What you wish you'd known / Best tips -> first time NCL cruiser!

[drsel]

I've always wondered about breakfast delivery. How does it work? Do they just leave it outside your door, or do they bring it in? What if the do not disturb sign is on, and you're sleeping? How does that work?

 

I'd love continental breakfast delivered to my solo studio, but I always avoided it because I sleep in, and I don't know how else I would actually receive the breakfast without being woken up?

If you ask for breakfast in the room, they will ring the bell and wake you up. And when you open the door they will bring it in.

You can choose the delivery time so that they don't disturb your sleep early morning

[JamieLogical]

I've always wondered about breakfast delivery. How does it work? Do they just leave it outside your door, or do they bring it in? What if the do not disturb sign is on, and you're sleeping? How does that work?

 

I'd love continental breakfast delivered to my solo studio, but I always avoided it because I sleep in, and I don't know how else I would actually receive the breakfast without being woken up?

 

You check off which half-hour window you would like to receive it during. When I was on the Gem, they called right before bringing it and I was usually already awake. But the call obviously would have woken me if I were still asleep. Then they also knocked when they got to the room and I just met them at the door and brought it in myself.

[FitchburgWIFamily]

OK...here is what I know now that a new cruiser might not know:

 

You set up an on board account when you board: things will charge to that account, you don't need to carry money or a charge card, just your room key.

 

Dining: you have options, so do what you like.

- If you like a leisurely multi-course meal served to you: on the escape, you have three free dining rooms you can go to: the Manhattan, Savor and Taste. They all serve the exact same menu. Manhattan is bigger and has live music. Savor and Taste are mirrors of each other. Meals will take a while, no tipping required. There are a few things you can add to your meal that would be charged (a bottle of wine, an espresso, or a beverage if you don't have the UBP) but everything else is included in your fare.

- If you like a quick casual meal, O'Sheehans is open almost all the time (closes during life boat drill and for a turnover between breakfast and lunch), and has pub style food: nachos, burgers, fish and chips, that sort of stuff. It is included in your fare. This is also a good option for you if you were late getting out of breakfast, as it serves breakfast past when Savor/Taste do.

- If you like instant gratification: the buffet is your best bet. Food is subjective, you'll learn what you do and don't like, so take just little portions to sample. Some lines close down, but there is almost always food somewhere in the cafe. You can be in and out of there in as fast as you can shove food in your face if you want. You can also grab a plate of finger food to take up to Spice H2O

 

I swear there are people who get all the way through the cruise and never tried one of the main dining rooms because they thought they were charged.

 

Places to hang out:

- If you like the sun, go up, up up. You are almost always going to find loungers in the sun on the upper deck. Getting a lounger by the pool is a blood sport not for the timid.

- Spice H2O during the day is quiet, adults only, and a great place to relax with a little water feature to help you cool off.

- The water front: if you don't like the sun, the waterfront is great place to relax. There are sofa and chair groupings in between the different outside seating areas of the restaurants on deck 7.

 

Planning ahead:

If you didn't make dinner reservations in advance, try when you get on board. On a full spring break cruise, we were able to get a reservation for 12 in Moderno, 10 in Cagneys and 4 in Le Bistro with no problem at good hours. If you are flexible, they will probably fit you in. If you didn't make reservations for a show: show up and go to the stand by line, they will probably fit you in.

 

If you did make reservations: write them down. NCL does not have a system that I know of that allows you to see all your reservations in one place: dining/shows/excursions are all tracked seperately.

 

The Escape has lots of shelves for storage, but not a lot of drawers. Dollar store collapsible storage bins can be used to corral undies, or scarves, swim suits, or anything you want.

 

Bring a watch: and old fashioned watch. Cell phones go to Doug Time, and there are not enough clocks on board.

 

Bring a carry on: on the day you board, you can have in it anything you need before you luggage gets to your room (my kids need their swimsuits as soon as they are done eating lunch). On the day you disembark: they collect the luggage the night before, so the carry on holds our PJs and everything we needed to get ready in the morning.

 

As others have mentioned: take advantage of the relaxed pace of Savor or Taste on your embarkation day to avoid the chaos of the cafe.

 

The hour or so before/after the life boat drill are the most crowded the ship will feel. Don't give up hope: it will get better.

 

Have fun and good luck!

[lantzalot]

If you ask for breakfast in the room, they will ring the bell and wake you up. And when you open the door they will bring it in.

You can choose the delivery time so that they don't disturb your sleep early morning

 

In our case, they showed up early 2 times though and did wake us up and so they came in to a dark room (my kids were still asleep) and I was bleary eyed in my PJs. It wasn't a huge deal.. .we needed to get up in 10-15 minutes anyway. But still. Good morning. :)

 

One tip - make sure you have a plan for where to put the breakfast tray. And also, call the room service people when you're done to have them bring the tray/plates away. Don't leave them in the hallway like people do in regular hotels. And the stewards don't really have room on their carts to deal with dishes when they're making up your room in the morning.

[lantzalot]

If you did make reservations: write them down. NCL does not have a system that I know of that allows you to see all your reservations in one place: dining/shows/excursions are all tracked seperately.

 

 

We could see all of our reservations on the NCL app and on the TV in the room. We couldn't see reservations for the Race Track or Laser Tag in the Bliss. But the shows and dining and excursions booked through the cruise were all there.

[JamieLogical]

The Escape has lots of shelves for storage, but not a lot of drawers. Dollar store collapsible storage bins can be used to corral undies, or scarves, swim suits, or anything you want.

 

This is a good tip. I was on the Escape in February and while it was fine just using the open shelves, I did go ahead and buy some of these at the Dollar Tree for my upcoming sailing on the Escape in October. I feel like they will be good for small things like underwear and socks. Bought a couple for my parents too, since they are joining us on this sailing.

 

[fridaythe13th]

I wish I had known that continental breakfast room service was free! I had read prior to sailing that there was a charge for room service, so never looked into it. It wasn't until prior to sailing on my second NCL cruise that I found our about free room service for breakfast. The free options include "cold" breakfast items like cereal, fruit, pastries, etc. plus coffee, juice, and milk. You fill out a card/door hanger with the items you want and the time you want them delivered and leave it on your door the night before. There are usually only a couple of cards/door hangers in the room when you arrive, so you can stop by the customer service desk or ask your room steward for more.

 

That was going to be my suggestion! So many people are unaware that room service (most of it) is free. I think most people give them a delivery tip, I do. Love having my delivered coffee on the balcony....

[drsel]

That was going to be my suggestion! So many people are unaware that room service (most of it) is free. I think most people give them a delivery tip, I do. Love having my delivered coffee on the balcony....

I prefer to go to the buffet. Why trouble those poor overworked waiters early in the morning

[JamieLogical]

That was going to be my suggestion! So many people are unaware that room service (most of it) is free. I think most people give them a delivery tip, I do. Love having my delivered coffee on the balcony....

 

Coffee and pastries on the balcony in my PJs is one of my favorite things about cruising now! After that we get showered and dressed and hit up O'Sheehans, MDR, or the Cafe for "second breakfast".

[fridaythe13th]

The walls, ceilings and doors of your cabin are magnetic. I bring magnetic hooks for a number of things.... PJ's, hats, wristlet, hoodie, etc.

 

If you leave your balcony door open to hear the sound of the ocean, your AC won't work.

[Oldgoat61]

I agree with those that suggest going to Savor or Taste for lunch on embarkation day. The buffet is a mad house.

[Grandma MoMac]

This is a good tip. I was on the Escape in February and while it was fine just using the open shelves, I did go ahead and buy some of these at the Dollar Tree for my upcoming sailing on the Escape in October. I feel like they will be good for small things like underwear and socks. Bought a couple for my parents too, since they are joining us on this sailing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was on the Escape from NY to Bermuda in Aug. I used packing cubes from Ebags They worked very well I used separate packs for underwear,swimwear,tops,bottoms and shoes. There was also plenty of hanging space and hangers

 

 

 

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[Desinico]

I bought these for my upcoming cruise. They Velcro over the pole in the closet. Got them on amazon for $3.00. The material is very sturdy and they are put together very well. They will give me some extra shelving space [emoji16]

 

 

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[lantzalot]

The walls, ceilings and doors of your cabin are magnetic. I bring magnetic hooks for a number of things.... PJ's, hats, wristlet, hoodie, etc.

 

If you leave your balcony door open to hear the sound of the ocean, your AC won't work.

 

But make sure to get pretty strong ones so they don't just slide down the wall when you put anything on it! :)

 

We also brought some over the door hooks to put on the back of the bathroom door (facing into the room) and hung our jackets there.

[cnvh]

An over-the-door shoe rack is really helpful for those small items that would otherwise clutter up what little surface space there is in the cabin. Also highlighters to note things on the dailies you want to do. Bonus points for different-colored highlighters for everyone in your cabin.

 

Ditto the previous poster who said to bring a watch... I don't think I saw a clock anywhere on the ship! I kept having to bring my phone everywhere just to keep track of the time.

 

BF and I aren't buffet people, but on the second to last night we wandered up there because BF had been in a poker tourney and I had eaten without him. We discovered a crepe station at the buffet, it was delicious and apparently it's there EVERY night starting at 6pm! If we'd have known that, it would totally have been worth going up for dessert after MDR dinners.

 

There are no outlets near the bed, only a single USB outlet on each side. BF needs a fan when he sleeps, so I brought a USB-powered bedside fan for him... He was eternally grateful.

 

 

 

 

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[RubySlippers102]

Such great tips, thanks!!

[happiness is cruising]

Are both ala carte breakfast and room service free for all room categories?

YES!!!

 

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[parislady40]

I bought these for my upcoming cruise. They Velcro over the pole in the closet. Got them on amazon for $3.00. The material is very sturdy and they are put together very well. They will give me some extra shelving space [emoji16]

 

 

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These look quite handy and I like the way they attach to the rods. By any chance, do you have a link to these? I have looked at tons on Amazon without finding these!! Appreciated!!

[ziggyuk]

I truly wish I had known it is a bad idea to put your phone on roaming!

 

I was traveling across the English channel, I set my phone to roaming expecting it to connect to european cells which are all included in my plan. Little did I know the ship had its own cell tower with extortionate rates, my data was happily racking up while I slept, and as my phone is on silent at night I did not hear a single waning text which were telling me about my billing!

 

Let me say, I woke to a shock of the first morning when I saw the bill I racked up overnight

[S&S Cruisers 1983]

This is a good tip. I was on the Escape in February and while it was fine just using the open shelves, I did go ahead and buy some of these at the Dollar Tree for my upcoming sailing on the Escape in October. I feel like they will be good for small things like underwear and socks. Bought a couple for my parents too, since they are joining us on this sailing.

 

What a great idea! Is this the size that would fit on the shelves of the Escape?

[Ottawa_Cruiser]

I agree with avoiding the buffet on embarkation day. We enjoy eating at O'Sheehans for lunch on embarkation day, but we might try the MDR when we sail on the Getaway in October.

[JamieLogical]

What a great idea! Is this the size that would fit on the shelves of the Escape?

 

I haven't tried them yet, but from my memory and videos, I am pretty confident this size will fit on the side shelves. If not, I know they will fit on the top shelves.

[kayjaypea42]

Bring extra hangers. They provide some, but not nearly enough!

[speedchef]

You can ask and your cabin steward will bring you as many hangers as you need.