A bit confused about specialty dining perk & a la carte

[QuadraCatLady]

Another newbie cruiser question. 😉

 

Hubs and I got the specialty dining (x3) as one of our perks when we booked. I've made reservations for all three nights, one of which is at Cagney's Steakhouse. Just want to make sure I'm not in for any surprises when I pay our bill at the end. On the receipt, for the other restaurants, the balance shows as "0" but for Cageny's it says "a la carte". Does this mean we might have to pay for some, or all, of the meal even if we use our perk to book it? Confused. 

 

~ Kristene

[KeithJenner]

As long as you just have one entree you will have nothing else to pay.

[UFMOM]

No you won’t be charged. Just tell them you are using one of your dining credits. You can order multiple starters, sides and desserts but only one entree each. Any extra entrees will be charged.

 

Mary Ann

[QuadraCatLady]

Fabulous! Thanks for the speedy response. I think we can manage with just one entree. 😉

[RaiderDuck]

1 minute ago, UFMOM said:

No you won’t be charged. Just tell them you are using one of your dining credits. You can order multiple starters, sides and desserts but only one entree each. Any extra entrees will be charged.

On our last two NCL cruises (aboard the Star and the Sun), we were told the SDP gave you only one appetizer, one soup/salad, one entree, and one dessert per person.

[Alatraveler1]

Read the terms and conditions of the offer and decide for yourself what it covers.  Just be prepared to question if told there are limits to anything other than entrees.  Mileage seems to vary ship to ship, cruise to cruise, even venue to venue or host to host.  I'm of the opinion only entrees are limited, but i'll have a copy of T&C's just in case I need to/want to argue.  But there's always someplace to get more food (as if I needed more!).  And, If limited, it just means I'll never pay for the package.

[cottagers2000]

57 minutes ago, UFMOM said:

 You can order multiple starters, sides and desserts 

 

 

I cannot believe that any passengers would actually order "multiple starters, sides and desserts". Wow. Obesity is a killer remember. !

[All-ready2cruise]

58 minutes ago, RaiderDuck said:

On our last two NCL cruises (aboard the Star and the Sun), we were told the SDP gave you only one appetizer, one soup/salad, one entree, and one dessert per person.

Yes, they continue to confuse the Platinum Latitudes Benefit with the SDP T&Cs.  There is no limit on anything other than the Entree! 

 

I like ordering both an appetizer and a salad, also, multiple veggies, as well. Usually, I choose not to have dessert unless I'm dining at Cagney's, then, all bets are off. 7-layer chocolate cake is my one and only favourite. 

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, RaiderDuck said:

On our last two NCL cruises (aboard the Star and the Sun), we were told the SDP gave you only one appetizer, one soup/salad, one entree, and one dessert per person.

You were told wrong. If you had ordered multiples then you wouldn't have been charged.

[KeithJenner]

36 minutes ago, cottagers2000 said:

I cannot believe that any passengers would actually order "multiple starters, sides and desserts". Wow. Obesity is a killer remember. !

I'd think that most people order multiple sides. If you want a potatoes and some vegetables with your steak then you will be ordering multiple sides.

[Two Wheels Only]

52 minutes ago, cottagers2000 said:

I cannot believe that any passengers would actually order "multiple starters, sides and desserts". Wow. Obesity is a killer remember. !

 

I've never been overweight a day in my life. When I was a lifeguard, I could eat an entire pizza (8 slices) for lunch.

 

Between swimming, walking, etc., burning enough calories during a cruise after more than one side is easy. The sides aren't very big. Depending on the dessert, I'll order 2 because I know that I can handle 2. An extra slice of carrot cake won't kill me. 

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, cottagers2000 said:

I cannot believe that any passengers would actually order "multiple starters, sides and desserts". Wow. Obesity is a killer remember. !

Hmmmm,,, I usually order one of the appetizers and a soup or salad. And one of the potato options and and one of the veg on the side of our entree.  I suppose that NCL is killing me. 

 

And I never argue with a waiter that pitches the 1-1-1 thing. I just ignore them. And have never been charged (and we sail NCL 3-4 times a year, and usually have the 3-meal SDP and 2-meal Platinum specialty dining)

[BlueLineGal]

We do the 1-1-1 when we eat and still show an "extra" gratuity added to our room. 

[EGgal]

I agree with the person who said it may vary by ship, and by waiter. We were told by our waiter that we could order one entree, up to 2 appetizers and one dessert per person. Maybe they just made up this "policy" or made it sound like a policy but it was really a suggestion since I am sure they do not want to carry all that food to the table and away uneaten. We all had plenty of food and it was my favorite meal on the Getaway. For sure if you have the meal plan though, you get at least one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert at no extra charge. 

[KeithJenner]

10 hours ago, Alatraveler1 said:

Read the terms and conditions of the offer and decide for yourself what it covers.  Just be prepared to question if told there are limits to anything other than entrees.  Mileage seems to vary ship to ship, cruise to cruise, even venue to venue or host to host.  I'm of the opinion only entrees are limited, but i'll have a copy of T&C's just in case I need to/want to argue.  But there's always someplace to get more food (as if I needed more!).  And, If limited, it just means I'll never pay for the package.

Don’t bother questioning them. Just order what you want and you won’t be charged.

 

What varies from ship to ship or restaurant to restaurant is what people are told. What they are actually charged doesn’t change at all. You don’t get charged for extra courses (other than entrees).

 

For the record, I have still never been told of any such restrictions. On the Spirit last week, we ate at Cagneys and La Trattoria twice and Le Bistro once. The only mention of any restrictions is with the platinum voucher

 

In Le Bistro, my wife and I used Latitudes and my son the SDP. The waiter stated the limit for our latitudes but then said that those restrictions didn’t apply to the SDP, and he could order as many starters or desserts as he wanted.

[ama]

We recently were on the Getaway in July with the SDP and asked the waiter what we could order with our package. In Cagney’s they told us 1 appetizer, soup or salad, 1 entree, 2 sides and 1 dessert. In Le Bistro, it was 1 appetizer, soup or salad, 1 entree and 1 dessert. While it was plenty of food, it would have been nice to potentially order an additional appetizer/side or have both soup and salad instead as well. We didn’t want to argue with the waiter or deal with additional bills at the end, so we just followed what they told us. 

[KeithJenner]

1 minute ago, ama said:

We recently were on the Getaway in July with the SDP and asked the waiter what we could order with our package. In Cagney’s they told us 1 appetizer, soup or salad, 1 entree, 2 sides and 1 dessert. In Le Bistro, it was 1 appetizer, soup or salad, 1 entree and 1 dessert. While it was plenty of food, it would have been nice to potentially order an additional appetizer/side or have both soup and salad instead as well. We didn’t want to argue with the waiter or deal with additional bills at the end, so we just followed what they told us. 

In future, just don’t ask. A random answer just complicates things.