Speciality Dining

[Cheshire Blue]

First time poster (so please be kind) and apologies if this is answered elsewhere - but unable to find what I am looking for !

 

Am booked on Silhouette in late September (out of Southampton) in Veranda cabin.  Thinking of doing a few (perhaps 4 or 5) nights in the Speciality Restaurants and have seem fair bit of comment as to price increases and service charges being added.  Could someone please confirm current (full) pricing for the various restaurants (appreciate there are first night discounts and sometimes discounts can be had whilst on board - but let's ignore for now). 

At present my Cruise Planner is showing the following prices pp: 

Murano - £47.32  (equates to approx $ 60) 

Tuscan  - £42.58  (equates to approx $ 54) 

Petit Chef - £52.06 (equates to approx $ 66) 

Lawn Club - £42.58 (equates to approx $ 54) 

 

Are the above prices (in $$) the same as currently charged on the ship (before any discounts etc) i.e. $54 - $66 per meal ? 

 

Do these prices (which seem a fair bit more than I recall - 3 years ago) include any gratuity / service charge - or will that be added as well ? 

 

Am thinking of getting a dining package (for 4 or 5 nights).  This would bring the price per meal down (although I appreciate I may then miss out on any "on board discounting" that may arise).

Any thoughts ?  

 

  

[jelayne]

The prices of the restaurants all increased very recently, so yes those prices are higher than what you recall.

 

The prices include the gratuity.

[NewWestwardbound]

34 minutes ago, Cheshire Blue said:

Am thinking of getting a dining package (for 4 or 5 nights).  This would bring the price per meal down (although I appreciate I may then miss out on any "on board discounting" that may arise).

Any thoughts ?  

We did a 7 night dining package on a Norway cruise on Silhouette in 2019. Really enjoyed it, loved the variety and would recommend. I didn’t go out of my way to find out if there were discounts available for the speciality restaurants when on board ship, but weren’t offered any either! 

[LB_NJ]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

The prices of the restaurants all increased very recently, so yes those prices are higher than what you recall.

 

The prices include the gratuity.

The increase may have been within the last month.

[moneeman]

We booked Eden on Beyond for an upcoming cruise.  The price in USD was $55, PLUS 18% service charge.  I believe all evening specialty restaurants were the same cost pre-cruise.  I'm sure there will be discounts available on some after we board.  We just did not want to miss Eden.

[jelayne]

13 minutes ago, moneeman said:

We booked Eden on Beyond for an upcoming cruise.  The price in USD was $55, PLUS 18% service charge.  I believe all evening specialty restaurants were the same cost pre-cruise.  I'm sure there will be discounts available on some after we board.  We just did not want to miss Eden.

Eden was sold out both when we were on the Edge and Apex.  The only discount we found was $5 off Roof Top Grill.

[mahdnc]

4 hours ago, Cheshire Blue said:

First time poster (so please be kind) and apologies if this is answered elsewhere - but unable to find what I am looking for !

 

Am booked on Silhouette in late September (out of Southampton) in Veranda cabin.  Thinking of doing a few (perhaps 4 or 5) nights in the Speciality Restaurants and have seem fair bit of comment as to price increases and service charges being added.  Could someone please confirm current (full) pricing for the various restaurants (appreciate there are first night discounts and sometimes discounts can be had whilst on board - but let's ignore for now). 

At present my Cruise Planner is showing the following prices pp: 

Murano - £47.32  (equates to approx $ 60) 

Tuscan  - £42.58  (equates to approx $ 54) 

Petit Chef - £52.06 (equates to approx $ 66) 

Lawn Club - £42.58 (equates to approx $ 54) 

 

Are the above prices (in $$) the same as currently charged on the ship (before any discounts etc) i.e. $54 - $66 per meal ? 

 

Do these prices (which seem a fair bit more than I recall - 3 years ago) include any gratuity / service charge - or will that be added as well ? 

 

Am thinking of getting a dining package (for 4 or 5 nights).  This would bring the price per meal down (although I appreciate I may then miss out on any "on board discounting" that may arise).

Any thoughts ?  

 

  

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic, Cheshire!  Although this may be your first post on the Cruise Critic bulletin board, I don't know if this is  your first Celebrity cruise.  When the specialty restaurants were first rolled out (Millennium), the upcharge was only $25 (and represented the tip) and the pricing has gradually been moving upward.

 

The specialty restaurants are quite popular and with the crew shortage situation, I anticipate that you will not find a lot of discounting going on during the sailing.  

 

You are aware of the discount that you can get by purchasing a dining package.  The disadvantage with it is that you cannot select your dining times when you buy the package.  You have to wait until you get on board before you can book the dates and time.  So this should be a priority for you as soon as you get on the ship on the first day.

[chemmo]

It looks like from the prices you are quoting that is the increased price so there will be no additional service charge added. In our experience when cruising from Southampton the speciality restaurants can book up fairly fast. We have seen less reductions being offered on board than when cruising in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean so a pre paid package could be a good idea.

 

We were on Silhouette last September and loved her, back on board October. Hope you enjoy!

Edited May 30, 2022 by chemmo

[hampshirelad]

One tip - if you are Elite plus and entitled to a 15 % discount , and dining as a couple or group then it is important that you hand all the cabin passes or whatever to the server to get the discount for all diners in the group. Foe example dining as a couple and you hand over one pass you will only get 15% off the total bill not the entitled 30%. Our experience was that the servers and or MD did not understand this .

 

We have usually got deals on the first and last night. However last cruise we were a bit disappointed in the meals. It seems too much theatre and deconstructed ingredients. 

[Mark_T]

37 minutes ago, hampshirelad said:

One tip - if you are Elite plus and entitled to a 15 % discount , and dining as a couple or group then it is important that you hand all the cabin passes or whatever to the server to get the discount for all diners in the group. Foe example dining as a couple and you hand over one pass you will only get 15% off the total bill not the entitled 30%. Our experience was that the servers and or MD did not understand this.

Surely 15% off the total bill is correct?

 

You are each entitled to 15% off, so you get 15% off the total bill for the two of you.

 

You should not be getting 30% off the total bill...

[sgmn]

20 hours ago, NewWestwardbound said:

We did a 7 night dining package on a Norway cruise on Silhouette in 2019. Really enjoyed it, loved the variety and would recommend. I didn’t go out of my way to find out if there were discounts available for the speciality restaurants when on board ship, but weren’t offered any either! 

We were on Silhouette a couple of weeks ago and saw no evidence of discounting but we didn't ask. Past cruises we have has waiters coming round the main dinning room offering 30% off.  I think there's a lot of OBC around at moment and people seem willing to pay these (IMO) high prices 

There are no half price first night deals offered on Beyond in our planner for June so I presume they are happy with their full price pre sales

Edited May 31, 2022 by sgmn

[Cheshire Blue]

2 hours ago, sgmn said:

We were on Silhouette a couple of weeks ago and saw no evidence of discounting but we didn't ask. Past cruises we have has waiters coming round the main dinning room offering 30% off.  I think there's a lot of OBC around at moment and people seem willing to pay these (IMO) high prices 

There are no half price first night deals offered on Beyond in our planner for June so I presume they are happy with their full price pre sales

Thanks for everyone's comments - appreciated.  Sounds like the prices (which seem high to me) are the new norm and now include the 18% gratuity.  A dining package may be the way to go.  Does anyone have any experience of these being discounted - flash sale etc - in the cruise planner before the cruise ?  I'd be annoyed to buy now (and spend my OBC) and then find some sort of 10% / 20% off sale come up in the coming weeks ? 

[39august]

If this happens just cancel the package and rebook at sale prices. 

[Cheshire Blue]

1 hour ago, 39august said:

If this happens just cancel the package and rebook at sale prices. 

Really !  Can you do that ?    I assumed that once I had booked the dining package (and spent the OBC that I have) that was that.  If I could subsequently cancel the package and re book at the flash sale price - well that helps a lot.  Thank you  

[Dancing Shoes]

You can pretty much cancel anything, dining or shore excursion and rebook.  Whatever the payment was, it will go back.  Shore excursions may be 24 hours notice.  

[Beamafar]

Is there any benefit to booking prior to sailing?   Are the prices cheaper?   Do you avoid the added gratuity charge (or is that then applied when onboard)?

[Mark_T]

21 hours ago, Cheshire Blue said:

Really !  Can you do that ?    I assumed that once I had booked the dining package (and spent the OBC that I have) that was that.  If I could subsequently cancel the package and re book at the flash sale price - well that helps a lot.  Thank you  

I've booked and cancelled dining and excursions many times pre-cruise to take advantage of price drops.

 

All that happens is whatever payment method you originally used is credited, either CC or OBC, but one word of caution...

 

... OBC refunds are instant, the CC refunds take a few days and it is worth keeping track of them as I did have to chase up on a few that somehow got 'lost' in the system.

[mahdnc]

2 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Is there any benefit to booking prior to sailing?   Are the prices cheaper?   Do you avoid the added gratuity charge (or is that then applied when onboard)?

 The only guaranteed benefit to booking prior to sailing is being able to select your dining date and time--and that only applies to situations where you book (buy) them individually instead of buying a package.

[Beamafar]

Just now, mahdnc said:

 The only guaranteed benefit to booking prior to sailing is being able to select your dining date and time--and that only applies to situations where you book (buy) them individually instead of buying a package.

Thank you for your prompt reply - much appreciated!

[jelayne]

The dining packages can sell out. Our recent cruises had no 3 or 4 night packages available weeks before the cruise.

[Cheshire Blue]

3 hours ago, Mark_T said:

I've booked and cancelled dining and excursions many times pre-cruise to take advantage of price drops.

 

All that happens is whatever payment method you originally used is credited, either CC or OBC, but one word of caution...

 

... OBC refunds are instant, the CC refunds take a few days and it is worth keeping track of them as I did have to chase up on a few that somehow got 'lost' in the system.

Thanks for the advice

 

Do price drops as to dining and excursions happen a lot and is there any rhyme or reason as to the timing of them (e.g. bank / public holiday sales etc) - or is it just a case of keep watching / hoping  ?    

[Mark_T]

Keep watching, there can be 'holiday' sales, but the prices also seem to reflect what it happening on a particular cruise so no real way to predict when/if they will happen.

 

If you want to take advantage of the first night pricing on the restaurant options then don't leave it too late, there are only so many slots available and they can go quickly.

 

Similarly if you want a reservation for your last night on board they book up fast as well.

 

We usually avoid the dining packages as you cannot make reservations until you are onboard, so we just book the ones we want individually in advance. The difference in cost is small if you are also booking one of the first-night options at a reduced price.

[chemmo]

Advantage of pre booking individual restaurants. You can select the exact date and time. You board with the knowledge you are dining in the restaurants you want on the days you want and at the time you want. If you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary probably worth pre booking for the peace of mind. Disadvantage, you have paid full price.

 

Advantage of pre booking a package…You will pay a bit less than booking restaurants individually. 

5 hours ago, jelayne said:

The dining packages can sell out. Our recent cruises had no 3 or 4 night packages available weeks before the cruise.

 Disadvantage, obviously those who have pre booked individual restaurants at full price and higher suite guests who may have pre booked through the shoreside concierge may have secured the most popular times. Occasionally on boarding you may have to compromise on date or time when booking certain restaurants. Hence, on boarding it is worth heading straight for one of the speciality restaurants to secure the venue, date and times you want rather than leaving it until the next day when others with dining packages have already filled many slots.

 

Advantage of waiting until you board to book speciality restaurants is you can sometimes get discounts above the package discount. If you are not fussy about the day/time you have more chance of getting offers. Disadvantage, there may not be any offers on any restaurants or only offers on a specific venue. Often good offers involve dining early or late.

 

 

 

Edited June 1, 2022 by chemmo

[Cheshire Blue]

On 6/1/2022 at 8:49 PM, chemmo said:

Advantage of pre booking individual restaurants. You can select the exact date and time. You board with the knowledge you are dining in the restaurants you want on the days you want and at the time you want. If you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary probably worth pre booking for the peace of mind. Disadvantage, you have paid full price.

 

Advantage of pre booking a package…You will pay a bit less than booking restaurants individually. 

 Disadvantage, obviously those who have pre booked individual restaurants at full price and higher suite guests who may have pre booked through the shoreside concierge may have secured the most popular times. Occasionally on boarding you may have to compromise on date or time when booking certain restaurants. Hence, on boarding it is worth heading straight for one of the speciality restaurants to secure the venue, date and times you want rather than leaving it until the next day when others with dining packages have already filled many slots.

 

Advantage of waiting until you board to book speciality restaurants is you can sometimes get discounts above the package discount. If you are not fussy about the day/time you have more chance of getting offers. Disadvantage, there may not be any offers on any restaurants or only offers on a specific venue. Often good offers involve dining early or late.

 

 

 

Thanks for all the replies.  I have opted for a five night package (and will keep an eye open for any pre cruise discounts - in which case will cancel and re book).   Once on board - first stop (after cabin - to pick up first night reservation) will be one of the Restaurants to sort out the actual dining dates and times - fingers crossed that reasonable times are still available on the evenings I wish to dine etc.   

[chemmo]

28 minutes ago, Cheshire Blue said:

Thanks for all the replies.  I have opted for a five night package (and will keep an eye open for any pre cruise discounts - in which case will cancel and re book).   Once on board - first stop (after cabin - to pick up first night reservation) will be one of the Restaurants to sort out the actual dining dates and times - fingers crossed that reasonable times are still available on the evenings I wish to dine etc.   

We have rarely had an issue when we have headed straight to a restaurant to pre book on boarding.  I think on one occasion we couldn’t get our exact preferred time in Murano. I know lots of people love the flexibility of deciding on the day/evening. Nothing wrong with that but if you have pre booked and then change your mind you can always speak to the M’D and arrange a change, the best of both worlds.

 

We are back on board October, can’t wait!