New Dining Packages

[tine-tine]

Wondering if anyone has made use of the new dining package structure and if so can they comment on how easy it is to get bookings in restaurants at your chosen time. Do you have to book in advance prior to the cruise to secure your preferred option? I was wondering if the packages attracted larger number of guest in Speciality Dining then due to their size prime times would disappear fast and you would be left with Hobsons choice! Just interested to see if we should consider these for our upcoming cruise, how many should we book but concerned we may purchase too many and find we can't use them because we can't get in to the dining room until either very early or very late! Can you help us with our decision making process!

[teamflames]

I am not sure if it was a "new" package but we bought the 3 dinner package on the Constellation on our last cruise. We bought it when embarking and had no issues making or changing reservations.

Sushi 5 was almost empty; ocean liners not more than half full and Tuscan grill probably slightly over half.

On our recent cruises it didn't look like specialty dining was all that popular. On both we saw them offering discounts towards the latter half of the cruise.

My memory of the equinox a couple of years ago was that specialty dining was very popular. Not sure if over time it has become less popular or it's more popular on the more modern ships or if it's related to the higher prices???

While price is high you could eat as much as you liked which made the sushi better value.

 

 

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[fielddreamer]

Wondering if anyone has made use of the new dining package structure and if so can they comment on how easy it is to get bookings in restaurants at your chosen time. Do you have to book in advance prior to the cruise to secure your preferred option? I was wondering if the packages attracted larger number of guest in Speciality Dining then due to their size prime times would disappear fast and you would be left with Hobsons choice! Just interested to see if we should consider these for our upcoming cruise, how many should we book but concerned we may purchase too many and find we can't use them because we can't get in to the dining room until either very early or very late! Can you help us with our decision making process!

We just came off of the Reflection last week. Out of the 7 nights we ate in 4 different spec. restaurants. I booked about 2 to 3 months out and did not buy the packages because I could not get the times I wanted. So I payed a little bit more and got all the times I wanted but at that time they offered a 20% sale that week. The problem when you buy the packages they let you chose the 1st or 2nd night for the first meal but you can not book anything else til you get on the ship. When you get on we saw at least 25 people selling the fine dinning deals all over the ship. I found out listening to people trying to book is that most of the good times are gone do to booking on-line up to 4 months out. It worked out great for us and the meals everywhere were great. It's well worth the money and we booked the same ship for a 10 day next year and they are starting a new package deal starting jan 1st. They have it on my booking already. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me ! Good luck Bob

Edited December 15, 2016 by fielddreamer

[tine-tine]

Thank you team flames and field dreamer. Celebrity have recently done away with the Unlimited Speciality Dining package and introduced a range of packages from 3 to 14 Dinners, I was looking for information from anyone who may have purchased these new packages to hear their experience and if they proved a positive purchase. From my experience of Speciality Dining, it is not always easy to secure the right time and venue and I feel these packages may make things worse.

[fielddreamer]

Thank you team flames and field dreamer. Celebrity have recently done away with the Unlimited Speciality Dining package and introduced a range of packages from 3 to 14 Dinners, I was looking for information from anyone who may have purchased these new packages to hear their experience and if they proved a positive purchase. From my experience of Speciality Dining, it is not always easy to secure the right time and venue and I feel these packages may make things worse.

These pkgs do not start until Jan 1st. You still can only pick the first meal on-line for day one or two. The rest you have to do when you get on the ship and that's where the problem rests.I do not know how long your cruise is but on my 7 day ,4 was enough for us. They can be used for lunch or dinner which might help !

[tine-tine]

Ahhh! that explains the lack of posts on the topic. I read the initial reaction then did not check the start date. We are on a 14 night and we're swithering over number of days, which boils down to the equation of positive experience, ease of access, feedback and ability to survive that type of dining for any sustained length of time on top of a drinks package. [emoji41]

 

 

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