Is the Specialty Dining worth it? (Norwegian Dawn)

[Aprilfoolx]

Hi Everyone! Sorry if this has been aseked before but I'm still a little confused. First time crusing NCL and we have the Free At Sea option, which includes 1 specialty dining option. It's a 7 night cruise, and I have the ability to upgrade to have 2 more specialty dining nights, for about $180 total (2 people). I am wondering if it is worth it to try 3 specialty restaurants instead of just 1. I know on other ships, the MDR is usually fairly good, but sometimes can be disappointing. Also, I notice many are 'A la carte' (sushi, french restaurant, etc.), how does that work for the specialty dining package?

TYIA

[thespiritmovesme]

To decide if they are "worth it" to you, go to NCL & look at the sample menus for the up charge venues available on Dawn & see if you are even interested in what is offered. The  FAS can be used in any of the up charge restaurants except for a Seafood Platter in Raw Bar but the rules vary. The best answer is to read the FAQs for the FAS dining package.

[MSUjohn]

34 minutes ago, Aprilfoolx said:

Hi Everyone! Sorry if this has been aseked before but I'm still a little confused. First time crusing NCL and we have the Free At Sea option, which includes 1 specialty dining option. It's a 7 night cruise, and I have the ability to upgrade to have 2 more specialty dining nights, for about $180 total (2 people). I am wondering if it is worth it to try 3 specialty restaurants instead of just 1. I know on other ships, the MDR is usually fairly good, but sometimes can be disappointing. Also, I notice many are 'A la carte' (sushi, french restaurant, etc.), how does that work for the specialty dining package?

TYIA

whether or not specialty dining is "worth it" is a personal value judgment. Myself even with free at sea and my platinum benefits i still would probably prepurchase one additional meal. however, i do enjoy dinner in the main dining room too.

 

restaurants that price "A la Carte": with the specialty dining certificates meals are redeemed "as a combo" one starter, one main and one dessert. 

 

EDIT: the brazilian steakhouse and the hibachi restaurant are my favorite.  

Edited March 30, 2023 by MSUjohn
spelling and syntax

[MeHeartCruising]

OP, you correctly say "I know on other ships, the MDR is usually fairly good, but sometimes can be disappointing."  This is likely true on the Dawn, just like any ship.  It's all about personal preferences and luck of the draw sometimes.

 

This will also be true in the Dawn's speciality restaurants.  However, I think most would probably say the chances of a disappointing meal are significantly lower in a specialty restaurant.  But still possible.

 

So it's a matter of how much you want to spend and how disappointed you will be if you're meal preferences aren't met.

 

Personally, I take the speciality meals that I qualify for (I get 2 extra ones as a Platinum passenger).  Then I eat the rest of my meals in the buffet.  I'm easy to please.

Edited March 30, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[MNcruisingcouple]

For us, it would definitely be worth it to upgrade.  The last few cruises we've been disappointed with the food and service in the MDRs.

[MSUjohn]

3 minutes ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

For us, it would definitely be worth it to upgrade.  The last few cruises we've been disappointed with the food and service in the MDRs.

NCL is as one waiter put it "pinching their pennies", this is understandable with $12,000,000,000 in long term covid debt. just the interest is probably cutting them deep. 

[awinte2]

Just of Prima

If  the dining room on the Dawn has the same menu all week like the Prima I would definitely upgrade.

We only had 1 on our cruise and had always enjoyed the MDR but not so much now with the same menu every day.  

[mskaufman]

For us, unless we get some kind of promotion, it feels like we are paying for dinner a second time.  

[MSUjohn]

1 minute ago, awinte2 said:

Just of Prima

If  the dining room on the Dawn has the same menu all week like the Prima I would definitely upgrade.

We only had 1 on our cruise and had always enjoyed the MDR but not so much now with the same menu every day.  

to the best of my knowledge only the prima class has the same menu all week, because of the food hall and whatnot. 

 

the rest of the fleet uses a different menu.

[awinte2]

3 minutes ago, MSUjohn said:

to the best of my knowledge only the prima class has the same menu all week, because of the food hall and whatnot. 

 

the rest of the fleet uses a different menu.

I hope that NCL never goes to the same menu every day fleetwide. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

Personally, I take the speciality meals that I qualify for (I get 2 extra ones as a Platinum passenger).  Then I eat the rest of my meals in the buffet.  I'm easy to please.

I feel the same way about the specialty meals.  Three is plenty for me for one cruise.  That said, I do like to spread the rest around among MDRs, The Local and the Buffet.  The Local usually has a dinner special of some sort, the Buffet has theme nights and we can look at the MDR dinner menu during the afternoon.

[kitkat343]

I was on the Getaway in January.  Food is very subjective, but for me personally I felt the meals included with the room were worth the upcharge (for you that would be the one with your room) but we also got the additional two meals, which I didn't think was worth the uncharge.  I feel like if I'm paying a significant uncharge the food should be really good, and it was only really good at one of the five specialty restaurants we went to (Ocean Blue).   Cagney's ran out of risotto, the other sides were ice cold and the steaks were cooked perfectly but also served cold.  But I think a lot of the problems with the cold food are caused by staffing issues (the meals were taking a really long time too) and hopefully they will solve that.

 

We ate mostly at the buffet besides the specialty restaurant, because although most of the food there is mediocre there are usually one or two good items each meal (generally the Asian/ethnic food).

Edited March 30, 2023 by kitkat343

[MSUjohn]

5 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Cagney's ran out of risotto, the other sides were ice cold and the steaks were cooked perfectly but also served cold.

i personally think cagney's is SOOOOOOO overrated too.

[DCGuy64]

For us, the MDR serves adequate food. Not terrible, but not outstanding, either. Actually, in some ways we prefer the Garden Café, partly due to the variety but also because they have specialty nights and some dishes (Caribbean and Indian) are REALLY good. For us, the specialty restaurants are a way to have an extra treat and pamper ourselves a little bit. Typically we eat at the specialty places 4 times during a 7-night cruise. My favorites are La Cucina and Moderno. Teppanyaki was outstanding on our last cruise (3 months ago). Cagney's was good, too, but I had to send my steak back because it came medium well and I'd asked for rare. The second steak was excellent. Also we're big fans of the included Asian restaurants (Shanghai or Orchid Garden on our two NCL sailings).

[ziggyuk]

22 hours ago, MSUjohn said:

to the best of my knowledge only the prima class has the same menu all week, because of the food hall and whatnot. 

 

the rest of the fleet uses a different menu.

 

The plan was to go fleet wide if it was deemed a success.

[PATRLR]

On 3/30/2023 at 12:24 PM, Aprilfoolx said:

I know on other ships, the MDR is usually fairly good, but sometimes can be disappointing.

This is the key.  If you already know the MDR can be disappointing, then get a couple more Specialty Dining meals.  

As for how Ala Carte works, you get 1 app, 1 soup/salad, 1 entree, 1 desert included with your package.  A few certain items will incur an upcharge, but, those are clearly marked with the upcharge amount for the dining package.  (the ala carte prices are what someone would pay if they did NOT have a package).

[KasperGutman]

I didn't find the specialty dining options to be something I needed. I did however, find myself going to La Cucina most nights for dessert (specifically, the cannoli), which I enjoyed quite a lot. 🙂 

[MSUjohn]

5 minutes ago, KasperGutman said:

I didn't find the specialty dining options to be something I needed. I did however, find myself going to La Cucina most nights for dessert (specifically, the cannoli), which I enjoyed quite a lot. 🙂 

i do the same at the complementary Asian restaurant, i just go in and order the red bean pie/ green tea ice cream plate....so good.

 

i walk in they try to hand me a dinner menu i am like no thanks. 

[KasperGutman]

46 minutes ago, MSUjohn said:

i do the same at the complementary Asian restaurant, i just go in and order the red bean pie/ green tea ice cream plate....so good.

 

i walk in they try to hand me a dinner menu i am like no thanks. 

Well, that is one benefit to the specialty dining. By the third or fourth time I went there, they knew what I was there for and didn't bother handing me any menu at all. 🙂 

[meyermtacmj]

On the Dawn, I've done Moderno, Le Bistro, and the sushi place. Le Bistro was easily my least favorite (more of a service issue than anything. Moderno and sushi I've done twice each, and would definitely do either again! 

[MSUjohn]

On 3/31/2023 at 11:39 AM, ziggyuk said:

 

The plan was to go fleet wide if it was deemed a success.

no please, no.

 

 

[mistertomatoe]

Sushi is any 4 items per person so you can go crazy with 4 rolls each.

[Coastalbreezes]

I was on Dawn recently and loved Bistro, Los Lobos and Bistro. Food and service were excellent in all three.

[MSUjohn]

On 4/5/2023 at 5:04 AM, Coastalbreezes said:

I was on Dawn recently and loved Bistro, Los Lobos and Bistro. Food and service were excellent in all three.

So, bistro was so good you loved it twice? 🙃

[Coastalbreezes]

16 hours ago, MSUjohn said:

So, bistro was so good you loved it twice? 🙃

LOL I meant Cucina.