, horseradish
- CREAMED SPINACH — Bechamel, parmesan
- GRILLED JUMBO ASPARAGUS — Sea salt, lemon
- MAC & CHEESE — Crispy bacon, white cheddar
- YUKON GOLD MASHED POTATOES — Salt, sweet cream butter
- SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS — Demi-glace, thyme
- TRUFFLED FRENCH FRIES — Grated parmesan, white truffle oil
- BAKED POTATO — Available loaded
Entrees
- ORGANIC ROASTED CHICKEN — Half chicken slowly roasted, perfectly seasoned with thyme, served with au jus
- GRILLED ATLANTIC SALMON* — Whole grain mustard sauce, microgreens
- SPICY JUMBO SHRIMP — Red pepper flakes, creamy garlic butter
- RACK OF LAMB* — Tender oven-roasted rack of lamb, seasoned with thyme and rosemary
- GRILLED BRANZINO — Sautéed spinach, olive oil, lemon, sea salt
- BROILED 1 1/2 LB. MAINE LOBSTER — Drawn butter and fresh lemon
Steaks
- FILET* — 9 ounces of our most tender cut of lean, midwestern beef
- PETITE FILET* — A smaller 6-ounce cut, but equally tender and delicious
- BONE-IN RIBEYE* — USDA Prime 16 oz. bone-in cut, well marbled for peak flavor, deliciously juicy
- NY STRIP* — A 12-oz. full-flavored USDA Prime cut, with a slightly firmer texture
The atmosphere
The restaurant was comfortable and leaning more towards the fancy side of things. There was plenty of seating and it was not close to capacity. As a matter of fact, we showed up a little before our reservation time and were told that we’d have to wait some time to be seated, maybe 20 minutes. The table we were seated at was open and clean the whole time we were waiting. Maybe this was a staffing issue?
Our experience
We ended up dining at Chops Grill with a party of three adults and three junior adventurers. One of our adult explorers was feeling a little under the weather — which I had a full-on cold myself at that time.
We were eventually seated and given a full rundown on how everything works.
For the table we did select a number of starters as well as shareable side dishes to go along with our entrees. I was actually swimming upstream on this as all of my fellow diners had already eaten a first dinner at 5 p.m. in the main dining room. They had some food FOMO or something; they made sure they got the biggest bang for their buck, or something to that effect — I took a snooze while they were at dinner #1 because of the cold.
No one was double fisting entries at Chops that night, but we did get a decent enough spread.
Caesar salad
One of our travel companions got the Caesar salad. From all accounts, it was as standard as you’d get in the main dining area.
Wild mushroom soup
The wild mushroom soup was also fairly standard.
Charred beef carpaccio
The carpaccio was good. There were a couple times carpaccio was on the menu in the main dining room and this portion was just as good. It wasn’t a large helping, but a good accompaniment considering there were other starters that hit the table.
Grilled black pepper bacon
The grilled slab-style bacon was very good. If you’re not into fat, this might not be for you — well, I might not be for you either. As far as fancy bacons go, this was one that I’d rank highly. My eldest roommate wasn’t into it. I say five stars.
Fillet mignon
Everyone got fillet mignons for dinner. The steaks were cooked to desired temperatures and were of good quality.
If you’re a steak person, this is a great option for sure. Even if you’re in the main dining room, grab a Chops fillet for an upcharge. I’ll say they’re worth it. I ordered several of the standard steaks in the main dining room and they were okay at best.
These fillets were a perfect size and were not over or under cooked. Kudos! on the fillets.
Sides
There were a number of sides that we all shared and the overall opinion was they were underwhelming — except the gruyere tater tots, those were actually pretty good.
Truffled French fries
They were actually good. So to lump them in the “underwhelming” category might not be fair. But between them and the tater tots, it wasn’t enough to pull the overall average score up and past a “C” level.
Mac & Cheese
It looked fancy but from what everyone said, it was okay.
Creamed spinach
We don’t even have to go into pleasantries here; the creamed spinach looked blah and it tasted blah. There was not a whole lot of pizazz in this dish.
Gruyere cheese tater tots
These tater tots were the best of all the side dishes that we ordered. They were crisp and flavorful.
The staff
The staff were fantastic — well, the maître d’ at the reception desk was a little ornery, but oh well. Our actual servers and wait staff did bend over backwards for us.
Overall experience
We didn’t exactly go all out living la vida loca at Chops. However, we did have a good overall dining experience and I’m certainly a fan. I plan on going back on a future cruise. Snagging the reservation at a discount makes it that more appealing and it was a nice departure from the main dining room. I’d like to check it out for lunch one day, which they offer on their days at sea.
Chops Grill is a premium dining location on Royal Caribbean cruise ships.
