Escape Questions

[LovetheCubs]

OK I need HELP!! My husband and I are taking our first cruise for our 10th anniversary in May. I have to say I have steered away from cruises because they seemed confusing. Hubby talked me into it and I am SO confused!!! Any help would be appreciated!!

 

1. Called NCL and they told me to book dining 60 days out. I have read on here 90. Is it 90?? Guy didn't seem to know what he was talking about on other questions I had so I don't really trust his answers!

 

2. How do we get tickets for the Vibe Beach Club? Is it worth it?

 

3. What about entertainment? Should we book that in advance?

 

Thanks for your help in advance!!!!

[Rob0519]

We were on the Escape in November and were able to book dining 60 days out. Not sure if that has changed.

 

To get Vibe Beach Club passes, you will need to be in the earliest boarding group possible and then run, not walk, to guest services. There are only 75 passes and they go quickly. We were not quick enough, so we did not get them, so I can't tell you if it was worth it. Our weather was not that great so we would have had limited use of them anyway.

 

The only entertainment we booked in advance was the Supper Club's John Hughe's show. Million Dollar Quartet was cancelled for the entire week due the illness of one of the principal characters. Guess NCL has not heard the term Understudy.

[KeithJenner]

1. Called NCL and they told me to book dining 60 days out. I have read on here 90. Is it 90?? Guy didn't seem to know what he was talking about on other questions I had so I don't really trust his answers!

 

 

It's 90 days. Always treat the information from the phone reps with caution.

[laurabegorrah]

you can book 90 days out if you are in a suite/Haven. 60 days out for everything else.

 

I think the Vibe can be hit or miss - as the last poster mentioned - based on weather. You can usually find other semi quite areas away from kids if you look. But the Vibe does have hot tubs and a bar that make it a bit more appealing. Another option is a Spa pass. It also gives you access to a more tranquil area of the ship - but it also suffers from "if you don't run fast enough to snag one when you board, you might be out of luck"

 

When booking entertainment or dinner, some people like to completely wing it, and go in know they might need to be flexible with when they might get to eat based on availability. The benefit is that you can truly cruise freestyle, with no set schedules, even if it mean you might not get dinner until 9pm. Others like to know exactly when and where they are going to eat, so book in advance and make sure to plan on board activities or excursions accordingly. I do a combination. Places I know I'm going to want to eat at at some point, I'll reserve in advance, and any days we don't ahve set reservations, we jsut go where there is seating when we want to eat.

[laurabegorrah]

It's 90 days. Always treat the information from the phone reps with caution.

 

ahh - so it's 90 for everyone and 100 or 120 for Haven? I always forget lol.

[KeithJenner]

ahh - so it's 90 for everyone and 100 or 120 for Haven? I always forget lol.

 

 

100 for Haven.

 

If used to be 60 days for non suites, but changed quite a while ago.

Edited January 8, 2016 by KeithJenner

[sixesandeights]

OK I need HELP!! My husband and I are taking our first cruise for our 10th anniversary in May. I have to say I have steered away from cruises because they seemed confusing. Hubby talked me into it and I am SO confused!!! Any help would be appreciated!!

 

1. Called NCL and they told me to book dining 60 days out. I have read on here 90. Is it 90?? Guy didn't seem to know what he was talking about on other questions I had so I don't really trust his answers!

 

2. How do we get tickets for the Vibe Beach Club? Is it worth it?

 

3. What about entertainment? Should we book that in advance?

 

Thanks for your help in advance!!!!

 

1) You can book 90 days out for regular rooms. If you want to eat at the specialties at normal times BOOK ASAP. On the boat the only times available (even right away the first day) were 9:30.

 

2) You have to show up to the cruise terminal very early to get in one of the first groups, as soon as you get on the boat go to Guest services and there will be a line to buy passes. They only sell a select number of them. As far as if it is worth it or not that is pretty personal. My wife and I enjoyed Posh (same deal) on the Epic. Its an adult only private area.

 

3) You can book the main shows in advance, but we were able to walk in no problem to shows on the Escape. We did not enjoy any of the main shows at all. Usually NCL has great entertainment, but both of these shows (after midnight and Million Dollar) were snoozers. My wife and I are both very early 30's so that might be the problem, but even my 60 year old Dad found the shows boring. Some people seem to enjoy them, so to each their own but we did not find reservations 100% mandatory.

 

6&8

[duchesslt]

I looked at my records and On October 19 per all my confirmation emails, I booked all my Escape dining, entertainment, and excursions for a January 16 cruise. At the time I was booked in a family oceanview and I have no Norwegian status. I didn't even make final pax fare payment until Nov 2.

[grammyfrimpy]

Relax and go with the flow. Don't forget it's a vacation! Schedules are what happens at home. :)

[SNJCruisers]

Relax and go with the flow. Don't forget it's a vacation! Schedules are what happens at home. :)

If you wish to dine in a specialty restaurant during prime time such as 645-815, it seems that you need to book your slot ASAP starting at the 90 day mark. There have been reports that supposedly only 30% of the reservations are booked ahead of time and thus 70% are booked on board, but this is contradicted by other reports that people could not obtain reservations at all for Cagneys or Le Bistro during their 7 day cruise.

 

I would tend to believe what you read on here from CC members instead of the sometimes misleading answers you receive from a customer service rep from the cruise line.

[mvh]

1) You can book 90 days out for regular rooms. If you want to eat at the specialties at normal times BOOK ASAP. On the boat the only times available (even right away the first day) were 9:30.

 

I booked at exactly 90 days out and was able to get terrible times(5 or 9) for 4 SDP restaurants for a group of 8 (which is not that big of a group). I started checking back the very next day to see if others opened and I have not found anything available for 8 in any SDP restaurants. Basically, if you have a large group and don't book on the very first day, you could be S.O.L. Some people say they were able to get them on board, and some say they are all gone before they even get on board. I don't want to take my chances and be bumbed on board. I am really beginning to think the other lines have it right by having two set times as well as the my time.

[SNJCruisers]

...for 4 SDP restaurants for a group of 8 (which is not that big of a group).

Unless things are different in the Specialty venues on NCL, I beg to differ regarding a group of 8 not being big. If you're talking about the MDR on a cruise ship, then tables for 8 are numerous. On the other hand, the Specialty restaurants on Carnival, Celebrity and RCI may have only about 3 tables that would accommodate a party of 8. Assuming this is true on NCL, 5:30, 7:15 and 9:00 would allow the table to be flipped twice and thus 7:15 would be the only prime time availability. Assuming this would be snagged sometime between the 100 and 90 day mark by someone staying in the Haven, that leaves 5:30 and 9:00 as your options. This of course also assumes that a party of 8 can be out in 1.75 hours.

[Lisakauai]

We just got off yesterday...booked nothing in advance. We chose to really "be free" (new phrase replacing freestyle". We were able to book a 6:15 party of 8 in Moderno (FANTASTIC!) on a port day...just before sailing. Easily got in early seating to Cagneys...late for Teppenyaki and early for La Cuchina and ale Bistro. Booked shows while on board...they always leave room for standbys at "sold out shows" we sat near the front at Million Dollar Quartet with no reservations.