NCL offers specialty restaurant dining package - Royal too?

[Matt]

Norwegian Cruise Lines announced this week they are offering a new pre-paid dining package for their specialty restaurants.

 

From Cruise Critic

 

 

The Ultimate Dining Package offers passengers the ability to dine each night at almost any specialty restaurant for a set price. The cost varies by length of cruise. On three- to six-night sailings, the package is $59 per person. On seven-night cruises, the cost is $119 per person, while on eight- to 10-night cruises the price is $149 pp. 

Pricing for longer cruises is: $199 pp for 10- to 15-nights; $259 pp for 16- to 25-nights; $299 pp for 26- to 35-nights; and $349 pp for cruises of 36- to 45-days. 

 

So the question is, should Royal Caribbean offer something like this too?

Granted, NCL's food in general wanes behind Royal, if you ask my opinion.  Certainly their MDR food isn't as good as Royal's.  

 

If offered by Royal Caribbean, would you buy it?

[Tylor]

So you pre-pay the set price and you can eat in any specialty restaurant every night during the cruise? I would do this. Having sailed Oasis once and only eaten in the Main Dining Room, the next time I said on Oasis or Allure I will probably eat mostly in the specialty restaurants.

 

I will do this not because I found the food in the Main Dining Room not good, it actually is very good in my opinion. But I want to experience all the different dining options, as I'm now fairly familiar with Royal Caribbean's standard Main Dining Room menu's. I know for some eating in the specialty restaurants is out of the question due to cost. But I feel like the extra is worth it.

 

Do you think someday there will be an option when booking cruises to eat either 1: Main Dining or 2: Specialty Dining? With selecting specialty dining your price would increase but then you would have the freedom to dine at any of the onboard specialty restaurants.

 

I can only see this really working with ships that have more than one specialty restaurant. But as Royal Caribbean ramps up the specialty dining options on ships that have been upgraded, more specialty dining restaurants will be available. 

[Matt]

Do you think someday there will be an option when booking cruises to eat either 1: Main Dining or 2: Specialty Dining? With selecting specialty dining your price would increase but then you would have the freedom to dine at any of the onboard specialty restaurants.

 

I can only see this really working with ships that have more than one specialty restaurant. But as Royal Caribbean ramps up the specialty dining options on ships that have been upgraded, more specialty dining restaurants will be available. 

I think a package like the one NCL is offering would make most sense.  Same difference really.  As you said, most ships now (post-refurb) have enough restaurants to make it worth it (financially).

[Don]

Norwegian Cruise Lines announced this week they are offering a new pre-paid dining package for their specialty restaurants.

 

From Cruise Critic

 

 

So the question is, should Royal Caribbean offer something like this too?

Granted, NCL's food in general wanes behind Royal, if you ask my opinion.  Certainly their MDR food isn't as good as Royal's.  

 

If offered by Royal Caribbean, would you buy it?

Yes, I would buy it. Although I haven't seen a packaged deal before sailing we have been able to get a package deal on 1st day. Rhapsody May 2013 offered Chops, Giovanis, & Izumi for $59 as I recall You could include Chef Table for $99. Because of that we are waiting to purchase specialty dining the day we board our May 2015 Serenade sailing. Don't want to pay in advance only to find out we could have got a package deal. Only downside is potential to not get reservation time desired but don't believe that we be a problem. 1) we are flexible and 2) have never had a problem getting desired reservation even when we have waited mid-cruise to book.

[Matt]

Rhapsody May 2013 offered Chops, Giovanis, & Izumi for $59 as I recall You could include Chef Table for $99. 

Yes that's true I do remember hearing about something like that.  And fleet-wide, there's usually offers for first or second night bookings.  But no package for whole cruise across all specialty restaurants fleet-wide.

[Marc]

I'm contemplating going on an NCL cruise later this year, and this dining package looks very appealing.

 

The only concern I have is that it doesn't cover their a la carte restaurants including the sushi bar, noodle bar, and Ocean Blue restaurants, instead offering a 20% discount on those venues. I'm not sure how much of an impact that would have on my dining choices. Given the number of restaurants that NCL's newest ships have, I suspect that there would remain plenty of options.

 

I think that an "ultimate" package like this on Oasis and Allure (and I presume Quantum, but it's early to say what all would be included there) could be very popular. That said, Oasis and Allure have main dining rooms sized for an expected number of passengers. If they offer this kind of package, will that mean that the specialty restaurants would be full more and the MDR abandoned by too many?

[bcarney]

I only discovered this over the weekend, but there is a dining package on Oasis.  We're just going to do the main dining room this cruise ($$ reasons), but there is the "Oasis Choice Dining Package" - from the website:

 

Enhance your vacation and save money with Royal Caribbean's Specialty Dining packages. These packages offer the opportunity to visit several of the most exciting restaurants onboard more economically than booking them individually. The Oasis Choice Dining package includes dinner at four of the ship's most spectacular venues: Solarium Bistro, Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table and Izumi. 

 

 

How to Reserve

To reserve the Oasis Choice Dining Package in advance and save up to 20% off the normal cost of dining at these outstanding restaurants just: 

 

• Purchase the Oasis Choice Dining Package online through our Pre-Cruise Planner(RoyalCaribbean.com/PreCruisePlanner).

• As part of your dining package purchase, you will select your dining time and dine in Solarium Bistro on day 1 or day 2. Once onboard you will reserve Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table and Izumi once onboard the ship. If you reserve additional restaurants online you will be charged for this package and also for additional restaurant reservations.

• Once onboard you'll be able to add your reservations at Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table and Izumi on evenings you choose.

• You may also purchase the Oasis Choice Dining Package onboard by visiting Solarium Bistro, Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table or Izumi before 5 pm on boarding day.

 

About the Restaurants

Solarium Bistro: Let the starlit ocean sky set the mood after dark, when the Solarium pool transforms into a fine dining destination. Explore a menu of inspired, sumptuous dishes that embrace healthful living through healthy eating. 

Chops Grille: Royal Caribbean's popular signature steakhouse, featuring grade-A premium cuts of steak cooked to your specifications, plus fresh seafood, hearty side dishes and signature desserts in an upscale, contemporary setting.

Giovanni's Table: A casual Italian trattoria with indoor and al fresco seating, Giovanni's Table offers rustic dishes with a contemporary flair, including toasted herb foccacia, pastas, braised meat dishes and stews, served family-style.

Izumi: The traditional Asian dishes at Izumi will impress you with their pure, delicate flavors, freshness of ingredients and impeccable presentation. Diners can choose from popular sushi rolls, sashimi, our Hot Rock (Ishiyaki) Plates, sukiyaki and more.

 

 

Where You’ll Find It

The Oasis Choice Dining Package is available on Oasis of the Seas.

 

 

Dress Suggestion

We suggest smart casual attire in all three restaurants – jackets for men, dresses or pantsuits for women. On formal evenings onboard, formal attire is also appropriate in the restaurants, including suits and ties or tuxedos for men and cocktail dresses for women.

 

 

Serving Hours

Giovanni's Table: 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm

Chops Grille: 6.00 pm to 9.30 pm

Solarium Bistro: 6.00 pm to 10.00 pm

Izumi: 6.00 pm to 10.00 pm

 

 

Other Information

Guests under the age of 18 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

 

IMPORTANT: In order to reserve the Oasis Choice Dining Package online you should book ONLY Solarium Bistro on the first night of the cruise. Reservations for Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table and Izumi will be made onboard. If you reserve Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table or Izumi online you will be charged for those restaurants in addition to the Oasis Choice Dining Package.

 

Cancellation: Cancellations made within 24 hours of the dinner reservation will incur a charge of $10.

 

[send us all your money button]

[monctonguy]

Would be worth it for sure on ships that had lots of choice's and options for dinner, and/or longer cruises. On 3-4 day cruises, I am not sure if it would be "worth" it between time off boat, excursions and using the main dining room, plus the buffet.

 

I don't know how long it takes to eat at these speciality resturants, but if its anything close to the formal dining room, its too long and drawn out for me personally.

 

But, options and choices are always good. And if there is some savings to be had, it might be enough to tempt me to try a few new and different things.

 

Just like the drink package options they came out with. Choice is good!

[Bryce G.]

I'm sort of already doing this. On Allure in August, I will not be going to the MDR once. I will be canceling my auto-gratuities (since I won't be in the MDR, I'll just manually tip the stateroom attendant), and use that money towards visiting a different specialty restaurant every night.

[Don]

Found out today that Serenade of Seas has specialty dining package avail for pre-Cruise booking. Chops, Giovanni's, & Izumi $55 per person -- add Chefs Table total $101. Must book 1st reservation for 1st or 2nd night, others can be booked any time during cruise, or in advance if you choose. Once on-board, I'm sure you could reschedule even your 1st or 2nd night choice to a different venue or later night. 2nd night out is formal so that means Chops for us. What a way to end a day on the French Riviera! Life is good! 84 days!

[Don]

Yes, I would buy it. Although I haven't seen a packaged deal before sailing we have been able to get a package deal on 1st day. Rhapsody May 2013 offered Chops, Giovanis, & Izumi for $59 as I recall You could include Chef Table for $99. Because of that we are waiting to purchase specialty dining the day we board our May 2015 Serenade sailing. Don't want to pay in advance only to find out we could have got a package deal. Only downside is potential to not get reservation time desired but don't believe that we be a problem. 1) we are flexible and 2) have never had a problem getting desired reservation even when we have waited mid-cruise to book.

They did offet the packahe on embarkation day % discount.

[DocLC]

Royal is offering a percentage off on my Jewel cruise if you book three or more nights in specialty restaurants.

[Marc]

I've got both packages and I'll be able to compare them over the next two weeks.

 

I'm going on Norwegian Getaway next week and I did purchase the Ultimate Dining Package. I've booked a different specialty restaurant (including their magic dinner show) for each night, and I'm not planning on dining in their complimentary dining rooms for dinner. I'll probably try their noodle and sushi bar restaurants for lunch and get my 20% discount there, thus increasing the value of the UDP. As it stands right now, I'm getting about $160 of dining options for $119, so that works out in my favor.

 

The following week, I'll be on Allure of the Seas. I've reserved three restaurants in advance, so I'm expecting 20% of what I paid to be given as onboard credit, which I'll use easily. :) I'm not planning on doing as much specialty dining on this cruise given that I'm traveling with a bunch of friends and we'll be dining together in the main dining room several nights.

[Matt]

Looking forward to your review Marc!

[bcarney]

 

I'm going on Norwegian Getaway next week

 

The following week, I'll be on Allure of the Seas.

 

You're a cruising madman, Marc!  :D

[Marc]

Now that I'm back, I can comment about these two dining experiences.

 

First, in general, I would say that dining on Norwegian Getaway was comparable to Allure of the Seas. There were some things that were better on Norwegian Getaway (complimentary dining room) and some that were better on Allure of the Seas (Samba Grill, most notably, was excellent).

 

Last year, I would have said that Allure of the Seas would win outright, but changes that Royal Caribbean has made reduced our enjoyment in the specialty dining venues. For example, the combination dinners that included soup, tempura, sushi, hot rock, and dessert in Izumi are gone, and the menu is now entirely a la carte. Chops Grille's new menu isn't as good as its older one, especially for the desserts which are now rather poor.

 

I did like the package on Norwegian Getaway where we could dine at any specialty restaurant we wanted. I had made reservations for a specialty restaurant each night except for the last (due to a conflict with a scheduled excursion). Making reservations for them onboard at earlier times was tricky as they'd fill up rather quickly. I didn't like that I felt that I had to eat in a specialty restaurant to get the full value out of the package. Thus, we only ate at the complimentary dining room for breakfast and lunch a couple of times.

 

I did find that the food at the specialty restaurants on Getaway were generally good, but not excellent. Service was also quite good, with a single exception of a bad experience in Cagney's, their steakhouse.

 

The discount for multiple specialty restaurants on Allure of the Seas worked well. We did receive onboard credit for 20% of the pre-reserved dining of three restaurants. In addition, when we dined at Izumi, since the pre-reservation price was $0.00, they gave us 25% off of the bill (for having dined at four specialty restaurants including Giovanni's Table which we had for lunch on embarkation day and could not be reserved in advance).

 

I will say, as a general comment about the main dining room on Allure of the Seas, I don't care for these menus. I prefer the older ones which I thought offered a more interesting variety of choices. I did eat in the main dining room on four out of seven nights, but I really didn't enjoy it. Also, I found that it was a tight fit at our table (some people were trapped in their seat due to the arrangement of the tables, other people, and other obstacles such as wine buckets behind them, until others got up to give them room to maneuver their way out). I am considering dining more, perhaps exclusive of the main dining room, at Windjammer during our next cruises.

 

Having done both, I think I prefer Allure of the Seas' method for promoting specialty dining more. The onboard credit and discounts encourage specialty dining without locking you into it. You're free to make your choices and find a nice balance between specialty dining and the various complimentary options.

[michelle]

My clients that like NCL love the Dining packages, mostly because they get a discount doing it this way but also because they often get offered specials for booking a certain restaurant on a certain night - can't imagine the back office nightmare for the ship - but for instance Embarkation night people rarely book specialty places, so NCL offered a discount to do a certain restaurant Night one to clients on the Dining Plans.   Suites guests on NCL too have a designated dining line which I love. So much easier to do all the pre-planning via someone else helping to see the whole a layout of dining, entertainment, spa etc.    But then again, I think Suites guests on NCL have advantages over RCI

Great post Marc lots of detail and information and very helpful, thanks

[DocLC]

I actually like Royal's straight percentage off as I have more freedom to choose the restaraunts I want to dine in each night.

 

NCL offers a great product, especially for suites, although I felt that their main dining lagged behind the other lines in terms of quality and selection. Having a 24 hour cafe, though, was great.