Discounted Specialty Dining Packages?

[Runaways]

Hi. Long time, no talkies😊, but we're finally, happily, back to cruising🤗.  We received a half-price specialty dining package onboard Solstice some years ago, but don't know if such deals are being offered these days. We're on Eclipse (Sydney-South Pacific) in about 3 months and unsure if we should pre-book what is now a very expensive per person dining package, or wait to see if anything better will be offered on boarding. Any current info will be much appreciated. Thank you.

Gwenn.

[Cruise a holic]

We always prebook.  You can cancel and rebook if the price changes.  Best to book now to secure the rate .  Enjoy.

[jelayne]

We have been on 7 cruises since the restart and other than the 1st night discount offered in the cruise Planner we haven’t been offered more than 10% discount on board and that isn’t for the most popular restaurants.

 

FYI prices of the specialty restaurants no longer include any gratuity.  When you book and pay you will find a 18% gratuity added to the cost.

[D. B.]

18 hours ago, jelayne said:

We have been on 7 cruises since the restart and other than the 1st night discount offered in the cruise Planner we haven’t been offered more than 10% discount on board and that isn’t for the most popular restaurants.

 

FYI prices of the specialty restaurants no longer include any gratuity.  When you book and pay you will find a 18% gratuity added to the cost.

I’m on Eclipse now and yes they tack on the 18 percent gratuity after you click on the buy during the pre cruise package sale.

i may not keep buying the pre cruise dining packages because the higher prices make it less appealing.

[Runaways]

Thanks to those who responded to my query. It seems we'll be paying quite a lot for Specialty Dining, especially with a hefty gratuity added on top. Not really sure if the value is there at these current steep prices, even though we very much enjoyed these experiences in the past. Will think on it!

[wallyh4184]

We've had success going directly to the restaurant and asking about a discount and have always received one.  We do travel with 6-8 people however, but it can't hurt to ask.