Question about free specialty dining

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, deek72 said:

As the OP mentions the $50 shore excursion credit, I would guess that the speciality dining credits are part of the Free at Sea package in which case there is no 20% service charge.
 

In the US you pay a 20% service charge on the Free at Sea beverage and dining packages.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, deek72 said:

As the OP mentions the $50 shore excursion credit, I would guess that the speciality dining credits are part of the Free at Sea package in which case there is no 20% service charge.
 

I am reading the (extremely) small print on the back of the brochure that we were sent. It says "20% gratuities apply on Free Open Bar, Free Specialty Dining, Free Extra Guests on select cruises."

 

[KeithJenner]

8 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I am reading the (extremely) small print on the back of the brochure that we were sent. It says "20% gratuities apply on Free Open Bar, Free Specialty Dining, Free Extra Guests on select cruises."

 

Yes, that will be correct for the US.

[CruizinKittie40]

16 hours ago, ontheweb said:

 

 

Also beware that FREE excursions is really $50 credit per port for excursions. He thought that that was really FALSE  advertising.

Not necessarily.  My excursion to Pompeii was $39 so it was indeed free. 

[julig22]

4 hours ago, deek72 said:

As the OP mentions the $50 shore excursion credit, I would guess that the speciality dining credits are part of the Free at Sea package in which case there is no 20% service charge.
 

In the US, you are assessed a 20% service charge on the value of the meal and drink packages - added to your cruise fare.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

In the US, you are assessed a 20% service charge on the value of the meal and drink packages - added to your cruise fare.

And that is why we did not have the free drink package included. I don't drink enough to justify it, and DW takes a prescription medicine that says that alcohol use is contra-indicated.

 

BTW, how do they compute in the fare the value of the meal package since I assume not all the extra pay dining options have the same surcharge?

[mjkacmom]

51 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

And that is why we did not have the free drink package included. I don't drink enough to justify it, and DW takes a prescription medicine that says that alcohol use is contra-indicated.

 

BTW, how do they compute in the fare the value of the meal package since I assume not all the extra pay dining options have the same surcharge?

It’s 20% of the cost of buying the package.

[billslowsky]

18 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Everyone here knows that as its been around a long time. You choose the restaurant and day. 

This guy ought to find himself a better TA.

[tallnthensome]

3 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

This guy ought to find himself a better TA.

For real...... Where is the TA in all of this and why is he not answering all these questions? 

[2tnts]

On 10/30/2021 at 4:09 PM, ontheweb said:

LOL, our TA after calling it false advertising, did say if there were $50 excursions, they could say it was true. BTW, is it $50 per port as he told us or $50 per person per port, which would make more sense to me as everything else is for dual occupancy.

Per port - Not per passenger 

[julig22]

53 minutes ago, 2tnts said:

Per port - Not per passenger 

Per excursion, for passenger #1. Time permitting, you would get a discount on each excursion.

[ontheweb]

29 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Per excursion, for passenger #1. Time permitting, you would get a discount on each excursion.

delete see next post instead

Edited November 1, 2021 by ontheweb

[ontheweb]

Just now, ontheweb said:

LOL, the small print explains the $50, but on the inside cover of the brochure it says that the free excursion is worth UP TO $200. Are they saying one person can take 4 excursions? Maybe on an overnight stay?

 

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

It’s 20% of the cost of buying the package.

But if the package is a % of the price and some specialty restaurants cost more than others, how do they determine on what to base the price? That was the essence of my question.

[BirdTravels]

7 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

But if the package is a % of the price and some specialty restaurants cost more than others, how do they determine on what to base the price? That was the essence of my question.

It is 20% of the cost of the package, not the meal. 

 

Specialty Dining Package

Sail Length	# Of Dining Package Meals		Retail Value		20% Gratuities
3-5 Nights	1		$44.95 per person		$8.99 per package
6-8 Nights	2		$79 per person		$15.80 per package
9-10 Nights	3		$99 per person		$19.80 per package
11-14 Nights	4		$114 per person		$22.80 per package
15+ Nights	5		$129 per person		$25.80 per package

 

[hello]

Thank you BirdTravels ... I have always wondered how the gratuity on the dining package was determined.

[krittykat]

On 10/30/2021 at 2:09 PM, ontheweb said:

LOL, our TA after calling it false advertising, did say if there were $50 excursions, they could say it was true. BTW, is it $50 per port as he told us or $50 per person per port, which would make more sense to me as everything else is for dual occupancy.

We are cruising the Mediterranean next Oct. Some of the shore excursions are under $50. Therefore, for one of us....free when using credit. However, most of the ones that interest me are more. $50 off is better than nothing

[Old & Retired]

10 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

For real...... Where is the TA in all of this and why is he not answering all these questions? 

Because many TA's are like NCL phone reps, they don't have a clue.  You will almost always get more accurate answers on these boards.

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

It is 20% of the cost of the package, not the meal. 

 

Specialty Dining Package

Sail Length	# Of Dining Package Meals		Retail Value		20% Gratuities
3-5 Nights	1		$44.95 per person		$8.99 per package
6-8 Nights	2		$79 per person		$15.80 per package
9-10 Nights	3		$99 per person		$19.80 per package
11-14 Nights	4		$114 per person		$22.80 per package
15+ Nights	5		$129 per person		$25.80 per package

 

OK, I had just wondered how they compute it if different venues had different prices.

[sanger727]

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

OK, I had just wondered how they compute it if different venues had different prices.

 

NCL sells a specialty dining package with a number of credits. You are charged the gratuities for that package when you book. 

 

SDP meals can be enjoyed at American Diner, Cagney’s Steakhouse, Food Republic, Italian, Le Bistro, Los Lobos, Moderno Churrascaria, Ocean Blue and Bayamo by Ocean Blue, Pincho Tapas Bar, Q Texas Smokehouse, Raw Bar, Sushi and Teppanyaki.

An SDP meal in Food Republic, Pincho, Sushi and Wasabi includes 4 menu items

You may choose to use SDP meals in entertainment-based restaurants for an upcharge.

 

As far  as "freestyle dining" with the specialty restaurants. The problem is that alot of people have credits for specialty dining now. On our last cruise we booked our reservations ahead of time. You did not have to. A couple days into the cruise we wanted to change one of them. The only free dining slots left the rest of the cruise were at 9pm or later. We ended up just keeping the reservations we had. I don't know how well walks in work. 

[bstel]

How many days before the cruise do the reservations open up?  do you have to be paid in full before you can book?

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 

 

As far  as "freestyle dining" with the specialty restaurants. The problem is that alot of people have credits for specialty dining now. On our last cruise we booked our reservations ahead of time. You did not have to. A couple days into the cruise we wanted to change one of them. The only free dining slots left the rest of the cruise were at 9pm or later. We ended up just keeping the reservations we had. I don't know how well walks in work. 

I find the idea that you have to plan all of these meals in advance antitheitcal to the whole concept of freestyle. JMHO 

[mjkacmom]

29 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I find the idea that you have to plan all of these meals in advance antitheitcal to the whole concept of freestyle. JMHO 

It’s supply and demand, before free dining offers it was easy to get reservations, now with free dining they book up quicker. Freestyle doesn’t mean you will be able to get a reservation.

[luckyinpa]

just off the BA and i can tell you that even late in the week reservations were def available at the italian place and teppanyaki. we got 300 credit for our missed port and people were looking to burn the credits. so while your preferred time may not be available. i dont think there will be issues booking times on board for the SDP

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

It’s supply and demand, before free dining offers it was easy to get reservations, now with free dining they book up quicker. Freestyle doesn’t mean you will be able to get a reservation.

In understand the definition of freestyle is not you can get a reservation, however, when it started it was before other lines had any kind of anytime dining. It was supposed to make things free to do what you wanted and when you wanted. (IIRC, that was their advertising slogan.) But then we went on our first NCL cruise in 2006 and all reservations were gone before we boarded. (We did get to one as the only other person on our roll call not only was in an owner's suite, but was also on the ship also the cruise before and she made a reservation including us.)

 

Our cruise on the Prima in not until 2023 and the ship has not even been built yet. How far in advance do you think we should plan our dinners. And how does that jibe with do what you want and when you want?