New to NCL - how does dining work? Specifically MDR

[thehams]

My husband, son and I will be on the Escape in July and we have cruised on RCL (love) and Carnival (dislike) so I wanted to know how the MDR works on NCL?

 

I see it's similar to RCL with that they have the Specialty restaurants and a buffet, but how does the MDR work? Do you sit with just your group, other people or whatever you want? Are there 2 main dining times, walk in or make reservations?

 

Any input on how the MDR would be awesome.

[mjkacmom]

My husband, son and I will be on the Escape in July and we have cruised on RCL (love) and Carnival (dislike) so I wanted to know how the MDR works on NCL?

 

I see it's similar to RCL with that they have the Specialty restaurants and a buffet, but how does the MDR work? Do you sit with just your group, other people or whatever you want? Are there 2 main dining times, walk in or make reservations?

 

Any input on how the MDR would be awesome.

 

The 3 MDR's work like restaurants on land, make a reservation (we never did) or show up and be seated with your family.

[Dorhead1230]

You can sit only with your family in the MDR on NCL. If you make friends with any fellow cruisers, you could always make dinner plans [emoji4], but you won't be forced to eat with strangers. There are no set dining times. You walk up and if there is a wait, you can either take a beeper and wait a bit or try a different dining room. You can also make reservations for the MDR if you wish.

 

My boyfriend and I have never made reservations for a MDR, and have never waited more than maybe 20 minutes at dinner time. We generally eat around 7-7:30 and we sail at very busy times of the year because I am a teacher and we have no choice!

 

As far as other input, we've always had good MDR experiences. Some dishes are better than others, and we usually do a couple of specialties just to mix it up, but we've never been really disappointed with the MDR. Also, the MDRs have limited breakfast hours. It took us a couple of cruises to try it for breakfast, but it's really quite lovely to do a couple of times on a cruise. It's so calm and civilized compared to the buffet [emoji16].

 

 

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[ighten]

The answer above that said just treat it like a normal restaurant is pretty spot on.. Just turn up and take a buzzer (generally youll get seated straight away unless its peak ) or book during the day (don't forget usually there are two MDRs as well)

[yogibear]

What are usual busy times? Hubby and I like to eat around 6-6:30 pm.

 

Karen

[SaveFarris]

My husband, son and I will be on the Escape in July and we have cruised on RCL (love) and Carnival (dislike) so I wanted to know how the MDR works on NCL?

 

Any input on how the MDR would be awesome.

 

The MDR at the back of Deck 7 (named The Manhattan Room) has a dress code requirement for the gentlemen: long pants. I've seen a couple of shorts in there despite the rule, but it exists.

 

The MDRs on Deck 6 (Taste and Savor) have no such requirement. Shorts are more than welcome.

 

And the menus at all 3 are more or less identical.

[Two Wheels Only]

The MDR at the back of Deck 7 (named The Manhattan Room) has a dress code requirement for the gentlemen: long pants. I've seen a couple of shorts in there despite the rule, but it exists.

 

The MDRs on Deck 6 (Taste and Savor) have no such requirement. Shorts are more than welcome.

 

On the dailies for Escape, only Bayamo and Le Bistro are listed as requiring long pants.

[punkincc]

In addition to the three main dining rooms, and they are not assigned, like on some cruise lines, there is also O'Sheehans, the included 24 hour restaurant open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night food. They will have special dinners like prime rib or BBQ ribs nights there. Watch the freestyle daily or they'll post a sign outside if it's anything other than the normal fare.

 

In the MDRs the hostess will generally assume you want seating for the number in your party. You can let the hostess know if you wouldn't mind sharing a table. But, you might have no takers.

[MeHeartCruising]

What are usual busy times? Hubby and I like to eat around 6-6:30 pm.

 

Karen

 

6-6:30 is prime busy time for all restaurants. Without a reservation, you might find a reasonable wait (just like at land-based restaurants) before a table is available. Usually they will give you a pager so you can get a drink at a nearby bar if the wait is going to be more than a few minutes. I've seen that happen to others. But personally, I have never had to wait more than 2 minutes to be seated. But we usually eat closer to 5:30pm.

Edited January 18, 2017 by MeHeartCruising

[JAMESCC]

This where NCL excels, I loved the freestyle dine when and where you want. We never made reservations and I don't think we waited more than 10 minutes to be seated and most nights we were seated right away.

It surprises me that all the other large cruise lines have not completely copied this idea and just named it something else.

[Cruisermom2nick]

I love NCL freestyle dining compared to Carnival and MSC- I blogged about it here-http://thecheerfulcruiser.blogspot.com/2016/06/what-is-freestyle-dining-on-norwegian.html

 

Hope it helps! :)

 

Happy cruising!!

[yogibear]

Thanks for your blog link! I haven't cruised with NCL since 2000.

 

Karen