Specialty dining/a la carte

[pugrads]

We're not new to cruising, but are new to NCL - will be on the Jade in May to Greece.  We have the Free at Sea package with 2 specialty dining meals, but wondered how that worked at the a la carte restaurants.  My understanding of the a la carte is it's like a traditional restaurant where you pay for what you order or where things are priced individually; whereas the regular specialty dining is just more of a cover/up charge.  Is that correct?  I've tried finding specifics on the boards but I haven't found anything.  On Celebrity, there wasn't a difference so just wanted to know what to expect if there was a difference.  Thanks!

[Coffeeluvr05]

16 minutes ago, pugrads said:

We're not new to cruising, but are new to NCL - will be on the Jade in May to Greece.  We have the Free at Sea package with 2 specialty dining meals, but wondered how that worked at the a la carte restaurants.  My understanding of the a la carte is it's like a traditional restaurant where you pay for what you order or where things are priced individually; whereas the regular specialty dining is just more of a cover/up charge.  Is that correct?  I've tried finding specifics on the boards but I haven't found anything.  On Celebrity, there wasn't a difference so just wanted to know what to expect if there was a difference.  Thanks!

We just came back from a cruise on NCL and when you have the specialty dining package you can ignore the a la carte pricing on the menu.  You get to select a course from each section on the menu.  At the end they do give you a check showing what your bill would have been but you owe zero.  We loved the Italian restaurant the most and went there twice!

[wildcats40]

The server would ask if we wanted to use one of our specialty dining package meals for the dinner or not.  If we were using our package, they explained that we get an item from each section so there wasn't any confusion.  If there was a surcharge, it was clearly noted on the menu.  

[pugrads]

9 minutes ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

We just came back from a cruise on NCL and when you have the specialty dining package you can ignore the a la carte pricing on the menu.  You get to select a course from each section on the menu.  At the end they do give you a check showing what your bill would have been but you owe zero.  We loved the Italian restaurant the most and went there twice!

Thank you!  I wondered if that would be the case.

[Zmann86]

You generally get 4 items in any restaurant you choose to go.  If you go to the sushi place you can pick 4 rolls or any 4 items you want.  Most other places that distinguish you can choose one appetizer, one soup, one entree and one dessert.  There are a few places that show an up charge from dining package for certain things like Surf and Turf or adding Lobsters to an entree.  I hope this helps.

[Coffeeluvr05]

We went to one of the specialty restaurants (Q the BBQ place) for dessert one night and we just paid the a la carte price.  They had really yummy desserts!

[laudergayle]

Pick out what restaurants you want and 120 days out be sure to go on and make reservations. With the ships sailing at/near capacity the reservations go quickly.

[BirdTravels]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:13 PM, pugrads said:

We're not new to cruising, but are new to NCL - will be on the Jade in May to Greece.  We have the Free at Sea package with 2 specialty dining meals, but wondered how that worked at the a la carte restaurants.  My understanding of the a la carte is it's like a traditional restaurant where you pay for what you order or where things are priced individually; whereas the regular specialty dining is just more of a cover/up charge.  Is that correct?  I've tried finding specifics on the boards but I haven't found anything.  

You need to make reservations exactly 120 days prior to departure (125 if you are in a club balcony room or 130 days if you are in the Haven or a Suite). 12 midnight eastern time. Prime time dining reservations (e.g., not 9 pm) sell out quickly, especially on sea days. 

 

When you make your online reservations, it is essential that you book fixed priced restaurants (Moderno or Teppanyaki) first to avoid charges,,, if you want to dine there. 

 

Teppanyaki is small on the Jade, so if you want to dine there, that needs to be a top priority. Day 120, 12 midnight eastern. 

[cmph]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 Prime time dining reservations (e.g., not 9 pm) sell out quickly, especially on sea days. 

 

Lots of great info in your post for us newbies to NCL! Quick question regarding the above - what restaurants book up entirely in advance, even the 'bad' times? My teenagers eat at weird times on a normal basis, so I'm not particularly concerned with getting early/good times. We will be on a 10-night Baltic (very port intensive) on the Dawn, if that matters. We were looking at Cagney's, Moderno, and Le Bistro potentially. I'm not sure how to prioritize which one to try for first, when our booking time opens.

Edited January 27, 2023 by cmph

[BirdTravels]

2 minutes ago, cmph said:

Lots of great info in your post for us newbies to NCL! Quick question regarding the above - what restaurants book up entirely in advance, even the 'bad' times? My teenagers eat at weird times on a normal basis, so I'm not particularly concerned with getting early/good times. We will be on a 10-night Baltic (very port intensive) on the Dawn, if that matters. We were looking at Cagney's, Moderno, and Le Bistro potentially. I'm not sure how to prioritize which one to try for first, when our booking time opens.

On a 10-night cruise, the "demand" is spread over more nights. So,,, it should be easier to get reservations. 

 

NCL holds part of the inventory for booking onboard. So, if online bookings show only "bad" times, then you can wait until you board. On a smaller ship like the Dawn, ask as soon as you embark on where you can make dinner reservations (or try the touch screen kiosks in the elevator lobbies). I would even say to try the NCL app once onboard, but it is pretty clunky. The lines to make reservation on embarkation day are sometimes long. 

 

Cagney's will have the most demand. Moderno the least. 

 

Teppanyaki would have the biggest demand since there used to be only 4 tables (you can only serve 32 guests every 90 minutes). 

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, cmph said:

Lots of great info in your post for us newbies to NCL! Quick question regarding the above - what restaurants book up entirely in advance, even the 'bad' times? My teenagers eat at weird times on a normal basis, so I'm not particularly concerned with getting early/good times. We will be on a 10-night Baltic (very port intensive) on the Dawn, if that matters. We were looking at Cagney's, Moderno, and Le Bistro potentially. I'm not sure how to prioritize which one to try for first, when our booking time opens.

In my experience cruises such is this (Europe, longer cruise) tend to take days rather than hours to fill up. I usually do my reservations when convenient on the day they open and have never come across anywhere that we couldn’t get a reservation at that time.

 

I usually see availability for most restaurants weeks after they opened.

[Coffeeluvr05]

As far as reservations go, prior to sailing we couldn't get very good dining times in specialty dining.  We were able to get reservations once we boarded the ship much easier.  On the Bliss, the Teppanyaki restaurant was open during the daytime hours for all reservation needs.  You could also make them on your phone via the NCL app throughout your cruise.  

[JustAllie]

I noticed that reservations for larger groups (e.g. 6-8 people) are often the first to book up for convenient times, so if you are sailing with family or another group, you definitely want to book promptly. 

[2curious]

Hello all, can you confirm if the 20% service charge for Specialty Dining is already included in the dinner package price, or on top on that? Thank you.

[KeithJenner]

2 hours ago, 2curious said:

Hello all, can you confirm if the 20% service charge for Specialty Dining is already included in the dinner package price, or on top on that? Thank you.

When you buy a package, or get it via free at sea (this bit depends on the country, but I’m quite sure this is correct for Canada) you pay the service charge at the time. There is no service charge levied at the time of dining on items covered by the package, regardless of where you booked.

 

If you incur a charge, whether through upcharge items or ordering extra dishes, you will pay the 20% on those charges.

Edited January 28, 2023 by KeithJenner