Unlimited Dining Experience Package at Specialty Restaurants

[BeckyC77]

How does that work? Do I need to make reservations or can I simply show up at any restaurant and have anything on the menu? 😄

[HipHipOnAShip]

Need more details please -- ship, sailing, what category are you in?  (Previously I've only seen this as an upsell for Yacht Club)

[BeckyC77]

Sure! Here's more info:

Meraviglia - Caribbean: Dec 30, 2022 - Jan 6, 2023

These are the options - and the description for the unlimited:

 

"TERMS & CONDITIONS: Gratuity and speciality service charge is already included in the pre-sale price. Packages are available online for pre-sale or on board during the first two days of the cruise. For three and four-night cruises, the packages are for sale on day 1 only. Speciality Restaurant packages are individual, not transferable. Packages cannot be refunded if not all meals are used and they are valid in all Speciality Restaurants (1 lunch and 1 dinner per cruise day). A surcharge of 10€ per meal will be applied to the Teppanyaki experience; this extra fee will be paid directly on board. Speciality Restaurant options vary by ship. The package includes food only and it is honoured a maximum of two times in Butcher's Cut. Day of booking to be confirmed on board. A dining experience menu will be offered to guests who purchase the package. No payment for kids under 6 years (i.e. who have not yet reached their 6th birthday). A 50% discount is applied to packages for children up to 12 years old. Must be of legal age to consume alcohol - see our terms of our guest alcohol policy. A 10 Euro surcharge per meal is applied to the Teppanyaki experience only (it will be paid on board)."

 

 

[Itochen33]

Just chiming in.

 

An automatic reservation will be made for you for the first dinner in one of the speciality restaurants. You just choose the time. You can change that as soon as you are on board though. I would HIGHLY recommend you to Reservate for the rest of your cruise as soon as you are on board. They DO accommodate walk ins but it’s first come first serve… if it’s full it’s full and sometimes they are booked exclusively even for lunch. 
 

it’s also not the full menu you choose from but a ‘dinner experience’ menu. Has everything important on it though. You can still order from the full menu with a 50% discount. For example at the steakhouse: you want the T-bone but that’s not on the sample menu. It usually costs 24 $. With the unlimited package you just pay 12$ if you order it. 
 

I hope that helped!

 

greeting from Germany!

[BeckyC77]

1 minute ago, Itochen33 said:

 

I hope that helped!

 

greeting from Germany!

Great info! Danke!  🙂

[lifeasme123]

On 9/1/2022 at 3:00 PM, BeckyC77 said:

Sure! Here's more info:

Meraviglia - Caribbean: Dec 30, 2022 - Jan 6, 2023

These are the options - and the description for the unlimited:

 

"TERMS & CONDITIONS: Gratuity and speciality service charge is already included in the pre-sale price. Packages are available online for pre-sale or on board during the first two days of the cruise. For three and four-night cruises, the packages are for sale on day 1 only. Speciality Restaurant packages are individual, not transferable. Packages cannot be refunded if not all meals are used and they are valid in all Speciality Restaurants (1 lunch and 1 dinner per cruise day). A surcharge of 10€ per meal will be applied to the Teppanyaki experience; this extra fee will be paid directly on board. Speciality Restaurant options vary by ship. The package includes food only and it is honoured a maximum of two times in Butcher's Cut. Day of booking to be confirmed on board. A dining experience menu will be offered to guests who purchase the package. No payment for kids under 6 years (i.e. who have not yet reached their 6th birthday). A 50% discount is applied to packages for children up to 12 years old. Must be of legal age to consume alcohol - see our terms of our guest alcohol policy. A 10 Euro surcharge per meal is applied to the Teppanyaki experience only (it will be paid on board)."

 

 

We are booked for Seascape in Feb 2023.  I do not see this option when I go into my booking.  Where did you see this? I am interested in these packages.

Edited September 3, 2022 by lifeasme123

[JAGR]

2 hours ago, lifeasme123 said:

We are booked for Seascape in Feb 2023.  I do not see this option when I go into my booking.  Where did you see this? I am interested in these packages.

Offers will vary, based on the ship.  We did not get these offers on Seashore, but did get them for Meraviglia in October.

[papadave]

I also don't see anything for Seascape yet, but that does not mean they are not planning to offer dining packages 11 weeks from now on the first voyage, let alone by February of next year.   

 

Before you buy a package, however, look at what it actually includes.   We decided not to both last year because the dining "experience" as MSC terms it, is a very limited menu which did not contain the dishes we were interested in ordering.   

 

The dining room was hit or miss, especially when it came to the preparation of red meat (beef and pork), but also, surprisingly, pasta was seriously overcooked, served lukewarm, or both.   More than once.   Overall, I thought the food was good.   Some of the starters were significantly better than the main courses.

[papadave]

I found an older Butcher's cut menu, which shows the dining "experience"

 

BUTCHERS_CUT_FOOD_ENG.PDF (msccruises.com)

 

The experience includes an appetizer, a starter or a soup, a main course (either an entree or a steak) and a dessert.

 

You can order all but two of the appetizers (you can't order crab cakes or oysters), you can order the tomato soup, but not the lobster chowder, two of the four entrees, three of the eight steaks (they consider rack of lamb a steak and you can order that, a small filet mignon or a flat iron steak), and three of the five deserts.

 

So, there are choices, but at the same time it would not be shocking if you added a bit to the bill on top of the "experience" meal if you just order what you feel like eating and not the other half of the menu.

[GeoHack]

On 9/1/2022 at 2:18 PM, Itochen33 said:

Just chiming in.

 

An automatic reservation will be made for you for the first dinner in one of the speciality restaurants. You just choose the time. You can change that as soon as you are on board though. I would HIGHLY recommend you to Reservate for the rest of your cruise as soon as you are on board. They DO accommodate walk ins but it’s first come first serve… if it’s full it’s full and sometimes they are booked exclusively even for lunch. 
 

it’s also not the full menu you choose from but a ‘dinner experience’ menu. Has everything important on it though. You can still order from the full menu with a 50% discount. For example at the steakhouse: you want the T-bone but that’s not on the sample menu. It usually costs 24 $. With the unlimited package you just pay 12$ if you order it. 
 

I hope that helped!

 

greeting from Germany!

 

Is the limit on Butchers Cut just for dinner or does it include lunch also? So if I went there for lunch than that would be my 1 visit (Grandiosa is limited to 1 time)?

 

Book the ultimate package! Take a culinary trip around the world with this UNLIMITED package of deliciously different exclusive meals in the Speciality Restaurants of your choice.

 

Unlimited speciality dining to exceed your culinary dreams in our Speciality Restaurants:

• Butcher’s Cut Steakhouse
• Hola! Tacos Bar & Cantina
• Kaito Sushi Bar
• French L'Atelier Bistrot
• Kaito Teppanyaki

 

Experience every one of our Speciality Restaurants and enjoy a discount of 20% off bottles of wine above €100 while dining. This flexible package is valid in all our Speciality Restaurants (1 lunch and/or 1 dinner per day). A €10 surcharge per meal is applied to the Teppanyaki experience only (paid on board). This package includes food only and is valid for a maximum of 1 time in the Butcher's Cut.

[NYcruzzer]

Thinking of purchasing the unlimited dining package for my upcoming cruise on Meraviglia. Quick question. Besides Hola what other restaurants are opened and included for Lunch ?

[cruiseguyinorl]

8 hours ago, GeoHack said:

valid for a maximum of 1 time in the Butcher's Cut.

 

On a recent sailing of the Meraviglia, I was told onboard by the person taking dining reservations that this was incorrect. He said Butcher's Cut wasn't unlimited but certainly you could go more than once.

 

As with all things MSC, this may not be your experience once onboard.

 

Bret

[GeoHack]

7 hours ago, cruiseguyinorl said:

 

On a recent sailing of the Meraviglia, I was told onboard by the person taking dining reservations that this was incorrect. He said Butcher's Cut wasn't unlimited but certainly you could go more than once.

 

As with all things MSC, this may not be your experience once onboard.

 

Bret

Thanks - yeah MSC is YMMV. I was just hoping that lunch wasn't included in the limit. I can live with the once for dinner, but primarily was looking at this for lunch options as from what I've been reading the buffet is a madhouse right now on Grandiosa (Mediterranean cruise) with little to no respect/common courtesy from cruise passengers. I've been on quite a few cruises and never had an issue finding something to eat in the buffet or MDR, but this will be my first with MSC.