Transatlantic- reservation question

We're taking the Epic from Barcelona on November 5.

We know we'll want to make our show and speciality dining reservations in advance. But I also know the entertainment schedule on Transatlantic's are different than on a week long cruise.

Basically, I want to make sure I don't book a big show and a nice dinner on the same night.

Does anyone know if the show schedule will be available 90 days in advance? Or did anyone find a problem with booking only to find everything changes once on board?

We've never gone on a TA that seemed to require as much planning ahead as the NCL .

We're taking the Epic from Barcelona on November 5.

We know we'll want to make our show and speciality dining reservations in advance. But I also know the entertainment schedule on Transatlantic's are different than on a week long cruise.

Basically, I want to make sure I don't book a big show and a nice dinner on the same night.

Does anyone know if the show schedule will be available 90 days in advance? Or did anyone find a problem with booking only to find everything changes once on board?

We've never gone on a TA that seemed to require as much planning ahead as the NCL .

I don't think the planning issue is cruise line related (or itinerary related) as much as it is big ship related. As soon as you get huge ships with entertainment that has to be reserved in advance, you start having these problems.

We sailed on a TA a couple of years ago on RCI's then-new Anthem of the Seas. Because of shows that had to be reserved in advance, and dining that needed reservations, the amount of pre-cruise planning and juggling we had to do was enormous. (And I like planning, but this was too much.)

In contrast, we've sailed several TAs on Celebrity, and no advance planning like this was needed.

It's the big ships.

Have a great trip!

We were just on the Epic for the Port Canaveral to Barcelona run and didn't have issues. There were only about 3 Entertainments you could reserve ahead of time. Did not see those change at all when we got on board.

I found booking entertainment easy, even once on board on your TV, or screens around the ship.

I did not prebook specialty dinning, but booked MDR ahead of time with no issues also.

IMHO you should book a rolling few days in advance.

...

We've never gone on a TA that seemed to require as much planning ahead as the NCL .

As Turtles06 said, the problem isn't NCL, the problem is you are on a megaship.

We've done transatlantics on NCL's smaller ships, Star, Jewel, and twice on Jade where shows do not have to be prebooked. In fact, they cannot be prebooked. And it's also easier to book specialty dining since on the smaller ships there aren't nearly as many passengers as are on the megaships.

We were on the TA last year in Oct. and we are on your Nov 5 sailing. Last year, there were very few shows you could book in advance - you had to wait until you were on board.

I'd just roll with it - book your nice dinners and then do the entertainment that you couldn't do once on board. That is what we plan to do.

Just FYI - were in the Haven last year with this situation, and we are in the Haven this ear and expect the same scenario.

We were on the Epic last October and we will again this coming Nov 5. Last year it was our first time on a Megaship we are used to the smaller ships, we booked the shows, the MDR and specialty restaurants once the option became available on NCL.com. When we got on board we realized we did not have to book the MDR in advance it was easy to get it. On this trip we will just book the entertainment and the days we want to eat at the specialty restaurants.. :)

How busy are TA cruises?

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How busy are TA cruises?

 

 

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I find them less crowded than going to the Caribbean. A lot more adult crowds, really not busy at all, that is why i enjoy them a lot.

We've done the Epic TA and, because it is one of the larger ships, we made reservations for the nightly shows. Not absolutely necessary, but if you didn't you had to stand in line and entered after those ticketed.

No problem booking shows on the ship. Better to book specialty dining before boarding.

On NCL smaller ships, no reservation system for the shows. Even more important to do dining reservations before boarding.

I find them less crowded than going to the Caribbean. A lot more adult crowds, really not busy at all, that is why i enjoy them a lot.

It's on our cruising 'to do' list. As soon as the kids are old enough to leave behind we are there.

I've heard East - West is better as you gain an hour each day?

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We were on the Epic last week and we booked onboard at about 3pm on embarkation day. Some of the shows especially burn the floor and Priscilla had already filled up so I would say book as early as you can.

For some reason the screens weren't allowing anyone to scan their keycards to book.

It's on our cruising 'to do' list. As soon as the kids are old enough to leave behind we are there.

 

I've heard East - West is better as you gain an hour each day?

 

 

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Yep, we did from West to East once and quite frankly getting off the ship going to the airport and coming home is too exhausting.. on the other hand make sure you like sea days, because some people find them boring, I love them. :D

Yep, we did from West to East once and quite frankly getting off the ship going to the airport and coming home is too exhausting..

The person you quoted is from the UK, so they would have that problem with a East-West

I've heard East - West is better as you gain an hour each day?

I think so. The extra hour makes a big difference for me.

The downside is that the West-East flight is also the hard one and you would avoid that if you did the TA the other way. I don't have any problem flying to the US but need to make sure that I'm in a seat where I can sleep going the other way.

Some would argue that a East-West TA is overall better for jet lag once you consider the flights.

Oh and I love see days too. Makes the day seem longer, which is always good on a cruise.

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We were on the Epic last October and we will again this coming Nov 5. Last year it was our first time on a Megaship we are used to the smaller ships, we booked the shows, the MDR and specialty restaurants once the option became available on NCL.com. When we got on board we realized we did not have to book the MDR in advance it was easy to get it. On this trip we will just book the entertainment and the days we want to eat at the specialty restaurants.. :)

We are going to be on the Nov cruise also in a Haven Aft, How is the weather? are we going to be ab;e to use the Haven?

We are going to be on the Nov cruise also in a Haven Aft, How is the weather? are we going to be ab;e to use the Haven?

Well, weather is weather, but we've done the Apr TA (2015) and the Oct TA last fall and weather was really great on both so, yes, you will most likely be able to use the Haven. We are also on the Nov passage and look forward to great weather.

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We are going to be on the Nov cruise also in a Haven Aft, How is the weather? are we going to be ab;e to use the Haven?

The Haven Aft is awesome - but expect doing your own Cirque De Soleil show getting in and out of the bath/shower. Otherwise, it is so nice having a covered balcony with hardly any wind at the aft. We've done several Transatlantic's and the weather typically is nice most days. If it is not that great, then enjoy the interior of the ship. Just roll with it. :halo:

The person you quoted is from the UK, so they would have that problem with a East-West

I get that, but they asked a question and i answered it just like you did :-)....:cool:

Oh and I love see days too. Makes the day seem longer, which is always good on a cruise.

 

 

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I agree, sea days are my favorite as well...

I get that, but they asked a question and i answered it just like you did :-)....:cool:

I must have misunderstood you. I thought you were saying that it's best to fly out before the cruise rather than flying home afterwards, and just pointed out that in that case for us in the U.K. that would be an advantage of a West-East.

I'm not sure whether the end of your post above suggests that you thought I was in some way criticising you. If so then I'd like to make it clear that was certainly not the case. Just expanding on an answer.