Does $224 for dining package seem good to you?

[AF-1]

Hello fellow cruisers, I will be on Jade for two weeks in May. The offer on the table is $224 per person for the 14 night cruise. It has been this price since I booked this cruise back in Mar of this year. What do you think; buy it, wait till we get onboard; or forget it? Those options are on the table.

[marelind]

It completely depends on if you want to eat in the specialties each night. DH and I are very happy to eat in the MDR about half the nights. We look at the menu and decide if we see something that piques our interest. If not, we go to one of the specialty restaurants. For that reason it would not make sense to purchase the UDP.

 

Some people don't like the MDR at all and only want to eat in the specialties. If that is your preference then $224/14=$16, which means if you eat in the Italian restaurant every night, it's a bad deal. If you eat in Cagney's or Le Bistro every night, it's a good deal.

 

The only other thing I will say is that our experience on a 14 day is that by the second week we cut way back on how much we eat. In fact, on one of the ship tours the head chef said they order a certain amount on a 7 day cruise. On a 14 day cruise they order, not two times that amount, but only 1-1/2 times as much since the amount of food consumed the second week drops dramatically. So you may find yourself paying for the UDP and then not using it as much as you think you might.

[FireEater]

$32 a night for a couple. 5 star meals. 3 course meals or more....I would say that is a deal....but again, I also found the MDR meals good on the 1 cruise I have been on with NCL, so I would not take it.

 

Enjoy and savor it if you do it. You will not find a better deal unless it comes free....:)

[3DBeach]

We liked it for a 7 days cruise but don't think we would for any cruise longer than that personally. :)

 

 

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[Cubechick]

As DH and I like to break things up with MDR dining...or even the buffet :eek:...no.

 

Even if I wanted to dine in specialty restaurants all of the time, I think that would get old after 14 days.

 

So the answer is, yes, the price is good if you want to dine in specialty restaurants exclusively.

[psbtrvlr]

I don't think it's good. But I do think that the MDR is good so I don't really want to eat in specialties all the time.

[kdzkatz]

A big perk of the UDP is you don't have to "get your moneys worth" each time you go to a specialty. For example, maybe you just want the sliders at Cagneys and then later on you want to share a pizza at the italian restaurant and later in the evening you want the coconut flan (YUMMM!!) at Modernos you have that flexibility.

We have the UDP for our upcoming 9 day and we will see how the extra couple days go for us as we have only done 7 day cruises. We experienced the UDP last May and as we had only eaten at a couple of the specialties prior to that we went a little (maybe more than a little :eek: ) overboard experiences all kind of food we never would have tried. I do think we would take it down a notch or two this time around but we like to eat smaller meals more often so the UDP works for us. It is all personal preference.

[AF-1]

It completely depends on if you want to eat in the specialties each night. DH and I are very happy to eat in the MDR about half the nights. We look at the menu and decide if we see something that piques our interest. If not, we go to one of the specialty restaurants. For that reason it would not make sense to purchase the UDP.

 

Some people don't like the MDR at all and only want to eat in the specialties. If that is your preference then $224/14=$16, which means if you eat in the Italian restaurant every night, it's a bad deal. If you eat in Cagney's or Le Bistro every night, it's a good deal.

 

The only other thing I will say is that our experience on a 14 day is that by the second week we cut way back on how much we eat. In fact, on one of the ship tours the head chef said they order a certain amount on a 7 day cruise. On a 14 day cruise they order, not two times that amount, but only 1-1/2 times as much since the amount of food consumed the second week drops dramatically. So you may find yourself paying for the UDP and then not using it as much as you think you might.

 

Thank you very much for your informative feedback. I appreciate it

[AF-1]

$32 a night for a couple. 5 star meals. 3 course meals or more....I would say that is a deal....but again, I also found the MDR meals good on the 1 cruise I have been on with NCL, so I would not take it.

 

Enjoy and savor it if you do it. You will not find a better deal unless it comes free....:)

 

I appreciate your feedback. I will consider all my options. Thanks

[AF-1]

We liked it for a 7 days cruise but don't think we would for any cruise longer than that personally. :)

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

I understand where your coming from. That is my issue; 7 nights verses 14 nights. Still looking at my options. Thanks

[AF-1]

As DH and I like to break things up with MDR dining...or even the buffet :eek:...no.

 

Even if I wanted to dine in specialty restaurants all of the time, I think that would get old after 14 days.

 

So the answer is, yes, the price is good if you want to dine in specialty restaurants exclusively.

 

I appreciate your feedback. I'm thinking it may get old for 14 days. The ship is doing two 7 day cruises; but you can book for 14 days.; so the food in main dining room will be the same on both 7 day cruises; I will make a decision soon. Thanks.

[AF-1]

A big perk of the UDP is you don't have to "get your moneys worth" each time you go to a specialty. For example, maybe you just want the sliders at Cagneys and then later on you want to share a pizza at the italian restaurant and later in the evening you want the coconut flan (YUMMM!!) at Modernos you have that flexibility.

We have the UDP for our upcoming 9 day and we will see how the extra couple days go for us as we have only done 7 day cruises. We experienced the UDP last May and as we had only eaten at a couple of the specialties prior to that we went a little (maybe more than a little :eek: ) overboard experiences all kind of food we never would have tried. I do think we would take it down a notch or two this time around but we like to eat smaller meals more often so the UDP works for us. It is all personal preference.

 

Great feedback; you make sense of how to look at the UDP; so I appreciate your comments. Still have a few months to make a decision. Thanks

[insidecabin]

Review your booking,

 

UDP and UBP are be included in the current promo.

 

depending on your deal might be better to rebook

[AF-1]

Review your booking,

 

UDP and UBP are be included in the current promo.

 

depending on your deal might be better to rebook

 

I got $300 OBC

[DavyJoneses]

Hello fellow cruisers, I will be on Jade for two weeks in May. The offer on the table is $224 per person for the 14 night cruise. It has been this price since I booked this cruise back in Mar of this year. What do you think; buy it, wait till we get onboard; or forget it? Those options are on the table.

 

I didn't know about this type of deal. I would assume it would be a little more expensive as you would be tipping extra for each meal?

[All-ready2cruise]

I didn't know about this type of deal. I would assume it would be a little more expensive as you would be tipping extra for each meal?

 

Sorry DavyJonese, unsure of what you mean by this. Wait staff, regardless of which restaurant they are assigned to, are included in the DSC/service charge and therefore tips would be the same whether dining in the MDR or a specialty restaurant. So, while you may feel inclined to tip more, it's entirely up to you and is not dependant upon the restaurant type.

 

We did have the UDP for our last cruise, just 7 days though, and we did enjoy it but it was an experiment and we've decided that while we enjoyed it, we won't be getting it for our 12 day cruise since we'll be just fine with the MDR and an occasional specialty restaurant.

 

OP, hope you enjoy your cruise.

[philatiger]

A big perk of the UDP is you don't have to "get your moneys worth" each time you go to a specialty. For example, maybe you just want the sliders at Cagneys and then later on you want to share a pizza at the italian restaurant and later in the evening you want the coconut flan (YUMMM!!) at Modernos you have that flexibility.

We have the UDP for our upcoming 9 day and we will see how the extra couple days go for us as we have only done 7 day cruises. We experienced the UDP last May and as we had only eaten at a couple of the specialties prior to that we went a little (maybe more than a little :eek: ) overboard experiences all kind of food we never would have tried. I do think we would take it down a notch or two this time around but we like to eat smaller meals more often so the UDP works for us. It is all personal preference.

 

I didn't realize you could eat in multiple restaurants each night, if so, it now has me thinking....:D

 

Edit: just looked on the NCL website, it says one per day, it is ultimate not unlimited :(

Edited December 31, 2014 by philatiger

[ncklhaus]

I got $300 OBC

 

If possible, I would swap out the $300 OBC for the Dining Plan. It would be a better value as the Dining Plan will cost you $448 for 2 of you. If you are sailing in May you shouldn't be past final payment and be able to change it. Just my opinion.

[sfaaa]

Think about what else $224 can buy you then draw your conclusion.

[insidecabin]

If possible, I would swap out the $300 OBC for the Dining Plan. It would be a better value as the Dining Plan will cost you $448 for 2 of you. If you are sailing in May you shouldn't be past final payment and be able to change it. Just my opinion.

 

Jade gets 2 perks(Dining, 200OBC, UBP) suites get 3 with 300OBC in the current sale.

 

Depending on where prices have gone since they booked there is a chance they could get a better deal rebooking/negotiating

Edited December 31, 2014 by insidecabin

[kdzkatz]

I didn't realize you could eat in multiple restaurants each night, if so, it now has me thinking....:D

 

Edit: just looked on the NCL website, it says one per day, it is ultimate not unlimited :(

 

Not sure where you read that but I am guessing you read about if you want an additional entree in Cagneys, Le Bistro and there is a third restaurant that you have to pay an additional $10. It is not limited to one restaurant a night. You can go to as many as you want. We tried twice to do a specialty restaurant crawl and could not finish either time. We each ordered one item at each restaurant and we did 3 the first try and 4 restaurants the second time. Never again. It's too much food lol. So my info is not hearsay it is our actual experience. This was last May and I do not think they have changed to rules. If so we will be canceling our UDP as we like doing it ala carte and have a course here and there.

[insidecabin]

Jade gets 2 perks(Dining, 200OBC, UBP) suites get 3 with 300OBC in the current sale.

 

Depending on where prices have gone since they booked there is a chance they could get a better deal rebooking/negotiating

 

forgot to add check the switch to 2 x 7day prices and get $200/$300 OBC for each leg.

Edited January 1, 2015 by insidecabin

[AF-1]

If possible, I would swap out the $300 OBC for the Dining Plan. It would be a better value as the Dining Plan will cost you $448 for 2 of you. If you are sailing in May you shouldn't be past final payment and be able to change it. Just my opinion.

 

I will take a look; my final payment is Feb 23rd

[AF-1]

forgot to add check the switch to 2 x 7day prices and get $200/$300 OBC for each leg.

 

I will check with my travel agent and see what he recommends. thanks I do know this ship is just about sold out; so I will have to be careful about rebooking and getting my same cabin

[AF-1]

Insidecabin, I will check with my travel agent and see what he can do. This ship is just about sold out; so I don't want to lose my aft cabin; but I will look into it.