NCL Newbie Questions

[Shoequeen]

While we have a large number of cruises under our belts, NCL has not been our preferred line.  We are now booked on the Breakaway and have some newbie questions.

Have shorts become acceptable for men in the dining room?  We’ve noticed on other lines thst things are becoming extremely casual and many men are wearing shorts.

Can we carry on a case of water?

Can we each carry on a bottle of wine if we don’t have a drink package?

Thanks!

[SoloAlaska]

Yes NCL is a pretty casual line.

No you can’t carry water onboard.

Yes you can bring wine but you will be charged a corkage fee upon boarding

[BirdTravels]

31 minutes ago, Shoequeen said:

While we have a large number of cruises under our belts, NCL has not been our preferred line.  We are now booked on the Breakaway and have some newbie questions.

Have shorts become acceptable for men in the dining room?  We’ve noticed on other lines thst things are becoming extremely casual and many men are wearing shorts.

Can we carry on a case of water?

Can we each carry on a bottle of wine if we don’t have a drink package?

Thanks!

Welcome to NCL

 

Shorts are “allowed” in all restaurants for all meals except Ocean Blue and Le Bistro where gents are asked to wear long pants (jeans or dockers are ok). 
 

No water, soda, drinks of any type are allowed. 
 

You can carry a case of wine onboard but you need to pay corkage for every bottle regardless of where it is consumed. 
 

You only pay gratuities for the drinks package. And drink as much wine as you want for free. 
 

Here’s a link to my live post from the Breakaway to give you a look at the ship and NCL. 

 

 

Edited February 18 by BirdTravels

[cruiser2015]

56 minutes ago, Shoequeen said:

While we have a large number of cruises under our belts, NCL has not been our preferred line.  We are now booked on the Breakaway and have some newbie questions.

Have shorts become acceptable for men in the dining room?  We’ve noticed on other lines thst things are becoming extremely casual and many men are wearing shorts.

Can we carry on a case of water?

Can we each carry on a bottle of wine if we don’t have a drink package?

Thanks!

Just cruised last month.

I brought 2 empty 1/2 liter bottles onboard.

You can fill them at the buffet dispenser (using a plastic glass to transfer the liquid) or fill from your cabin sink tap (I did mostly at the buffet but a few times in the cabin.

The water is fine - probably more pure than most bottled stuff on the market.

[hallux]

12 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

The water is fine - probably more pure than most bottled stuff on the market.

and better than you get from most municipalities.

[billslowsky]

16 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

Yes NCL is a pretty casual line.

No you can’t carry water onboard.

Yes you can bring wine but you will be charged a corkage fee upon boarding

I've had the corkage fee imposed less than half the time.  Bottle not hidden in my carry-on, if they send me to the table, I go, if not, I just board without being charged.

 

If you ask...

[topspot]

Another newbie question....If I book a cruise on NCL using their air with air deviation, when can I book the air?

[complawyer]

you dont book the air, ncl does it for you. consequently, you pays yer money and you takes your chance

[topspot]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

you dont book the air, ncl does it for you. consequently, you pays yer money and you takes your chance

When do you typically find out the flights? 

[complawyer]

ncl will advise you of time and date. i understand that you can arrange to go in a day or so early, and return a day or so late.

 

i cant answer exactly, but i do know ncl makes the flight arrangements if you take the flight offer thru them. 2nd person flies free!

 

some  of the prior posts have indicated an unhappiness with the ncl picks, some are happy with the arrangements.  as a personal preference, i can tell you that after taking over 25 ncl cruises, i would never (emphatically) never book my flights thru ncl. I believe in the adage "if you want something done right, do it yourself" i want to control, time, date seats etc, and i would never leave that to anyone else, much less ncl. also, if we are leaving from a foreign port and disembarking at a different port i will usually go in 2-3 days early, and arrange to stay in final port 2-3 days later. ncl booking doesnt allow you to do that.

 

finally, as a self proclaimed newbie, make sure your flight lands at least one day prior to departure.

 

if you try and fly in on the day of sailing and something goes wrong, you my friend are outta luck

[zqvol]

14 hours ago, topspot said:

When do you typically find out the flights? 

About 30 days before sailing