New A La Carte Specialty Dining

Well having the UDP for free makes this moot for our cruise upcoming, I hope :eek:, As I would assume I would still order whatever and its free or has the required up charge.

But... likely won't sail NCL again under this concept.

Might still cancel the upcoming cruise. We shall see. :cool:

I think psycologically it takes away from the experience. Once you decide to go your over the cost of it and are free to just enjoy it and not care about ordering anything. Now you will have to think about what you should order and if it fits in the budget. Not very freestyle and more Feestyle

True. I enjoyed when I have eaten in a specialty restaurant but I don't have to. Most nights I just go to the buffet now anyway so this change does not really affect me. But I can't imagine that many people will enjoy it like that. Apart from that it will probably put a lot of extra stress on the wait staff. If it is just a flat fee and your meal is not tasting as it should or arrives cold I just order another one. Now you probably have to discuss if you just don't like it or if it is done sub standard and get a replacement dish for free.

Now the big questions is what is with the platinum Le Bistro voucher or do they change the program before the Escape ...

I have ten NCL cruises in my history, I'm booked on two more, and I still have a CRC in the bank. However, I'm done with specialty dining if not NCL.

When the New UDP was introduced, it made no sense to me as there was no savings relative to just paying the cover charge each night. Now I see where the savings is coming from! The per-restaurant cover charge at full price is the bargain when compared to paying a la carte for every single item consumed.

This certainly is a new NCL, and I don't like it. I guess it's all MDR all the time for me.

I have three cruises between October 2015 and April 2016 of which ALL have the UDP. I'm not going to even worry about it until after these cruises. Who knows what the 'rules' will be by then. We all know how long the 'can't take food back to your cabin' lasted.

Harriet

Here is a typical meal for me a Cagney's and prices that I think would be pretty accurate going with the starters being 4.95-7.95 and entrees up to 29.99.

Caesar salad- 5.95

Crab cake - 6.95

18 oz ribeye - 25.95

Oreo cheesecake - 4.95

For a total of 42.80. I am being conservative also as the crab cake and ribeye could be on the top of the pricing scale I think. This is not that much more than the $30 fixed price, but it is not something that I want to think about when I cruise. Bad move on NCL's part IMO.

This is making my vacation too complicated to figure out. A la carte pricing -- no thank you. I'll just eat at the included places. NCL has become a la carte pricing for everything. We did the UDP on Getaway and enjoyed a nice specialty dinner every night. Not knowing how a la carte pricing would add up, we will either do UDP to just make it simple... or we will just do ONLY the included places.

But I'll wait until I find out if there will be more restrictions on the UDP. Will they end up limiting us to visiting each restaurant no more than 1 time?

On the Getaway, seating at the specialty restaurants was already VERY limited. Now, with people stopping in for just dessert/coffee, etc., it will be worse.

fstuff1 said, "More nickel and diming, and maximizing shareholder value at the expense of us customers."

 

Isn't the underlined portion of that sentence basically what capitalism is? I mean, I don't necessarily like it, but that is how business is generally conducted.

 

--Michael

Sure. And if it works, then great for NCL. And if it drives customers away from NCL, that's also capitalism, too.

"Anyone who purchases a Norwegian specialty dining package can enjoy meals at La Cucina, Le Bistro and Cagney's at no additional charge"

So, are Modero and Teppanyaki not included in the SDP?

We cruise for the first time on Escape in Jan 2016 and I was going to get us the 4 meal SDP ...we were going to do; Le Bistro, Cagney's, Modero and Teppanyaki...if they aren't then I would only buy the 3 meal option eat at Cagney's twice and then eat at Modero and Teppanyaki?

Totally agree with you. Since NCL was giving out the UDP for free earlier this year, I think that the restaurant will be full and now you are adding people who are just going to go to a restaurant to get an appetizer and dessert. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Yes, if I decided to use it, this is exactly how I'd do it. It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Off my top of my head, I like the change to an a 'la carte restaurant.

I wonder when Del Rio is going to charge for the use of the lifeboats?

Thank you. Yours is a much better story.

 

"Beginning in October with the debut of its largest ship, Norwegian Escape, the menus for La Cucina, Le Bistro, Cagney's Steakhouse and Bayamo, a new restaurant from Chef Jose Garces, will be priced a la carte. Moderno Churrascaria and Teppanyaki will retain their cover charges -- $19.95 and $29.95, respectively -- as will entertainment dining such as "Wine Lovers the Musical" and "For The Record: The Brat Pack."

The line plans to roll out a la carte dining fleetwide on January 1, 2016, with the exception of entertainment dining like Cirque Dreams & Dinner or The Illusionarium. Ocean Blue on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway will switch to a la carte pricing in October, as well.

Starters at Cagney's, Norwegian's signature steakhouse, will range from $4.99 to $7.95 and main courses from $17.99 to $29.99. New menu additions at French restaurant Le Bistro will include bouillabaisse and pan-seared jumbo bay scallops, starting at $15.99 each. Italian venue La Cucina will offer main dishes like osso bucco alla Milanese or pan-seared sea bass filet at $12.99 each.

Anyone who purchases a Norwegian specialty dining package can enjoy meals at La Cucina, Le Bistro and Cagney's at no additional charge, but Bayamo by Jose Garces still carries a $15 fee.

The main dining rooms, the buffet, O'Sheehan's and all of the Asian venues except Teppanyaki and Wasabi will remain complimentary."

So they talk about guests that *purchase* the UDP... what about those who have it as a perk? I wonder if there is a distinction there (ie, it's a package you are being *given* so we reserve the right to change it?) Just wondering.

Here is a typical meal for me a Cagney's and prices that I think would be pretty accurate going with the starters being 4.95-7.95 and entrees up to 29.99.

 

Caesar salad- 5.95

Crab cake - 6.95

18 oz ribeye - 25.95

Oreo cheesecake - 4.95

 

For a total of 42.80. I am being conservative also as the crab cake and ribeye could be on the top of the pricing scale I think. This is not that much more than the $30 fixed price, but it is not something that I want to think about when I cruise. Bad move on NCL's part IMO.

that is 40% more. Then add 18% on top.

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Here is a typical meal for me a Cagney's and prices that I think would be pretty accurate going with the starters being 4.95-7.95 and entrees up to 29.99.

 

Caesar salad- 5.95

Crab cake - 6.95

18 oz ribeye - 25.95

Oreo cheesecake - 4.95

 

For a total of 42.80. I am being conservative also as the crab cake and ribeye could be on the top of the pricing scale I think. This is not that much more than the $30 fixed price, but it is not something that I want to think about when I cruise. Bad move on NCL's part IMO.

Don't forget the 18% gratuity... makes it $50.50 :eek::eek::eek:

They've already added an 18% gratuity to the specialty dining. That would not be new.

But the a la carte is new and we don't know how they'll figure out the extra gratuity.

Don't forget the 18% gratuity... makes it $50.50 :eek::eek::eek:

yeah they can stuff it. i dont mind that on land, but at sea i just dont want to think about it. its one of the attractions to cruising.

I had already purchased the 4 day SDP for my upcoming cruise. This change makes my purchase a much bigger bargain. I'm happy.

"Anyone who purchases a Norwegian specialty dining package can enjoy meals at La Cucina, Le Bistro and Cagney's at no additional charge"

 

So, are Modero and Teppanyaki not included in the SDP?

My take on the article I read was that those three were listed as having "no additional charge" because they were the ones listed as going à la carte. Moderno and Teppanyaki are going to remain a flat price for dinner, so it makes sense that they'd remain part of the Specialty Dining Package.

"Anyone who purchases a Norwegian specialty dining package can enjoy meals at La Cucina, Le Bistro and Cagney's at no additional charge"

 

So, are Modero and Teppanyaki not included in the SDP?

 

We cruise for the first time on Escape in Jan 2016 and I was going to get us the 4 meal SDP ...we were going to do; Le Bistro, Cagney's, Modero and Teppanyaki...if they aren't then I would only buy the 3 meal option eat at Cagney's twice and then eat at Modero and Teppanyaki?

Jenn,

You should be fine, Modero and Teppanyaki will not be A la carte, so yes they are covered by the SDP.

Coach Jim

not worrying about the price of every little thing is a big selling point for cruises.

This!

"Anyone who purchases a Norwegian specialty dining package can enjoy meals at La Cucina, Le Bistro and Cagney's at no additional charge"

 

So, are Modero and Teppanyaki not included in the SDP?

 

We cruise for the first time on Escape in Jan 2016 and I was going to get us the 4 meal SDP ...we were going to do; Le Bistro, Cagney's, Modero and Teppanyaki...if they aren't then I would only buy the 3 meal option eat at Cagney's twice and then eat at Modero and Teppanyaki?

They are included. However, Moderno and Teppenyaki are still set price and not a la carte. If you purchase the 4 meal SDP, you may still eat at any of the restaurants mentioned including Moderno and Teppenyaki.

Personally, it just makes the UDP/SDP look more attractive plus a better deal for the big eaters and for the lite eaters, they can just order just one or two items/courses a la carte. The only people screwed by this are those that order too much without the UDP/SDP aka similar setup at a regular land restuarant. Doesn't seem so bad, when one thinks about it...

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Not a fan. :mad:

Seems like another way to nickle and dime passengers.

Maybe they are over populated because of giving away the UDP with all suites and Havens. Also they are giving away credits for UDP with all category cabins and can't accommodate everyone.

Suite pax need to be accommodated and maybe can't get into these restaurants at the hour they want so they'll shaft the inside and cheaper cabins in favor of their higher paying customers. That's capitalism.

I guess that rumor from several weeks back that no one wanted to believe was right after all.;)

I was the one who said that NCL wanted to move all specialties to a la carte. No one believed me or my source at NCL.

This would be a great "told you so" moment if it weren't for the fact that I'm going to suffer from this as much as the next passenger.

The only people screwed by this are those that order too much without the UDP/SDP

What about people like me who just order a "regular" amount? The same meal that was included as a part of one cover charge would now cost a lot more. It's fine that they want to make money, That's why NCL does it, to make money. They aren't going to provide me with the same content for the same overall price though. To claim that the only people getting screwed are overeaters is really a bit ridiculous. The real cost to my wallet for the same meal will be going up quite a bit. I don't expect the quality to suddenly leap upwards, nor do I expect service to become somehow better; so it is just paying more for less. The value proposition for those of us that like to go 1 or 2 times per cruise just evaporated. This won't push me to buying a dining plan.