Freestyle Dining - how?

[Jorg_]

How does the NCL Freestyle Dining work?

Can we book a table (in main diningroom) in advance? Or able to book when on the ship? Or is it just all ’drop in’ and not possible to make reservations?

[Twocoasts]

No reservations for the main dining rooms. Just walk up and get a table. 

 

Reservations are required for the specialty restaurants. 

[ggTexasGal]

You certainly may pre-book Main DR reservations.  However, they are not necessary if you wish to simply show-up when you wish.

[KeithJenner]

Don't overthink it.

 

It's basically very similar to how things work in real life. Popular and smaller restaurants (the speciality restaurants) require a reservation to guarantee a space. If you don't have a reservation there then you may strike lucky, especially if you want to eat early or late, but you could find that you can't get in at all without a reservation.

 

Larger places (the MDR's) do take reservations, but it is generally easy to get in without them. If you just walk up at a busy time you may have to wait for a table, especially if you are a larger group, but you will get in. We have never booked the MDR and never waited (we tend to eat early).

 

There are also some places (buffet, o'Sheehans/Local, Asian) that don't take reservations at all and you just turn up when you want.

[MNcruisingcouple]

If you have a larger group, you may want to get MDR reservations to avoid a long wait.  I do that with any group over 5 people and it's always the first thing I do upon boarding.

[casofilia]

@Jorg_

 

There are so many 2 tops that you will not have to wait too long even if you arrive at peak time.   The norm for booking in the MDR is when you want a large group to be seated together, say 6-10.   Above 10 you would have to book as they have to move furniture.

 

I have been in an MDR when a group of 16 just turned up "demanding" a single table.  It took a long time to get it "sorted"!!   With lots of ill feeling on both sides, not that the Maître d' and Restaurant Manager lost their cool!!

[mskaufman]

We had a group of 6, never a problem.  However most nights we ate early (6:30)

[Jorg_]

Thank you all. We are a party of 4 and like to eat early, so looks like there won’t be an issue. But also good to know that it will be possible to book MDR. One person in our group has a special condition so need to eat at pretty regular times. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

34 minutes ago, Jorg_ said:

One person in our group has a special condition so need to eat at pretty regular times. 

That's the beauty of being on a ship.  A person can eat pretty much any time they need/want 24/7.😎

[BirdTravels]

35 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

That's the beauty of being on a ship.  A person can eat pretty much any time they need/want 24/7.😎

For those of us who are diabetic, eating on a very regular schedule to manage glucose levels is literally a matter of life and death. Unfortunately, cruise ships offer menu items that are not consistent with good glucose management 😒

 

[junglejane]

We're going on our first NCL cruise next week, on the Pearl. We have two specialty dinner reservations already (Le Bistro and Teppanyaki -- my SIL made those reservations). I have 3 questions:

 

1. Looking at the website, I see that the complimentary options include two that are listed as MDR: Indigo and Summer Palace. Are the menus identical in those? 
2. I also see a compllimentary restaurant called Lotus Garden. Does that restaurant need reservations or do you just show up?
3. Do the specialty restaurants always need a reservation, or can you walk up and see if there's availability?

 

Thanks for helping out a newbie.

[KeithJenner]

The menu will be the same at Indigo and Summer Palace.

 

Lotus Garden will just be walk ups. I have rarely had any problem getting into the Asian restaurant (but we tend to eat early). I do remember on one occasion on a different ship we had to wait a while. They gave us a bleeper to let us know when there was a space.

 

It is possible to get into the speciality restaurants without a reservation, but it isn’t guaranteed. We always book to remove any doubt, so I can’t speak from

experience but some people report that they walk up regularly. I suspect that on busier sailings you would struggle, but at the moment it may be more likely, especially on those itineraries that are sailing well below capacity.

[junglejane]

Thanks for that quick feedback! Is it okay to order more than one appetizer? On Princess I often think they're the best part of the menu.

[KeithJenner]

25 minutes ago, junglejane said:

Thanks for that quick feedback! Is it okay to order more than one appetizer? On Princess I often think they're the best part of the menu.

Yes, you can order more than one appetiser.