Reservations for complimentary restaurants?

[ThxMomnDad]

So I booked my reservations for my specialty dining on my upcoming cruise on the Escape, but I see that you can also book reservations for the complimentary restaurants (Manhattan room, Savor & Taste). Is it recommended to also reserve time slots at those restaurants too? Do you bypass any lines if you have reservations?

[phissy]

We noticed that also. I did make reservations for Manhattan Room dinner. Hoping it will allow us to bypass lines and get seated rather quickly. I think they are doing this so they can see where the trends are for dining preference and get prepared ahead of time. (always thinking the best of NCL 😉)

[ThxMomnDad]

3 minutes ago, phissy said:

We noticed that also. I did make reservations for Manhattan Room dinner. Hoping it will allow us to bypass lines and get seated rather quickly. I think they are doing this so they can see where the trends are for dining preference and get prepared ahead of time. (always thinking the best of NCL 😉)

Yeah, I hate to lock us in to a specific time on the nights where we don't have specialty dining reservations, but if making reservations can save us from waiting in a long line, it's worth it.

[Mercury]

Here is a thread with more info on this topic:

 

 

[tomk3212]

With large parties (6 or more) it can make a difference.  In the MDR on the 'Away class ships they'll have your party queue up on the left side of the long corridor that leads into the restaurant.  In Savor/Taste they'll ask you to queue up on the other side of the check-in desk.  DW & I eat early (between 5-530) and by ourselves so we've never noticed much of a difference when we have made a reservation.  We've gotten to the point that we just queue up around 445 & take our chances.  

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[FitchburgWIFamily]

I have seldom had a long wait for a table at a complimentary dining room.   We show up when we are hungry, ask for a table for 4 or 6 or 8 and most of the time, they either seat us right away or ask us to wait while they put a table together.  On the away class ships, if there is a queue at the podium by Savor you go to the podium by Taste and there usually isn't a line.   On the smaller ships, if there is a wait, they give you a pager and you can go enjoy a cocktail while you wait.

 

For me, picking when I am going to want to dine on some night in November is killing my freestyle vibe.  In addition, there are some definite disadvantages to having a particular time booked every night.

I may decide today that on Tuesday 11/26/19 I want to dress up and have an early meal in the Manhattan, but when I get back on board after an all day shore excursion, I may decide to grab a quick bite at the buffet or the 24-hour pub and skip dinner entirely.  Or maybe I want to shower, nap and eat later that evening.   

Maybe we stop for a pre-dinner drink, get a great seat and a great bartender and don't want to give that up to run off for dinner at 6:15 on the dot. 

Trying to time my reservations around my shows is tricky because everytime I have pre-booked a show it changed once I got on board. 

Lastly, I don't think Norwegian does a very good job of helping you keep track of all your reservations.   It's not like it would be that hard to produce a printout at check in with all you have pre-booked (dinners, shows, etc) instead of making me check multiple systems.

 

So, no, I would not recommend pre-booking your complimentary restaurants.

[buddylover]

You can book, so you have a reservation and quicker seating, but it can be changed too - or you can just not show up (which isn't preferred),  and do what you like on any given night.  A reservation does not hurt, but it could save a 'wait' time too.

[ThxMomnDad]

Thank you everyone for your input and insight. Fitchburg made some really good points about reasons not to reserve a time for the main dining rooms. We'll have to give this some thought. Maybe do as buddlover said and book a reservation now, but we can always change or cancel it once on board.

 

Thanks again folks!!

[Pauser]

On 8/8/2019 at 11:03 AM, FitchburgWIFamily said:

Lastly, I don't think Norwegian does a very good job of helping you keep track of all your reservations.   It's not like it would be that hard to produce a printout at check in with all you have pre-booked (dinners, shows, etc) instead of making me check multiple systems.

 

If you download their app, all your reservations (restaurants, excursions, etc.) are in one place and easy to access.

[Gershep]

We always make reservations and if I have to I either cancel or make a time change if available. Sometimes there is a line to get in the complimentary restaurants and with reservations you don't have to wait on line. Just let them know you have a reservation.