Questions about multi-night Specialty Dining Packages

[RichYak]

During the Memorial Day sale, I cancelled 3 specialty dining reservations that I had booked for my August sailing and purchased the 3-night package instead. I couldn't pass up the on the savings. As much as I like to save money, I'm also a planner, and not having reserved dining times is a little uncomfortable for me. 

 

In practice, how does this package work? Will there be 3 vouchers in my cabin when I board? Since I'm in a Sky Suite, can I call the 877-retreat phone number now to reserve times? Or do I need to wait until after I board?

 

Lastly, if I eat at Sushi on 5, I won't want to use up one of the 3 nights I purchased. I'd rather save them for Tuscan Grille and Le Petit Chef. Can I choose whether or not to apply the package to a particular dinner or will it apply to the first 3 automatically?

[mahdnc]

30 minutes ago, RichYak said:

During the Memorial Day sale, I cancelled 3 specialty dining reservations that I had booked for my August sailing and purchased the 3-night package instead. I couldn't pass up the on the savings. As much as I like to save money, I'm also a planner, and not having reserved dining times is a little uncomfortable for me. 

 

In practice, how does this package work? Will there be 3 vouchers in my cabin when I board? Since I'm in a Sky Suite, can I call the 877-retreat phone number now to reserve times? Or do I need to wait until after I board?

 

Lastly, if I eat at Sushi on 5, I won't want to use up one of the 3 nights I purchased. I'd rather save them for Tuscan Grille and Le Petit Chef. Can I choose whether or not to apply the package to a particular dinner or will it apply to the first 3 automatically?

 

We have purchased the dining packages before.  There are no vouchers waiting in your cabin.  You have a choice on which reservations you wish to apply your package to.

 

I don't know about Retreat guests, but normally you have to wait until you get on board and then head over to a specialty restaurant to nail down your exact reservations.  I am fairly certain you can book all your reservations at any restaurant (book Murano at the Tuscan Grill desk and vice versa). 

 

If you are a planner (I am, too), you will want to head there first when you get on board to have the best choice of dining times.  Be sure to have a copy of the ship's itinerary with you in case your first choice of dates are gone (or have a list of dates that will work with you).  The person at the reservation desk will usually talk in terms of time and date, "I don't have that available but I can seat you at 7:30 pm on Thursday".  To which I typically respond, "where will we be?" because I usually think in terms of the Antigua day, the 3rd sea day, etc.  And then you will hear (or imagine) the sighs from the impatient passengers lined up within earshot behind you.

 

Again, as a Retreat guest it is possible you can do them in advance or have your butler do them for you when you get on board.  I believe that spots are kept open specifically for suite guests. 

Edited June 4, 2023 by mahdnc

[NMTraveller]

Have people that have done this lately been able to get early dining times?

[mahdnc]

12 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Have people that have done this lately been able to get early dining times?

 

We bought a 3 dinner package on our Constellation cruise back in Oct/Nov.  We were able to secure early dining times each time.

[jelayne]

No ability to book package reservations before boarding for Retreat Guests.  Book when you board and as @mahdnc said be prepared with preferred dates and times but also alternates. 
 

How easy it is to get desired dates and times can very by ship and restaurant.  LPC and Tuscan easier on most ships, Murano, Eden and Fine Cut can be difficult to get good times. I think the recent Memorial Day sale will drive up those dining in specialty restaurant and prime times will be difficult to get.  
 

[RichYak]

35 minutes ago, jelayne said:

How easy it is to get desired dates and times can very by ship and restaurant.  LPC and Tuscan easier on most ships, Murano, Eden and Fine Cut can be difficult to get good times.

Thanks. I’ll be on Summit, so few options. 

[Alsmez]

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

Lastly, if I eat at Sushi on 5, I won't want to use up one of the 3 nights I purchased. 

 

Just FYI, they have changed the "allowance" for dining at Sushi on 5 if you use a dining package to do so. It used to be $30 or so, which made it smarter to pay for Sushi on 5 separately. However, we learned this week on Eclipse that they have raised it to $60, which is more reasonable. The two of us ended up spending $107 of our $120 allowance and ate quite well.

[RichYak]

2 minutes ago, Alsmez said:

 

Just FYI, they have changed the "allowance" for dining at Sushi on 5 if you use a dining package to do so. It used to be $30 or so, which made it smarter to pay for Sushi on 5 separately. However, we learned this week on Eclipse that they have raised it to $60, which is more reasonable. The two of us ended up spending $107 of our $120 allowance and ate quite well.

That’s great info, thanks!

[Alsmez]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

That’s great info, thanks!

Happy to help! I would suggest verifying the amount if the allowance with someone on your ship before dining - I believe I saw another post from someone on Solstice who said their allowance was $50. Consistency is not always Celebrity's strong suit 🙄.

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, Alsmez said:

Happy to help! I would suggest verifying the amount if the allowance with someone on your ship before dining - I believe I saw another post from someone on Solstice who said their allowance was $50. Consistency is not always Celebrity's strong suit 🙄.

Perhaps it’s $50 + 20% gratuity which is $60?

[Alsmez]

22 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Perhaps it’s $50 + 20% gratuity which is $60?

Could be, although I don't think so since you've already paid gratuity when you purchased the package. Our "bill" showed only the charges for the items we ordered, no additional gratuity. It's more likely that different ships are allowing different amounts, or that someone on Solstice (whether staff or guest) was misinformed.

[mayleeman]

I never booked a specialty ahead of the cruise or bought a package. If we want to eat in Murano on a certain day, can we buy that ahead of time and make a rez? (Not the first night; I know it is always available ahead of time.)

Edited June 5, 2023 by mayleeman

[mahdnc]

4 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

I never booked a specialty ahead of the cruise or bought a package. If we want to eat in Murano on a certain day, can we buy that ahead of time and make a rez? (Not the first night; I know it is always available ahead of time.)

 

Yes.  If you purchase single night reservations, you can select your date and time (from what is available in the drop down menus) when you make your online purchase.  It is the single best advantage over buying a package.

Edited June 5, 2023 by mahdnc

[mayleeman]

@mahdnc Thank you! We might decide to do that if the app's less savory MDR menu selections prove to be accurate in the months before ours.

Edited June 5, 2023 by mayleeman

[DingoMom]

In my experience, when we are in a Sky Suite and buy a dining package, we can ONLY make reservations when we are on the ship. There are no vouchers given or needed; just book onboard.  @mahdnc is spot on (as usual! 🤩). We have never had a problem getting early dining, although we book pretty quickly after boarding. (This is true on full sailings, but I cannot speak for holiday sailings.) Should a particular evening be unavailable, SOMETIMES the Retreat Concierge can help us get in, but that is always a last minute confirmation. If we are celebrating a particular event on a particular day, I would pre-book with a certain restaurant at a certain time OUTSIDE of the package to ensure we get what we want. (In our case, we count the cruise as the ‘celebration,’ so particular nights are not vitally important.)

@jelayne (one of my fav posters!! 🥰) is also (always!) spot on…!

For @RichYak I offer this: I cancelled all of my specialty dining bookings on our next 4 cruises during the Memorial Day sale and bought dining packages on sale for all 4 of them. And I am confident I made the right decision!
 

[lx200gps]

On 6/4/2023 at 4:37 PM, Alsmez said:

Happy to help! I would suggest verifying the amount if the allowance with someone on your ship before dining - I believe I saw another post from someone on Solstice who said their allowance was $50. Consistency is not always Celebrity's strong suit 🙄.

On the Equinox last week, it was also $50 for Sushi On 5. One important tip, as we found out the hard way. On our sailing Sushi On 5 had a special Indian night, (which was excellent BTW). We had the 4 night dining package and naively assumed that our dinner that night would come from our 4 night allotment, as it had the first time we ate there a few days previously. Not so. The Maitre'D informed us that because it was a special meal, it wouldn't come from pre-paid allotment and we ended up with a $100 bill.

 

FWIW, we prefer to eat very early and had absolutely no problems getting the first sitting, 5:30, at Murano, TG and S on 5 despite having no previous reservations.

[Alsmez]

1 hour ago, lx200gps said:

We had the 4 night dining package and naively assumed that our dinner that night would come from our 4 night allotment, as it had the first time we ate there a few days previously. Not so. The Maitre'D informed us that because it was a special meal, it wouldn't come from pre-paid allotment and we ended up with a $100 bill.

Interesting - we inquired about that Indian dining event (Taj X)  and were told that we could use a night from our package if we wished, or pay separately if we preferred. Yet another example of inconsistency between ships.

[RichYak]

7 hours ago, DingoMom said:

In my experience, when we are in a Sky Suite and buy a dining package, we can ONLY make reservations when we are on the ship. There are no vouchers given or needed; just book onboard.  @mahdnc is spot on (as usual! 🤩). We have never had a problem getting early dining, although we book pretty quickly after boarding. (This is true on full sailings, but I cannot speak for holiday sailings.) Should a particular evening be unavailable, SOMETIMES the Retreat Concierge can help us get in, but that is always a last minute confirmation. If we are celebrating a particular event on a particular day, I would pre-book with a certain restaurant at a certain time OUTSIDE of the package to ensure we get what we want. (In our case, we count the cruise as the ‘celebration,’ so particular nights are not vitally important.)

@jelayne (one of my fav posters!! 🥰) is also (always!) spot on…!

For @RichYak I offer this: I cancelled all of my specialty dining bookings on our next 4 cruises during the Memorial Day sale and bought dining packages on sale for all 4 of them. And I am confident I made the right decision!
 

Thank you for all of this info. I'm flexible with dining times and am just looking to spread the reservations out evenly throughout the cruise--so I'm somewhat flexible with days as well. I also plan to board early, so I suspect I won't have any problems.

 

Is there any difference in letting one of the Retreat Concierges make the reservations as opposed to going to see the Tuscan Grille maitre 'd directly?

[Esprit]

On 6/5/2023 at 2:25 AM, mahdnc said:

 

Yes.  If you purchase single night reservations, you can select your date and time (from what is available in the drop down menus) when you make your online purchase.  It is the single best advantage over buying a package.

We've done this for two nights in Murano's on our Reflection cruise in six weeks time. I can't be arsed rushing to the restaurant on embarkation day to secure the dates and times I want! 

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, lx200gps said:

On our sailing Sushi On 5 had a special Indian night, (which was excellent BTW).

This sounds fantastic! I hope they offer it on my sailing. How did you find out about it?

[lx200gps]

15 minutes ago, Alsmez said:

Interesting - we inquired about that Indian dining event (Taj X)  and were told that we could use a night from our package if we wished, or pay separately if we preferred. Yet another example of inconsistency between ships.

Very definitely inconsistent. The Maitre'D was quite firm that it was not covered by the package so I didn't press the issue. In any case, it just meant we had an extra night in the TG to use up our 4 package dinner ;o)

[lx200gps]

11 minutes ago, RichYak said:

This sounds fantastic! I hope they offer it on my sailing. How did you find out about it?

We had visited S On 5 for Sushi early in the trip, and one of the waitresses mentioned it to us.  I can't remember whether it was mentioned in the daily newsletter or not.  The menu was a formal three course offering, but when we sat down, the waiter was quite free with the food and offered to just bring us tasting sizes of every entree and main course to try. Worked out very well, everything excellent, though the fish curry was a bit "tough". My wife generally doesn't like Indian but decided to give it a try and loved the experience.

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

Thank you for all of this info. I'm flexible with dining times and am just looking to spread the reservations out evenly throughout the cruise--so I'm somewhat flexible with days as well. I also plan to board early, so I suspect I won't have any problems.

 

Is there any difference in letting one of the Retreat Concierges make the reservations as opposed to going to see the Tuscan Grille maitre 'd directly?

I have found the Retreat Concierges can be quite busy on embarkation day.  I just go to one of the specialty restaurants or see one of the crew who are booking reservations( generally 1 or 2 near where you board and others outside the OV).

[DingoMom]

I also try to do it myself on embarkation day. For changes during the cruise, I have asked the retreat concierges for assistance. (This has happened when I figure out I booked a specialty restaurant on a day that turns out to have a great menu at Luminae and I want to swap nights to one that has a ‘less than stellar’ nightly menu. I try to avoid this by checking the app menu in advance.) Also, I found out about Taj X by asking the Luminae Maitre'D early in the cruise. Otherwise, I think it may have been advertised in the daily one time. 

[sdnich]

I’m curious we booked three specialty night dining on our cruise for next year because I wanted certain times in the restaurants. I know as elite plus we got 15% off when I called they said I needed to go ahead and book online and deal with guest services when we get there.

I am curious if it is difficult to get the extra discount back as OBC ??