Am I limited on stuffing my face with the dining package?

In my humble opinion Modernos is the only pay to ear restaurant that is worthwhile. Two cruises with Norwegian and it is the only place we treat ourselves to.The salad bar is superb, but don't fill up too much. They will be bringing you rounds and rounds of meat and chicken etc. You will not leave hungry! They also have some amazing drinks as well. Enjoy!

The salad bar at Moderno is definitely the best available. And you are right, we have been at Moderno four or fine times, and I've never made it to the seafood round because I am too full by then.

Pace yourself, and enjoy!

The salad bar at Moderno is definitely the best available. And you are right, we have been at Moderno four or fine times, and I've never made it to the seafood round because I am too full by then.

 

Pace yourself, and enjoy!

So there are some seafood options there too? My wife doesn't eat meat but does eat seafood. We picked Moderno for one night hoping the salad bar would have enough to keep her occupied.

OK so let me see if I understand how the SDP works: I purchase 4 nights of specialty dining and go into one of the a la carte restaurants (sailing on POA in 2018, so this may all change by then and not sure what's a la carte and what's not for restaurants on POA). Depending on the T&Cs, I will then only be able to get 1 app, 1, salad, 1 soup, 1 entree, 2 sides, and 1 dessert (or something similar)? I don't think upcharges apply on POA because I don't think they have those restaurants.

I've never sailed NCL and never had to worry about a la carte restaurants. Any specialty dining we've done before was covered because we were in a suite or we paid a flat rate and got whatever we wanted on the menu (excluding alcohol of course). It's the "a la carte" portion that confuses me - or I'm just making more out of this than I should (which I totally have a habit of doing).

Thanks for the help!

OK so let me see if I understand how the SDP works: I purchase 4 nights of specialty dining and go into one of the a la carte restaurants (sailing on POA in 2018, so this may all change by then and not sure what's a la carte and what's not for restaurants on POA). Depending on the T&Cs, I will then only be able to get 1 app, 1, salad, 1 soup, 1 entree, 2 sides, and 1 dessert (or something similar)? I don't think upcharges apply on POA because I don't think they have those restaurants.

 

I've never sailed NCL and never had to worry about a la carte restaurants. Any specialty dining we've done before was covered because we were in a suite or we paid a flat rate and got whatever we wanted on the menu (excluding alcohol of course). It's the "a la carte" portion that confuses me - or I'm just making more out of this than I should (which I totally have a habit of doing).

 

Thanks for the help!

If you want to go to an "Ala Carte Pricing" restaurant then they will accept the SDP with a small upcharge and there are exclusions, etc that are clearly identified in the T&Cs (such as Seafood Extravaganza in Ocean Blue, etc)

My personal experience this past March at Ocean Blue: I had three apps, a salad, skipped the soup, the one entree and two desserts (actually made my own seafood extravaganza) - without any issue

Here is the link to the FAQ \ T&C

https://www.ncl.com/specialty-dining-package/faq

OK so let me see if I understand how the SDP works: I purchase 4 nights of specialty dining and go into one of the a la carte restaurants (sailing on POA in 2018, so this may all change by then and not sure what's a la carte and what's not for restaurants on POA). Depending on the T&Cs, I will then only be able to get 1 app, 1, salad, 1 soup, 1 entree, 2 sides, and 1 dessert (or something similar)? I don't think upcharges apply on POA because I don't think they have those restaurants.

 

I've never sailed NCL and never had to worry about a la carte restaurants. Any specialty dining we've done before was covered because we were in a suite or we paid a flat rate and got whatever we wanted on the menu (excluding alcohol of course). It's the "a la carte" portion that confuses me - or I'm just making more out of this than I should (which I totally have a habit of doing).

 

Thanks for the help!

Actually with the SDP the only limit is on the entree: just one entree unless you pay for another.

All that the T&C says about limits is the one entree limit in Le Bistro & Cagneys.

The T&C says "all items listed on the menu are included in the package".

You might want to print out that faq page to show in case some waiter wants to limit you.

We haven't had a problem though. We had a 4SDP last month on Jade. Ate twice at Le Bisro and twice at Cagneys. We ordered 2 appetizers each, a soup, and then had one of the appetizers added to our entree course at Le Bistro. At Cagneys no one said anything about a limit on sides. I had three sides.

If you want to go to an "Ala Carte Pricing" restaurant then they will accept the SDP with a small upcharge ...

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Five of the a la carte restaurants have no upcharge. They are listed in the T &C: Cagneys, Moderno, Teppanyaki, Le Bistro, and La Cucina.

. We ate twice last month at Le Bistro and twice at Cagney's, ordered whatever we wanted (just one entree) and there was no upcharge. The total on the bill was zero.

OK so let me see if I understand how the SDP works: I purchase 4 nights of specialty dining and go into one of the a la carte restaurants (sailing on POA in 2018, so this may all change by then and not sure what's a la carte and what's not for restaurants on POA). Depending on the T&Cs, I will then only be able to get 1 app, 1, salad, 1 soup, 1 entree, 2 sides, and 1 dessert (or something similar)? I don't think upcharges apply on POA because I don't think they have those restaurants.

 

I've never sailed NCL and never had to worry about a la carte restaurants. Any specialty dining we've done before was covered because we were in a suite or we paid a flat rate and got whatever we wanted on the menu (excluding alcohol of course). It's the "a la carte" portion that confuses me - or I'm just making more out of this than I should (which I totally have a habit of doing).

 

Thanks for the help!

The POA has no upcharge venues so you do not need to worry about that. All the restaurants are covered fully by the SDP whether they are ala carte or cover charge. Well, the only exception might be for a sushi venue which would be an additional $7 with the SDP. I don't recall whether or not the POA had one.

The current terms and conditions do not mention any restrictions as far as apps, sides, etc. You can order what you like except for a second main entree which will be charged full price. I'd print out the terms now.

Since the a la carte menus were launched last October, the report from the Getaway above is the third time someone on here has said about being limited on the number of apps and deserts.

 

One of those reports was from someone who's cruise history showed them having not cruises in about a year and they refused to answer and questions about it, so I have discounted their input.

 

Meanwhile, countless people have reported not having any restriction.

 

I would recommend to anyone who plans to order multiple items to take along a copy of the T&Cs and argue their case.

 

Experience suggests that it won't be necessary, but you never know.

In March on the POA we encountered the waiter who asked if we had SDP and then immediately informed us we could order 1 from each category. When I told her this was not correct, she stated that it was a "new rule", instituted at the time the "new menus" were introduced. They quickly backed down on this after she went to management.

But, I'm sure she did not pull this out of thin air. Nor did the waiters in the few other reports. And it was not a case of confusion over the Platinum benefit as this was in Cagneys. She had obviously heard discussion about these limits so I would bet that something is in the works. I would not be surprised to see a change in the terms and conditions of the SDP around July of this year. If anyone intends to buy one and is procrastinating, I'd do it sooner rather than later.

Five of the a la carte restaurants have no upcharge. They are listed in the T &C: Cagneys, Moderno, Teppanyaki, Le Bistro, and La Cucina.

 

. We ate twice last month at Le Bistro and twice at Cagney's, ordered whatever we wanted (just one entree) and there was no upcharge. The total on the bill was zero.

Correct, which is why I provided the link to the actual page for FAQ \ T&Cs because NCL loosely defines the Specialty Restaurants as "Cagney's Steakhouse, Moderno Churrascaria, Teppanyaki and our French and Italian restaurants across the fleet, as well as Margaritaville on board Norwegian Escape" and then NCL defines "other select à la carte priced restaurants, entertainment-based restaurants, Bayamo, Pincho Tapas Bar, and Ocean Blue restaurants, etc" ............ this is why I specifically mentioned "a la carte restaurants" to be consistent with NCL when discussing the upcharge

On the Breakaway, we ate at Moderno's, a type of Brazilian Steakhouse. The salad bar while it is amazing can be treacherous. Fill up there and when the good stuff comes around, you are already filled up. Naturally, the waiters come around with less expensive cuts first and in 90+ minutes, chicken and sausage were served MANY times. Plan ahead with time for the good stuff.

Naturally, the waiters come around with less expensive cuts first and in 90+ minutes, chicken and sausage were served MANY times. Plan ahead with time for the good stuff.

I've heard that said quite often, and am not doubting others experience, but this has never been my experience. For example, last time, we commented that the two fillet cuts were amongst the first few items bought.

I don't think the repetition of selections are premeditated. The best Moderno experience was last year on the Gem. Maybe it was because I was there when the restaurant opened and there weren't too many people there at the time. They were very precise that night. The brought each selection in the order they were on the menu. After they completed every selection, they asked which ones you wanted more of and they brought that to you on a plate. It was an excellent system.

I miss the fired bananas. They were 100x better than the fried plantains. I heard a rumor they were still available on some ships.

I don't think the repetition of selections are premeditated. The best Moderno experience was last year on the Gem. Maybe it was because I was there when the restaurant opened and there weren't too many people there at the time. They were very precise that night. The brought each selection in the order they were on the menu. After they completed every selection, they asked which ones you wanted more of and they brought that to you on a plate. It was an excellent system.

 

I miss the fired bananas. They were 100x better than the fried plantains. I heard a rumor they were still available on some ships.

I don't know which they were on the POA in March, but they were tasteless, unlike in the days of old when I could have made a meal on just the bananas and pineapple, and maybe a little of the salad bar.

We have dined at Moderno on several ships and always enjoyed it. On the POA, the meats were terrible. The salad bar was pretty lackluster too, but I excused it as it is a small ship. The Manager noticed we were not eating the meats and said she would not count the meal on our SDP as she understood that Moderno is "not to everyone's taste". I didn't tell her it had been very much to our taste on our previous 4 or 5 cruises. One of the long time waiters came over to talk to us after the manager left. He dropped some hints about recent changes. I only hope they are not fleetwide.

I don't think the repetition of selections are premeditated. The best Moderno experience was last year on the Gem. Maybe it was because I was there when the restaurant opened and there weren't too many people there at the time. They were very precise that night. The brought each selection in the order they were on the menu. After they completed every selection, they asked which ones you wanted more of and they brought that to you on a plate. It was an excellent system.

 

I miss the fired bananas. They were 100x better than the fried plantains. I heard a rumor they were still available on some ships.

As people are showing up at Moderno at different times I think the food just comes out and the the waiters rotate around the restaurant; if you are seated a little further away from the crowd all the "good stuff" may get snapped up before the waiter gets to you.

We went to Moderno 3 times our last cruise and the servers were great and would ask what items do you like and they would make sure to visit you early next time time around. I hope they still have the grilled pineapple, that was THE BEST!

On a side note, those that are on the UDP (not the SDP!), does anyone know whether on Escape they still offering Pincho (7$ upcharge) and Food Republic 25% off? I can see on My NCL that both Bayamo and Supper Club are offered at $17.70 (15+18%) upcharge with the UDP (so same upcharge as SDP).

I hope they still have the grilled pineapple, that was THE BEST!

OMG...... amazing