FPMoosally

15 hours ago, CRUISERTN said:

I speak from personal experience.

Well, aren't you special! The rest of us are obviously just blowing smoke.

33 minutes ago, adidreh1234 said:

I plan on just paying for her a la carte.  But at Cagney's, I can't imagine eating a 16oz rib eye by myself so I might just give her half.  If the wait staff says anything, I'll deal with it...like you're telling a mother not to give her kid a bite of her food?

If your daughter is ordering items a la carte, and you give her 1/2 your steak, it is unlikely to be an issue. If she sits down, orders nothing, you ask for an extra plate, and then give her 1/2 of your appetizer, salad, steak and side -- that would be a problem.

But regardless, the rules apply to you too, so don't be shocked if you don't get what you want if it's against the rules.

19 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

I’ve never cruised in April, so this is a leap of faith that the longer 25-night cruise will have a  more ‘aged’ passenger demographic. 😉

The Jade isn't going to have more than a handful of kids, or any spring breakers. No faith required.

32 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The cruise is sold out. There should be limited competition for dining. 

We've traditionally found sea days to be the most competitive, but with 8 of those (and only 3 FAS meals) I imagine it's going to be wide open. Also, the fact that it seems about 1/3 of the ship is disembarking on day 15 in LA, it should be a no-brainer.

3 minutes ago, UKstages said:

an even better question might be... on which ship have you found free lounge chairs with no kids with very little effort?

On an 80% full transatlantic on a cloudy, cold day.

1 hour ago, ravenjls said:

Can you do a coffee or espresso martini using liquors in the regular free at sea plan?  Tito's, Kahlua and Maloney's Irish cream plus coffee.  I hate to pay the extra 3.60 per drink when the alcohol in my package is acceptable.

Just ask the bartender. It may not be the specific brand, but the amount of alcohol. Or, as alluded to above, the price may be because it includes espresso.

1 hour ago, Russiamomm said:

I don’t believe so.  You’re paying for the espresso, not the liquor.  Espresso isn’t included in the regular FAS drink package.

Is it an espresso, or a martini? If it's a martini, it's covered by the drink package up to the FAS limit.

1 minute ago, dmwnc1959 said:

This made me very happy and smile. 😁

I wear a tie to Le Bistro, no jacket. Last cruise, a woman at the table next to us made her husband go back to the room and change. A little extreme, but he was wearing a sloppy necked t-shirt. He didn't argue. 😆 

I dress the way I want -- as long as my wife approves. I guess he felt the same way.

2 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Might pack a light sports jacket just in case.

Any type of dinner jacket will put you in the top 1% of well-dressed men. Add a tie, and it will the top .1%

33 minutes ago, Alatraveler1 said:

Actually, included dining should be the best deal, but I'm sure you disagree and that's ok too.

Considering your statement read, "meal quality good but not marginally better than MDR", I understand your position. However, if I had to guess, I would say about 98% of people would disagree with you.

2 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Wow. 😳 

 

Despite their huge popularity there are a couple of specialty restaurants on Norwegian Jade I’m personally not that interested in: the Brazilian Steakhouse, Le Bistro, and Teppanyaki, even though I may change my mind later. Cagney’s and La Cucina will get the bulk of my reservations. 

Never been on the Jade, but Le Bistro is a "must do" for us, regardless of the ship. If you've got 9 meals, give it a try. I don't think you'll regret it. Moderno was very good on the Escape, but I've heard it can be hit and miss. Since it is gone on all new ships after the Escape, you might want to try it while you can. The meat was fantastic for me, and my wife raved about the salad bar.

2 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Is that on the Norwegian Encore? To me that’s quite surprising on a ship that size with so many dining options. Wow.

The ship is sold out. The dining options aren't even close due to the number of days available.

15 hours ago, living at the beach said:

And so if entertainment after dinner isn’t important at all, what do you do?

The OP was about Broadway shows, not entertainment in general. There is plenty of other entertainment on NCL ships that we enjoy.

But in general, what we do after dinner is drink a lot.

8 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

You can find free lounge chairs away from the pool (most with no kids around) with very little effort. 

Good grief. If you don't understand the total and complete difference, then you've never been in the Vibe.

3 minutes ago, Alatraveler1 said:

Not due to gratuity.

I understand. You don't like specialty dining regardless of the gratuity. I guess that's what I can't wrap my head around.

I've not had even remotely similar experiences as yours, on any level. Never a conflict about was or was not allowed, never slower than the MDR, only one bad meal, one time. And walked in without reservations on many occasions, if we weren't particular about the venue.

Just lucky, I guess.

9 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I was all excited when I booked a "mini-suite" on the Gem because there was a tub. 

To be honest, the idea of actually using a bathtub on a cruise ship (or hotel) gives me the heebie-jeebies.

5 hours ago, Alatraveler1 said:

We turned down the specialty dining this cruise as part of FAS.

You seriously turned down 4 free specialty meals for the cost of the gratuity? I can't wrap my head around that.

51 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

It came from your post where you were bullying the prior poster. 

She certainly doesn't look like a bully to me.

You are certainly not alone based on some comments on this board. But for us, we don't base our cruise decisions on what may or may not be available for an hour a night.

On 3/1/2024 at 8:12 AM, UKstages said:

now that you've presumably read the articles at the links you requested, do you have any actual comment about that topic? 

Yes. But then I realized that having a tit-for-tat with some rando on the Internet isn't worth the time or effort.

6 hours ago, RNCheryl said:

One member of our party does not, shall we say, have a great deal of patience.

Any other recommendations?

Don't bother with reservations, don't hold a place in line, and tell Mr/Ms PITA to deal with it, or do their own thing.

12 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

I’m hoping this isn’t going to be a one-and-done

Your attitude makes that end inevitable. It will be one-and-done because that is what you're expecting.

12 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Just wish NCL had better beverage packages.

As opposed to?

13 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

After I did what I very rarely do. It's almost as rare as me canceling the onboard service charge (which I literally have never done, y'all). A couple of posters were just....well....you know. 

Well, I don't know what you did! Slam 8 lobsters? Throw a dozen in you backpack? What did you do to cause this disaster!?

45 minutes ago, wil e coyote said:

Fair point. The vibe was 100% full, and on sea days it took quite some time to get service at the bar. The bartenders were going flat out, but there were a lot of people asking for drinks. So yes, I think a 3rd bartender would have helped.

I've personally never experienced a "100% full" Vibe. But yeah, a 3rd bartender would have been appropriate in that case.

16 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

I just sold a property and wanted to invest

I've got a sweet bridge in Brooklyn. Call me.