With higher capacity, Has anyone seen Specialty Dining Discounts on board?

[binro01]

The wife and I will be on Allure of the Seas for a Halloween Cruise leaving Fort Lauderdale on October 29th.

 

Last time we cruised on Allure we had the unlimited dining package (UDP), but for this cruise we decided to go with deluxe beverage packages in lieu of the UDP since we will be visiting both Labadee and CoCoCay.

 

We enjoyed the specialty dining, but didn't feel it was worth the upcharge based on our prior experience. We did really enjoy a couple of venues, (not Chops or 150 CP) and was thinking about the 3 night package, but since we would not go with some of the higher priced venues, the saving on the 3 night package did not make sense for us, so we decided to just forgo any dining package in the hopes we might be enticed to go to Giovanni's or Samba with some sort of on board discount opportunity.

I just don't know what the chance of that will be now that we are cruising at near capacity.

Though we did enjoy these 2 locations, we still believe the extra cost for the venues is not in line with the quality upgrade of the food. We might be enticed with a BOGO (50% off offer) but barring that, we will just be very happy and content with the included food.

Has anyone been on Allure or other Oasis class ships recently and seen any such specialty dining discounts on board? If they have not please also respond with the lack thereof.

 

I will wait with anticipation for the responses!

 

Thanks in Advance!

[Tee & Chilli]

We were offered a “sale” price which was the same as the cruise planner. 
With cruises sailing at capacity, I recommend booking in advance.

[binro01]

10 minutes ago, Tee & Chilli said:

We were offered a “sale” price which was the same as the cruise planner. 
With cruises sailing at capacity, I recommend booking in advance.

Thanks so much for the response. Unfortunately the cruise planner price is just not reasonable for Samba or Giovanni's. We have a very good Brazilian Steakhouse near our home that is cheaper than Samba's up charge, and their food is even better than what's offered at Samba. As for the Giovanni's same there.. I would be ok paying around $25.00 ish per person for that venue, but 40.00+ is a bit outlandish for the food quality.  

Edited September 23, 2022 by binro01

[clskinsfan]

We are on this cruise with you and reached the same conclusions as you did. Got the beverage package due to ports and passed on the dining package. We will probably do a couple of restaurants out of pocket on this trip because we have a decent OBC from our travel agent. We are thinking Samba and Sabor as they are the cheapest of the specialties. We will be keeping our eyes open for specials once on board as well. 

[binro01]

3 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

We are on this cruise with you and reached the same conclusions as you did.

Great minds think and cruise alike! Hope to meet you on the cruise! 

[ONECRUISER]

10 minutes ago, binro01 said:

Thanks so much for the response. Unfortunately the cruise planner price is just not reasonable for Samba or Giovanni's. We have a very good Brazilian Steakhouse near our home that is cheaper than Samba's up charge, and their food is even better than what's offered at Samba. As for the Giovanni's same there.. I would be ok paying around $25.00 ish per person for that venue, but 40.00+ is a bit outlandish for the food quality.  

Pretty consistent, prices are up as with demand. Not likely to find too many Good Deals as in past couple yrs or Pre-CV

[HicksRA]

They might be pushing lunch deals but I wouldn’t expect evening deals. 

[binro01]

On 9/23/2022 at 7:31 PM, HicksRA said:

They might be pushing lunch deals but I wouldn’t expect evening deals. 

Hey. A sea day lunch to me works. I will keep an eye out for those too. 

[Sunshine3601]

I did not see any specials offered like we did last winter.   

Your best bet is to do Giovannis for lunch.   Something like $25 pp and basically the same menu for dinner.