An old school cruiser who can't get the hang of NCL's Freestyle cruising

[SwimCarrie]

Hi, all. We are avid cruisers, just not on NCL. We are sailing in March and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about NCL. From our one previous cruise on NCL many years ago, I've learned how important it is (to me) to book dinner reservations in advance, pay for everything up front and pack my patience. I would love for someone who likes the old cruise traditions of other cruise lines to share what you love about NCL. 

 

So far I've learned everything has an upcharge (room service, on demand movies, specialty dining), lines are long for outdoor activities and I can book our dinner reservations soon. There's so much more for me to learn!

 

We are not foodies (I have celiac and am a pain in the butt), we tend to explore on our own versus cruise line sponsored excursions and we like to save a buck when we can. 🙂

 

We're very excited to give NCL another try, but with as much information as possible going in!

 

Thanks!

[phillygwm]

4 hours ago, SwimCarrie said:

So far I've learned everything has an upcharge (room service, on demand movies, specialty dining), lines are long for outdoor activities and I can book our dinner reservations soon. There's so much more for me to learn!

 

We are not foodies (I have celiac and am a pain in the butt), we tend to explore on our own versus cruise line sponsored excursions and we like to save a buck when we can. 🙂

 

I'll start with the second paragraph.  Check out others' reviews for the ship you're on, particularly the menus.  The specialty menus are generally listed on the NCL website.  You should also let your TA or cruise rep know about dietary needs so they can accommodate them.  

 

For the first paragraph, I've actually thought NCL includes more than most.  The "Premium" alcohol package, while it excludes waters and juices, is less costly than Royal.  

[mjkacmom]

Family of 7, never once made a reservation in a MDR, never waited (we opt for the larger one). Put a note on your reservation about celiac, you will be approached in the MDR at lunch after you board to learn about your options. My daughter has celiac, she would pre order breakfast and dinner the night before, call when she was heading to eat (including the buffet). and her food would be served to her. She also ordered gf food off of the regular menus, or had options modified for her. Really the only difference between NCL and other lines is the lack of fixed dining, it’s just like eating at restaurants on land.

[hallux]

I'll also note that every time I was seated the server or host asked if there were any food allergies to be aware of at the table.  That would also be a time to bring that up, but if it's noted on your reservation it should come up for them when they check you in.

[mjkacmom]

6 minutes ago, hallux said:

I'll also note that every time I was seated the server or host asked if there were any food allergies to be aware of at the table.  That would also be a time to bring that up, but if it's noted on your reservation it should come up for them when they check you in.

Yes, it pops up at check in, I think they tried to keep us with the same servers if possible too.

[Oxo]

So far I've learned everything has an upcharge (room service, on demand movies, specialty dining), lines are long for outdoor activities and I can book our dinner reservations soon. There's so much more for me to learn!

 

We must be talking about every Cruise Line we have been on in the past few year.

Celebrity, MSC, NCL, Princess, RCI.

Yes, they all do it. Out of those Celebrity is the biggest 5 n10.

[MoCruiseFan]

The 'hang of it' is to do what you want when you want.  Not a hard concept.

[complawyer]

make your life and cruise easy.... book a haven suite.

[deliver42]

You'd be surprised about how easy it is once you get on board. I believe you're over thinking the problems.

[SwimCarrie]

6 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

The 'hang of it' is to do what you want when you want.  Not a hard concept.

That's for your thoughtful insight. 

[SwimCarrie]

5 hours ago, deliver42 said:

You'd be surprised about how easy it is once you get on board. I believe you're over thinking the problems.

I'm a bit of an over-planner. 😁

[SwimCarrie]

6 hours ago, complawyer said:

make your life and cruise easy.... book a haven suite.

If only! Not in our cruise budget. I've only just started booking balconies after the Diamond COVID fiasco. Lol. 

[Calvin]

8 hours ago, Oxo said:

So far I've learned everything has an upcharge (room service, on demand movies, specialty dining), lines are long for outdoor activities and I can book our dinner reservations soon. There's so much more for me to learn!

 

We must be talking about every Cruise Line we have been on in the past few year.

Celebrity, MSC, NCL, Princess, RCI.

Yes, they all do it. Out of those Celebrity is the biggest 5 n10.

Wow, Oxo, I couldn't agree more!  We started cruising back in 1998, and that is one of the major differences between old school cruising and new. Every line I've experienced (been on 34 now), has increased the number of eating options along with the increased prices. Most have even included added pricing for some non-food items like special classes, entertainment, etc. No one is happy with increased "nickel & diming" but at least people can still get a relatively all-inclusive experience if they choose to bypass the extras.

[coldweather]

Don't forget NCL has no formal nights.

[Sthrngary]

OK, I have been cruising for 42 years.  I remember the old style cruising.  So when I read your post, I got you.  I am not sure which stateroom you have chosen so I am going to assume you are in the main ship vs. the Haven.  My thoughts will be using that as an assumption.  

 

The key to NCL is the ship you are on.  My favorite NCL Ships are the best ones they have.  Lot's of things to do.  Also, the biggest ships have lovely observation rooms in the front of the ship.  OK, dining.  All three main dining rooms serve the same menu.  However the one I recommend to you is the Manhattan Room.  The moment you get onboard, make reservations there.  I am assuming you will have two Specialty Dining options.  Do the French Restaurant and Cagney's Steakhouse or Ocean Seafood.  

 

The drink package that is a perk (You still pay a fee which is tips upfront) is very nice.  I always find a quiet bar that makes Martini's.  Remember to stay under $15.00 per drink.  Watching the walks doing go cart racing or Lasor tag is as much fun as doing except it cost nothing.  The shows are done very well and usually broadways show like Kinky Boots or Footloose.  If you like cigars, they have a very nice cigar lounge. 

 

In my opinion, NCL has the best entertainment over the other lines.  Carnival is the party boot, Celebrity is the quieter ship, HAL is a little reserved.  NCL is in the middle.  By the way, you can dress up any night, that is why I suggested the Manhattan Room.  Kind of like a New York Dinner Club of the past and often times has live music during dinner. 

 

Remember, just get a reservation early.  You can reserve your Specialty restaurants 120 days prior to sailing. 

 

I hope I helped you a bit.  Enjoy.

[BirdTravels]

20 hours ago, SwimCarrie said:

Hi, all. We are avid cruisers, just not on NCL. We are sailing in March and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about NCL. From our one previous cruise on NCL many years ago, I've learned how important it is (to me) to book dinner reservations in advance, pay for everything up front and pack my patience. I would love for someone who likes the old cruise traditions of other cruise lines to share what you love about NCL. 

 

So far I've learned everything has an upcharge (room service, on demand movies, specialty dining), lines are long for outdoor activities and I can book our dinner reservations soon. There's so much more for me to learn!

 

We are not foodies (I have celiac and am a pain in the butt), we tend to explore on our own versus cruise line sponsored excursions and we like to save a buck when we can. 🙂

 

We're very excited to give NCL another try, but with as much information as possible going in!

 

Thanks!

First, and foremost, nothing associated with old school cruising has an upcharge on NCL. On NCL, Room, Food, Entertainment is all complimentary. We sail multiple times a year. And we often have a end-of-cruise room bill with nothing. 

 

We have been cruising for a long time. Since the days when we would sail transatlantic on the QE II,  there was for-fee specialty dining (which we never did). So, there is absolutely nothing new about for-fee dining. And you were expected to be in formal attire nightly. The gowns and shoes along with the tuxes are happily tucked away in the closet, never to be brought on a ship again... and we're happy about that. 

 

If you choose to give into NCL marketing and spend money on upcharge items, then they will be happy to take your money. It is no different on other cruise lines. 

[Oxo]

1 hour ago, Calvin said:

Wow, Oxo, I couldn't agree more!  We started cruising back in 1998, and that is one of the major differences between old school cruising and new. Every line I've experienced (been on 34 now), has increased the number of eating options along with the increased prices. Most have even included added pricing for some non-food items like special classes, entertainment, etc. No one is happy with increased "nickel & diming" but at least people can still get a relatively all-inclusive experience if they choose to bypass the extras.

HAL was maybe the first with a SPECIALTY RESTAURANT called the Pinnacle Grill which was free one time on the cruise. That was really quality!

I believe Sovereign OTS was one of the first ships to charge for ice cream back in 1993. As long as we are willing to pay for it,  they will charge more.

Stay Safe and Happy Cruising!

[SwimCarrie]

Thanks for all your responses. I understand the additional charges for more upscale dining. That's been the case on all cruise lines. I'm just bummed about room service charges, no free movies in the room, etc. that I've gotten on Princess and HAL. 

[ArtInMotionPersians]

On 11/12/2021 at 10:22 PM, SwimCarrie said:

Hi, all. We are avid cruisers, just not on NCL. We are sailing in March and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about NCL. From our one previous cruise on NCL many years ago, I've learned how important it is (to me) to book dinner reservations in advance, pay for everything up front and pack my patience. I would love for someone who likes the old cruise traditions of other cruise lines to share what you love about NCL. 

I'll start by saying I have no experience with "old style cruising" sorry!  I'll try to be helpful though.  We've done 6 NCL cruises so far. 🙂

 

We've never booked dinner reservations in advance, we just show up, never waited for than 15-20 mins.

 

Not sure what you're paying up front... we haven't done that either.

 

On 11/12/2021 at 10:22 PM, SwimCarrie said:

 

So far I've learned everything has an upcharge (room service, on demand movies, specialty dining), lines are long for outdoor activities and I can book our dinner reservations soon. There's so much more for me to learn!

 

True, we've not used those options yet either - there's so many things to do that are included (free).

 

On 11/12/2021 at 10:22 PM, SwimCarrie said:

 

We are not foodies (I have celiac and am a pain in the butt), we tend to explore on our own versus cruise line sponsored excursions and we like to save a buck when we can. 🙂

 

We're very excited to give NCL another try, but with as much information as possible going in!

 

Thanks!

 

What info are you looking for?  

[ArtInMotionPersians]

4 hours ago, SwimCarrie said:

Thanks for all your responses. I understand the additional charges for more upscale dining. That's been the case on all cruise lines. I'm just bummed about room service charges, no free movies in the room, etc. that I've gotten on Princess and HAL. 

 

There are several free movie channels in your room.  The free movies are "cable style" you have to pay attention to the time they start and turn on accordingly.  The paid movies are newer and "on demand" style, you click go when you're ready to watch.

 

The little bit we're in the room, we've always had something we enjoyed watching free.

[ArtInMotionPersians]

7 hours ago, coldweather said:

Don't forget NCL has no formal nights.

 

Yes, they do.  It's optional though.

 

[ontheweb]

19 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

The 'hang of it' is to do what you want when you want.  Not a hard concept.

To be fair our first NCL cruise was on the Crown (soon out of the fleet because it was not really set up for freestyle), and you could not do what you want when you want because every upscale dining room was booked way, way in advance. There was nothing you could do spontaneously.

 

The biggest you could not do what you want to do on our second NCL cruise (on the Epic) was that we could not do the excursion we most wanted (a trip to Arles from the port of Marseilles) because  there were not enough bookings for it to go. (As we waited and hoped there would be enough, one of the crew selling excursions told us it was a great excursion and he would push it. We had actually booked it pre-cruise.) The next year, I mentioned that at a cruise expo to the NCL representative there, and her response was you should be doing what everyone else is doing. I thought that was hardly in line with "do what you want, when you want".😒

[cricket200]

I have severe food allergies and NCL are wonderful! I fill out the access form ahead of the cruise then on embarkation day I go to where they are doing restaurant reservations (in Headliners on my most recent cruise on the Breakaway) and meet with the Maitre'D responsible for "special dining".

I have to preorder my food for the next day but I have never had any food issues on NCL unlike may restaurants on land! I generally only eat at the MDR for breakfast and lunch, dinner either at the MDR or a specialty restaurant. I have on past cruises at the buffet but I always ask the  Maitre'D if I am "OK" to eat whatever I have picked.  Only downside is that you have to know a day ahead what you want to eat 🙂

You can book reservations at all the MDR - we never have. Not sure about "outdoor activities" but I just like walking around the deck or the jogging track or just sitting looking at the ocean!

As for paying extra for "stuff" while onboard the choice is yours! The only "upcharge" my DH and I pay is his "has to be Starbucks" morning coffee!

 

[nferr]

If you're looking for "old style" more formal cruising then NCL is not the line IMO. I love the more casual open vibe of NCL. And dining, shows, etc are still free, but most fares include the open bar, some nights in the specialty restaurants and other perks. Yes, some stuff you pay for like room service might be free on Princess or another line but compare the fares to see if they're really "free".

[billslowsky]

On 11/12/2021 at 10:22 PM, SwimCarrie said:

So far I've learned everything has an upcharge (room service, on demand movies, specialty dining), lines are long for outdoor activities and I can book our dinner reservations soon. There's so much more for me to learn!

 

I like the upcharges.  I rarely use them so I'm not subsidizing other people who do.