Do you think the unlimited dining package is worth it?

[daninwi]

3 hours ago, DeanD said:

It is my understanding that Izumi/Teppanyaki is now included but with a $10 PP uncharge.  

for our recent Allure cruise while eating at Teppanyaki, the wait staff told us before dinner that if you prepaid the $10 surcharge only applied if you asked for the combination (two proteins) choices.  

[ampurp85]

If you have the UDP then you can frequent the specialty restaurants as much as you want. You could eat up your $35 and then come back and do it again. I would imagine its a bit harder with reduced capacity to schedule reservations but it is possible.

[DeanD]

9 hours ago, MikeBayAreaCa said:

Izumi and Hibachi are two separate things.  
 

They are not on every ship.

Can't speak for every ship but on many they are listed as Izumi Sushi and Izumi Hibachi as options but on the deck plans simply as Izumi in one location.  In these situations they are not separate but separate options within a single restaurant, Izumi.

[DeanD]

8 hours ago, daninwi said:

for our recent Allure cruise while eating at Teppanyaki, the wait staff told us before dinner that if you prepaid the $10 surcharge only applied if you asked for the combination (two proteins) choices.  

Here is the wording from the cruise planner for one of our upcoming cruises.

 

"For ships with these venues, Teppanyaki/Izumi Hibachi is included, with a $10 surcharge, which will be charged onboard"

 

This is c/w what I've seen listed by others.  But it's not a big surprise if there is variable enforcement such as they often do not charge for the wine corkage fee.

[MikeBayAreaCa]

5 hours ago, DeanD said:

Can't speak for every ship but on many they are listed as Izumi Sushi and Izumi Hibachi as options but on the deck plans simply as Izumi in one location.  In these situations they are not separate but separate options within a single restaurant, Izumi.

Yes, I agree, they are located at the same location,  but I think the payment options are different for each.    I may be wrong, but based on what I have read your $35.00 credit is good for the Izumi regular menu and you pay for anything you order over that amount.  The hibachi includes the $35.00 plus $10.00 over that amount plus gratuity charged to your account.  I have not been on a ship with Hibachi.  If I am wrong I am sure someone with that experience will correct me.

[DeanD]

49 minutes ago, MikeBayAreaCa said:

Yes, I agree, they are located at the same location,  but I think the payment options are different for each.    I may be wrong, but based on what I have read your $35.00 credit is good for the Izumi regular menu and you pay for anything you order over that amount.  The hibachi includes the $35.00 plus $10.00 over that amount plus gratuity charged to your account.  I have not been on a ship with Hibachi.  If I am wrong I am sure someone with that experience will correct me.

That's my understanding as well which is why I stated "It is my understanding that Izumi/Teppanyaki is now included but with a $10 PP uncharge."  Maybe I should have specifically excluded the Sushi option to be more clear.  

[joyhannah]

I have had it and Loved it... I also plan to get it on my next cruise in November

[BNBR]

Depends on the ship.  We have purchased it on Symphony and you can eat somewhere different every evening.  The specialty restaurants were all outstanding and an easy step above MDR.  I know they say sea day lunches, but we had no issue using it for port lunches as well.  It's really a bargain for what you get.  We felt it increased the dining experience on the cruise 10 fold and have it again for our upcoming cruise.

[BNBR]

20 minutes ago, DeanD said:

That's my understanding as well which is why I stated "It is my understanding that Izumi/Teppanyaki is now included but with a $10 PP uncharge."  Maybe I should have specifically excluded the Sushi option to be more clear.  

 

Not sure about Teppanyaki, but we used it for the sushi side of Izumi on Symphony and it's covered under the a la carte portion of the dining plan.  No charge at all.  

[BNBR]

 

On 8/23/2021 at 1:28 PM, barb in ga said:

We are really excited to be on the 9/4 sailing of Symphony! I retired last month, and this is our splurge celebration, with a Crown Loft suite which gives us Coastal Kitchen for breakfast lunch and dinner. We also bought the UDP, which isn't cheap by any means but gives us a world of choice.

 

For people who ask if it is "worth it", I figure that based on our history of cruising, we love specialty restaurants, so for us being spoiled for choice sounds very appealing. 

 

Counting the days!

Barb

 

We'll be on the same sailing in a GS.  I'm sure we'll see you and not know it 🙂

 

It's WAY worth it on Symphony to get the UDP.  We'll even swing by Playmakers for a big dessert, just because, all included in the UDP.  Don't forget Hooked Seafood.  If you haven't sailed Symphony before, it's a restaurant right above the solarium with awesome food and really cool views.  Just remember that you need to make your reservations on embarkation day.  You can walk up to any restaurant or they should have people in the promenade.  Of course, with lower guest counts, this may not be as necessary as it was before.  I guess we'll see.

[Moltar]

On 8/18/2021 at 1:36 PM, theotherchad said:

No problem with the food in the MDR, or for that matter, the Windjammer, but for us, the more we cruise, the less patience we have with the MDR experience. It takes so long… 

This one throws me for a loop in my 18 cruises on Royal I’ve never had slow service in the main dining room ever. Specialty restaurants are hands down at least double the length of time. 

[colesc15]

We're considering the UDP for the first time on our Odyssey cruise next month. Trying to understand.. It's a 6 night cruise.. are we able to eat at Chops for more than 1 of the nights? I'm assuming if we ate at say, Giovanni's one night, and later that night were hungry for some wings at Playmakers, since we already ate at Giovannis that night under the package, we'd have to pay the entire bill at Playmakers? I appreciate someone answering 🙂

[katiel53]

1 hour ago, MikeBayAreaCa said:

Yes, I agree, they are located at the same location,  but I think the payment options are different for each.    I may be wrong, but based on what I have read your $35.00 credit is good for the Izumi regular menu and you pay for anything you order over that amount.  The hibachi includes the $35.00 plus $10.00 over that amount plus gratuity charged to your account.  I have not been on a ship with Hibachi.  If I am wrong I am sure someone with that experience will correct me.

You are  wrong abut the Hibachi side of Izumi in a small way.  The cost of the Hibachi dinner is $45.99.  If it is part of the UDP, a $10 surcharge is assigned.  Having said that,  I have read if only 1 protein is ordered, no surcharge is applied.  That is not what the website states, but that is based on someone's experience.  We went to Hibachi for lunch one day and had the UDP.  I ha steak and scallops and was  NOT charged the surcharge.   So, who really knows what the policy is as opposed to what is stated?

 

[barb in ga]

colesc15: from the Cruise planner:

 

Savor the savings with the Unlimited Dining Package! For one low price, you can enjoy multiple entrees and visit multiple specialty restaurants every night of your sailing. And as an added perk, this unlimited package also applies to lunch at specialty restaurants on sea days. Plus, enjoy a discount of 40% off bottles of wine under $100 and 20% off bottles above $100 while dining in specialty restaurants.

Not valid for premium experiences including: Chef's Table, Wine Pairing Dinners, Taste of Royal, and Mystery Dinner Theater.

 

We probably won't go 2 places every night, but I like the idea of coffee and dessert a little later. Playmakers and Johnny Rockets are open a little later than the restaurants(10pm vs 9pm)

We sailed Symphony in the Med 3 years ago and didn't do any specialty restaurants because we had 6/7 port days. We've experienced all of Symphony's specialties on other Oasis class sailings except Hooked and Playmakers. Today I start packing!

Barb

[theotherchad]

2 hours ago, Moltar said:

This one throws me for a loop in my 18 cruises on Royal I’ve never had slow service in the main dining room ever. Specialty restaurants are hands down at least double the length of time. 

Wow, I don't know if this is a perception issue or what.  I've never gotten out of the MDR in less than 1 and a half hours, and usually, it's more like two. As for the specialty restaurants, maybe the slow pace fits better with the less crowded environment so that we don't mind it as much. We're not ones to want to rush through a meal in general.  

 

It's weird for us. We used to love the MDR, but over the years and multiple cruises, the shine just wore off. When we get back to cruising, we are planning on the ultimate meal package, and do specialty dining every night. As to the specialty restaurants being "hands down" double the length of time, that has not been our experience at all. YMMV

Edited August 24, 2021 by theotherchad

[BNBR]

2 hours ago, colesc15 said:

We're considering the UDP for the first time on our Odyssey cruise next month. Trying to understand.. It's a 6 night cruise.. are we able to eat at Chops for more than 1 of the nights? I'm assuming if we ate at say, Giovanni's one night, and later that night were hungry for some wings at Playmakers, since we already ate at Giovannis that night under the package, we'd have to pay the entire bill at Playmakers? I appreciate someone answering 🙂

 

It's UNLIMITED.  So it's not just 1 restaurant per night.  You can absolutely eat at Giovanni's one night then grab some wings at Playmakers the same night using the credit, no bill at all.  You can eat at Chop's every night if you wanted as well.  You do whatever you want.  It's a great program.  Just pick the restaurants you want to eat at when you get onboard.  And if you want a dessert at Playmakers randomly in the evening, go for it.  Or chili fries at Johnny Rockets, or whatever else.  It's unlimited, so it's not once per meal or anything like that.  That's why we love it so much.  With so many specialties on the big ships, it really opens up the dining experience significantly.

Edited August 24, 2021 by BNBR

[BNBR]

2 hours ago, katiel53 said:

You are  wrong abut the Hibachi side of Izumi in a small way.  The cost of the Hibachi dinner is $45.99.  If it is part of the UDP, a $10 surcharge is assigned.  Having said that,  I have read if only 1 protein is ordered, no surcharge is applied.  That is not what the website states, but that is based on someone's experience.  We went to Hibachi for lunch one day and had the UDP.  I ha steak and scallops and was  NOT charged the surcharge.   So, who really knows what the policy is as opposed to what is stated?

 

 

And I had a waiter at Jamie's giving us entire bottles of wine as part of our drink package, lol.  You never quite know what you are gonna get.  But I think a $10 surcharge is pretty minor at least for teppanyaki.

[colesc15]

Do people generally tip in cash each night then? Normally we tip the few nights we do specialty dining but if you're using the package, that's an added cost by tipping extra each night. Curious. 

[BNBR]

20 hours ago, colesc15 said:

Do people generally tip in cash each night then? Normally we tip the few nights we do specialty dining but if you're using the package, that's an added cost by tipping extra each night. Curious. 

 

You still get a $0 bill that you can leave a tip on, at least that's how it was last time I used it pre-pandemic.  I don't think it's any added cost unless you were doing buffet with no tipping.  The tip still comes out similar to what we would leave our MDR server.

[DeanD]

7 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

You still get a $0 bill that you can leave a tip on, at least that's how it was last time I used it pre-pandemic.  I don't think it's any added cost unless you were doing buffet with no tipping.  The tip still comes out similar to what we would leave our MDR server.

I often leave a little extra in cash for waiters, cabin stewards, etc and would expect to do so with something like this but technically ins't the tip included in the surcharge for the specialty restaurants when purchased in advance?

Edited August 25, 2021 by DeanD

[MikeBayAreaCa]

6 minutes ago, DeanD said:

I often leave a little extra in cash for waiters, cabin stewards, etc and would expect to do so with something like this but technically ins't the tip included in the surcharge for the specialty restaurants when purchased in advance?

Yes it is.  We’ve always tipped extra when we did one specialty restaurant per cruise, but it could get very expensive if you tip extra with the UDP.

 

The question is how much.  I always pay at least 20%, but If I did that with the UDP the tips will end up costing more than the package.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[colesc15]

55 minutes ago, MikeBayAreaCa said:

Yes it is.  We’ve always tipped extra when we did one specialty restaurant per cruise, but it could get very expensive if you tip extra with the UDP.

 

The question is how much.  I always pay at least 20%, but If I did that with the UDP the tips will end up costing more than the package.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly. Normally if we do chops one night, we'd tip anywhere from $20 to $50 for that one meal. If we did that each night with the package, that ends up being as much as the package. I feel silly not tipping though

[Surfguyxxx]

8 minutes ago, colesc15 said:

Exactly. Normally if we do chops one night, we'd tip anywhere from $20 to $50 for that one meal. If we did that each night with the package, that ends up being as much as the package. I feel silly not tipping though

This is pretty much what we do also.  Being a same sex couple and getting looks and stares in the MDR, we decided years ago to go with the UDP.  The service is not as hectic, the venues are smaller and you can enjoy your meal in relative quiet.  Additionally, we find the service is better as the speciality restaurants hand pick the better wait staff from the MDR's.  I just booked it for our 14 night TA on 10/30/21.  Unfortunately, it's not being offered right now on our 5 night British Isles cruise embarking 10/20/21 from Southampton; not sure why!

[BNBR]

2 hours ago, DeanD said:

I often leave a little extra in cash for waiters, cabin stewards, etc and would expect to do so with something like this but technically ins't the tip included in the surcharge for the specialty restaurants when purchased in advance?

 

Might be included.  I don't know.  I leave a modest tip.  If that's a lot for people, then they probably shouldn't be dropping an extra $200/ea for specialty dining to begin with.

[AustinCruise]

5 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

Might be included.  I don't know.  I leave a modest tip.  If that's a lot for people, then they probably shouldn't be dropping an extra $200/ea for specialty dining to begin with.

 

If gratuity isn't included, then RCCL should not put INCLUDED on the receipt.  

 

Yes, I will add something - we always give a bit extra to the stewards, dining room, helpful folks on the activities deck...  but it really shouldn't be expected.

 

(the total paid vs total in receipt below is due to OBC)