MNcruisingcouple

I'd love to see these as well!

I've nearly always had the waiter ask how many glasses we wanted when I've ordered a bottle of wine. I've never had an issue with sharing.

I'd definitely go for Cagney's. Much better food quality and if you've seen one teppanyaki type show then you've seen them all. Couple tips to keep the $$ down. Passengers 1 & 2 order as many apps, sides and desserts as the entire table wants and share. Have passengers 1 & 2 order the most expensive entrees and passenger 3 the least expensive and switch plates. Don't worry about making reservations ahead. They hold times for onboard bookings. Just do it as soon as you board and you'll be fine, especially with just a group of 3.

How do you sign up for stand by? Literally "stand by" the track or on the screens?

We have a friend that we travel with that only wants potatoes as a side. He always requests the listed sides to be substituted for potatoes. It's never been a problem, so it would make sense that they would do the opposite.

Do you happen to know the hours/days the go carts are open? Are they open on port days? And how quickly do we need to reserve?

How did you go about resolving the issue when the waiters tried to limit you? Argue with them, ask to speak to the maitre d', or just order what you want? If you just ordered how you wanted, did you ever get charged?

We were on the Breakaway in Dec 2021 and also found Cagney's a bit noisy. Not sure if it was the venue or the people that were there that night. It wasn't bad enough to stop eating there or to write off cruising NCL. As an alternative, Le Bistro has always been a quite experience for us.

I don't have real world experience with this but as @BirdTravels said above in the dining rooms they are going to be coffee drinks made with Starbucks coffee by your waiter. Not made to Starbucks standards by a barista. Just so you know what to expect and aren't disappointed in the quality. Also, we do have experience with the slowness of the delivery of coffee drinks in the dining room.

I don't know how much specialty coffee is available at bars (or the quality), no matter which package you have. Between the Unlimited Starbucks package and the Premium Plus, there is no difference in where the coffee is going to be available.

There are multiple coffee options available, some better than others. As already mentioned, morning room service works great for getting your day started. There is coffee available at the buffet, in the dining rooms and at the Local/O'Sheehans. My DH swears by the French press coffee available at Le Bistro (but only available at dinner). There is only one Starbucks location on each ship, as far as I know. You could search for Bliss dailies to see the hours it's open. On the ships we've been on, I feel like it was open early to late.

Agree 100%!

If you do your research ahead of time (read fine print, T&C, CC) and know what you're booking, then there shouldn't be any surprises. Taxes on drinks while in port varies with every port but the dollar amount is minimal.

My husband uses a French Press and Starbucks French Roast beans at home. He says that the French Press coffee at Le Bistro is the best on the ship and that buffet coffee is nearly undrinkable. Just providing you with another perspective. Taste in coffee, like food, is very subjective.

Interesting that JW Blue is back on the list. My DH got it with PPBP in Aug 2019 but on our Dec 2021 cruise we were told it was no longer available. It was my understanding that it was removed from the list (not that it was a supply issue). He'll be happy to see it again.

I always just book restaurant reservation immediately upon boarding. I've done this for groups up to 9 people and never had an issue getting the restaurants I wanted as long as I was a bit flexible.

For us personally it wouldn't be worth it to upgrade just for the better gin. But we also take advantage of specialty coffees, higher end wine, champagne & Scotch, so then it becomes more "worth it". Maybe not on every cruise, but it's definitely a consideration.

We've shared as well. Usually, I would order the wine and the waiter asked how many glasses.

If you have a larger group, you may want to get MDR reservations to avoid a long wait. I do that with any group over 5 people and it's always the first thing I do upon boarding.

My sister-in-law has celiac and loves cruising because of how well they address her food needs. It takes a little leg work but it's so worth it. As indicated above, contact them ahead of time using the form so that they can be properly stocked. Go to the maitre d' at a main dining room upon arrival and they will help you with preordering. NCL is also good about marking items that are already gluten free on their menus. When you preorder, everything is made in a dedicated kitchen to reduce (eliminate) cross contamination.

If you have OBC that you want to use, wait to upgrade until you are on the ship. We've upgraded several to the Premium Plus bev pkg times and the price does not go up once you are onboard. Same with additional specialty dining.

Depending on how much specialty coffee you drink, it is likely cheaper to just pay as you go verses upgrading to the Premium Plus package. Unless of course you are also upgrading for the higher end liquor and wines.

Premium Plus beverage package (champagne and Scotch) and additional specialty dining.

They have 3rd and 4th person free on select sailings. Norwegian's Free at Sea | Free Open Bar & More (ncl.com)

So you punish your waiters and room steward because of people at the pool?? WOW!