Confused About Dining Packages & a la Carte Restaurants

Hello!

 

We're doing our first cruise ever on Getaway in January, and booked with the Free at Sea promo- so we're getting 3 meals at the specialty restaurants included. I'm seeing conflicting information on how the a la carte restaurants work with the dining packages and it's a little confusing.

 

The website says that you can use the dining packages in the a la carte restaurants, with an added fee at Cagney's and Ocean Blue. I'm fine paying an upcharge, but are the menu items still a la carte?

 

Thanks for any info you can provide!

I had a dining package last cruise in March. There was only a upcharge for Oceans Blue. You were allowed with the dining program to order multiple apps and sides and 1 main course and dessert. Even though was a la carte back then also.

Hello!

 

We're doing our first cruise ever on Getaway in January, and booked with the Free at Sea promo- so we're getting 3 meals at the specialty restaurants included. I'm seeing conflicting information on how the a la carte restaurants work with the dining packages and it's a little confusing.

 

The website says that you can use the dining packages in the a la carte restaurants, with an added fee at Cagney's and Ocean Blue. I'm fine paying an upcharge, but are the menu items still a la carte?

 

Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

Basically, they don't want to print multiple menus for people with and without the dining package. If you have the dining package you can just ignore all the prices on the menu, which is a nice feeling.

 

The upcharge in Cagney's only relates to one clearly labelled premium product, unless they've changed it in the past week.

Order as many appetizers, salads, sides, and desserts as you wish; one entree per person. Cagney's has an entree or two that are considered "premium" and will have an additional charge. Otherwise as long as you stick to one entree per person, the meal will be no charge.

 

There is an additional upcharge to dine at Oceans Blue. Some say it's worth it, others say it's not.

The upcharge in Cagney's only relates to one clearly labelled premium product, unless they've changed it in the past week.

What was that product? This is the first I've heard of a menu item at Cagney's that is not fully included in the SDP, even the most expensive ($39) steak. Edited October 25, 2016 by hawkeyetlse

What was that product? This is the first I've heard of a menu item at Cagney's that is not fully included in the SDP, even the most expensive ($39) steak.

 

 

 

I have ordered items at Cagneys with the upcharge, even for SDP, and not been charged. I imagine it's a YMMV situation. I assumed waiter entered differently to save me some money and tipped accordingly.

 

 

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I have ordered items at Cagneys with the upcharge, even for SDP, and not been charged. I imagine it's a YMMV situation. I assumed waiter entered differently to save me some money and tipped accordingly.

Your mileage is not supposed to vary, and the servers didn't do anything out of the ordinary for you. The FAQ of the package has always said that "all items listed on the menus are included in the package" for no extra charge, at least at Cagney's, Le Bistro, and La Cucina.

Some of you guys are a bit too passionate. Just stating my experience. [emoji23]

 

 

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Isn't the extra premium charge in Cagney's or other high (top) end restaurants

when you order the magic entrée word "LOBSTER" as in Surf & Turf lobster and

Steak ?

It would seem that is the case combining lobster with something else on the menu.

And Yes there are a multitude of ways to get confused with the a la carte dining

program when one has the SDP or purchases the 3 meal dining package on the

side

and then add in a Latitudes dinner for two with free bottle of wine.

By this time one should know the rules and how they are applied but then the

rules are ever changing as well as the promos as well as the gratuities !

 

Reminiscing the Disney theme park rides of yesteryear - you need 6 purple or

10 point coupons to ride this ride !

On our most recent cruise we ate at LaCucina with the SDP. They took our cards, and came back with individual bills - all showed the full amount of the a la carte meals followed by a line item SDP credit, which was equal to the bill amount. Net bottom line $0.00. We never tried to order more than one main item (or app, salad, or dessert).

Hello!

 

We're doing our first cruise ever on Getaway in January, and booked with the Free at Sea promo- so we're getting 3 meals at the specialty restaurants included. I'm seeing conflicting information on how the a la carte restaurants work with the dining packages and it's a little confusing.

 

The website says that you can use the dining packages in the a la carte restaurants, with an added fee at Cagney's and Ocean Blue. I'm fine paying an upcharge, but are the menu items still a la carte?

 

Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

Order multiple appitizers, a single entree, multiple sides, and multiple desserts and the SDP covers the cost at specialty restaurants.

 

There is an upcharge for ocean blue, raw bar, sushi, and entertainment based meals like the illusionarium

 

No up charges at Cagneys (we've eaten at Cagneys 10 times this year). No magic except in the illusionarium.

Edited October 25, 2016 by BirdTravels

Isn't the extra premium charge in Cagney's or other high (top) end restaurants

when you order the magic entrée word "LOBSTER" as in Surf & Turf lobster and

Steak ?

Up until last year' date=' before they went à la carte, there were two "Premium Selections" on the Cagney's menu: 32oz porterhouse steak and whole Maine lobster. If you paid the cover charge of $29.95, you had to pay another $9.99 to order either of these entrées. But if you had a dining package (UDP or SDP), you paid neither the cover charge, nor the upcharge.

 

Now that Cagney's has moved to à la carte pricing, everything on the menu is technically an "upcharge" item. But if you have a dining package, you still pay nothing (as long as you only order one entrée). It doesn't matter if you order the chicken ($14) or the tomahawk ($39), you get it for no extra charge using the SDP. I wouldn't be surprised if they changed this in the future, but that is the current policy.

(we've eaten at Cagneys 10 times this year)

A bit too passionate, if you ask me. :D Edited October 25, 2016 by hawkeyetlse

Thank you everyone for your help!

There are 3 of us in our room, so only 2 of us have the dining package. If the 3 of us go to a specialty restaurant, can I have my daughter's charges (she's the one without the package) put on my cruise account so that I get my meal free and then I pay for hers on my ship account and she doesn't have to pay for her own? (Does that make sense??)

Yes, absolutely, explain to the server what you want to do and they will take care of it just the way you described.