Show and Dinner Booking Issue

I have reservations for the 2 shows on the Escape at 7:00. I can't reserve dinner at the 5:30 or the 8:30 seatings for either show day because it says there is a conflict. Are they saying I can't get dinner at all? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance for the help.

its saying its a conflict as based on what they assume a normal dinner reservation is you will either be a) late for your show or b)late for dinner.

You need to pick an earlier or later time for the "conflict" to go away.

I am having the same problem and do not see an option of cancelling and changing time on a booked reservation. This is even with free bookings such as dinner in one of the Main Dining rooms. Do you have to call customer service to cancel booked reservations?

I am on the Escape in Jan. 2016. I ran into the same conflict when I tried to book 5:30 dinner and a7 pm show. Since I am in the Haven, I called the pre-concierge to discuss. She indicated she could not book me for the 7 p.m. show with a 5:30 pm dinner. Since we are only booking After Midnight and $1mm Quartet, I decided to book the show and make alternative dinner plans on those nights. A bit frustrating as I can easily conclude a 5:30 dinner before 7pm and make the show in plenty of time.

I am having the same problem and do not see an option of cancelling and changing time on a booked reservation. This is even with free bookings such as dinner in one of the Main Dining rooms. Do you have to call customer service to cancel booked reservations?

Yes, you need to call them to change anything that you book online.

I have reservations for the 2 shows on the Escape at 7:00. I can't reserve dinner at the 5:30 or the 8:30 seatings for either show day because it says there is a conflict. Are they saying I can't get dinner at all? What am I doing wrong?

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

Most of the dinner reservations contemplate a 2 hour dinner at a minimum. By reading some other postings some say service in the specialty restaurants is taking close to 2 1/2 hours.

Have you called NCL to see if they can override the system and make your reservations for the time you want?

No, but I will. I thought I would get some answers here first before I get myself on hold with them forever.

No, but I will. I thought I would get some answers here first before I get myself on hold with them forever.

I had called before our January 2015 cruise to have them override this rule and they couldn't. Their system says that dinner will last for 2 hours, therefore you can't have a 5:30 dinner and a 7:00 show reserved. I kept my show reservations, and just went to dinner at 5:30...we made it in time for the show.

I had called before our January 2015 cruise to have them override this rule and they couldn't. Their system says that dinner will last for 2 hours, therefore you can't have a 5:30 dinner and a 7:00 show reserved. I kept my show reservations, and just went to dinner at 5:30...we made it in time for the show.

What's baffling to me is there are no other show times available. I don't know what to do.

What's baffling to me is there are no other show times available. I don't know what to do.

Sounds like "Freestyle", doing it your way, is subordinated to their way. And having to reserve show times is pretty damn far from "freestyle".

I am hoping the Escape improves on the turnaround time in the specialty restaurants. I

do understand that some people like the 2+ hour meal(s). I prefer about an hour and 1/2 max.

My last 2 cruises on the Epic it was from 2-3 hours, even if I asked if we could be served quicker. It didn't seem to matter if the restaurant was busy, or not. Now that the tip is included, I wonder if the service will be worse. BTW, seemed it was service that was slow; never had a hot meal and there were a few less than warm ones.

Most of the dinner reservations contemplate a 2 hour dinner at a minimum. By reading some other postings some say service in the specialty restaurants is taking close to 2 1/2 hours.

How do you book shows? I do not see the option on my vacation summary page as it is grayed put and shows zero. I am sailing the Escape on January 30th. I booked through a travel agent. I can book excursions, photos, gifts etc. Entertainment, spa, and Internet are grayed out. Thanks for any help you can provide.

How do you book shows? I do not see the option on my vacation summary page as it is grayed put and shows zero. I am sailing the Escape on January 30th. I booked through a travel agent. I can book excursions, photos, gifts etc. Entertainment, spa, and Internet are grayed out. Thanks for any help you can provide.

It's too soon. You can book at 90 days out.

Sounds like "Freestyle", doing it your way, is subordinated to their way. And having to reserve show times is pretty damn far from "freestyle".

Yeah, it kind of sucks when you have to go to shows when they are scheduled. :rolleyes:

It's too soon. You can book at 90 days out.

Thanks! Quick question, does ncl have a late show as well. We have a group of people that enjoy late nights and late dinners. Thanks

Quick question, does ncl have a late show as well. We have a group of people that enjoy late nights and late dinners.

It's not if "NCL has" because the new megaships do not have traditional entertainment like you probably are used to.

On older ships with one main entertainment venue (theatre) there usually are two shows a night and that's it, that show is done for the cruise.

On new megaships (like Escape) there are several smaller entertainment venues and the same shows are played on several (usually about 3) nights during the cruise. So you can't go to the same venue every night and see a different show.

Can't help you with timing of different shows though, but this difference in fundamentals is really worth knowing about.

Thanks! Quick question, does ncl have a late show as well. We have a group of people that enjoy late nights and late dinners. Thanks

Yes, the shows generally will run at 7pm-ish and again at 10pm-ish.

Thanks for the help everyone. Trying to educate myself a bit about ncl as its my first cruise on a line other than carnival. I am really excited to try something new

Thanks for the help everyone. Trying to educate myself a bit about ncl as its my first cruise on a line other than carnival. I am really excited to try something new

Hey, Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today. Go Cubs go!

I have reservations for the 2 shows on the Escape at 7:00. I can't reserve dinner at the 5:30 or the 8:30 seatings for either show day because it says there is a conflict. Are they saying I can't get dinner at all? What am I doing wrong?

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

I found the way around it is to book the dinners under one cruiser and the shows under another - that way nothing conflicts.

Thanks! Quick question, does ncl have a late show as well. We have a group of people that enjoy late nights and late dinners. Thanks

For the 7 day Caribbean itinerary, looks like $1M Quartet is Monday and Tuesday, 7pm and 9:30pm shows. After Midnight is Sunday, Thursday, and Friday also 7pm and 9:30pm. Guess they are dark on Wed.

Brat Pack is obviously in a different venue and not free, but it runs Sat, Sun, Mon, Thurs, and Fri different times each night.

If you plan on eating in the MDR, you do not have to make reservations for dinner. Show up when you'd like to eat. There might be a bit of a wait, but usually there is not. On the Epic earlier this year, the only wait we had is the MDR is when we went to eat immediately after an early show. Even with that, it was not a long wait.

I found the way around it is to book the dinners under one cruiser and the shows under another - that way nothing conflicts.

This is a really good tip, thanks!