Dining Plan Plans .. What do you do?

[JimJoan]

We were given a full dining package with our upcoming Barcelona cruise on the EPIC so I have been reading away at the various reviews;

 

So after comparing my tastes with others I suspect I will want to eat at Bistro a couple of nights and perhaps Cagneys and the Italian. Im not over fussed for the Brazillian Meat fest or the Japanese knife show (I came away from that still hungry at EPCOT).

 

Its a six night cruise so my question is if you have the full dining package do people tend to visit the MDR on the first night or is it better to book in to a better venue to celebrate your first night. Or do people ignore it all together.

 

Any other tips are welcome. Im really looking forward to this cruise (even though I prefer the smaller boats) as I like the idea of the freestyle dining; especially after a very lacklustre HAL cruise last year (food wise).

 

Also do people ever dress up or shall I leave the tails at home.

[hawkeyetlse]

Nothing against the MDR, but if I had the UDP for a 6-day cruise, I would plan to eat in specialty restaurants every night. You can go to the MDR for lunch on sea days.

 

If you are worried about missing out on something delicious in the MDR, you can always go there for a snack/aperitif before having a specialty dinner later that evening. :p

[fstuff1]

We were given a full dining package with our upcoming Barcelona cruise on the EPIC so I have been reading away at the various reviews;

 

So after comparing my tastes with others I suspect I will want to eat at Bistro a couple of nights and perhaps Cagneys and the Italian. Im not over fussed for the Brazillian Meat fest or the Japanese knife show (I came away from that still hungry at EPCOT).

 

Its a six night cruise so my question is if you have the full dining package do people tend to visit the MDR on the first night or is it better to book in to a better venue to celebrate your first night. Or do people ignore it all together.

 

Any other tips are welcome. Im really looking forward to this cruise (even though I prefer the smaller boats) as I like the idea of the freestyle dining; especially after a very lacklustre HAL cruise last year (food wise).

 

Also do people ever dress up or shall I leave the tails at home.

 

on ncl, you will not be hungry after tepanaki.

 

this is how I maximized my dining package. I ate at 12 restaurants during my 7 day cruise.

 

made earliest and last reservations (5:30 + 9:30pm).

 

5:30 is Modesto (meat house). I just eat the appetizer bar then leave.

I've eaten there before. the appetizer bar was great. but the meat carts that came around was just ok. Cagneys is better.

 

anyway, this was a very quick stop. in and out 15min.

it's like going to the Garden Café buffet for appetizers except better food.

 

9:30 is mostly cagneys but I did the Italian place once.

 

the 2 days where I didn't do 2 were:

tepanaki -> waaaaay too full. I knew this from my previous cruise.

le bistro -> 32oz ribeye all by myself :)

 

I find it silly to eat at the free restaurants when I have the 7 day dining package.

Edited August 25, 2015 by fstuff1

[JimJoan]

I see your point but I just wondered if it was worth eating in there (MDR) just for the room ambience etc

[emcelh]

I see your point but I just wondered if it was worth eating in there (MDR) just for the room ambience etc

 

Why not try the MDR for lunch then decide. If you feel you'd like to try it one evening and there's a menu offering that appeals to you, you can always change your plans. And yes, you can leave the tails at home unless you really want to dress to the nines one evening. A few people do, some don't dress up at all, and most others are somewhere in between.

[emmak8]

Would never eat in specialty restaurant unless it was comped. Keep the FREE in Free Style.

[NLH Arizona]

I'd say, since you have the UDP/SDP, I would totally utilize it and make your first nights reservation via the website. You can book just the first night or all nights 100 days out in a suite or 90 days out in all other cabin categories. IMHO, the food, service and atmosphere is much, much better in the specialty dining venues than the MDR.

 

BTW, I go to the Teppanyaki restaurant at least a couple of days during my cruises and have never seen anyone leave hungry. There isn't a lot of vegetables, but tons of rice and meat.

[Crusin6]

I'm pretty much done with specialties as well

 

We never get it free because I book the cheapest insides anyway

 

My cape cod beachfront place satisfies my needs. Lol

 

 

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[LrgPizza]

I see your point but I just wondered if it was worth eating in there (MDR) just for the room ambience etc

We had UDP on my Getaway cruise last year. We chose to eat in Tropicana Room (MDR) once, and did specialty restaurants the other 6 nights. Tropicana Room was my favorite overall dining experience of any.

Edited August 25, 2015 by LrgPizza

[cb at sea]

32 ounces of meat BY YOURSELF??? Lord have mercy!

[fstuff1]

32 ounces of meat BY YOURSELF??? Lord have mercy!

 

yup, and I only weight 150lbs.

but I also go to the ship's gym every morning for an hr.

[maywell]

yup, and I only weight 150lbs.

but I also go to the ship's gym every morning for an hr.

Is that by itself or with the sides - there's a difference... [emoji15]

 

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk

[VideoTech]

We were given a full dining package with our upcoming Barcelona cruise on the EPIC so I have been reading away at the various reviews;

 

So after comparing my tastes with others I suspect I will want to eat at Bistro a couple of nights and perhaps Cagneys and the Italian. Im not over fussed for the Brazillian Meat fest or the Japanese knife show (I came away from that still hungry at EPCOT).

 

Its a six night cruise so my question is if you have the full dining package do people tend to visit the MDR on the first night or is it better to book in to a better venue to celebrate your first night. Or do people ignore it all together.

 

Any other tips are welcome. Im really looking forward to this cruise (even though I prefer the smaller boats) as I like the idea of the freestyle dining; especially after a very lacklustre HAL cruise last year (food wise).

 

Also do people ever dress up or shall I leave the tails at home.

 

With the dining package, I wouldn't bother much with the MDR's on any night. But you can always go and check out the MDR menus for any night once they are posted, and if there's something that attracts you, go for it. Or, as has been suggested, if you just want to check out the ambiance, go for lunch.

 

My experience is that the MDR food on NCL has been declining in recent years. As for the specialty restaurants, Teppanyaki has never really been that good, IMO. Asian Fusion, Sushi, and Cagney's top our list.

[detroitlions]

Would never eat in specialty restaurant unless it was comped. Keep the FREE in Free Style.

 

You repeat this on every thread. If you don't like ncl specialty restaurants as you have said over and over again just don't go

Edited August 25, 2015 by detroitlions

[quercus alba]

I see your point but I just wondered if it was worth eating in there (MDR) just for the room ambience etc

It's worth AVOIDING the MDR, especially on the first night, for the "ambience", IMHO.

 

We found on a previous cruise (when we didn't have the UDP) that the MDR was very crowded on the first night, so we specifically booked Cagney's for that meal. Then pretty much hit specialty restaurants as often as we could thereafter, though found the MDR good for lunches--both service and food quality.

[Selluks]

Do you happen to be in a Haven room? I am sailing on the Getaway in December. I have the UDP and I a in a Haven suite plus I have a bunch of none Haven non UDP guess coming. I was planning on having the butler bring us something from a different restaurant every night so we could try that and then do whatever the rest of our party wanted to do. My main concern is not trying all the desserts.

[sixesandeights]

I see your point but I just wondered if it was worth eating in there (MDR) just for the room ambience etc

 

No, it's not. IMHO the MDR food on NCL is not very good. If you have the package I would do specialties every night. Interestingly while we do not care for the MDR on NCL, the buffet is one of the best.

 

6&8

[wilmingtech]

I was on the Star in June and we had UDP. We booked every night at a specialty online before the cruise and we were glad that we did as the reservations fill up quickly. We loved the MDR for lunch and ate one dinner there and it was very good. We enjoyed all the specialties and sometimes had apps at one and dinner at another. We typically booked 730-8pm and would sometimes grab an app at MDR or the Chinese resteraunt. Sometimes we would just eat dinner early and grab dessert at a specialty.

 

Whatever you do...make your reservations early. We really enjoyed all the specialty restaurants and the MDR food was great as well. Some dishes better than others.

 

-Sean

[drvalo]

We would never do the UDP because it's just too much food. Especially, towards the end of a cruise, we just aren't that hungry anymore. Something light at the buffet or OSheehan's is sufficient. We get a couple of specialty meals because we are Platinum, but even before we were, we just ate in the MDR or the other free options with the exception of Cagney's when it was half price the first night (but that was years ago). We usually like something in the MDR and if we don't we can always take a tour of the buffet later. :) We are never hungry on a cruise.:)

[JimJoan]

Thanks for the responses.. Off to get on line and book the restaurants - Cagneys I think for the first night.

 

Different topic buta cpl of thing thats confusing me about the online bookings page (which is good and well set up to a point) are

 

Can I go back and change times through this page or are they then fixed in stone and have to be changed on board -

 

I only seem to have one "entertainment" to book for the entire week -Burn the Floor (- Are the rest just walk up or do you book on the ship)

[LrgPizza]

Thanks for the responses.. Off to get on line and book the restaurants - Cagneys I think for the first night.

 

Different topic buta cpl of thing thats confusing me about the online bookings page (which is good and well set up to a point) are

 

Can I go back and change times through this page or are they then fixed in stone and have to be changed on board -

 

I only seem to have one "entertainment" to book for the entire week -Burn the Floor (- Are the rest just walk up or do you book on the ship)

You have to call if you want to change your bookings prior to sailing.

 

Regarding the entertainment, lots of people on lots of different ships and sailings have been reporting issues with entertainment appearing. Lots of changes are being made the the website, which might contribute. I don't know, but you aren't alone. :)

[wilmingtech]

When I made my reservations online for our cruise on the Star I was able to change them. Keep in mind that the NCL page looks at them like you are ordering a product through a weboage. So you have to "delete" your order to change the times.

 

It is a pain and Im not sure if the system holds that reservation for a certain amount of time after you delete it making it difficult to go back and reserve the same time right after you delete it.

[hawkeyetlse]

When I made my reservations online for our cruise on the Star I was able to change them. Keep in mind that the NCL page looks at them like you are ordering a product through a weboage. So you have to "delete" your order to change the times.

Things may have been different for your cruise, but I think you are talking about changing the reservation requests while they are still in your cart. Once you check out and the reservations are confirmed and added to your vacation summary, there is no option to delete/modify them.

I only seem to have one "entertainment" to book for the entire week -Burn the Floor (- Are the rest just walk up or do you book on the ship)

It could be a glitch, but try selecting each day separately from your Explore & Plan and see if more options become available. Are you doing the 6-day Barcelona to Southampton right before Epic's dry dock next month? Since that's a one-off itinerary, they may not have the entertainment schedule entered properly in the system.