Dining Service on NCL - Please be honest

[Greymeowsr]

I would probably be unhappy if dinner only took 45 minutes. When we last sailed on Legend of the Seas (of course it was assigned seating) the meals and conversation always lasted over 2 hours. So long as I can get something to drink, it's no problem. If I got cold coffee, I would send it back. One should not accept poor drinks and food due to poor service. An immediate trip to the purser's desk never hurts if you get bad service. Cruise lines don't want to give bad service because that's bad for business.

 

On the other hand fee-style cruising would tend to cause short waits at peak time I would think and I wouldn't get excited about it. I also try and remember that neither RCCL nor NCL are luxury lines and I don't expect gourmet cuisine. I expect adequate service and good food.

 

There was a comment earlier about the wait possibly being caused by old people. I'm not aware that we old farts take any longer to eat than the young and stupid. LOL

[YeaYeaYea]

Just off the Dawn never had to wait to eat the lonest line was to see the menu.................rough seas maybe that was why..........

[SummerXU]

I don't want to hijack the OP's thread, but reading through all of the responses brought a question to mind.

 

I've seen some people mention getting a pager when there is a wait. I've also seen some people mention that pagers weren't ever given out. Are the pagers only for the surcharge restaurants or are they for the main restaurants as well?

 

Thanks!

[uppitycats]

I don't want to hijack the OP's thread, but reading through all of the responses brought a question to mind.

 

I've seen some people mention getting a pager when there is a wait. I've also seen some people mention that pagers weren't ever given out. Are the pagers only for the surcharge restaurants or are they for the main restaurants as well?

 

Thanks!

 

We never saw pagers at any of the specialty restaurants, nor did we ever see more than 2-3 couples waiting to be seated. There WERE pagers available for the regular restaurants, and seemed to be handed out freely.

 

When we were on the Jewel, the Tzars opened at 5:30 (and people started lining up at 4:30! If they'd waited until 6, they would have been seated without a problem! At least that's what WE did!)..and Azure's opened at 6...with no waiting by 6:30.

[ute_fan]

They didn't seem to be giving out pagers at the main restaurants on the Dawn in September. We also tried eating at several different times to see if we could avoid the wait. We tried arriving at several different times -- from 5:15 to 7:30, and there was still always a line.

 

Maybe it was just a bad week, who knows?

[newmexicoNita]

A question to readers/cruisers of NCL: I was on Spirit in July and just got off the Jewel. I found that on both occassions there were long waits in the 6:30 to 7:30 zone at the major, free restaurants. Most annoyingly there were actually long waits to just get the beeper to wait even more. Is this common fleet wide? I was on Crown and Dawn just a few years ago and this was not the case, even with freestyle. Can folks weigh in with their own experiences?

Not being on your cruise I certainly have no idea what the problem was, but we have cruised freestyle 6 times, we normally eat about 6:30ish, never have we had more than a couple minute wait except once. That time it was our MandG group from CC, there were over 20 of us and we even had reservations: we waited about 15 or 20 minutes. On the Star last year we ate between 6:15 and 6:45 every night, never waited a single minute. I don't know what happened in your case. Yes, from about 7pm until about 8pm is the most popular time. It is like going to "Outback" about 7ish, you will wait for a table.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

And you actually waited for three hours to get it? I don't know if that says more about you or the cruise ship.

 

She will never stop.....I guess maybe she thinks she will influence one person not to cruise NCL. Of course if you go back and read some of her claims earlier this summer you will be able to enjoy her comedy....

 

Nita LOL

[timGB]

I don't want to hijack the OP's thread, but reading through all of the responses brought a question to mind.

 

I've seen some people mention getting a pager when there is a wait. I've also seen some people mention that pagers weren't ever given out. Are the pagers only for the surcharge restaurants or are they for the main restaurants as well?

 

Thanks!

 

Pagers were available on the spirit for the main (free) dining rooms. The others with a cover charge you would normally have a reservation for a specific time. If they were not busy then you could turn up and get a table.

 

I see from other posts that they may not be available on some ships. Does anyone know if the Pearl uses them for Indigo and Summer Palace?

[mtwingcpa]

I usually dine early...around 5:30 or so. On the Pearl a few weeks ago I never had to wait at either of the "free" dining rooms. However, on the Star last spring, waits of 20 - 30 minutes were typical. I haven't been able to come up with a rationale for the difference, so I suppose it just falls in that "your experience might vary" area. :-)

[SomeWoman]

It depends on the itinerary. We were just on the Gem in the Mediterranean, which had a lot of Europeans. Because they tend to eat later, the restaurants didn't start to fill up until near 8:00. After 7:30 there was more likely to be a wait, so we ate earlier to get right in. The restaurants were empty at 6:00.

 

When we went on a Caribbean cruise, the passengers were mostly Americans, so we ate later (around 8:00) to avoid the crowds.

[Fabian52]

We have been on 4 revious NCL cruises and have never had to wait at all.

We like to eat early when it opens so we would wait outside the main entrance about 5 minutes and then it would open and then always got seated right away. A normal dinner takes 1 1/2 hrs with all the trimmings including the dessert and coffee. Just like anything that we are finding in the U.S. you have to do everything early if you want to avoid waiting in line.

We are from south florida and we always eat early, sometimes get early bird but then you don't have to wait. Its the luck of the draw:)

[MNDisneyFan]

We made our first cruise on the Pearl in September, a party of four and we had a wait only one evening. It was our own fault as we went to dinner after a early show along with everyone else from the theater. We went to Indigo and were told there would be a 20-25 minute wait, we were given a pager and went to find a seat to wait. In less than 10 minutes we were just getting settled when our pager went off. No complaints from anyone in our group, we enjoyed the time we had with our friends over a leisurely dinner.

[newmexicoNita]

I do think there is one other night that sometimes requires a wait: it is the first sea night which is formal optional and Lobster night.

 

Nita

[icouldahadav8]

It did make me think of one other thing though...we lived in Europe for several years and went back to visit friends a few years ago. Dining there is an event...it's a time to enjoy the food, the conversation and the people you are with. For the most part, you will almost have to ask for the check, especially true in France where even when people were lined outside the door of a neighborhood bistro, we were never just kicked out because we had completed our meal. I was told one time by my German doctor that Americans just rush everything....could it be really that we have forgotten what it is like to enjoy those in our company?

 

 

Regarding this post...I loved it. My boyfriend is from Italy, and whenever we go to eat, whether on board the ship, or a land restaurant...dinner is usually, at best, a three hour occasion. I love it. It reminds me of dinners when I was a much younger person, and family gathered around the table for food and conversation, and reconnecting. I will take the European way any day!!!!

[Fabian52]

I have never had or seen a pager yet on any NCL cruise. Is this something new? Just like a real land restaurant...:o

[SomeWoman]

I have never had or seen a pager yet on any NCL cruise. Is this something new? Just like a real land restaurant...:o

 

Pretty much. We had a pager once during our cruise on the Gem this month. Though, to be fair, we were a group of 8 without reservations trying to eat during prime dinner time for that cruise. We had to wait about 45 minutes.

[johnql]

To the OP: I haven't read through this entire thread, so I'll just give you my experience. On 7 NCL Freestyle cruises, I have only had to wait to be seated twice and both times it was for only 5-10 minutes.

[elron]

The both times we sailed NCL there was only a 20-30 minute wait(for a table of two) once on each sailing respectively. Both times it was optional formal night.

[newmexicoNita]

I have never had or seen a pager yet on any NCL cruise. Is this something new? Just like a real land restaurant...:o

no, not at all, but not all ships have them..

 

Nita

[fivegirl]

I am the OP. I am not concerned about the length of time it takes once you are seated. I am concerned about how common it is to have to wait on NCL fleetwide if you go between 6:30 and 7:30. On my last two cruises it was the norm to wait anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes for a beeper and then up to 30 more for an actual seating in the main (free restaurants). To me that is unacceptable and destroys the fun of Freestyle for me. Also, I've noticed, that they are using a multiple step tablet computer check in system that seems to exacerbate the "wait for a beeper problem".

[uppitycats]

6:30 - 7:30 would be peak time on the ship..and in many on-land dining venues. That's why folks go a bit earlier or later than that, just to avoid the rush.

[ute_fan]

I am the OP. I am not concerned about the length of time it takes once you are seated. I am concerned about how common it is to have to wait on NCL fleetwide if you go between 6:30 and 7:30. On my last two cruises it was the norm to wait anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes for a beeper and then up to 30 more for an actual seating in the main (free restaurants). To me that is unacceptable and destroys the fun of Freestyle for me. Also, I've noticed, that they are using a multiple step tablet computer check in system that seems to exacerbate the "wait for a beeper problem".

 

There's another problem with the 6:30 - 7:30 hour. If you think about it, on traditional dining ships, you have an early dining (6 or so) and a late dining (8 or 8:30). On the NCL freestyle ships, the passengers who are seated from 5:30 to 6 aren't done by 6:30. It will take them until at least 7, maybe 7:30 allowing 1 1/2 hour to 2 hours for dining (pretty typical for any cruise ship). If you wait to go until 7:30, you're less likely to have a wait than if you show up at 6:30.

 

What we couldn't figure out, on our last cruise, was why there was always a wait! We've normally eaten early (5:30 to 6) and had little, if any, waits. This time, we tried getting there as the dining room opened -- there was a wait. We tried 7:30 -- lines again. We tried times in between -- lined up the stairs and into the hallway. We never did manage to find a time that worked.

[newmexicoNita]

6:30 - 7:30 would be peak time on the ship..and in many on-land dining venues. That's why folks go a bit earlier or later than that, just to avoid the rush.

Exactly, it is just like eating at land restaurants. Certainly from 7pm to 8pm you have to wait, if the restaurant (land takes reservations) normally they will have nothing available in that time frame unless booking very early..As I have memsioned, we always eat around 6;30 and do not have to wait, from 7pm it is a little different. I don't think the term "unacceptable" is quite the right way to put it as there isn't much NCL can do about what time people want to eat..

 

Nita

[Jiminkcmo]

To the OP:

 

I went to a neighborhood restaurant last Saturday evening for dinner and had to wait 26 3/4 minutes after walking through the front door before I was seated.

 

I think that was totally abominable, outrageous, insensitive and terrible.

 

What do you think????

[mali06]

I also get so frustrated when people post that the service is slow in the dining room. Any good restaurant worth it's salt takes 2 to 3 hours to serve a complete meal, appetizer to dessert. It is supposed to be a leisurely, enjoyable experience to be savored, letting each course settle. It also means that you can eat more (ha-ha). If you want fast, that is what the buffet is for. We love lingering over our food and catching up with our companions on how the day went and what are the plans for tomorrow. We just ate the other night at a restaurant by the river, arriving at 6:30PM and leaving at 9PM. Slow down and smell the roses! Bigred