Ultimate Dining Pkg questions

[gdpups]

My group is considering the Ultimate Dining Pkg on our upcoming Silhouette cruise and I have a few questions. Is it worth it if you are on a Caribbean cruise with 4 port days and only 2 sea days? It states unlimited lunches in Bistro on Five and the Porch, but are these restaurants open on port days?

 

Also, it says you get one lunch in Murano and one in Tuscan Grill, we only have two sea days are those the days the lunches would be held? I saw the Dailys from someone who had been on a previous cruise with the same itinerary and it only shows lunches at the Lawn Grill, so are the lunches in the specialty restaurants on the pkg exclusive to those who purchase the pkg??

 

The Champagne High Tea is also included, is that usually held on a sea day? Just want to see if we would get full use of the pkg. We were going to just purchase the 4 restaurant pkg, but now we're torn between the two.

 

Opinions would be appreciated.

[beachjulie]

Ive been asking the same thing but not getting the answers. WE are also on the sihoutte and only 2 sea days

[gregg4]

we were on the dec 15 Silhouette and had the ultimate package. I t is definitely worth it. Bistro and Porch are open every day. Bistro is worth it the Porch not soo much. I did have them make the sandwiches with double ingredients otherwise too much bread but the crepes at Bistro are too die for. Especially the French. Lunch at the specialties was on the same day so you have to choose a restaurant, we choose Tuscan. We skipped the tea. All in all well worth the money. We did not like the outside grill, ordinary food and too crowded. Plus salad bars are so 80s Any other questions just ask.

[Bluebury]

We will be going on the Infinity but I cannot find details of the ultimate dining package for that ship. Can someone please point me in the right direction? I have managed to find the 3 & 5 day packages but not the one mentioned above.

[Fouremco]

We will be going on the Infinity but I cannot find details of the ultimate dining package for that ship. Can someone please point me in the right direction? I have managed to find the 3 & 5 day packages but not the one mentioned above.

Here you go:

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/11024491_CEL_SpecialtyDiningPck_Flyer2.pdf

[Bluebury]

Here you go:

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/11024491_CEL_SpecialtyDiningPck_Flyer2.pdf

 

Brilliant, thank you very much for your help.

[gdpups]

Thanks gregg4, just the kind of info I was looking for. I think it's definitely worth trying.

[PelicanLvr]

Prior posts on these boards say that the Ultimate Package is only offered onboard.

 

I bought it last year on Eclipse (14 days) and it worked out GREAT!

[gregg4]

Thanks gregg4, just the kind of info I was looking for. I think it's definitely worth trying.

 

Well worth it. Only available on board and they limit how many they sell. As you board they are selling the packages but go to Murano and buy it there. You can also book all your reservations then, restaurant, date and time. Then go have lunch at Bistro and enjoy the crepes.

Edited January 21, 2014 by gregg4

[MisterBill99]

we were on the dec 15 Silhouette and had the ultimate package. It is definitely worth it. Bistro and Porch are open every day. Bistro is worth it the Porch not so much. I did have them make the sandwiches with double ingredients otherwise too much bread but the crepes at Bistro are to die for. Especially the French. Lunch at the specialties was on the same day so you have to choose a restaurant, we choose Tuscan. We skipped the tea.

I was wondering which restaurant was open for lunch the last day, did not realize they all were. We'll be on Silhouette next month and I plan to buy the dining package. I made a reservation for Murano the night before the last day since it's Valentines Day and formal night and it seemed like the obviously place to go (I'll cancel and re-book once I buy the package, but wanted to hold the table since they seem to be very busy that night). I guess we can always decide what to do about lunch until the last day, I doubt they will fill up. That way we can decide which one we want to eat at one more time.

 

Is the tea also the last day at sea, after you've had the specialty restaurant lunch?

[MisterBill99]

Well worth it. Only available on board and they limit how many they sell.

Everyone always says this, but someone in another thread acknowledged that they'd never read a post from someone who wanted to buy it and wasn't able to.

[MisterBill99]

Is Bistro open when the ship is in Labadee? Depending on what time we go back to the ship, it could pay to just skip the lunch there and wait until we get back to the ship to eat!

[akowilm]

We thought it was worth it for the dinners alone! Lunches were just a bonus, but we DID love Bistro, and were able to grab a meal there after returning from excursions, then heading back out again. We will certainly book this option again!

[PelicanLvr]

MrBill99: Bistro is literally never closed. It opens early for breakfast and closes at something like 2am. It is not effected by port vs. sea days as we have eaten there many times after being on shore in port.

 

It's the Main DR (only) that's closed on port days.

 

Bistro is great....enjoy it!

[MisterBill99]

Well worth it. Only available on board and they limit how many they sell. As you board they are selling the packages but go to Murano and buy it there. You can also book all your reservations then, restaurant, date and time. Then go have lunch at Bistro and enjoy the crepes.

So what is the actual limit? I read in someone's review that they only sell 12, which is the first time I've heard of an actual number. That seems awfully low. I had read elsewhere that it depends on how much pre-booking they've had of specialty restaurants. And on yet another, someone commented that they had never heard here on CC of someone who wanted to book the ultimate package and was unable to.

 

Oh, and can I book at at the dining desk in the cruise terminal (Port Everglades) if we have a wait to get on the ship? We plan to get to the terminal by 11.

Edited January 23, 2014 by MisterBill99

[Pilot70D]

Everyone always says this, but someone in another thread acknowledged that they'd never read a post from someone who wanted to buy it and wasn't able to.

 

This did happen on our most recent cruise. We were on the Eclipse for the New Year cruise. We boarded around 10:50 and immediately purchased the Ultimate Dining Package. Two other couples who also happened to be CC members boarded less than an hour and a half later and wanted to purchase this same package but were unable to do so. They were informed that it was sold out and was no longer available.

 

I have no definitive answer about how many Ultimate Dining Packages are for sale on any particular sailing. I suspect it depends on the date of the voyage, how easy (or how difficult) it was to sell out all cabins coupled with how many advanced reservations are sold before the sail date. I was curious after chatting with the other couples at our CC Meet & Mingle so I asked the Maitre 'D at Muranos how many Ultimate Dining Packages had been sold for our cruise. The answer was seven.

 

BTW, we thought then and still think now that the Ultimate Dining Package was a tremendous buy for us. We intend to buy it again if able on the Eclipse Christmas & New Year's cruise 2014.

:):):)

[MisterBill99]

Wow, just 7 - that's amazing! I wonder if that's because it was a holiday sailing with higher fares and they figured more people would do the specialty restaurants (or already had)? My cruise includes Valentines Day, and it appears that tables for 2 are very popular that night, but the larger tables were still available, and so were other days.

 

I've never had the package before, but after reading so much about it, I'll be disappointed if I don't manage to get it. Fortunately we are sailing with friends who live very near the port (and we're staying with them the night before) so we should be able to get an early start and get on the ship early.

Edited January 23, 2014 by MisterBill99

[themutis]

Thanks for the confirmation, I've alway heard about a limit, but never actually heard of it being hit.

 

Hopefully we will be able to purchase it, if not, we'll keep our 5 dinner reservation and deal with it.

[Pilot70D]

Wow, just 7 - that's amazing! I wonder if that's because it was a holiday sailing with higher fares and they figured more people would do the specialty restaurants (or already had)?

I think you are correct in your guess. I think that =X= severely limited the number of Ultimate Dining Packages because it was a holiday sailing and a larger number of people would want to dine in the upscale restaurants.

 

This was our first time to buy this package and we made it a specific objective. After reading many, many posts here we altered our normal precruise routine. We had a rental car and we dropped our bags off with the porters at the pier around 9:30 A.M. We then returned the rental car and took the rental car shuttle back to the terminal. This made the time around 10:45 and there already were a lot of people inside the terminal in line to do the administrative stuff. We were in a suite and there was a separate line with no one in it for suite passengers so we breezed through that part of the precruise necessities.

 

Once we were actually aboard we got the glass of sparkling wine and walked about 50 feet to the upscale dining sales table. We told them what we wanted and they escorted us to Muranos to complete the sale and to enter whatever reservations we wanted. Actually we gave them a written list and then went to the Bistro on 5 for lunch because they told us it would take a little to enter all of the reservations and that they would call us later with confirmation about all of our times.

:):D:)

In retrospect it was fortunate that we boarded early and went directly to the upscale dining sales table because as I wrote earlier an hour and a half later the Ultimate Dining Package was no longer available for this cruise.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Pilot70D