A few Free at Sea questions

[alyssamma]

NCL newb here...first, with the free at sea drinks package, can you get drinks in the specialty restaurants with this?

 

Second, I get 2 specialty dinners but want 3. From looking at this, it seems I should pay for the Brazilian ($39pp) and then get free for Italian and Steak (since a la carte they will be more than 40). Does this make sense or am I missing something? Want to make sure there is no "gotcha".

 

Lastly, for the Italian restaurant, I assume you get something from the soup/salad menu, but what about the rest? There is a pasta, pizza, and entree menu...can you sub pizza for one of those? Otherwise do you get pasta and entree?

 

Thanks in advance.

[MeHeartCruising]

The answer to the first question is YES.  You can get drinks anywhere that serves drinks.  If the restaurant doesn’t have a bar, they can go out to a nearby bar to get it.  It may be faster if you just bring your own drink in with you. 

Edited October 14, 2021 by MeHeartCruising

[Two Wheels Only]

6 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

Does this make sense or am I missing something?

 

You decide when and where to use your SDP. If it is better to pay out of pocket at restaurant A and use the SDP at restaurant B, do it.

 

8 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

Otherwise do you get pasta and entree?

 

You get pasta and entrée or you can upsize the pasta to make that your 1 entrée.

[alyssamma]

3 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

You get pasta and entrée or you can upsize the pasta to make that your 1 entrée.

Is there an option to get pizza?

[HuliHuli]

58 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

Is there an option to get pizza?

It's an Italian restaurant!  See https://cruisefrugal.com/cruise-ship-menus/norwegian-ncl-joy-la-cucina-menu/

[phillygwm]

2 hours ago, alyssamma said:

NCL newb here...first, with the free at sea drinks package, can you get drinks in the specialty restaurants with this?

 

Second, I get 2 specialty dinners but want 3. From looking at this, it seems I should pay for the Brazilian ($39pp) and then get free for Italian and Steak (since a la carte they will be more than 40). Does this make sense or am I missing something? Want to make sure there is no "gotcha".

 

Lastly, for the Italian restaurant, I assume you get something from the soup/salad menu, but what about the rest? There is a pasta, pizza, and entree menu...can you sub pizza for one of those? Otherwise do you get pasta and entree?

 

Thanks in advance.

Yes, you can get free drinks in any of the restaurants/bars on the ship.

 

Depending on what you order in La Cucina, that may be cheaper than Moderno.  Another option is to buy a specialty dining package.  Not that great of a deal for 2 nights ($94.80 pp) but the per meal cost decreases as you buy more.  If it doesn't break your budget, I find it much better than MDR.

 

Others can correct me because it's been a while since I've eaten in La Cucina, but I know I had a pizza in addition to an entree (no, I didn't eat the whole thing!) 🙂  I probably had a side of pasta with my entree but I can't swear to that.

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, HuliHuli said:

It's an Italian restaurant!  See https://cruisefrugal.com/cruise-ship-menus/norwegian-ncl-joy-la-cucina-menu/

LOL, yeah...I know...see my original question. It helps to read carefully 🙂

 

 

2 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Lastly, for the Italian restaurant, I assume you get something from the soup/salad menu, but what about the rest? There is a pasta, pizza, and entree menu...can you sub pizza for one of those? Otherwise do you get pasta and entree?

 

So do you have an answer for that?

[hallux]

3 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Lastly, for the Italian restaurant, I assume you get something from the soup/salad menu, but what about the rest? There is a pasta, pizza, and entree menu...can you sub pizza for one of those? Otherwise do you get pasta and entree?

I'm not sure exactly how the menu is laid out now, but when I sailed in April 2019 on the Bliss I got an antipasta tray, a pasta, sea bass and a dessert.  If the Pizza is on the menu and in the same category as any of those you could swap it in.

 

EDIT: I would say you can probably sub it in for the pasta or secondi section...

Edited October 14, 2021 by hallux

[Goldconnection]

Yes you can order drinks at all restaurants.

[p5woody]

Instead of creating a new thread, figured I would add my question here.  For the Free at Sea specialty dining meals, can I make reservations before boarding or do we have to wait until we are on the ship.  I saw the following and wanted to make sure.  

'If the guest chooses to use the reservation as part of their specialty dining package, they will need to make these arrangements once onboard.'

 

I am assuming I can make the reservation now and then tell them we want to use it as part of the package when we arrive at the restaurant.  Is this correct?

Edited October 26, 2021 by p5woody

[ggTexasGal]

6 minutes ago, p5woody said:

Instead of creating a new thread, figured I would add my question here.  For the Free at Sea specialty dining meals, can I make reservations before boarding or do we have to wait until we are on the ship.  I saw the following and wanted to make sure.  

'If the guest chooses to use the reservation as part of their specialty dining package, they will need to make these arrangements once onboard.'

 

I am assuming I can make the reservation now and then tell them we want to use it as part of the package when we arrive at the restaurant.  Is this correct?

Yes, you may make your reservations online Pre-Cruise!

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, ggTexasGal said:

Yes, you may make your reservations online Pre-Cruise!

How do you do this? It tries to charge me for it...

[ggTexasGal]

9 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

How do you do this? It tries to charge me for it...

Perhaps they have changed how they do things since we last cruised.

Currently, we have not been able to make ANY dining reservations for our next cruise.

Sorry that I am no help for you!!!

[BENNETT531]

I literally 5 minutes ago made a reservation, with no charge.  I went to "explore", chose the specialty dining I wanted, and added it to cart.  It asked me how many people in the party, and what time.  "Checked out" and the total was $0.  Now it's under that day's activities in my summary.  (We had the 2 dinner free plan, and I made two reservations)

 

 

[ggTexasGal]

5 minutes ago, BENNETT531 said:

I literally 5 minutes ago made a reservation, with no charge.  I went to "explore", chose the specialty dining I wanted, and added it to cart.  It asked me how many people in the party, and what time.  "Checked out" and the total was $0.  Now it's under that day's activities in my summary.  (We had the 2 dinner free plan, and I made two reservations)

And that is how it has worked in the past. 

However, there are times when you might have to "trick" the online system by booking the restaurants that have a fee (Moderno for example) FIRST, and then book any that are Ala Carte! 

@alyssamma You might want to try this to see if it works.