Farmer_John

We are only a short cruise away from D+, but even the benefit supposedly excludes Hibachi and a few others. As with most of the dining policies it appears YMMV depending on ship or manager you talk to. When you are making your early reservations for BOGO to get the discount are you reserving for 2 on Day 1 or 2 and then making the free reservation for later? I am just curious what is working.

Just an update, I was able to do the Teppanyaki on the first night of the cruise on a 50% discount (64.99 for 2) at 7pm, which I was very happy about. It was pretty easy, I just had to ask the people trying to sell dining packages. I just wish I would have scheduled one more night at the end since the "Bon Voyage" menu is definitely not my favorite.

Thanks, I did know that. I have eaten at the Hibachi/Teppanyaki on Harmony and Spectrum earlier this year. Getting a reservation on Harmony was difficult because it was a very small venue. I was shocked at how many tables (a lot) they had on Spectrum, so I am hoping Odyssey (sister ship) is the same with large capacity. We always have a good time and meal at Hibachi and it is one of my favorites along with 150 and then Chops. The Chops+1 is basically a two night dining package for Chops and one other venue, but there are surcharges for Hibachi or Chef's Table (obviously) with the dining packages now.

I am definitely not a fan of Jamie's and wouldn't even pay close to that to go there, but those prices are no where close to what I consider a deal. Chops+1 is currently at 88.99 which I think is overpriced especially with having to pay $15 extra for Hibachi. My Oasis class cruises over last New Year's and winter as well as my Quantum Ultra (Spectrum) out of Singapore this year were a lot more reasonable per specialty dining night.

Thanks for the reply and good advice. I told my wife your reply and she asked if we were related as she rolled her eyes ...lol

We board our cruise (Odyssey) this coming weekend and were hoping for some specialty discounts for dinner, but the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales did not change the prices (have been the same for six+ months). We were able to get some good lunch reservations at Chops and Giovanni's for 17.99/14.99, but the Chops +1 and 3 night dining package hasn't changed. Has Royal been offering any discounted dining lately onboard (even for the first night) or is that a thing of the past? Thank you for your help!

I was on the Oasis over the New Year, and I believe the ship is still in excellent shape. I am very detail oriented and I have noticed the cutbacks, but it was still a great time and bang/buck on a vacation. The Oasis class stands out for entertainment. The Aqua show is probably the best of the fleet. Cats had good quality performers, but they still have to work with a shortened version of the musical which is hard to deal with in the first place. The comedy club was fun as usual and the ice shows were average, but nice. The cutbacks in the MDR are noticeable, but I could usually find something descent to eat. I usually have a plan to avoid most crowds (New Year's Eve was an exception) and I do not typically like buffets so I did not eat in the Windjammer once that entire cruise. Over the years we have learned to add in a specialty dining or two to change things up and 150 has yet to disappoint. I am in your same age group, but I have been sailing Royal (as well as several other lines) for 30+ years. Some of the negative reviews are people going in looking for something to complain about because it isn't what it used to be. The long story short is the adaptation of specialty restaurants (and ability to uncharge) has decreased the MDR food quality and service, but the entertainment is significantly better than what it used to be in decades past. One word of advice, if your cruise visits Nassau just stay on board and enjoy the activities on the ship.

I believe there are multiple (not just Amex Travel) that can apply the credit, but it unfortunately does not apply to some of the deep discounted rates and group rates. I was able to apply it on a sailing earlier this year and I believe I received $200 obc for a balcony and a bottle of descent bubbly.

I just finished a cruise on Harmony today. This was a shorter cruise (6 days) and it was their first week for the new menu collection. We did have lobster on the the second formal night (Thursday - night 5) and they were the larger tails (probably 6 oz+). They were definitely larger than the unlimited tails they had on the Oasis a few weeks ago. There would normally be an uncharge for my second lobster, but fortunately my wife does not care for lobster so she ordered an extra entree (lobster) for me.