First time on NCL and getting worried

[masspector]

We have a Bermuda cruise on the Escape booked for October 29.  I need some of you NCL experts to help me with a few questions.

 

My understanding was that specialty dining reservations opened 90 days before sailing, i.e., July 29.  I checked today and most reservation times are gone.  We wanted to book Cagney's but only times left were 9pm or later.  Too late for us.  How likely is it that we can get Cagney's once onboard one day between 5pm and 7pm?

 

Watched a YT video from a recent Encore cruise in Alaska and the person had these observations:

 

NCL app was basically nonfunctional once he was onboard the ship.  He had the premium internet package and said that the app was spotty at best.  Because of this he was not able to book things like dining or entertainment reservations with the app once on the ship.  We have the FAS internet.  Do we have any hope of it working?  is this normal?

 

He observed that once onboard, a lot of passengers prebooked reservations were missing and had to be rebooked.  While I did go ahead and make specialty dining reservations now, I took a picture of the final screen as proof of my reservation.  Is this normal for NCL?

 

Finally, he did self-disembark and he said NCL heavily controlled access to deck 7.  Once he finally got there, deck 7 lobby was packed, and it took him 55 minutes just to get from deck 7 off the ship.  Several people in the comments said this was normal for NCL.  Is this true?  What is the best strategy for disembark?  We do not have a tight flight time, but also do not want to stand in line for an hour.

 

Thanks for your input.

[hallux]

12 minutes ago, masspector said:

My understanding was that specialty dining reservations opened 90 days before sailing, i.e., July 29.  I checked today and most reservation times are gone.  We wanted to book Cagney's but only times left were 9pm or later.  Too late for us.  How likely is it that we can get Cagney's once onboard one day between 5pm and 7pm?

Actually, those reservations opened 120 out, you were a month late.  They do not release all reservations for pre-booking so you should be able to make reservations once on board.

 

13 minutes ago, masspector said:

NCL app was basically nonfunctional once he was onboard the ship.  He had the premium internet package and said that the app was spotty at best.  Because of this he was not able to book things like dining or entertainment reservations with the app once on the ship.  We have the FAS internet.  Do we have any hope of it working?  is this normal?

The internet package you have has ZERO bearing on how the app works.  You don't even need an internet package to use the app.  That said - I was on the Escape in March and everything WiFi seemed to work VERY well for me.  The app had some quirks, but that was primarily accessing the PDF version of the Freestyle Daily.  However, I don't incessantly manage reservations in the app like some do.

 

16 minutes ago, masspector said:

Watched a YT video from a recent Encore cruise in Alaska

Different ship.  The ships are, for lack of a better term, islands when it comes to some IT stuff.  All the reservations and such are managed ON the ship.  That means that THAT ship could have had a server crash or an issue getting the upload of the pre-booked items but others in the fleet didn't have that problem.

[KeithJenner]

Dining reservations opened at 120 days, which is why you missed them.

 

We have never had a problem getting reservations that we want on embarkation day. We board relatively early though.

 

Ive never had any problem with using the app and booking things on it. There is always the possibility of issues on occasion though.

 

Finally, we always do walk off disembarkation and it has always been very smooth except for in US ports where there are often long delays because of immigration. I always leave longer for the process there, as it can take a while to even get off the ship.

[masspector]

5 minutes ago, hallux said:

Actually, those reservations opened 120 out, you were a month late.  They do not release all reservations for pre-booking so you should be able to make reservations once on board.

 

The internet package you have has ZERO bearing on how the app works.  You don't even need an internet package to use the app.  That said - I was on the Escape in March and everything WiFi seemed to work VERY well for me.  The app had some quirks, but that was primarily accessing the PDF version of the Freestyle Daily.  However, I don't incessantly manage reservations in the app like some do.

 

Different ship.  The ships are, for lack of a better term, islands when it comes to some IT stuff.  All the reservations and such are managed ON the ship.  That means that THAT ship could have had a server crash or an issue getting the upload of the pre-booked items but others in the fleet didn't have that problem.

TY for the quick reply

[masspector]

2 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

Dining reservations opened at 120 days, which is why you missed them.

 

We have never had a problem getting reservations that we want on embarkation day. We board relatively early though.

 

Ive never had any problem with using the app and booking things on it. There is always the possibility of issues on occasion though.

 

Finally, we always do walk off disembarkation and it has always been very smooth except for in US ports where there are often long delays because of immigration. I always leave longer for the process there, as it can take a while to even get off the ship.

TY for your response.

 

I kind of thought what you guys are saying.  We will try to board as early as possible and can hopefully snag Cagney's.  

 

As far as show reservations, I think this only one show on our cruise, the other reservations would be for comedy shows.  Do those also open 120 days prior?  I also saw that you can book those on the kiosk screens.  Is that correct?

 

 

[hallux]

4 minutes ago, masspector said:

Do those also open 120 days prior?

Comedy shows are not pre-booked.  On the Escape I booked those at the Box Office as soon as I boarded.

[KeithJenner]

4 minutes ago, masspector said:

TY for your response.

 

I kind of thought what you guys are saying.  We will try to board as early as possible and can hopefully snag Cagney's.  

 

As far as show reservations, I think this only one show on our cruise, the other reservations would be for comedy shows.  Do those also open 120 days prior?  I also saw that you can book those on the kiosk screens.  Is that correct?

 

 

I don’t book shows, but I’m sure they open up a lot nearer the cruise date these days.

 

I think it may be 21 days out (same time as check in).

[KeithJenner]

1 minute ago, hallux said:

Comedy shows are not pre-booked.  On the Escape I booked those at the Box Office as soon as I boarded.

Good point. I hadn’t noticed that it was comedy shows. I think you are correct that these aren’t available to prebook.

[hallux]

1 minute ago, KeithJenner said:

I think it may be 21 days out (same time as check in).

Yes, the theater productions can be booked at 21 days before the cruise.

[laudergayle]

Once onboard, you can also book dining and theater productions on your TV, in person as mentioned, as well as the kiosk screens at each elevator bank.  
 

We typically upgrade one of us to unlimited basic internet s we don’t have to worry or fuss with logging in and out.  If you keep the internet pkg with 150 minutes, be sure to log out of the internet each time you are finished.  
 

Disembarking is typically a log jam in the public spaces and does take a bit to get off the ship.  Some ports are more efficient than others and you can never tell how yours will be…so don’t book a flight before noon.

Edited July 5, 2023 by laudergayle

[www3traveler]

You can book theater productions once you get onboard either through the kiosk screens or the Box Office.  Doors open 30 minutes prior to the scheduled show.  Sometimes you can get in just by showing up.

On an Alaskan cruise in the Freestyle Daily, it warns people because of the high mountains surrounding the ship-- Wi-Fi does not work very well nor do you get good television recepition.  I would think that the mountains could cause a problem with the app.

 

I find a place to sit near the Atrium as early as possible and then toward the end of the line, I get in line and leave in a timely manner.  You will find that a number of people have to be the absolutly first person on board and some of them have to be the first person off if they have to push and shove do do it.

[bkrickles1]

53 minutes ago, masspector said:

We have a Bermuda cruise on the Escape booked for October 29.  I need some of you NCL experts to help me with a few questions.

 

My understanding was that specialty dining reservations opened 90 days before sailing, i.e., July 29.  I checked today and most reservation times are gone.  We wanted to book Cagney's but only times left were 9pm or later.  Too late for us.  How likely is it that we can get Cagney's once onboard one day between 5pm and 7pm?

 

Watched a YT video from a recent Encore cruise in Alaska and the person had these observations:

 

NCL app was basically nonfunctional once he was onboard the ship.  He had the premium internet package and said that the app was spotty at best.  Because of this he was not able to book things like dining or entertainment reservations with the app once on the ship.  We have the FAS internet.  Do we have any hope of it working?  is this normal?

 

He observed that once onboard, a lot of passengers prebooked reservations were missing and had to be rebooked.  While I did go ahead and make specialty dining reservations now, I took a picture of the final screen as proof of my reservation.  Is this normal for NCL?

 

Finally, he did self-disembark and he said NCL heavily controlled access to deck 7.  Once he finally got there, deck 7 lobby was packed, and it took him 55 minutes just to get from deck 7 off the ship.  Several people in the comments said this was normal for NCL.  Is this true?  What is the best strategy for disembark?  We do not have a tight flight time, but also do not want to stand in line for an hour.

 

Thanks for your input.

As others have said, you should have no issue booking (or confirming/editing) dining and entertainment after boarding.

The caveat being that you board earlier, rather than later.

My last 3 sailings on NCL (Escape, Encore & Joy), I booked everything as soon as I embarked and had zero issues.

Also, we had standard internet package and it worked. Not great, but it worked.

My daughter just sailed Escape at the end of May and enjoyed it thoroughly, so don't let others make you nervous. Escape is a great ship and I'm sure you'll have an epic time!!

Edited July 5, 2023 by bkrickles1

[masspector]

Thanks for all of the replies.  I am taking notes.  We are going in and out of NYC and we have a 2pm flight home from Newark.

[bkrickles1]

1 minute ago, masspector said:

Thanks for all of the replies.  I am taking notes.  We are going in and out of NYC and we have a 2pm flight home from Newark.

2pm is a great flight time!

You'll be able to take your time in the morning and have a nice breakfast before disembarking.

We always go to Taste/Savor for breakfast on disembarkation day.

It's a nice way to finish up and it allows the people who are in a mad rush to get off early. Lmao!

[laudergayle]

1 minute ago, masspector said:

Thanks for all of the replies.  I am taking notes.  We are going in and out of NYC and we have a 2pm flight home from Newark.

 We typically take the NCL bus transfer to Newark.  You will get a departure right after walkoffs and as the buses fill they depart. 

[bobbygirl]

Excerpt from online chat with NCL employee: 

 

“You can start prebooking specialty dining reservations starting 120 days before sailing, but prebooking is very limited and fills up quickly. We release 20% of pre-booking reservations, and the rest are released onboard.”

 

 

[masspector]

8 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

 We typically take the NCL bus transfer to Newark.  You will get a departure right after walkoffs and as the buses fill they depart. 

Awesome.  We will do that.  Thanks all.

[JCMass.]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

Dining reservations opened at 120 days, which is why you missed them.

 

We have never had a problem getting reservations that we want on embarkation day. We board relatively early though.

 

Ive never had any problem with using the app and booking things on it. There is always the possibility of issues on occasion though.

 

Finally, we always do walk off disembarkation and it has always been very smooth except for in US ports where there are often long delays because of immigration. I always leave longer for the process there, as it can take a while to even get off the ship.

 

1 hour ago, masspector said:

We have a Bermuda cruise on the Escape booked for October 29.  I need some of you NCL experts to help me with a few questions.

 

My understanding was that specialty dining reservations opened 90 days before sailing, i.e., July 29.  I checked today and most reservation times are gone.  We wanted to book Cagney's but only times left were 9pm or later.  Too late for us.  How likely is it that we can get Cagney's once onboard one day between 5pm and 7pm?

 

Watched a YT video from a recent Encore cruise in Alaska and the person had these observations:

 

NCL app was basically nonfunctional once he was onboard the ship.  He had the premium internet package and said that the app was spotty at best.  Because of this he was not able to book things like dining or entertainment reservations with the app once on the ship.  We have the FAS internet.  Do we have any hope of it working?  is this normal?

 

He observed that once onboard, a lot of passengers prebooked reservations were missing and had to be rebooked.  While I did go ahead and make specialty dining reservations now, I took a picture of the final screen as proof of my reservation.  Is this normal for NCL?

 

Finally, he did self-disembark and he said NCL heavily controlled access to deck 7.  Once he finally got there, deck 7 lobby was packed, and it took him 55 minutes just to get from deck 7 off the ship.  Several people in the comments said this was normal for NCL.  Is this true?  What is the best strategy for disembark?  We do not have a tight flight time, but also do not want to stand in line for an hour.

 

Thanks for your input.

We never do self-disembarkation.  There is always long lines, and people lugging heavy suitcases.  We have a relaxing breakfast, and then plan to get off around 9:30am and as long as you are in public areas, (some wait by the pool or in a lounge) you can sit and wait.  By 9:30am the lines are moving right along.  They want everyone off the ship by 10am, so we stay away from the crowds till we join in the moving line. 

[Twolittleboys]

As far as disembarking: On my recent NCL cruise passengers got to choose their time for getting off the ship (as compared to getting them somewhat assigned as I am used to). When I left (I did carry off my luggage myself) there was a bit of a line/wait but I assume because many/most people prefer getting off at 8:30 instead of 6 am. So I would assume that there is less wait/line if someone for example walks off early for a flight.

[masspector]

33 minutes ago, bobbygirl said:

Excerpt from online chat with NCL employee: 

 

“You can start prebooking specialty dining reservations starting 120 days before sailing, but prebooking is very limited and fills up quickly. We release 20% of pre-booking reservations, and the rest are released onboard.”

 

 

Thanks for the info

[KeithJenner]

8 minutes ago, JCMass. said:

 

We never do self-disembarkation.  There is always long lines, and people lugging heavy suitcases.  We have a relaxing breakfast, and then plan to get off around 9:30am and as long as you are in public areas, (some wait by the pool or in a lounge) you can sit and wait.  By 9:30am the lines are moving right along.  They want everyone off the ship by 10am, so we stay away from the crowds till we join in the moving line. 

It depends on where you are disembarking. I have only ever queued to disembark in the US. I’m Europe, for example, there is usually no immigration so queues. You just walk off when you want and straight out.

 

The main reason we do self disembarkation is so we don’t have to put bags out the night before.

[masspector]

11 minutes ago, JCMass. said:

 

We never do self-disembarkation.  There is always long lines, and people lugging heavy suitcases.  We have a relaxing breakfast, and then plan to get off around 9:30am and as long as you are in public areas, (some wait by the pool or in a lounge) you can sit and wait.  By 9:30am the lines are moving right along.  They want everyone off the ship by 10am, so we stay away from the crowds till we join in the moving line. 

We will do this in conjunction with the NCL transfer.  We had a nightmare in Seattle recently trying to get a taxi. 

[Langham1865]

I too think if you board early you should be able to book dining then.  Maybe book what you can now and see if they can change it onboard...

 

If you want to avoid a long line, just have a leisurely breakfast and wait until the initial rush is over.  My experience (20ish cruises on NCL is the long line you are referencing is the initial self carryoff your own luggage people and those who have early flights to catch.

[GORDONCHICK]

17 minutes ago, masspector said:

We will do this in conjunction with the NCL transfer.  We had a nightmare in Seattle recently trying to get a taxi. 

That's unusual - they are usually lined up and ready to go.

[masspector]

3 minutes ago, GORDONCHICK said:

That's unusual - they are usually lined up and ready to go.

We have never had such an issue getting a taxi on debark day before.  Two ships came in the same day, but it was crazy.  Getting off ship, customs, and getting bags was not that bad.  But taxi wait was at least an hour if not longer.  Seemed very unorganized.