1st NCL cruise and need help

[angiem0217]

After 21 cruises with carnival we have booked our first NCL cruise on the Escape in October. We have the free dining with 2 dinners. How far in advance can you book? And I need recommendations on what to book. Any other insider info for our upcoming cruise would be appreciated. We are excited to try a new cruise line. Thanks for any input or tips and tricks you can give. 

[RB9643]

 

Book now.  Le Bistro for sure if it's your first time.

 

 

[JandC_Cruising]

Bookings for specialty restaurants open 120 days prior to departure.   Our favorites on Escape are Le Bistro and Bayamo.  Pinchos Tapas is great for sea day lunch.  

[KeithJenner]

As dining reservations have been available for a while you may find that the most popular times are already taken.

 

Don’t worry about that, as only a proportion (we don’t know the exact proportion as people get told varying guesses by NCL staff) are released for booking prior to the cruise. If you can’t get what you want now then do the bookings as a priority when you board.

 

An option is to book times that will do now and change them to better times once onboard. This will mean that you have those as a back up in case you are late boarding.

[hallux]

This and other FAQ's right on NCL's website - https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/when-can-i-book-dining-entertainment

[dbrown84]

by the time this thread finishes, you'll probably get recommendations for all the restaurants, which will put you back at square one 🙂  I would suggest looking at the menus for each and see what stands out to you.  Personally, I would recommend Moderno if you like endless meat (Yum).  It's not Fogo Do chao, but it's still pretty good.  Folks rave over the salad bar, but I skip it so I have more room for the meat.  I would then recommend Food republic.  The sushi is great, and fresh.  Whatever you choose, ENJOY!!!

[cruiseny4life]

If you make multiple reservations for dinner, be sure to reserve the cover charge restaurants first: Moderno and Teppanyaki...if you're going to those, that is. The reason? If you don't book them first, so the system "sees" you've booked them using the theory that you'll be taking advantage of Free at Sea dining package, you'll have to pay the cover charge. No one wants to do that. 🙂 

 

@dbrown84 is right. By the end, you'll have a recommendation for each of the restaurants. Use this link to see which restaurants are onboard. Make the decision based on what you want. All the specialty restaurants are "ok." Nothing will blow you away. So just go in with normal expectations and you'll be happy.