sixstrings

5 night Carrib cruise January 2025

2 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

I travel solo and also a likeable Canadian 😉. The few times I didnt make dinner plans with fellow random cruisers I asked for a shared table and there would be 3-4 of us. It’s possible but not really the NCL style. If you have FAS I definitely recommend using those specialty dinning nights. The only time I had to wait 30 minutes for a table was the first night when a friend wanted to go to one specific MDR. There are screens all over the ship talking you which dinning rooms are busy/quiet so just pick accordingly and you shouldn’t need reservations. The part I don’t like about freestyle is not having a dedicated waiter.

the only time we didn't like sharing a table was when they sat us with 6 other Canucks !   all from the same area !  LOL, 

3 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

I don't because it might be one of the people on this forum that I've put on my ignore list.  😉

LOL, it would be an honour !   usually people meet me first before they dislike me !   

10 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

You should consider making specialty dining reservations. Since this is your first time on Norwegian, and you are probably not staying in a suite, you'll be able to make reservations at 120 days prior to your cruise (same day as final payment date). We often switch our specialty dining reservations throughout the cruise and have never had an issue. Some cruisers maintain reservations are extremely hard to come by, so take your pick. It seems that there are reservations held back for embarkation day, so you can find the restaurant reservation location onboard and make reservations for specialty dining.

 

If you are a group of less than 12, you will be unable to make reservations in the main dining room. Just go when you want, grab a pager, and wait for a table to become available. If you go at 6:30 PM, expect a long wait. If you go at 5:30, restaurant opening, probably a short wait.

 

You can let the host at the main dining room know you would like a shared table. You might get one. You might not. We Norwegian seamen do not always like sharing our table, so you may not have anyone else sitting with you. You can request the same server when you get to the dining room, but they may be off, on a break, in a different restaurant, etc. There will never be a guarantee you'll get the same server each evening. 

 

Some shows you are able to reserve 21 days in advance of your sailing. Other shows aren't able to be reserved until you get onboard. And, other shows don't take reservations at all. 

 

Have fun on your first Norwegian cruise!! 

thanks...  we typically don't do the specialty restaurants anymore.....  I wonder why people don't like to share with strangers ?  we've found that the best part, meeting people from all over !

hi all.... we've been on 15 cruises, mostly Celebrity but also Princess & RCI.... this will be first time on Norwegian !   I'm trying to clarify the main dining and entertainment protocols....  although dining is "freestyle", (anytime ?), I've read it's highly recommended to make reservations ?  we like to share a table with others and prefer to have the same table / wait staff each evening....  is this correct ?   also, I recently read you need to reserve for entertainment ?  does that mean the main theatre shows ?   finally, how far in advance are you able to reserve this stuff ?  cheers