Free at Sea Specialty Dining Question

[SliderNc]

I've done some searches and haven't turned anything up on this so I'm going to ask.

 

The past few cruises, it's only been my wife and I so we've gotten the two free specialty dining as part of Free At Sea.  My DD will be joining us on our next two cruises.  I'm assuming that she won't eat for free with us, but she's turned into a bit of a foodie like her parents.  In the summary, it doesn't show her having the package.  Do I need to get that added?  How do I do that for her?  If I try to buy it through the portal, it tries to add it for all three of us.

[KeithJenner]

Yes, you would need to buy her a package (or pay a la carte if she doesn’t eat much).

 

We always buy a package for our son. I’ve never had a problem doing it online. From memory you just have to tick or untick who you want it for. Maybe it defaults to everyone being selected, I can’t remember.

[jkrislc]

The free at sea specialty dining is just for the first two passengers. Children 12 and under dine free, but they have to order from the children's menu at the restaurant. Unfortunately, I can't find a copy of the children's menu, so I don't know if it is a subset of the specialty restaurant's menu or a generic children's menu.

 

I simply bought the package for my son to match ours. If I weren't traveling with friends, though, I would have added a three night package and just bought my son a 5 night package.

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, jkrislc said:

Unfortunately, I can't find a copy of the children's menu, so I don't know if it is a subset of the specialty restaurant's menu or a generic children's menu.

 

Generic kids' menu....

 

[SliderNc]

Thanks everyone for the tips (check boxes actually do uncheck).  So after weighing this out, the one place I know we are eating is Teppanyaki.  That's $29.95 unless the price has changed since it was posted back in 2018.  I haven't found any evidence that it has.  Haven't decided on the second night, but more than likely Cagney's.  So when I do the math, with 18% gratuity added for her, that comes out to around $77.  The 2-meal package is $94.90 right now.  So either my math is bad, or the prices have gone up on their specialty dining stuff.

 

Gonna start searching out for the current prices.

[Old & Retired]

Are you kidding?  Of course prices have gone up.  Way up.  This is NCL you know.

[LKCCruiser]

2 hours ago, SliderNc said:

Thanks everyone for the tips (check boxes actually do uncheck).  So after weighing this out, the one place I know we are eating is Teppanyaki.  That's $29.95 unless the price has changed since it was posted back in 2018.  I haven't found any evidence that it has.  Haven't decided on the second night, but more than likely Cagney's.  So when I do the math, with 18% gratuity added for her, that comes out to around $77.  The 2-meal package is $94.90 right now.  So either my math is bad, or the prices have gone up on their specialty dining stuff.

 

Gonna start searching out for the current prices.

I believe Teppanyaki is now $39 and Cagneys will be a la carte so it may depend on whether she orders appetizer and dessert to see if it's worth it. Our son is a foodie too and I think he checks the prices before looking at the entrées and orders whatever's most expensive so buying dining package has been worth it for us! Also, sample menus are showing on most specialty restaurants on the ship info pages on NCL so check that out too.

[SliderNc]

8 hours ago, LKCCruiser said:

I believe Teppanyaki is now $39 and Cagneys will be a la carte so it may depend on whether she orders appetizer and dessert to see if it's worth it. Our son is a foodie too and I think he checks the prices before looking at the entrées and orders whatever's most expensive so buying dining package has been worth it for us! Also, sample menus are showing on most specialty restaurants on the ship info pages on NCL so check that out too.

Thanks.  It might make more sense to get the package with the price increases.  My daughter will get the filet at Cagney's more than likely, probably a salad and definitely dessert (more than likely just ice cream, where she's not a foodie).

 

[Oxo]

11 hours ago, Old & Retired said:

Are you kidding?  Of course prices have gone up.  Way up.  This is NCL you know.

Regardless of being NCL or any other Cruise line, ALL PRICES are going up. Have you been to the grocery store, gas station, clothing store, etc?

Costco, Sam's, Kroger - check price of meat.

Happy Cruising!

[Sthrngary]

This is a very interesting question.  The answer is, you, you need to buy a package for your guests outside of you and your wife.  My family and I are doing the same thing.  We have two specialty meals with the free at sea and one for the French  restaurant complements of AMX.  So we purchased a package of three for each guest so we can all go to dinner together. 

 

This also gives everyone the ability to eat else where on the other nights if we choose to do so.  Really enjoy your cruise. 

 

Cruise well.

[Oxo]

I believe these are the current prices for the pkgs.

If not, sorry.

[SliderNc]

1 hour ago, Oxo said:

I believe these are the current prices for the pkgs.

If not, sorry.

I think that is pretty close.  If I factor in the 18% gratutity, the prices are close to what was in my cart when I chose the 2-meal package (94.90).

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

2 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

This is a very interesting question.  The answer is, you, you need to buy a package for your guests outside of you and your wife.  My family and I are doing the same thing.  We have two specialty meals with the free at sea and one for the French  restaurant complements of AMX.  So we purchased a package of three for each guest so we can all go to dinner together. 

 

This also gives everyone the ability to eat else where on the other nights if we choose to do so.  Really enjoy your cruise. 

 

Cruise well.

It's interesting that you say need.  Can I not make a reservation for a restaurant for three if my daughter does not have the package as well?  I was under the impression that most of them went a-la-cart or allowed it to be charged to your room.  If that is not the case, then I will definitely by the package.

[Two Wheels Only]

11 minutes ago, SliderNc said:

It's interesting that you say need.  Can I not make a reservation for a restaurant for three if my daughter does not have the package as well?  I was under the impression that most of them went a-la-cart or allowed it to be charged to your room.  If that is not the case, then I will definitely by the package.

 

It's not "need" as in required. You can book a reservation for more than have the package.

 

Financially, getting the package usually works better than a la carte. For light eaters, it can be a tougher choice. Some would rather have the package and know what's covered so that they don't have to worry about prices when ordering.

[Two Wheels Only]

19 minutes ago, SliderNc said:

I think that is pretty close.  If I factor in the 18% gratutity, the prices are close to what was in my cart when I chose the 2-meal package (94.90).

 

It's 20% ($79 + 20% = $94.80).

[SliderNc]

1 minute ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

It's 20% ($79 + 20% = $94.80).

I math good...

 

Thanks for fixing that.

[Sthrngary]

49 minutes ago, SliderNc said:

It's interesting that you say need.  Can I not make a reservation for a restaurant for three if my daughter does not have the package as well?  I was under the impression that most of them went a-la-cart or allowed it to be charged to your room.  If that is not the case, then I will definitely by the package

You can make a reservation for three or four even if some of the folks in the reservation are not doing full meals.  I am sorry if I said that wrong.  If you have a child or small eater, I fully understand that you would not get a meal package.  That is a very good point.  

 

I hope I clarified.  Thanks for being specific.

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, SliderNc said:

I think that is pretty close.  If I factor in the 18% gratutity, the prices are close to what was in my cart when I chose the 2-meal package (94.90).

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

It's interesting that you say need.  Can I not make a reservation for a restaurant for three if my daughter does not have the package as well?  I was under the impression that most of them went a-la-cart or allowed it to be charged to your room.  If that is not the case, then I will definitely by the package.

You can book a table for as many people as you want (subject to what table sizes are available), so you can even book for people in other cabins if you want. You don’t have to specify who is going with you when you book, just the number of people.

 

Another point which causes some confusion is that you have to pay up front when you book for the fixed price places (Teppanyaki or Moderno), but this doesn’t apply if the person doing the booking has dining credits available. This is regardless of the number of people you are booking for. The system assumes that if you have the package then so does everyone else who is eating with you. The actual payment is sorted out at the time of the meal.

 

So you don’t have to buy the package for your daughter in advance of making the bookings. We often wait until we have boarded to buy the package for our son if we have OBC to use.

Edited November 4, 2021 by KeithJenner

[Shellbelle28]

17 hours ago, Old & Retired said:

Are you kidding?  Of course prices have gone up.  Way up.  This is NCL you know.

Have you been to a supermarket lately? NCL isn't the only place prices are up.

[Old & Retired]

On 11/4/2021 at 6:23 AM, Oxo said:

Regardless of being NCL or any other Cruise line, ALL PRICES are going up. Have you been to the grocery store, gas station, clothing store, etc?

Costco, Sam's, Kroger - check price of meat.

Happy Cruising!

News to me.  Thanks for the info.........