Need some advice...

We've been with NCL for quite a while now, we'll be sailing the Gem for the 8th time this February.

We always stay in the Haven.\

Now we're booked for our first voyage on Breakaway and I've had friends who've sailed her telling me how awful the service by the staff in the restaurants has been. They also told me that even though we are in The Haven, if we want to use our Ultimate Dining package, we should make our dinner reservations now.....just under 100 days prior to sailing....because the specialty restaurants are filled before most folks even step on board. The opinion of my friends who have been on Breakaway seem to feel that NCL has over-sold the UDP and now the staff cannot keep up with the volume of people in the restaurants.

Should I contact the Haven Concierge before we sail and make dinner reservations before we board? By being in The Haven, do we not have any priority dining reservations like we've had on the Gem?

I'm on the Dawn in a suite with the UDP, no Haven, and made all my dinner reservations in advance. I don't like eating particularly early or late, and I figured better safe than sorry. I can always cancel onboard if we change our minds about a particular night.

If you know what time you want and which restaurants, I would book them now and since you have the UDP, you don't have to pay.