KeithJenner

I have specifically asked on this board for any examples of people actually getting charged. I am yet to find a single person who has been, but there are many examples of people ordering multiples and not being charged. This is certainly not a case of “what you can get away with”. The T&Cs specifically mention a limit on entrees, but no limit on other courses. Personally, I have never actually been told about any restrictions on apps and desserts by any staff members, so I am just going on heresay that they ever do mention them. This is a subject which has been discussed many times over the years since the dining package was introduced, and the actual situation regarding whether you can order multiple apps and desserts is very clear. You certainly can. You are absolutely correct that the thread would be entertaining if someone took our advice and then got charged. We can only speculate though because despite this advice being given regularly for many years that thread has never been required. Just to be totally clear though, I’m not advising anyone to do anything, just saying what the actual situation is regarding charging of these items.

They can now be used anywhere.

Before the Epic the MDRs and Asian restaurants changed all the time. I may be wrong, but I think that all earlier ships have different names for the MDRs (although maybe there are a couple of Grand Pacific’s?). The aft MDRs have names like Versailles, Summer Palace, Tzars Palace etc and the mid ship are Aqua, Magenta, Indigo etc. The Asian restaurants are often “gardens”, Lotus Garden, Jasmine Garden, etc or another Asian sounding name (Bamboo, Chin Chin, Ginza). It was only after the Epic that names for MDRs being fairly similar with most being Manhattan, Taste and Savor, but as you say there was at least one Tropicana (although Manhattan came first. Garden Cafe has been very consistent though. I’m not sure of any buffets not called that other than on the POA.

Exactly this. If something stays the same then people will complain but if you change it then people will complain. 🙂

That isn’t the case. They sometimes tell people that (although not us for some reason), but if you were to order more apps or desserts then they don’t charge you. Basically, the servers give incorrect information.

You can only book Teppanyaki in advance without paying if you have a dining package and haven’t yet booked meals. For example, if you have a two meal plan then the first two you book with not be charged. After that you have to pay.

There is a lesson here. Don't confuse yourself by contacting NCL shoreside staff to ask questions. There is just one menu for Le Bistro, and that shows prices for each item. Whether you are paying for your meal or using the dining plan then you will be given the same menu. The only difference is that if you have the dining plan you will not actually have to pay those prices (unless you order two entrees or something with an uncharge). Don't overthink this.

If the cruise is in 2023 then you should only have paid a deposit at this point, which would not be refundable. The prepaid gratuities are generally paid with final payment. Did you specifically pay extra for these above your deposit?

Definitely not just a benefit of using a TA. I book directly and NCL applied all my discounts automatically without me having to point them out.

That is the way that it should be, in my opinion. It has always seemed a bit odd to me that freestyle is all about you deciding when to do things, and then they announce a night that you should "dress up or not". If that is what someone want to do then they can choose when.

I may just not have noticed them (I'm that uninterested), but I didn't see any "Norwegian Night Out" or "Dress Up Or Not" nights on either of our cruises this year. If they do still happen then they are even more low key than they were pre pandemic. Edit - Just flicked through the dailies. No mention that I can see.

The staff should let you know, and there should be signs around or a note in the freestyle daily. It is difficult to know for sure in advance though, especially in Europe. I have done identical itineraries where I have been charged sometimes and not at others. Spain seems the most random. You could ask previous cruisers for their experience, or check reviews, but nothing is guaranteed.

There is no requirement to specify who you are booking for, so just book your table for 4 at 125 days and you are done. The system doesn’t care who you are going with. When you turn up for the meal give the staff their card and they will automatically use their dining credit.

As you are in the UK you don't pay the gratuities on the beverage or dining packages. Instead you will have paid an amount when you selected free at sea. It works out fairly similar, but I just didn't want you to think that was an extra charge that would be coming.

It was really nice the next morning to not have to head to an airport as is usually the case. Actually, that is a lie, as we had parked our car at Southampton Airport, which was a short taxi journey away and then we drove home and were back at about 11am. A very nice change to usual. So, some final thoughts. This was our first cruise without our Son for many years, and it was quite different for us. We didn't play cards once, which was a real bonus, and we enjoyed being able to sit at the bar again. It was odd him not being around, but we will get used to it. We have one final family holiday planned next year (in Orlando), and then it will likely just be the two of us for a while at least. I'm sure we will get used to it. We have previously sailed on the Star, which is a sister ship of the Dawn, so it was quite familiar. We like the Jewel class which is very similar and there are some pros and cons. We missed the Great Outdoors and Spinnaker, but o'Sheehans is nicer on the Dawn (more seats at the bar for example), and we really enjoyed Cellars. Overall I really like the ship. For the second cruise in a row we managed to upgrade to a suite very cheaply, which was nice. As I have stated a few times on these boards, I see no particular benefit in the Haven, but we do like the larger room, and enjoy breakfast in Moderno, which we had most days. We also tried lunch in Moderno once, when we didn't have a meal planned in the evening. Three full meals a day is far too much for us, so we. prefer to just grab a snack for lunch. Lunch in Moderno was nice as a change, but I wouldn't go often. We rarely use the concierge and butler. The main benefit we got from the concierge was getting on a tender quicker in Dublin, which got us ashore about an hour earlier than would otherwise have been the case, but otherwise we didn't make use of him at all. We needed to change a couple of meals and I found it much easier to speak to the reservation staff myself rather than involve a middle man. Our butler was very friendly and kept the Nespresso machine stocked. He also brought snacks, which I generally could do without, to be honest. We left most of them, and those that we ate were really just because they were there. We always find the staff on NCL to be very good (with the occasional frustration due to communication issues). Our room steward was excellent, and the bar staff in Cellars were exceptional. We had plenty of time to chat as it was often quiet there, and really enjoyed our time with them. We made the most of the Premium Plus beverage package. I had at least one glass of champagne every day, and my wife was drinking it most of the week. We ordered a few bottles of time with meals and I enjoyed trying various red wines in Cellars. We also like sparkling water and got through quite a few bottles (I'd guess we averages three or four bottles a day between us. It is certainly worth it for us. As for the itinerary, obviously my view on this will be different from the average passenger on this cruise, as we know much of it so well. It really is an excellent itinerary with the highlights for me being Dublin, Kirkwall, Edinburgh and Brugge. The rearrangement was unfortunate, especially with the impact on the Irish ports and we were disappointed not to get to Gia its Causeway, but overall I think that people enjoyed the trip. I didn't;t hear too many complaints, outside of the Dublin tendering issues. The weather was generally good, although many people were wrapped up well (at times I was wearing a t shirt whilst others were in scarves and coats). It is a very good way of seeing the British Isles. I'll be happy to try to answer any questions if anyone has any.

Final day was Zebrugge. This was the real benefit from the changed itinerary. Due to the problems at the lock in Ijmuiden, this port has either been missed or visited for a short time in the evening on most cruises this year. Before the full rescheduling we were only planned to be in port in the evening, which would have made this a very disappointing port. Instead, we got a fairly long day and both passengers and staff seemed to take advantage. I saw lots of staff out and about both around the port and in Brugge. Last time we were in Brugge, I had planned a walk around the city and we really enjoyed it. This time I made no specific plans and just walked around at random, chasing the direction at every junction based on what direction looked nicest. That is a very hard decision in many places, as Brugge really is one of the most picturesque cities I have ever visited. Firstly, how to get there. There are taxis and I think that NCL offered an "on your own" tour, but I went by train. It is very easy and relatively quick. After leaving the port you turn right and walk a short distance to Zebrugge Kerk tram stop. Last time we were here you had to buy a ticket from a shop (or listen to the driver complaining if he had to sell them to you), but now you can buy your ticket online, which I did, or even easier just use contactless. A journey costs €2.50 and you take the short journey to Blankenberge Station. From there, the trains run every hour (this was a weekend, but I think it is the same during the week), so it is worth planning your journey to avoid hanging around too long. A return to Brugge was €5 as it was a weekend, but it was only slightly higher during the week. The journey takes less than 15 minutes and you are very close to the centre of Brugge. The canal trips are popular (I've never done one), and there are lots of bars, waffle and chocolate shops. It really is a great city, one of my very favourites. I spent a few hours in Brugge, just walking the streets, and then took the journey in reverse, being back at the port about 30 minutes after leaving Brugge. As we had an early start the next morning, we had a fairly quiet night again, although we did go to the early eating at Teppanyaki, which was very good as usual. Lots of pictures attached. There were many others that I could easily have included.

Teppanyaki seems very clear to me. Similar to how the platinum voucher currently works in Moderno (or how the dining package does in both), it will just cover your meal which has a fixed charge otherwise. The reference to 4 courses in Teppanyaki on the website is clearly just there to meet NCL's required quota of confusing detail on the website.

Whilst the set menu clearly will make some people less inclined to eat at the MDR, it will almost certainly result in us eating there more (and likely at the Speciality restaurants less). The changing menu is the main thing which puts me off of eating at the MDR. There are a couple of the current MDR menus that don't inspire me at all, so that has been a factor in our decisions in the past to eat elsewhere. On our recent cruise we had 4 nights for included meals and having to either ask in advance for the menus per day (not even sure where you do that) or wait until you get back on the ship to view the menu, to decide whether it will be there or the Asian is really not ideal. On the Viva, I will be a lot more inclined to book less speciality restaurants knowing that we can decide where we will be eating based on our preferences rather than based on a specific days menu. These new menus will clearly be a problem for people who want to eat many of their meals in the MDR, but for those of us whose preference would be nearer 50:50 they could be a great improvement.

I have always booked online.

In my experience, the date shown is 120 days out, regardless of cabin or latitudes status. We recently were able to book at 125 days despite the website showing that it should have been 5 days later. I would be very surprised if you have any problem booking Moderno onboard. I have never had any trouble doing so. The only reason I bother booking in advance is to save having the job on embarkation day.

They may have told you that they would have charged you for it, but they wouldn’t. The only courses which are actually restricted are entrees. If you order more than one of them then you would be charged.

I rarely book excursions, and if I do so then I generally reserve before boarding, but I have noticed on both of my cruises this year that they have tended to sell out onboard a few days beforehand. I don't know whether this is the case usually, and it is probably related to difficulties in getting guides to run the tours (although the ships were both far from full). I believe that some tours can even sell out before boarding. If I was really keen to go somewhere (and Taormina is supposed to be very nice) then I wouldn't wait too long before booking.

Next port was Tyne (Newcastle). This was the replacement for Portland due to the itinerary changes. It is not far from where we live and we visit regularly. In fact, we were there for a Rugby match the weekend before the cruise.We therefore didn't have any need to go anywhere particularly. As arranged earlier in this thread, we instead met fabnfortysomething and her husband 6 at the nearby shopping centre for a coffee. Very enjoyable, but obviously coffee and a chat with a great couple is not something that is easily available for more people. If you do find yourself in Newcastle on a cruise, it is actually a very good port. There is a shuttle that takes you to Tynemount, which is a nice little town with a castle. I saw tours going to Anwick, which has a nice castle that was used as Hogwarts in some Harry Potter scenes amongst many others. I believe that tours were also available to Durham, which is a lovely city and Newcastle itself is an interesting city. It is actually a great port of call. A short while after sail away you pass Tynemouth on the port side before heading back into the North Sea, which is worth being on deck for. In the evening we were back in Moderno for another excellent meal and also spent much of the evening back in Cellars. As I don't have any pictures of Newcastle, here are a couple of Tynemouth and from sailing in the evening.

So, next port was Edinburgh. After the mess with tendering in Dublin, many people were concerned about a similar problem in Edinburgh. However, I assume because excursions didn't need to head out as quickly, they let the first tender take independent people (there may have been more than one) and the whole process seemed to work very well. By the time we decided to get off there was no queue at all and we just walked straight on to a tender. Edinburgh is an odd port for us, as we know it so well. I have visited many times over the years, including having a week there last year when we couldn't cruise due vaccine rules. This year we decided to go to the Castle as we haven't been there for a few years and can get in free at the moment. Like the Guinness Storehouse, you can change your tickets online if your plans change, so the itinerary changes shouldn't have been a major problem to people who had paid for tickets. You do need to reserve a space though, and people were being turned away who didn't have a ticket. I think there were places available at different times, but it is best to get your place. Firstly, though, how to get there. At the port there is a hop on hop off bus stop which seemed to be the most popular for people who didn't have tours booked. There is also a bus stop which is the cheapest way of getting into the city (well, you could walk, but it is a couple of miles). The bis runs regularly and costs £1.80 per journey, or £4.50 for unlimited journeys. If you use contactless to pay and just scan your card then it works similarly to the London Underground in that it tracks your journeys and just charges you the correct amount at the end of the day. Lothian Bus have a website or app that you can use to find the best route to where you want to go. It is handy as it shows exactly where the stop you need is. That is handy as sometimes the place you catch the bus may not just be across the road from where you got off, it may be on a parallel road, for example. The Tenders leave from Fishmarket, so use that to plan your return trip. Anyway, the journey is easy, if slow, and we got off at Princes Street and walked up to the Castle. After spending some time there, we did one of my favourite things which is just to walk around Edinburgh and enjoy being in such a fantastic city. Whilst we didn't do them this time, I would recommend a walk up Arthurs Seat for the views, and we also enjoyed going round the Royal Yacht Britannia (which is at Ocean Terminal, not far from the tenders) last year. But mainly just enjoy the city. Once back onboard we ate at Bamboo again (really enjoyed it once again). We had a very quiet night after that, which I think we both needed.

Did you ask for them, or just get them? I enquired about tickets years ago when we first made gold, and were told that we didn't need them. Since then, we have been at tender ports many times and have never once been offered any tender ticket or had any trouble getting off the ship with anything other than our card. A couple of times when on a cruise with tenders I have specifically been told by the CruiseNext staff (without asking them) that we could just join the queue for tenders whenever we wanted.