Dinner reservations

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We have a 5 dinner package but have only been able to secure 2 nights since we have no desire to eat at 10 PM.  I’ve read on here that they save some spots for booking on the ship. Is it very likely we will be able to get reservations for the other three nights?  We probably won’t board until 2:00 or later due to our flight time. 

[shof515]

yes that true. only about 20% of reservations is available for pre-booking online. more times slots open up when you are on the ship

 

you do not have to wait until your on board. download the cruise norwegian app. while you are waiting in the terminal you might get lucky and pick up the ship wifi network. connect to that and configure the app. you can make reservations within in the app

[tef43]

I've never had an issue booking dining reservations on the ship.  Do not stress it.

 

shof515's recommendation above is solid if you are wanting a reservation at a peak time.  If your preference is to dine early, you should have no problems.

[BirdTravels]

58 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We have a 5 dinner package but have only been able to secure 2 nights since we have no desire to eat at 10 PM.  I’ve read on here that they save some spots for booking on the ship. Is it very likely we will be able to get reservations for the other three nights?  We probably won’t board until 2:00 or later due to our flight time. 

Yes. Dining reservations open 130 days prior to departure and the restaurants are sold out by now. 
 

Make getting those reservations your top priority onboard. There are some restaurants on the Pearl that you will have no chance in booking at 2:30 like Teppanyaki. For those, consider booking something else and try walking up to Teppanyaki for lunch or dinner. 
 

BTW: arriving at 2:30 for a 3pm all aboard is cutting it close. 

Edited February 8, 2020 by BirdTravels

[NCteacherlovescruising]

19 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes. Dining reservations open 130 days prior to departure and the restaurants are sold out by now. 
 

Make getting those reservations your top priority onboard. There are some restaurants on the Pearl that you will have no chance in booking at 2:30 like Teppanyaki. For those, consider booking something else and try walking up to Teppanyaki for lunch or dinner. 
 

BTW: arriving at 2:30 for a 3pm all aboard is cutting it close. 

I made reservations two places thinking that was all we had, but just found out we have 5 nights. I wouldn’t like Teppanyaki so that’s not a concern. 
 

We may not get there that late, just estimating since we are at the mercy of our NCL shuttle. We got their free air and arrive in Miami at 11:52.  

[mjkacmom]

45 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I made reservations two places thinking that was all we had, but just found out we have 5 nights. I wouldn’t like Teppanyaki so that’s not a concern. 
 

We may not get there that late, just estimating since we are at the mercy of our NCL shuttle. We got their free air and arrive in Miami at 11:52.  

You can always uber.

[dolita22]

Contrary to what many on here say, there is a possibility that reservations at a restaurant or two may be sold out and will be the entire sailing, no matter what time you want to eat.

 

We booked the Getaway 44 days out in 2018 and were able to reserve La Cucina, but that was it. (This was a late October sailing.) After reading on here that there's only certain percentage of reservations that can be booked ahead, I figured we'd be fine booking onboard. The day we boarded, we tried to do that first thing for Cagney's (after getting Vibe passes) and it was sold out. We didn't care what time or day of the week we ate there either. We checked multiple times throughout the cruise and Cagney's was sold out the entire time. May have been an anomaly, but the way it's explained on here is not always the case, so something to be aware of if you have your heart set on a particular restaurant.

 

We did end up going to La Cucina twice and had a fantastic experience and wonderful service the second time (and a good experience our first visit that cruise), so all was not lost. 🙂

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[MeHeartCruising]

I was on the Getaway at the end of January.  I booked too late to get any reservations online prior to the cruise.  We boarded the ship around Noon (boarding started around 11:15 from what I was told) and I used the app to get some reservations, but our desired time was still not available.  We are 5:30pm eaters for dinner and we had to settle for 6:45 one night and 5:45 the other night.  Both were acceptable, but just wanted to say that things will fill up quickly and all time slots may not be available when. you want them on the night you want them pretty quickly upon boarding.

 

I did notice that the TV screens showing the restaurant statuses use Green, Yellow, Red to indicate "Available", "Filling up Fast" and "Worth the Wait".  This made me wonder if you walk up at a time that says "Worth the Wait" if they would even try to squeeze you in someplace or just turn you away and say "you don't have a reservation".  If I had to wait 20 minutes for a table, that wouldn't be the end of the world, since there's always a nearby bar.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Can I book a reservation for 3 and change it to two once we’re onboard?  I see options for 1, 3, or 4, but not two for the restaurant I want. 

[shof515]

4 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Can I book a reservation for 3 and change it to two once we’re onboard?  I see options for 1, 3, or 4, but not two for the restaurant I want. 

 

yes. and in most restaurants it might be fine since they sometimes seat 2 people at a table for 4 people

[NCteacherlovescruising]

2 minutes ago, shof515 said:

 

yes. and in most restaurants it might be fine since they sometimes seat 2 people at a table for 4 people

Done!  I booked a table for 3 at Le Bistro. I will see them first day to try to change it to two.