Dining reservations - book FAS or Latitudes first?

[Sundiego]

This was discussed before and I made notes for our last cruise, but I've searched and can't find. Please help 🙂

 

We are booked in a suite on our upcoming 12-day cruise and are Sapphire. So we have a bunch of dining reservations to make. I know when we do this online, we should book the Latitude dinners first, then the Free At Sea dinners. Or is it the other way around? If I recall, if we do it in the wrong order then  NCL's website charges us for what should be free.

 

Can one of the dining experts on here clarify for me?

 

Thanks!!

Denise

[zqvol]

It doesn’t matter which of those you book first, in fact when booking they don’t ask you how you are paying. 
 

What you want to do is book the fixed price restaurants first ( Moderno and. Tappinaki (sp)) then book the a la carte restaurants.

[The Traveling Man]

1 minute ago, Sundiego said:

This was discussed before and I made notes for our last cruise, but I've searched and can't find. Please help 🙂

 

We are booked in a suite on our upcoming 12-day cruise and are Sapphire. So we have a bunch of dining reservations to make. I know when we do this online, we should book the Latitude dinners first, then the Free At Sea dinners. Or is it the other way around? If I recall, if we do it in the wrong order then  NCL's website charges us for what should be free.

 

Can one of the dining experts on here clarify for me?

 

Thanks!!

Denise

It shouldn't matter whether you use the FAS or Latitudes credits first.  What does matter is that you book the fixed price restaurants first.  That would include such venues as Moderno or Teppanyaki.  Leave the a la carte restaurant reservations for last.  The reason is the idiosyncrasies of the NCL computer system.  It just works out better this way.

[cheersforbeers]

Book your fixed cover charge first, then your À la carte restaurants. System can’t distinguish between FAS or Lattitudes. Hope this helps. Have a great cruise. 

[CaptainBazz]

We are just off the Encore last week and we too are Sapphire and had 4 dining credits. Booked Le Bistro, Onda, Ocean Blue and Cagney's in that order online. At the restaurant you can decide how you want to pay ie FAS or Latitude's perk. If the later remember to bring your voucher which will be in the cabin when you arrive on board. As others have said, you need to book the fixed price restaurants first so they don't charge you, then the a la carte as they can't charge you when booking as they don't know what you will have. Enjoy your cruise and the restaurants.

[Sundiego]

Thanks everyone! I knew they had to be booked in a certain order... it's all coming back to me now. Fixed first, a la carte second. Appreciate all the feedback 🙂

 

Denise

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, Sundiego said:

This was discussed before and I made notes for our last cruise, but I've searched and can't find. Please help 🙂

 

We are booked in a suite on our upcoming 12-day cruise and are Sapphire. So we have a bunch of dining reservations to make. I know when we do this online, we should book the Latitude dinners first, then the Free At Sea dinners. Or is it the other way around? If I recall, if we do it in the wrong order then  NCL's website charges us for what should be free.

 

Can one of the dining experts on here clarify for me?

 

Thanks!!

Denise

The system doesn’t know about and does not care about how you are paying for the dinners. That decision is made at time of dining. Latitudes vouchers, FAS dining package, purchased dining package, vouchers from other sources, cash/Room charge. 

 

Book fixed priced restaurants (Teppanyaki and Moderno) first. 
 

Reservations open exactly 125 days prior to departure for top tier latitudes and club balcony rooms. (130 days for suites and 120 for general bookings). Take advantage of the 5 day head start over the rest of the passengers. Popular restaurants will sell out. 

[dmwnc1959]

If I may ask, why is everyone saying that the fixed-price restaurants need to be booked first, then the à la carte? Is it because the former book up the fastest, or some technical reason with how these register on the reservation? 

[cheersforbeers]

If you book À la carte for first two then fixed for 3rd and 4th the system will bill you for that cost at checkout. 

[dmwnc1959]

48 minutes ago, cheersforbeers said:

If you book À la carte for first two then fixed for 3rd and 4th the system will bill you for that cost at checkout. 

As simple as this sounds, I think for a NCL first-timer going on a +3 week-long cruise this is going to take a spreadsheet. 😉

[hallux]

1 hour ago, dmwnc1959 said:

As simple as this sounds, I think for a NCL first-timer going on a +3 week-long cruise this is going to take a spreadsheet. 😉

Just think of it this way - as long as you have a Free-At-Sea credit available (meaning you haven't booked enough restaurants to use your allotment already) you won't be billed for a fixed-price place at the time of booking.

 

Being an NCL first-timer you won't be looking to book "Platinum" meals any time soon.

[Wayward Son]

3 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

As simple as this sounds, I think for a NCL first-timer going on a +3 week-long cruise this is going to take a spreadsheet. 😉

 

It's simple, but NCL makes it hard. Book fixed dining first, because they can't charge you for an à la carte meal. They can charge you if you book a fixed dinner they don't recognize (like a platinum voucher).

 

[Jerseygich]

Following this. When refer to booking the fixed priced places first, do you just make the reservation first regardless of what day of the cruise it is or do you make the reservation to eat at those first? Example if 1st reservation I make is for Teppanyaki on the 4th day of cruise and then one at Cagney's for 2nd day of cruise does that have any effect

[hallux]

1 hour ago, Jerseygich said:

do you just make the reservation first regardless of what day of the cruise it is or do you make the reservation to eat at those first?

Just make the reservation first, doesn't matter when in the cruise you want it.  The system only recognizes the Free At Sea meals.

[MoCruiseFan]

On 3/15/2024 at 12:45 PM, Sundiego said:

This was discussed before and I made notes for our last cruise, but I've searched and can't find. Please help 🙂

 

We are booked in a suite on our upcoming 12-day cruise and are Sapphire. So we have a bunch of dining reservations to make. I know when we do this online, we should book the Latitude dinners first, then the Free At Sea dinners. Or is it the other way around? If I recall, if we do it in the wrong order then  NCL's website charges us for what should be free.

 

Can one of the dining experts on here clarify for me?

 

Thanks!!

Denise

 

No experts needed.  You do not order based on payment method so yoru question is invalid.  The best way is to bok the fixed price first then the ala a carte.