My memory must be failing me too. I thought everyone would get an individual package with two vouchers. One for Cagney/Bistro with wine and one for Monderno/Cucina. .
I thought the “problem”’they were trying to solve was when you had mismatched status levels in a cabin. One person that was platinum and one gold where the gold would have to pay the cover charge (back before a la carte dining).
Now, as long as one person is a platinum, two people in the cabin can eat a free dinner, a net plus. For two cabinmates that were both platinum, the change was a net zero. A net improvement to the benefit. The only downside was if two platinum people in a cabin don’t want to eat together, now they have to.
The most recent change now allows you to eat anywhere. A net improvement to the benefit. It also helps overcrowding in the premiere restaurants Cagney’s and Le Bistro. The new benefit limits you to 1-1-1 (per T&C), but I have never had a waiter try to charge me for the second soup/salad/app on our multiple cruises a year.