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New A La Carte Specialty Dining

Dr. Cocktail

By Dr. Cocktail,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Turtles06 Great Review Rare

Turtles06

Posted
Posted

It's an awful idea. I have zero interest in a la carte dining on a cruise ship.

 

Royal Caribbean just tried this with Jamie's Italian on the new Anthem of the Seas. It started out as a $30-fixed price dinner venue, then went a la carte. The move was met with a great deal of opposition (at least from comments on CC), and not all that long after the move to a la carte, Royal moved Jamie's back to a fixed price.

 

Apart from how bad an idea this is, I also wonder, like the OP, how this would work with the dining packages that people have already paid for or gotten as perks.

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NLH Arizona

NLH Arizona

Posted
Posted

It will be interesting how much more the al a' carte prices will be versus what the fixed dining was for the same dinner. At Cagney's, I usually have a salad, baked potato and filet and if the price is a lot more, I'll have to reconsider my dining choices. I don't have an issue paying more if the quality is much, much better, but if it is the same, I'd have to think about it. We'll have to wait and see what the menus and prices look like when and if it changes for the whole line (I'd bet that would depend on how it is embraced on the Escape) before getting all upset.

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Lacaena

Lacaena

Posted
Posted
I for one will be making sure we have the UDP from now on. I have no interest in a la carte dining while on a cruise and I have no intention of missing out on my favorite restaurants on NCL.

 

 

I think this statement may be exactly what NCL is going for. It seems to me like they are trying to drive people to the new dining plans.

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cruzsnooze

cruzsnooze

Posted
Posted

NCL seems to be gouging lately with the fee for room service and increase in auto tips and now a la carte dining. I wonder if they will add 18% to the bill thus double dipping for tips since many already paid via their daily DSC.

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Doc2725

Doc2725

Posted
Posted
So Moderno.....This will work how? 2.95 a slice of meat, they keep a tally

 

One of the best things about cruising is trying new things and not worrying about the cost if you don't like it.

 

No, Moderno and Tepperyaki will stay as a fixed price dining option. Says it in the article.

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chars

chars

Posted
Posted

This can get tricky with reservations. Now, people will be able to go to the restaurant and order only a salad, or dessert. I love Cagney's cheesecake, but don't always want to have a long sit down meal. Now, I can see people bouncing from restaurant to restaurant for their dinner. People may save money by not buying the UDP and just paying for what they want to eat.

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garnet115

garnet115

Posted
Posted
NCL seems to be gouging lately with the fee for room service and increase in auto tips and now a la carte dining. I wonder if they will add 18% to the bill thus double dipping for tips since many already paid via their daily DSC.

 

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

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InTheWASide

InTheWASide

Posted
Posted

Here's the full announcement to agencies. Little extra in here not included in the CIN link from the OP

 

NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE INTRODUCES À LA CARTE

SPECIALTY DINING

 

Norwegian Escape, the line’s newest and largest ship, will be the first in the fleet to feature enhanced menus and new per-item pricing that provides even more freedom and flexibility

 

 

MIAMI – July 14, 2015 – Norwegian Cruise Line announced today the introduction of à la carte specialty dining at the line’s signature specialty restaurants, providing guests the freedom to savor an array of tastes and gourmet dishes and the flexibility to choose how many courses they wish to enjoy during their meal.

Guests will experience the ultimate in Freestyle Cruising beginning this October on the all-new Norwegian Escape, where they can choose to dine at any of 11 complimentary dining options or experience new flavors at Norwegian’s signature specialty restaurants La Cucina, Le Bistro, Cagney’s Steakhouse and the new Bayamo by James Beard Award winning chef Jose Garces, on an à la carte basis.

Norwegian’s signature specialty restaurants on Norwegian Escape will feature enhanced menus that include favorite dishes and new tastes alike, offering guests the freedom to select how many courses they’d like to enjoy during their dinner, with per-item pricing. Whether guests wish to have a light meal of a favorite appetizer and soup or salad, or indulge in a multi-course dinner featuring Maine lobster, with Norwegian’s new à la carte options, guests will now have the opportunity to create their desired dining experience, just as they would at any land-based restaurant.

At Cagney’s Steakhouse, starters on the new à la carte menu range from $4.99 to $7.95 and main courses from $17.99 to $29.99, featuring Certified Angus Beef® brand steaks, the world’s leading Angus brand and consumers’ top choice for premium beef. At Le Bistro, guests will find delicious new main courses in addition to traditional French favorites, including Bouillabaisse, Pan-Seared Jumbo Bay Scallops and Veal Medallions with Sauce Morrel, starting at $15.99. And guests looking to find a taste of “la dolce vita” will be transported to the Mediterranean when they choose from an expanded menu at La Cucina, featuring antipasti, pasta, risotto and traditional secondi courses starting at $12.99 including Osso Buco alla Milanese, Free-Range Chicken with Prosciutto or Pan-Seared Sea Bass Filet.

Moderno Churrascaria and Teppanyaki will remain at a cover charge of $19.95 and $29.95 respectively, as will entertainment dining including Wine Lovers The Musical and For The Record™: The Brat Pack.

Guests who purchase a Norwegian Specialty Dining Package have the freedom to indulge as they wish, as Specialty Dining Packages will allow guests to enjoy La Cucina, Le Bistro and Cagney’s Steakhouse at no additional charge. Guests with a Specialty Dining Package can dine in Bayamo by Jose Garces for an additional fee of $15.

In addition to Norwegian Escape’s specialty restaurants, Ocean Blue on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway will also begin offering à la carte options on October 3, 2015, and the new à la carte dining will be available fleetwide beginning January 1, 2016. Other entertainment dining across the fleet, including Cirque Dreams & Dinner and The Illusionarium, will remain at a cover charge. For those guests who wish to reserve their dining times ahead of time, they can continue to do so via MyNCL; there is no charge to make a reservation and guests will have any à la carte selections added to their onboard account at the time of dining.

For more information on Norwegian Cruise Line’s specialty dining, visit http://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/cruise-dining#specialty. To book a cruise on Norwegian, guests can contact their travel professional, call Norwegian at 888-NCL-CRUISE (625-2784), or visit http://www.ncl.com.

###

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line is the innovator in cruise travel with a 48-year history of breaking the boundaries of traditional cruising, most notably with the introduction of Freestyle Cruising, which revolutionized the industry by giving guests more freedom and flexibility. Today, Norwegian invites guests to “Cruise Like a Norwegian” on one of 13 purpose-built Freestyle Cruising ships, providing guests the opportunity to enjoy a relaxed, resort style cruise vacation on some of the newest and most contemporary ships at sea. Recently, the line was named “Europe’s Leading Cruise Line” for the seventh consecutive year, as well as “Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Line” for the second time and “World’s Leading Large Ship Cruise Line” by the World Travel Awards.

The Company recently took delivery of its most innovative ship to date, the 4,000-passenger Norwegian Getaway in the first quarter of 2014. Norwegian Getaway’s sister ship, Norwegian Breakaway, was named “Best New Ship of 2013” by the editors of Cruise Critic and “Best Rookie Cruise Ship” by the readers of Travel Weekly. Known as New York’s ship, Norwegian Breakaway is the largest vessel to homeport year-round in the city. The Company currently has four vessels on order at Meyer Werft for delivery in fall 2015, spring 2017, spring 2018 and fall 2019.

High resolution, downloadable images are available at http://www.ncl.com/pressroom. For further information on Norwegian Cruise Line, visit http://www.ncl.com, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @Norwegiancruiseline, Pin us on Pinterest, watch us on YouTube, or contact us in the U.S. and Canada at 888-NCL-CRUISE (625-2784).

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jmele999

jmele999

Posted
Posted
I think this statement may be exactly what NCL is going for. It seems to me like they are trying to drive people to the new dining plans.

 

Or I wonder if the UDP will no longer be offered. If NCL starts making money with the A La Carte menu, then I don't see why NCL will have the UDP.

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shaun07

shaun07

Posted
Posted (edited)

While it will be nice to able to just have dessert at a specialty restaurant is does seem like dinners at carneys and le bistro just got a lot more expensive, around 25% more!!! Not cool NCL!! I used to be very loyal to Ncl, and still enjoy sailing with them, but all the N&D has forced me to try other lines and is making me less loyal with every cruise I take

Edited by shaun07
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jmele999

jmele999

Posted
Posted
This can get tricky with reservations. Now, people will be able to go to the restaurant and order only a salad, or dessert. I love Cagney's cheesecake, but don't always want to have a long sit down meal. Now, I can see people bouncing from restaurant to restaurant for their dinner. People may save money by not buying the UDP and just paying for what they want to eat.

 

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.

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weelv2cruise

weelv2cruise

Posted
Posted

You have got to be kidding me! NCL is starting to look a lot like they don't want people's business. I don't want to go to a restaurant on a ship and be nickeled and dimed to death. I'm on a cruise to get away from all that! Don't like it at all!

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brookie848

brookie848

Posted
Posted

We've only done two cruises and done one specialty on each cruise -- Cagney's and La Cucina. Personally, I would not pay a la carte prices at either of these restaurants. Our experience at Cagney's was our worst experience on either of our cruises. While I know this is an anomaly, I can't see the experience being worth a per item price. On our cruise in March, we were very pleased with our food in the MDR. Maybe we were just lucky, but our five meals in the MDR always came out at the proper temperature and the alterations we asked for were always done properly.

 

We have the UDP on our upcoming Escape cruise. If it wasn't for that, we probably wouldn't bother with any specialties.

 

I think this is similar to what RCL is doing with their alcohol prices -- raising them significantly to push everyone into getting a package. Now many people who would consider eating in a specialty restaurant a couple of times on a cruise are going to buy a package. I'm curious if the package prices will go up since instead of paying $15-30 for a meal per person, that number will probably go up significantly when a la carte is taken into consideration.

 

This is another thing that doesn't mean much to me, but I'm curious to see how it all plays out.

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