Newbie here - input on Getaway schedule

[clemsonfan14jax]

I'm brand new to cruising with NCL. Here is what I was thinking for our 7-day schedule. Thoughts/input?

 

Saturday (day we leave) - Steakhouse at 6:30

Sunday (Day at Sea) - Italian at 5:30, show Burn the Floor at 7:30

Monday (Day at Sea) - Teppanyaki at 6pm

Tuesday (St Thomas until 6) - Brazilian at 6:30

Wednesday (Tortola until 4) - dinner on our own, go at 5:30 to see a Magic and Illusion show. Cost is $29/pp (90 minutes long)

Thursday (Day at Sea) - French at 5:30 pm, show Legally Blonde at 7:30

Friday (Nassau until 7) - Italian at 7:30

[PDIDDYwife]

Hello, Capatain ORGANIZED!

 

The only suggestion that I personally have...

We try not to eat at the heavy duty restaurants if we have had an excursion where we get a lot of sun and maybe do a bit of champagne- swilling on the way back!

 

We Did Modernos after a sun and alcohol day on St Thoams and were too pooped to eat as much as we had planned on. One kid had a single sausage ( she wasn't drinking but had been snorkeling and sunning and was beat)

I could barely keep alert enough to try the salad bar.

 

We did go back later in the week.

 

I admire your attitude!

Have a great trip.

[carefree20]

I'm brand new to cruising with NCL. Here is what I was thinking for our 7-day schedule. Thoughts/input?

 

Saturday (day we leave) - Steakhouse at 6:30

Sunday (Day at Sea) - Italian at 5:30, show Burn the Floor at 7:30

Monday (Day at Sea) - Teppanyaki at 6pm

Tuesday (St Thomas until 6) - Brazilian at 6:30

Wednesday (Tortola until 4) - dinner on our own, go at 5:30 to see a Magic and Illusion show. Cost is $29/pp (90 minutes long)

Thursday (Day at Sea) - French at 5:30 pm, show Legally Blonde at 7:30

Friday (Nassau until 7) - Italian at 7:30

 

Whew! I'm following your schedule when we sail Sept. 5. May I suggest: If you have the UDP - Illusionarium is FREE on the day of Embarkation only. Be sure and schedule soon as you board the ship. Otherwise, i'm following your agenda! LoL!! Happy Sailing!!!

[seguetocaribe]

I scheduled very similar to you and booked all of our reservations beforehand (except we did the shows first and dinners afterwards - we tend to eat late.) The only thing that I would suggest that you consider is on your port days - you may not want your dinners to be scheduled so close to the time you are due back onboard unless you plan on coming back to the ship early. If you have excursions planned, you will probably come back to the ship sweaty, sandy and tired and need some downtime to shower and relax before dinner!

[Son of a son of a ...]

I, too, was aggressive with dining scheduling on the Getaway. We grew to somewhat resent the reservation times when we shifted to "island time" during the cruise. We really began to appreciate the freestyle approach of eating when we were hungry and ready rather than when we had reservations. There were are couple of good, relaxing times when we had to stop and go back to the cabin for showers to make the dinner reservation.

 

The restaurants were great, but I'd front load early in the cruise and then throw the schedule out the window by Tuesday!

 

Boat drinks, my friend. :)

[rbird]

OP - Your plan reminds me of our Disney Vacations. I have done the same and set dining times at 7pm with shows at 1015. I am new to the Freestyle concept. While I am not really winging it on dining times, I do like the idea of a Polo shirt and khaki shorts for dinner.

[clemsonfan14jax]

Ha! Thank you for the input. We are Disney cruisers so maybe that's why I'm so set. I'm traveling with a 7 year old so early dinners and early shows are a must. If it were an adult only trip, I might be going for the freestyle thing. But since a kid who needs to eat and needs to go to bed at a decent hour is with us...we will be planned. I'm NOT going to end up at the buffet every night due to my lack of planning.:eek:

Edited April 9, 2015 by clemsonfan14jax

[seguetocaribe]

Ha! Thank you for the input. We are Disney cruisers so maybe that's why I'm so set. I'm traveling with a 7 year old so early dinners and early shows are a must. If it were an adult only trip, I might be going for the freestyle thing. But since a kid who needs to eat and needs to go to bed at a decent hour is with us...we will be planned. I'm NOT going to end up at the buffet every night due to my lack of planning.:eek:

 

Completely agree...I am a planner and if I did not have all of our reservations set ahead of time, I would not have been relaxed! Lol! Just my personality. I was glad to have the reservations set for the whole week, especially towards the later part of the week when it seemed harder for people to get reservations!

[southerngirloutwest]

Illusionarium is like dinner theater. They serve dinner during the magic show, so you may not need to get dinner beforehand. It is a set menu, though. We had an appetizer of tomato & mozzarella, main course of steak & shrimp, and dessert. We don't have kids, so I'm not sure if there's a different children's menu.

[MandyMommyof2]

We are former Disney Cruisers too! :) This will be our first non-Disney and are very excited to experience the "freestyle" life of NCL. Our family is very schedule oriented, but this time around we are winging dinner reservations. I have booked our shows (Legally Blonde and Burn the Floor) and am trying to decide about Illusionarium. The big reason I am excited about freestyle is because on a couple of our prior cruises, our excursions absolutely wore us out but we had those dinner pressies we had to make :eek:Looks like you and your family will have a great time!!!

[Sandman799]

Whew! I'm following your schedule when we sail Sept. 5. May I suggest: If you have the UDP - Illusionarium is FREE on the day of Embarkation only. Be sure and schedule soon as you board the ship. Otherwise, i'm following your agenda! LoL!! Happy Sailing!!!

 

We'll be on the Sept. 5th sailing as well! I've been wondering about whether it would be worth getting the UDP, so if it saves us $60 to see this show, that tips the scales in favor of buying it. Where did you see that it would be free on Embarkation day? I thought we'd only get a 20% discount. Looking forward to the trip! Maybe we'll meet at the meet and greet!

[carefree20]

We'll be on the Sept. 5th sailing as well! I've been wondering about whether it would be worth getting the UDP, so if it saves us $60 to see this show, that tips the scales in favor of buying it. Where did you see that it would be free on Embarkation day? I thought we'd only get a 20% discount. Looking forward to the trip! Maybe we'll meet at the meet and greet!

 

Nice!! Our UDP was offered when we booked. DH is an absolute foodie so I had to get it. Check with your booking agent to see if they will add it on for a reduced rate. Reading other forum threads everyone said it was free day of embarkation; but you must make a reservation for either show once you board the ship. If I find the thread I'll post it. Let me look...

[carefree20]

We'll be on the Sept. 5th sailing as well! I've been wondering about whether it would be worth getting the UDP, so if it saves us $60 to see this show, that tips the scales in favor of buying it. Where did you see that it would be free on Embarkation day? I thought we'd only get a 20% discount. Looking forward to the trip! Maybe we'll meet at the meet and greet!

 

Per CC member mrobstad:

 

Illusionarium is free first day if you have UDP. People arrived very early for seating.

 

He sailed in March 2015. I'll probably call to verify or when and/if you get the UDP.

 

Check out CC member megacruiser for one of the best reviews with pictures i've every read. You will enjoy!

[pisenor]

Whew! I'm following your schedule when we sail Sept. 5. May I suggest: If you have the UDP - Illusionarium is FREE on the day of Embarkation only. Be sure and schedule soon as you board the ship. Otherwise, i'm following your agenda! LoL!! Happy Sailing!!!

 

Sorry to burst your bubble but NCL has done away with the "Free Illusionarium" (and Cirque) on the first night if you have the UDP. This is one of the many recent changes that have been discussed in great detail here on this board.

 

Here are the UDP terms and conditions...please note the highlighted area.

 

ULTIMATE DINING PACKAGE

 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

For sailings on or before July 2nd, 2015

The Ultimate Dining Package (UDP) is available via pre-sell or onboard purchase on days 1-2 of the voyage only. On 3-day sailings, the package is only for sale on day 1. No refunds are available if fewer restaurants are visited. The Ultimate Dining Package is non transferable. An 18% gratuity and specialty service charge will be added to the package price. A la carte priced restaurants and Ocean Blue are not included in the Ultimate Dining Package, but will be discounted 20% for those purchasing the package. Carlo’s Bake Shop items, Ice Cream Bar, Gelato, Pizza 24/7, Chef’s Table is not included in the Ultimate Dining Package. The UDP does not include beverages. No Kids pricing, package available for guest 13 and older. Excludes all 1- and 2-day sailings. Includes add-ons in Le Bistro such as Fruit de Mer, Lobster and Cote De Boeuf. The package does not apply to Special Occasion/Holiday menus (New Year’s, Christmas, etc.). Latitudes Platinum Guests will receive a $20 discount on the Ultimate Dining Package (as they receive 1 complimentary dinner in Le Bistro). Additional main courses in Cagney’s and Le Bistro will be charged at $10.00.

 

For Sailings on or after July 3rd, 2015

The Ultimate Dining Package (UDP) is available via pre-sell or onboard purchase on days 1 and 2 of the voyage only. On 3-day sailings the package is only for sale on day 1. No refunds are available if fewer restaurants are visited. The UDP is nontransferable. Reservations are not required for UDP guests, however, tables reserved onboard will be subject to availability for reservations made 24 hours in advance. We encourage you to log in to My NCL to make dining reservations in advance for specific night(s) of your cruise. An 18% gratuity and specialty service charge will be added to the package price. A 25% discount applies to all a la carte and entertainment based dining and select Specialty Restaurants. These venues include: Sushi, Raw Bar, Food Republic, Hot Rock, Tapas Bar, Noodle Bar, Ocean Blue, Ocean Blue on The Waterfront, The Cellars, The District, Murder Mystery, Cirque Dreams & Dinner, Illusionarium, Supper Club, Wine Lovers, Pajama Jam, Bayamo and Pincho by Jose Garces. The UDP does not include beverages or corresponding gratuity. No kids pricing available for UDP. Excludes all 1 and 2 day sailings. Includes add-ons in Le Bistro such as Fruit de Mer, Lobster and Cote De Boeuf. Does not apply to special occasion/holiday menus (New Year’s, Christmas, etc.). Latitudes Platinum Guests will receive a $20 discount on the UDP (as they receive 1 complimentary dinner in Le Bistro). $10 per each additional main course will be charged in Le Bistro & Cagney’s. Chef’s Table, Jazz Brunch, Carlo’s Bake Shop items, Ice Cream Bar, Pizza 24/7 and Gelato are not part of the package.

[carefree20]

Sorry to burst your bubble but NCL has done away with the "Free Illusionarium" (and Cirque) on the first night if you have the UDP. This is one of the many recent changes that have been discussed in great detail here on this board.

 

Here are the UDP terms and conditions...please note the highlighted area.

 

Drats!:eek: Thanks for the info... I saw Cirque on the Epic guess I'll hold on to that memory a little longer... :D LoL!!! Sorry for the bad info sandman799.

Edited April 10, 2015 by carefree20
add name

[neptune18]

"Freestyle" = getting closed out of restaurants you want unless you're willing to eat very early or late. I would make your reservations as soon as possible.

[Sandman799]

Drats!:eek: Thanks for the info... I saw Cirque on the Epic guess I'll hold on to that memory a little longer... :D LoL!!! Sorry for the bad info sandman799.

 

That's quite all right carefree20! I later saw the review by megacruiser where he mentioned it and may have seen it elsewhere since then as well, so I guess that takes us all by surprise. Other changes I've seen are they no longer charge a-la-carte for the Shanghai Noodle Bar and have made it complimentary. Saw that on an external vacation new site. Also saw somewhere that smoking is no longer allowed in rooms, not even on the balconys. Not sure how well that's going to be received, or adhered to. I personally don't smoke, but DW does. I think she'd follow the rule though and go wherever it is allowed instead. Others adjacent to us may not want the smoke blowing over onto their balcony.

[Vacationdreamer<><]

Ha! Thank you for the input. We are Disney cruisers so maybe that's why I'm so set. I'm traveling with a 7 year old so early dinners and early shows are a must. If it were an adult only trip, I might be going for the freestyle thing. But since a kid who needs to eat and needs to go to bed at a decent hour is with us...we will be planned. I'm NOT going to end up at the buffet every night due to my lack of planning.:eek:

 

 

I'm happier if I gave a blue print.

 

Completely agree...I am a planner and if I did not have all of our reservations set ahead of time, I would not have been relaxed! Lol! Just my personality. I was glad to have the reservations set for the whole week, especially towards the later part of the week when it seemed harder for people to get reservations!

 

 

I'm in this camp, too.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble but NCL has done away with the "Free Illusionarium" (and Cirque) on the first night if you have the UDP. This is one of the many recent changes that have been discussed in great detail here on this board.

 

 

 

Here are the UDP terms and conditions...please note the highlighted area.

 

 

UUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH

I'd missed this surprise. I'm so tired of the rules changing and I just booked 30 days ago.