Specialty restaurants

[kaylasnana]

Because we just booked our cruise for April 16th I was only able to book one specialty restaurant.  Will a party of 2 have any luck booking once on ship?

[All-ready2cruise]

Most likely, yes, they really only book a percentage of tables; however, you will need to book as quickly as you can when you arrive embark or possibly even when you enter the terminal.  

The reservations do go very quickly when you arrive at the ship.  

Good luck. 

[2Cruise4Ever]

46 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

Most likely, yes, they really only book a percentage of tables; however, you will need to book as quickly as you can when you arrive embark or possibly even when you enter the terminal.  

The reservations do go very quickly when you arrive at the ship.  

Good luck. 

I don't think you can book anything in the terminal.  But, yes, as soon as you board you can go straight to the restaurant reservation desk.

[MeHeartCruising]

14 minutes ago, 2Cruise4Ever said:

I don't think you can book anything in the terminal.  But, yes, as soon as you board you can go straight to the restaurant reservation desk.

 

In some ports, you can access the ship's wifi from inside the terminal building upon arrival because it's very close to the building.  When that is the case, you can "pretend" you're on the ship and do anything you can do from inside the NCL app on your phone, such as make dinner/show reservations.

Edited March 2, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[www3traveler]

For 2 people, just show up shortly before the scheduled opening time and ask to be seated.  You might have to wait less than 5 minutes to be seated.

[2Cruise4Ever]

1 hour ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

In some ports, you can access the ship's wifi from inside the terminal building upon arrival because it's very close to the building.  When that is the case, you can "pretend" you're on the ship and do anything you can do from inside the NCL app on your phone, such as make dinner/show reservations.

Oh, gotcha... I was thinking at the check in desk.

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

In some ports, you can access the ship's wifi from inside the terminal building upon arrival because it's very close to the building.  When that is the case, you can "pretend" you're on the ship and do anything you can do from inside the NCL app on your phone, such as make dinner/show reservations.

This is sometimes possible depending on what time you are inside the terminal.  On our Joy cruise last week, the app didn't even 'switch over' to our cruise until noon.  We were on board the ship at 11:10 and went to the reservation desk and booked our restaurants and shows.  We couldn't get 2 of our preferred times but checked back every day for cancellations and were able to get everything eventually (this was on a ship with 4530 passengers). So keep trying.

[genealogyfan]

When you board the ship, they may have dining reservations set up somewhere like the comedy club. When I was on a cruise in October they had dining reservations set up in the comedy club and had multiple staff helping people make or change reservations. There were plenty of signs where to go.

[kitkat343]

 

6 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

In some ports, you can access the ship's wifi from inside the terminal building upon arrival because it's very close to the building.  When that is the case, you can "pretend" you're on the ship and do anything you can do from inside the NCL app on your phone, such as make dinner/show reservations.

This didn't work for me at NY harbor, but certainly might work somewhere else (or even possibly there on another day depending on the internet strength.)  We checked in late - after 12:30 but still got all the remaining reservations we wanted on the getaway, as soon as we boarded including ocean blue on a sea day.  Just try to do this asap.

Edited March 3, 2023 by kitkat343

[Acruzaholic]

Boarding the Prima on Sunday March 5th-Does anyone know where they will be setup for specialty dining reservations? 

[dexddd]

18 minutes ago, Acruzaholic said:

Boarding the Prima on Sunday March 5th-Does anyone know where they will be setup for specialty dining reservations? 

It was Teppanyaki in September.

[BirdTravels]

17 hours ago, kaylasnana said:

Because we just booked our cruise for April 16th I was only able to book one specialty restaurant.  Will a party of 2 have any luck booking once on ship?

Exactly 21 days before departure, when the count down click on your account hits 21 at 12 midnight eastern Time, check in and get an early time to check in at the port. If you wait a day, all of the early times will be sold out. 
 

On embarkation day, do not bother trying to reserve from the terminal. pThere is a very high probability that they won’t switch the reservation system to your voyage (and definitely if there are still people from the prior cruise disembarking). 
 

Get on the ship soonest and head to The Social, Deck 6 midship and make your entertainment reservations (main theater shows. Comedy shows - early are family oriented, late are 18+). If you are on the Escape, you can also book complimentary dinner shows there. Then head across the hall to Teppanyaki, Deck 6 midship, to making dining reservations. 
 

Do Not assume that you can walk-in to a restaurant. 
 

Have a great cruise!  

[genealogyfan]

I recently talked with someone from Norwegian and they told me only 20% of the available restaurant reservations are available to book ahead of time. Once you board the 80% will be available to book. I’m not sure if she meant for the speciality restaurants or all restaurants.

[FFFJanet]

I booked our recent cruise last minute and all of the reservations on line were booked.. I was kind of disappointed because I love the specialty resturants.. So we got on the ship around 12:30 and went to the line to see if we could get a reservation... No problem, I was able to get reservations and the line was not very long. Same with the reservations for entertainment that required reservations, we were able to book just about anyday.. However the next day we stopped by again because we were uncertain what time we booked and wanted to confirm. A fellow was trying to book a reservation and they were all gone.... And Geez he gave the girl such a hard time and was quite rude to her...Moral of story, you can get a reservation once on board but dont wait a day to do it!!

[dexddd]

10 hours ago, FFFJanet said:

I booked our recent cruise last minute and all of the reservations on line were booked.. I was kind of disappointed because I love the specialty resturants.. So we got on the ship around 12:30 and went to the line to see if we could get a reservation... No problem, I was able to get reservations and the line was not very long. Same with the reservations for entertainment that required reservations, we were able to book just about anyday.. However the next day we stopped by again because we were uncertain what time we booked and wanted to confirm. A fellow was trying to book a reservation and they were all gone.... And Geez he gave the girl such a hard time and was quite rude to her...Moral of story, you can get a reservation once on board but dont wait a day to do it!!

Welcome to CC.

[PLW0520]

Anyone know where to make specialty dining reservations on the Encore?

[sassycruiser]

We were just on the Epic and are Platinum.  We were unable to get any reservations that were not done prior to embarkation.  We also went to the restaurants and were told that we could come at 9 pm and they may be able to assist us.  I was extremely disappointed and left without using all my specialty credits.  And yes, we tried going right at opening. 

[FFFJanet]

1 hour ago, sassycruiser said:

We were just on the Epic and are Platinum.  We were unable to get any reservations that were not done prior to embarkation.  We also went to the restaurants and were told that we could come at 9 pm and they may be able to assist us.  I was extremely disappointed and left without using all my specialty credits.  And yes, we tried going right at opening. 

 

[FFFJanet]

Just now, FFFJanet said:

Wowm sorry to hear that, we had no issues. I guess it is hit or miss and we were lucky

 

 

Just now, FFFJanet said: