RCL Drink / Dinning Pkg ?

[Beer Belly]

We cruise NCL, never worry about drink and dinning pkg being they are free....I know, gratuities and higher cruise pricing. We are booked on Odyssey of The Seas April of 2024, did the price comparison and will likely do the drink pkg. As far as dinning pkg, does that give you any restaurant of your choosing during the entire cruise ?.....what if you only need maybe 2 ?. How is the food in the MDR if you forego specialty dinning ?. Really looking forward to this cruise on Royal, time to mix it up a bit. TIA

[firefly333]

If you only need 2 nights of pay dinner, maybe choose chops + 1. When you prepay it will charge you the tips. 

 

If I'm paying for 2 I'd pick a expensive choice, not a less expensive ala carte but you can do most but Hibachi for instance you pay another surcharge. They seem to be trying to discourage people from booking it. Doesnt include chefs table. 

Edited July 28, 2023 by firefly333

[Beer Belly]

21 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

If you only need 2 nights of pay dinner, maybe choose chops + 1. When you prepay it will charge you the tips. 

 

If I'm paying for 2 I'd pick a expensive choice, not a less expensive ala carte but you can do most but Hibachi for instance you pay another surcharge. They seem to be trying to discourage people from booking it. Doesnt include chefs table. 

Ah, so you can do just 2 nights, I was under the impression it was priced for choice entire cruise at 329 p/p

[Weluv2cruise2gether]

FYI: when you buy a dining package, you can not prebook the day and time like you can on NCL. RCL will make a courtesy reservation for day 1 or day 2 of the cruise for whatever restaurant they choose. Once you get on the ship, you will need to head to any restaurant to make your other reservations and /or change the one they made for you. If you pay for them as individual restaurants (not as a package) you can pick a day and time. 
 

Also, my time dining (MTD) is not like freestyle dining on NCL. As you know on NCL you can go to the MDR anytime between the opening and closing hours. MTD is a time period between RCLs early and late dining times, so usually 6:30-8:30ish. And they recommend a reservation for the time you want to go. You don’t have to make a reservation but they do have 2 lines to enter the MDR, one for reservations and one for without.

 

IMO, food quality and taste is about the same as NCL. Something are better, some are same, and I wouldn’t say there are

many things that are worse.

 

As far as drink packages, we try to figure out how much time we are actually spending on ship and about how much time we will be in the casino. DH is the drinker and gambler, so he qualifies for free drinks in the casino. If we feel we will drink enough to cover the cost of the package, we will purchase it. And we always call because they will let me get the refreshment package and DH the deluxe beverage package since I do not drink.

 

I hope this helps you coming from someone who has sailed NCL 21 times and and RCL 5!

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

Ah, so you can do just 2 nights, I was under the impression it was priced for choice entire cruise at 329 p/p

You can book just one restaurant for lunch or dinner. Or chops + 1 is, 2, chops and another. Or usually a choice to book 3, or as you said on a 7 day book unlimited which is lunch and dinner.

 

At diamond + I get bogo so I probably would just book 2. All week is a bit much for me. Just go to your planner and see what's available to book. 

 

As above poster says if it's a pkg they only book a courtesy hold 1 night then when you board, first thing you need to do is change it to what time or days you want. First thing before the best times are gone.

[HaveWeMetYet]

The best way to do specialty dining on Royal is to purchase lunches individually. Chops is usually 22-25 dollars per person. The Italian places are 19 to 22. Only Izumi is not discounted from the dinner price.

They are not open on port days though.

You can get the Chops filet in the Main Dining Room for 20. They will also include the vegetable offerings from Chops. You may be able to get other items from the Chops menu in the MDR but I have never tried.

[George C]

We definitely prefer specialty restaurants we buy the UDP which allows us to have dinner every night in specialty and lunch on sea days .

[jonyboy]

New to RCL.  Can anyone tell me what the difference is between Main Dining Room 4, Main Dinining Room 5 and My Time Dinining Room?

[LilBlackDress]

25 minutes ago, jonyboy said:

New to RCL.  Can anyone tell me what the difference is between Main Dining Room 4, Main Dinining Room 5 and My Time Dinining Room?

One deck is normally for Traditional Dining same table, waitstaff, time, early 5:30 or 6, Late 7:30 or 8 depending on the ship
The other deck is My Time Dining, you can male reservations or just show up during open hours and wait in line... 

Edited July 30, 2023 by LilBlackDress

[Beer Belly]

Can anybody give me an idea of cost for a domestic beer, maybe a Pina Coloda, White Russian, or mixed drinks in general ?. Watching the cost go up as start adding things up, at this point, NCL may win out as far as affordability.....I know, get what you paid for.

[firefly333]

5 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

Can anybody give me an idea of cost for a domestic beer, maybe a Pina Coloda, White Russian, or mixed drinks in general ?. Watching the cost go up as start adding things up, at this point, NCL may win out as far as affordability.....I know, get what you paid for.

All the drinks I saw coincidentally came to right about $14, the same limit I had on my vouchers. Want a iced tea, $14, want a russian iced tea, $14. Daiquiri $14, all flavours. I didnt ask about pina Colada but I'd bet $14. 

 

Drink of day i thought 10.99 for a frozen something. 

 

Not sure what you get what you pay for means regarding this. When vouchers are up to $15, the drinks will be $15. 

Edited July 30, 2023 by firefly333

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

On 7/28/2023 at 7:42 AM, Beer Belly said:

Ah, so you can do just 2 nights, I was under the impression it was priced for choice entire cruise at 329 p/p

You're probably looking at the Unlimited Dining Package, and yes, that is for the entire cruise. You can't get a pro-rated version for just the days you want.

 

There are two other dining packages, however: one is the Chops +1, and the other is the 3 Night Dining Package. With the latter, you can choose any three, whereas Chops +1, obviously, has to include Chops. 😉 

 

If those options aren't showing up for your cruise, they might be sold out since they only offer a limited number. But if you're interested in getting one of them, I would keep checking back. People cancel all the time and sometimes they show up later. 

[M4RK]

What is the current per person per day price for the beverage package on Royal?

 

[molly361]

19 minutes ago, M4RK said:

What is the current per person per day price for the beverage package on Royal?

 

There is no standard price  it varies by ship and date 

[M4RK]

So it is hard to compare prices with other cruise lines. Taht is probably why I like NCL.

 

 

[cruiseguy1016]

6 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

Can anybody give me an idea of cost for a domestic beer, maybe a Pina Coloda, White Russian, or mixed drinks in general ?. Watching the cost go up as start adding things up, at this point, NCL may win out as far as affordability.....I know, get what you paid for.

 

I don't drink beer. Depending on my mood, I drink either gin & tonic or bourbon. I have been on three cruises since post Covid startup and I have paid between $9.99 and $11.99 for my drink choices. Those prices are before the 18% gratuity is added.