please help a newbie

[hlb76]

I'm looking at booking my first NCL cruise. I am a pretty seasoned cruiser - CCL only thus far. We are looking for our winter vacation and we have a very limited time frame so I have decided to open up to all cruise lines not just or go to.

 

Please let me know a little of what to expect on NCL. I know most cruises are more the same than different ( plenty of food, shows at night, activities always etc.)

 

What should I expect to get charged for on the ship?

 

What is free?

 

We will be traveling with my 15 year old.. what can he expect from Camp?

 

Any special tips for booking?

 

Any advice is so helpful to me. I have read every review that a certain NCL fan has written ( Hi Mistugirly) so I get the gist of some things yet I dont. I cant figure what is pay what is not. When they had dining packages when they did not. What perks they get for being latitude members. So on and so forth

 

Thanks in advance!!

[happy cruzin]

I'm looking at booking my first NCL cruise. I am a pretty seasoned cruiser - CCL only thus far. We are looking for our winter vacation and we have a very limited time frame so I have decided to open up to all cruise lines not just or go to.

 

Please let me know a little of what to expect on NCL. I know most cruises are more the same than different ( plenty of food, shows at night, activities always etc.)

 

What should I expect to get charged for on the ship? Alcohol - soda - specialty coffees and treats - specialty restaurants - bottled water - some entertainment (dinner shows).

 

What is free? MDR, Buffet, most evening entertainment

 

We will be traveling with my 15 year old.. what can he expect from Camp? Can't help with that - haven't used the Camp. But i have heard good things from those who have.

 

Any special tips for booking? We use a PCC - very similar to a Carnival PVP - so that we have control of our booking if we have any questions.

 

They have been offering the beverage and dining packages as booking perks - might be worth looking for when you book.

 

Any advice is so helpful to me. I have read every review that a certain NCL fan has written ( Hi Mistugirly) so I get the gist of some things yet I dont. I cant figure what is pay what is not. When they had dining packages when they did not. What perks they get for being latitude members. So on and so forth

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Not sure which ships you're considering. We've sailed on the Epic, Breakaway, Getaway and have the Escape booked. I tried to address some of your specific questions above.

 

We sailed Carnival quite a bit before venturing to NCL. I think you will find the lines more similar than different.

 

NCL offers MUCH better entertainment - and they offer a variety of Specialty restaurants for dinners at an extra cost. It's not required - because there are still plenty of included options at no additional cost.

 

NCL does offer the ability to book the restaurants and entertainment prior to boarding - which is nice too if there is a specific show you want to see on a specific night. But you can just "freestyle" it too and just roll with the flow - reservations are not required. But there is a chance you could be turned away - without a reservation. It's just luck of the draw.

[hlb76]

Not sure which ships you're considering. We've sailed on the Epic, Breakaway, Getaway and have the Escape booked. I tried to address some of your specific questions above. I'm looking at Escape at the moment- looks cool!! and fits our time frame but budget not as much. So I dont see us going a lot of the for fee activities

 

We sailed Carnival quite a bit before venturing to NCL. I think you will find the lines more similar than different. Thats what I figure too. Same concept on all lines though service may vary

 

NCL offers MUCH better entertainment - and they offer a variety of Specialty restaurants for dinners at an extra cost. It's not required - because there are still plenty of included options at no additional cost. Not been a huge fan of the shows lately but it could be that we have seem them all?? Again going to try to avoid for fee things to afford to go. So like to know what is what. I'm used to the buffet, MDR, Deli, Pizza 24/7, Guys Burger and Taco stand all being free. Then some for fee dinners open at lunch

 

NCL does offer the ability to book the restaurants and entertainment prior to boarding - which is nice too if there is a specific show you want to see on a specific night. But you can just "freestyle" it too and just roll with the flow - reservations are not required. But there is a chance you could be turned away - without a reservation. It's just luck of the draw.

This scares me.. I dont want to miss out but I hate to pre plan every moment of vacation. :(

 

Thanks for your help. Its scary to venture out of your comfort zone.

[happy cruzin]

This scares me.. I dont want to miss out but I hate to pre plan every moment of vacation. :(

 

Thanks for your help. Its scary to venture out of your comfort zone.

I assure you - you could easily go and not do anything that cost additional - not make reservations prior to leaving and still have a fantastic time. You just have to be flexible.

 

Check out the "Everything Escape" thread - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2016503. There is a ton of great information and photos in there and it may help clear up some of your concerns.

Edited June 4, 2015 by happy cruzin

[moonieelf]

The unlimited soda package isn't that pricey. I did that on my last cruise (which was my first cruise) with NCL. We bought that on board and it was about $50 for the week. Regular blend coffee is free, if you want a fancy after dinner coffee that will be an extra charge (unless you purchased the ultimate beverage package.) I didn't do any shore excursions, but I didn't feel like I was missing out on much. The only extra add on I did was a lunchtime show. I don't know what ship you're planning on taking, but I think you'll have a blast

[dolita22]

I think you will find more similarities to Carnival than differences on NCL. For our past NCL cruises, I've reserved one show we really wanted to see in advance. Otherwise, we have not done anything else until boarding the ship. Also, if you reserve something in advance, you can generally (always?) re-reserve if the time or date doesn't work for you once on board. Our friends did that for the Blue Man Group on our Epic cruise earlier this year - completely spaced their show reservation early on in the cruise and re-reserved for a different day at the Box Office.

 

The only thing I would say to reserve in advance is specialty restaurants. Those always seem to fill up, at least based on the TVs showing availability around the ship. We've never eaten at a specialty restaurant on NCL (just MDR, O'Sheehan's and the buffet) and always enjoyed our meals. If you prefer not to spend additional money on specialty restaurants, you really don't have to, IMO. Food is subjective, but we haven't had a bad complimentary meal yet on NCL. I don't recall having a bad meal on Carnival either, though I'm not a foodie. :)

 

Not sure about camp; we don't have kids. People whose kids go to camp seem to enjoy it, though.

 

What you can be charged for is covered and is, I think, similar to what you'd be charged for on most other lines. Room service is one of the differences that comes to mind, thought. It's $7.95, but I've read some breakfast items and coffee are still available until 10 a.m. at not charge.

 

We book through an NCL PCC and I watch for price drops. You can get price drops or new promos up until your final payment date.

 

Hope that helps some! Which Escape cruise are you looking at? We're on the 3-day inaugural US sailing in November and booked again in January for a 7-day because there's no way we'll get to see and do everything in 3 days. :)

[hlb76]

I think you will find more similarities to Carnival than differences on NCL. For our past NCL cruises, I've reserved one show we really wanted to see in advance. Otherwise, we have not done anything else until boarding the ship. Also, if you reserve something in advance, you can generally (always?) re-reserve if the time or date doesn't work for you once on board. Our friends did that for the Blue Man Group on our Epic cruise earlier this year - completely spaced their show reservation early on in the cruise and re-reserved for a different day at the Box Office.thanks this puts my mind a bit more at ease. Though we dont do many shows anymore. I might be more apt to want to as they will be new again which is a plus for us

 

The only thing I would say to reserve in advance is specialty restaurants. Those always seem to fill up, at least based on the TVs showing availability around the ship. We've never eaten at a specialty restaurant on NCL (just MDR, O'Sheehan's and the buffet) and always enjoyed our meals. If you prefer not to spend additional money on specialty restaurants, you really don't have to, IMO. Food is subjective, but we haven't had a bad complimentary meal yet on NCL. I don't recall having a bad meal on Carnival either, though I'm not a foodie. :) I cant say I have any real complaints with food on CCL either. however after Guys burger nothing compares - they are my favorite!! We dont do the specialty either on CCL with the exception of a treat from the bakery or sushi. Even that is not common.

 

Not sure about camp; we don't have kids. People whose kids go to camp seem to enjoy it, though.

 

What you can be charged for is covered and is, I think, similar to what you'd be charged for on most other lines. Room service is one of the differences that comes to mind, thought. It's $7.95, but I've read some breakfast items and coffee are still available until 10 a.m. at not charge.I forgot about that. :( we do tend to order room service but only because pizza is the only 24/7 place and sometimes I dont want that.

 

We book through an NCL PCC and I watch for price drops. You can get price drops or new promos up until your final payment date. Love this... I tend to book Early Savers and love the price protection it offers even after final payment

 

Hope that helps some! Which Escape cruise are you looking at? We're on the 3-day inaugural US sailing in November and booked again in January for a 7-day because there's no way we'll get to see and do everything in 3 days. :) March - I hate to go then but my son has a few days off in March so he wont miss as much school. Its getting harder for him to stay on top of classes.

 

Thanks for the comments. I forgot about the room service fee. Didn't tips go up too? I'm now thinking there was a reason I was avoiding looking at NCL for our winter vacay.

[vicocala]

The unlimited soda package isn't that pricey. I did that on my last cruise (which was my first cruise) with NCL. We bought that on board and it was about $50 for the week. Regular blend coffee is free, if you want a fancy after dinner coffee that will be an extra charge (unless you purchased the ultimate beverage package.) I didn't do any shore excursions, but I didn't feel like I was missing out on much. The only extra add on I did was a lunchtime show. I don't know what ship you're planning on taking, but I think you'll have a blast

 

"Regular blend coffee is free, if you want a fancy after dinner coffee that will be an extra charge (unless you purchased the ultimate beverage package.)"

 

This was correct until the parenthesis. The UBP does not cover specialty coffee. It is immaterial to the OP but I wished to clarify this point for others.

[mugtech]

Service up from $12 to $12.95 a day

You don't have to use room service for food, just go get it and bring it back to your cabin, totally legal.

[Divaonthego12]

This scares me.. I dont want to miss out but I hate to pre plan every moment of vacation. :(

 

 

 

Thanks for your help. Its scary to venture out of your comfort zone.

 

 

Hello there, we were used to CCL's 24 hour pizza but NCL has 24 wings (i.e., buffalo or honey BBQ). Also, if my memory serves me correctly, after a certain hour, there's a fee for pizza delivered via room service.

[dolita22]

Thanks for the comments. I forgot about the room service fee. Didn't tips go up too? I'm now thinking there was a reason I was avoiding looking at NCL for our winter vacay.

 

Yes, the DSC (daily service charge) did increase to $12.95 per person, per day (from $12) and $14.95 for those in suites and higher. For the $12.95 rate, it adds $6.65 per person to the cruise, which isn't bad for all the service provided, IMO.

 

Have fun planning!

[hlb76]

here is another question...

 

I see they have a u pick sale going on right now. So I'm trying to figure that out as well.

 

Thinking we are not interested in internet minutes or shore excursion. I cruise to escape the internet and book my own excursions.

 

however the dining ( $50 credit as we will prob have an inside) intrigues me. Do we get $50 on each ship card to spend? So I want to grab a slice of cake and special coffee that will come out of my $50? or is it just for reservations to dining options?

 

Soda packages dont really interest me too much either. not sure if its Coke or Pepsi on the ship but we normally carry on a 12 pack of what we like as we are particular and a few red bulls to mix a drink in the room. Though we do get the package for the kid as he likes to grab a soda when out and about.

 

What does the soda package entail? What brand? what is the cost if I bought alone? Is it like CCL where they pour you a glass over ice but why bother as the can has been opened, half flat and warm. :rolleyes:

[bonvoyagie]

currently they use Pepsi products - I believe the new price is 2.25 (including gratuity) it was 2.16 back in 2012.

 

NCL entertainment and dining options vary from ship to ship so it is hard to make blanket statements. The newer ships Epic and the two Away's along with the upcoming Escape have more options than the rest of the fleet. These newer ships also have more in the "for fee" category with combination of entertainment and dining in the same venue.

 

As for the new promos - the Shore Ex credit is $50/stateroom/port on insides and $75 for oceanview and balconies the limit is for 4 ports. On some cruises this would cover a single person's cost - in AK it would not.

 

I have not cruised CCL so I can't compare/contrast the two lines

 

I know that I have enjoyed my NCL Cruises and have never had a problem with staff or service.