junieh

Thank you. So am I right in thinking that unless there is an age restricted party / entertainment going on, all bars are generally family friendly, is that correct? For some reason I assumed that The Cavern Club was adult only, is that not the case?

Are there any adult only venues on Encore (apart from the casino of course!)? Are kids generally allowed at every bar or are there age restrictions? Regarding the kids club, is it possible to allow your child to be able to sign themselves in and out or must we be there to "release" him each time? And finally, I know that minors are not allowed to set up an account for themselves on the NCL app. From what I understand, if we pay the fee to set up the onboard calling / messaging service, we will be able to allow our underage child to access the app so he can use the calling service. Is that correct? How do we do that as from what I can see, there isn't anything on the app that will allow me to issue the permission for my child. Will that just open up when we are on board and if so, will that only be for the calling service or will he then be able to use the whole NCL app? Can we purchase the calling service through the app or will we need to go to the internet cafe to have them set it up for us?

Do they restock the coffee supplies daily? And does that include water as well? Just trying to work out how much water we need to pre-order! Also, how likely would it be for us to secure a coffee maker in our balcony cabin? Are they easy to get or do they run out within minutes of boarding?

Thank you. Yes mine just updated today too. I haven't booked any excursion though so couldn't comment on that side of things

That's good to know, thank you. This may be a bit of a silly question but do we still need to go and set up a casino account before we start playing or if the casino card is linked to our room key, does it automatically get created for us when we swipe / enter our card and start playing?

Just out of curiosity, can you all see the new times on your NCL app? I received an email from NCL and another one from my TA to notify me of the schedule change but on my app, the times are still the old ones. Is it the same for everyone else?

That sounds good enough for us. As long as the call function works fine, that will do for us. Now I need to work out how to give consent so my 12 year old son can use the app. This is what NCL says: "To grant permission, a parent must log into the app with their information, open the main menu and navigate to the Preference Centre, select the CHILD ACCESS menu option, and follow the instructions." But I can't find the Preference Centre on my app. I wonder of this is something that will be visible onboard?

Thank you all for your replies. We are relatively new to cruising and this will be our second cruise. Our first was on MSC and we managed to build up a nice amount of points on our account to qualify for future cruise discounts, treats etc but we have no status with NCL - yet :) I don't remember paying the 3% fee on MSC and we never bothered with cash there. I just like the freedom of not having to carry cash or cards with me onboard and settling my bill in total, hence why we prefered to play on the onboard account. But it's not a big deal, and like you say there is always the ATM.

If you have unlimited internet, you can just use a regular internet based service such as WhatsApp / Messenger / Facetime etc.

Thank you for your replies. If you have used the calling service, could you please let me know if it was a reliable service? I would much rather pay the set up fee for that than have to get unlimited wifi for all of us.

First time on NCL and just trying to understand how things at the Casino work. From what I have read, it sounds like you get an actual, physical players card which you need to insert / swipe, rather than your players card number being linked to your room key / onboard profile like some other cruise lines: Just sign up for your complimentary players card onboard at the Casino host desk and start playing your way to freebies. Use your players card whilst playing your favourite slot machines and table games. How does that work if you are playing cashless and charging to your onboard account and therefore need to have your room card inserted? Also, I read that convenience fees apply to using the onboard account; is that correct? How much do they actually charge?

Sorry to jump in on this but this is something that I have been looking into as well. We have a 12 year old son who likes to go off and do his own thing and we want to be able to call him or have him call us while onboard. He uses an iphone but my husband and I both use Android so we can't use the iMessages option. In our case, we are on regular FAS so our wifi is limited so unless we upgrade, we won't always be connected. If I understand correctly, the calling / texting service is independent from the wifi internet connection that we get, so by paying the $9.95 set up fee per person, would we ensure unlimited calls / texts between us for the duration of our cruise, regardless of whether we have wifi or not? Is the service pretty reliable once it is set up? We were on MSC Seascape last year and their version of this service was useless and never actually worked. But there the wifi package was unlimited so we could always call each other on WhatsApp so it didn't matter. I'm just trying to understand whether we all have to upgrade to unlimited wifi or if this calling service will actually work for us.

We received the same news for our 14 Jan sailing so it must be a general change, not specific to a certain sailing.

Sorry I have one last question on this topic. When booking speciality dining, all the restaurants and time slots came up with an option to book for 2 / 4 / 6 guests. There is 3 of us and I checked with my TA and she advised to book for 4. Is this how this really works at NCL? Have I done the right thing by booking for 4 and will they be OK when only 3 of us turn up on the day?

I didn't think they would let us do that! That's great to hear as that would work out great for us.

Thank you. I don't actually eat meat so my food consumption at Q Smokehouse will be limited to the side dishes :) We picked that restaurant as my husband and my son really enjoy a BBQ so if my son can have the food that I am entitled to and I can order a couple more side dishes and an extra dessert, that will be great for us.

Just did a search online and found the menu. You are right, it is very boring and my son is too much of a foodie to eat from that menu :) We booked the Teppenyaki for one of our meals which I know to be a fixed price. The second meal will probably be at Q Smokehouse and it seems like it is going to be more or less the same price whether we get the package or just pay a la carte for my son.

That's great news, thank you. I hadn't seen that before. He is still going to be 12 although I'm not sure about the kids menu as he is a big eater! Me on the other hand... not so much! I wonder if they would be OK with us ordering from the kids menu for him and also sharing mine? I guess we can always order whatever else he wants a la carte so perhaps not getting a package for him is the better option for us...

Thank you all. That's good news as for some reason, I'd assumed we only got one meal for the two of us. We do actually have our 12 year old son with us in the cabin so he will need a package. I'd assumed we would pay a la carte for him but from your replies, I get the feeling that pre-purchasing the credits is a better way to go, is that correct? Also, am I right in thinking our drinks package will be valid in the speciality restaurants as well? Thanks again!

Hi, This will be our first time sailing with NCL so I am trying to understand the ropes. Our booking is for a 10 night cruise in a balcony cabin so we get 2 speciality dinings in our Free at Sea package but is that 2 per cabin or 2 per person for guests 1 and 2? In other words, do we get to have one meal where we are both covered or two meals for two? I looked everywhere but couldn't find a confirmation of this so I would appreciate any input. Many thanks!