The Sun King Steakhouse on the Carnival Freedom has a $35 surcharge per person and offers passengers the chance to experience award-winning chefs, extraordinary cuisine, and attentive service. Reservations can be made online here or when you are on-board the ship.
The $35 charge includes an appetizer, salad, entrees, dessert, and your waiter’s gratuity. (additional gratuity is optional based on service provided) The steakhouse also comes with a free bottle of wine on the day of embarkation. If you do not drink, they do have some non-alcohol options for you to choose from.
The service in the Sun King Steakhouse is top notch and dining can take up to 2 1/2 hours. When I dined with my wife on the first night, we were the first ones in the restaurant and the meal took 1 hour and 45 minutes. However, they were also not very busy at that time and most report that dinner will take a minimum of 2 hours.
Someone came out and showed us the various entrees that were available and talked about each one of them. Appetizers available on the menu were escargots bourguignonne, girlled portobello mushroom, beef carpaccio, ahi tuna tartare, jumbo shrimp cocktail, New England crab cake, lobster bisque with vintage cognac, and baked onion soup. After we had our appetizers, our waiter brought us out each something that was “compliments of the chef”. I received a “Big Mac” (featured in the picture) and my wife a small cup of tomato soup.
There are four different salads that are available to choose from on the menu. They are classic caesar salad, baby leaf spinach and fresh mushrooms, heart of iceberg lettuce, and sliced, sun-ripened beef steak tomato. Our waiter brought out the ingredients and made my caesar salad in front of us.
However, the main reason to choose the Sun King Steakhouse is the entrees. The entrees consist of broiled prime New York strip loin steak (14 oz.), grilled prime cowboy steak (18 oz.), spice-rubbed prime ribeye steak (18 oz.), broiled filet mignon (9 oz.), surf & turf (Maine lobster tail and 4 oz. filet mignon), broiled lobster tail, broiled rosemary infused chicken, grilled lamb chops, Maine lobster ravioli, and grilled fillet of fish from the market.
I enjoy my filet mignon medium rare and although I asked for that, it arrived medium, slightly pink in the center. My wife’s surf and turf filet was cooked a little more, even though she ordered hers medium rare also. The steak was still delicious but it was not the way that we ordered it. It does seem that each time I have ordered steak on a cruise, it is always cooked more than I have requested.
By the time dessert came, we were stuffed so we took it back to our cabin to enjoy later in the evening. Overall, the service was far superior to that in the main dining rooms and it was a great way to kick off our cruise. I would definitely have dinner in the steakhouse again if we were cruising during a special day (anniversary, birthday etc).
I would be happy to answer any questions that you have regarding the Sun King Steakhouse on the Carnival Freedom. You can leave a comment below or email me at [email protected].
