Complimentary Dining on the Epic?

[Burgmeister]

Hi

 

We have booked a cruise on the Epic but have never cruised with NCL before, always been with RCCI previously, and I was wondering what the complimentary dining options are like on this ship?

 

I have been to the NCL website and the sample menus given for The Manhattan Room (which I am assuming is the main restaurant?) was pretty limited (3 options for starter and main course) but was marked "Specials". Do they have a selection of starters/mains that are available every day in addition to the "Specials" or is that the only choice you have? Also,do they provide a kids selection?

 

I appreciate that there is a buffet restaurant as well but we do like to do the whole "sit down dinner" thing when cruising.

 

Cheers

[kerryincork]

Part of the menu stays the same and the other changes daily. There are slight differences in the the other 2 restaurants, so aprox. 5 choices in each segment of menu, more if you take in variations between complementary dinning rooms. Yes they provide children with their own menu.

The restaurants put up the daily menu each day outside the doors so when you pass by you can check out what's on that night & decided what restaurant you will eat at. When we travelled with 2y.o. we would eat early as found to have less ques. She mainly ate off the adult menu as the children menu is not what she is used to. I hope this helps.

[Burgmeister]

Thanks Kerry. So, given that there are 3 choices on the "Specials", am I deducing correctly that there are 2 choices that remain constant?

 

The problem is that I'm a bit of a fussy eater. On RCCI, if you don't like any of the choices they will always get you a steak, is this the same on NCL? It was always my fall-back option before.

 

Can you pre-book tables or do you just turn up and wait in line?

 

Any more help would be gratefully received!

 

Thanks

[BirdTravels]

Complimentary Dining: The Manhattan Room and Taste are the two main dining rooms. NCL embraces Freestyle dining, so you show up where you want, when you want. There may be a short line during peak dining hours (just as any land-based restaurant), but they turn tables really fast. The Garden Café and Great Outdoors are the two buffets (inside and outside respectively). O’Sheehan’s (modeled after a British pub) is your 24 hour a day restaurant . Shanghai Chinese Restaurant and the Noodle Bar serve Asian food. And if you are in the suites, the Haven Restaurant and Haven Courtyard (inside and outside) provide complementary dining throughout the day for Haven’s guests.

 

In the menu below is an example of the Manhattan Room menu (from 10/15). Top left are 11-12 starters. About half of those starters appear every night and the other half are changed nightly. The ship rotates through about 10 different menus. Bottom left are the “Classic Dishes” which are entrees that appear every night. So you can always order a chicken, steak, and pasta dish if you want. Top right are 7-8 entrees which are the specials of the night (changing every night) including the Chef’s Signature Dish of the night. Bottom right are the desserts of the night (changing every night). And you could always order ice cream or a sorbet if you want.

 

So,,, there is a lot of variety on the menus.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited November 7, 2015 by BirdTravels

[Burgmeister]

Thanks BirdTravels, that was really helpful and put my mind at ease. The options look very appealing.

 

Are you allowed to ask fro more than one dessert? :)

[drvalo]

Thanks BirdTravels, that was really helpful and put my mind at ease. The options look very appealing.

 

Are you allowed to ask fro more than one dessert? :)

 

You can have as much as you want of anything in the main dining rooms.

Edited November 7, 2015 by drvalo

[BirdTravels]

Thanks BirdTravels, that was really helpful and put my mind at ease. The options look very appealing.

 

Are you allowed to ask fro more than one dessert? :)

 

I think on the menu above, I couldn't decide between the bananas foster and the soufflé. So,,,, I ordered both. You're on holiday, enjoy!

[hawkeyetlse]

Burgmeister, when is your cruise? It is possible that the main dining room menus will be changing after the new year, if not sooner. So the current menus that people can provide you now may not be menus you get on your cruise. But everyone's comment above are still valid in general (there is a steak option all the time, you can order as many desserts as you like, etc.)

 

To get an idea of the menus on the Escape, which I believe are expected to go fleetwide at some point, see the following thread:

New NCL Menus...

 

Again, these are not the menus on the Epic, but they may be by the time you cruise.

[Burgmeister]

Burgmeister, when is your cruise? It is possible that the main dining room menus will be changing after the new year, if not sooner. So the current menus that people can provide you now may not be menus you get on your cruise. But everyone's comment above are still valid in general (there is a steak option all the time, you can order as many desserts as you like, etc.)

 

To get an idea of the menus on the Escape, which I believe are expected to go fleetwide at some point, see the following thread:

New NCL Menus...

 

Again, these are not the menus on the Epic, but they may be by the time you cruise.

 

We don't go until next year, so thank you for the link.

 

Thanks everyone for all you input, much appreciated.

[zactak]

Thanks BirdTravels, that was really helpful and put my mind at ease. The options look very appealing.

 

Are you allowed to ask fro more than one dessert? :)

 

You definitely can! What has already been said is true. There are a few staples on the menu that are the same every night, and then they have new options each night as well. There was one night that there were two entrees I couldn't decide between. I ordered both without a problem! I also ordered two desserts one night with no trouble at all.