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Ocean Blu - what's the deal?


CarolinaMamma
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We are sailing Norwegian Breakaway to Bermuda October 4th.

We have the Ultimate Dining Package.

I am thinking about booking a Ocean Blue for our anniversary dinner.

 

NCL rep told me that up until October 3rd Ocean Blue is $39.95 pp, and after that, all items are priced a la carte and the UDP gets us a 25% discount.

 

However, when I go to my NCL to make a reservation online, I get a $17 pp flat fee. Which would be great, probably better than the a la carte pricing with a 25% discount.

 

So, does anyone know which is correct, the NCL website or the rep? If I book now at the $17 flat fee, will they change it and charge me a la carte when I actually eat there?

 

Also, has anyone heard what the restaurant will be like once it is no longer affiliated with Zakarian? Do they have to get rid of all his recipes?

 

Any opinions on the quality of the food there in general? I want our anniversary dinner to be good!

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We are sailing Norwegian Breakaway to Bermuda October 4th.

We have the Ultimate Dining Package.

I am thinking about booking a Ocean Blue for our anniversary dinner.

 

NCL rep told me that up until October 3rd Ocean Blue is $39.95 pp, and after that, all items are priced a la carte and the UDP gets us a 25% discount.

 

However, when I go to my NCL to make a reservation online, I get a $17 pp flat fee. Which would be great, probably better than the a la carte pricing with a 25% discount.

 

So, does anyone know which is correct, the NCL website or the rep? If I book now at the $17 flat fee, will they change it and charge me a la carte when I actually eat there?

 

Also, has anyone heard what the restaurant will be like once it is no longer affiliated with Zakarian? Do they have to get rid of all his recipes?

 

Any opinions on the quality of the food there in general? I want our anniversary dinner to be good!

 

 

Who the heck knows what NCL is doing with their Dining Packages. I don't even think THEY know.

 

So the Terms of the UDP says that O.B. is an a la carte venue that a 25% discount applies to. I thought I had read that those who booked precruise did so at $0 since it is impossible to know in advance what you will order.

 

I have no clue about the $17 fee when you booked. Under SDP, Ocean Blue has a $15 up charge to the package. Maybe it will be raised to $17? $39.95 pp after Oct 3rd? For those with NO package? No longer a la carte? I am really tired of all the confusion. Ready to ask for a refund on my UDP. I think NCL forgets that they still have people who hold UDP packages who have not yet sailed. Will what we bought be honored? I wish they would update T&Cs as of a certain date and spell out what exactly applies to UDP for those who have not yet used theirs.

Edited by punkincc
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We are sailing Norwegian Breakaway to Bermuda October 4th.

We have the Ultimate Dining Package.

I am thinking about booking a Ocean Blue for our anniversary dinner.

 

NCL rep told me that up until October 3rd Ocean Blue is $39.95 pp, and after that, all items are priced a la carte and the UDP gets us a 25% discount.

 

However, when I go to my NCL to make a reservation online, I get a $17 pp flat fee. Which would be great, probably better than the a la carte pricing with a 25% discount.

 

So, does anyone know which is correct, the NCL website or the rep? If I book now at the $17 flat fee, will they change it and charge me a la carte when I actually eat there?

 

Also, has anyone heard what the restaurant will be like once it is no longer affiliated with Zakarian? Do they have to get rid of all his recipes?

 

Any opinions on the quality of the food there in general? I want our anniversary dinner to be good!

 

My sister and I ate at Ocean Blu the last week of August. Dinner was comped to us by Guest Services (because of a major issue with noise in our cabin coming from Spice H2O), so I can't speak about the pricing structure.

 

Anyway, our meal was the BEST meal we had on the ship, hands down. Everything was amazing.

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We are sailing Norwegian Breakaway to Bermuda October 4th.

 

We have the Ultimate Dining Package.

 

I am thinking about booking a Ocean Blue for our anniversary dinner.

 

 

 

NCL rep told me that up until October 3rd Ocean Blue is $39.95 pp, and after that, all items are priced a la carte and the UDP gets us a 25% discount.

 

 

 

However, when I go to my NCL to make a reservation online, I get a $17 pp flat fee. Which would be great, probably better than the a la carte pricing with a 25% discount.

 

 

 

So, does anyone know which is correct, the NCL website or the rep? If I book now at the $17 flat fee, will they change it and charge me a la carte when I actually eat there?

 

 

 

Also, has anyone heard what the restaurant will be like once it is no longer affiliated with Zakarian? Do they have to get rid of all his recipes?

 

 

 

Any opinions on the quality of the food there in general? I want our anniversary dinner to be good!

 

 

That is extremely frustrating. Here you are asking NCL to help spend your money and you can't get a straight answer.[emoji79]

 

Sorry I had nothing to add to help you. But that is so ridiculous.

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Are you sure it wasn't $17.70 per person? That is the rate if you were charged a $15 upcharge plus 18% gratuity, which are the terms of the SDP. If it was $17.70, then they booked you under SDP terms and not former UDP terms.

 

I have the UDP and it still says $17.70 for my december 13th cruise. Someone else cruising with me who does not have the UDP has it say A La Carte. I know I have the UDP over the SDP because I booked my it in March.

Edited by Selluks
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I've contacted NCL public relations and received two different responses. NCL called me by phone and said for people with UDP, it is 25% off until October 3, then it's the $15 surcharge for Ocean Blue. And for Bayamo on Escape, it's the $15 charge. $15 plus 18% is the $17.70. Then an email response to the same inquiry said it's just 25% off. Whatever the a la carte prices, I think $17.70 would be much better than 25% off which might be $35-45 per person for appetizer, entree, dessert. Looking forward to finding out if Ocean Blue's menu changes and what the menu for Bayamo will be. To pay $35-45 more, the seafood will have to be a lot better than the fish entrees I had at Cagney's and LeBistro.

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I have the UDP and it still says $17.70 for my december 13th cruise. Someone else cruising with me who does not have the UDP has it say A La Carte. I know I have the UDP over the SDP because I booked my it in March.

Right. I'm saying the system booked Ocean Blue as if it was SDP and not UDP. Otherwise it would just be a freaky coincidence for it to be $17.70 for both, right? I'm not saying it's correct, or that the OP (or you) have SDP. I'm saying that is what happened when booking online.

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I have the UDP and it says $17.70 for OB on myncl as well. I figured that charge may cover the main entree but there may be a charge for additional courses since it will be a la carte when I sail in Dec. Also, when looking at the terms and conditions it says that a la carte restaurants are not included in the UDP. It's really confusing as to whether ncl is saying that cagney's and or bistro are no longer included when they go a la carte (I've heard reports that they are going a la carte in October for escape and the away ships and then in jan fleetwide). Ugh!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by missintuitive
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I have the UDP and it says $17.70 for OB on myncl as well. I figured that charge may cover the main entree but there may be a charge for additional courses since it will be a la carte when I sail in Dec. Also, when looking at the terms and conditions it says that a la carte restaurants are not included in the UDP. It's really confusing as to whether ncl is saying that cagney's and or bistro are no longer included when they go a la carte (I've heard reports that they are going a la carte in October for escape and the away ships and then in jan fleetwide). Ugh!

NCL announced that La Cucina, Le Bistro, and Cagney's would still be covered with the new dining packages even after going a la carte, and that Ocean Blue would have a $15 cover charge under the dining plan.

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Wow! If this is indeed the case (a press release means little when rules change everyday), Then that means that I will actually SAVE money under the new terms compared to the previous price of $40 with 25% off. It's still an upcharge but I'll probably now book OB since its $18 instead of $32. I finally can give ncl credit for a change that's a win-win for both parties.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Right. I'm saying the system booked Ocean Blue as if it was SDP and not UDP. Otherwise it would just be a freaky coincidence for it to be $17.70 for both, right? I'm not saying it's correct, or that the OP (or you) have SDP. I'm saying that is what happened when booking online.

 

After October 3rd there is no more UDP. The UDP becomes the SDP. The old terms are gone and have been replaces with the new SDP pricing. That means a flat up charge at the "super specialties ". The 25% off is gone in favor of a flat rate add-on cost for the a LA carte places.

 

6&8

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After October 3rd there is no more UDP. The UDP becomes the SDP. The old terms are gone and have been replaces with the new SDP pricing. That means a flat up charge at the "super specialties ". The 25% off is gone in favor of a flat rate add-on cost for the a LA carte places.

 

6&8

 

 

Yep

Edited by LrgPizza
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After October 3rd there is no more UDP. The UDP becomes the SDP. The old terms are gone and have been replaces with the new SDP pricing. That means a flat up charge at the "super specialties ". The 25% off is gone in favor of a flat rate add-on cost for the a LA carte places.

 

6&8

 

However, it is my understanding that they still will honor those that purchased or have the perk for the UDP if one cruises past October 3rd.

 

And I'm thinking the flat up-charge is better than the 25% off.

 

Harriet

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After October 3rd there is no more UDP. The UDP becomes the SDP. The old terms are gone and have been replaces with the new SDP pricing. That means a flat up charge at the "super specialties ". The 25% off is gone in favor of a flat rate add-on cost for the a LA carte places.

 

6&8

 

NCL announced that La Cucina, Le Bistro, and Cagney's would still be covered with the new dining packages even after going a la carte, and that Ocean Blue would have a $15 cover charge under the dining plan.

 

 

When was this "announcement" made? Can you provide a link? I haven't seen any new Terms and Conditions for either SDP or UDP.

 

Not sure I like the precedent of NCL just completely changing the terms of the package I bought, the UDP, before I have even had the chance to use it!

 

EDIT: just reread and at first it sounded like NCL had made some kind of new announcement. So no real news for those who have the UDP and will not use it until after 10-03.

Edited by punkincc
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When was this "announcement" made? Can you provide a link? I haven't seen any new Terms and Conditions for either SDP or UDP.

 

Not sure I like the precedent of NCL just completely changing the terms of the package I bought, the UDP, before I have even had the chance to use it!

 

EDIT: just reread and at first it sounded like NCL had made some kind of new announcement. So no real news for those who have the UDP and will not use it until after 10-03.

It was stated by NCL at the same time the a la carte dining was first announced. Maybe later if I have time I will search CC for the posts. :)

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It was stated by NCL at the same time the a la carte dining was first announced. Maybe later if I have time I will search CC for the posts. :)

 

Someone else posted that press release recently and it actually refers to the Specialty Dining Package, not the UDP.

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Someone else posted that press release recently and it actually refers to the Specialty Dining Package, not the UDP.

Right. Which was why my post to the OP stated that it appeared they were being charged under the terms of the SDP and not the UDP. :)

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Right. Which was why my post to the OP stated that it appeared they were being charged under the terms of the SDP and not the UDP. :)

 

It sounds to me like NCL doesn't remember, or would like to forget;), that they have UDP packages out there purchased by people who have not yet sailed.

 

They still need to give a coherent explanation of how the UDP will be handled in light of recent and future changes ( the addition of Premium Items to menus and new a la carte venues as of Oct 3 ). But I suspect we will not see or hear anything official until that date.

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I have cruises booked for late Oct 2016 and Feb 2017. They have UDP (for everyone in cabin) as these were booked in Jan/Feb of 2015.

 

I certainly hope I get the package that was offered when I purchased the cruise. I guess time will tell. Will not be happy if I don't get what I paid and planned for

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Ditto. I was planning on buying my next cruise certs onboard so I could get the OBC but I have to admit I am getting a little irritated with all their changes - If I am laying out money now I want to know what I am getting and will be able to get on my NCL cruise. I understand things change but WOW .... next cruise is now up in air until NCL settles down some...

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Are you sure it wasn't $17.70 per person? That is the rate if you were charged a $15 upcharge plus 18% gratuity, which are the terms of the SDP. If it was $17.70, then they booked you under SDP terms and not former UDP terms.

 

Well, I called NCL, and this is exactly the deal. The rep was very nice, and keep apologizing that she had to put me on hold for so long. I said, "That's okay, I would rather wait and get a correct answer than have you make one up." I pointed out that I have the UDP and not the SDP and she assured me that it is, indeed, $15 up charge per person plus the gratuity. This is good news!

 

The big unknown is what the menu will be like after October 3, and she did not have any information on that other than the usual millennial customer service answer, "You could look on the website."

 

Also, it was only showing me early reservation times, like 6:00, for Ocean Blue. I had made a reservation for Cagney's at 9, which I wanted to cancel if I could get into Ocean Blue at a similar time. I asked the rep if there was anything around 8:30 or 9 available in OB and she said, "No, the earlier times are all we have." And I said, "Are you sure? I think it is only showing me the earlier times, so that I don't double-book, and if you cancel that Cagney's reservation, some earlier times in Ocean Blue will show up." She didn't believe me. Sure enough, she cancelled the Cagney"/ reservation and some later times at Ocean Blue popped up. How come I know this, but the reps don't?

 

Again, the rep was perfectly nice, but NCL needs to train them better.

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