Norwegian introduces flexible dining packages

Norwegian Getaway

Norwegian Cruise Line is offering a new version of its restaurant package that lets guests select nights in alternative restaurants for a single price.

The cruise line's current package for specialty restaurants, the Ultimate Dining Package ($59 per person for a three- to six-night cruise and $119 for a seven-night cruise), allows diners to eat in a specialty restaurant every night of the cruise, but doesn’t have an option to select some nights.

The flexible Specialty Dining Package offers a savings over a la carte dining in specialty restaurants that carry a cover charge. Diners can choose how many nights to dine in specialty venues, with a minimum of three days. The three-day package is $59 per person when bought online prior to embarkation.

The packages are good in specialty steakhouses, Brazilian churrascarias, French, Japanese Hibachi and Italian restaurants.

To dine in specialty restaurants where items on the menu are priced individually, or in entertainment-based restaurants, holders of a specialty dining package pay an upcharge. The upcharge is $15 for Ocean Blue; $10 for general seats and $15 for premium seats at Cirque Dreams and the Illusionarium; $10 for Bayamo; and $7 for the Raw Bar, Pincho Tapas Bar and all sushi bar restaurants fleet wide.

A restaurant called For the Record: Dear John Hughes, coming when Norwegian Escape debuts in October, will carry a $15 upcharge.

The packages can be pre-ordered online (at greater savings) or bought in the first two days of a cruise, beginning in early August, depending on the ship.