Which night would be dinner with officers?

[Middleager]

For Sapphires and up, we'd get a dinner with officers.  Which night of the cruise might that happen?  We'll be on a 17d TA cruise on the Star 2024.12.5 if that matters.

Edited August 2 by Middleager

[luv2kroooz]

9 minutes ago, Middleager said:

For Sapphires and up, we'd get a dinner with officers.  Which night of the cruise might that happen?  We'll be on a 17d TA cruise on the Star 2024.12.5 if that matters.

It will depend. On our cruises, there have been multiple groups on multiple nights. A TA could have a large number of guests eligible for the benefit.

[www3traveler]

It might depend on how many Officers are available and on what nights.  I believe for this dinner, you sign up with the CruiseNext people.  I would check with them as soon as possible after you board.

[Middleager]

I'm trying to book specialty dining, and so knowing which night might be the dinner with officers can help.

 

Oh well, I guess waiting till getting onboard the ship to sign up, then maybe adjust the specialty dining if necessary.

[KeithJenner]

Rearranging meals should be no problem

on a 17 night cruise.

[mking8288]

On our last (TA) Prima ... a "bigger" ship than the Star, there're 300 Sapphire onboard plus Diamond and Ambassadors.  To sign-up for DWO (and, the free comp'd BTS tour) - always stop at the CruiseNext desk upon embarkation on Day 1 (by evening at the latest) to join & get on their list before all the "slots" are filled up.  Typically, 2 junior officers are assigned to co-host a table of up to 8, possibly as many as 10 guests to dine together in one of the MDR ... the schedule is usually arranged by the HD's executive assistant or secretary, and the invitation is delivered to the staterooms (sometimes, followed by a phone call or voicemail message) - always RSVP to confirm.  It is spread out on multiple days, both while at sea and on evenings after a port day ... commonly for 7 p.m. 

 

For the Prima, I know & saw, for one evening, they're hosting 3 tables in 3 separate sections in the Hudson (larger) MDR ... not sure if they're also hosting more in the smaller Commodore MDR.  

 

We had 5 nights of specialty dining reserved ahead ... somehow, it was scheduled around ours.  On a previous cruise with DWO, it conflicted with our booked SD but we managed to change it, with the HD's secretary then using her authority to override and moved our SD to another day.  

 

Enjoy your TA and onboard experience, including DWO ... junior officers can come a variety of departments as we've come to learn.  

[PartyPlannerLady]

On 8/2/2024 at 8:49 AM, Middleager said:

For Sapphires and up, we'd get a dinner with officers.  Which night of the cruise might that happen?  We'll be on a 17d TA cruise on the Star 2024.12.5 if that matters.

 

It will be somewhere between the first and last night of your cruise.

[The Traveling Man]

On 8/2/2024 at 8:34 AM, mking8288 said:

On our last (TA) Prima ... a "bigger" ship than the Star, there're 300 Sapphire onboard plus Diamond and Ambassadors.  To sign-up for DWO (and, the free comp'd BTS tour) - always stop at the CruiseNext desk upon embarkation on Day 1 (by evening at the latest) to join & get on their list before all the "slots" are filled up.  Typically, 2 junior officers are assigned to co-host a table of up to 8, possibly as many as 10 guests to dine together in one of the MDR ... the schedule is usually arranged by the HD's executive assistant or secretary, and the invitation is delivered to the staterooms (sometimes, followed by a phone call or voicemail message) - always RSVP to confirm.  It is spread out on multiple days, both while at sea and on evenings after a port day ... commonly for 7 p.m. 

 

For the Prima, I know & saw, for one evening, they're hosting 3 tables in 3 separate sections in the Hudson (larger) MDR ... not sure if they're also hosting more in the smaller Commodore MDR.  

 

We had 5 nights of specialty dining reserved ahead ... somehow, it was scheduled around ours.  On a previous cruise with DWO, it conflicted with our booked SD but we managed to change it, with the HD's secretary then using her authority to override and moved our SD to another day.  

 

Enjoy your TA and onboard experience, including DWO ... junior officers can come a variety of departments as we've come to learn.  

@Middleager

The info shared by mking8288 is quite extensive.  Our experience has been a bit different.  We have enjoyed dinner with a total of 34 different NCL officers, including 26 senior officers (three stripes or above) and only eight junior officers.  Sometimes we were with just a single officer, but frequently there were two.  One dinner included four officers and eight guests at a very large table.  Our dinners were usually called for 6:00 or 6:30.  Once we were asked to meet at 5:30 so that any who wanted to attend the early show in the theater would be able to do so.  They even reserved seats in the theater for us and provided an escort to slip us in just before the show began.

 

Unfortunately, you can only guess which night your DWO will be scheduled.  We usually try to leave open the second and third nights on a week long cruise.  On longer cruises such as yours, we try not to schedule any specialty dinners on the third through sixth night.  Despite our best efforts, we frequently have had to rearrange our restaurant reservations to fit the DWO into our agenda.  Since your Latitudes level is high enough for DWO, the GM's Secretary or the CN Manager should be willing to assist you with rearranging your specialty dinning schedule if there is a conflict with DWO.  There often will be DWOs scheduled for several different nights.  Depending on the number of available officers, some senior officers may be called upon to dine with two or three groups of passengers on different nights.

 

The dinner frequently is held in the MDR, but about one-third of ours have been in one of the secondary dining rooms.  Many GMs, Captains, and other senior officers prefer to host their DWO in a specialty restaurant such as Le Bistro or Cagney's.  About one-third of our DWOs have been in one of those.  It is possible that Ambassador and Diamond members are more likely to be matched with the Captain or GM, while Sapphire members may more frequently be paired with a junior officer.  Typically when a junior officer is at the table, NCL also will assign a senior officer as a mentor to the junior officer.  In those cases you can expect a table to be set for a dozen or more persons.  It sometimes is difficult to carry on a conversation at such a large table, especially when you are in the noisy part of the MDR.  The conversation can break down into two or more smaller groups, so you may not actually be able to converse much with the officer.  On recent cruises, most of our DWO have been just the two of us and one or two senior officers in Le Bistro.  Those are truly enjoyable and rewarding experiences.

 

We have been paired with officers having a vast array of backgrounds and shipboard responsibilities.  There have been 6 GMs, 4 CN Managers, 2 Captains, 2 Chief Engineers, 2 Chief Medical Officers, 2 Guest Services Managers, 2 Assistant Executive Housekeepers, and one each Staff Chief Engineer, Security Chief, F&B Director, Chief Environmental Officer, Beverage Manager, and Shore Excursion Manager.  The junior officers were an Electrical Engineer, Group Coordinator, GM's Secretary, Asst. Accountant, Asst. IT Manager, Asst. Environmental Officer, Casino Pit Boss, and Shop Manager.  Virtually every one of them had interesting stories to tell and we had a wonderful time getting to know them.

 

I hope you take advantage of this opportunity which NCL provides to meet and share experiences with others who may have a unique background and have led a completely different life from your own.  Bon voyage.

 

 

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

My guess would be that on a 17 day TransAtlantic it (they) would be on a sea day(s).

 

Put your name in and take your chance; it is very enjoyable.   We enjoy being with Senior Officers who we know well and get on well with BUT it is also very enjoyable with Junior Officers who normally are not "front-facing" and so are happy to talk about themselves and their jobs.

[BirdTravels]

On 8/2/2024 at 9:27 AM, Middleager said:

I'm trying to book specialty dining, and so knowing which night might be the dinner with officers can help.

 

Oh well, I guess waiting till getting onboard the ship to sign up, then maybe adjust the specialty dining if necessary.

There is no set night. It depends on demand. I have been on multiple cruises where there was no dinner due to lack of interest. On a long TA, I would expect more “senior” latitudes members so demand for at least one dinner. 
 

There is never a lack of “officers”. We have had the photo shop manger. The Tradewinds manager (who isn’t even an NCL employee), a training officer, a junior bridge officer who didn’t speak much English and kept checking his watch and bolted as soon as his required time was up. 

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

My guess would be that on a 17 day TransAtlantic it (they) would be on a sea day(s).

 

Put your name in and take your chance; it is very enjoyable.   We enjoy being with Senior Officers who we know well and get on well with BUT it is also very enjoyable with Junior Officers who normally are not "front-facing" and so are happy to talk about themselves and their jobs.

Our absolutely most favorite DWO was with the Chief Environmental Officer on the Spirit in May 2018.  We met her on the BTS tour and were enthralled by her enthusiasm for her chosen field of environmental engineering.  She was a real hoot!  That evening, several of us who had been on the tour were enjoying our DWO with GM Armando Silva.  We all were praising the wonderful job she did in describing the recycling operations on the ship.  Armando said "You should have dinner with her."  We all looked at each other, dumbfounded.  I'm sure everyone else at the table was thinking the same thing that I was, that as Platinum Plus Latitudes members (the old name for Sapphire) we were entitled to one DWO per cruise, and there we were, already having our DWO with the GM.  "No reason you can't have dinner with a officer more than once per cruise" he said.  "I'll arrange it."  Well, okey dokey, we said.  Set us up!  Two nights later, the six of us had dinner with Eszter from Hungary.

 

We sat down in the MDR at 6:00 PM.  About 6:30 Armando arrived with another group of Platinum + folks and sat at a table near us.  Eszter started talking, telling us about her family, her university days in Budapest, how she had to balance the off-loading of one type of recycling material at this port which pays more per pound than that port, and how some ports demand a certain number of pounds of recyclables based upon how much fresh food, etc. is loaded onto the ship there.  Trust me, she made it sound fascinating.  Several times our waiters came by to see if we had finished one course so they could bring the next, only to find that we had barely touched our food.  Eszter had us enthralled with talk of garbage!  At one point, about 8:00 PM I guess, I noticed that Armando and his group had finished and left the restaurant.  A little after 9:00 PM, the conversation at our table finally reached a pause.  We looked around the room to see only a couple of occupied tables.  The wait staff were standing around, nervously checking their watches, obviously wondering when we were going to finish so they could close up.  We spent well over three hours engaged in the most delightful and entertaining conversation imaginable, all with an officer who likely had not been above Deck 4 in weeks.

[luv2kroooz]

5 hours ago, PartyPlannerLady said:

 

It will be somewhere between the first and last night of your cruise.

While that is a true statement, it isn't particularly useful. More precisely, though, there is a higher likelihood of it being a sea day or a port day with an earlier departure. Good advice above about asking at Cruisenext, too. Your mileage may vary.

Edited August 3 by luv2kroooz

[The Traveling Man]

5 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

I have been on multiple cruises where there was no dinner due to lack of interest.

We were on the Joy in Alaska in June 2019.  There were over 4000 passengers on board, but over 3000 of them were first time cruisers with NCL.  There was a total of hundreds of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, of course, but only four Platinum Plus members who would be eligible for DWO.  We always are up for DWO, but the other couple showed no interest, so the GM arranged for dinner for us, him, and the CN Manager in Le Bistro one night.  It was another of our most favorite dinners with an officer.  I suppose the fact that we had sailed with the GM several times before and that the CN Manager recognized us from our one cruise with him 3-1/2 years earlier and called us by name as we approached the CN office might have had something to do with them giving us the royal treatment.  I think, however, that all you should need to do is ask for your DWO and most GMs would be very accommodating.

[complawyer]

traveling man. for many years i have admired your posts and ncl acumen.

 

my wife and i are both diamond, and our interest in DWO is less than 0. just our personal opinion. but let it be known, we really dont like to eat with strangers, regardless of who they may be. officers or otherwise

 

but to be clear, i'm a grumpy old man, and quite the curmudgeon

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

While that is a true statement, it isn't particularly useful. More precisely, though, there is a higher likelihood of it being a sea day or a port day with an earlier departure. Good advice above about asking at Cruisenext, too. Your mileage may vary.

O.K., but on a cruise with 9 sea days, that fact does not help much either. 

[luv2kroooz]

2 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

O.K., but on a cruise with 9 sea days, that fact does not help much either. 

Sorry you feel that way. Thanks for sharing though. Maybe it helped someone else. 

Edited August 4 by luv2kroooz

[The Traveling Man]

3 hours ago, complawyer said:

traveling man. for many years i have admired your posts and ncl acumen.

 

my wife and i are both diamond, and our interest in DWO is less than 0. just our personal opinion. but let it be known, we really dont like to eat with strangers, regardless of who they may be. officers or otherwise

 

but to be clear, i'm a grumpy old man, and quite the curmudgeon

I've always tried to live by the philosophy that a stranger is just a friend you haven't yet had the chance to spend some time getting to know.

[itsnotjustme]

On 8/2/2024 at 8:49 AM, Middleager said:

Which night of the cruise might that happen? 

In my limited experience of 3 DWOs, all have been late in the cruise - last or second to last night.

 

On 8/2/2024 at 9:27 AM, Middleager said:

I'm trying to book specialty dining, and so knowing which night might be the dinner with officers can help.

What I do is I book my specialty dinners when it makes sense based on itinerary and any other known factors.  In that plan, I always keep a backup night available later in the cruise in case I cannot make one of the scheduled nights.  A DWO would be one potential reason to have to reschedule one of the planned nights.

 

On 8/2/2024 at 9:27 AM, Middleager said:

Oh well, I guess waiting till getting onboard the ship to sign up, then maybe adjust the specialty dining if necessary.

Do not count on them being able to tell you on day one when it will be.  The CruiseNext staff will tell you they will contact you when the date is set,  We have normally received no more than 2-days notice via written invitation and sometimes a follow-up phone call/message.

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 8/3/2024 at 3:21 PM, complawyer said:

traveling man. for many years i have admired your posts and ncl acumen.

 

my wife and i are both diamond, and our interest in DWO is less than 0. just our personal opinion. but let it be known, we really dont like to eat with strangers, regardless of who they may be. officers or otherwise

 

but to be clear, i'm a grumpy old man, and quite the curmudgeon

LOL.  I've never participated, but did find it entertaining when we were seated at the next table over.  I would guess that half those attending were experiencing the highlight of their cruise and the other half were just thinking "how did I get myself into this and how can I get out?"🤣

[Joan18]

On 8/2/2024 at 9:27 AM, Middleager said:

I'm trying to book specialty dining, and so knowing which night might be the dinner with officers can help.

 

Oh well, I guess waiting till getting onboard the ship to sign up, then maybe adjust the specialty dining if necessary.

We are in a similar situation. I have a spreadsheet with all our dining booked or options... We are going to wait to hear from the concierge, and if anything adjust or dining. 

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@Joan18

 

1) Book with Future Cruise people on Embarkation day.   They pass on the requests to the GM's secretary who makes the arrangements

2) Wait for a letter offering you a place; usually 2 days before your DwO is to take place.   It is not usually possible to find which evening you will be invited to attend, the number of evenings will depend on the passengers booking and the number of officers offering to host.

3) If you "need" to change a specialty booking see the concierge (if you are in a suite or the Haven), the GM's secretary or the F&B (or Restaurant) Manager (whoever you know well), all will be able to help

[itsnotjustme]

1 hour ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

3) If you "need" to change a specialty booking see the concierge (if you are in a suite or the Haven), the GM's secretary or the F&B (or Restaurant) Manager (whoever you know well), all will be able to help

I have always been able to change these reservations with the host/hostess at any restaurant.  

[Middleager]

On 8/3/2024 at 12:25 PM, PartyPlannerLady said:

It will be somewhere between the first and last night of your cruise.

I agree with others that this post is really useless.  Maybe some people just like to do that and be snarky.

 

--

Last year when we first became Sapphire, we did go to the CN desk right after we embarked on a 7day cruise, to sign up for the DWO.  We were given a printed info sheet, which had DWO time/place, wine tasting time/place, etc.

 

So for that 7day cruise, the DWO night was on a pre-determined night.

 

Several people shared that for their cruises, it's not one set night, and you may even need to wait to be notified two days before.

 

For us, that DWO night conflicted with a specialty dinner we had scheduled.  Many people shared that they had no issue re-scheduling.  For us it wasn't easy re-scheduling, as most SD times were already booked up, till maybe 9pm.  We didn't want to eat that late.  Anyway, it took some hassle to eventually re-schedule ours.

 

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@Middleager

 

Many people shared that they had no issue re-scheduling.

 

We have had virtually no issue re-scheduling when there has been plenty of time between two dates.   I wonder if the correspondents you quoted were actually in the same situation as you, a short period between the DwO offer and the actual DwO.   That can be less than one day if the offer appears during a period when you are off the ship on a Shore Excursion.

 

BUT

For us it wasn't easy re-scheduling, as most SD times were already booked up, till maybe 9pm.  We didn't want to eat that late.  Anyway, it took some hassle to eventually re-schedule ours.

 

I agree that we too have had similar problems to what you outline when there is only a short period between hearing about the DwO and the actual DwO.   Then using someone in authority smooths the path.

 

Been there done that!!   Remember that you have to inform the GM's Secretary that you intend to attend; when you do inform her (him) of a possible problem with a prior booking, (s)he will; almost certainly, suggest that you contact her (him) if there is an ongoing problem.

[Middleager]

9 hours ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

@Middleager

I agree that we too have had similar problems to what you outline when there is only a short period between hearing about the DwO and the actual DwO.   Then using someone in authority smooths the path.

 

Been there done that!!   Remember that you have to inform the GM's Secretary that you intend to attend; when you do inform her (him) of a possible problem with a prior booking, (s)he will; almost certainly, suggest that you contact her (him) if there is an ongoing problem.

For us when we found out there's conflict, we first cancelled our SD booking.  There was not many available SD time slots open.  The SD restaurants we wanted to go said they're full (as shown on the various screens), and been Sapphire didn't matter.  I asked where the "concierge" is that might be able to help, and was told that's the CN desk.  But CN desk said they don't help with SD scheduling, and we were back at needing to contact SD restaurants.

 

It was the CN desk where we signed up for the DWO, and we didn't know we could contact the GM's secretary.  Now we've learned for the next time we could try contacting the GM's secretary.