Experience with Unlimited Dining Plan on Allure

[chiguypaul]

On a recent six night sailing on the Allure I had the Unlimited Dining Plan. This was the first time I have had it and wanted to share some thoughts on the plan and some of the restaurants with other CC folks.

 

Overall, I was very happy with the plan. I paid $168 for the plan for the six night cruise. Let me dispel a few rumors. The plan is unlimited. I could go anywhere I wanted, at any time I wanted, and could order whatever I wanted. There were no restrictions on how many places I went to within any period of time. For example, I could have a sushi roll at 5 PM in Izumi, dinner at 6 PM at 150 and then dessert at Giovanni's at 8 PM. Each time, at each restaurant, I was presented with a $0 check. I had no issues getting the reservations I wanted. I booked when getting onboard and made a few changes as the week went on.

 

• Izumi Sushi: Loved it! Went multiple times and had the same waiter. I thought the food was fantastic. Went multiple times. I was worried that the $35 at Izumi Sushi would not be enough for me. Turned out to be nonsense. For $35 you can get a miso soup, appetizer, two in the "entree" section and dessert. It was plenty and more than enough. And my waiter basically hooked me up with anything I wanted regardless of the $35. When I talked to him about the concept of closing out the bill and opening it again he told me to just let him know what I wanted.
• 150 Central Park: Thought it was excellent. Went three nights of the six night cruise. Service, food, atmosphere all fantastic. 
• Sabor: Staff at this restaurant was always having so much fun. Enjoyed the food. Nice being outside. Went multiple times - mostly around lunch for an extra dessert. Duck burritos, ceviche and the desserts were very good. 
• Samba: Average food. Staff was excellent. Two of the seven or so selections were excellent and everything else just so so. Salad bar was nothing to get excited about. 
• Chops: Lamb was excellent. Atmosphere just OK - didn't feel as upscale as another Chops I went to on different ships. Thoughts on the sides were average. Crab cake was average. I know people love to talk about Chops, but I would direct people to 150 over Chops.
• Giovannis: I was soooo disappointed overall. On the positive side, the octopus was fantastic. However, all of the other dishes were very salty or way to heavy with butter or cream. And while we were eating there was a High C's show outside and it made it very noisy in the restaurant every time the door opened. There was already music playing inside. It's nice that you can get half orders of the pasta so you can try a few different things. I'm sure if we had gone through more of the menu we might have found something else that we liked, but after our one night we had mentally moved on to other restaurants. I also didn't like the room.

 

My waiters at 150, Izumi Sushi and Sabor were all excellent and they really made going to each of those locations a great experience. We spent at least three meals/snacks/desserts at each of those so we got to know the waiter well. Also wanted to mention that while tip is included, we ended up leaving something extra each time. Not going to get in to how much - do what you think makes sense even if that means not adding additional tip. The UDP is very clear that gratuity is included and the waiters do receive something from you dining. This was my first Royal cruise (I'm Diamond) where I never stepped in to the Main Dining Room. Didn't miss it one bit. However, part of that, is because I've had the MDR menu so many times now. It hasn't changed that much in years and it was nice to have additional options. The prices at Chops and 150 without the dining plan were $65 PLUS 18% gratuity. I don't think that's worth it, but for $168 for 6 dinners and 3 lunches I was really happy. 

 

Hope this helps people.

[EntropyGuardian]

I've done the three premium dinners thing on Liberty and had Chops, Sabor, and Giovanni's. It was interesting but nothing to make me want to do it again. 

 

I'm very interested the first time I get a chance to be on an oasis class to get the premium dining pass though. Many more options. 

 

How many times did you go to Johnny Rockets though??

[chiguypaul]

5 minutes ago, EntropyGuardian said:

I've done the three premium dinners thing on Liberty and had Chops, Sabor, and Giovanni's. It was interesting but nothing to make me want to do it again. 

 

I'm very interested the first time I get a chance to be on an oasis class to get the premium dining pass though. Many more options. 

 

How many times did you go to Johnny Rockets though??

 

Zero. No interest in what they serve there or the JR experience.

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, chiguypaul said:

On a recent six night sailing on the Allure I had the Unlimited Dining Plan. This was the first time I have had it and wanted to share some thoughts on the plan and some of the restaurants with other CC folks.

 

Overall, I was very happy with the plan. I paid $168 for the plan for the six night cruise. Let me dispel a few rumors. The plan is unlimited. I could go anywhere I wanted, at any time I wanted, and could order whatever I wanted. There were no restrictions on how many places I went to within any period of time. For example, I could have a sushi roll at 5 PM in Izumi, dinner at 6 PM at 150 and then dessert at Giovanni's at 8 PM. Each time, at each restaurant, I was presented with a $0 check. I had no issues getting the reservations I wanted. I booked when getting onboard and made a few changes as the week went on.

 

• Izumi Sushi: Loved it! Went multiple times and had the same waiter. I thought the food was fantastic. Went multiple times. I was worried that the $35 at Izumi Sushi would not be enough for me. Turned out to be nonsense. For $35 you can get a miso soup, appetizer, two in the "entree" section and dessert. It was plenty and more than enough. And my waiter basically hooked me up with anything I wanted regardless of the $35. When I talked to him about the concept of closing out the bill and opening it again he told me to just let him know what I wanted.
• 150 Central Park: Thought it was excellent. Went three nights of the six night cruise. Service, food, atmosphere all fantastic. 
• Sabor: Staff at this restaurant was always having so much fun. Enjoyed the food. Nice being outside. Went multiple times - mostly around lunch for an extra dessert. Duck burritos, ceviche and the desserts were very good. 
• Samba: Average food. Staff was excellent. Two of the seven or so selections were excellent and everything else just so so. Salad bar was nothing to get excited about. 
• Chops: Lamb was excellent. Atmosphere just OK - didn't feel as upscale as another Chops I went to on different ships. Thoughts on the sides were average. Crab cake was average. I know people love to talk about Chops, but I would direct people to 150 over Chops.
• Giovannis: I was soooo disappointed overall. On the positive side, the octopus was fantastic. However, all of the other dishes were very salty or way to heavy with butter or cream. And while we were eating there was a High C's show outside and it made it very noisy in the restaurant every time the door opened. There was already music playing inside. It's nice that you can get half orders of the pasta so you can try a few different things. I'm sure if we had gone through more of the menu we might have found something else that we liked, but after our one night we had mentally moved on to other restaurants. I also didn't like the room.

 

My waiters at 150, Izumi Sushi and Sabor were all excellent and they really made going to each of those locations a great experience. We spent at least three meals/snacks/desserts at each of those so we got to know the waiter well. Also wanted to mention that while tip is included, we ended up leaving something extra each time. Not going to get in to how much - do what you think makes sense even if that means not adding additional tip. The UDP is very clear that gratuity is included and the waiters do receive something from you dining. This was my first Royal cruise (I'm Diamond) where I never stepped in to the Main Dining Room. Didn't miss it one bit. However, part of that, is because I've had the MDR menu so many times now. It hasn't changed that much in years and it was nice to have additional options. The prices at Chops and 150 without the dining plan were $65 PLUS 18% gratuity. I don't think that's worth it, but for $168 for 6 dinners and 3 lunches I was really happy. 

 

Hope this helps people.

thx so much.  We have udp for upcoming Allure in October as well as the Radiance in May.  Obviously more excited about Allure varieties.  My husband was just saying today to go to Izumi at 530 then to Samba or 150 for dinner.

[EntropyGuardian]

4 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

 

Zero. No interest in what they serve there or the JR experience.

 

Oh, I'll take someone else with me then. 😔

[chiguypaul]

1 minute ago, jean87510 said:

thx so much.  We have udp for upcoming Allure in October as well as the Radiance in May.  Obviously more excited about Allure varieties.  My husband was just saying today to go to Izumi at 530 then to Samba or 150 for dinner.

 

 

I would definitely space out time between the restaurants and watch how much you eat at your first location. At 150, we had the bread, two appetizers, the entree and dessert. It was so much food. No need for sushi if combining with 150. But if combing Samba with Izumi Sushi that would work. Between those two you will be beyond full.

 

[jean87510]

2 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

 

 

I would definitely space out time between the restaurants and watch how much you eat at your first location. At 150, we had the bread, two appetizers, the entree and dessert. It was so much food. No need for sushi if combining with 150. But if combing Samba with Izumi Sushi that would work. Between those two you will be beyond full.

 

i am full with appetizers! My husband is the eater.  He is the one who will get our money's worth. 😁  He's just sad no Hooked. 

[chiguypaul]

1 minute ago, jean87510 said:

i am full with appetizers! My husband is the eater.  He is the one who will get our money's worth. 😁  He's just sad no Hooked. 

 

That's exactly what we said! 🙂

[George C]

We had 8 nights UDP for 200 , thought it was a great deal , totally disagree on restaurants, I thought 150cp was the worst, disliked the spices they added to my steak I just took a couple of bites , they offered to replace it , I declined, wife liked it. Giovanni’s I thought was excellent did that a few nights , did chops a few meals and enjoyed it , did Izumi for lunch which was fine , really enjoyed hibachi we did that a couple of times. We never eat in mdr since we are in a suite (also diamond plus) so all breakfast and most lunches were in costal kitchen. Never attempted to eat in more than one dining room in a single evening, one of the things we liked about Giovanni’s was we thought they had the best wine list and we ordered a bottle each night, UDP gives you a 40 percent discount for wines under 100 and 20 percent for wines over a hundred. Note hibachi does charge a extra ten dollars a meal over UDP. 

[baelor]

39 minutes ago, George C said:

150cp was the worst, disliked the spices they added to my steak I just took a couple of bites , they offered to replace it , I declined, wife liked it.

Do you mean like they did a dry rub and you didn't like the mix or something?  Or they straight-up spiced the steak? 

[CatLadyFemme]

Just got off Allure with the unlimited package.

 

Best service we had was Sabor, 150 CP, and Izumi (JRs and Giovanni’s were solid, while Chops was dismal).

Best food was Giovanni’s, 150 CP (but not the Lobster Thermidor!),and the mushroom soup at Chops (everything else at Chops was also dismal). Izumi and Sabor were solid, and JR’s was…well, JRs. We did not try Samba Grill.

[ARandomTraveler]

If you and your travel partner want to eat at different specialty restaurants, can you order "To-go" from one and bring it to the other? Or are the restaurants too far apart in an oasis class ship to carry a plate of food around? Or is it just tacky and frowned upon? 😂

[trey420]

I ain't seen it done.  It's a 3 course meal so you'd be hauling a good amount of plates around.  If you have a high enough level room I think they will deliver what you want to your room.  

[luckybecky]

Thanks for posting this Chiguypaul!

 

We have unlimited dining for our upcoming cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas. My understanding is that you cannot reserve restaurants with this package until you are on board. Is that correct? Did you have any trouble getting reservations for the times and locations you wanted?

[George C]

On 4/17/2022 at 10:59 PM, baelor said:

Do you mean like they did a dry rub and you didn't like the mix or something?  Or they straight-up spiced the steak? 

Not sure what the seasoning they used but I thought it was terrible.

[Pomc99]

On 4/19/2022 at 1:50 AM, ARandomTraveler said:

If you and your travel partner want to eat at different specialty restaurants, can you order "To-go" from one and bring it to the other? Or are the restaurants too far apart in an oasis class ship to carry a plate of food around? Or is it just tacky and frowned upon? 😂

Not tacky nor frowned upon at all about carrying the covered food trays. Actually quite fun to have an amazing lunch in the Solarium like we did on the Independence. Massive shrimp cocktails, steaks, salad, desserts. So much much for my group (I was the only one with UDP) when I came strolling in with a catered lunch at our spot.

 

Used it several times to have dinner on one of the pool decks for fresh air. Then when we're finished, we just go to the next activity.

 

I always carried my trays, but the staff always asked if I needed help. 

 

Doing take-out is nice after returning from a port and you want to either chill and eat in your room or relax and eat somewhere on the ship instead of sitting in a restaurant waiting for each course.

 

This practice also ensures the maximum bang for your buck with UDP.  If you're having too much fun in the sun,  maybe it's easy to skip going to a restaurant for lunch or dinner. Best of both worlds!

 

My wife and I are sailing on the Allure this Saturday and have the UDP. I'm so excited for her to have it because she wasn't on the last cruise. We are both "foodies" and look forward to trying everything (she's presbyterian or whatever, eats seafood but not meat), but I'll try most everything even though I'm not a big meat fan. But holy moly, the veal ossobucco was amazing and looking forward to it again.

 

 

[annecolorgreen]

On 5/5/2022 at 1:01 PM, Pomc99 said:

Not tacky nor frowned upon at all about carrying the covered food trays. Actually quite fun to have an amazing lunch in the Solarium like we did on the Independence. Massive shrimp cocktails, steaks, salad, desserts. So much much for my group (I was the only one with UDP) when I came strolling in with a catered lunch at our spot.

 

Used it several times to have dinner on one of the pool decks for fresh air. Then when we're finished, we just go to the next activity.

 

I always carried my trays, but the staff always asked if I needed help. 

 

Doing take-out is nice after returning from a port and you want to either chill and eat in your room or relax and eat somewhere on the ship instead of sitting in a restaurant waiting for each course.

 

This practice also ensures the maximum bang for your buck with UDP.  If you're having too much fun in the sun,  maybe it's easy to skip going to a restaurant for lunch or dinner. Best of both worlds!

 

My wife and I are sailing on the Allure this Saturday and have the UDP. I'm so excited for her to have it because she wasn't on the last cruise. We are both "foodies" and look forward to trying everything (she's presbyterian or whatever, eats seafood but not meat), but I'll try most everything even though I'm not a big meat fan. But holy moly, the veal ossobucco was amazing and looking forward to it again.

 

 

oooh!  where did you get the veal?  thanks for answering that question--I wondered about that too!

 

[ricka47]

On 4/19/2022 at 1:23 AM, CatLadyFemme said:

Just got off Allure with the unlimited package.

 

Best service we had was Sabor, 150 CP, and Izumi (JRs and Giovanni’s were solid, while Chops was dismal).

Best food was Giovanni’s, 150 CP (but not the Lobster Thermidor!),and the mushroom soup at Chops (everything else at Chops was also dismal). Izumi and Sabor were solid, and JR’s was…well, JRs. We did not try Samba Grill.

 

I was going to try the Lobster Thermidor at 150 for our upcoming Harmony Cruise. It wasn't good on the Allure?

[loman]

Good thread here , thanks for starting it . 

I have access to Costal Kitchen next cruise , so i will give that a go , but might

consider the package on the next cruise.

[RFerrington]

On 5/4/2022 at 4:02 PM, luckybecky said:

My understanding is that you cannot reserve restaurants with this package until you are on board. 

That is correct.  If you are in a full suite you can ask the Concierge to make your reservations before boarding but if you are not in a suite, you must wait until you board to make dining reservations.

[baelor]

3 hours ago, ricka47 said:

I was going to try the Lobster Thermidor at 150 for our upcoming Harmony Cruise. It wasn't good on the Allure?

I have heard negative reviews on other threads as well.  On the other hand, the roasted tenderloin seems to be consistently good.

[not-enough-cruising]

4 hours ago, ricka47 said:

 

I was going to try the Lobster Thermidor at 150 for our upcoming Harmony Cruise. It wasn't good on the Allure?

 

33 minutes ago, baelor said:

I have heard negative reviews on other threads as well.  On the other hand, the roasted tenderloin seems to be consistently good.

I had the Lobster Thermidor on Allure in March; I thought it was fantastic. Had the Châteaubriande that same week and it was also wonderful

[CatLadyFemme]

5 hours ago, ricka47 said:

 

I was going to try the Lobster Thermidor at 150 for our upcoming Harmony Cruise. It wasn't good on the Allure?

My partner was pretty disappointed, though they have never had it before, so I can’t tell you how it compares to the usual. Our second visit, they got the halibut and said it was amazing. They also really enjoyed the braised short rib starter!

[ricka47]

23 minutes ago, CatLadyFemme said:

My partner was pretty disappointed, though they have never had it before, so I can’t tell you how it compares to the usual. Our second visit, they got the halibut and said it was amazing. They also really enjoyed the braised short rib starter!

Thanks; I've never had it before either. So, I also wouldn't be able to compare. We'll see if I take a chance of not!

[cruzincanuck]

11 hours ago, ricka47 said:

 

I was going to try the Lobster Thermidor at 150 for our upcoming Harmony Cruise. It wasn't good on the Allure?

We loved it.  3 half tails so not much lobster but we shared it in addition to our main dinner.  It was perfect