Noordam Dining Tips?

[FreeStyleNCL]

i'm a newbie when it comes to cruises and only been on the Norwegian cruise.

on NCL, I had to pay for Steaks/Lobsters/Hibachi grill/Sushi and another upscale restaurants. Some said on other cruise lines, ENTIRE food is free? I would like to know which restaurant on board serves what kind of food and charges if any.

 

and also any recommendations on how to make reservations early because on some of the "free" restaurants on NCL, we couldn't eat if we didn't make reservation because people flock to the free food lol

[WeLoveCruising]

I think you will find the Noordam quite different from your NCL Freestyle cruise. There are three main venues for dinner (four, if you count room service).

 

There is no extra charge for dining in the main dining room. There are two different types of seating you can request for the main dining room - Fixed and Open. This is the concept you see referred to here as "AYWD" (As You Wish Dining). With fixed seating you have a set time (early or main) and a set table with the same staff and tablemates each night. With the open seating you can either make a reservation for a specific time and table size, or you can just show up and be given a table. There are certain peak times that you cannot reserve (you just show up to request a table), but the wait times for these "walk ups" appear to be only 5 minutes or so at the most. Hammybee maintains a "sticky" thread at the top of this board with alot of good information.

 

The second venue for dinner is the Pinnacle Grille. The PG specializes in Northwest US cuisine, ie steaks and seafood. It is an upscale restaurant in terms of setting, food quality, and service (although it's questionable if the service is that much better...the service in the dining room can be excellent). In any event, the PG is more private. There is a charge of $30 per person for the Pinnacle Grill, and you do need a reservation for it.

 

The third dining venue is the Lido restaurant. During the daytime, the Lido is buffet / cafeteria style for breakfast and lunch. At dinner, there are linen tablecloths and candles. The appetizers are buffet style, and the entree is made to order and served tableside. There is no charge for dinner in the Lido, and no reservations are necessary. It has essentially the same menu as the dining room (minus a few items). The formal night dress code applies to the main dining room and PG, but not the the Lido.

 

The fourth dinner option is room service. There is a set room service menu that you will find in your cabin, but in addtion you can order your dinner from the nightly menuy in the main dining room from room service. There is no charge for room service (although most people tip the steward), and its a nice option, especially if you have a balcony. There is a poster here named NoNoNannette who ordered all her dinners via room service and enjoyed it tremendously.

 

Welcome to HAL, and I hope you enjoy your cruise on the Noordam!

[maxout]

Welcome to the Hal Board! :)

 

The Noordam has a multi-level formal dining room where all the food is included at no "extra charge". There is also the Lido Buffet restaurant and a hamburger/hotdog/taco/slash pizza bar by the pool, also included.

 

The Pinnacle Grill is a "specialty" restaurant which has a $15 lunch/$30 dinner per person charge. It is also open for breakfast for Deluxe Suite/PH pax. for best seating times reservations will be needed. Many people tip above the charge.

 

Room service 24/7 included, modest tip encouraged

[FreeStyleNCL]

well I suspected there would be an upcharge for a nicer restaurant.

 

NCL did not have room service for dinner..only breakfast if i remember correctly.

 

I'm going with bunch of guy friends so no dinner on the balcony would be necessary lol!!

 

What kind of food should I be expecting on the main dining room(un-formal, open seating areas)

 

thanks for the detailed answer. helped me a lot!

[sail7seas]

Just today, a few threads down from this one, WeLoveCruising posted dinner menus from Noordam. She just disembarked so they are very current. These are the menus for the 'no extra charge' main dining room. Food and service are excellent on HAL ships in the main dining rooms.

 

Here's a link to the thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=661999

 

Welcome to the HAL Board.

[WeLoveCruising]

Open seating and "un-formal" wont mean the same thing. The open seating means you dont have a fixed time and table each night, but it will still follow the dress code for the night in the main dining room. In fact, its still the same room, food, servers, etc. The only difference is that the "open" seating is one level and the "fixed" seating is another. (Based on capacity there could be overflow from one level to another).

 

If you really want "un-formal" that would mean the Lido, although I encourage you to try the main dining room. On "Smart Casual" nights the dress code is casual, although no shorts, tank tops, etc. Most guys wear Docker type pants and a shirt. Jeans are allowed, but you will find mixed opinions on that.

 

I just came off the Noordam and posted a thread of each night's menu in the dining room. Here is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=661999

 

Also, as Maxout said, there is a very casual poolisde area called the Terrace Grille. It's a walk up counter with burgers, hot dogs, sausages, taco bar, etc. There is also a pizza / pasta station at the Lido. However, I think those areas close down around 6pm on most sailings.

[maxout]

WeLoveCruising has posted menu's from her recent Noordam cruise in this thread below, enjoy!

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=661999

[WeLoveCruising]

Just today, a few threads down from this one, WeLoveCruising posted dinner menus from Noordam. She just disembarked so they are very current. These are the menus for the 'no extra charge' main dining room. Food and service are excellent on HAL ships in the main dining rooms.

 

Here's a link to the thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=661999

 

Welcome to the HAL Board.

 

Sorry Sail, we were typing at the same time :)

[WeLoveCruising]

WeLoveCruising has posted menu's from her recent Noordam cruise in this thread below, enjoy!

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=661999

 

 

And Maxout too! Great minds all think alike :D

[maxout]

WeLoveCruising

 

You are too fast for me tonite :D ;)

[sail7seas]

Sorry Sail, we were typing at the same time :)

 

:) Nothing to be sorry, WeLove.

You are the one who did all the work to post all those menus!! ....and we all appreciate it. I think I gained 5 pounds just

reading them. ;)

[maxout]

:) Nothing to be sorry, WeLove.

You are the one who did all the work to post all those menus!! ....and we all appreciate it. I think I gained 5 pounds just

reading them. ;)

 

No Doubt! :D

[FreeStyleNCL]

hmm so in open seating we still have to wear suit/tux on formal nights? or can i get away with very nice shirt and khakis?

 

just looked at the EXTENSIVE list of menu posted by welovecruising... THANKS! were those in the main dining room I assume? (not the Pinnacle Grill)

[WeLoveCruising]

Yes / No :D

Formal night in the dining room calls for a jacket and tie (not necessarily a suit, but most men will wear one)

 

Did you read my post on your Guarantee question?

 

Yes, the menus are for the main dining room, not the Pinnacle Grille.

[ittibit]

We've been on Carnival, Royal C, and NCL. 2/6/08 will be our first HAL cruise. We DID NOT LIKE ncl. They wanted you to pay to eat in the other restaurants. Sounds like HAL will be fine. Can't wait!

[FreeStyleNCL]

We've been on Carnival, Royal C, and NCL. 2/6/08 will be our first HAL cruise. We DID NOT LIKE ncl. They wanted you to pay to eat in the other restaurants. Sounds like HAL will be fine. Can't wait!

 

they still have "free" restaurants that are fairly upscale and nice(Czar Palace & Azure..or Azura on Jewel). $30 for Pinnacle Grill on the HAL but only $20 at Cagney's Steak House

 

they both have ups and downs I think

[Big Al B.]

We've done a lot of NCL cruising and the anytime dining is similar in the way it operates. You can call starting at 8 in the morning for a reservation.

 

If you really don't want to take a jacket/tie, you can eat in the Lido any night. The menu there at dinner has many of the same items as the main dining room and they don't have the formal night dress code. On our recent Noordam cruise, we did that on one formal night. The other two nights I only had a navy sport coat, bone colored pants and a tie and didn't feel overly underdressed. We saw suits, tuxes, and sports coat combinations. There were also a small number of men in casual (even shorts) walking around, but I didn't see them in the dining room.

[terrydtx]

hmm so in open seating we still have to wear suit/tux on formal nights? or can i get away with very nice shirt and khakis?

 

Nice shirt and khakis is fine for the non formal nights (smart casual) in the DR but on formal nights you will need as the bare minimum a jacket with a tie and slacks, even in the open dining section of the DR. Most of the men will be in Tux's or dark suits. On formal nights if you choose not to dress formal you can have almost the same menu as the DR in the Lido or in your cabin with room service. Also shorts are not allowed in the main DR for the smart casual nights either.

 

On the Pinnacle Grill it has fantastic food, but I do not think it is worth the $30 per person (plus tip) when you consider how good the food is in the DR. My experience with NCL was the "free" food was ok but to get a really good meal you had to use the extra charge venues. On Hal this is not the case as I think, and tastes are subjective, HAL’s DR food is far above NCL’s main “free” DR.