Speciality dining up charge confusion

[littlelulu01]

Trying to decide on purchase of SDP for kids. The 3 meal plan works out to about $27/meal.

 

From NCL t&c if we use the up charge discount then those will count towards the 3 meal plan. So am I correct that if we book illusionarium we will pay the $27 + $15=$42 whereas if we don't use one of our SDP credits we will pay $30+18%=$35?

 

The other up venues charge confuse me even more. If we eat sushi we pay $27+ $7 up charge and use a SDP meal credit or pay $12 for a combo plus 18%=$14 and don't use a SDP credit. I looked at menus and unless kids ate a ton of sushi it would be hard to reach the $34 cost using the SDP credit.

 

Just wanted to make sure I'm reading the T&C's correctly and if we use those up charge discounts we also burn up spd credits.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I don't think I can answer all your question, but I did have SDP on my last cruise (on the Epic) and booked Cirque. I used one of my SDP meals for it and paid a discounted rate. I think it was $17 for premium seating and IIRC it would have been $11 for standard seating.

 

When I was on the Jade, I didn't have to use a meal for sushi--I just got a discount on it. It was 10 or 20 percent, but that was when I had UDP not SDP.

[punkincc]

Trying to decide on purchase of SDP for kids. The 3 meal plan works out to about $27/meal.

 

From NCL t&c if we use the up charge discount then those will count towards the 3 meal plan. So am I correct that if we book illusionarium we will pay the $27 + $15=$42 whereas if we don't use one of our SDP credits we will pay $30+18%=$35?

 

The other up venues charge confuse me even more. If we eat sushi we pay $27+ $7 up charge and use a SDP meal credit or pay $12 for a combo plus 18%=$14 and don't use a SDP credit. I looked at menus and unless kids ate a ton of sushi it would be hard to reach the $34 cost using the SDP credit.

 

Just wanted to make sure I'm reading the T&C's correctly and if we use those up charge discounts we also burn up spd credits.

 

 

I'm not up to date on what the going rate for the Illusionarium is, but if Your figures are correct, then yes, you would be paying more with the SDP than someone without. Most think it's not really worth it to use an SDP for the places with upcharges like the dinner shows or something like a sushi place where you could probably pay a la carte prices and get by much cheaper.

 

The best bang is to use the SDP's in the a la carte places with no upcharges, like Cagneys, Le Bistro and La Cucina, or the two cover charge places, Moderno and Teppanyaki. Have you taken a look at the a la carte menus? Add up what you think the kids would order. It may not even be worth it to buy a package for them if it does not exceed the $27 per meal cost with the package purchase.

Edited April 30, 2016 by punkincc

[littlelulu01]

I went ahead and purchased the meal package just in case rumors are correct and they do away with it and everything ends up costing more. I can always cancel it if we decide that it won't be cost effective.

 

It just seems odd that they include the options for up charge use but if taken they end up costing quite a bit more than just paying without the package. I was wondering if I was reading the T&C's incorrectly.

 

In doing a search I read some accounts of the up charge venues being an extra bonus and not counting toward the SDP total and others that say it does count if used. But most of those threads are older and I know the plans are always changing.

[kerryincork]

Just get clarification on board before you eat about charges & make sure server knows you are /aren't using SDP

[Demonyte]

When I was on the Jade, I didn't have to use a meal for sushi--I just got a discount on it. It was 10 or 20 percent, but that was when I had UDP not SDP.

 

With UDP there are no meals to spend so that is irrelevant to this discussion, with SDP the discounts/extra charges are calculated based on the usage of one meal in the package.

[punkincc]

I went ahead and purchased the meal package just in case rumors are correct and they do away with it and everything ends up costing more. I can always cancel it if we decide that it won't be cost effective.

 

It just seems odd that they include the options for up charge use but if taken they end up costing quite a bit more than just paying without the package. I was wondering if I was reading the T&C's incorrectly.

 

In doing a search I read some accounts of the up charge venues being an extra bonus and not counting toward the SDP total and others that say it does count if used. But most of those threads are older and I know the plans are always changing.

 

The upcharge venues do charge against SDP, if you want them to. If not, just let the server know, and make sure you are charged accordingly.

 

It looks like the "free" SDP is not being offered as part of the May Promo. But I suspect it will return at some point. And I would be really surprised if they ever decided to totally do away with the package for purchase. Especially since they have made three of the restaurants ala carte, and dining there without a package could be a very expensive proposition. I doubt many people would go there without a package. I know I would not. But of course they may tinker around with the packages in the future, making them more or less attractive.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Never mind. Not worth an irrelevant comment. :rolleyes:

Edited April 30, 2016 by Quilting_Cruiser