How much extra do you spend on food on NCL?

[wndmom]

We do specialty dining every night- just don't enjoy the dining rooms. We will also have gelato or Carlos bake shop. Or the equivalent from any of the other ships we have sailed.

[Snowrose]

Just a simple poll to see how much additional money people are spending on upcharge specialty dining food / experiences onboard NCL ships.

 

Previously, we've barely used the upcharge restaurants, both because we had a tight budget and because we were happy with the food in the MDRs. But on this next cruise we're looking at doing several specialty restaurants, using the OBC that we got when we booked the cruise.

[Travelling2Some]

We don't go to the specialty restaurants at all because we like to eat when we feel like it rather than commit to a reservation in advance and then have to plan around it or have it interfere with something fun that we're doing. Besides, there is such an overwhelming amount of food on cruises that I'm not very motivated to buy more:eek:

[ndabunka]

We don't go to the specialty restaurants at all because we like to eat when we feel like it rather than commit to a reservation in advance and then have to plan around it or have it interfere with something fun that we're doing. Besides, there is such an overwhelming amount of food on cruises that I'm not very motivated to buy more:eek:

 

You DO know that you CAN simply walk into the specialty restaurants as well, right? You may or may not get a seat depending on how busy they are but as long as you aren't trying to eat at peak times, you can often get a table.

[ndabunka]

So after 101 people have voted less than 11% have PURCHASED udp. Based on the hype in the other UDP threads, one would think it was far, far more. Perhaps all the UDPers are just the ones that got it as a promotion for FREE?

Edited July 18, 2015 by ndabunka

[Travelling2Some]

You DO know that you CAN simply walk into the specialty restaurants as well, right? You may or may not get a seat depending on how busy they are but as long as you aren't trying to eat at peak times, you can often get a table.

 

True but it was very hit or miss (which might depend on the ship and/or current promos). There always seemed to be a wait and my husband will always go elsewhere rather than wait even a short time. We're very happy with the MDR anyway - prefer the little portions rather than a bigger heavier meal. We did try the specialty restaurants several times way back when they were first introduced but didn't feel they filled any need for us. Like I said, for us it's mostly lack of motivation. No desire to buy extra meals when I already have more food choices than I can possibly sample.

[Casino Comp Chick]

I always do ocean blue and I get CAS and platinum comps. Sometimes I do the le cirque show.

[legion3]

So after 101 people have voted less than 11% have PURCHASED udp. Based on the hype in the other UDP threads, one would think it was far, far more. Perhaps all the UDPers are just the ones that got it as a promotion for FREE?

 

How does this poll suggest anything about how many have or have not purchased anything.

 

How much do I spend on extra dining does not correlate to purchasing the UDP. All of my extra may have occurred before all of this stuff and been totally out of pocket.

[legion3]

I always do ocean blue and I get CAS and platinum comps. Sometimes I do the le cirque show.

 

This comment is not aimed speciafically at you but,

 

Those that have CAS or other comp meals don't really help the outcome.

 

The real test is not that you have them and see no need to spend more.

 

What if you didn't have those free meals?

 

What would you spend?

 

So those voters would likely vote 0 but that makes those votes suspect.

Edited July 18, 2015 by legion3

[spidybabe]

Except one cruise where they had early bird specials (50% off - many years ago), we never paid extra for meals. So if we didn't get CAS or platinum dinners we would still mostly likely spend $0. We enjoy buffet for breakfast , anywhere for lunch, and we do enjoy dinner in the MDR. Last cruise in MDR we had a clam and pasta that I can't wait to have again ( it better be on the menu one night).

So we'll stand by our $0 extra spent

Safe sailing

[legion3]

Except one cruise where they had early bird specials (50% off - many years ago), we never paid extra for meals. So if we didn't get CAS or platinum dinners we would still mostly likely spend $0. We enjoy buffet for breakfast , anywhere for lunch, and we do enjoy dinner in the MDR. Last cruise in MDR we had a clam and pasta that I can't wait to have again ( it better be on the menu one night).

So we'll stand by our $0 extra spent

Safe sailing

 

Fair enough, but not sure everyone would not spend something if no freebies were involved.

 

Well over 50% of voters spend something extra.

[punkincc]

We have never had a dining package and usually dine at specialties about 3 times on a 7 day cruise. We do enjoy the variety of the buffets and find the food every bit as good as the MDR, often better. Not much of an MDR fan, too big and too noisy although we did enjoy the Tropicana and sitting next to the dance floor enjoying the live music one night. I did not include a dinner show in my vote, as I consider this primarily entertainment and not dining and I did not even think of it when I voted.

 

It was always more cost effective to pay as we went, but now with a la carte pricing and the ability to buy packages for fewer than 7 nights, not sure what we will do. Next cruise, we will also each have 2 dinners each at Le Bistro ( I hope ). But now that Le Bistro is a la carte I wonder if the certificates will say "limited to $xx purchase per person or if they will change the venue to another which is under cover charge. Waiting for the other shoe to drop;).

[mypleasure]

I voted $126 or higher. We enjoy eating in the Speciality restaurants and found that the more times we cruised the more often we seemed to eat there. I think it was mainly because they are much smaller more intimate venues.

 

Since the introduction of the UDP we have bought it on 3 cruises. After our most recent 14 night cruise we decided we would probably not purchase it again as on the ships with less speciality restaurants as it didn't offer quite enough variety for us. This is because we don't enjoy Teppanyaki, and didn't enjoy our meal at Moderno on the ship we were on, leaving us with Le Bistro, Moderno and Cagneys to choose from. On one evening we ate at the buffet as they had Indian food, which NCL is very good at, another we ate in the free Chinese fusion and on 2 nights we had Platinum vouchers for Le Bistro anyway. So the value just isn't there.

 

The new style of plan where you can buy a specific number of nights looks a better deal for us going forwards and I am fairly certain we will buy this at some future time. We don't like booking things in advance. We truly embrace Freestyle and the go when you want idea and prefer to just turn up when we are ready to eat. We have never had any problem doing this especially since we tend to eat quite late. We also quite like the idea of a la carte pricing but will reserve judgement until they publish all of the menus along with the prices and how this works alongside the various plans. Only then will we decide what is going to work best for us on our future cruises.

[NLH Arizona]

So after 101 people have voted less than 11% have PURCHASED udp. Based on the hype in the other UDP threads, one would think it was far, far more. Perhaps all the UDPers are just the ones that got it as a promotion for FREE?

Must have missed it, where on this poll does it ask if you purchased the UDP?

[Cruizen Susan]

We eat in the specialty restaurants every night, its just part of the cost of the cruise as far as we are concerned.

 

We do too, at least most nights. Brings cruising to the next level or two or three!! :)

[MrJoeBlack]

Our last few cruises we have enjoyed at least 2 meals in our suite from the specialty venues, add in a bottle of wine and some tips and we are over $100. No wait times to get a table and no feeling of being rushed so others can sit. Was worth every penny

[Travelling2Some]

We do too' date=' at least most nights. Brings cruising to the next level or two or three!! :)[/quote']

 

Now even though I am in the $0 camp your way of looking at it makes a lot of sense. It is nice to have the option to upgrade a single aspect of your cruise without jumping the whole tab up by switching to a luxury line. Especially if you are happy with the quality of the other aspects of the cruise. I'm happy with the MDR BUT I would probably pay an extra charge for enhanced entertainment. And, NO, I'm not complaining about the entertainment. Just making the point that I like that each of us can pick and choose what we pay a bit more for rather than having the cruise fare raised to cover extras.

[BamaVol]

In 4 nights on the Sky, we spent $0. That could change on the Epic trip we have booked but probably not. We are happy with the MDR. We spend the money we save elsewhere; pictures, games, excursions.

[newmexicoNita]

Just a simple poll to see how much additional money people are spending on upcharge specialty dining food / experiences onboard NCL ships.

 

Because we are platinum and get 2 dinners per cruise we spend much less than we used to. I did vote $1-30 but even then, on our upcoming 7 day cruise we may not spend anything. We love Asain food, so will eat one meal in the Asian restaurant even though it isn't nearly as good as it was when it was a specialty dining room and we will do Le Bistro and Modernos, so I am guessing the other 4 nights will be the MDR for us.

[newmexicoNita]

So after 101 people have voted less than 11% have PURCHASED udp. Based on the hype in the other UDP threads, one would think it was far, far more. Perhaps all the UDPers are just the ones that got it as a promotion for FREE?

 

Remember, what we read here represents a very small % of cruisers. I wouldn't put too much into these polls. In fact I never put too much into polls of any kind. Plus many people now, might be choosing UDP for thier promo package if they have booked a promo package, so they are not paying for specialty restaurants. Well they are, but not outright.

Edited July 19, 2015 by newmexicoNita

[Cruizen Susan]

Now even though I am in the $0 camp your way of looking at it makes a lot of sense. It is nice to have the option to upgrade a single aspect of your cruise without jumping the whole tab up by switching to a luxury line. Especially if you are happy with the quality of the other aspects of the cruise. I'm happy with the MDR BUT I would probably pay an extra charge for enhanced entertainment. And, NO, I'm not complaining about the entertainment. Just making the point that I like that each of us can pick and choose what we pay a bit more for rather than having the cruise fare raised to cover extras.

 

Eggs Act Lee, Fifty Sails!! It's makes the dining aspect of our cruise equivalent to a very high end type of cruise, for far less than switching to a luxury line. Have tried that, and I can do without the snobbery, and opt rather for the fun, friendliness, and lively atmosphere of NCL!!