New to NCL Which dining venues are "free"

[Napi's Mom]

Been on 6 different cruiselines, never NCL though, and their website is woefully lacking in real information on many things the Dining being one. They gladly tell you they have many restaurants but give no indication which ones are without extra fees. I do dearly LOVE the open dining, first experienced on Rennasiance then the 2 lines using their ships Azamara & Oceania ( there are bargins to be had on these lines occasionally) Now it looks as though Celebrity (Our last & next cruises) might be switching to some sort of open dining...wish we could get them to do the Country Club casual dining dress too. Now will be on the "Star in Jan with 3 grand daughters, need this info! We never do the special dining except on the Aza. & O ships, as theirs are free, just need reservation :)

[2Cruise4Ever]

You didn't say which ship. But, for the most part, each ship will have 2 main dining rooms that do not have a fee. And, I think every ship has a Blue Lagoon which is open 24/7 with no fee. There will also be a buffet and room service with no fee. Plenty of "no fee" options on board!

[jingle5616]

On the Star, The two main dining rooms, "The Venetian" and "Aqua" are included at no extra charge. The Buffet is no extra charge. The hamburger stand next to the pool is no extra charge, The Blue Lagoon is no extra charge. And the ice cream stand is free.

 

I personally would be very underwhelmed if I decided to only eat at the included restaurants. The best food is at the cover charge venues. We always figure we will be spending an extra $100 per person for a better food and service experience.

 

Jingle

[RnGram]

I spent 5 weeks on B2B on the Dream a few years ago and never went to the pay for restaurants once. I was perfectly happy with the regular restaurants. Each to their own. I will admit I am not a steak or lobster eater and tend to eat off the cooking light menu. I loved it.

[bakerintn]

NCL Pearl Dinning Venues

As of January 2009:

Summer Palace Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room) B L D

Cuisine: Continental

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

Indigo Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room) D

Cuisine: Continental

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

La Cucina D

Cuisine: Italian

Surcharge: Yes $10

Reservations Required: yes

 

Lotus Garden / Shabu Shabu / Teppanyaki D

Cuisine: Japanese, Thai, Chinese (Sushi, Sashimi, Teppanyaki)

Surcharge: Yes, $15.00 per person ~ $25 for Teppanyaki ~ Sushi Bar $15

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Le Bistro French Restaurant D

Cuisine: French

Surcharge: Yes, $15 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Cagney's Steakhouse D

Cuisine: Steak

Surcharge: Yes, $20 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Mambo's D

Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex Tapas Bar

Surcharge: Yes $10 (Tapas Bar is "free")

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Garden Garden Cafe/ Kids' Cafe B L D

Cuisine: Assorted Buffet, Food Stations, Kid-Sized Buffet

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Great Outdoors Buffet B L D

Cuisine: Assorted Buffet

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

Blue Lagoon B L D

Cuisine: Food Court, Grill

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours 24 Hours

Topsiders Grill (by the pool) B L D

Hamburgers, fries, pretzels, hot dogs, salads, etc

Surcharge: No

Lunch

Some Lunchtime poolside grill / buffets on sea days - no surcharge

 

Room Service 24 hours - menu in cabin - tip for server recommended

Casino snacks -- no charge -- late night

[mylesf]

How did you book the cruise? You could have asked them to get you this information but here you go:

 

Aqua

Main Dining Room $0 D

 

Versailles

Main Dining Room $0 B, L, D

 

Blue Lagoon

24 hr Food Court $0 B, L, D

 

Market Cafe

Buffet $0 B, L, D

 

Topsider's Grill

Poolside $0 L, D

 

La Trattoria

Italian Restaurant $10 pp D

 

Endless Summer

Tex-Mex $10 pp D

 

Ginza

Asian cuisine $15 pp D

 

Teppanyaki

Japanese $25 pp D

 

Sushi Bar

Japanese $15 pp D

 

The Soho Room

Pacific Rim $15 pp D

 

Cagney's

Upscale Steak House $25 pp as of 05/02/09 D

 

 

Le Bistro

French Restaurant $15 pp D

[new_guy]

NCL Pearl Dinning Venues

As of January 2009:

La Cucina D

Cuisine: Italian

Surcharge: Yes $10

Reservations Required: yes

 

Lotus Garden / Shabu Shabu / Teppanyaki D

Cuisine: Japanese, Thai, Chinese (Sushi, Sashimi, Teppanyaki)

Surcharge: Yes, $15.00 per person ~ $25 for Teppanyaki ~ Sushi Bar $15

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Le Bistro French Restaurant D

Cuisine: French

Surcharge: Yes, $15 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Cagney's Steakhouse D

Cuisine: Steak

Surcharge: Yes, $20 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Mambo's D

Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex Tapas Bar

Surcharge: Yes $10 (Tapas Bar is "free")

Reservations Required: Yes

 

The need for reservations is not 100% of the time, especially if you arrive (reservation-less) during off-peak hours. In my experience. Or, if they can not accommodate you at one restaurant and you are flexible, you can always try a different restaurant. Yes, resvervations are helpful, especially if you have a large group. But "required?" Anyone else agree?

[CanadianTwosome]

Something to be aware of is that if your children order from the children's menu, it is the same ship-wide and there is no charge, regardless of what venue you're in. (though I believe Teppanyaki may be an exception due to limited seating)

 

Everyone who enjoys the specialty restaurants has their own personal favourites. For my family, the three we tend to indulge in are Cagney's, Teppanyaki, and the Asian-fusion venue (the name is different on different ships). On the Star, the Asian restaurant was open for lunch on sea days, which we took advantage of twice. :)

[calmac]

Something to be aware of is that if your children order from the children's menu, it is the same ship-wide and there is no charge, regardless of what venue you're in. (though I believe Teppanyaki may be an exception due to limited seating)

 

Everyone who enjoys the specialty restaurants has their own personal favourites. For my family, the three we tend to indulge in are Cagney's, Teppanyaki, and the Asian-fusion venue (the name is different on different ships). On the Star, the Asian restaurant was open for lunch on sea days, which we took advantage of twice. :)

 

What was the charge for lunch at the Asian restaurant? Was it the whole restaurant that was open or just the sushi bar?

[maps]

Wish I had known about the children's menu. On the Gem we decided to eat at the sushi restaurant. At the time, the kids' club closed during lunch so we had our kids with us.

 

Although they did not eat anything (we told the waiter ahead of time they would not be eating), we still had to pay for a cover charge for each and they did not offer them anything else to eat.

[CanadianTwosome]

What was the charge for lunch at the Asian restaurant? Was it the whole restaurant that was open or just the sushi bar?

 

I believe it was $10 at the time but is now $15. We were able to order off of the 'regular' menu, while a friend who joined us had sushi. Teppanyaki was closed at lunch.

 

Maps - that's too bad! We've never had the option ourselves - we started cruising as a family when my daughter was 8 and she's never so much as looked at the children's menu! Some idiot (me) introduced her to things like steak, prime rib, shrimp and escargot and now there's no going back!! :p

[quiltsnh]

How about Spirit? Anyone care to enlighten me?

[Don Haynes]

How about Spirit? Anyone care to enlighten me?

 

For the best answer during your cruise, read the Freestyle Daily every day. It lists the different dining venues throughout the ship with the information most require, from when they open and close, whether reservations are required, and if there is an extra charge and how much.....

[mylesf]

How about Spirit? Anyone care to enlighten me?

 

Here is the information for the Spirit:

 

 

Windows

Main Dining Room $0 B, L, D

 

The Garden Room

Main Dining Room $0 L, D

 

Blue Lagoon

24 hr Food Court $0 B, L, D

 

Raffles Buffet

Buffet $0 B, L, D

 

Bier Garten Grill

Bavarian Influenced $0 L, D

 

La Trattoria

Italian Restaurant $10 pp D

 

Shogun

Asian cuisine $15 pp D

 

Teppanyaki

Japanese $25 pp D

 

Sushi Bar

Japanese $15 pp D

 

Cagney's

Upscale Steak House $25 pp as of 05/01/09 D

 

Le Bistro

French Restaurant $15 pp D

[garycarla]

Thought the website is lacking, they "hint" at which restaurants charge extra. It has a term something like "worth the price" at the end of the description for each restaurant.