Specialty Dining question

[DerekDun8]

Quick question.  Can I book the Chops+1 deal and use the +1 for the Izumi hibachi?   I understand there is an up charge.   Can I book the Chops +1 and Hibachi separately via the cruise planner and once onboard have them refund the difference?

[Ret MP]

2 hours ago, DerekDun8 said:

Quick question.  Can I book the Chops+1 deal and use the +1 for the Izumi hibachi?   I understand there is an up charge.   Can I book the Chops +1 and Hibachi separately via the cruise planner and once onboard have them refund the difference?

There is, according to RCCL's FAQ, upcharge for certain things in certain restaurants.  And some say that those items aren't even available anymore.  I, for one, can't answer that directly.  I know that there was a post, a while back, that there was an upcharge for something in the Hibachi, no matter what package you purchased.  Don't know if that is still valid.  

 

Do you have to make the decision now or can it wait until embarkation day, check with Izumi and make the decision from there.  I've never had the +1 and don't know the procedure or reservation requirements.

[DerekDun8]

10 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

There is, according to RCCL's FAQ, upcharge for certain things in certain restaurants.  And some say that those items aren't even available anymore.  I, for one, can't answer that directly.  I know that there was a post, a while back, that there was an upcharge for something in the Hibachi, no matter what package you purchased.  Don't know if that is still valid.  

 

Do you have to make the decision now or can it wait until embarkation day, check with Izumi and make the decision from there.  I've never had the +1 and don't know the procedure or reservation requirements.

It said 15pp upcharge which is fine.  I’m afraid the hibachi will be sold out before embarkation. 

[crewsweeper]

If there's a specific night/time you want to eat at Izumi's best to make reservations in advance.

I know on UDP there are still times available when booking on board.  But limited.

[Ret MP]

My last time at the Hibachi, which was last Oct/Nov on the Independence, for a long time, we were the only people in the place.  I mean two of us and 6 others at the table or whatever it's called.  But, on other cruises on other ships it seemed to be very busy.  It seems to be a very very popular venue and I don't know why they don't make more room for more cooking stations and customer seats.  On that same cruise, Wonderland was almost empty every time we walked by and looked in.  Maybe swap locations.  I might be a little bias as I'm not a fan of Wonderland's main courses (except for their dessert(s), too fufu.  

[orville99]

If you want to dine in any of the specialty restaurants, book for one person in advance of the cruise, and then change the reservation once you are on board. Oftentimes, they will show as fully booked online for two people, but have reservations available for singles.

 

Just did this for our April wonder cruise - purchased the 3 night package, and when I went in to book the first night for 2 nothing was available, so I booked one time for myself and a different time for DW. We will move the reservations once we are on board.

[ARandomTraveler]

The hibachi upcharge is for an upgraded menu. I don't recall what the difference is but for the sake of example, hibachi comes with a menu of "steak and chicken" but the upgraded menu with the $15 upcharge comes with "teriyaki steak, chicken, and shrimp" or something like that.

 

This past week there was a really good sale on the hibachi. Someone posted that they saw it in their cruise planner for $28.99/person when it's normally $55 or $60, and then a bunch of other people looked at their cruise planners and saw that they also had the sale, so they jumped on purchasing it (myself included). The sale has now ended (some people think it was a glitch but I think it was just a sale cause it lasted a couple days).

 

That being said, it seems like the hibachi is often fully booked before 11am on boarding day (it was on my last cruise), and now that there was such a big sale on buying it ahead of time, I wouldn't be surprised if that continues to be an issue for people who are waiting to book onboard.
 

If you have specific restaurants you want to go to, and you'd be disappointed if you weren't able to get a reservation, then I'd suggest paying full price and booking it ahead of time. Buying the discounted packages is a risk. I do both (buy the dining package, but also book restaurants that I want to be sure to get a reservation at for full price). 

Edited January 23, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[taglovestocruise]

52 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

If  you have specific restaurants you want to go to, and you'd be disappointed if you weren't able to get a reservation, then I'd suggest paying full price and booking it ahead of time. Buying the discounted packages is a risk. I do both (buy the dining package, but also book restaurants that I want to be sure to get a reservation at for full price). 

We have done that several times. Once onboard we swap the full price reservation for a package night.  Never had a problem and the refund comes as a fully refundable OBC. 

[George C]

9 hours ago, DerekDun8 said:

It said 15pp upcharge which is fine.  I’m afraid the hibachi will be sold out before embarkation. 

We did allure about a year ago had no problem booking the restaurants we wanted with the UDP , we had concierge do the first couple of nights the others we did on board. We did habatchi a couple of times.

Edited January 23, 2023 by George C

[ARandomTraveler]

10 minutes ago, George C said:

We did allure about a year ago had no problem booking the restaurants we wanted with the UDP , we had concierge do the first couple of nights the others we did on board. We did habatchi a couple of times.

They weren't sailing full a year ago though