We’re booked. Now what?!?!

[Ranger28]

Today we  booked five members of our family- ranging in age from 89 to 18- on the Breakaway for a 7 day cruise in March out of New Orleans. This will be our first Norwegian Cruise and we would love advice on what we should prioritize as far as planning. Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated. 

[kitkat343]

I think 120 days out is when restaurant reservations open up (I'm not sure of the exact date because I usually book late).  If your rooms came with specialty dining, then you might want to book that ahead of time (or at the latest as soon as you board).  First timers who didn't know that reported being blocked out of reservations at desirable times (dinner for sea days) on the Getaway.  

 

When you get onboard, you should make reservations for shows if your ship requires reservations.  You can find your roll call here or on facebook and look for specific information for your sailing.  

 

My family cares mostly about the ports, so I look on the port of call on cruise critic or tripadvisor to find private vendors for tours.   I start by looking at what the cruise ships do in port and then can copy them with private vendors, or I research what is available in different locations.  

Edited January 18, 2023 by kitkat343

[Ranger28]

Thank you this is very helpful. Do we make reservations each night  or only for specialty dining?

[BirdTravels]

1 minute ago, Ranger28 said:

Thank you this is very helpful. Do we make reservations each night  or only for specialty dining?

Specialty dining requires reservations. They open at midnight eastern time 120 days prior to departure (you'll see the countdown clock when you log on to your MyNCL account). Prime Time dining will sell out quickly since "priority passengers" have access to the booking system at 130 and 125 days. 

 

NCL embraces Freestyle Cruising and you can dine at complimentary restaurants when you get hungry or when it fits your schedule. 

 

 

Other near-term activities are to see if there are any shore excursions you want to book. 

 

For a look at what goes on, skim [quickly] through the following live post from the Breakaway

 

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, Ranger28 said:

Today we  booked five members of our family- ranging in age from 89 to 18- on the Breakaway for a 7 day cruise in March out of New Orleans. This will be our first Norwegian Cruise and we would love advice on what we should prioritize as far as planning. Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated. 

I notice you have  a 89 year old person.

If this person will need special assistance, paricularly in boarding, you should contact NCL.

https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising

Be advised NOLA is notorious for long lines in boarding.  

You might want to consider delaying your arrival at the port to give the lines time to clear, maybe 1230-ish.

You also might wish to join the roll call for  your specific cruise dates.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/626-norwegian-breakaway-roll-calls/

 

 

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Specialty dining requires reservations. They open at midnight eastern time 120 days prior to departure (you'll see the countdown clock when you log on to your MyNCL account). Prime Time dining will sell out quickly since "priority passengers" have access to the booking system at 130 and 125 days. 

 

NCL embraces Freestyle Cruising and you can dine at complimentary restaurants when you get hungry or when it fits your schedule. 

OP is sailing in March, he's well inside the 120 window.

[johnrich]

We loved the Breakaway. When we had a group (there were 6 of us), we would talk to the hostess at one of the main dining rooms and they would make us reservations for the next day but would only do one day at a time. This was before covid but I would assume they would still do it. 

[cruiseny4life]

15 hours ago, Ranger28 said:

Thank you this is very helpful. Do we make reservations each night  or only for specialty dining?

Since you're sailing in March, you may not find the reservations available on the NCL website. Don't fret as you still have a couple options:

 

1. Call NCL. Sometimes (this is so not guaranteed) an agent may be able to see a reservation that you aren't able to. I don't know if this is something to do with the system or maybe the agent just is able to see a cancellation that just occurred. I know my husband and I often move our reservations around pre-cruise, so I am guessing this is what the agent sees.

2. When you get onboard, head to wherever they are taking dining reservations (I don't know where this is, so hopefully someone else can answer). You'll be able to see what reservations are available.

 

Quite frankly, we have never booked our reservations at the 130, 125, or 120 day mark. We've always been able to find the times we wanted, but we eat early (like between 5 and 6), plus we only use the two free meals that are offered. That's my experience. Based on how others express booking early, there must be an issue finding reservations, but I've just never experienced it.

Good luck and have fun!