Restaurant "deals" while onboard

Thinking about using some of the restaurants onboard Reflection in November, and was wondering whether you are still able to haggle the prices onboard or are they not allowing that anymore? In -12 and -13 I got some deals to both Qsine and Murano, but can they still be grabbed onboard or do I need to get a dining package for the whole group?

There are posts abound indicating both scenarios.

It may be worth a roll of the dice to see if there are deals when you board vs. getting a dining 'package' which is discounted already, before your departure date.

bon voyage

I've done it both ways, and ended up in pretty much the same place cost wise.

The first night seems to be the best discount.

They usually will offer discounts on the first night of the cruise, but sometimes will extend them to other nights if they aren't booked well. If reservations are full, they usually don't.

We will eat specialty the first night, but the maître d' of the particular restaurant somehow always found us somewhere around the ship and asked us to come back again offering it at a discount.

If you are on a holiday sailing they might not be offering discounts because the specialties are quite popular on those cruises. I've seen another thread recently where some cruises are not offering the packages on line either.

Just boarded the Reflection. The embarkation day special is “30% off cover charge at our specialty restaurants”.

When it comes to Celebrity alternate dining, everything is negotiable....although there is no guarantee you will get a deal. First night discounts are almost automatic and usually vary between 30 % and 50% depending on your cabin category (Aqua and higher can sometimes get the 50%). On other nights it will depend on supply/demand and your skills. There are usually some staff at the Lido entrance during breakfast and lunch...and their job is to sell the alternative restaurants. On one cruise a friendly staffer/waiter kept offering us 30% off of Tuscan...and we would always tell him we did not like Tuscan...but loved Murano. Then he would offer us 20% off at Murano and we would tell him we would accept nothing less than 50% off. Finally on one morning he pulled us aside and quietly said we could have 50% off that night if we went 8:30 or later :).

The best deals are usually for Tuscan...since its a large venue that is often more than half empty.

Hank

Can anyone explain why embarkation night is usually discounted? Is the menu different that night compared to other nights? We are planning to eat at Murano first night and kick off the trip with a special dinner. Are certain nights busier than others in the specialty restaurants?

Just back and there was a 30% discount on the first night. No discounts for the rest of the cruise. I did try. Be aware that the package deals were not available upon boarding on our cruise.

They still "deal" on board (well as of last Oct anyway when I did it last). The deals you get will vary from day to day based on how busy each venue is. I Usually score the best deals the same day I want to eat. Best I've gotten is 2 for one in Tuscan, Silk harvest and SO5. 40% off is the best I've gotten in Murano but it's usually 25%. Murano seems to book up much more frequently than the others. I am boarding the Solstice next Friday and will be seeing what kind of deals I can negotiate on the nights the MDR menu isn't looking good.

Quine is $25 pp for this cruise only, as they have started a new process. Chef will cook table side for first course and there are additional 4(?) courses. No menu. Just whatever they feel like serving.

Refresh my memory — wasn’t there an Asian restaurant where Quine is now?

Can anyone explain why embarkation night is usually discounted? Is the menu different that night compared to other nights? We are planning to eat at Murano first night and kick off the trip with a special dinner. Are certain nights busier than others in the specialty restaurants?

Its so they can take the pressure off the main dinning roon

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Keep checking your Cruise planner in case they offer 20% off their dining pkgs. We had choice of 6,7,8,9nt on our upcoming Eclipse sailing just a few weeks prior for 4 days only. Last cruise no pkgs were being offered once on board but 4 days later we were able to get a 4 nt but at the same price we'd have paid prior

Quine is $25 pp for this cruise only, as they have started a new process. Chef will cook table side for first course and there are additional 4(?) courses. No menu. Just whatever they feel like serving.

 

Refresh my memory — wasn’t there an Asian restaurant where Quine is now?

Wow!!!

I dont think I would even do that for free !!!

Can anyone explain why embarkation night is usually discounted? Is the menu different that night compared to other nights? We are planning to eat at Murano first night and kick off the trip with a special dinner. Are certain nights busier than others in the specialty restaurants?

The menu in each specialty restaurant is the same EVERY night. At least in the MDR the first night menu is one of the best all cruise. I would not pay for specialty that night unless $10!

So far no deals on the infinity this week., so far

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No deals except for the first night on Silhouette in January, and that was 30% only for Murano if I recall correctly. We passed.

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Last month we had 30% off the first night and two nights later they offered 30% off at Tuscan. First night we did Lawn Grill as we intended on doing it at some point and they we took them up on the Tuscan offer. We were in Select dining so we were happy to avoid the first night.

snow bunny

We had success on Eclipse in Dec

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We had success on Eclipse in Dec

 

 

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Which date? We did the december 10 sailing and the only discounts we were offered or heard about from others were first night any venue, or Qsine, which was shilled every night at 20-30%. Wouldn't have surprised me if we could have gotten bigger discounts if we were intetested in dining there .

No other discounts were offered.

BTW, we had no problems with reservations AS LONG AS we were willing to eat at 5:30 or 9pm. We took 9pm and were seated at 8:45 those nights.

Keep checking your Cruise planner in case they offer 20% off their dining pkgs. We had choice of 6,7,8,9nt on our upcoming Eclipse sailing just a few weeks prior for 4 days only. Last cruise no pkgs were being offered once on board but 4 days later we were able to get a 4 nt but at the same price we'd have paid prior

Good advice! The flash sale about a week ago had 20% off the 6 night and longer dining packages, including for our 15-night TA on the Silhouette in November. The price of the 6-night package was $154 pp, which works out to $25 pp per dinner. Normally, we'd never get such a big package, but that was a good deal and it's going to be a pretty long cruise, and we enjoy Murano, the Lawn Club Grill, and Tuscan. (We are done with Qsine.)

Quine is $25 pp for this cruise only, as they have started a new process. Chef will cook table side for first course and there are additional 4(?) courses. No menu. Just whatever they feel like serving.

 

Refresh my memory — wasn’t there an Asian restaurant where Quine is now?

Whaaat?? I hope that Qsine is not changing! It is our tradition to go there the first night of a cruise and enjoy a little taste of everything and the ambience of this quirky little restaurant! My cousins teens loved it when we all cruised last summer and we would all be disappointed if the concept of this place changes!

Which date? We did the december 10 sailing and the only discounts we were offered or heard about from others were first night any venue, or Qsine, which was shilled every night at 20-30%. Wouldn't have surprised me if we could have gotten bigger discounts if we were intetested in dining there .

 

No other discounts were offered.

 

BTW, we had no problems with reservations AS LONG AS we were willing to eat at 5:30 or 9pm. We took 9pm and were seated at 8:45 those nights.

Just because they don't "offer" discounts does not mean you cannot get one. For those of us that ask for a discount the success rate is quite high. I'm sure when they print the daily planners they don't know how booked up the specialty venues are. They probably offer the discounts based on past patterns. I usually talk to the staff outside the buffet, where they trying to sell you into going to one of them. I simply ask "what kind of discounts can I get for that evening". They typically offer 25% off and I usually ask for 50% off. My final discount will vary but if they don't offer a discount I simply tell them I will try again another night. They are not generating any revenue from an empty table and those place must be cash cows considering how many there are and the fact that you've already paid for a meal in the MDR. So if they have tables they will usually offer a discount. It certainly does not hurt to ask!

Just because they don't "offer" discounts does not mean you cannot get one. For those of us that ask for a discount the success rate is quite high. I'm sure when they print the daily planners they don't know how booked up the specialty venues are. They probably offer the discounts based on past patterns. I usually talk to the staff outside the buffet, where they trying to sell you into going to one of them. I simply ask "what kind of discounts can I get for that evening". They typically offer 25% off and I usually ask for 50% off. My final discount will vary but if they don't offer a discount I simply tell them I will try again another night. They are not generating any revenue from an empty table and those place must be cash cows considering how many there are and the fact that you've already paid for a meal in the MDR. So if they have tables they will usually offer a discount. It certainly does not hurt to ask!

Umm, we did ask. Repeatedly. As said, tables were regularly available at 5:30 and 9pm, but no discounts were available after the first night except for q-sine.

One night there were zero reservations available in Tuscan or mutant regardless of the time. I guess it just depends on the sailing and maybe, the officer responsible for decisions about offering discounts.

Just got off Solstice, and they had a special lunch in Murano for $25pp. The menu was so good, we each had 2 apps and 2 entrees. It was a wonderful, relaxing way to spend 2 hours on a sea day.