BandBWCsmom Posted January 7, 2020 #1 Share Posted January 7, 2020 New to NCL and will be cruising the Escape. I am getting rather worried after reading about the new CEO and the cost cutting and cruises going downhill in terms of food quality and amenities! Eeek! We booked this trip as it worked out to be significantly less than the two cruises we were comparing against on Carnival and RCL. Anyway, i was looking at included dining and it appears quite limited in terms of kids (buffet or the pub). I guess I should have looked at that more closely upon booking. And while on the NCL site, I noticed that it says that 20% gratuity would be added to room service. Does that include for the continental breakfast? We are going on RCL in March and just back from Carnival in September so really hoping that making this line jump is one that works for us as a family. TIA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Wheels Only Posted January 7, 2020 #2 Share Posted January 7, 2020 (edited) In addition to the buffet and pub, there are 3 Main Dining Rooms on Escape (Taste, Savor, The Manhattan Room) for no charge. See HERE For room service, see the following thread for info...(post #13) Edited January 7, 2020 by Two Wheels Only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Liljo22 Posted January 7, 2020 #3 Share Posted January 7, 2020 24 minutes ago, BandBWCsmom said: New to NCL and will be cruising the Escape. I am getting rather worried after reading about the new CEO and the cost cutting and cruises going downhill in terms of food quality and amenities! Eeek! We booked this trip as it worked out to be significantly less than the two cruises we were comparing against on Carnival and RCL. Anyway, i was looking at included dining and it appears quite limited in terms of kids (buffet or the pub). I guess I should have looked at that more closely upon booking. And while on the NCL site, I noticed that it says that 20% gratuity would be added to room service. Does that include for the continental breakfast? We are going on RCL in March and just back from Carnival in September so really hoping that making this line jump is one that works for us as a family. TIA! Gratuity is not added to the free continental items. What do you kids like to eat? The kids menu at all the restaurants is your standard Kids menu but they can eat off the regular menu at the complementary restaurants. Chicken Nuggets Hot Dog Mac n Cheese Burgers Chicken Noodle Soup Grilled Cheese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BandBWCsmom Posted January 7, 2020 Author #4 Share Posted January 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, Liljo22 said: Gratuity is not added to the free continental items. What do you kids like to eat? The kids menu at all the restaurants is your standard Kids menu but they can eat off the regular menu at the complementary restaurants. Chicken Nuggets Hot Dog Mac n Cheese Burgers Chicken Noodle Soup Grilled Cheese Thank you for this. For my 5 year old, what you mention above is about right and my 9 year old tends to order from the big menu. I guess my concern is that the buffet is not fun or easy with families. The lines are packed, seating limited and food - not the best. On Carnival and RCL, we tend to take them to the specialty burger or pizza place, or the taco place for lunch ... there the lines aren't as bad and we find a quiet spot. Walking through a buffet line with two kids and the plates...not my favorite. We never eat at a buffet for dinner and always do MDR with them or get room service for them and we do specialty dining. We always do the MDR for breakfast too as not as chaotic as the buffet (after getting coffee, juice and pastry delivered to the room first thing as of course they wake STARVING). Thus, my question about continental breakfast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkacmom Posted January 7, 2020 #5 Share Posted January 7, 2020 59 minutes ago, BandBWCsmom said: Thank you for this. For my 5 year old, what you mention above is about right and my 9 year old tends to order from the big menu. I guess my concern is that the buffet is not fun or easy with families. The lines are packed, seating limited and food - not the best. On Carnival and RCL, we tend to take them to the specialty burger or pizza place, or the taco place for lunch ... there the lines aren't as bad and we find a quiet spot. Walking through a buffet line with two kids and the plates...not my favorite. We never eat at a buffet for dinner and always do MDR with them or get room service for them and we do specialty dining. We always do the MDR for breakfast too as not as chaotic as the buffet (after getting coffee, juice and pastry delivered to the room first thing as of course they wake STARVING). Thus, my question about continental breakfast. NCL has MDR’s open for breakfast and dinner, and lunch on sea days, plus O’Sheehans (pub food) all of the time. There is also a MDR open for lunch on embarkment. There is no charge for continental breakfast room service. Different ships also have additional options, like the Great Outdoors or poolside bbq’s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don't-use-real-name Posted January 8, 2020 #6 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Did I read somewhere the Room Service charge went from $7.95 to $10 (does not apply to continental breakfast) ? Another unexpected service for your convenience ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancer1568 Posted January 8, 2020 #7 Share Posted January 8, 2020 2 hours ago, BandBWCsmom said: Thank you for this. For my 5 year old, what you mention above is about right and my 9 year old tends to order from the big menu. I guess my concern is that the buffet is not fun or easy with families. The lines are packed, seating limited and food - not the best. On Carnival and RCL, we tend to take them to the specialty burger or pizza place, or the taco place for lunch ... there the lines aren't as bad and we find a quiet spot. Walking through a buffet line with two kids and the plates...not my favorite. We never eat at a buffet for dinner and always do MDR with them or get room service for them and we do specialty dining. We always do the MDR for breakfast too as not as chaotic as the buffet (after getting coffee, juice and pastry delivered to the room first thing as of course they wake STARVING). Thus, my question about continental breakfast. As someone pointed out, you can eat at the specialty dining and the kids can order off the kids menu for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonvoyagie Posted January 8, 2020 #8 Share Posted January 8, 2020 I know that on the Dawn they had a special kids section in the buffet area (garden café) they even had a special seating area with tables and chairs for kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BirdTravels Posted January 8, 2020 #9 Share Posted January 8, 2020 4 hours ago, BandBWCsmom said: New to NCL and will be cruising the Escape. I am getting rather worried after reading about the new CEO and the cost cutting and cruises going downhill in terms of food quality and amenities! Eeek! We booked this trip as it worked out to be significantly less than the two cruises we were comparing against on Carnival and RCL. Sorry. Just because it is on the internet, it isn’t necessarily true. We do about a half dozen cruises a year between NCL and RCL. We actually greatly prefer NCL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don't-use-real-name Posted January 8, 2020 #10 Share Posted January 8, 2020 7 hours ago, bonvoyagie said: I know that on the Dawn they had a special kids section in the buffet area (garden café) they even had a special seating area with tables and chairs for kids. I believe with the recent renovation that the Kids Café seating has been eliminated - it is still showing on the CruiseDeckPlans diagram and I recall it had its own Service counter with kid size portions of burgers fries dogs etc. 2018 Canada-New England cruise I don't recall seeing it anymore. The 2015 Western Caribbean cruise it was there. The STAR has not gone thru an interior renovation and it is still there Starboard side forward near the entry to the passageway to the Pool deck. The STAR had its own Kids Café Service counter with burgers fries dogs etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tef43 Posted January 8, 2020 #11 Share Posted January 8, 2020 The continental breakfast is complimentary, so: Free x 20% = 0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JamieLogical Posted January 8, 2020 #12 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Don't stress. The Escape is a wonderful ship and you will have a great time! The buffet on the Escape isn't nearly as impossible as the buffet on some other NCL ships (I'm looking at you, Bliss!). Remember, if weather is nice, there is also outdoor seating on deck near the buffet and it's usually not as crowded. Another tip for breakfast: Margaritaville has a breakfast buffet set up on the Escape. It's much less crowded and a much smaller area, so you may have better luck there managing your kids and getting seating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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