SDP vs. Pre pay Gratuities

[poona1]

Hi ncl cruisers...maybe you could enlighten me...should i pre pay the gratuities now and avoid 200 dollars for 2 people....or should I get the SDP to save on a la carte pricing...I plan on spending for 4 people at teppanyaki and for 2 at le Bistro...thanks so much...

 

And Last request is that if I did get the 3rd and 4th person free deal, do I have to pay gratuities for them as well....Thanks so much :D

[BirdTravels]

Hi ncl cruisers...maybe you could enlighten me...should i pre pay the gratuities now and avoid 200 dollars for 2 people....or should I get the SDP to save on a la carte pricing...I plan on spending for 4 people at teppanyaki and for 2 at le Bistro...thanks so much... And Last request is that if I did get the 3rd and 4th person free deal, do I have to pay gratuities for them as well....Thanks so much :D

 

Whether you pay the Daily Service Charge now or later, you will still pay for it. Buy paying for it in March, you will avoid the DSC increase effective April 1st. You pay the DSC for all passengers over 3 years old.

 

The Specialty Dining Plan is purchased per person and it is not transferable. For example, you can't buy a 6 meal SDP and use it for 4 teppanyaki and 2 bistro. Each person dining has to buy a minimum of a 3-night SDP.

[KeithJenner]

I'm not sure why this is an either/or question. You could do neither, either or both.

 

As stated above, prepaying the gratuities (I assume you are referring to the DSC) really just changes the time that you pay it, although you would avoid the recent increase.

 

The SDP may or may not work for you. As stated above, it can't be shared, so you can't use 2 SDPs to cover the meals that you are proposing. However, by the time you have paid for a meal at Teppenyaki and another at Le Bistro then that will likely cost you about the same as a 3 meal SDP (dependent on what you have at Le Bistro), so the SDP probably makes sense to give you another meal for little or no cost. The other two people at Teppenyaki would have to pay the cover charge, or buy the SDP themselves.

[Kristi Barber]

Hi ncl cruisers...maybe you could enlighten me...should i pre pay the gratuities now and avoid 200 dollars for 2 people....or should I get the SDP to save on a la carte pricing...I plan on spending for 4 people at teppanyaki and for 2 at le Bistro...thanks so much...

 

And Last request is that if I did get the 3rd and 4th person free deal, do I have to pay gratuities for them as well....Thanks so much :D

 

 

Gratuities are for everyone over age 3. Whether you pre-pay or just have it automatically deducted at end would be up to you. We usually pre-pay everything just for convenience.

 

Specialty dining is $69 for 3 meals per person. You can use more than one in a day but not transfer to another person. So each of the members of your group would have to get a $69 package of 3 meals.

I guess you could work out the math and see if it is a good deal for you or just a la carte. Teppanyaki was $29.95 per person on our cruise. Le Bistro (Apps run between $6-8; Entrees $14-24; and desserts $5-8). I would think it would add up to just about the $69 per person on the "2" that would dine at Tep and Le Bistro so why not get the package for those "2" and you have a 3rd night of dining then also. TRY CAGNEY'S...steaks are very good there.

If 2 of the 4 dining at Tep are only going to dine there and nowhere else during the week then I would say a la carte them for the $29.95.

 

Have a great trip!