Michael Vitale Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Ok gang,, question: I hear of this dining package. I have already booked 5 specialty dinners. Does that qualify me for some kind of discount over and above the 15% for booking 3 or more ? Is it automatically applied or do I have to address it at guest relations desk ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 You'll likely get 20 or 25% applied as an onboard credit on the second day of the cruise. However, they are also offering flat rate packages on some sailings. For example on the Liberty earlier this month, for $70-$80 you could prepurchased dining in three specialty restaraunts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Keep in mind the flat rate dining packages save money at the expense of being able to pick specific days and times. DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Vitale Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 WOW !! Just posted on the blog !! 5 night package $100 ??? I booked 5 nights for a total of $155 pp separately before being aware of any "dining package". Any chance they'll tell me "sorry pal, you've already booked and paid" ???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Specialty dining is cancellable, so worst case they tell you no, you rebook them all under the new promo to make sure you get the restaurants/times you want and then cancel all your original reservations and get refunds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 WOW !! Just posted on the blog !! 5 night package $100 ??? I booked 5 nights for a total of $155 pp separately before being aware of any "dining package". Any chance they'll tell me "sorry pal, you've already booked and paid" ???? You should be able to cancel what you have and re-book the dining package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Its a good deal for a longer cruise for sure..I am tempted to sign up for it if I can get the others I am travelling with to join me. While I find it every expensive to have a meal at these restaurants...to be able to do 5 for $100 is great value I think!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Its a good deal for a longer cruise for sure..I am tempted to sign up for it if I can get the others I am travelling with to join me. While I find it every expensive to have a meal at these restaurants...to be able to do 5 for $100 is great value I think!! It can be a good value especially if you're inclined to dine in the specialty restaurants which we're planning to do on the Allure next year. We opted against it on the Liberty as we dined in Chops on the first night at 20% off and Portofino on the last night with Johnny Rockets in between. Thus, the savings wasn't there for us as we weren't inclined to dine any more at the specialty restaurants as we enjoy the MDR experience, too! monctonguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Seems like the sales are getting more desperate on the specialty dining front ... sign of ongoing weak bookings or just a push to lock in as much revenue pre-cruise as possible ? We don't really have any interest in Specialty but on the rare occasion we have gone we have had our pick of times and they never look full walking by .... just curious if they are struggling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Seems like the sales are getting more desperate on the specialty dining front ... sign of ongoing weak bookings or just a push to lock in as much revenue pre-cruise as possible ? We don't really have any interest in Specialty but on the rare occasion we have gone we have had our pick of times and they never look full walking by .... just curious if they are struggling. I think it's the opposite. Onboard spending is huge and the drink packages have been so successful for RC that they want to convince people to book more specialty dining too. The packages get folks to consider more specialty dining than they might have buying them a la carte. DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted March 5, 2016 Report Share Posted March 5, 2016 From the client side we tend to look at Specialty dining as the added cost that Royal Charges. But the cruise line looks at it a little different. Royal already has a planned estimated cost for each passengers meal service from the free dinning. Lets say its $5.00 per meal for example, and then they charge $25 dollars for a Specialty Restaurant. The revenue from you going to the Specialty Restaurant is not $25.00, it is $25.00 plus the $5.00 they saved that was budgeted within the free dinning. That savings from the free dinning really ads up. It is all about adding revenue during the cruise and a good way to do this is with paid dinning. DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarney Posted March 5, 2016 Report Share Posted March 5, 2016 Seems like the sales are getting more desperate on the specialty dining front ... sign of ongoing weak bookings or just a push to lock in as much revenue pre-cruise as possible ? Re: desperate - I think that was the case on our Jewel cruise as well. We went to Chops, which was nice, but didn't plan on any additional upcharge dining. The next day at breakfast in the Windjammer a staffer was going through promoting a discounted meal at Portofinos (discounted for adults, small discount for kids). We had a pleasant enough meal at Chops that we booked it. It was 1/4 full when we started the meal (admittedly early at 6:30 or so) but maybe 1/2 full by the time we left. I think the managers have the discretion to offer incentives onboard if they aren't taking in enough revenue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 Again you need to understand the cost of food sold. Most better restaurants operate with a food costs of around 33% of every dollar. Some can operate with the costs as low as 17%, but it is rare. So take Chops at about $30.00 selling price per person, the food cost is about $10.00, the labor and all other costs are already paid. So they discount and sell you that $30 dollar meal for only $15.00 dollars so the gross profit is only $5.00 right? Wrong because you need to add back the savings that was budgeted to free dinning for your meal. So if that savings was $5.00 the real gross profit is $10.00. It is all about filling seats. If chops sits 40 covers and has a four day cruise the have 160 chances to up sell. The first night 40 chances, whatever they sell those covers at the first night that is the only time they can sell them. So any profit they can make per cover adds to the total profit. The goal is the same as cabins, airplanes, hotel rooms, to sell the inventory before it is not available for sale and to get the maximum profit level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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