UDP - Worth it on a holiday b2b?

[joshgates]

Rather than mourning for my lost vacations this year I’m turning towards research and planning for my annual holiday escape a few months early.  I can only imagine what my research spreadsheet's going to look like by the time December rolls around...

I’ve been trying to decide what to do with dining, breakfast for me is usually just coffee, lunch is light (salad or a wrap usually), but dinner I enjoy sitting down, enjoying a meal and resetting myself for the evening.  Not a fan of buffets, especially now.  So...couple questions that 

Is it worth getting the UDP for a B2B sailing on Harmony?

I’m a bit of a foodie, but it’s not a life changing thing for me.  I’ve tried Chops and Wonderland, really enjoyed them both and after looking at the menus for the other venues I think there’s enough variety there to keep me happy with dinner for two weeks.  On NCL, having the dining package every (or most every) night is pretty much mandatory for me since I’m not a huge fan of their MDR, but I don't have enough experience with Royal to make a judgement yet.  I will say on my last cruise on Harmony I found the food in the MDR "meh" but the service was amazing, so with that in mind I'm leaning towards getting it for both weeks. 

What impact does “Holiday Celebration Dinners are not included with this package.*” have?  Is it just a special meal in some venues for Christmas night or are you not able to use it that day/evening at all?

Any opinions, thoughts, or random penguin pictures are appreciated.

[WAAAYTOOO]

IMO, 2 weeks of UDP is too much food.  We are on a B2B on Oasis in December.  We purchased the UDP for the first week and the 3 night package for the second week.  For us, there is a lot of "pressure" (totally self-imposed) to eat specialty whenever specialty is available if we have paid for it.  By the second week, you will long for the ability to just SKIP a meal here and there and/or grab a quick gnosh somewhere without thinking, in the back of your mind, "I've just wasted money by passing up an opportunity to eat in a specialty restaurant".  

We did a 12 night holiday cruise on Grandeur a number of years ago and did the UDP.  I was so tired of eating at 3 specialty restaurants by the time we got off that cruise....never again.

 

[AshleyDillo]

I don't think the holiday meals will be as much of an impact as you would think.  You'll be able to find somewhere to eat on the holiday, but it probably won't be at Chops or CP150.  

That said, I don't think I'd do 2 weeks of UDP if you're the kind that must maximize it to take full advantage.  It's just way too much food.  I loved the UDP because I had all of the options available for me and that peace of mind was worth it, even if I didn't break even on the plan.  Loved being able to pop into Izumi sushi for something light early in the evening or not ordering a full three course meal.  It was nice to be able to swing into Johnny Rockets for a late lunch without feeling like it was a waste of a cover charge.  

Take inventory of which restaurants you'd definitely want to eat at over your two weeks and do the math.  It may be better to do a 3-night dining package on each sailing and paying ala carte for other things you may wish to try.  

[joshgates]

@WAAAYTOOO and @AshleyDillo  Thanks! That's part of my worry is that I'll get sick of them, at home I eat pretty cleanly and after a few days of heavy/rich food I'm just craving a salad or something very vegetable heavy yet I'd feel "obligated" to eat at a specialty.  Most lunches wouldn't be of interest to me either, maybe one each week.

I think the 3 night dining package each week would be the perfect way to do it, realistically I'd want to do Wonderland, Izumi Hibachi, Chops, and Jamie's once each and CP 150 twice, then augment with Izumi ala carte whenever I'm in the mood for that. 

Much obliged! Sometimes I just can't decide until I get an outside view