raptorbark Posted March 1 Report Share Posted March 1 We are currently booked on Icon of the Seas for the March 23rd sailing. We have the UDP booked and I am just wondering what the experience has been like for people that have already sailed on Icon. Was it easy to get the reservation that you wanted? Was there any restaurants that you weren't able to get into? Was there anything that wasn't included that surprised you? Also, what was your overall opinion of the UDP package on Icon? I haven't seen this topic discussed anywhere and I am very curious what the experience will be like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 1 Report Share Posted March 1 I had the UDP on Icon. I get it on most Oasis-class ships. We regretted getting it on Icon, though. Not because the specialty restaurants weren't good, they were. But there are SO many great complimentary or low-priced options that we were actually finding ourselves feeling obligated to eat at the specialty restaurants when we really wanted to eat at the AquaDome Marketplace or Basecamp. If we hadn't done the UDP, the money we would have spent at Playmakers, Basecamp, and Izumi in the Park would have been far less than the UDP. And there are no new specialty restaurants on Icon that weren't on our last cruise (Harmony), except for the Empire Supper Club (which was still an upcharge with the UDP.). But, to answer your direct question, it was easy to get reservations at the times we wanted. We just stopped at Giovanni's right away when we boarded the ship and made them all there. WAAAYTOOO, tingtang and Ryan79 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
putinbay Posted March 1 Report Share Posted March 1 1 hour ago, SpeedNoodles said: I had the UDP on Icon. I get it on most Oasis-class ships. We regretted getting it on Icon, though. Not because the specialty restaurants weren't good, they were. But there are SO many great complimentary or low-priced options that we were actually finding ourselves feeling obligated to eat at the specialty restaurants when we really wanted to eat at the AquaDome Marketplace or Basecamp. If we hadn't done the UDP, the money we would have spent at Playmakers, Basecamp, and Izumi in the Park would have been far less than the UDP. And there are no new specialty restaurants on Icon that weren't on our last cruise (Harmony), except for the Empire Supper Club (which was still an upcharge with the UDP.). But, to answer your direct question, it was easy to get reservations at the times we wanted. We just stopped at Giovanni's right away when we boarded the ship and made them all there. Good to know! We'll be on Icon next Saturday, March 9th, and we also booked UDP. Couple of quick follow-up questions, if you don't mind . 1. Were you able to book Hibachi at Giovanni's, too? 2. What time did you board? Our boarding time is 11:30 AM. I'm trying to gauge how quickly I need to head over to Giovanni's to book all the reservations. I'm a bit concerned, since the cruise planner is not showing very desirable time slots for a lot of the speciality restaurants. For example, the only times available for Hibachi for most days is either at 5:00 PM or after 9:00 PM (too early or too late). If I cannot get solid times (preferably between 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM which I think is a fair ask) for the majority of the restaurants, I'll probably just cancel it, which would be unfortunate, given that we bought the UDP at the lowest possible price over a year ago... Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 1 Report Share Posted March 1 4 minutes ago, putinbay said: Good to know! We'll be on Icon next Saturday, March 9th, and we also booked UDP. Couple of quick follow-up questions, if you don't mind . 1. Were you able to book Hibachi at Giovanni's, too? 2. What time did you board? Our boarding time is 11:30 AM. I'm trying to gauge how quickly I need to head over to Giovanni's to book all the reservations. I'm a bit concerned, since the cruise planner is not showing very desirable time slots for a lot of the speciality restaurants. For example, the only times available for Hibachi for most days is either at 5:00 PM or after 9:00 PM (too early or too late). If I cannot get solid times (preferably between 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM which I think is a fair ask) for the majority of the restaurants, I'll probably just cancel it, which would be unfortunate, given that we bought the UDP at the lowest possible price over a year ago... Thanks! We did not book Hibachi at all, so I don't know if you can or not. Our boarding time was 11:30, which was the earliest available that I'm aware of. We had Express Boarding and got on board right away when they opened the ship up (it was the Inaugural sailing). We got to Giovanni's around noon. I honestly wouldn't worry about what's available in the cruise planner. We also got the UDP at $243/pp (and still, we regretted it for this ship). putinbay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted March 1 Report Share Posted March 1 2 hours ago, putinbay said: Good to know! We'll be on Icon next Saturday, March 9th, and we also booked UDP. Couple of quick follow-up questions, if you don't mind . 1. Were you able to book Hibachi at Giovanni's, too? 2. What time did you board? Our boarding time is 11:30 AM. I'm trying to gauge how quickly I need to head over to Giovanni's to book all the reservations. I'm a bit concerned, since the cruise planner is not showing very desirable time slots for a lot of the speciality restaurants. For example, the only times available for Hibachi for most days is either at 5:00 PM or after 9:00 PM (too early or too late). If I cannot get solid times (preferably between 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM which I think is a fair ask) for the majority of the restaurants, I'll probably just cancel it, which would be unfortunate, given that we bought the UDP at the lowest possible price over a year ago... Thanks! Just an fyi but I believe Hibachi is the only restaurant that must be booked at the actual restaurant. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
putinbay Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 16 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said: We did not book Hibachi at all, so I don't know if you can or not. Our boarding time was 11:30, which was the earliest available that I'm aware of. We had Express Boarding and got on board right away when they opened the ship up (it was the Inaugural sailing). We got to Giovanni's around noon. I honestly wouldn't worry about what's available in the cruise planner. We also got the UDP at $243/pp (and still, we regretted it for this ship). Thank you for the additional details. We've never had the UDP package and we've only sailed on Wonder 2 years ago (it's second voyage), and we ate in the MDR each night, so we're looking forward to the additional dining venues. I also booked Empire Supper Club since we have the UDP discount, and b/c the reviews are really good for ESC. Plus, I was able to use some of my $500 in ship board credit towards ESC . Really looking forward to that! Guess I'll have to bee line to Giovannis and Hibachi right when we get onboard. Not exactly the way I'd want to start a nice vacation . Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 The way I'd play it is go up and see if there's anyone taking reservations at Izumi. Maybe you can make them all there. If not, Chops is right across from Izumi and you can do it there. putinbay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptorbark Posted March 2 Author Report Share Posted March 2 @SpeedNoodles thanks for all the great insight. This has been exactly what I was looking for and couldn't find anywhere else. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tink Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 5 hours ago, putinbay said: Thank you for the additional details. We've never had the UDP package and we've only sailed on Wonder 2 years ago (it's second voyage), and we ate in the MDR each night, so we're looking forward to the additional dining venues. I also booked Empire Supper Club since we have the UDP discount, and b/c the reviews are really good for ESC. Plus, I was able to use some of my $500 in ship board credit towards ESC . Really looking forward to that! Guess I'll have to bee line to Giovannis and Hibachi right when we get onboard. Not exactly the way I'd want to start a nice vacation . Thanks! How were you able to book the empire supper club with the UDP discount before the sailing? I was told that you only get the discount if booked once on board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
putinbay Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 54 minutes ago, Tink said: How were you able to book the empire supper club with the UDP discount before the sailing? I was told that you only get the discount if booked once on board. I had to pay full price. Supposedly, I will get a credit back when we're onboard next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tink Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 1 hour ago, putinbay said: I had to pay full price. Supposedly, I will get a credit back when we're onboard next week. I was wondering if I could do that exact thing. Who told you you would get the credit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
putinbay Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 3 hours ago, Tink said: I was wondering if I could do that exact thing. Who told you you would get the credit? I stand corrected. Looks like I'll need to re-book when we get onboard if space is available to get the UDP discount . Shoot! But I was able to use my ship board credit. I am going to see if I can just cancel and rebook right when I get onboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tink Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 I was so hoping you were right. Well fingers crossed that there will be tables available at that time. I am hoping for a table for 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 We just got off the March 2 - 9 sailing. We had the UDP and I agree with what has already been said but wanted to add a few things. (1) There was someone in the terminal, right as you go up the escalators, that was making reservations for all of our specialty dining (not sure about hibachi because we didn't book it). It was so easy and quick to do and it was very nice to not have to worry about that right as we boarded the ship when we really just wanted to explore. Even stopping there before boarding, we were still probably in the first 200-300 people on the ship. (2) You do not need to cancel and re-book Empire Supper Club. I thought that's what you needed to do as well. But, on the morning of our reservation our account showed a refund for ESC. At the end of our meal at ESC they charged us the discounted rate. It was kind of confusing and we had to go to Guest Services to make sure they didn't cancel our reservation, but it all worked out and was pretty smooth. I hope you have a great time. Icon is an amazing ship. Jill and missyandmishaps 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 On 3/12/2024 at 9:44 AM, DavidB said: We just got off the March 2 - 9 sailing. We had the UDP and I agree with what has already been said but wanted to add a few things. (1) There was someone in the terminal, right as you go up the escalators, that was making reservations for all of our specialty dining (not sure about hibachi because we didn't book it). It was so easy and quick to do and it was very nice to not have to worry about that right as we boarded the ship when we really just wanted to explore. Even stopping there before boarding, we were still probably in the first 200-300 people on the ship. (2) You do not need to cancel and re-book Empire Supper Club. I thought that's what you needed to do as well. But, on the morning of our reservation our account showed a refund for ESC. At the end of our meal at ESC they charged us the discounted rate. It was kind of confusing and we had to go to Guest Services to make sure they didn't cancel our reservation, but it all worked out and was pretty smooth. I hope you have a great time. Icon is an amazing ship. This is great to know regarding the supper club. We sail next month and booked it at full price for Day 5. I was going to try and cancel once onboard and re-book under UDP. I was gun shy after my experience with Chefs Table on Wonder where they wouldn’t refund me the difference between full price and UDP. I’ll still inquire once onboard to be sure. So did they credit you back on your account the $140 difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 On 3/2/2024 at 1:16 PM, putinbay said: I had to pay full price. Supposedly, I will get a credit back when we're onboard next week. Did you get your credit for the supper club? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
putinbay Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 12 hours ago, Jill said: Did you get your credit for the supper club? Yes, we did . Jill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingNewb Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 On 3/1/2024 at 9:36 AM, SpeedNoodles said: I had the UDP on Icon. I get it on most Oasis-class ships. We regretted getting it on Icon, though. Not because the specialty restaurants weren't good, they were. But there are SO many great complimentary or low-priced options that we were actually finding ourselves feeling obligated to eat at the specialty restaurants when we really wanted to eat at the AquaDome Marketplace or Basecamp. If we hadn't done the UDP, the money we would have spent at Playmakers, Basecamp, and Izumi in the Park would have been far less than the UDP. And there are no new specialty restaurants on Icon that weren't on our last cruise (Harmony), except for the Empire Supper Club (which was still an upcharge with the UDP.). But, to answer your direct question, it was easy to get reservations at the times we wanted. We just stopped at Giovanni's right away when we boarded the ship and made them all there. This is exactly what I was assuming based upon all of the YouTube videos! We plan to book for 2026 when it becomes available. We are probably only getting a 2 specialty dining package. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 18 hours ago, Jill said: So did they credit you back on your account the $140 difference? Yeah, the credit went to our onboard account. Jill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 27 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said: This is exactly what I was assuming based upon all of the YouTube videos! We plan to book for 2026 when it becomes available. We are probably only getting a 2 specialty dining package. Good luck with that. I haven't ever seen a 2-speciality dining package. There used to be a Chops+1 and I haven't seen that since 2022. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said: Good luck with that. I haven't ever seen a 2-speciality dining package. There used to be a Chops+1 and I haven't seen that since 2022. Icon offers a Giovanni’s + 1 Ampurp85 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 1 hour ago, Jill said: Icon offers a Giovanni’s + 1 My icon sailings is too far out to see any specialty dining, so thanks for info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OShananigans Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 For those who have bought the UDP, what about the trellis bar food. Do you get a credit with that location like the 10$ in Izumi in the park? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter D Posted March 29 Report Share Posted March 29 Unlimited dining package pricing is out of control right now. For my October 2024 Icon sailing, the UDP price is $420.99 per person (discounted 15% from $495.99). Harmony (April) and Anthem (June), $384.99 per person (discounted 15% from $453.99). Even 4-night Utopia in November is $259.99 (discounted 15% from $305.99). These are all 'gratuities included' pricing, but still.... Any insight on what is going on??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted March 29 Report Share Posted March 29 1 hour ago, Peter D said: Unlimited dining package pricing is out of control right now. For my October 2024 Icon sailing, the UDP price is $420.99 per person (discounted 15% from $495.99). Harmony (April) and Anthem (June), $384.99 per person (discounted 15% from $453.99). Even 4-night Utopia in November is $259.99 (discounted 15% from $305.99). These are all 'gratuities included' pricing, but still.... Any insight on what is going on??? The price of the UDP went up I believe some time last year to account for inflation. 15% is the standard discount rate, the better discount rate is 40% which usually happens during a sale. It used to be 50% but I haven't seen that since BF of 2022. @OShananigans Bar food hasn't ever been included with the UDP. I know that any snacks from the Trellis, Vintages, or Giovanni's wine bars were not included. I doubt this has changed for Icon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
putinbay Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 13 hours ago, Peter D said: Unlimited dining package pricing is out of control right now. For my October 2024 Icon sailing, the UDP price is $420.99 per person (discounted 15% from $495.99). Harmony (April) and Anthem (June), $384.99 per person (discounted 15% from $453.99). Even 4-night Utopia in November is $259.99 (discounted 15% from $305.99). These are all 'gratuities included' pricing, but still.... Any insight on what is going on??? Yes, agreed, prices have absolutely skyrocketed. To help put it into perspective a bit, back in May of 2023 (nearly one year ago), we paid $245 per person for our March 9th, 2024 Icon sailing. I remember thinking that was expensive, and I almost did not buy it. While I thought the UDP was nice for our March 9th, 2024 Icon cruise (and yes, we took advantage of it... steak and lobster for lunch and dinner, sushi, more steak and lobster, more sushi, etc., we never set foot in the MDR ), I would not do it for $421 per person. Definitely NOT worth $421, in my opinion. There are far too many great, included options on the Icon. My two cents . Hope this helps! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter D Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 14 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: The price of the UDP went up I believe some time last year to account for inflation. 15% is the standard discount rate, the better discount rate is 40% which usually happens during a sale. It used to be 50% but I haven't seen that since BF of 2022. This may be all true, but I had another observation as it pertains to Harmony sailing. Back in early November, I purchased a single HDP for $249.99 with added gratuity, the total price was $294.98. Just last week, that $294.99 price was still available (not as $249.99 plus gratuity, but rather total, gratuities included. Now it is $384.99, a 30% increase. This seems more a cash grab to me, rather than simply cost increases. I suppose if people will pay it, they can charge whatever they want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 17 hours ago, Peter D said: Unlimited dining package pricing is out of control right now. For my October 2024 Icon sailing, the UDP price is $420.99 per person (discounted 15% from $495.99). Harmony (April) and Anthem (June), $384.99 per person (discounted 15% from $453.99). Even 4-night Utopia in November is $259.99 (discounted 15% from $305.99). These are all 'gratuities included' pricing, but still.... Any insight on what is going on??? It's not just the UDP. The 3 night plan has suddenly jumped up as well. I noticed yesterday that on the cruises where I have previously booked the 3 night package (we almost never buy the UDP anymore as it's just too much food for us), it no longer had the blue "Reserved" banner. At first I was alarmed but it's still showing as having been purchased in "Order History" so I'm still good BUT the price has jumped substantially over what I paid for this package. I noticed that all of the dining packages have gone way up. So much so, that I have decided NOT to buy any dining packages for the Oasis class ships that we are booked on where I had not already purchased a dining package. The price works out to over $100 per meal for the 3 night package and I'm sorry, but no Royal Caribbean dining - even specialty dining - is worth $100 per meal. On those cruises where I had not already previously purchased the 3 night package, I will just suffer through with the Coastal Kitchen. I am not a huge fan of the CK but I won't starve ! I may regret that decision if they suddenly ban us newbie Pinnacles...but it's a chance I will take for now. Back to the UDP....the last UDP I purchased was on Oasis in Dec 2023 sailing (can't recall when I actually bought the package). The price was $199/pp plus grats so $234.82, total. The price of an Oasis UDP (for our upcoming Jan 11, 2025 sailing) is $471.99, total. That's more than DOUBLE ! Sorry. NOPE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMeJoe Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 23 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: I noticed that all of the dining packages have gone way up. So much so, that I have decided NOT to buy any dining packages Agreed! We have just started booking Chops or Giovanni's lunches; and then have a light dinner. We will probably still do one BOGO dinner, but that's it. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janderson Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 At the start of Icon's sailings some of the restaurants were still an al a carte fee even with the UDP. Last week on Matt's live he said that he believed that they had changed that to give you a stipend at some of those restaurants like they do at playmakers or Izumi. Has anyone been on Icon recently and can clear up which restaurants allow a stipend and which are still a fee even with the UDP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.