Should i purchase specialty restaurants before cruise?

[NaplesBeachgal]

We are leaving Friday on the reflection and are unclear if the package 4 night specialty restaurants is the same price on board as it is online or is it better discount once on board? I wanted to use my on board credit which i cannot do if i purchase online now . However is pricing is much better online I will purchase with credit card. ??

[kenevenpar]

You should be able to use OBC in advance. IIRC we did so in August, although it wasn't for the dining package.

[hevnsprncs]

Following...we have a cruise on Reflection in December and are considering a package as well, but like you would prefer to use our OBC which we can't until on board.

[beachbunny6]

You can definitely use your OBC for advance purchases online. FYI in the future, I have noted that the earlier you purchase Specialty Dining, the lower the price will be. It goes higher as the cruise gets closer. I don't know about shore excursions, etc. Bon Voyage! Enjoy your cruise!

[hevnsprncs]

You can definitely use your OBC for advance purchases online. FYI in the future, I have noted that the earlier you purchase Specialty Dining, the lower the price will be. It goes higher as the cruise gets closer. I don't know about shore excursions, etc. Bon Voyage! Enjoy your cruise!

 

Our OBC doesn't show up, we've tried to add the package and then go to checkout and credit card is the only payment option. It's been explained that it is because we booekd with a big box TA and listed as a "gift" on our booking invoice and therefore it doesn't appear on our sea account until a day or two after boarding. Is there some other work around because calling Celebrity directly they aren't able to help us either.

[stevea36]

You can definitely use your OBC for advance purchases online. FYI in the future, I have noted that the earlier you purchase Specialty Dining, the lower the price will be. It goes higher as the cruise gets closer. I don't know about shore excursions, etc. Bon Voyage! Enjoy your cruise!

 

You can only use OBC from X before you board. Once you board you can use both OBC from X and any OBC you are receiving from your TA.

 

Additionally, I have found that specialty dining does, at times, go "on sale" once onboard, usually based on how busy the restaurants are.

 

Steve

[beachbunny6]

Our OBC doesn't show up, we've tried to add the package and then go to checkout and credit card is the only payment option. It's been explained that it is because we booekd with a big box TA and listed as a "gift" on our booking invoice and therefore it doesn't appear on our sea account until a day or two after boarding. Is there some other work around because calling Celebrity directly they aren't able to help us either.

 

Sorry! I have never booked with a Big Box TA. I hope that as stevea36 said, there will be a sale once you board. I have booked onboard the first day and did, indeed, get a good price, but that was for only one dinner. My suggestion would be to find the crew member taking reservations as you first enter the foyer, or as soon as you can that first day. My guess would be that the longer you wait, the less likely it will be that you get a discount. The law of "Supply and Demand" will get you!

Today

[kenevenpar]

The package does not usually go on sale on the ship, but the individual reservations do often go on sale. We have never paid full price.

[kenevenpar]

Sorry! I have never booked with a Big Box TA. I hope that as stevea36 said, there will be a sale once you board. I have booked onboard the first day and did, indeed, get a good price, but that was for only one dinner. My suggestion would be to find the crew member taking reservations as you first enter the foyer, or as soon as you can that first day. My guess would be that the longer you wait, the less likely it will be that you get a discount. The law of "Supply and Demand" will get you!

Today

 

True enough. Additionally, if the OP has flexibility with their dining times, the odds of a discount improve. We don't eat until late, so it is usually fairly easy for us.

[jelayne]

We have 4 cruises booked in the next 15 months and on 3 of the 4 both the 3 & 4 night dining packages are no longer available.

 

Our last cruise we didn’t buy a dining package and discounts on the ship were minimal beyond 30% off the 1st night. Only restaurant with discounts throughout the cruise was Silk Harvest.

[mmsJack]

For us, any unused portion of our TA OBC will be refunded to the credit card we provide on our check in/xpress pass at the end of our trip which we confirmed this w/ our TA. We've pre-purchase the 4 night dining package for our sailing because I read that they can sell out and packages are not always offered once on board. We just paid w/ the credit card we planned to use on our trip so the unspent OBC will get credited back to the same card.

 

I do not know if the 'crediting back unused obc' is always the case for all TA's or if policies vary by agency so please double check with your TA for their policy.

 

We've always bought our dining package in advance so I can't confirm if they are indeed offered for the same price as pre-cruise but I'm going to check that out on or next cruise.

 

On our last cruise there were some discounted specialty dining offers but not a lot and our ship wasn't totally full. I've read in other posts that the discounted dining opportunities seem to be fewer on board, possibly because of the go big/better/best promotions. Some speculate that because many cruisers have obc to spend specialty dining venues are more full and less dependent on discounted offers? Again - speculation...

 

On our last cruise (Reflection/December) we were offered a discount on the first night of the cruise when many travelers opt for MDR and 2-for-1 at Sushi on 5 on our last night but other than that not many deals on board. That said, I'm sure the availability of specialty dining discounts is heavily dependent on the individual sailing, the pax count and specialty dining reservations so others on other ships/sailings may have had a vastly different experience...

[Mr. Click]

From our experience there have been fewer and fewer on board discounts for specialty dining since Celebrity started doing the packages and allowing us to use out Celebrity OBC. That has increased the demand and filled up the restaurants more and more. Indeed the 3 and 4 night packages do disappear after a while. We have the Reflection on Oct 12 and booked the 4 night a few months ago. You cannot get that now, just 6 or more nights. Another issue to consider on European cruises, if your ship only makes port stops in the EU then they are now required to collect the VAT on all onboard purchases including food and beverage. The rate can vary by the port of departure but it can be up to 22%. If you buy your packages before you sail you do not pay the VAT so that can be a nice savings. That is what motivated me to buy a package on this coming trip, that and having a lot of Celebrity OBC to use up.

[ezemoney]

just off the equinox a couple of weeks ago. they were running a special the first day. it was the same price as the online price before it closed for our sailing. if you see a pre-cruise sale I would jump on it!. same goes for drink packages, however we were able to get a 20% discount on a drink package about 3 days into our 9 night cruise. they charged for just the nights remaining plus a 20% discount just ask a pool bar server that tries to sell it to you. he will have to ask his supervisor. squeaky wheels gets the oil! on our cruise the specialty restaurants were fully booked so no additional discount offered after the first day.

 

hope this helps!

 

later,

 

ezemoney