Ultimate dining package vs. specialty dining package question

[gar90]

Hey everyone. Long time lurker and finally decided to sign up. Anyway, I am doing the first half of my honeymoon on the Norwegian Getaway (second half on the Allure of the Seas) and we purchased the Ultimate Dining Package before the cruise line got rid of it to make way for the Specialty Dining Package.

 

I have the option to get a refund for the UDP and get the SDP instead but have absolutely no clue if I should do it. Can someone lay out the differences and pros/cons of each please? I called NCL and they said they would honor the UDP since I bought it before they got rid of it, just not sure which version is better and what the differences are. I've been on a bunch of cruises but this is my first with NCL so treat me like a first time cruiser in your explanation please . Thanks again.

 

Also, sorry in advance if this has been asked 10,000 times already.

[TrumpyNor]

Hey everyone. Long time lurker and finally decided to sign up. Anyway, I am doing the first half of my honeymoon on the Norwegian Getaway (second half on the Allure of the Seas) and we purchased the Ultimate Dining Package before the cruise line got rid of it to make way for the Specialty Dining Package.

 

I have the option to get a refund for the UDP and get the SDP instead but have absolutely no clue if I should do it. Can someone lay out the differences and pros/cons of each please? I called NCL and they said they would honor the UDP since I bought it before they got rid of it, just not sure which version is better and what the differences are. I've been on a bunch of cruises but this is my first with NCL so treat me like a first time cruiser in your explanation please . Thanks again.

 

Also, sorry in advance if this has been asked 10,000 times already.

 

I believe the only difference for you would be that with the SDP you have the option to reduce the number of days for the package (and therefore the total price), IF you wanted to.

Edited January 28, 2016 by TrumpyNor

[KeithJenner]

Yes, that is the only practical difference.

 

I'd compare the cost of the SDP for the number of nights that I would actually want to use the speciality restaurants and if that is less than the cost paid for the UDP then I'd change and save some money.

 

In my case it would almost certainly be worth changing, as I have no wish to eat in those restaurants every night. For others it may be different.

 

As it the OPs first NCL cruise, my recommendation would always be to give the free venues a go, which would suggest that changing may be worth doing.

Edited January 28, 2016 by KeithJenner

[[g]cruiserke]

I believe the only difference for you would be that with the SDP you have the option to reduce the number of days for the package (and therefore the total price), IF you wanted to.

 

 

If I'm not mistaken, the SDP buys you a specified number of specialty restaurant meals, and not days. With an upper limit of meals equal to the number of days in your cruise, so if you're on a seven day cruise, you can only go up to the 7 meal SDP. The UDP, as the name says, is Unlimited and allows you to visit more than one specialty restaurant on the same day, for every day of your cruise.

 

As a consequence, if you want to visit more than one specialty restaurant per day (eg one for lunch and one for dinner, or go for apps in the Bistro, entrees in Cagneys and dessert in La Cuccina) you'll have to spend one "meal credit" at each using the SDP.

 

You have to determine for yourself if you're likely to visit more than one specialty restaurant per day. It will largely depend on which ship you're sailing: on the Escape the UDP gets you into Margarittaville at lunch without having to sacrifice a specialty dinner, while on the SDP you'll have to choose whether it makes sense to give up a credit for Margaritaville. That won't be a problem on the Getaway which doesn't have a Margarittaville.

 

Our next cruise is on the Escape, and we do tend to spend every night at a specialty restaurant on NCL, skipping the main dining room completely. We also purchased the UDP just before they added gratuities to the price and then got rid of it altogether, and for us it is a no-brainer to hold on to the UDP.

[KeithJenner]

cruiserke;48905182']As a consequence' date=' if you want to visit more than one specialty restaurant per day (eg one for lunch and one for dinner, or go for apps in the Bistro, entrees in Cagneys and dessert in La Cuccina) you'll have to spend one "meal credit" at each using the SDP.[/quote']

 

This is true.

 

I always base my answers to questions like this on the assumption that people generally only have one evening meal per day, and don't spread that meal around different restaurants.

 

That doesn't apply for everyone of course, but answers which include every possible situation do tend to go on a bit. :)

 

What you say is absolutely correct though, and if this would interest the OP then they should certainly keep the UDP.

 

It's also true that the UDP covers lunch, if they are offered in the speciality restaurants. Does that actually happen much any more? My understanding was that the most common place to find open at lunchtime was the Asian places, which are now complementary (and pretty well all closed for lunch in my experience).

[[g]cruiserke]

It's also true that the UDP covers lunch, if they are offered in the speciality restaurants. Does that actually happen much any more? My understanding was that the most common place to find open at lunchtime was the Asian places, which are now complementary (and pretty well all closed for lunch in my experience).

 

Indeed. That's why I mentioned it depends on which ship you're on but at the moment it's as far as I know only the Escape which has for-pay specialty options at lunch time. Besides Margarittaville I understand Food Republic and the tapas restaurant also open for lunch and offer discounts for SDP and UDP, and you'd presumably have to spend one of your SDP credits to get that discount.

Edited January 28, 2016 by [g]cruiserke

[BirdTravels]

Also, if you purchased the Ultimate Dining Package a while back, you can use it for the Illusionarium on the first night of the cruise, free. You have to call reservations, and a Supervisor has to manually over ride the system to book you for the cirque show on the first night free.

 

The SDP allows you to use a "meal credit" to eat at Ocean Blue with an additional up charge. Whereas the UDP can not be used at Ocean Blue (although you can talk with the restaurant manager once you get on board,,, they may let you in). That being said, we we were never impressed with the restaurant when it was run by Geoffrey Zakarian,,,, and have not eaten there since NCL discontinued their relationship with Zakarian and changed the menu.

[gar90]

Thank you guys so much for all the help. I think I saw that one of the differences is that for some of the a la carte restaurants that aren't covered like Ocean Blue, the UDP has a 20 or 25% discount, while the SDP it uses one of your meals but it's only like $15 for the entire meal. I don't know what the price ranges are at those restaurants.

 

Also, I know a lot of restaurants like Le Bistro and Cagneys have gone to a la carte where they used to be a set price, and I wasn't sure if those would still be covered under the UDP or fall under the a la carte category of restaurants that aren't covered.

 

And just an FYI we are going on the Getaway.

 

Thank you guys for all the help!

[LrgPizza]

cruiserke;48905404']Indeed. That's why I mentioned it depends on which ship you're on but at the moment it's as far as I know only the Escape which has for-pay specialty options at lunch time. Besides Margarittaville I understand Food Republic and the tapas restaurant also open for lunch and offer discounts for SDP and UDP' date=' and you'd presumably have to spend one of your SDP credits to get that discount.[/quote']

 

Neither Margaritaville, Food Republic or the Tapas restaurant exist on Getaway, which is the ship on which the OP is sailing, so no need to confuse the answer further.

 

Basically, if she plans to eat in Specialties every night, then keep UDP. If she plans to eat less than that, then get SDP instead.

 

When I sailed Getaway, Teppanyaki was open for lunch on sea days, same menu as dinner, and meal plan could be used there. I don't know if that is still true.

[CruisinHarvey]

I'm not sure when you booked your cruise, and what promo's were running. You do know that you can pick from 2 promo's for the next couple of days, on NCL as long as you're in an ocean view or above. You can get SDP( 4 meals) and another option like UBP for free.

[hawkeyetlse]

When I sailed Getaway, Teppanyaki was open for lunch on sea days, same menu as dinner, and meal plan could be used there. I don't know if that is still true.

The last time we cruised with the UDP (Epic last November), Teppanyaki was open for lunch, but they told us that if we used the UDP for lunch there, and went to another specialty for dinner on the same day, they would charge us for one of the two meals. They insisted that "shoreside" was telling them one meal per day with the UDP. :mad:

 

We also had enormous problems getting the first night entertainment dining for free. :mad::mad: It was very frustrating, and as fewer and fewer people cruise with the old UDP I can see NCL pulling these shenanigans more often (random restrictions out of the blue and refusal to honor the original terms).