Royal Caribbean has just rolled out one of its most inclusive dining packages
to date. Beginning April 12 2019, cruisers are now able to purchase this new dining
plan option pre-cruise in the online cruise planner. Want the inside scoop to
what this new package entails and all its benefits?
Well, I'm DB from EatSleepCruise.com, and we have everything you need to know
about Royal Caribbean's unlimited dining package. Royal Caribbean's new unlimited
dining package allows cruisers to enjoy multiple entrees at specialty venues.
Cruisers can also dine at multiple specialty restaurants every day of the
cruise with this new plan. Yes, in theory, you can dine at more than one restaurant
on any given evening of your cruise pending availability. With this plan, you
can even enjoy lunch at specialty restaurants on embarkation day and sea days.
As an additional perk, you will receive a discount of 40% off bottles of wine
under $100 and 20% off bottles above $100 while dining in specialty
restaurants. Don't worry, it's been reported that cruisers who have already
purchased the former ultimate dining package for upcoming cruises are being
converted to this new plan at no additional cost. Similar to the former
ultimate dining package, you can book the plan pre-cruise using the online cruise
planner. A courtesy reservation will be made for the first night of the sailing,
but you will need to make the remaining reservations once on board the ship.
Reservations are subject to availability, and popular specialty restaurants do
book up quickly. With that said, we suggest you make your remaining
reservations immediately upon boarding. Remember, other cruisers who are not
using the dining plan still have the ability to make reservations pre-cruise.
This is one of the big disadvantages that we see with Royal Caribbean's
dining plans. Competitor lines do allow you to make reservations before you
board even when you purchase a dining package. Similar to beverage packages, the
unlimited dining package on Royal Caribbean must be purchased for the
entire length of the cruise. The pricing for the unlimited dining
package depends on the length of your cruise. For a typical seven night
itinerary, the plan goes for $29 a day on Quantum and Oasis Class ships and $24
a day for all other Royal Caribbean classes of ships. For shorter
three to five day cruises, the price for the Royal Caribbean unlimited dining package
is $29 a day for Quantum class ships, Oasis class ships, and the newly
amplified ships. For all other ships, the pricing for shorter cruises is $27 a day.
No matter the class of ship or the length of your itinerary, all unlimited
dining packages are also assessed an 18% gratuity. Most specialty
restaurants appear to be included in the unlimited dining package though Royal
Caribbean has yet to release an official list of all the included restaurants. So
far, cruisers have reported that they were able to use the unlimited dining
package at popular Royal Caribbean restaurants such as Chops Grille, Jamie's
Italian, Wonderland, and Playmakers Sports Bar & Grill. You might be asking yourself
is the unlimited dining package with Royal Caribbean a good deal? Well, we
recently sailed on Symphony of the Seas and tested out a few of the specialty
dining options onboard that ship. There are eight different specialty
restaurants that will be included in this package. The prices range from the
nominal $10.95 to dine at Johnny Rockets to over $50 per person to dine at
restaurants including Chops Grille and Wonderland. If you look at the average
price of dinner which ranges from $39 a night to $54.99 a night,
the typical cruiser would save anywhere from 25% to over 45% at a specialty
restaurant having this package. Plus, the added benefit of having the option of
eating at the specialty restaurants for lunch on sea days and embarkation day,
gives you even more value as those meals can range from anywhere $10.95 to over
$23 per person. We do know that the Chef's Table and
other culinary experiences are excluded as is Ben and Jerry's. Specialty drinks
including smoothies are also not included unless you already have a
beverage package. Also, premium items like the seafood tower or upgraded steaks at
Chops will have an additional up-charge. For restaurants that have a la carte
pricing, like Izumi, the package qualifies you for a $35 food credit for
each visit. Children ages 6 to 12 can be added to the reservation once on board
the ship for a reduced $10 cover charge. Of course, this brand new unlimited
dining package has just rolled out so be sure to stay tuned as we'll have plenty
of updates about this premium offering. Now, we'd love to hear from you. Let us
know in the comments below if you believe the unlimited dining package on
Royal Caribbean is a good value. I'm DB from EatSleepCruise.com, and if
you enjoyed this video, we'd really appreciate it if you gave it a thumbs up.
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