Onboard specialty dining deals?

[CatLadyFemme]

Has anyone been on board in the last few months and found they had any cheaper prices or deals on booking specialty dining for individual meals? I have been on some cruises that did a buy one get one, or a somewhat cheaper prices to entice you in, but was wondering if this too was lost in a COVID world.

 

Trying to decide if I should just book one nice dinner on our upcoming cruise, or if there still might be a chance for a deal (we don’t have any date or time in mind, so can be flexible).

[firefly333]

Diamond plus gives a bogo but pretty much have to book its night 1 and 2 I've heard. Though some booked it later after asking.

 

Dont remember seeing any specials on rcl.

[Sobro]

Not recent, but around Day 7 of an 11 Day cruise in 2019 they sent specialty dining staff to look for customers in the Windjammer at lunch time. We got a discount offer at Chops, maybe $10 off per person. 

 

You might be able to negotiate with them for a small reduction.  We aren't wine lovers and got Chef's Table $20 off pp when we asked for a price excluding the pairings.

 

 

[babchia]

From what I have experienced in the past, there is seldom any 'official' discounts available beyond what is published.  That said, I have been able to get a couple pretty good discounts when dining staff went around during the cruise trying to get more business and offering a discount (just like Sobro mentioned).  The best deal I ever got was during a dinner when the Head Waiter was going around with a deal for the Chef's Table.  (It was so good that I feel I should not even mention it here.)  That said, my experiences were from before Covid.  I am hopeful these types of offers occur on our upcoming cruise.

 

So, in short, it doesn't hurt to ask the restaurant wait staff during your cruise, especially if they are out around the ship.

 

Jim (using Karen's account)

[Sunshine3601]

Our recent sailing on Anthem this month had only 1600 passengers and they were offering up to 50% off specialty dining most nights and they were offering 20 or 30% off if you ordered the chops filet regularly priced at $16.95  while dining in the MDR.     In fact, one afternoon we were approaching asking if we wanted to join the chef's table for dinner for only $65 pp as they had 2 seats available.     We declined as we already had plans for diner that evening but at that price I would have done it.   

[sailor05]

On 1/29/2022 at 5:59 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

Our recent sailing on Anthem this month had only 1600 passengers and they were offering up to 50% off specialty dining most nights and they were offering 20 or 30% off if you ordered the chops filet regularly priced at $16.95  while dining in the MDR.     In fact, one afternoon we were approaching asking if we wanted to join the chef's table for dinner for only $65 pp as they had 2 seats available.     We declined as we already had plans for diner that evening but at that price I would have done it.   

Sounds like they likely had some excess food that can't be carried over to the next cruise.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, sailor05 said:

Sounds like they likely had some excess food that can't be carried over to the next cruise.

Maybe but I think it was because we had just under 40% capacity and the restaurants were never busy.  It was actually nice as you could simply walk up without a reservation.  I prefer that than planning where and when  I'll eat days in advance.

[Merion_Mom]

It happens "all the time".  Not on every ship and not on every cruise, but it is very common for staff to be walking around, trying to get people to book specialty restaurants and offering some sort of discount, depending on how bookings look at that time.

[sailor05]

20 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

It happens "all the time".  Not on every ship and not on every cruise, but it is very common for staff to be walking around, trying to get people to book specialty restaurants and offering some sort of discount, depending on how bookings look at that time.

I must be in the wrong place "all the time"😄 I honestly can never remember being approached for specialty dining deals. I believe I've seen tables setup trying to get people to purchase the drink packages on the first day or two, but not dining. 

[flamingos]

2 minutes ago, sailor05 said:

I must be in the wrong place "all the time"😄 I honestly can never remember being approached for specialty dining deals. I believe I've seen tables setup trying to get people to purchase the drink packages on the first day or two, but not dining. 

We usually see them as we leave Windjammer.

[jcandjf]

On Symphony right now and they offered 3 different packages on boarding day. 3 restaurants for $109 and the UDP for just over $200 I think. Also offered Chops plus another restaurant- cant remember price. This deal was offered at a station outside of the Windjammer. 

[Merion_Mom]

1 hour ago, jcandjf said:

On Symphony right now and they offered 3 different packages on boarding day. 3 restaurants for $109 and the UDP for just over $200 I think. Also offered Chops plus another restaurant- cant remember price. This deal was offered at a station outside of the Windjammer. 

 

Those are the same offers in the (pre-cruise) Cruise Planner.