New to NCL...help!!!

[jmwg49]

We will be taking our first cruise on NCL (diamond on CCL) and I just want some information!!

We have "free at sea" and have 2 specialty restaurants we can visit.   How does this work?  Do we pre-book from home or do we have to wait til we get onboard?  

Any opinions on what is "worth it" for dining?

Do the "free" restaurants require a reservation too?  and shows etc?  

I just don't want to be disappointed when we get onboard and not be prepared!

Any help is appreciated!

[worktocruise610]

Hello! I’ll try to answer best I can, but you should also note what ship you’re on because they have different restaurants.

you can pre book reservations for the dining at (I think) 120 days before sailing. If you can’t get what you want they do hold back some so you can make onboard, but if you’re set on a date or time, best to do it before; you do not need reservations for free dining.

As for what is worth it, usually personal preference, but you’ll get plenty of suggestions. I say go on NCL and check out menus for the restaurants on your sailing. 
Can’t comment on shows, I don’t do them.

Have a great cruise!

[Uff da]

7 minutes ago, jmwg49 said:

We will be taking our first cruise on NCL (diamond on CCL) and I just want some information!!

We have "free at sea" and have 2 specialty restaurants we can visit.   How does this work?  Do we pre-book from home or do we have to wait til we get onboard?  

Any opinions on what is "worth it" for dining?

Do the "free" restaurants require a reservation too?  and shows etc?  

I just don't want to be disappointed when we get onboard and not be prepared!

Any help is appreciated!

Without knowing when your cruise is, at some point shore excursions and specialty dining will open for booking online. Get on quickly if you want to get the best specialty dining times. I suggest you print out or write down your itinerary and the port times and your shore excursions so you can select the best days and time to dine. Free restaurants do not require any type of reservation. That's part of the idea behind freestyle cruising. It's very nice. It's similar to anytime dining on CCL. (They still have that, right?)
There are different restaurants on different ships but a few always seem to pop up here as the most popular. Le Bistro, Cagney's and Teppanyaki. If your ship has Q BBQ, I personally do not recommend it. I wish I could have that one back. lol 

Show bookings are done onboard through the box office. It will tell you in the daily planner. I was on a less than capacity sailing and getting reservations was not a problem. The theater was not full anyway. The comedy show venue is smaller and you for sure want reservations for that if you want to go. The shows are often more than one day and more than one time (early/late.) If there is something you really want to see and it interferes with that day's plan, ask the box office if it will be playing another day so you can decide how to proceed. 

You will find that the big 3 lines, Carnival, NCL, RC are all pretty much the same. The vibe is a little different. NCL is more laid back, especially the dress code. You will see it all. Some people dress up, but mostly it's very casual. Not having to fly dress clothes was a big draw for us. We've done formal night. I didn't miss it. There's lots of information here and if you have more questions, just ask! 

I hope you have a great cruise!
 

[MoCruiseFan]

33 minutes ago, jmwg49 said:

We will be taking our first cruise on NCL (diamond on CCL) and I just want some information!!

We have "free at sea" and have 2 specialty restaurants we can visit.   How does this work?  Do we pre-book from home or do we have to wait til we get onboard?  

Any opinions on what is "worth it" for dining?

Do the "free" restaurants require a reservation too?  and shows etc?  

I just don't want to be disappointed when we get onboard and not be prepared!

Any help is appreciated!

 

 

Many free items do not accept reservations (including comp dining, just show up). As far as the specialty dining goes, you can make reservations pre-cruise on NCL.com or wait until you are on board.  If you have a specific time you want to eat you might want to make reservations ahead of time.  With some degree of frequency prime slot will fill up before embarkation.  The dining is all a matter of taste and personal preference.  W opt for specialty dining every night of the cruise.  (FYI the steak house on NCL is far superior to the one on CCL as is the late night dining.)

 

[poohdreaming]

2 hours ago, jmwg49 said:

We will be taking our first cruise on NCL (diamond on CCL) and I just want some information!!

We have "free at sea" and have 2 specialty restaurants we can visit.   How does this work?  Do we pre-book from home or do we have to wait til we get onboard?  

Any opinions on what is "worth it" for dining?

Do the "free" restaurants require a reservation too?  and shows etc?  

I just don't want to be disappointed when we get onboard and not be prepared!

Any help is appreciated!

 

Do not know which cruise ship you would be on.

However, most have Cagney's which is one of the specialty restaurants.

These specialty restaurants, you would have to reserve for when you want to dine.

Do so when you can do it open up to reserve.

You just choose one app., one entrée, and one dessert.

 

https://www.ncl.com/termsandconditions/promotions

It explains the promotions in detail.

 

Shows - Cannot comment on this due to the pandemic. Some shows were cancelled.

If there are any shows, you can reserve / book it through your profile or on board at the box office.

 

Other restaurants - you do not need to reserve, but could do so if you want to.

Usually would just show up and line up.

 

 

 

 

[barb65]

The first thing we do when we board is go immediately to the box office and book our shows for the week. Then we book our meals at the specialty restaurants and work our meal schedule around our entertainment schedule. Works best for us.

[debenson0723]

Depending on the ship, there are kiosks on the walls near the elevators where you can book shows and dining reservations. Most of the shows are back up and running, except for a cancellation here and there.  You can also book dining reservations for specialty restaurants at a central location as soon as you board (lately it seems to be in the Atrium but I have seen it in Teppanyaki also).  With reduced capacity, online reservations have not been available to book and not needed.  Again, all this is dependent on which ship and when you are going.  I have been on 4 different ships since the restart and my experiences have pretty much been the same on all of them.

You didn't ask about the drink package with the FAS but it consists of any cocktail/beer/wine up to $15. If the one you want is over that amount, you pay the difference plus the 20% gratuity. And there is no 15 drink limit per day like on Carnival.

One last thing...with the FAS specialty dining, you are not limited to one app, one entree and one dessert (that is the Platinum dining coupon).  You can have as many apps and desserts as you want with FAS but only one entree.

[jmwg49]

Thanks for the information!  We will be on the Breakaway in October of 2022.  

I hope to take advantage of a couple of the specialty places, especially interested in the teppanyaki and the ? bistro?  french 

[acct1975]

On 3/22/2022 at 9:30 PM, jmwg49 said:

Thanks for the information!  We will be on the Breakaway in October of 2022.  

I hope to take advantage of a couple of the specialty places, especially interested in the teppanyaki and the ? bistro?  french 

If you're a YouTube rabbit hole person like me, you can go on YouTube and see reviews of the specialty dining options for the Breakaway. Mind you, they are a few years old but they can still give you the feel. I'll be on the Breakaway in June 2022 and am looking forward to trying Le Bistro (French) which I've heard good things about. Cagney's Steakhouse is always a good choice. I tried them on the Sky years ago and the food was perfect! The other commenters are right, log onto NCL.com and look over the menus for the specialty dining on ship to see if there is anything that strikes you.

 

In general, the specialty dining venues tend to have a more structured dress code (think long pants and collared shirts for men) than the free dining so keep that in mind when packing.

 

Happy cruising!

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, acct1975 said:

In general, the specialty dining venues tend to have a more structured dress code (think long pants and collared shirts for men) than the free dining so keep that in mind when packing.

No they don't.

 

The dress code in all speciality restaurants except for Le Bistro and Ocean Blue (or equivalent) is exactly the same as the mid ship main dining room. On many ships, the dress code is stricter in the aft MDR than in most speciality restaurants.

[Redsky5292]

17 hours ago, acct1975 said:

If you're a YouTube rabbit hole person like me, you can go on YouTube and see reviews of the specialty dining options for the Breakaway. Mind you, they are a few years old but they can still give you the feel. I'll be on the Breakaway in June 2022 and am looking forward to trying Le Bistro (French) which I've heard good things about. Cagney's Steakhouse is always a good choice. I tried them on the Sky years ago and the food was perfect! The other commenters are right, log onto NCL.com and look over the menus for the specialty dining on ship to see if there is anything that strikes you.

 

In general, the specialty dining venues tend to have a more structured dress code (think long pants and collared shirts for men) than the free dining so keep that in mind when packing.

 

Happy cruising!

I've been on the Breakaway twice and her sister ship, the Getaway, once.  We LOVE Ocean Blue and the Teppanyaki restaurant.  We also really liked La Cucina.  We didn't eat in Le Bistro as my sister and BIL were not fans.  We are going back on the Breakaway in July and I just made dinner reservations at Ocean Blue for our wedding anniversary.  This will be the fourth time eating there.

[complawyer]

acct1975

 

im sorry, but where did you get the idea that there is a dress code for specialty dining venues ?  ncl boasts of freestyle dining. you can walk into any specialty restaurant (hopefully you have a reservation) and as long as you dont look like a complete or even incomplete slob, you'll get seated. i spend my entire cruise in jeans and t-shirts (pictures, not the underwear kind) and have never had a problem (15 ncl cruises and counting)keith jenner is correct. only le bistro requires collared shirts. i cant comment on ocean blue because ive never sailed on an ncl ship that had one.  cagneys doesnt care, teppanyaki doesnt care, la cuncina doesnt care, and i believe most of the mdr's dont care  except for manhatten.

by the way, i usually dont bother with le bistro, as i dont care for their attitude

so go, relax, enjoy eat your heart out, and dont worry about how you are dressed. ncl will gladly take your money for the specialty restaurants and happily feed you!

[Sailing12Away]

On 3/22/2022 at 4:16 PM, jmwg49 said:

We will be taking our first cruise on NCL (diamond on CCL) and I just want some information!!

We have "free at sea" and have 2 specialty restaurants we can visit.   How does this work?  Do we pre-book from home or do we have to wait til we get onboard?  

Any opinions on what is "worth it" for dining?

Do the "free" restaurants require a reservation too?  and shows etc?  

I just don't want to be disappointed when we get onboard and not be prepared!

Any help is appreciated!

The rules about how soon you can book things have been a bit fluid lately. I'm sailing on the Star in May and still can't pre-book any of my dining choices. So it all depends on your sailing, ship, category of room you booked, status level etc - but generally speaking, yes, as soon as you can make a reservation for dining you should. There will be some time slots available the day you get on board, but if you have your heart on a particular restaurant or time slot - do it as soon as you can.

 

Regarding the main dining room or other free restaurants, it all depends on the size of your group and when you want to dine. When we travel as a group of 2, we've never had a problem just showing up anywhere and getting a seat within 2 minutes. If you're a larger group size and want to go at a prime time - always better to try and make arrangements before hand to minimize your wait. In 2023 we're traveling as a large group of 6 plus additional friends that are traveling as well. So once we decide on a few meals we'll all do together I plan on having the concierge help with those reservations so there's no issue.

 

And yes - there is a dress code in some of the dining venues. Maybe what some people consider to be 'normal' attire to them already fits that code so they don't think there's a code. But we've been turned away from Le Bistro and the fancier main dining room when hubby forgot to change out of his shorts. T-shirt was fine, but shorts were not. And the rule for some reason only applies to the men.... go figure.

 

Regarding what places are 'worth it' - look at the menus. Figure out what you would want to try at each place and see what it would cost out of pocket. There's no rule that says you can't go to all 5 places and use your free credit at the 2 most expensive ones and pay out of pocket for the pre-fix ones. When you get there, you can tell them to use your credit or not. For example, we tried Q last year and enjoyed it, but wouldn't waste a dining credit on it going forward. Instead we would probably split a meal and pay out of pocket, and save that dining credit for a more expensive venue.

 

Prior to Covid I remember having to reserve seats for some of the shows on the Epic. But post-Covid we haven't had that issue yet at all. Again, if your account on NCL's website says you can make a reservation, then just do it to be safe.

[acct1975]

21 hours ago, complawyer said:

acct1975

 

im sorry, but where did you get the idea that there is a dress code for specialty dining venues ?  ncl boasts of freestyle dining. you can walk into any specialty restaurant (hopefully you have a reservation) and as long as you dont look like a complete or even incomplete slob, you'll get seated. i spend my entire cruise in jeans and t-shirts (pictures, not the underwear kind) and have never had a problem (15 ncl cruises and counting)keith jenner is correct. only le bistro requires collared shirts. i cant comment on ocean blue because ive never sailed on an ncl ship that had one.  cagneys doesnt care, teppanyaki doesnt care, la cuncina doesnt care, and i believe most of the mdr's dont care  except for manhatten.

by the way, i usually dont bother with le bistro, as i dont care for their attitude

so go, relax, enjoy eat your heart out, and dont worry about how you are dressed. ncl will gladly take your money for the specialty restaurants and happily feed you!

Pulled from the NCL site. This is what I meant by "dress code" (maybe putting in quotes originally would have been better)

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

And yes - there is a dress code in some of the dining venues. Maybe what some people consider to be 'normal' attire to them already fits that code so they don't think there's a code. But we've been turned away from Le Bistro and the fancier main dining room when hubby forgot to change out of his shorts. T-shirt was fine, but shorts were not. And the rule for some reason only applies to the men.... go figure.

I never in any way suggested that there is not a dress code.

[KeithJenner]

54 minutes ago, acct1975 said:

Pulled from the NCL site. This is what I meant by "dress code" (maybe putting in quotes originally would have been better)

Absolutely no mention of that applying to speciality restaurants.

 

In your original post you stated:

 

"In general, the specialty dining venues tend to have a more structured dress code (think long pants and collared shirts for men) than the free dining"

 

Which is incorrect.

[jmwg49]

6 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

The rules about how soon you can book things have been a bit fluid lately. I'm sailing on the Star in May and still can't pre-book any of my dining choices. So it all depends on your sailing, ship, category of room you booked, status level etc - but generally speaking, yes, as soon as you can make a reservation for dining you should. There will be some time slots available the day you get on board, but if you have your heart on a particular restaurant or time slot - do it as soon as you can.

 

Regarding the main dining room or other free restaurants, it all depends on the size of your group and when you want to dine. When we travel as a group of 2, we've never had a problem just showing up anywhere and getting a seat within 2 minutes. If you're a larger group size and want to go at a prime time - always better to try and make arrangements before hand to minimize your wait. In 2023 we're traveling as a large group of 6 plus additional friends that are traveling as well. So once we decide on a few meals we'll all do together I plan on having the concierge help with those reservations so there's no issue.

 

And yes - there is a dress code in some of the dining venues. Maybe what some people consider to be 'normal' attire to them already fits that code so they don't think there's a code. But we've been turned away from Le Bistro and the fancier main dining room when hubby forgot to change out of his shorts. T-shirt was fine, but shorts were not. And the rule for some reason only applies to the men.... go figure.

 

Regarding what places are 'worth it' - look at the menus. Figure out what you would want to try at each place and see what it would cost out of pocket. There's no rule that says you can't go to all 5 places and use your free credit at the 2 most expensive ones and pay out of pocket for the pre-fix ones. When you get there, you can tell them to use your credit or not. For example, we tried Q last year and enjoyed it, but wouldn't waste a dining credit on it going forward. Instead we would probably split a meal and pay out of pocket, and save that dining credit for a more expensive venue.

 

Prior to Covid I remember having to reserve seats for some of the shows on the Epic. But post-Covid we haven't had that issue yet at all. Again, if your account on NCL's website says you can make a reservation, then just do it to be safe.

Thank you so much for your post!   I will watch for when booking opens for our specialty dining credits!   We are excited to try something "new to us" and different!  🙂   

[Sailing12Away]

23 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

I never in any way suggested that there is not a dress code.

My comment was directed more to the gent below, not to you.

 

On 3/25/2022 at 2:01 PM, complawyer said:

im sorry, but where did you get the idea that there is a dress code for specialty dining venues ? 

 

[acct1975]

4 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

My comment was directed more to the gent below, not to you.

 

 

I know it's all good. I appreciate your help in clarifying 🙂