UDP Guidance needed

[shof515]

20 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Yes and no.  On NCL it lets you book the specialty restaurants that offer a la carte pricing as well as package pricing ahead of time because the system doesn't know whether you'll be paying a la carte or through a package.  If you're looking to book a place that has a flat fee such as teppanyaki, then you can't make that reservation until you get on board if you're using a package.  Otherwise they will charge you the full price.

That is incorrect. You can book flat fee restaurants like teppanyaki and moderno onboard NCL without any extra charges online before your cruise. The only thing you need to do is make the reservations in the correct order and that is book flat fee first and then al la carte restaurants last. Teppanyaki is the first restaurant i book online before my cruise and that always shows a $0.00 price charge 

[rebeccac]

47 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Yes and no.  On NCL it lets you book the specialty restaurants that offer a la carte pricing as well as package pricing ahead of time because the system doesn't know whether you'll be paying a la carte or through a package.  If you're looking to book a place that has a flat fee such as teppanyaki, then you can't make that reservation until you get on board if you're using a package.  Otherwise they will charge you the full price.

 

Not true.  We had a 5 night dining package on the NCL Escape last Thanksgiving and we used it to pre-book Teppanyaki in advance with no charge.  The only restaurant we couldn't book in advance was Food Republic.

Edited March 21, 2022 by rebeccac

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, shof515 said:

That is incorrect. You can book flat fee restaurants like teppanyaki and moderno onboard NCL without any extra charges online before your cruise. The only thing you need to do is make the reservations in the correct order and that is book flat fee first and then al la carte restaurants last. Teppanyaki is the first restaurant i book online before my cruise and that always shows a $0.00 price charge 

 

1 hour ago, rebeccac said:

 

Not true.  We had a 5 night dining package on the NCL Escape last Thanksgiving and we used it to pre-book Teppanyaki in advance with no charge.  The only restaurant we couldn't book in advance was Food Republic.

I stand corrected.  Haven't been on NCL since the Bliss a few years ago.  Will keep this in mind when bookings open up for my 4 nights out of 11 on the Prima. Looking forward to Onda.

[Kbonner]

14 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

If you want guaranteed space, then you pay full price.  If you want the discounted package, then you make your reservations on board.  There are many slots available for those that book on board.  You just can't procrastinate and you need to be flexible.  

For 644$ my flexibility is very limited. But hey- I showed my full flexibility by cancelling our UDP

[happy cruzer]

Any suggestions on how to make your list to give to the matri d?  Do you also book lunchs?

 

My first priority would be to try to get Chops at 8:30 each night.  We do bottle/bottles of wine with dinner and like being in the same restaurant each night to store the remaining wine (I know you can have it brought to another restaurant; we just prefer doing it at one).  Anyone just reserve one specialty each night?

[lynnber]

We were just on Odyssey last week, with the UDP. As soon as we got on we went to make dinner reservations and Wonderland was completely booked for the entire week. We got on the wait list but never got called. It was annoying because that was the primary reason we got the UDP on this trip. BUT, it was totally totally worth it. We did Chops twice, Tepanyaki twice, Giovanni's once, and Izumi once for dinner, besides a bunch of lunches. Don't miss the cheese soup at the Crown Pub - it is fantastic!

[George C]

14 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Any suggestions on how to make your list to give to the matri d?  Do you also book lunchs?

 

My first priority would be to try to get Chops at 8:30 each night.  We do bottle/bottles of wine with dinner and like being in the same restaurant each night to store the remaining wine (I know you can have it brought to another restaurant; we just prefer doing it at one).  Anyone just reserve one specialty each night?

We always do a bottle of wine with dinner , love the fact that you get 40 percent off wines under 100 and 20 percent over. Because we are diamond plus we get 5 drinks, so we don’t need the drink package anymore, normally by a bottle that’s about 80, so we pay just 56 for that bottle, great deal. ( we always finish the bottle)

[DerekB]

8 hours ago, lynnber said:

We were just on Odyssey last week, with the UDP. As soon as we got on we went to make dinner reservations and Wonderland was completely booked for the entire week. We got on the wait list but never got called. It was annoying because that was the primary reason we got the UDP on this trip. BUT, it was totally totally worth it. We did Chops twice, Tepanyaki twice, Giovanni's once, and Izumi once for dinner, besides a bunch of lunches. Don't miss the cheese soup at the Crown Pub - it is fantastic!

I am curious, did you try using the UDP at Giovanni's Wine Bar? I keep getting mixed answers on if the UDP works there. Seems it worked for you at the pub, which I also here both that it works/doesn't work.

Thanks!

[Kbonner]

Should the program better be named LIMITED DINING PACKAGE?

No guaranteed dining in venues.

Surcharge for Hibachi.

After boarding stampede to reservations.

 

Obviously Royal sells the dining package beyond venue's capacities which I call overbooking

[DrDani226]

On 3/29/2022 at 10:32 PM, lynnber said:

We were just on Odyssey last week, with the UDP. As soon as we got on we went to make dinner reservations and Wonderland was completely booked for the entire week. We got on the wait list but never got called. It was annoying because that was the primary reason we got the UDP on this trip. BUT, it was totally totally worth it. We did Chops twice, Tepanyaki twice, Giovanni's once, and Izumi once for dinner, besides a bunch of lunches. Don't miss the cheese soup at the Crown Pub - it is fantastic!

Can I ask what time you boarded? Also, was it just booked for the time you wanted, or for throughout the dinner hours? At any point did you try walking up? Thanks!

[gfkcruiser]

Thanks for all your responses.  
I decided to cancel the UPD on my 14 day cruise.  The main reason is that I have recently lost weight and want to keep it off and may feel like I will over eat at all the venues and may want to go multiple times to get my money’s worth.  I also do not eat big lunches so I would not be taking advantage of this option - and we have a lot of sea days. I did book a 5 night instead but hope to get a better day and time when I board as 9 was the only available time.  As we are onboard for 14 nights, I hope that will work.  

[Biker19]

5 hours ago, Kbonner said:

Obviously Royal sells the dining package beyond venue's capacities which I call overbooking.

Just hope folks realize they can cancel on board when that happens.

[happy cruzer]

8 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Just hope folks realize they can cancel on board when that happens.

If you cancel how do they calculate the refund?  Say you cancel on day 2 of a 7 day cruise after having a lunch and a dinner?  Thanks.

[Biker19]

42 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

If you cancel how do they calculate the refund?  Say you cancel on day 2 of a 7 day cruise after having a lunch and a dinner?  

The only report we have from someone canceling was at the start of the sailing when they couldn’t get bookings- I assume once a few days in you are stuck with the package. 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Biker19

[Cruisin Around]

On 3/19/2022 at 10:57 AM, gfkcruiser said:

So I went to cruise planner and all the times for all days are taken after 6:30 or after 8:30 for chops and Wonderland.   Will there be spots available when I board or am I shut out - in which case I will cancel the package.  

Where do you look in the cruise planner to see this?  Thank you!

[gfkcruiser]

8 hours ago, Cruisin Around said:

Where do you look in the cruise planner to see this?  Thank you!

Misread the planner info.  Was available