Is there a First Night Discount for Specialty Restaurants? (Aqua)

[thebutlerdidit]

I seem to recall having a letter in our cabin when staying in Aqua Class that offered half off at a specialty restaurant the first night. I was wondering if this is still offered, if indeed it ever was. I ask because I’m seeing a first night pre-Cruise discount of 30% ($34.99 for Murano).

[Jim_Iain]

Generally yes.    You can log int plan my cruise and it will be listed with the discounted price.

 

 

[hrhdhd]

I had an offer for 20% off in Dec. on the Constellation, but I was in a regular balcony.

Edited March 1, 2022 by hrhdhd

[jelayne]

Log into your account and in the Cruise Planner you can book the first night at a 30% discount and select from available times.  Some restaurants sell out so I would not recommend waiting until you are on the ship.

[wrk2cruise]

I remember the offer in Aqua on sailings prior to them offering the first night discount in Cruise Planner.   I doubt it would be 50%.   30% would probably be what could be expected if it were offered.

[jelayne]

Since the 1st night discount became available to everyone @30%  off we have not seen a higher discount once on board.  On our last cruise we tried to book the 30% off for the 1st night and it was sold out.  We were in a CS and were able to get a reservation through the Retreat Concierge, but a later time than we would have chosen.

[CyberTag]

We were in an Aqua on the Edge in October and was offered a flat rate in Raw on 5 of $35 p/p.  This was offered to everyone and was a great deal! 

[keesar]

On a recent Apex cruise, we had Aqua Class and no  first night discounts were offered.  However, typically it has been 30% off over the last few years.  We book through the Cruise Planner months before our cruise as we want to have a choice of times  which are best for us. 

[TommyD3]

Not since the restart. Been in AQ on Constellation, Edge and Reflection since the restart and no offer better than the 30% offered to everyone online.

[Cruise a holic]

You can typically get a discount on the first and last night of your cruise- when onboard just ask.  The only issue is that your time might not be ideal.  But AQ rates the same as other balcony cabins.

[thebutlerdidit]

Thanks everyone. I was hoping for that 50% discount from the good old days, but it looks like that’s done. I’ll consider the 30% off deal and book early. 

[RickT]

Curious if anyone has been able to get any discount for other nights of their cruise?  Pre-Covid I could often get a 20-25% at Tuscan if they weren’t busy.  It didn’t always happen but I found if you simply asked about a discount and were looking to dine that same day there was a good chance.

 

Guessing things may be different now but who knows.  

[keesar]

On 3/1/2022 at 5:28 AM, TommyD3 said:

Not since the restart. Been in AQ on Constellation, Edge and Reflection since the restart and no offer better than the 30% offered to everyone online.

No discounts on our Apex sailing.  I was really surprised as typically can score 30% on the first night.  I guess it is related to the demand on a particular cruise.

[capsplace]

We looked at the Trio Dining Package offer in the Plan Your Cruise for $99 pp but didn’t book it.  It requires using one of the two dinner meals the first night, and the other dinner and lunch booked onboard at times of your choice.  We prefer eating first night in regular dining location (Blu for us) to get to know the staff, so the required first night dining in a specialty restaurant wasn’t appealing.

[81Zoomie]

1 hour ago, keesar said:

No discounts on our Apex sailing.  I was really surprised as typically can score 30% on the first night.  I guess it is related to the demand on a particular cruise.

We received the 1st night discount in Murano on the Equinox and the Reflection recently.  We have an upcoming booking on the Apex and haven’t seen any 1st night discounts.  Is there a policy difference between Edge and Solstice class?

[keesar]

2 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

We received the 1st night discount in Murano on the Equinox and the Reflection recently.  We have an upcoming booking on the Apex and haven’t seen any 1st night discounts.  Is there a policy difference between Edge and Solstice class?

 

I am not sure if there is a policy difference.  I looked and looked and there were no discounts on Apex.  My guess is that many of the suite guests booked and also people with OBC were avoiding excursions and spending the OBC on the Specialty Restaurants.  Not really  sure.  On the other hand, I have not had a problem getting discounts on those two ships you mentioned.    I got 30% the first night at Murano (pre-cruise) and on the ship, they were offering $25 per person for Tuscan Grill but the times were really late for us. That  night was when the ship was in port and many cruisers were in town.

[Altarose]

On 3/5/2022 at 7:55 AM, capsplace said:

We looked at the Trio Dining Package offer in the Plan Your Cruise for $99 pp but didn’t book it.  It requires using one of the two dinner meals the first night, and the other dinner and lunch booked onboard at times of your choice.  We prefer eating first night in regular dining location (Blu for us) to get to know the staff, so the required first night dining in a specialty restaurant wasn’t appealing.

 

[Altarose]

Just now, Altarose said:

 

I was told we could change the 1st night reservation from the trio dining pkg to another night once we were on-board.  Does anyone know if this is true?  We sail in 6 days.

[jelayne]

On 3/5/2022 at 12:28 PM, keesar said:

 

I am not sure if there is a policy difference.  I looked and looked and there were no discounts on Apex.  My guess is that many of the suite guests booked and also people with OBC were avoiding excursions and spending the OBC on the Specialty Restaurants.  Not really  sure.  On the other hand, I have not had a problem getting discounts on those two ships you mentioned.    I got 30% the first night at Murano (pre-cruise) and on the ship, they were offering $25 per person for Tuscan Grill but the times were really late for us. That  night was when the ship was in port and many cruisers were in town.

Our upcoming 4/16 Apex cruise has no 30% off 1st night.  Only discounts I have see is 10% off both Rooftop Grill and Fine Cut, available every.night but only 9, 9:30 & 10 times available.   On the Edge in October discounts were hard to come by and 10% was only at a few places

[W283386]

Why spend extra money to eat in a specialty restaurant when you already paid to eat in Blu which is already a specialty restaurant.  I am amazed at the number of blu and aqua cruisers that waste money by paying to eat in a specialty restaurant.  I realize that the majority do so in order to impress others but both Blu and Luminae will bend over backwards to get you what you want.

[oa47]

Our cruise on Connie 16/5 is offering 30% off first night. As that day is our Anniversary we have booked!

[Jeremiah1212]

20 minutes ago, W283386 said:

Why spend extra money to eat in a specialty restaurant when you already paid to eat in Blu which is already a specialty restaurant.  I am amazed at the number of blu and aqua cruisers that waste money by paying to eat in a specialty restaurant.  I realize that the majority do so in order to impress others but both Blu and Luminae will bend over backwards to get you what you want.

 

😒

 

The first thing I do on board is see what I can do to impress strangers by spending $29. Many people, especially in suites, have $1000+ OBC even on short cruises. Some people like a little variety. Why 'waste money' to buy into Blu and Luminae when the buffet has perfectly edible food? Choices are nice. 

[thebutlerdidit]

46 minutes ago, W283386 said:

Why spend extra money to eat in a specialty restaurant when you already paid to eat in Blu which is already a specialty restaurant.  I am amazed at the number of blu and aqua cruisers that waste money by paying to eat in a specialty restaurant.  I realize that the majority do so in order to impress others but both Blu and Luminae will bend over backwards to get you what you want.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, even though they don’t address the subject of this post. I think I’ll continue spending my OBC as I wish. 

[lv2cruisgrl]

On Edge now, they were selling the dining packages however no good discount. Raw on 5 had all you could eat first night $45 per person. 

[Tierun]

On Summit we had 30% off Tuscan on the first night.