Long time cruiser, first time on NCL. Lots of questions.

[jules71]

I’ve cruised for the last 30 years, but mainly on Royal Caribbean with a few Celebrity and a Viking thrown in. I see a lot of people say that most of the midlines are similar, but how similar? Cruising on Jade through the Panama Canal on February 9, and trying to learn more about what to expect. I appreciate any information. Here are a few specific questions I’ve been wondering about.

 

1. Is it possible to buy dinner packages in advance? If so, how soon will they become available? What would you recommend for specialty dining and how often?
 

2. RC often has sales on dining packages and shore excursions around Thanksgiving. Is this true of NCL as well? I guess another way to ask it, what is the best time to pre-book dining and excursions?

 

3. I see a lot of recommendations for Cagney's (I think that’s the name) and the shows, Book and Elements. Is there anything you would suggest to not miss?

 

4. I saw a post with suggestions on cruising through the Panama Canal, e.g., where to be and what time as you go through the Panama Canal, but I can’t find that now. How long will you actually be in the canal? 

5. Is there an app onboard where you can see what the activities are? Can you message each other on the app?
 

Lots of questions I know, but as I said before, anything you answer will be much appreciated. Thank you!

Julie

[Nilbog]

17 minutes ago, jules71 said:

Welcome to NCL!

 

1. Is it possible to buy dinner packages in advance? If so, how soon will they become available? What would you recommend for specialty dining and how often?  I can already buy dining packages for my cruise Dec 1, 2025.  Go to the website or download the app.
 

2. RC often has sales on dining packages and shore excursions around Thanksgiving. Is this true of NCL as well? I guess another way to ask it, what is the best time to pre-book dining and excursions?  I've not seen sales for excursions or any other pre-sales items.  You can make dining reservations at the specialty restaurants 120 days before your cruise.

 

3. I see a lot of recommendations for Cagney's (I think that’s the name) and the shows, Book and Elements. Is there anything you would suggest to not miss?  It really depends on what you like to eat.  Cagney's is a steakhouse, they also have a French, an Italian, and Teppenyaki restaurants.

 

4. I saw a post with suggestions on cruising through the Panama Canal, e.g., where to be and what time as you go through the Panama Canal, but I can’t find that now. How long will you actually be in the canal?  You will be lined up to enter the locks before the sun comes up, and it will take all day to do the full transit.  You'll see sunrise in the Caribbean and sunset in the Pacific.

5. Is there an app onboard where you can see what the activities are? Can you message each other on the app?  Yes, the app is helpful, and they are in the process of rolling out a new app that looks promising.  Go to your app store (Apple or Google) and search for "Norwegian Cruise Line" and download it.  Once on board you'll have all the deck maps, the Daily Freestyle listing daily activities, it will show things you have scheduled (dinners and excursions.  You can message if you pay the $10/person fee.  The fee is for the entire cruise.  The downside to this feature is it won't notify you that you have received a new text.  Maybe the new app has fixed that, I've not been able to test it.

Feel free to ask any follow-up questions.  Enjoy your cruise!  We've done a full and a partial canal transit and loved them both.

[suech1970]

You can download the NCL app to your phone now. Add your details, booking ref number etc and your reservation with lots of info should pop up and probably answer a few of your questions. 
 

You should be able to buy your dining packages and other upgrades now. Mine are up for 2026 and have been since I made booking. Speciality dining is available to book 120 days before cruise. Book early to get your preferred days and times. We usually book Cagneys and Moderno but have also done Le Bistro, all worth it. They also have flash sales so it’s worth checking every so often.

 

We did Jade for our Panama Canal cruise, loved it. They will provide details of times on going through the locks. Our cruise went through the canal locks about 5am, dropped some excursions off at the lake then returned through locks mid afternoon. We didn’t get out of bed at 5am but we had fantastic views off bow of ship for the return journey. Amazing experience, not to be missed.

 

We really enjoy NCL as its free style dining and relaxed atmosphere is what we like. NCL is not quite as upscale as Celebrity, having also done a few cruises with them.  Personally, always found NCL service and crew excellent. 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, jules71 said:

I’ve cruised for the last 30 years, but mainly on Royal Caribbean with a few Celebrity and a Viking thrown in. I see a lot of people say that most of the midlines are similar, but how similar? Cruising on Jade through the Panama Canal on February 9, and trying to learn more about what to expect. I appreciate any information. Here are a few specific questions I’ve been wondering about.

 

Lots of questions I know, but as I said before, anything you answer will be much appreciated. Thank you!

Julie

 

I will qualify my responses by saying that we are Diamond NCL members and Diamond Royal members. 

 

1. Is it possible to buy dinner packages in advance? If so, how soon will they become available? What would you recommend for specialty dining and how often?

Depending on your room and length of cruise, you will get 2 meals with the default Free at Sea perks. The remainder are up to you. We eat at specialty dining more than main dining. NCL likes to feature specialty dining offering a lot more choices than Royal. 

 

We have two additional free meals being a top tier Latitudes member (Crown & Anchor). 

 

You can buy a 2-meal upgrade online. Or buy a package for 5 additional nights if you want to eat in specialty dining every night. You get 1 appetizer, 1 soup/salad, 1 entree, and 1 dessert with the meal package. 

 

Here's what that looks like at the French Restaurant (Le Bistro)

 

2. RC often has sales on dining packages and shore excursions around Thanksgiving. Is this true of NCL as well? I guess another way to ask it, what is the best time to pre-book dining and excursions?

Unlike Royal who starts sending out their [very annoying] Sale Sale Sale emails from the moment you book to the day you sail, NCL does not offer discounts on dining or shore ex. Purchase it any time you want. 

 

3. I see a lot of recommendations for Cagney's (I think that’s the name) and the shows, Book and Elements. Is there anything you would suggest to not miss?

Cagney's (Chops) is the steakhouse. Specialty dining reservations opens exactly 120 days prior to departure (12 midnight US Eastern time). Best selection of days/times are as soon as booking open. Dining reservations open 130 days prior to departure for Suites, 125 days for Club Balconies and Top Tier Latitudes members. 

 

What ship are you on?

 

Entertainment reservations opens 21 days prior departure (same time as you do online check-in).

5. Is there an app onboard where you can see what the activities are?

Entertainment reservations opens 21 days prior departure (same time as you do online check-in) on big ships. Elements is on both big and small ships (where there are no reservations). 

 

The App will have an image of the Freestyle Daily (Daily Compass) so you can see the printed schedule. 

 

Can you message each other on the app?

Works similar to RCCL's app. $9.99 per device for messaging. It does not work that well. 

 

If you all have iPhones, you can message without an internet package and without paying for NCL messaging. 

Edited September 3 by BirdTravels

[cruiseny4life]

17 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

What ship are you on?

Jade

[www3traveler]

On The Jade, you do not need to make reservations for the entertainment.  For shows in the theater, doors open 30 minutes prior to each performance.  Just walk in a find a seat.  Depending on the show there may be a recommendation not to seat in the first couple of rows.

 

The Panama Canal transit is an all day affair.  The Canal Crossing will be broadcast on the big screen in the Atrium and on your television.  It is possible that the bow area (normally for crew only) will be open during the day for passengers.  Realize that there are now two Panama Canals that operate very differently.  Since you are on The Jade, you will probably sail the "Original" Canal opened in 1914.

 

To get an idea of the history of the Canal, you might want to read David McCullough's book," The Path Between The Seas  The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914.  Be warned this is written by a University of New York History professor.  Great read!!

 

 

[Panhandle Couple]

I recommend visiting the Panama section in the CC Ports of Call area.  Lots of very good info and suggestions that helped us last year on our PC cruise.

 

There are two sets of locks, not two canals.  Once through the locks (new or old) you will be sailing in the same water, until you get to the other side.  It is leisurely paced as the locks take awhile to get through, and they don't want traffic to back up directly in front of them. So they space the ships out and you go rather slow. Which is great for sight seeing. There was a ship wide narration during crossing, use the bow cam channel on your tv if you are in your room. 

 

The timing of the locks also has to match the tides on the Pacific side (15+ feet) for the larger ships, so you might be entering the locks at a very early hour.  They are well lit if it is before sunrise.

 

The cruise terminal building for Panama City appears to be complete now (3+ yrs late) so that will help your experience.

 

There is also a U-tube video on the building of the canal from the PBS show "The American Experience"  About 90 minutes, and uses average workers diaries along with official account and newspaper accounts.  Very easy to watch.

 

Enjoy!

[complawyer]

also, if you're booked into a suite, you can go up to the sun deck.. large open area, great views etc.

[jules71]

Thank you, everyone! This information is exactly what I’ve been looking for and now I’m even more excited about cruise.

[prov2727]

I loved my Panama Canal cruise in 2023. Booked again for 2026! Day 1 in Panama, I did the Panama Canal by Ferry excursion. It started at 9:00 AM and we went through half of the old locks, cruised Gatun Lake and then docked to get on a bus to go back to the ship. The next day, we were in line to go through the new locks at 4:30 AM. Squeezed under the Bridge of the Americas (one reason why we had to start so early before the tide rose!) and waited our turn. I enjoyed going through the new locks on the ship but the ferry wasn't to be missed. Fascinating. Enjoy! (As a solo cruiser, I'm a Norwegian fan so no comparative advice.)

Edited September 5 by prov2727