First time on NCL. Some questions.

[cdamion]

I just booked my first trip on NCL on the Star for next year. In the past I have been leery to book because I really like traditional dining on cruises and I have heard the MDR food on NCL ships is fair (but good in the specialty restaurants). For a point of reference, I like Princess overall (but not for kids), Carnival for kids, food, and friendliest crews, and RCI for ships.

 

The reason I am doing it this time is that the week I can go with my teens is the Carnival ship's first trip after a drydock, so I cancelled that and booked the Star.

 

How is NCL for teens?

How is the MDR? Does the menu change daily?

How friendly is the crew?

 

And for those who are reformed traditional diners: how does freestyle compare to traditional? Plusses? Negatives?

 

Thanks!

[Va. Plumber]

Can't speak specifically to teen program, but from what I've read here the NCL program is very good.

 

As to dining, the MDR menu is split. One part repeats every night and the other side changes daily. There is always a chef's special each night. Others may complain, but I have never had a bad meal on NCL.

 

I have always found the crew members delightful. If you treat them with respect they will respond.

[russianmom]

Welcome- see below. I think NCL is better than CCL is terms of service and crew. I think Princess was a little better on food ( but that was yrs ago)

 

 

How is NCL for teens? My kids are younger, so I don't know

 

How is the MDR? Does the menu change daily? menu changes daily and there are also dishes available everyday. New menus coming out soon

 

How friendly is the crew? WAY more friendly than my CCL cruise. Lots of officers are very visible/available. if you go to the M&G they will give out their numbers and they want to know if something isn't right.

 

And for those who are reformed traditional diners: how does freestyle compare to traditional? Plusses? Negatives? I much prefer freestyle. Eat when you want with whom you want. You aren't forced to eat when they say and with strangers. I don't understand the whole "getting to know my waiter and them knowing my preferences". I don't do this on land why would I do it on a cruise. There's no " formal" night so dress up if you want- don't if you don't want to.

 

Thanks!

[VideoTech]

..... I don't understand the whole "getting to know my waiter and them knowing my preferences". I don't do this on land why would I do it on a cruise.

 

I think that's actually the one nice thing about assigned dining on cruise ships. When we cruised on lines that had this, we generally established a nice rapport with the waiter after a day or two. He'd learn our preferences for drinks and food, and suggest things accordingly. Sometimes he'd bring two of a particular item, knowing one of us liked it a lot. Of course, this also depends on the waiter - some are more personable and do this, others do not.

 

You may not normally do this on land, but you might if you went to the same restaurant often, and had the same server at that restaurant. Similar to going to the same coffee bar all the time, and having the barista know your order when you walk in.

 

Unfortunately, the system on NCL is to move the waitstaff around from restaurant to restaurant anyway, so even if you went to the same MDR every night, and tried to get the same table every night, you are not likely to get the same waiter. But I do understand that some people ask to be seated at a particular waiter's station if that person is serving in the restaurant on that night.

[cdamion]

Thanks!

[philip_eunice1]

Last year my DS 14 loved the kids club on the Dawn made good friends spent lots of time there and is still in contact via face book we kids he met

 

 

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[Ciara01]

I too dragged my feet over sailing NCL because of the dining. I thought that service would suffer if the servers weren't invested in making you happy. We were pleasantly surprised with our service on the Jewel in 2010. The food was well done, the service was great, & we had an unexpectedly excellent cruise. (We had very low expectations, & wouldn't have gone but for a bargain rate on an aft balcony.) We are taking our kids on the Epic next month & am specifically looking forward to not having set dining times. I think you can also request a server & probably follow them as they move from restaurant to restaurant as much as you wish to, as long as there are tables available.

[che5904]

How friendly is the crew? WAY more friendly than my CCL cruise. Lots of officers are very visible/available. if you go to the M&G they will give out their numbers and they want to know if something isn't right.

 

I agree, I found the crew on both Carnival and NCL great, I just found most of NCL crew a step above.

 

And for those who are reformed traditional diners: how does freestyle compare to traditional? Plusses? Negatives? I much prefer freestyle. Eat when you want with whom you want. You aren't forced to eat when they say and with strangers. I don't understand the whole "getting to know my waiter and them knowing my preferences". I don't do this on land why would I do it on a cruise. There's no " formal" night so dress up if you want- don't if you don't want to.

 

We did MTD on Carnival for the same reasons you state above. Which Carnival doesn't do near as well as NCL's freestyle.

 

I also agree with our "getting to know my waiter" statement. I'm assuming there must be a lot of people out there who are very routine that eat the same things, drink the same things every evening etc.

 

To the OP freestyle works the same as it does in land restaurants. So just compare your experience in traditional cruise dining to the last time you were at a restaurant on land.

[ShannonSC2]

How is NCL for teens?

My girls who are teenagers enjoyed the teen programs. They do things like dance parties, scavenger hunts and games. They meet a lot of people on their 2 cruises and still stays in contact with them through email or texting.

How is the MDR? Does the menu change daily?

I have never had anything bad on NCL. The menu does change daily. Check with each restaurant to see what they are serving.

How friendly is the crew? I found the crew on both NCL cruises to be very friendly. I was on the Pearl in April last year and they went out of their way for everyone. The Sun was friendly but the Pearl crew was amazing! I think you will be pleased!

 

And for those who are reformed traditional diners: how does freestyle compare to traditional? Plusses? Negatives?

One advantage about having a no set time for your dinner is that you can hang out in the ports longer if needed and don't have to worry about the time of getting dinner. When we were in Alaska we heard several people from the Disney Cruise that they needed to hurry back on the ship because they needed to get to their dinner time. The only negative is that you get a different server each night but you find out a lot of different things about them. In Alaska we had a different server one night & the server we had the night before came over to speak to us.

[fergusonvt]

The NCL crews are fantastic, everyone says hi. On our RCI cruise this year we found the crew to be not as friendly but it might have just been the ship. NCL mdr food is great. Not a lot of difference between NCL and CCL in my opinion. NCL buffets are better with more choices.

[cdamion]

Thanks to all that responded. I usually have pretty lengthy photo reviews. Ill be sure to do one in a year after I get my first taste of NCL!

[8675309Jenny]

you will absolute love ncl.

you will not want for anything!

[wasiii]

.....1 Princess, 1 Royal and in August it will be my 3rd NCL. I wasn't sure myself on whether I would like Freestyle Dining or not. I don't think I would ever go back to traditional seating times on a cruise, because sometimes you just can't get to the restaurant on time.

 

:cool:

 

wasiii

[kcwingwalker]

I just booked my first trip on NCL on the Star for next year. In the past I have been leery to book because I really like traditional dining on cruises and I have heard the MDR food on NCL ships is fair (but good in the specialty restaurants). For a point of reference, I like Princess overall (but not for kids), Carnival for kids, food, and friendliest crews, and RCI for ships.

 

The reason I am doing it this time is that the week I can go with my teens is the Carnival ship's first trip after a drydock, so I cancelled that and booked the Star.

 

How is NCL for teens?

How is the MDR? Does the menu change daily?

How friendly is the crew?

 

And for those who are reformed traditional diners: how does freestyle compare to traditional? Plusses? Negatives?

 

Thanks!

 

Don't have teens, but when my kids were in college they loved NCL.

 

The MDR is fine and menus change daily. Deserts are so-so and I'll give Carnival the nod for deserts.

 

Crew is always friendly and do an outstanding job.

 

Haven't done Princess, but find NCL to be a step above Carnival. Not as crowded, quieter and generally a little more upscale. But it does depend on the length of cruise and average age of passengers.

 

You and your family will love FreeStyle..............what you want and went you want it! Dress up or not it's all up to you.

 

Have a great cruise and come back to this board often and get to know all about NCL:) There are many here who really know their stuff when it comes to NCL.

Edited March 13, 2014 by kcwingwalker

[SWACK]

We're first timers as well, and enjoy eating with and meeting new people.. is that not an option, are you always seated by yourself?

[lettienets]

We're first timers as well, and enjoy eating with and meeting new people.. is that not an option, are you always seated by yourself?

You can ask to share with others when you approach the dining room hostess before being seated. If there is a table started you will be seated with them. If not, you will become the start of a shared table.

 

 

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