Question from someone who has never sailed NCL

[drewdie]

We are loyal RCCL customers, but chose to try NCL last spring mainly because we were interested in the freestyle dining. And the fact that the Pearl was a brand new ship. The freestyle dining was good- we were a family of 4, and had no problem getting reservations for any night. We usually eat at Portofino's at least once on RCCL ships, so we don't mind paying a little extra for the speciality restaurants. And the teenagers could just wear khaki's and polo type shirts. Being on a new ship was really the best part- everything was in great shape, the staff was very friendly and eager to please- really no complaints. The bowling is fun- and like the ice skating, you will only do it a couple of times. We will still use RCCL as they also offer a great product. But, we do feel like we have choice between NCL and RCCL, and would be happy on either one.

[AirSea&Rail]

Keith

 

You're so right about the Norway. Classy ship.

 

GRANDPAUL, SHE WAS A FLOATING PIECE OF HISTORY. I JUST RETURNED FROM INDIA LAST WEEK AND I GOT TO SEE HER IN THE CURRENT STATE. I WAS SO SAD TO SEE HOW BAD SHE LOOKED BUT AT LEAST SHE IS STILL IN ONE PIECE. THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT IS IN MANY COURT BATTLES OVER HER DEMISE. IN OTHER WORDS SHE SHOULD STAY IN TACT FOR A WHILE ! LOL!

 

I look forward to my NCL experience. Maybe I will find things are much improved. I say go for it!

[yoyocruiser]

I do not feel that "freestyle" means that you don't need to plan. It means I suppose that you don't HAVE to plan as there is always a buffet, grill, and a main dining room where you can eat at the time you want with no reservation and wear basically what you want. However, i feel that it does pay to do some planning and then you will be able to take maximum advantage of what the ship offers and what you like to eat. I think it is quite clear from even NCL lovers that the food is not always the very best. And I would concur with this assessment. However, it seems that most complaints are because people do not try to "match" what they like with what the ship has to offer. The advantage to "freestyle" is that the ship offers many different styles of dining. I really like fine dining, and I do not care for grills (burgers, dogs) or buffet. Therefore I relied on carefully checking the main dining menus, combined with the reservation restaurants--and I was on a very small ship so we had far less choices. You could make reservations one day in advance or the day of and I went early in the morning when they opened to avoid a line (9AM) and never had ot wait at all to make the reservation and always got exactly the reservation I wanted. The fees were minimal ($15 for Le Bistro) and nothing for the Pasta Restaurant. I would also suggest familiarizing yourself with the different options. For though I do not like buffets, there was a caesar salad station set up each day that was attended so that your salad was freshly dressed, fabulous parmesan cheese, and acoutrements of choice. This was wonderful. Also, the buffet each day did have a carving station, which again is very fresh and individually prepared. So even the buffet had some positives. Finally, while the room service menu is VERY limited, I will say that the sandwiches are very fresh with excellent bread. There were times that we ordered room service and took it out to the deck to eat. Again, with minimal planning you can also avoid lines at the main dining room. We abhor lines. Therefore we tended to eat later and there was rarely a line (this was especially true when a popular show was going on). I have noted before that we often read the daily event newsletter so that we know where NOT to be at certain times, and also can strategically plan to be where the crowds are not. While this sounds like it takes a lot of planning, it really doesn't. A little attention can mean saving a lot of time and being able to really enjoy the food that you like. Honestly, there is soemthing for everyone, but I do feel that it may take some effort unless you really don't care that much about what you eat. Hope this is helpful.

[shipmate67]

DH abd I would love to thank:

AirSea&Rail (Keith), babynurse06, Cantwaitt, chrisbd1, Cruise_More_Often, CruiseHealing, Cruisingsthebest, DAGVBSB, Drewdie, Grandpaul, I'M-A-CRUISE-LOVER, Leafpeeper (Mary), mexico8, Mortysmama, MrLee, PianoGary, regardless1 (Nikki), VikkiGarcia, and last but not least, Yoyocruiser.

 

Because of all your, helpful and insightful information and opinions, we have decided to try NCL and see how we like it. So, one last question hoprfully. What ship would you recomend for us to try as newbies to NCL. We tend to like the ships from the other lines that are the 70,000 to 80,000 ton ships.

 

Thanks again,

Danny and Deb

[Zeno]

I thought from the NCL website that unless you wanted one of the "specialty" restaurants, you could pretty much dine anytime anyplace. But I guess that's not the case after reading these boards.

The website states : "Plan on a whim or book everything in advance." Can you book all of your dinner reservations the first day?

Also, can you just "show up" for dinner, or do you have to have a reservation? Seems it's not all that "freestyle" if you have to have a reservation or a 45-minute wait....

("Plan on a whim" - isn't that an oxymoron?)

 

You only have to make reservations for the SPECIALTY restaurants. At the main dining rooms you show up when you want to eat within opening hours (using a lttle common sense of course - on "lobster" night we make a point of dining early or late - since too many people show up at 'prime' time (approx 7PM - 8PM) that specific night and as a result may have a wait to be seated. The longest wait to be seated that I have ever had on three NCL cruises was less than 10 minutes (and that was at 'prime time' but not on "lobster night"). Also if you are in a large group, you can (and might want to) make reservations in the dining room -since (and once again a little common sense comes into play here) a large group is obviously not going to be seated as easily and quickly as a small group. Except for our "specialty" dining evenings (usually 2 per cruise) and "lobster night" we don't "plan" our dining on NCL.

 

Back to OP's question - why did we chose NCL:

1. Itinerary

2. Freestyle dining, dress code and disembarkation and we loved them all. (We had been on 3 traditional cruises previous to our first NCL cruise.)

3. Price - we have always managed to get pretty good deals.

4. No silly Baked Alaska parades - I want my waiter bringing my food not dancing on a table.

[PangeanSir]

I have a couple of more questions.

 

1. How long did you have to wait to be seated at one of that waiters tables? Just curious because any wait to recieve great service is worth it.

 

2. What does a couple typically spend in a week for the alternative dining?

 

Thank you, :cool:

Danny and Deb

 

We did the 14 day TA on the Jewel in 2006. We were so impressed with our wait staff on the first night in the main dining room that we ended up being served by that team a total of 5 nights. They were incredibly efficient, but also friendly and unpretentious (we've sailed on several other lines in the last five years and this combination is one of the benefits of the NCL experience). Of the four 'repeat' dinners, we were seated immediately on two occasions and waited 2 to 5 minutes on the other two occasions. On another night, we inquired about being seated in their section but were advised the wait would be upwards of 20 minutes. We opted to be seated immediately. We didn't even inquire on the evening of the lobster night. Although I don't know the exact times this far after the fact, we generally eat at the peak times (usually 7:00 to 7:30). If you chose to eat during the shoulder times, you'd probably be able to be served by the same staff each meal.

 

Even if you ate at one of the specialty restaurants every night of a 7 day cruise, a couple would only spend an extra $140 to $280. NCL pricing on most cruises (there are exceptions) is such that you'd easily pay much more than that when opting for another cruise line.

 

P.

[hunyok]

Love the free style dining. price, service. Been on 6 ncl cruises and have never been disappointed. Leaving out of NO 11/25 on the Spirit. Can't wait.

[fin]

I just returned from my 5th NCL cruise. I like their itineraries. I like their ships, big and little. I like their shore excursions. Their prices are very competative.

 

But none of this would matter without an onboard staff that cannot be beat. From the top down, the staff on the Crown treated my fiance and myself like royalty. Not a single member passed us in the hall without saying Hi and how was our day, and how were we enjoying our stay and the ship.

 

Meet, Greet, Repeat. It was not just a slogan ... it was our reality, and it truly was wonderful!

[Carnac767]

We chose NCL because of the itinerary (Baltic), price and freestyle cruising concept. We had a wonderful cruise and can't wait to do it again.

[Carnac767]

 

Because of all your, helpful and insightful information and opinions, we have decided to try NCL and see how we like it. So, one last question hoprfully. What ship would you recomend for us to try as newbies to NCL. We tend to like the ships from the other lines that are the 70,000 to 80,000 ton ships.

 

Thanks again,

Danny and Deb

 

Where do you want to go? I think that's more important. Friends who were on the Dream with us really raved about the Norwegian Sun, which is in the 70,000 ton class. Because of their recommendation we're going to give her a try in March. Personally, I'm not too wild about cruising on some of these gigundo ships they're building now that can hold 4000 plus pax. That's too much like being back on an aircraft carrier. The Dream is "only" 50,000 tons (as was the Titanic) and was plenty big for us, plus she was able to fit through the Kiel Canal. Future NCL cruisers won't get to experience that, which is a shame. The advantage of NCL's newer ships is that there were built with freestyle cruising in mind. The Sun has twice as many restaurants as the Dream, for instance.

[MaryTKD]

This was great info and were really helpful explanations.

Thank you!

[Grandpaul]

Again, it depends on the port you're leaving from. I really like the Dawn and Spirit. We're heading out on the Jewel soon and my friends tell me it's a good ship too. Like the good ship lollipop I guess. Anxious to see how the courtyard area is. Any of those ships would make for a fine trip I'm sure.

[DAGVBSB]

Because of all your, helpful and insightful information and opinions, we have decided to try NCL and see how we like it. So, one last question hoprfully. What ship would you recomend for us to try as newbies to NCL. We tend to like the ships from the other lines that are the 70,000 to 80,000 ton ships.

 

To get a true feeling for Freestyle, I would suggest the ships that were purpose built for Freestyle. (ones that have several restaurant choices.)

 

I would look at (in no particular order): Gem, Pearl, Jewel, Jade, Dawn and Star first.

Then the Sun and Spirit.

Being new NCL cruisers, I would avoid the Majesty and Dream due to their size.

[newmexicoNita]

I am getting into this one a little late but we first chose NCL because of price and a contact my Dd had. Then we sailed them, again because of price. The third time it was back to her contact person and price. We had no complaints with the line, enjoy ourselves and loved the port intensive schedule as DH is inclined to get a little bored if we spend too much time at sea.

 

Shortly after our third cruise on NCL I became a TA and not long after that freestyle became a common word.

 

Of course I do sail many lines as it is my job to have some first hand information, but freestyle dining, the casual dress code, the relaxed and naturally friendly crew and yes price, keeps me loyal to them.

 

NMNita

[shipmate67]

To get a true feeling for Freestyle, I would suggest the ships that were purpose built for Freestyle. (ones that have several restaurant choices.)

 

I would look at (in no particular order): Gem, Pearl, Jewel, Jade, Dawn and Star first.

Then the Sun and Spirit.

Being new NCL cruisers, I would avoid the Majesty and Dream due to their size.

 

Would anyone know of a website that has further information about the Jade especially one that would have some good pics of the ship and ports?

 

 

Thank you,

Danny and Deb

[MrLee]

[quote name='shipmate67'][FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="Purple"]Would anyone know of a website that has further information about the Jade especially one that would have some good pics of the ship and ports?


Thank you,
Danny and Deb[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Do a search for Pride of Hawaii since that's the ships current name. When it's renamed they will add a casino. I don't know what other changes they might be planning but NCL mat have press releases describing them. I doubt there will be really major changes though so current pictures are probably fairly accurate.

Have you checked out this site?

[url]http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/fleet/shipInformation.html?shipCode=JADE[/url]

[newmexicoNita]

[quote name='MrLee']Do a search for Pride of Hawaii since that's the ships current name. When it's renamed they will add a casino. I don't know what other changes they might be planning but NCL mat have press releases describing them. I doubt there will be really major changes though so current pictures are probably fairly accurate.

Have you checked out this site?

[url]http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/fleet/shipInformation.html?shipCode=JADE[/url][/QUOTE]
Other than finding room for the casino I doubt there will be any other changes to speak of, the ship is only about a year old. You are right.

Nita

[PianoGary]

Nita - as usual - you are right on.
We were on the inaugural season of the PoH last October, and in speaking to an account manager at NCL, she said that the casino was to be the only change in transitioning her to becoming "Jade".