Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Why would anyone buy UDP?

ndabunka

By ndabunka,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

rob&tam

rob&tam

Posted
Posted
Something else I find interesting is the number of special restaurants that will be on the Escape that will not be part of the UDP. Looking forward to the Escape and the complimentary Margaritaville....love those cheese burgers in paradise:D

 

 

From everything I have gathered so far. Everything except Food Republic is part of specialty dining / UDP, although most "new" options have an additional up charge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jenjer

Jenjer

Posted
Posted

Its all about the math. For some people its worth it for others not so much.

 

When the Illusionarium was included on Getaway it made perfect sense. On Escape not so much.

 

With the current promos I figure if you drink more than $20 a day the UBP is a better deal. I would never drink enough to break even on the UBP but if its a promo I will drink more than $20 a day. That's what 2 drinks and 1 soda.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
graphicguy "Live from...." Rare

graphicguy

Posted
Posted

Buffet and MDRs are good on NCL. But, the specialty dining they offer are better. Actually, if you went to these types of places at home (i.e. a Brazilian Steakhouse), you'd likely spend 4X what you get with buying dinner or the UDP at Moderno).

 

But, as others have said, if you don't desire to go to the specialty restaurants, or to try a place like Le Bistro (also very, very good), it makes no sense for you to buy the UDP.

 

Last year we stayed in the Haven. Even eating in the Haven restaurant, which was also quite good, we still enjoyed going to Le Bistro and Cagneys twice during the week we enjoyed them so much.

 

That said, we still had breakfast in the Haven....an experience I recommend to anyone, at least once. It was fantastic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
KitCatBrat

KitCatBrat

Posted
Posted

I'm traveling on POA at the end of August, and you do have the option of purchasing a dining package for fewer nights. So if you think you'll eat steak three nights out of your cruise, it might be worth it.

 

Also, our TA got us the UDP added on for free, so that makes it worth it for me :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BritChickBN1

BritChickBN1

Posted
Posted
Obviously, from your perspective it doesn't make sense. But, for others it does. If it doesn't work for you, then don't buy it. It's something I enjoy and it doesn't take me anywhere near an hour or two to get dressed in order to go. Different strokes. Just do what works for you. :)

 

I agree 100%. OP, why do you have to get it? It doesn't work for you so why expend the mental energy? I don't get that.

 

We love the UDP, it works for us. We haven't eaten in a main dining room in 2 years and we get to have our favorite dishes on NCL, sometimes more than once. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
smartinm

smartinm

Posted
Posted

For us the 7 day UDP did not really make sense, as we do enjoy main dining room and buffets, but now that they have the SDP we will be purchasing the 3 day option as it ends up saving us around 45 dollars together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
fstuff1

fstuff1

Posted
Posted
Um, yeah. I was obviously already aware of that, or I couldn't have made the above post you quoted. :rolleyes:

 

lol.. it wasn't 4 u.

 

it was for the benefit of others who might have thought you were just re-spreading the rumor of ala cart pricing

Link to comment
Share on other sites
legion3

legion3

Posted
Posted

We have the UDP as a free promo so It "shouldn't" be any sort of change, except the 18% won't be on a fixed amount but now a variable amount.

 

 

We booked the free UDP before the 18% was added, so I assume the 18% does not apply? I know what the FAQ says but when we booked pre - April there was no 18%.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cardbucfan

cardbucfan

Posted
Posted
OK now THIS is INSANE but (I guess) it makes sense ....for some that eat a lot! Does your moniker stand for "FOOD Stuffed"?

 

We would never eat two dinners but will enjoy the Le Bistro twin lobster tail entree (Kona live lobster day) and gladly pay that marginal fee. We are suite guests so we will be eating breakfast each morning in Cagney's and have the option of eating there for lunch as well so not certain there is much value for us as there may be for others.

 

 

My wife is allergic to alcohol (yes, SERIOUSLY) so she doesn't drink and I only drink about 1 mixed drink a day (with dinner) so no value in UBP for us either.

 

 

What'chu talk'N 'bout Willis? The UDP is $140 per person for a 7 day cruise. The gratuities are there regardless of UDP or not. One trip to Cagney's only costs $29+ gratuities so that works out to $36 which is nowhere NEAR $140. You would have to hit Cagney's 3 more times in the cruise in order to "break even, right?

 

 

Notice I said we got it free as our promotion item so all we are paying is the gratuities of $21 pp. That's why it's cost effective for us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BreeYark

BreeYark

Posted
Posted

I'm just back from an Epic cruise, with the UDP, and I asked about the unadvertised "Surf and Turf" at Cagney's. I was told it was indeed possible to get that, but they would have to charge me an additional entree at 10$ for the lobster tail, even with the UDP. No luck with those waiters...

 

To answer the original topic, I enjoy having the UDP, but I know it's a very personal preference. I've seen people enjoy the buffet every night and they looked very happy too :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LrgPizza

LrgPizza

Posted
Posted
I'm glad he/she linked it, some of us weren't aware of this yet. :cool:

Yeah, I get that. Generally when one is quoted, it means that the reply is directed to that person, hence my misunderstanding. Makes sense now.

 

For the record, I quoted you because I am replying to you. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
fstuff1

fstuff1

Posted
Posted (edited)
I'm just back from an Epic cruise, with the UDP, and I asked about the unadvertised "Surf and Turf" at Cagney's. I was told it was indeed possible to get that, but they would have to charge me an additional entree at 10$ for the lobster tail, even with the UDP. No luck with those waiters...

 

from what I read, the UDP will take that $10 off when the final bill arrives.

Edited by fstuff1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
rbird

rbird

Posted
Posted

UDP was great for my family of 4 including a 16 and 18yr o!d boys (aka adventurous eating machines!) Simple accounting because we chose UDP as our choice of perks being offered for booking 2 cabins. We ate in all 5 specialty restaurants and repeated 2. It only cost us the 18% gratuity that was earned by our servers. We received excellent personalized service each night. Getting dressed after a tour wasn't a big deal for us as we pre booked reservations for later in the evenings. Also we were never charged the "up charges" for lobster. So the only OOP expense was the 18%. Totally worth it for some vacationers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tiggertastic

Tiggertastic

Posted
Posted

I like that you can now pick the number of days. We normally eat in specialty every day however ad platinum we get 2 free le bistro anyway so if we're both travelling it's cheaper to pay as we go. But when I'm travelling with mum who is only silver we can book a 5 package for 7 nights, use the voucher for 1 and save one for taste or mdr. It works out great for us

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ndabunka

ndabunka

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
UDP was great for my family of 4 including a 16 and 18yr o!d boys (aka adventurous eating machines!) Simple accounting because we chose UDP as our choice of perks being offered for booking 2 cabins. We ate in all 5 specialty restaurants and repeated 2. It only cost us the 18% gratuity that was earned by our servers. We received excellent personalized service each night. Getting dressed after a tour wasn't a big deal for us as we pre booked reservations for later in the evenings. Also we were never charged the "up charges" for lobster. So the only OOP expense was the 18%. Totally worth it for some vacationers.

 

Thanks but you missed the original premise of the post which was why our anyone BUY the program.

 

You and (apparently) many others replying to this thread didn't actually BUY it. Rather, you got it as part of an incentive/FREE (other than the gratuities). Therefore, it's obviously FREE rather than "purchased".

 

Since you didn't actually PAY for the UDP, your post is null and void in this context. :eek: :D ;)

Edited by ndabunka
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ndabunka

ndabunka

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Notice I said we got it free as our promotion item so all we are paying is the gratuities of $21 pp. That's why it's cost effective for us.

 

Ah! But you didn't actually BUY it.

 

The title of this thread is "Why would anyone BUY the udp. Not "why did you select UDP as your FREE incentive", right?

 

The POINT of this thread is to understand why anyone would actually PAY for the udp program. If it's an incentive, you didn't actually buy...well, anything. You got it for FREE :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...