The biggest drawback to booking a Royal Caribbean specialty dining package is about to go away.

Royal Caribbean is experimenting with a new way to allow guests that purchase a specialty dining package to make reservations pre-cruise.

Guests have the choice to augment their cruise ship dining experience by spending extra on specialty restaurants.

There's an option to book individual restaurant reservations and pay for the cover charge to dine there, or buy a dining package that includes more than one restaurant at a discounted rate if you're willing to commit to more than one restaurant.

Up until now, guests that had booked a dining package had to wait until they got onboard the ship to make a reservation, and that created a pain point for them and added stress to the first day of the cruise as they would scramble once onboard to make reservations.

Read more: The Ultimate Guide to Royal Caribbean's Unlimited Dining Package

Instead, you'll be able to book reservations pre-cruise for specialty restaurants if you buy a dining package.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider confirmed the change while brainstorming ways to make the embarkation day experience easier, "all dining, including dining packages will be reservable so that guests don't have to do that on day one. And people who book the dining package can actually have the same experience as people who book a specialty restaurant."

There isn't an exact date, but he indicated a probably first half 2024 launch, after the launch of Icon of the Seas. Sometime in the first half of 2024 is “likely”.

Don't worry, it's coming to the whole fleet, not just Icon.

It's part of a new dining system Royal Caribbean is devising for the three Icon Class ships and Utopia, "It's for our new dining system, which is currently coming for one, two, three and Utopia. And then we'll roll out to the rest of the fleet."

This would be a major improvement as up until now, guests that bought a dining package had to wait until they got onboard the ship to make a specific reservation.

This meant they would have the last chance to grab a dining time, as well as add a task once onboard the ship to do instead of relaxing and enjoying the start of their vacation.

Read more: Should you book a Royal Caribbean dining package?

Testing on Wonder of the Seas

Royal Caribbean is already testing the option for those with a dining package to pre-book on one of its ships, Wonder of the Seas.

In fact, Wonder of the Seas is being utilized as a "test bed" for Icon of the Seas before it launches.

Mr. Schneider talked about this process, "We designed Wonder to have all of the technology that Icon will get. And so everything you see on Wonder is actually purposely being tested on Wonder because we won't do testing of new software on a new ship."

Other changes Royal Caribbean has rolled out to Wonder of the Seas already include notifications from the Royal Caribbean app when your dining room table is ready with My Time Dining, and the ability to chat with Guest Services in the app instead of waiting in line.

The new changes culminated last week.

"All the different pieces and parts as you see getting tested on Wonder are proof points for Icon."

The advantage is Royal Caribbean can work out any issues early, and have it ready to go for Icon of the Seas knowing it works.

Making boarding day easier

Royal Caribbean is making the change to allow pre-cruise dining reservations for two reasons.

First, it reduces crowding on the Royal Promenade when guests first board the ship.

"We spent a lot of time researching with guests what their day one experience is, " explained Mr. Schneider.

"And what we've learned in that journey is that there is a lot of heavy lifting that the Royal Promenade today takes, that we wish it didn't."

To that point, they learned a lot of guests were running around trying to make dining reservations because they couldn't do it online.

The second reason is to make it easier for guests, because Mr. Schneider reported his team found having to wait until the day of the cruise to book reservations generated a great deal of "angst".

The feedback from guests was to make it easier by not having to go to various booths that Royal Caribbean would set up only on day one of the cruise on the Royal Promenade.

How reservations will work with a dining package

Once the new change gets rolled out, you'll be able to reserve a restaurant with a dining package very similarly to how you book an individual restaurant.

The idea is to allow guests to make reservations via the Royal Caribbean app or Cruise Planner website before the cruise begins.

There’s no denying that there is plenty of unlimited, complimentary food on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Many guests, however, prefer spending extra to dine at Royal Caribbean’s specialty restaurants, and one of the best ways to do this is by purchasing an Unlimited Dining Package.

With Royal Caribbean’s Unlimited Dining Package, you can dine at specialty restaurants for brunch, lunch, and dinner every day of the cruise. A dining package is almost always a more economical option than purchasing restaurant reservations individually, making it a nice value for those hoping for a more upscale dining experience.

Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about Royal Caribbean’s Unlimited Dining Package.

How much does the Unlimited Dining Package cost?

The Unlimited Dining Package can vary per sailing, but here are a few sample prices you can expect for an Unlimited Dining Package (no gratuity added):

• 3-night cruise: $115 per guest
• 4-night cruise: $150 per guest
• 7-night cruise: $260 per guest

An 18% gratuity will be added to the total cost of the Unlimited Dining Package upon checkout.

How and when should I book the Unlimited Dining Package?

The Unlimited Dining Package can be booked prior to your cruise via Royal Caribbean’s Cruise Planner website. Royal Caribbean may also sell dining packages on embarkation day once you board the ship if they have availability.

If you want to book an Unlimited Dining Package for your cruise, however, it’s best to do so as soon as possible.

It’s never a good idea to wait to book a dining package hoping the price will drop. Royal Caribbean allows guests to cancel and rebook any pre-cruise purchases on the Cruise Planner website up to 48 hours before their cruise.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to the Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner site

Therefore, if you purchase a dining package for $200 and later see the price dropped to $150, you can cancel and rebook the package at the lower cost with no penalties.

À la carte vs cover charge restaurants

There are two types of specialty restaurants: those with a cover charge and those with à la carte options. With an Unlimited Dining Package, you won’t have to worry about paying a cover charge for each restaurant individually, as everything is included in the cost of the dining package.

Cover charge restaurants usually charge between $35 and $60 for dinner per person. Therefore, an Unlimited Dining Package is cheaper than paying for all cover charge restaurants individually if you plan to enjoy several meals during the cruise.

Cover charge restaurants

Cover charge restaurants include an all-you-can-eat meal for one set cost. For these restaurants, you can choose as many appetizers, main courses, and desserts as you’d like.

With a dining package, you won’t have to consider the individual cost of each item when dining at a cover charge restaurant.

Cover charge restaurants include:

• Jamie’s Italian
• Giovanni’s Table
• Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen
• Chops Grille
• The Mason Jar
• Wonderland
• Izumi Hibachi/Teppanyaki
• 150 Central Park
• Hooked Seafood
• Samba Grill
• Sabor
• Johnny Rockets (sit-down location)
• Chef’s Table

À la carte restaurants

À la carte restaurants, on the other hand, put a price on each menu item. Instead of offering one set price per meal, you’ll have to pay for each individual item.

How does this work with a dining package? Depending on the restaurant, you’ll receive either $20 or $35 in food credit. You can put this credit toward appetizers, main courses, or desserts.

With the exception of Izumi Sushi, you can only dine at à la carte restaurants once per day. You cannot break up the $20 food credit in multiple trips to the restaurant on the same day.

À la carte restaurants include:

• Portside BBQ
• Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade
• Izumi Sushi
• Johnny Rockets Express
• Fish & Ships

Are there any limitations with the Unlimited Dining Package?

The Unlimited Dining Package comes with a few basic rules that you should know about before your cruise:

• Guests with a dining package must wait to make reservations at specialty restaurants until they board the ship
• One reservation must be used on the first or second night of the sailing
• For restaurants with à la carte pricing, you receive a $20 credit which can only be used once a day
• Izumi Hibachi has a $15 surcharge on top of the dining package, which will be charged onboard
• Certain venues are excluded from dining packages (Chef’s Table, Vintages, etc.)
• You’ll receive a discount of 40% off bottles of wine under $100 and 20% off bottles above $100 while dining in specialty restaurants

Which restaurants are NOT included in the Unlimited Dining Package?

Special dining experiences like Chef’s Table, wine pairing dinners, and the Mystery Dinner Theater are excluded from the Unlimited Dining Package.

Tapas and small bites offered at venues like Vintages and The Bamboo Room are also not included in a dining package. These small bites will be priced à la carte and charged to your onboard account.

For ships with Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar, the dining package covers food when dining at the Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen restaurant. However, it does not include food ordered from the Giovanni’s Wine Bar menu.

Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s, La Patisserie, and Sugar Beach are also not included with the Unlimited Dining Package.

How can I make dining reservations with the Unlimited Dining Package?

If you purchase a dining package, you must wait until you board the ship on embarkation day to make reservations. We recommend that you do this as soon as possible once onboard to ensure you can book the restaurants and times that work best for you.

Once onboard, head to any specialty restaurant to make reservations for the duration of your cruise. You do not have to visit each restaurant individually. If you visit Chops Grille, for example, you can make reservations for all other restaurants at the same time.

The only exception to this rule is with Izumi Hibachi. If you plan to dine at Izumi Hibachi during your cruise, reservations must be made at the restaurant itself. Therefore, we recommend making all dining reservations at Izumi Hibachi and heading to the restaurant right after boarding.

When can I dine at specialty restaurants?

You can dine at specialty restaurants for breakfast (brunch), lunch, and dinner. All specialty restaurants are open for dinner each day, whereas the availability of brunch and lunch can differ by restaurant and ship.

The Mason Jar–Royal Caribbean’s southern-inspired restaurant–is only open for brunch on sea days, for example, and does not offer lunch. 150 Central Park and Wonderland, on the other hand, are only open for dinner.

Related: The Mason Jar Southern food restaurant review on Wonder of the Seas

Most specialty restaurants that offer lunch will be open for lunch on sea days and select port days.

Should I purchase an Unlimited Dining Package for my kids?

If you’re sailing with children under 12 and plan to dine at specialty restaurants, you don’t necessarily need to book a dining package for them.

Children 5 and under dine at specialty restaurants for free, and children aged 6-12 can be added to a dining reservation for only $10 per child.

If you do want to purchase a dining package for kids, though, you’ll find it’s offered at a much lower price than for adults. A 7-night Unlimited Dining Package, for example, may be priced at $260 per adult and only $77 per child.

Pros & Cons of the Unlimited Dining Package

If you’re trying to determine whether or not the Unlimited Dining Package is worth it on Royal Caribbean, it’s helpful to take a look at the pros and cons of this package before booking.

Check out our YouTube video on the Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel to learn more about the pros and cons of a Royal Caribbean Unlimited Dining Package:

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Want to learn more about dining on a Royal Caribbean cruise? Here are some helpful tips:

• Food on a Royal Caribbean cruise
• Top Ten Royal Caribbean Dining Tips
• What is the best Royal Caribbean specialty restaurant?
• I tried Royal Caribbean’s least well-known specialty restaurant: here’s what I thought

Royal Caribbean's unlimited dining package won't be as unlimited as it has been in the past.

The terms and conditions for Royal Caribbean's unlimited dining package have been updated to add a daily limit to the a la carte restaurants where guests pay per item.

On the Cruise Planner website, some sailings now show an update for the a la carte pricing, "For restaurants with a la carte pricing, you’ll receive a $20 food credit, which can only be used once a day."

Prior to this change, there was no limit at a la carte restaurants and guests could return to any a la carte restaurant on the same day and get another $20 per person credit.

Examples of restaurants with a la carte pricing include Playmakers and Portside BBQ.

In the past, the $20 per person credit was determined by your seating. Once the check was closed out, you were free to return and start a new tab with another round of $20 credit.

There's been no change to Izumi sushi, which still carries a $34.99 food credit or the option to use the prixe fixe menu.

Similarly, there's been no change to specialty restaurants that have a cover charge, where guests can enjoy unlimited visits to specialty dining restaurants every night of your sailing and lunch on sea days.

Dining packages have become very popular with cruise fans, who enjoy the ability to dine at as many specialty restaurants as they like for a fixed price.  With Royal Caribbean rolling out new specialty dining concepts in recent years, the focus on specialty dining has been greater than in years past.

Read more: Is food included on a Royal Caribbean cruise?

Izumi hibachi price change

In addition to the change in policy related to the a la carte restaurants, it looks like the cost to eat at Izumi hibachi is going up as well.

The policy now lists a $15 surcharge for dining package guests to eat at hibachi, instead of $10.

Teppanyaki dining at Izumi is one of the most popular specialty restaurants on any Royal Caribbean ship. Reservations often are sold out by the first day of the cruise, if not earlier.

Why did Royal Caribbean make this change?

There's no official word why Royal Caribbean added a limit of one use per day for the fixed price menu.

Based on my own experience with the unlimited dining plan, it's possible this change was made to cut down on guests overusing the package benefits at restaurants such as Playmakers.

Being a sports bar, often guests may linger at the bar to watch more than one game, or return later on for the evening game and order more food.

It's also possible this was meant to reduce crowding at these locations.

How the unlimited dining package works

Royal Caribbean introduced the unlimited dining package in 2019 to replace the Ultimate Dining Package and it allows guests to enjoy their meals at specialty restaurants as many times as they’d like, based on availability.

Guests are not able to make reservations for specialty dining before the cruise when they have a dining package. Instead, they must wait until they got onboard a ship to make reservations.

Once at the restaurant, all the guest has to do is inform their waiter that they have a dining package and the waiter can then verify it and charge it appropriately.

There are a few exceptions to what is included with the dining packages: Teppanyaki/Izumi Hibachi is included, with a $15 surcharge, and Chef's Table is included, with a $49.99 surcharge.

It's not included with premium dining experiences, such as Wine Pairings Dinners, Taste of Royal, Mystery Dinner Theater, Culinary Activities, and Holiday Celebration Dinners.

Dining packages do not include room service, mini bar, or restaurants at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

With so many great specialty restaurants available on Royal Caribbean ships, many readers are curious if a specialty dining package is worth it.

Specialty dining is an optional set of restaurants that have an additional charge to dine there, and are quite a popular alternative for some cruisers who prefer other kinds of cooking styles and cuisines.

Should you get a dining package on your cruise? Here are the top reasons to know that you need to buy a dining package on your next cruise.

You want to dine at more than one specialty restaurant

If you want to eat at just one restaurant, a dining package does not make sense, but as soon as you start planning to dine at more than two, a dining package can make financial sense.

Dining packages offer a flat fee for enjoying multiple restaurants on your cruise, and it will absolutely save you money compared to eating at the same amount of restaurants if paying out of pocket. The key is knowing if you want to dine at more than one.

Certainly if you know there are two or three specialty restaurants that you want to eat at, a dining package is a near slam-dunk decision.

How you feel about the main dining room

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the food served in the complimentary restaurants on Royal Caribbean, including the main dining room, however, it tends to be a polarizing topic for some people.

Some cruisers simply do not like the regimented times or setup of the main dining room.  Others may not care for the majority of food served in the dining room.

Regardless of your rationale, if you have a strong opinion of going to the main dining room for dinner on most/all nights of your cruise, a dining package may the perfect alternative.

You are on a budget

While specialty dining does cost extra, it does not have to cost a fortune either.

Royal Caribbean advertises its dining packages will save up to 40% off the list price and it is quite accurate. Considering most specialty restaurant cover charges run between $35 to $50 per person,  a dining package has the potential to save a lot of money.

Budgeting for a vacation involves a lot of costs, and the last thing anyone wants is a surprise bill at the end of the cruise that is much higher than expected. Investing in a cruise dining package assures that all those dinners will not run up your bill.

Which ship you are sailing

The assortment of specialty restaurants varies from ship to ship, and certain ships offer a greater variety of restaurants than others.

Before you buy a dining package, research which restaurants are on the ship you have booked, and determine if they are a good fit for your family.

Some ships may only have a few restaurants, while other ships have quite a few options.

Oasis and Quantum Class ships offer the greatest amount of choices that can offer a different specialty restaurant every night of your cruise.  Other ships may require repeating certain restaurants over the course of a cruise, which may or may not be a problem for you.

More information

Have more questions about specialty restaurants? Check out these helpful links:

• 4 Easy steps for getting a Royal Caribbean dining package
• Royal Caribbean specialty dining packages guide

Royal Caribbean has quietly begun including Izumi Hibachi with the Unlimited Dining Package.

Royal Caribbean's website now lists both Izumi sushi and Izumi hibachi as included with the specialty restaurant packages.

Up until recently, the hibachi was never officially included with the dining package, although some guests had luck using it on a case-by-case basis.

Izumi's hibachi is a fun and creative experience, where your chef cooks your food in front of you with a splash of entertainment thrown in.

Izumi Hibachi is available on a number of ships, including Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Independence of the Seas and Spectrum of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean offers dining packages so guests can enjoy many specialty restaurants at a fixed cost.

Specialty restaurants are popular, but paying the cover charge at each one can add up to a large bill.  Dining packages have the potential to save a lot of money on specialty restaurant dining with a dining package.  

If you are wondering what Royal Caribbean's dining packages are all about and if it makes sense for you, here is the important information you need to know.

Types of Dining Packages

Depending on your sailing, there could be a few different dining packages available to purchase. Dining packages usually are available to purchase prior to a cruise via Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site.

Typical offerings include:

• 3 Night Dining Package
• Unlimited Dining Package
• Chops + 1 Dining Package

Each specialty dining package includes a specific amount of meals included with the package at a fixed price.  Compared to dining at the same amount of specialty restaurants without a dining package, the price comes at significant savings.

The caveat to the dining packages is you cannot reserve a specific time or restaurant until you board the ship. Essentially, Royal Caribbean uses the dining packages to fill up unsold reservations at their restaurants to guests once they board the ship.

Dining Package Rules and Limitations

Regardless of which dining package you purchase, there are some basic rules and caveats to what they include and what costs extra.

• Guests who purchase a dining package must wait to make a reservation at any specialty restaurant until they board the ship.
  • Royal Caribbean will make a "courtesy dinner reservation" for the guest on day 1 or day 2, but this may be changed once onboard.
• One reservation must be used on the first or second night of the sailing. 
• For restaurants with a la carte pricing, package includes a $35 food credit towards the food portion of your bill. The exception is Portside BBQ and Playmakers, where you will get a $20 food credit.
• Certain specialty restaurants are excluded from all specialty dinner packages including:
  • Chef's Table
  • Wine pairings dinners
  • Mystery Dinner Theater
• The Unlimited Dining Package includes Izumi Hibachi, with a $10 surcharge, which will be charged onboard.
• Enjoy a discount of 40% off bottles of wine under $100 and 20% off bottles above $100 while dining in specialty restaurants.
• Children between the ages of 0-5 are complimentary and ages 6-12 are $10 per child; children must order from the kids menu. 

Dining Package Tips

If you book a dining package, be sure to make reservations for each meal included with your dining package as soon as you board the ship.  Reservations for specialty dining goes quickly, so make reservations quickly to take advantage of the greatest flexibility.

At restaurants with a la carte pricing, the $35 credit each guest with a dining package gets may be combined, which means you can pool your credits together.

Track prices of dining packages prior to your cruise, especially when a Cruise Planner sale occurs. Occasionally, the price of a dining package may drop.

Is a Royal Caribbean Dining Package worth it?

A Royal Caribbean dining package will absolutely save you money compared to trying to dine at the same amount of specialty restaurants and paying the list price.  Royal Caribbean advertises its dining packages will save up to 40% off the list price and it is quite accurate. Considering most specialty restaurant cover charges run between $35 to $50 per person,  a dining package has the potential to save a lot of money.

The issue with any specialty restaurant package is if you want to dine at the amount of specialty dining included with the dining package. Royal Caribbean's ships offer a wide variety of food included with your cruise fare, and it is quite good too.

Specialty dining has always been a way to splurge and enjoy different culinary and experiential options, and a dining package offers a way to enjoy these at a reduced rate.

Moreover, a dining package is best for someone who wants to enjoy a lot of specialty dining during their cruise. Whether they are new to these restaurants and want to try some or all of them, or they are a repeat cruiser who prefers specialty dining, the dining packages are a good choice. 

On Royal Caribbean ships that have a great deal of specialty restaurant choices (Oasis and Quantum Class ships), a dining package offers a greater variety of choices.

Royal Caribbean will introduce a new dining package that includes the most specialty dining options of any of its dining packages.

The Unlimited Dining Package will replace the Ultimate Dining Package, and be available pre-cruise on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner on Friday, April 12th.

Like its predecessor, the Unlimited Dining Package will allow guests to enjoy their meals at specialty restaurants as many times as
they’d like, based on availability. For instance, if they want to eat at the same restaurant twice in one night, they can.

Pricing for the Unlimited Dining Package will be very similar to what pricing for the Ultimate Dining Package was previously. Pricing will vary by sailing and ship class and will start around $24 per person per day for a 7 night sailing.

For specialty restaurants with a la carte pricing, the Unlimited Dining Package allows a $35 food credit per person for each visit.

Chef’s Table and culinary activities are excluded. Johnny Rockets is included in the package. However, beverages are not.

Package does not include beverages, but does provide 40% off bottles of wine under $100, and 20% off bottles over $100.

For Dining Packages, children ages 12 and under are excluded from offer; children ages 6-12 can be added to reservation for a $10 cover change once onboard. Not available on holiday sailings. 

Have you heard about Royal Caribbean's specialty dining packages? These are convenient options that allow you to enjoy multiple specialty restaurants on your Royal Caribbean cruise at a discount.  By purchasing a package, you can save a fair amount of money compared to trying to eat in the same amount of specialty restaurants individually.

If you have not heard of the dining packages before, or want to learn more about how they work, check out this overview. 

If you are considering purchasing a specialty restaurant package, here are the four easy steps you need to follow to ensure you have a fabulous dining experience once onboard.

1. Pick a dining package

This may seem obvious, but you will start off with actually purchasing a dining package before your cruise via Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site.

Royal Caribbean offers a number of dining packages, so compare the offerings for your sailing and see which fits your needs the best.  Deciding on the right dining package boils down to how many specialty restaurants you would like to dine at during the cruise.  Some guests like to sprinkle in specialty dining, while others prefer to dine exclusively at a specialty restaurant.

If you do not see any specialty dining packages listed yet for your cruise, don't worry.  That may simply be a result of your sail date being too far from now.  You will just have to periodically check back, as there is no set window of time when Cruise Planner purchases like a dining package become available.  You just have to check back now and then to see if they are available.

2. Pick a time for first meal

Once you pick the right dining package for you, you will have to select a day and time for your first meal. 

Part of the arrangement with any dining plan, is you must dine at one restaurant on either the first or second day of your cruise.  The Cruise Planner site will allow you to pick a day and time, although not the restaurant.  

You should not worry too much about the day and time you pick, nor the restaurant Royal Caribbean will pick for you, because you can always change this once onboard the ship (we will get to that in step 4).

Pick a day and time that make some sense to you and then go ahead and purchase the package.

3. Consult the Cruise Compass for schedule of events

Between when you purchase the dining package and your actual cruise, carve out some time to look at a schedule of events to get a sense of when you might be busy, and conversely, want to dine at a specialty restaurant.

Royal Caribbean does not publish a schedule of entertainment in advance of your cruise, so your best bet is to look at a past Cruise Compass for a recent sailing on the same ship you are going on soon.  While the Compass is for a past sailing, a lot of the schedule of events (especially the evening show times) tend to be the same from sailing to sailing. 

Your goal is to look at the show times, and then figure out which restaurants you would like to dine at and at what time.  

The reason you want to do this now, and not on your ship, is this will save you time once you get onboard.  Plus, you will be one step ahead of everyone else and that means less time on your cruise planning, and more time having fun!

4. Make reservations once onboard

The last step is board your Royal Caribbean cruise and on embarkation day, make reservations for your specialty restaurants as early as you can.  Booking the restaurants on embarkation day and as early in the day as you can will ensure you the largest array of availability.

You can go to any specialty restaurant or Guest Services to make reservations for your dining package.  Alternatively, we have seen on some Royal Caribbean ships stations set up exclusively for those with dining packages to make their reservations quickly.  Look in the Cruise Compass when you board the ship for that option.

If you completed the previous step, this step will be quite quick.  You can always change your mind later about restaurants and/or times, but locking in reservations early will provide you the most choices.

Royal Caribbean has a new pre-cruise purchase option on select sailings that combines the deluxe beverage package and the ultimate dining package in one.

The Deluxe Beverage and Ultimate Dining Package offers a bundle of the Deluxe Beverage Package and Ultimate Dining Package for one price.  With this package, you will enjoy

• Unlimited beverages
  • coffee
  • juices
  • sodas
  • bottled water
  • beer, wine
  • spirits
• Discount of 40% off bottles of wine under $100 and 20% off bottles above $100 while dining in specialty restaurants
• Dine at specialty restaurants every night and
• Dine at specialty restaurants at lunchtime on sea days

For restaurants with a la carte pricing, you will receive a $50 food credit.

Thus far, we have spotted this option on Oasis class ships.

Thanks to Royal Caribbean Blog reader Andrew Punch for alerting us to this new offering.

Fans of Royal Caribbean's specialty restaurants will love the cruise line's Ultimate Dining Package offer.

The Ultimate Dining Package has been spotted on Harmony of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, and allows guests to pay a fixed price and enjoy dinner at a specialty restaurant every night of their sailing. Plus, they can also eat lunch in specialty restaurants on sea days.  The Ultimate Dining Package can be purchased online at Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site.

For restaurants with a la carte pricing, guests will receive a $50 food credit.

Just like the other dining packages, Royal Caribbean will make a courtesy dinner reservation on the guests' behalf in a pre-selected restaurant. On Day 1, a reservation confirmation will be waiting in the stateroom.  Guests are free to amend or to complete additional dinner reservations by visiting a Hospitality Desks or any specialty restaurant.

The Ultimate Dining package is valid for one specialty dining restaurant per meal. Beverages not included.

Children ages 6-12 can be added to reservation for a $10 cover charge once onboard. Not available on holiday sailings. Not valid for Chef's Table, Izumi Hibachi, or Culinary Experiences/Activities. Guests will receive 20% off when booking Chef's Table and/or any Culinary Experience/Activity onboard.

The Ultimate Dining Package is non-refundable, non-transferable and not combinable with Crown & Anchor discounts or any other offer or promotion.

Thanks to Michael for alerting us to this new option.

Is the Ultimate Dining Package an option you will be purchasing? Share your thoughts on the appeal of this kind of option in our comments!