New to NCL just a few minor questions

[LatinaInTexas]

Since I booked months ago I have been trying to learn all things NCL, will be my first cruise on this line.

Will be on the Getaway 9 night from Orlando.

We eat in the MDR, rarely the buffet. We have one specialty dining included and are considering purchasing more.

Since it is 9 nights will we have 9 nights of different menus in the MDR or will it be 7 nights of different menus and then repeat?

 

Are you allowed to decorate your cabin door?

Have only had drink package on Carnival and MSC. On Carnival you can order 1 drink at a time and have to sign a slip each time. On MSC you could order 2 drinks at a time and there was no signing a slip at all. Do you have to sign a slip everytime on NCL, and is it one drink at a time?

 

Last question, if I'm not interested in getting an early embarkation time I can just check in wherever, no need to stay up till midnight?

I think I'm good on how and when to check in, we like dining at same time so have all reservations booked. Just a little concerned since I don't know show times but will adapt. Also booked all excursions and transfers to and from ship.

Anything else I absolutely need to know or do? Thank you.

[prov2727]

I was on a 15 day cruise on the Joy and the MDR menu had different options (some the same) every night.

[pghflyer]

Hi, I will give you a few items of feedback

 

MDR has a rotating menu (3-5 changing mains/apps/desserts) every night PLUS there is a standard menu of 5-6 mains (ex. steak) that never changes

 

Never sign a slip for drink purchases that are covered under your package and they definitely let you get at least 2 at a time with one card no problem (we had 2 people with package in our cabin).

[KeithJenner]

There are more than 7 menus (I don’t know the exact number, but it’s more like 14). They won’t be repeated on a 9 day cruise.

 

You can get two drinks at a time and don’t need to sign unless you get something that causes a charge (ie a drink over $15 where you pay the difference).

[LatinaInTexas]

1 minute ago, KeithJenner said:

There are more than 7 menus (I don’t know the exact number, but it’s more like 14). They won’t be repeated on a 9 day cruise.

 

You can get two drinks at a time and don’t need to sign unless you get something that causes a charge (ie a drink over $15 where you pay the difference).

Glad to hear this. Sometimes we were in a hurry and had to wait and wait for our server to bring the sign slip.

[FLAHAM]

I find Uber much more convenient and comfortable between Orlando (airport or hotel) and Port Canaveral than NCL transfers.  If two or more people, cheaper, too.

[allyfrizzle]

17 minutes ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Glad to hear this. Sometimes we were in a hurry and had to wait and wait for our server to bring the sign slip.

I HATED that about cruising with Carnival. Also, couldn't order a shot n a beer, because you had to wait at least 5 minutes between ordering the first drink to get a second one.

[ChiefMateJRK]

34 minutes ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Last question, if I'm not interested in getting an early embarkation time I can just check in wherever, no need to stay up till midnight?

If you're in Texas, it would likely be 11:00 PM, not midnight.

[LatinaInTexas]

27 minutes ago, FLAHAM said:

I find Uber much more convenient and comfortable between Orlando (airport or hotel) and Port Canaveral than NCL transfers.  If two or more people, cheaper, too.

I actually booked with Cortrans, they will pick up from hotel, I think I have used them before, heck if I remember lol.

[Greenpea2]

NCL Main Dining Rooms does not have changing menus anymore. But we were very pleased with the choices and I think you will be too. As someone said, several items do change. Most stay the same but, for example, the pasta dishes can be mixed and matched re type of pasta, type of sauce, meat added, etc. So that equals a number of different dishes right there. I know some people preferred the different-every-night menus but we were quite happy with the new ones. And I think it actually makes a lot of sense.

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Greenpea2

[KeithJenner]

9 minutes ago, Greenpea2 said:

NCL Main Dining Rooms does not have changing menus anymore. But we were very pleased with the choices and I think you will be too. As someone said, several items do change. Most stay the same but, for example, the pasta dishes can be mixed and matched re type of pasta, type of sauce, meat added, etc. So that equals a number of different dishes right there. I know some people preferred the different-every-night menus but we were quite happy with the new ones. And I think it actually makes a lot of sense.

 

The new, non changing, menus are on the Prima but haven’t yet moved to the other ships. The OP is on the Getaway and should have different menus each night.

[Greenpea2]

Oh, ok. I did not realize. Thank you!

[UKstages]

2 hours ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Are you allowed to decorate your cabin door?

 

cabin door decorations are not permitted, but many people ignore that prohibition and do it anyway. sometimes, they are asked to remove them, sometimes they are removed by cabin stewards. and sometimes, nobody notices or seems to care and the decorations remain throughout the cruise.

 

enforcement is spotty.

 

there are many threads on this on cruise critic.

[KeithJenner]

18 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

cabin door decorations are not permitted, but many people ignore that prohibition and do it anyway. sometimes, they are asked to remove them, sometimes they are removed by cabin stewards. and sometimes, nobody notices or seems to care and the decorations remain throughout the cruise.

 

enforcement is spotty.

 

there are many threads on this on cruise critic.

It isn’t as simple as that, as far as I have been able to tell.

 

There have been a few instances where there have been notices in the freestyle daily saying that door decorations aren’t allowed, but all the evidence that I have seen suggests that this is a decision made by individual ship staff rather than being an NCL rule.

 

We have asked a couple of times whether they are allowed and have always been told that there is no restriction, and I have never seen anything in writing either on the NCL website or on a freestyle daily for a cruise that I am on.

 

I wouldn’t say that people are ignoring any prohibition, but that either it doesn’t exist or that they are unaware of it.

[LatinaInTexas]

21 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

cabin door decorations are not permitted, but many people ignore that prohibition and do it anyway. sometimes, they are asked to remove them, sometimes they are removed by cabin stewards. and sometimes, nobody notices or seems to care and the decorations remain throughout the cruise.

 

enforcement is spotty.

 

there are many threads on this on cruise critic.

Thank you, did see something about it not allowed on NCL but it wasn't recent so wasn't sure if it still applied. I don't normally decorate but it's our 40th anniversary cruise and I'm proud and excited about it🙂

[LatinaInTexas]

1 minute ago, KeithJenner said:

It isn’t as simple as that, as far as I have been able to tell.

 

There have been a few instances where there have been notices in the freestyle daily saying that door decorations aren’t allowed, but all the evidence that I have seen suggests that this is a decision made by individual ship staff rather than being an NCL rule.

 

We have asked a couple of times whether they are allowed and have always been told that there is no restriction, and I have never seen anything in writing either on the NCL website or on a freestyle daily for a cruise that I am on.

 

I wouldn’t say that people are ignoring any prohibition, but that either it doesn’t exist or that they are unaware of it.

Interesting.... might just decide to put something up if I see a lot of other decorations.

[UKstages]

4 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

It isn’t as simple as that, as far as I have been able to tell...

 

...all the evidence that I have seen suggests that this is a decision made by individual ship staff rather than being an NCL rule.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/4373/

Edited April 10, 2023 by UKstages

[KeithJenner]

4 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/4373/

Interesting, I’d not seen that article before (even though I’m quoted in it) and it does suggest that NCL confirmed the policy. If so then they really have done an appalling job of communicating it, even to their own staff.

[bluesea777]

MDR menus are on 14 days rotation. 
 

 

[DorothyB]

2 hours ago, Greenpea2 said:

NCL Main Dining Rooms does not have changing menus anymore. 

 

This is NOT true as of today on the NCL Jewel

[Greenpea2]

1 hour ago, DorothyB said:

This is NOT true as of today on the NCL Jewel

Yes, someone corrected me. Not yet.

[UKstages]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

Interesting, I’d not seen that article before (even though I’m quoted in it) and it does suggest that NCL confirmed the policy. If so then they really have done an appalling job of communicating it, even to their own staff.

 

i know! i thought it was pretty funny that you were quoted in the article! i rarely read CC articles, i hang mostly in the forum myself. and only when i have trips planned.

 

i'm not sure it's that they have done an appalling job of communicating it... i think it has more to do with filipino culture. most cabin attendants are filipino and they excel in the hospitality business because they are very customer focused and genuinely believe "the customer is always right," which is often not the case. they tend to be very bad at having difficult conversations and confrontations and conflict of any kind, especially if it could negatively affect discretionary tips.

 

the periodic announcements in the daily lend credibility and authority to the message and make it easier for them to remove decorations. ultimately, i think it is up to the discretion of the GM and/or the captain. if the decorations are disruptive or pose a fire hazard, they will be removed.

 

so far (in this thread) i haven't offered an opinion - yea or nay - on this topic. but i definitely have one.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I have seen the door decoration thing go both ways.  At a CC meet ngreet the housekeeping manager said decorations were allowed if they were magnetic, but tape damages the paint so it is not allowed.  That makes good sense, but it is the only time I’ve ever heard it,   We are not door decorators but I do enjoy seeing some peoples creativity.

[cruiseny4life]

We went on a cruise over New Year's and noticed several door decorations. Here's a few that were not taken down the entire cruise:

 

 

 

 

There were others, but apparently I never took a photo of them as this is all I could find. 

[UKstages]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

We went on a cruise over New Year's and noticed several door decorations. Here's a few that were not taken down the entire cruise...

 

call me a curmudgeon, if you will, but those are just dreadful.

 

eye pollution.  and worse. i'd be pretty pissed if i had to walk by that four or five times a day. it's a cause of "upset" and "distress."

 

apart from the risk of spreading a fire more quickly, apart from the damage potentially done to doors, the halls on NCL ships are public spaces. no individual has the right to subject other people to that nonsense.

 

and... the upside down pineapple has a very specific meaning and in case it wasn't obvious, there is actually a sign on the door suggesting interested parties should leave their cabin number so they could, um, connect. that's not "decorating," that's solicitation!

 

i have no real concern about the birthday tinsel, i just think it's a fanciful notion that anybody outside that cabin cares about the birthday celebration taking place within. the sign would be put to much better use inside the cabin, where the celebrant can see it.  (also, the tinsel looks like it belongs on a 1960s variety show with special guest star, ann margaret. now, i happen to like ann margaret, but i don't want to be distracted by thinking about her every time i pass by the birthday boy's cabin.)

 

as for keith and darby... what's up with that uninspired rubbish? that's not a "decoration," that's a flyer advertising a garage sale! why even bother putting that on the door?

 

as you can see, apart from the safety issues (which is really why they are banned), opinions can vary widely as to what constitutes a suitable door decoration. i think they are a safety hazard, but i also don't like them. i think they are ugly and have no place in a shared space used by all passengers.

 

here's what NCL's terms and conditions have to say about suitable passenger behavior: 

 

"we expect all guests to have consideration for other people. if in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of the ship's master, any guest behaves in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party (such as other guests) or damage to property, or fails to comply with our COVID-19 policies and procedures, or fails to follow the lawful instructions of the ship's officers and crew at all times, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the holiday of the guest(s) concerned. in this situation, the guest(s) concerned will be required to leave the ship or, if applicable other accommodation or service. we will have no further responsibility toward such guest(s) including any return travel arrangements. no refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination."