Ultimate Dining Package

[DevonianCruiser]

We can book the UDP for £133/$224 for two weeks.

 

Last time on NCL was probably 5 years ago and from memory the speciality dining we found to be excellent and good value, but the main dining room seemed a little poor (compared to main dining on RC or Celebrity). We wanted speciality most nights.

 

What is main dining like nowadays? Is that a good price compared to on the day? From memory again speciality was around $20-25 but sometimes if you ate early it was half price.

 

Many thanks.

[Love my butler]

Forget the UDP and just go ala carte. You will enjoy some meals in the MDR, buffet or Blue Lagoon. Other meals in the specialty restaurants you can just pay for as you go. Locking yourself into the UDP, especially for a long cruise, is the opposite of freestyle.

[nursemommy7578]

Forget the UDP and just go ala carte. You will enjoy some meals in the MDR, buffet or Blue Lagoon. Other meals in the specialty restaurants you can just pay for as you go. Locking yourself into the UDP, especially for a long cruise, is the opposite of freestyle.

 

I disagree!! you can enjoy whatever restaurant when you choose! you need to decide based on your cruising needs. we enjoy the specialty restaurants for dinners...so the UDP is an excellent choice for us! we use the other choices for breakfast/lunch/snacks.

[Fishbait17]

We can book the UDP for £133/$224 for two weeks.

 

Last time on NCL was probably 5 years ago and from memory the speciality dining we found to be excellent and good value, but the main dining room seemed a little poor (compared to main dining on RC or Celebrity). We wanted speciality most nights.

 

What is main dining like nowadays? Is that a good price compared to on the day? From memory again speciality was around $20-25 but sometimes if you ate early it was half price.

 

Many thanks.

 

Enjoyment of MDR food varies widely from person to person. We rarely eat in the MDR, not because the food isn't good, but instead because we really love the Specialties - we rarely eat out at home (I love to cook), and when on vacation we just like to go "all out". So, I can't really help you with MDR food quality (haven't eaten in one in years). Maybe someone who has sailed and dined in the MDR for several years can comment on whether they believe the quality has increased/decreased/stayed the same. Since you enjoyed the Specialties last time, you'd probably really enjoy them again, and some of the new ones like Moderno and Ocean Blue (OB only on new ships).

 

There aren't many "specials" on the specialty restaurants any more. Sometimes they offer half-price or a free bottle of wine, but I haven't seen it offered on my last few sailings (except for half-price dinner shows on the new ships on the first night). The best way to decide if it's worth it is to price out where you might want to eat. The restaurants on board range from $15-30 per person (Ocean Blue is $50 per person, not available on all ships, not supposed to be included in the UDP, but sometimes people seem to be able to prebook it for no charge with the UDP). Add it all up and see how it compares. If it's close to the price of the UDP, I say go for it - buy the UDP and enjoy being able to choose from the different specialties from night to night. For me, the UDP would be a no-brainer, except that most of our meals are paid for us for different reasons (Plat Latitudes, Casino, etc).

 

Robin

Edited May 9, 2014 by Fishbait17

[DevonianCruiser]

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

I'm leaning towards the speciality restaurants as they were excellent previously and as I said the MDR was a little disappointing.

[Ilovesailing]

I disagree!! you can enjoy whatever restaurant when you choose! you need to decide based on your cruising needs. we enjoy the specialty restaurants for dinners...so the UDP is an excellent choice for us! we use the other choices for breakfast/lunch/snacks.

 

 

Ditto, we only eat in the specialty dining rooms as we find the food,menus and service better and more relaxing.

Also next to no kids running around.

 

If NCL got arid of the specialty dining we would be gone, can only tolerate the buffet for a quick breakfast and lunch.

[SteveH2508]

Forget the UDP and just go ala carte. You will enjoy some meals in the MDR, buffet or Blue Lagoon. Other meals in the specialty restaurants you can just pay for as you go. Locking yourself into the UDP, especially for a long cruise, is the opposite of freestyle.

 

LMB is right on this one - why lock yourself into some of the restaurants when you can choose any of them (many being no upcharge)? (Unless you are an NCL shareholder of course!);)

 

Some nights, a plate of chicken wings and a graze around the buffet hits the spot - other nights you want the whole dining experience. Freedom of choice - that's what makes NCL a great choice for a vacation.

[Squidward Q Tentacles]

With the UDP can a person eat in Cagney's every night?

[Love my butler]

With the UDP can a person eat in Cagney's every night?

 

Yes, you can even eat in Cagney's and Le Bistro and La Cucina on the same night.

[cherrypop]

We just came off the Pearl for 5 nights and did the UDP. It was good for the five nights but I don't think I would want it for more way too much food. The second night we went to Cagneys and from start to finish it was 45 minutes plus the lobster was a joke, it was a 3 inch crayfish. We definitely won't be doing the UDP in October we will pay as we go for the different restaurants.

[kdzkatz]

The UDP going to work great for us being in a suite as we can have our butler deliver food from different specialties without having to worry about multiple surcharges. Plus the only specialty we have tried that is still around is La Cucina and we want to try them all before our 9 day next year. We will be platinum at the end of this upcoming cruise too so we figured this is great timing to see how it works for us.

Edited May 10, 2014 by kdzkatz
reword