Can you upgrade “free” dining

[Lbicklel]

NCL recently changed the “free” dining perk down to only two meals instead of three on a seven night cruise. Our group still wants to go to three speciality restaurants.

 

Does anyone know if we can upgrade the free package to three nights by paying the difference between the cost of the two meal and three meal package?  And if so can we do it on board using OBC?

 

Yes I’m back into Cruise planning mode! I need something besides Covid to think about. LOL. We just canceled our January 2021 Joy cruise for which we still had the three meal package and rescheduled out to November 2021 on the Encore. I just wish the Joy was still doing eastern Caribbean’s next fall.

 

[shof515]

there is no upgrade, you will need to pay for a regular package

[All-ready2cruise]

14 minutes ago, Lbicklel said:

NCL recently changed the “free” dining perk down to only two meals instead of three on a seven night cruise. Our group still wants to go to three speciality restaurants.

There is no opportunity to just "upgrade" your package.  However.... read on...

14 minutes ago, Lbicklel said:

 

Does anyone know if we can upgrade the free package to three nights by paying the difference between the cost of the two meal and three meal package?  And if so can we do it on board using OBC?

If you have OBC, you can absolutely use it to purchase another meal on your cruise... If it were me, I would choose Teppanyaki or, if available, Moderno, as your 3rd meal choice.  They are flat fee charges, plus 20% of course, but, it would include all of your meal.  

14 minutes ago, Lbicklel said:

 

Yes I’m back into Cruise planning mode! I need something besides Covid to think about. LOL. We just canceled our January 2021 Joy cruise for which we still had the three meal package and rescheduled out to November 2021 on the Encore. I just wish the Joy was still doing eastern Caribbean’s next fall.

Welcome back to CC. Hope you find all the info you're looking for.   

14 minutes ago, Lbicklel said:

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise.  

Take care. 

[hallux]

In addition to what @All-ready2cruise said - if you were planning on Q in addition to 2 other restaurants but NOT one of the flat-fee restaurants, make Q the one you pay for with your OBC or "cash" as it's probably the least expensive a-la-carte venue on ships that have it.

[Sand and Seas]

41 minutes ago, hallux said:

In addition to what @All-ready2cruise said - if you were planning on Q in addition to 2 other restaurants but NOT one of the flat-fee restaurants, make Q the one you pay for with your OBC or "cash" as it's probably the least expensive a-la-carte venue on ships that have it.

Excellent Suggestion!

 

We used a dining plan meal at Q and it was too much food.  Went back later that cruise and just ordered a couple of appetizers to share.   Loaded fries, crab cake and salads were very good😊

[oteixeira]

You can also buy more meals before you sail, if you plan to go to the most expensive places this is another sneaky way to save money.  (Say you want to go to Cagney's 3x or something).  Check your reservation, there should be options under dining when the cruise get's closer.

[hallux]

@Sand and Seas I wasn't referring to the amount of food, but the low cost of that venue compared to other venues.  I used a credit there and while I found the loaded fries to be filling I just didn't find I got the value out of the dining package there that I got from other venues such as Le Bistro or Cagney's.

[Sand and Seas]

11 minutes ago, hallux said:

@Sand and Seas I wasn't referring to the amount of food, but the low cost of that venue compared to other venues.  I used a credit there and while I found the loaded fries to be filling I just didn't find I got the value out of the dining package there that I got from other venues such as Le Bistro or Cagney's.

I  was also agreeing with you about cost.   Cost was not worthy of using a dining credit.   

 

We did enjoy eating there and enjoyed our 'lighter' meal using some of our OBC.   

 

For Encore, I suggest using a dining credit at Onda.    Excellent food

Edited July 27, 2020 by Sand and Seas

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, hallux said:

In addition to what @All-ready2cruise said - if you were planning on Q in addition to 2 other restaurants but NOT one of the flat-fee restaurants, make Q the one you pay for with your OBC or "cash" as it's probably the least expensive a-la-carte venue on ships that have it.

If you buy extra specialty dining nights (let's say you pick 3-meal package for $99), you just have to make sure you spend more than $33 at the restaurant to break even. FOr us, a couple of apps, entree, and dessert will always exceed $33 (and sometimes upwards of $70 and $80). 

[Lbicklel]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like we will probably be sticking with just the two meals. My bottom line issue is that we already have two for free, or should I say included, and there’s no way to buy just one more other than paying out-of-pocket at the restaurant. However we’re not interested in the lower cost ones, and as good as some of the others are they aren’t worth the asking price a la carte.

[MoCruiseFan]

On ‎7‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 6:27 PM, Lbicklel said:

Does anyone know if we can upgrade the free package to three nights by paying the difference between the cost of the two meal and three meal package?  And if so can we do it on board using OBC?

 

 

Yes I know.

[oteixeira]

On 7/26/2020 at 11:31 PM, BirdTravels said:

If you buy extra specialty dining nights (let's say you pick 3-meal package for $99), you just have to make sure you spend more than $33 at the restaurant to break even. FOr us, a couple of apps, entree, and dessert will always exceed $33 (and sometimes upwards of $70 and $80). 

I said exactly this and was also ignored, I guess this was not what anyone wanted to hear....
 

 

On 7/26/2020 at 8:22 PM, oteixeira said:

You can also buy more meals before you sail, if you plan to go to the most expensive places this is another sneaky way to save money.  (Say you want to go to Cagney's 3x or something).  Check your reservation, there should be options under dining when the cruise get's closer.