Ultimate Dining Package on Icon OTS

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

We scored a great deal on the UDP a couple days ago that ends up being cheaper than the specialty dining meals we had booked and gives us the option to a specialty restaurant for every lunch and dinner.

 

My question is, if you had the UDP, would you still enjoy a couple meals in the MDR, or would you eat every meal in a specialty restaurant?

 

When we were on the Celebrity Ascent over Christmas, we didn't get to one of their MDRs until night 5 and we realized then that their MDRs are significantly better than we would ever been in we wished we would have enjoyed them a couple more times turn our cruise.

 

Is the MDR on the Icon icon as good as they are on the Celebrity Ascent or is it more your typical crowded MDR with average food and service?

 

[leaveitallbehind]

With the understood caveat that food quality is completely subjective, IMO the overall MDR food quality is better on Celebrity than RCCL, so your experience with Ascent may not translate directly to Icon.  Haven't been on Icon yet, however, so I can't say based on direct experience.

 

With both RCCL and Celebrity we also typically eat primarily in the specialty restaurants, but do, occasionally have a couple of MDR meals.  We enjoy them more with Celebrity and feel that the overall quality has measurably declined with RCCL over the years.  In general, however, the specialty restaurants with each line are pretty much on a par.  With that, Murano on Celebrity and 150 Central Park on RCCL are our favorites.  Jamie's Italian on RCCL by far is our least favorite and we rarely dine there.  Again, just my subjective opinion.

 

Hopefully others with direct experience on Icon can provide better insight.  Personal choice, but I guess sampling one meal in the MDR might be a way to compare for yourself.  Enjoy Icon.

Edited March 10 by leaveitallbehind

[DennysDad]

I would still go to the MDR and Windjammer to mix it up. But I don't think the specialty restaurants are all that to begin with.

[RFerrington]

No way would I go to the MDR or WJ after paying extra $$ for the UDP.  That’s why we quit getting the UDP…it’s just too much food !

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

4 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

No way would I go to the MDR or WJ after paying extra $$ for the UDP.  That’s why we quit getting the UDP…it’s just too much food !

It was $350/person (including gratuity) for adults and after you subtract $70 for each specialty dinner (when you include gratuity), that's only 5 of the 7 dinners for the week and you still get lunch on sea days, so it was a good deal if you're planning to eat at the specialty restaurants (which we always do).

 

Not sure about it being too much food - I eat one good meal a day anyways, so it doesn't change anything there!

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, CruisematicVA said:

We scored a great deal on the UDP a couple days ago that ends up being cheaper than the specialty dining meals we had booked and gives us the option to a specialty restaurant for every lunch and dinner.

 

My question is, if you had the UDP, would you still enjoy a couple meals in the MDR, or would you eat every meal in a specialty restaurant?

 

When we were on the Celebrity Ascent over Christmas, we didn't get to one of their MDRs until night 5 and we realized then that their MDRs are significantly better than we would ever been in we wished we would have enjoyed them a couple more times turn our cruise.

 

Is the MDR on the Icon icon as good as they are on the Celebrity Ascent or is it more your typical crowded MDR with average food and service?

 

Keeping in mind food is subjective, I think food across the board is better on Celebrity. I have only been on 4 cruises so far this year, but the best food was easily on Celebrity Constellation. I was on Icon a few weeks ago and I just got off Symphony yesterday. On both cruises we ate dinner at Chops and Hooked one night each, with the rest of the dinners in the MDR. Overall, especially in the specialty restaurants, we thought the food was better on Symphony, although it wasn’t significantly better. The beef tenderloin they served in the MDR on Symphony was outstanding. I have purchased the UDP countless times in the past. On those cruises we never stepped foot in the MDR. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I have only been on 4 cruises so far this year...

 

I definitely appreciate your response, but this was not the most cleverly disguised humblebrag 🤣

[PhillyFan33579]

Just now, CruisematicVA said:

 

I definitely appreciate your response, but this was not the most cleverly disguised humblebrag 🤣

Bragging about what?

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

7 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Bragging about what?

You've "only" done 4 cruises 10 weeks into 2024.

 

We're doing 6 cruises this year and even that is probably more than 99% of the cruising world.

 

I'm guessing you're retired vs a raising a young family like us, but I don't think there's many people in the world who can say they've done 4 cruises so far in 2024.

 

There's nothing wrong with that at all, honestly, I think it's awesome and I plan to do the same when I don't have kids in elementary school, but it was most definitely a humblebrag (that or you're just oblivious to the real world 🤪).

Edited March 10 by CruisematicVA

[PhillyFan33579]

I get your point now. The reason I mentioned the number of cruises this year was to convey that my subjective opinion on food was based on recent cruises. I don’t give much weight to someone who says the food was great on a certain ship a year ago, since the “kitchen” staff would have tremendous turnover a year later. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Just now, PhillyFan33579 said:

I get your point now. The reason I mentioned the number of cruises this year was to convey that my subjective opinion on food was based on recent cruises. I don’t give much weight to someone who says the food was great on a certain ship a year ago, since the “kitchen” staff would have tremendous turnover a year later. 

It was an appreciated perspective in any case!

 

Thank you.

[SUgwoz]

Icon Udp seems like a tougher sell to me than Oasis Class. Would have been better if they had Central Park 150 and Giovanni Table vs. Kitchen. I have one free dinner from TA, got a cheap lunch from Black Friday deal. Along with more robust free options. I keep trying to find a way to justify it as I really do enjoy the speciality dining experience.

 

Pier 7 shifting to a flat fee also made it seem less lucrative. $12.99 on cruise planner for Brunch seems like a pretty solid price particular with the kids eat free for mixing in another meal on the trip. 

[George C]

1 hour ago, RFerrington said:

No way would I go to the MDR or WJ after paying extra $$ for the UDP.  That’s why we quit getting the UDP…it’s just too much food !

Totally agree , we did breakfast and some lunch’s in suite restaurant but avoided both mdr and WJ , did all dinners in specialty restaurants.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

I'm

1 minute ago, George C said:

Totally agree , we did breakfast and some lunch’s in suite restaurant but avoided both mdr and WJ , did all dinners in specialty restaurants.

Do you agree with the not eating in the MDR part or the not getting UDP because it's too much food?

[George C]

8 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

I'm

Do you agree with the not eating in the MDR part or the not getting UDP because it's too much food?

I am not a big eater but prefer service and quality of food in specialty restaurants also ambiance . 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Just now, George C said:

I am not a big eater but prefer service and quality of food in specialty restaurants also ambiance . 

This is me - the food doesn't have to be significantly better, I just don't want to have to fight big crowds and deal with subpar service.

 

The only thing I don't like about the UDP is that we can't book our meals in advance.

[leaveitallbehind]

7 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

The only thing I don't like about the UDP is that we can't book our meals in advance.

They typically give you what is nothing more than a placeholder for the first night with the purchase of the package.  But it is just that.  Just stop by any specialty restaurant when you board and talk with the Maitre d and they can schedule the entire week for you.  I understand it is not necessarily what you want to do when you first board, but we have always been able to arrange our week's schedule in a matter of 10 - 15 minutes in this manner.

 

If you are a higher tier C&A member or in a suite the Concierge can assist with this as well.

Edited March 10 by leaveitallbehind

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Does anybody know if we keep the pre-purchased reservations we made before buying the UDP and transfer those to our UDP once onboard (and get refunds)?

[leaveitallbehind]

7 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

Does anybody know if we keep the pre-purchased reservations we made before buying the UDP and transfer those to our UDP once onboard (and get refunds)?

I would think they would be two separate transactions through the planner.  If so, I would think you would just cancel the individual purchases which would leave the UDP in place.  The individual dining purchases will be refunded to your credit card.

 

But to be sure maybe call RCCL and ask them to confirm the process.  I would just want to be sure it didn't affect the UDP in any way - it shouldn't, but just to be sure.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

5 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I would think they would be two separate transactions through the planner.  If so, I would think you would just cancel the individual purchases which would leave the UDP in place.  The individual dining purchases will be refunded to your credit card.

 

But to be sure maybe call RCCL and ask them to confirm the process.  I would just want to be sure it didn't affect the UDP in any way - it shouldn't, but just to be sure.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking... Hopefully they can cancel the first reservation and then immediately replace with the UDP before somebody grabs that spot.

 

I'll call to ask like you suggested... Thank you!

[leaveitallbehind]

17 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

Yeah, that's what I was thinking... Hopefully they can cancel the first reservation and then immediately replace with the UDP before somebody grabs that spot.

 

I'll call to ask like you suggested... Thank you!

They may be able to do it all for you and replace the individual reservations with the UDP.

 

 

Edited March 10 by leaveitallbehind

[RFerrington]

1 hour ago, CruisematicVA said:

Does anybody know if we keep the pre-purchased reservations we made before buying the UDP and transfer those to our UDP once onboard (and get refunds)?

Never say never, but I am fairly sure that once you cancel the pre-purchased, individual reservation(s) (and get a refund) you will lose that reservation spot.  Since the "new" pre-boarding UDP reservation system (whatever that turns out to be) hasn't yet been implemented then, as far as I know, there is no way to get a specific venue/time reservation for any UDP meal. I think you will be at the mercy of the board-and-reserve mode until they change the way the UDP is handled.

[ChittyChittyBangBang]

We've purchased the UDP for most voyages.  We enjoy rotating the variety of dining venues including MDR and Suite dining.  Have not booked Icon OTS but would book MDR on such an Iconic Ship!  We've always booked MTD.  Hope this helps!

[thebigrooster]

 

5 hours ago, SUgwoz said:

Icon Udp seems like a tougher sell to me than Oasis Class. Would have been better if they had Central Park 150 and Giovanni Table vs. Kitchen. I have one free dinner from TA, got a cheap lunch from Black Friday deal. Along with more robust free options. I keep trying to find a way to justify it as I really do enjoy the speciality dining experience.

 

Pier 7 shifting to a flat fee also made it seem less lucrative. $12.99 on cruise planner for Brunch seems like a pretty solid price particular with the kids eat free for mixing in another meal on the trip. 

 

Pier 7 switched to a flat fee?  So is it order anything on the menu for $12.99 then?

[leaveitallbehind]

4 hours ago, CruisematicVA said:

I'll call to ask like you suggested... Thank you!

Have to tell you we just ended up today with the same situation as yours, but for an upcoming Celebrity cruise.  Had three individual nights purchased last November and tonight saw a better price for a three night package.  Called Celebrity and they canceled the November purchase, reinstated the OBC used plus credited the difference back to my CC, repurchased it at the new lower price and listed it on our planner over the phone. 

 

The only thing they couldn't do was preserve the original days and times as they were done individually originally and with the package they use the placeholder for day one and we will book them (as I described earlier) on board.

 

Could have done the transactions as well on line with the planner but wanted to be sure the OBC was credited back in a timely manner to be applied to the new booking at the same time, so we called instead.  Worked well.

Edited March 10 by leaveitallbehind