On a recent six night sailing on the Allure I had the Unlimited Dining Plan. This was the first time I have had it and wanted to share some thoughts on the plan and some of the restaurants with other CC folks.
Overall, I was very happy with the plan. I paid $168 for the plan for the six night cruise. Let me dispel a few rumors. The plan is unlimited. I could go anywhere I wanted, at any time I wanted, and could order whatever I wanted. There were no restrictions on how many places I went to within any period of time. For example, I could have a sushi roll at 5 PM in Izumi, dinner at 6 PM at 150 and then dessert at Giovanni's at 8 PM. Each time, at each restaurant, I was presented with a $0 check. I had no issues getting the reservations I wanted. I booked when getting onboard and made a few changes as the week went on.
Izumi Sushi: Loved it! Went multiple times and had the same waiter. I thought the food was fantastic. Went multiple times. I was worried that the $35 at Izumi Sushi would not be enough for me. Turned out to be nonsense. For $35 you can get a miso soup, appetizer, two in the "entree" section and dessert. It was plenty and more than enough. And my waiter basically hooked me up with anything I wanted regardless of the $35. When I talked to him about the concept of closing out the bill and opening it again he told me to just let him know what I wanted.
150 Central Park: Thought it was excellent. Went three nights of the six night cruise. Service, food, atmosphere all fantastic.
Sabor: Staff at this restaurant was always having so much fun. Enjoyed the food. Nice being outside. Went multiple times - mostly around lunch for an extra dessert. Duck burritos, ceviche and the desserts were very good.
Samba: Average food. Staff was excellent. Two of the seven or so selections were excellent and everything else just so so. Salad bar was nothing to get excited about.
Chops: Lamb was excellent. Atmosphere just OK - didn't feel as upscale as another Chops I went to on different ships. Thoughts on the sides were average. Crab cake was average. I know people love to talk about Chops, but I would direct people to 150 over Chops.
Giovannis: I was soooo disappointed overall. On the positive side, the octopus was fantastic. However, all of the other dishes were very salty or way to heavy with butter or cream. And while we were eating there was a High C's show outside and it made it very noisy in the restaurant every time the door opened. There was already music playing inside. It's nice that you can get half orders of the pasta so you can try a few different things. I'm sure if we had gone through more of the menu we might have found something else that we liked, but after our one night we had mentally moved on to other restaurants. I also didn't like the room.
My waiters at 150, Izumi Sushi and Sabor were all excellent and they really made going to each of those locations a great experience. We spent at least three meals/snacks/desserts at each of those so we got to know the waiter well. Also wanted to mention that while tip is included, we ended up leaving something extra each time. Not going to get in to how much - do what you think makes sense even if that means not adding additional tip. The UDP is very clear that gratuity is included and the waiters do receive something from you dining. This was my first Royal cruise (I'm Diamond) where I never stepped in to the Main Dining Room. Didn't miss it one bit. However, part of that, is because I've had the MDR menu so many times now. It hasn't changed that much in years and it was nice to have additional options. The prices at Chops and 150 without the dining plan were $65 PLUS 18% gratuity. I don't think that's worth it, but for $168 for 6 dinners and 3 lunches I was really happy.
Hope this helps people.
