NCL speciality restaurant questions

[wrk2cruisesoon]

I am 45 days out from our cruise on the Jewel. My family (DH, DS) have sailed RCCL, Celebrity, and Disney but not NCL. Since this is our first cruise on NCL do you think it is worth us trying the speciality restaurants or should we just do MDR since this is our first experience with NCL? We are also sailing on the Breakaway in June so if we dont do the restaurants this time, we could try them then. Or we could try some of the restaurants on Jewel and then try others on Breakaway! Decisions, decisions!

 

Also, if I decide to do the restaurants it appears that I have to prepay all of us if I prebook. Would I then get a credit back when my son wont eat anything off the speciality restaurant menu and just eats off the regular menu? If that is the case, it seems better to just book onboard.

 

Last question, I know that NCL says that all the restaurants are kid friendly. Is that really the case?

 

Any insights would be appreciated.

[Tricialy]

We always book right after we walk onto the ship on the first day. They will have all the menus out for you to look at when you make reservations - that way you don't pay in advance and they sometimes have specials going - free bottle of wine, discounts for certain times, etc. We've never had a problem getting into any of the restaurants - though we are flexible with times. Have a great trip - or trips!

[jdvmd]

I am 45 days out from our cruise on the Jewel. My family (DH, DS) have sailed RCCL, Celebrity, and Disney but not NCL. Since this is our first cruise on NCL do you think it is worth us trying the speciality restaurants or should we just do MDR since this is our first experience with NCL? We are also sailing on the Breakaway in June so if we dont do the restaurants this time, we could try them then. Or we could try some of the restaurants on Jewel and then try others on Breakaway! Decisions, decisions!

 

Also, if I decide to do the restaurants it appears that I have to prepay all of us if I prebook. Would I then get a credit back when my son wont eat anything off the speciality restaurant menu and just eats off the regular menu? If that is the case, it seems better to just book onboard.

 

Last question, I know that NCL says that all the restaurants are kid friendly. Is that really the case?

 

Any insights would be appreciated.

All of the restaurants are kid friendly. If you prebook, you would have to pay with a credit card. Also, all of the time slots are not offered for prebooking, only about a third. I think in your case, I would wait until you get onboard, try out the main dining rooms and if the urge hits to try a specialty, then do so. This way, you can use any onboard credit that is coming to you. You can also see how your son is handling things. He may enjoy a place like Teppanayki the best.

[jackinthebox422]

Specialitys with NCL are quite nice and diverse.

 

I would not prebook any dining unless you are a Tepanyaki fan, this one will fill up quickly.

 

Wait till you get on board and look at the menu's, your plans for the day and make a decision. I would suggest booking a day in advance and the restaurants will get real busy towards the end of the cruise.

 

Every night on board there are flat screens with all the restuarants on them by 15 min intervals with green / yellow / red, Green walk in, yellow 5 minute wait, red booked solid. Use this as a guide for how busy the restaurant you want to attend is, and the timing of how the restaurant gets busy.

 

Kid Friendly - Absolutely. Kids were priced at 1/2 price and my 9 year old daughter wanted nothing but chicken, we ordered from the MDR menu for her and no charge, and she ate with us in Cagney's.

[NLH Arizona]

I am 45 days out from our cruise on the Jewel. My family (DH, DS) have sailed RCCL, Celebrity, and Disney but not NCL. Since this is our first cruise on NCL do you think it is worth us trying the speciality restaurants or should we just do MDR since this is our first experience with NCL? We are also sailing on the Breakaway in June so if we dont do the restaurants this time, we could try them then. Or we could try some of the restaurants on Jewel and then try others on Breakaway! Decisions, decisions!

 

Also, if I decide to do the restaurants it appears that I have to prepay all of us if I prebook. Would I then get a credit back when my son wont eat anything off the speciality restaurant menu and just eats off the regular menu? If that is the case, it seems better to just book onboard.

 

Last question, I know that NCL says that all the restaurants are kid friendly. Is that really the case?

 

Any insights would be appreciated.

If you go on NCL's website to your ship and then go to what's onboard, it will show the restaurants and you can pull up a sample menu, to see if there are things your son would like. Of course, this is not the kids menu, but will give you an idea.

 

During my last cruise, I ate in Cagney's and Teppanyaki and there were children in both restaurants. The kids really seemed to enjoyed the Teppanyaki restaurant.

[Clay Clayton]

If it was me, I would definately budget for at least one meal in one of the Specialty Restaurants. Typically, we have ended up eating about half our dinners in the MDR and about a quarter in a specialty and a quarter from the buffet - not because we particlarly love a buffet but we do LOVE eating outdoors and unfortunately with only a couple of exceptions, can you dine in a specialty and be outside. That is the biggest improvement that I am lookiing forward to on Break/Getaway.

 

We only rarely make reservations - if we want to dine specialty the last night we will do so OR if it is a special occasion. Otherwise, we check out the MDR menu, if it suits and there isn't a wait, in we go. If it doesn't, we check the monitors and pick a restaurant. Freestyle dining is the best thing (IMHO) about NCL. We have spent many an enjoyable time chatting with new friends over pre dinner drinks and then gone to a meal together...this would never happened if there were set dining times or if we reserved all our dining ahead of time.

 

Hope you will have a great cruise and be back for more!

[Ilovesailing]

We never ever prebook and just book the day of pending on our schedule that day plus I refuse to pay in advance.

How do you know right now what your wanting to eat on a specific night.

Kid friendly as long as there well behaved and if they start acting up it would be common courtesy to remove them from the dining room so as to not disturb other diners.

[nlt46]

To me the beauty of Free Style Cruising... is not having a set time or place to go eat; thus, I would not make reservations ahead of time. I don't know when or what I want ahead of time. We eat most of our dinners at the specialty restaurants. I just like them better and I plan and budget for them. They are why I cruise NCL.

 

Nancy

[Cruisegirl6]

When will you be sailing the Breakaway in June we sailing on the 9th.

[markadele]

This will be our first NCL cruise to and have been wondering about the same thing. I thought I read you can get a discount if you book 3 restaurants before you sail is is right? And if you don't make reservations can you just walk up and get seated if they have room? We have only sailed RCCL and one CCL and that will be our last CCL. But we do like doing the specialty restaurants.

[Cruisegirl6]

I asked NCL about the discount it only saves like $3 a person

[roe2ship]

Kid Friendly - Absolutely. Kids were priced at 1/2 price and my 9 year old daughter wanted nothing but chicken, we ordered from the MDR menu for her and no charge, and she ate with us in Cagney's.

Wow, that sure is kid friendly. I'm very surprised that they actually allow this. Sounds great!

[roe2ship]

This will be our first NCL cruise to and have been wondering about the same thing. I thought I read you can get a discount if you book 3 restaurants before you sail is is right? And if you don't make reservations can you just walk up and get seated if they have room? We have only sailed RCCL and one CCL and that will be our last CCL. But we do like doing the specialty restaurants.

 

I asked NCL about the discount it only saves like $3 a person

I believe the savings is $8.00 pp and has to be pre-booked.....offer is not available on board.

[cliffy97]

We are just off the Jade and tried the Teppanyaki (Pre-Book) and Moderno (booked on day) for dinner and Sushi/Asian for Lunch (Walkup) and was impressed with them all especially the amount of food served. It was massiave and we all went away full.

 

Funny enough our table mates (Randoms) ordered the seafood option at Teppanyaki and did not make it past the lobster and refused the scallops and calamari.

 

If you pre book you need to cancel with at least 24 hours notice and you will get a credit to your on board acount. However, the credit is not done until AFTER your reservation time and you might have to followup up. I say this as one of those travelling with us (Alone) had to pre book 2 spaces for Teppanyaki even though she only needed one space and the credit was not done until after we dined.

 

We are back on the Jade at the end of April and planning on getting the Cagney's/Bistro/Papa's special so we can try the others on board.

 

Enjoy your cruise and defo try at least one of the resturants.

 

Dan

[jdvmd]

Wow, that sure is kid friendly. I'm very surprised that they actually allow this. Sounds great!

Yes, kids 4-12 dine for half price in the specialty restaurants when dining off that restaurant's menu. Three and under are free. All kids can order off the standard kid's dining room menu for free no matter where they are dining. Of course, kids can also have food from the regular dining room menu as well.

[jdvmd]

I asked NCL about the discount it only saves like $3 a person

It saves $8 a person (cost is $52) and can only be ordered ahead of time. You have to pay for it with a credit card.

[darbs7]

I am 45 days out from our cruise on the Jewel. My family (DH, DS) have sailed RCCL, Celebrity, and Disney but not NCL. Since this is our first cruise on NCL do you think it is worth us trying the speciality restaurants or should we just do MDR since this is our first experience with NCL? We are also sailing on the Breakaway in June so if we dont do the restaurants this time, we could try them then. Or we could try some of the restaurants on Jewel and then try others on Breakaway! Decisions, decisions!

 

Also, if I decide to do the restaurants it appears that I have to prepay all of us if I prebook. Would I then get a credit back when my son wont eat anything off the speciality restaurant menu and just eats off the regular menu? If that is the case, it seems better to just book onboard.

 

Last question, I know that NCL says that all the restaurants are kid friendly. Is that really the case?

 

Any insights would be appreciated.

 

We leave on our 3rd NCL cruise on Sunday (have done 7-8 other with Carnival and Royal). For a total of 14 nights on our 2 previous NCL cruise we have only eaten main dining once and buffet zero times. The only reason we cruise NCL are the specialty restaurants...service is individual (cooked to order) and the atmosphere is less of a production more like a relaxing night out. We have 5 nights booked for this cruise...not sure about the other two nights yet (we are doing all inclusive resorts during the day so we may not be too hungry)

[darbs7]

We leave on our 3rd NCL cruise on Sunday (have done 7-8 other with Carnival and Royal). For a total of 14 nights on our 2 previous NCL cruise we have only eaten main dining once and buffet zero times. The only reason we cruise NCL are the specialty restaurants...service is individual (cooked to order) and the atmosphere is less of a production more like a relaxing night out. We have 5 nights booked for this cruise...not sure about the other two nights yet (we are doing all inclusive resorts during the day so we may not be too hungry)

 

As far as kid-friendly...we personally like the specialty restaurants because we rarely see any children in them (probably the cost)...

 

the restaurants are low key

[wrk2cruisesoon]

Thanks for all the great responses. I think we will have to try one or two of the restaurants when we go on the Jewel. I will take everyone's advice though and book once onboard. Now to decide which ones.

 

lyndamr: We will be on the breakaway June 30th. It just happens to be our 12 year wedding anniversary and we are going with my family as well! We tend to take one extended family cruise a year and my mother likes new ships. We sailed Oasis and Disney Dream in the first few months of their inaguaral year, so this time she wanted to try Breakaway. No flying is an added bonus!