Royal Caribbean opens reservations for its first ever supper club

In:
16 Nov 2023
By: 
Matt Hochberg

If you're ready to dine in elegance and style, Royal Caribbean has the perfect new restaurant for you.

Empire Supper Club

Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas is set to debut in early 2024, and among the many new concepts is a high-end supper club.

The Empire Supper Club was announced months ago, but reservations were not available.  Today, Royal Caribbean opened up reservations to the general public.

Prices across multiple Icon of the Seas sailings list it at $200 per person. Bookings are available immediately from the Cruise Planner website.

Empire Supper Club booking

If you have the Unlimited Dining Package, you can pay an additional charge of $130 to eat at the restaurant.

Deluxe Beverage Packages, Crown and Anchor coupons or Star Class guests, can enjoy this experience at the standard cover price.

Seabass at Empire Supper Club

It's arguably Royal Caribbean's most elegant restaurant to date, and will serve multiple courses while music is played. The cruise line says you can expect an evening of, "evening of glitz and glamour" with your meal.

Step into the sophisticated style of this intimate space and embark on an eight-course journey. Traditional American fare like oysters Rockefeller and modern renditions like Wagyu New York strip topped with shaved fresh truffle transcend eras and expectations. Each musical number and every libation is carefully curated and perfectly paired to complement each course, from upbeat "Beyond the Sea" to a bittersweet Campari spritz. 

The combination of live music with the jazz band, along with the premium menu is what's going to distinguish this restaurant from other specialty restaurants.

Salad at Empire Supper Club

Tony Abou-Ganim has worked with James Beard Award-winning chefs, Bellagio and more to come up with the meals and cocktails.

It's an intimate dinner experience, where table sizes are limited to parties of 2 to 4. If your party is larger than 4 people, you'll be seated at separate tables.

What's included with Empire Supper Club

Live music in Empire Supper Club concept art

For the price, you might be curious what you get.

Each meal is an eight-course experience, where you'll enjoy a cocktail paired with the music being played by the jazz band. Non-alcoholic options are available upon request.

There will be a three-piece band playing to provide entertainment.

Dessert at Empire Supper Club

There will be appetizers such as oysters Rockefeller deliciously dressed with chorizo béarnaise, sundried Roma tomatoes and micro basil.

Royal Caribbean's lists an entree as Wagyu New York strip, topped with fresh truffle and coupled with fondant potatoes, sautéed morels and green peppercorn sauce.

When you get to dessert, you can look forward to the Chocolate Beehive, comprised of a trio of ganache layers, salted caramel toffee and mango sauce.

Gluten-free, lactose-free, and vegetarian options available.

Special rules for the Empire Supper Club

martini-cocktail-bar-alcoholic-alcohol

There's also a set of expectations if you choose to dine at the Empire Supper Club, which are important to consider before booking.

Timing

Doors open 10 minutes prior to the start of the meal, and the cruise line implores guests to be on time to ensure the programming is set correctly.

Royal Caribbean says the meal will last 2-3 hours, and to plan your evening accordingly.  In my opinion, that means don't ask for a quick meal to make a show.

Dress Code

Formal wear is required to dine at Empire Supper Club.

Suggested attire include suit jackets, slacks, cocktail dresses, formal pantsuits, and formal jumpsuits.

An array of suit jacket sizes will be available for guests who may need to borrow one.

Age restrictions

Dinner plate

There is no age limit or restriction to dine at Empire Supper Club, but Royal Caribbean says the experience is designed for adults.

Pricing remains the same for guests opting for non-alcoholic beverages.

A different dining experience, and a different price

Oysters in Empire Supper Club

If you're quick to compare the price of the Empire Supper Club to other Royal Caribbean specialty restaurants, the cruise line would tell you that this is unlike anything else offered.

The price of $200 per person is more than double many other specialty dining venues on Icon of the Seas, but those restaurants are not in the same league as Empire Supper Club.

The combination of premium food, paired cocktails, and live music, put Empire Supper Club in a different category of dining. It's intimate nature, dress code requirements, and inflexibility with changes to the menu are indications that this is not just another dining experience.

Linken Dsouza

Royal Caribbean Vice President Food & Beverage, Linken D'Souza, said this restaurant is something completely different from what we may have seen in the past, "Empire Supper Club is what I would say is the most elevated dining experience we've created at Royal Caribbean."

He referred to it as a, "full immersive dining experience".

"It really is an elevated food experience that's tied together with a really elevated beverage experience."


Matt started Royal Caribbean Blog in 2010 as a place to share his passion for all things Royal Caribbean with readers. He oversees all the writers at Royal Caribbean Blog, and writes a great deal of content on a daily basis.  He has become one of the foremost experts on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Over the years, he has reached Pinnacle Club status with Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program.

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