UDP reservation times are TERRIBLE :(

[LrgPizza]

I guess the beauty of booking ahead, as I did, is that I know I will be able to at least TRY each of the specialty restaurants if I want. Once on the ship, I can cancel or change reservations as I see fit, depending on what's available, because like others have said, who knows where I will want to eat in 3 months? However, if nothing else is available, I can just stick with what I have. Since I have UDP, I didn't have to pay anything to book the dining reservations, so why not? This way when I hear people complain that they weren't able to get into Teppanyaki (for example), at least I know I can be there no matter what, if I want to be.

[maywell]

I'm trying not to buy the UDP for the simple fact its my 1st time on Breakaway ( NCL for that matter). So if the MDR is really that shoddy for 7 day cruise, then buy for future week long trips. I'm playing by ear which $15-20 (not going to try Cagney's, I can see why UDP is useful for that restaurant) eatery has open reservations and just show up. For all I know, I might not be dining by myself, so who knows?[emoji6]

[DGP1111]

It's 90 days now or 100 days for suite passengers.

 

And that's good/great information (especially about the change) for all passengers to know, if they are really interested in the whole pre-booking dining arrangements.

 

Now, wouldn't it be a really neat idea for that to be clearly mentioned on the NCL web site, and even more novel idea to cleary put that on the UDP purchase page, and on the MYNCL page.

 

According to the purchase page FAQs . . .

 

Q. HOW CAN I MAKE DINING RESERVATIONS WITH THE ULTIMATE DINING PACKAGE?

A. Once you have purchased the Ultimate Dining Package, you can make any dining reservation online under "Dining" by logging into ncl.com/myncl. Reservations for Spiegeltent/Illusionarium must be made under "Entertainment." You can also make a reservation onboard the ship by calling or visiting the Restaurant Reservations Desk, visit any restaurant reservations podium or visit the box office for Spiegeltent/Illusionarium reservations.

 

"Once you have purchased" would only be correct if you initially arranged that within the 90/100 days.

 

Then after you have purchased the UDP and it is added to your vacation details, you'll see this message . . .

 

Thank you for purchasing the Ultimate Dining Package for all guests on this reservation. To make dining reservations, please go back and select the desired restaurant.

 

Once again, not really accurate wording if arranged prior to the 90/100 window. NCL has advised me this has caused some confusion/concern to more than a few passengers who were under the impression it could be arranged once purchased, no matter how far in advance. Not everyone gets the Cruise Critic insight. An 'easy fix' for the web site . . . but not one I'll anticipate seeing any time soon.

 

Happy cruising, all !!!

 

.

Edited August 26, 2014 by DGP1111

[happy cruzin]

And that's good/great information (especially about the change) for all passengers to know, if they are really interested in the whole pre-booking dining arrangements.

 

Now, wouldn't it be a really neat idea for that to be clearly mentioned on the NCL web site, and even more novel idea to cleary put that on the UDP purchase page, and on the MYNCL page.

 

According to the purchase page FAQs . . .

 

Q. HOW CAN I MAKE DINING RESERVATIONS WITH THE ULTIMATE DINING PACKAGE?

A. Once you have purchased the Ultimate Dining Package, you can make any dining reservation online under "Dining" by logging into ncl.com/myncl. Reservations for Spiegeltent/Illusionarium must be made under "Entertainment." You can also make a reservation onboard the ship by calling or visiting the Restaurant Reservations Desk, visit any restaurant reservations podium or visit the box office for Spiegeltent/Illusionarium reservations.

 

"Once you have purchased" would only be correct if you initially arranged that within the 90/100 days.

 

Then after you have purchased the UDP and it is added to your vacation details, you'll see this message . . .

 

Thank you for purchasing the Ultimate Dining Package for all guests on this reservation. To make dining reservations, please go back and select the desired restaurant.

 

Once again, not really accurate wording if arranged prior to the 90/100 window. NCL has advised me this has caused come confusion/concern to more than a few passengers who were under the impression it could be arranged once purchased, no matter how far in advance. Not everyone gets the Cruise Critic insight. An 'easy fix' for the web site . . . but not one I'll anticipate seeing any time soon.

 

Happy cruising, all !!!

 

.

 

Excellent points. I have called/emailed twice to clarify the 90/100 dat change - because I've been uncertain that I understood it. Those that are new to NCL - or have never opted to reserve prior to boarding - are bound to be confused too! :o

Wording...a simple thing - but it's everything! :cool:

[DGP1111]

Wording...a simple thing - but it's everything!

 

What a concept, huh? ;) :)

 

.

[LrgPizza]

I just want to make sure people are clear that the 90/100 day opening of reservations is for anyone, not just those who purchase UDP.

[LrgPizza]

I'm trying not to buy the UDP for the simple fact its my 1st time on Breakaway ( NCL for that matter). So if the MDR is really that shoddy for 7 day cruise, then buy for future week long trips. I'm playing by ear which $15-20 (not going to try Cagney's, I can see why UDP is useful for that restaurant) eatery has open reservations and just show up. For all I know, I might not be dining by myself, so who knows?[emoji6]

If you eat different specialty restaurants 5 out of 7 nights, including Cagney's, you would save money if you DON'T buy the UDP.

[happy cruzin]

What a concept, huh? ;) :)

 

.

 

 

Exactly! ;) :D

[cruis247g]

We are thinking about purchasing the UDP for our next NCL cruise, which will be in the spring. Even though we've sailed NCL many times, we'll be newbies on the Breakaway. We usually just book specialty dining once on the ship, but I'm rethinking this strategy for the Breakaway.

 

We would like to coordinate dining and shows. Is there a way for me to see show schedules in advance so that I can book dining before or after them? At this point (we're still months out), Shore Excursions are available, but nothing shows under the Entertainment tab for this cruise in My NCL. Is there another place to look or does this info become visible closer to cruising or do we have to wait until we board?

 

Does being in a suite make any difference with the UDP?

 

Thanks to all.

Edited August 26, 2014 by cruis247g

[CruiseWithUs64]

Those days are long gone, unfortunately. You have to make reservations in advance, unless you have access to the concierge.

 

Not entirely true. If you avoid the main dining times (6-8) and you have a small party (up to 4) your chances are pretty good to get a table by just walking up.

Many times I had a good run in the casino and decided to do a later dinner and never had a problem. Teps is a problem because that venue is fairly small.

 

Just be flexible.

[CruiseWithUs64]

I respectfully disagree. When freestyle was first introduced by NCL back in the 90's one could not make any reservations. It was truly 'free-style' as in first come, first serve (even the specialty restaurants). It was a beautiful thing and a very forward thinking vision in the industry at that time.

 

NCL now allows all restaurants to be reserved resulting in the prime times to be completely full prior to even boarding the ship (even in the complimentary venues).

 

I totally understand what starry is saying in that most people want reservations so NCL changed their policies to accommodate the majority; however imho it is no longer truly 'free-style' if all venues allow reservations.

 

NCL started Freestyle in 2000 after they were acquired by Star Cruises.

[maywell]

If you eat different specialty restaurants 5 out of 7 nights, including Cagney's, you would save money if you DON'T buy the UDP.

That and if I'm only doing 2-4 nights speciality dining without going to Cagney's, even with going to Teppanyaki for at least 3 nights. Its about how often one dines out at specialty restaurants and how much they'll pay for it. Just plug in the numbers in a spreadsheet and run different scenarios / combinations and see which ones looks similar to how you would behave (it really does works if one is truly honest with themselves)

 

Now, 12 day trip in 2015, I definitely have to buy the UDP before going because that's $200 I don't have to concern myself about on a $300-500 spending budget. That and dining out 6-7 times out of 12 days is more easy to do for me than a 7-night cruise.

[Okmyx]

If you eat different specialty restaurants 5 out of 7 nights, including Cagney's, you would save money if you DON'T buy the UDP.

 

 

This assumes you don't include the cost of the show, which is included the first night on several ships with UDP.

 

 

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[All-ready2cruise]

I've been on the fence about getting the UDP for a while but, having just done the math, it appears it will be worthwhile for us.

 

The ships with the dinner shows, Epic, Breakaway and Getaway, really do make it worth it for those who might wonder. For us, we usually dine in the specialty restaurants 3-4 evenings. It'll be fun to try it :D

 

For our upcoming cruise my math looks like this: Cagney's x2 = 60, Moderno =20, Le Cucina = 15 and Teppanyaki = 25 Grand total = 120 so anything over that... we're good.

[dizneydawn]

We are thinking about purchasing the UDP for our next NCL cruise, which will be in the spring. Even though we've sailed NCL many times, we'll be newbies on the Breakaway. We usually just book specialty dining once on the ship, but I'm rethinking this strategy for the Breakaway.

 

We would like to coordinate dining and shows. Is there a way for me to see show schedules in advance so that I can book dining before or after them? At this point (we're still months out), Shore Excursions are available, but nothing shows under the Entertainment tab for this cruise in My NCL. Is there another place to look or does this info become visible closer to cruising or do we have to wait until we board?

 

Does being in a suite make any difference with the UDP?

 

Thanks to all.

The entertainment will be visable at the same time that dining reservations become available. We went to the entertainment first then planned our dining times around the show times.

[LrgPizza]

This assumes you don't include the cost of the show, which is included the first night on several ships with UDP.

 

Exactly. The show is the only reason we purchased it.

[maywell]

Exactly. The show is the only reason we purchased it.

I don't plan to get into the 1st show (embarkment day) but do plan to see it (and pay[emoji17] ) along with at least one specialty restaurant during the week.

[cruis247g]

The entertainment will be visable at the same time that dining reservations become available. We went to the entertainment first then planned our dining times around the show times.

 

Thanks very much. That should work well for us as well.

[DGP1111]

Interesting challenge with booking online today . . .

 

It wasn't so much about the times, as everything I wanted was available within a 30-minute window of what I'd done in my pre-booking "wish list".

 

Booking the Illusionarium experience for embarkation day was a piece of cake (and was able to booking the Premium seating within the Ultimate Dining Package). Yea!! :)

 

The challenge arose with Le Bistro, which (at least today) can only be booked for an even number of dining guests (2, 4, 6). My goal was to book two solo seatings during the week, but none were available. I called NCL and the agent (Debbie) advised that "all of the tables for one must have already been booked". I commented that reservations had only opened ten minutes earlier for online booking, as well as there is no such thing as a table for one. It would be a table for two with one person absent. She immediately got it. I asked her to check for any night/time the entire week, and she also realized that there were none. :(

A solo would need to book for two, and pre-pay for the extra person.

A group of three would have to book for four, and pre-pay for the extra person.

A group of five would have to book for six, and pre-pay for the extra person.

 

None of the other specialty restaurants offered this situation, so I'm curious what the rationale is for it at Le Bistro.

 

I booked at other locations for those two evenings, and will check once onboard about a potential swap to Le Bistro, as long as the time will coordinate with the pre-booked entertainment for the evening.

 

For what I've got booked, the UDP is a very nice savings. :)

Edited September 14, 2014 by DGP1111

[Quilting_Cruiser]

 

The challenge arose with Le Bistro, which (at least today) can only be booked for an even number of dining guests (2, 4, 6). My goal was to book two solo seatings during the week, but none were available. I called NCL and the agent (Debbie) advised that "all of the tables for one must have already been booked". I commented that reservations had only opened ten minutes earlier for online booking, as well as there is no such thing as a table for one. It would be a table for two with one person absent. She immediately got it. I asked her to check for any night/time the entire week, and she also realized that there were none. :(

A solo would need to book for two, and pre-pay for the extra person.

A group of three would have to book for four, and pre-pay for the extra person.

A group of five would have to book for six, and pre-pay for the extra person.

 

None of the other specialty restaurants offered this situation, so I'm curious what the rationale is for it at Le Bistro.

 

I booked at other locations for those two evenings, and will check once onboard about a potential swap to Le Bistro, as long as the time will coordinate with the pre-booked entertainment for the evening.

 

For what I've got booked, the UDP is a very nice savings. :)[/color]

 

 

I had the same situation when booking Teppanyaki for my upcoming Jade cruise. I went ahead and booked it for two and figured I'd change the reservation once I'm on board. Since I purchased UDP I didn't need to prepay for the reservation; if I hadn't purchased UDP, I'd have called to see if an agent could get me a reservation for one.

[EyeSeaEwe]

My group of four wanted to book Cagney's for the final night. All of us thought that someone else had made the reservations. When we figured it out it was too late. We asked if we could still get in since we all had UDP. We were told to expect a call in a few minutes to see what could be done. The call back cam and we were told Cagney's was actually over booked and we were then invited to dine in the Haven for that evening!

[happy cruzin]

I had the same situation when booking Teppanyaki for my upcoming Jade cruise. I went ahead and booked it for two and figured I'd change the reservation once I'm on board. Since I purchased UDP I didn't need to prepay for the reservation; if I hadn't purchased UDP, I'd have called to see if an agent could get me a reservation for one.

 

 

Umm....according to his post he did call. Even the NCL rep was unable to secure a reservation for one. 😁

 

 

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[happy cruzin]

Interesting challenge with booking online today . . .

 

 

 

It wasn't so much about the times, as everything I wanted was available within a 30-minute window of what I'd done in my pre-booking "wish list".

 

 

 

Booking the Illusionarium experience for embarkation day was a piece of cake (and was able to booking the Premium seating within the Ultimate Dining Package). Yea!! :)

 

 

 

The challenge arose with Le Bistro, which (at least today) can only be booked for an even number of dining guests (2, 4, 6). My goal was to book two solo seatings during the week, but none were available. I called NCL and the agent (Debbie) advised that "all of the tables for one must have already been booked". I commented that reservations had only opened ten minutes earlier for online booking, as well as there is no such thing as a table for one. It would be a table for two with one person absent. She immediately got it. I asked her to check for any night/time the entire week, and she also realized that there were none. :(

 

A solo would need to book for two, and pre-pay for the extra person.

 

A group of three would have to book for four, and pre-pay for the extra person.

 

A group of five would have to book for six, and pre-pay for the extra person.

 

 

 

None of the other specialty restaurants offered this situation, so I'm curious what the rationale is for it at Le Bistro.

 

 

 

I booked at other locations for those two evenings, and will check once onboard about a potential swap to Le Bistro, as long as the time will coordinate with the pre-booked entertainment for the evening.

 

 

 

For what I've got booked, the UDP is a very nice savings. :)

 

 

*fingers crossed* that you can get it straightened out once on board!!

 

Makes NO sense that with the all studio cabins (aka: solo cruisers) you are unable to book a solo dinner reservation. 😟

 

 

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[NLH Arizona]

I had the same situation when booking Teppanyaki for my upcoming Jade cruise. I went ahead and booked it for two and figured I'd change the reservation once I'm on board. Since I purchased UDP I didn't need to prepay for the reservation; if I hadn't purchased UDP, I'd have called to see if an agent could get me a reservation for one.

On my May cruise on the Pearl, I called and tried to make a reservation for one in Teppanyaki (I didn't have the UDP) and was told that I could not. I had to pay for two and then when on board the ship, they cancelled the the second person and gave me OBC for that cost.

[happy cruzin]

My group of four wanted to book Cagney's for the final night. All of us thought that someone else had made the reservations. When we figured it out it was too late. We asked if we could still get in since we all had UDP. We were told to expect a call in a few minutes to see what could be done. The call back cam and we were told Cagney's was actually over booked and we were then invited to dine in the Haven for that evening!

 

 

Interesting...never heard of the Haven being offered when a restaurant can't accommodate their reservations.

 

 

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