LeBistro closed for entire Encore sailing due to private event

[ChiefMateJRK]

I just received this for an upcoming Encore booking.  We probably wouldn't have eaten at LeBistro anyway.  I'm posting it just for reference and discussion.  I'm curious what kind of private event this would be?  Maybe it's one of those Park West events that caused the Prima OL to be mostly closed for one of our forum members cruise recently?

 

"Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,

We are delighted you have chosen to sail with us on board the beautiful Norwegian Encore. On behalf of our crew, we look forward to welcoming you aboard soon. Travel Partners are asked to share the below information with impacted guests.

We are committed to delivering exceptional vacation experiences from beginning to end, including the ability to pre-book your dining reservations before you board. However, due to a private event being held in Le Bistro for the duration of your voyage, reservations for this dining venue will unfortunately not be available. We share your disappointment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

 

[majmaj4]

Interesting... what cruise date is this?

[RocketMan275]

37 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I just received this for an upcoming Encore booking.  We probably wouldn't have eaten at LeBistro anyway.  I'm posting it just for reference and discussion.  I'm curious what kind of private event this would be?  Maybe it's one of those Park West events that caused the Prima OL to be mostly closed for one of our forum members cruise recently?

 

"Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,

We are delighted you have chosen to sail with us on board the beautiful Norwegian Encore. On behalf of our crew, we look forward to welcoming you aboard soon. Travel Partners are asked to share the below information with impacted guests.

We are committed to delivering exceptional vacation experiences from beginning to end, including the ability to pre-book your dining reservations before you board. However, due to a private event being held in Le Bistro for the duration of your voyage, reservations for this dining venue will unfortunately not be available. We share your disappointment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

 

Could be a large semi-charter group who wants to dine together in one location.

[laudergayle]

Gosh…well at least that wasn’t going to be one of your choices.  For me, that’s my favorite!  I guess from a revenue standpoint it makes sense for the ship’s bottom line.  Especially if they are doing a fixed menu.  
 

Far better it’s LeBistro than the District Brewhouse.  Enjoy your cruise..cheers!

[MiniJeffrey]

Unacceptable. One night okay but the entire length of your cruise is just not OK.

[Distinctive-Destinations]

11 minutes ago, MiniJeffrey said:

Unacceptable. One night okay but the entire length of your cruise is just not OK.

 
Exactly my thoughts. Wedding reception? Okay, one night is fine. Some sort of immersive French cooking experience? Okay.

 

I can’t imagine who would charter out a whole restaurant for a whole cruise on a mid-market ship. Why not just charter a private boat or hotel at that point?

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

We are committed to delivering exceptional vacation experiences from beginning to end,

No, they are not.  They are committed to making as much money on each cruise as they possibly can, even if that means providing an exceptionally poor vacation experience for the majority of their paying customers.

[quillwercruisers]

When we sailed on the Bliss last year, they chartered out the entire Vibe for the whole week. I was a little perturbed.

 

[schmoopie17]

The Celebrity board is having fits because that paragon of artistic excellence, Park West, booked one of the main public rooms on the Eclipse for an entire cruise...and apparently for the next few after that one.

 

 

Edited September 5 by schmoopie17

[mjcatlvr]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I just received this for an upcoming Encore booking.  We probably wouldn't have eaten at LeBistro anyway.  I'm posting it just for reference and discussion.  I'm curious what kind of private event this would be?  Maybe it's one of those Park West events that caused the Prima OL to be mostly closed for one of our forum members cruise recently?

 

"Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,

We are delighted you have chosen to sail with us on board the beautiful Norwegian Encore. On behalf of our crew, we look forward to welcoming you aboard soon. Travel Partners are asked to share the below information with impacted guests.

We are committed to delivering exceptional vacation experiences from beginning to end, including the ability to pre-book your dining reservations before you board. However, due to a private event being held in Le Bistro for the duration of your voyage, reservations for this dining venue will unfortunately not be available. We share your disappointment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

 

We had this happen on a past cruise. A very large group was sailing with us and the food that was prepared for them had to be handled a certain way and had to be cooked in a dedicated kitchen that was cleaned and prepared to the rules of their religion. We also saw families eating in some of the other restaurants with "off ship" pre-prepared types of food wrapped in plastic and delivered to the table for them with plastic utensils. We were impressed with the respect that was offered to this group by NCL. It did not negatively affect our vacation in any way, many other options for dining. Just very interesting.

[ChiefMateJRK]

41 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Gosh…well at least that wasn’t going to be one of your choices.

Yep.  Actually, it's one week of a B2B so I could still eat there if I wanted to (I don't).

41 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Far better it’s LeBistro than the District Brewhouse.

🤣Those are as far apart as the East is from the West for the Chief.  The Brewhouse just might lead to mutiny.

 

disclaimer: yes, I know, only a crew can mutiny but it sounds good, right?

[kochleffel]

Several years ago I was on an RCI cruise where there was a large kosher group. RCI cordoned off part of the MDR for the group. That affected the number of other passengers who could receive their preferred kind of seating (early, late, open).

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

Kosher Yes; Art or w.h.y. NO

[david_sobe]

I was on a cruise this happened but it was only for one night.  It was Valentines day week and there was some sort of single/mingle club on board and they all had dinner at Cagneys one night.  Le Bistro is not one of my choices but if it was you have to roll with the punches.

[julig22]

Not your cruise but there is a "Hallmark" cruise on the Gem in early November. So possibly something like that.

[DrUrsula]

2 hours ago, quillwercruisers said:

When we sailed on the Bliss last year, they chartered out the entire Vibe for the whole week. I was a little perturbed.

 

That's just wrong. Wow.

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, MiniJeffrey said:

Unacceptable. One night okay but the entire length of your cruise is just not OK.

$$$ talks! You can get whatever you want for cash. 

[julig22]

Wonder if you could ask to have your favorite LeBistro dishes served in another location? 

Past restaurant closures seem to be to accommodate dietary restrictions for a group booking - kosher meals for example. If it's a matter of keeping a kitchen area isolated, dishes could be prepared in other prep areas. Pretty sure the regular LeBistro chefs would still be onboard so no reason that the dishes couldn't still be prepared.

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, Distinctive-Destinations said:

I can’t imagine who would charter out a whole restaurant for a whole cruise on a mid-market ship. Why not just charter a private boat or hotel at that point?

 

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Could be a large semi-charter group who wants to dine together in one location.

 

If there is a large group, for us, it is better if they isolate them and lock them up in one restaurant. 

 

We were on the Encore a few weeks ago. There was a Park West private event onboard. They would book 40-50 seats in the specialty restaurants every night. We, unfortunately, were in two restaurants with them. Loud. Obnoxious. And they tied up the tables for most of the night. It would have been better to isolate them in one restaurant and serve them custom meals every night. 

[Distinctive-Destinations]

8 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

If there is a large group, for us, it is better if they isolate them and lock them up in one restaurant. 

 

We were on the Encore a few weeks ago. There was a Park West private event onboard. They would book 40-50 seats in the specialty restaurants every night. We, unfortunately, were in two restaurants with them. Loud. Obnoxious. And they tied up the tables for most of the night. It would have been better to isolate them in one restaurant and serve them custom meals every night. 

But that means that non-charter people can’t dine there even once?

 

Should be AT LEAST one non-charter night, in my opinion.

[itsnotjustme]

I would think locking up a specialty dining location for the whole cruise would make it difficult to accommodate all the Platinum+, FAS, and purchased dining package meals.

[Alatraveler1]

Rope off a portion of the buffet seating, they are rarely full at night.  Then all venues would be available.

[julig22]

15 minutes ago, Alatraveler1 said:

Rope off a portion of the buffet seating, they are rarely full at night.  Then all venues would be available.

If the issue is special dining requirements (kosher meals for example) then they need to isolate a prep kitchen.

[2bc cruisers]

Partial shop “charters” aren’t something I think about as I’m cruise shopping or prepping.  I’d like it if these scenarios were handled with more transparency.  Not NCLs strong suit. 

[zqvol]

1 hour ago, 2bc cruisers said:

Partial shop “charters” aren’t something I think about as I’m cruise shopping or prepping.  I’d like it if these scenarios were handled with more transparency.  Not NCLs strong suit. 

Not any cruise lines strong suit.