Does Anything Need To Be Booked In Advance?

[nycruise]

We recently cruised on the NCL Breakaway and much of the specialty dining and many of the shows had to be book 45 days prior to boarding. If you failed to book in advance you were frequently shut out of the shows and dining venues.

 

We will be sailing on the Royal Princess next month, other than shore excursions, is there anything else that needs to be booked prior to boarding?

 

Thanks.

[skynight]

We recently cruised on the NCL Breakaway and much of the specialty dining and many of the shows had to be book 45 days prior to boarding. If you failed to book in advance you were frequently shut out of the shows and dining venues.

 

We will be sailing on the Royal Princess next month, other than shore excursions, is there anything else that needs to be booked prior to boarding?

 

Thanks.

 

On Princess you can not pre book dining, shows or The Sanctuary. You can pre book on line shore excursions and spa. There are 5 surcharge dining areas on the Royal. These are Sabatini's Italian, Crown Grill Steak & seafood, The fondue and crab shack in the Horizon Ct. area and The Ocean Terrace seafood bar. You can make reservations on board for Sabatini's and the Crown Grill by calling the dine line. The no. is in the Patter. Don't about the Crab Shack and Fondue. There is also a charge for gelato. You can also make reservations in the MDR's if you have anytime dining. In addition to the MDR's free dining is available at Alfredo's, The International Cafe, Trident Grill, Prego Pizza, Horizon Ct. Buffet and the Pastry shop. There is also a Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar. If you want to use The Sanctuary visit as soon as you board. There is a charge to use this area.

 

You can not pre book shows. They are all walk in. Some early evening production shows may fill up fast so arrive early. The later times are frequently not full.

[janetz]

On Princess you can not pre book dining, shows or The Sanctuary. You can pre book on line shore excursions and spa. There are 5 surcharge dining areas on the Royal. These are Sabatini's Italian, Crown Grill Steak & seafood, The fondue and crab shack in the Horizon Ct. area and The Ocean Terrace seafood bar. You can make reservations on board for Sabatini's and the Crown Grill by calling the dine line. The no. is in the Patter. Don't about the Crab Shack and Fondue. There is also a charge for gelato. You can also make reservations in the MDR's if you have anytime dining. In addition to the MDR's free dining is available at Alfredo's, The International Cafe, Trident Grill, Prego Pizza, Horizon Ct. Buffet and the Pastry shop. There is also a Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar. If you want to use The Sanctuary visit as soon as you board. There is a charge to use this area.

 

You can not pre book shows. They are all walk in. Some early evening production shows may fill up fast so arrive early. The later times are frequently not full.

 

Great info. Are you able to book spa passes (Enclave) before boarding? :)

[skynight]

Great info. Are you able to book spa passes (Enclave) before boarding? :)

 

I don't see that option on line in the Cruise Personalizer. Try calling Princess or your TA. There is a limit to how many can get enclave passes, so maybe.

 

Pam in CA any info on this?

[janetz]

I don't see that option on line in the Cruise Personalizer. Try calling Princess or your TA. There is a limit to how many can get enclave passes, so maybe.

 

Pam in CA any info on this?

 

 

Thanks. ;) I am thinking, when you board. :)

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I would do shore excursions..

[nycruise]

On Princess you can not pre book dining, shows or The Sanctuary. You can pre book on line shore excursions and spa. There are 5 surcharge dining areas on the Royal. These are Sabatini's Italian, Crown Grill Steak & seafood, The fondue and crab shack in the Horizon Ct. area and The Ocean Terrace seafood bar. You can make reservations on board for Sabatini's and the Crown Grill by calling the dine line. The no. is in the Patter. Don't about the Crab Shack and Fondue. There is also a charge for gelato. You can also make reservations in the MDR's if you have anytime dining. In addition to the MDR's free dining is available at Alfredo's, The International Cafe, Trident Grill, Prego Pizza, Horizon Ct. Buffet and the Pastry shop. There is also a Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar. If you want to use The Sanctuary visit as soon as you board. There is a charge to use this area.

 

You can not pre book shows. They are all walk in. Some early evening production shows may fill up fast so arrive early. The later times are frequently not full.

 

Thanks for the quick and in-depth reply.

 

Also thanks to everyone else who responded.

 

We have pre-booked excursions and will not be using the Sanctuary, so I guess we're set.

 

It's interesting that NCL bills itself as "freestyle" yet we felt hemmed in by all the advanced bookings. It's hard to know your plan for any given day, more than 6 weeks before the cruise.:rolleyes:

[Pam in CA]

Pam in CA any info on this?

Nope. I'm sure one of us on the Maiden Passage will get this info but from what I've read so far, and based on the Sanctuary cabanas procedure, I'd say, "No pre-booking." Princess isn't very big on pre-booking. In addition to pre-booking tours and spa services, you can pre-order things such as wine, soda card, etc. Here's a link to the pre-order information and form: http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/gifts_services/index.jsp

[chrisbu315]

Great info. Are you able to book spa passes (Enclave) before boarding? :)

I called Princess last week and was told the Enclave had to be booked onboard

[Cruisin' Chick]

Thanks for the quick and in-depth reply.

 

Also thanks to everyone else who responded.

 

We have pre-booked excursions and will not be using the Sanctuary, so I guess we're set.

 

It's interesting that NCL bills itself as "freestyle" yet we felt hemmed in by all the advanced bookings. It's hard to know your plan for any given day, more than 6 weeks before the cruise.:rolleyes:

 

I always wondered about being on "flexible" cruise, and yet if you want to go to a specialty restaurant or to a show, you have to plan that in advance (or be on the phone in the morning hoping to get through -- which I found out from a friend who was on a NCL cruise). Sounds counter-intuitive to me. I rather just know that I'll be eating at 8pm or 8:15 for dinner and plan my day around that, no worrying about having to book this or that.

 

And just to clarify what someone else stated above, even if you have traditional dining, it's easy to get into Sabatinis or other dining venues. Unless you are dead set on on particular night (like Valentine's Day), you should be able to talk to the head waiter in your dining room and set it up. We don't do the specialty dining rooms, but on our last cruise received a gift of a Sabatinis dinner and the head waiter gave us a choice of times for the next night.

 

And one more thing about pre-booking excursions: you can always cancel as long as you do so before the deadline that will be listed on your tickets. Just drop the ticket envelope into the box at the shore excursions desk before then. You won't be charged for any pre-booking until the cruise begins, too.