Freestyle Dining Ashore Program Question

[mare1045]

Hello,

 

We are sailing on NCL’s Crown to Bermuda on the 18th of June. I have a few questions about the NCL Dining Ashore Program; can someone that has used this program comment on the various restaurants that are on the list, good, bad, or indifferent.

 

Next I know that some restaurants have a limited menu with the voucher, and others allow you to eat off the regular menu. Could some one who used this service comment on which restaurants are which. They do not list this detail on the NCL web site.

 

I have searched the boards, and have not found the answer I was looking for, so all opinions are welcome.

 

Thank You.

[cruiserssandr]

It is an excellent program. We use it every time we go to Bermuda on the Majesty out of Boston. We used it last week, upgraded to dinner voucher and ate at the Carriage House in St George. There you can pick anything off the menu. We have used it in the past at Hog Penny in Hamilton for lunch. There it is a limited menu. Still a good deal. We could start with a salad or fish chowder and then I had a big cheeseburger and my husband had a fish sandwich. Not a bad deal for only $5. We also have used it at the Frog and Onion out at the dockyard where it is a limited menu. There are lots of places to choose from. Again a great deal to take advantage of.

[pianolady99]

We sailed on the Crown to Bermuda on the 5/28/06 sailing and used NCL's Dine Ashore Program. We upgraded to the dinner voucher and used it for dinner at the Carriage House in St. Georges (which I would highly recommend!). There weren't any restrictions on the menu using the vouchers at the Carriage House. You could order absolutely anything off their menu. However, since we had already used our vouchers at the Carriage House, we ate lunch on our own at the Frog and the Onion at King's Wharf (which was also very good!). When we were seated at the Frog and the Onion we were asked if we were sailing with NCL, and if so, if we had vouchers to use. They apparently had a more limited menu for those who were dining with the vouchers.

 

If I remember correctly it was approximately our second day at sea when the Dining Ashore vouchers and listing of available restaurants info was put into our cabin. Unfortunately, the listing does not advise as to which restaurants have a more limited menu versus those which you can order anything off the menu. Also, the vouchers placed in your cabin are only for lunch. If you wish to wish to upgrade to the dinner voucher, you need to take your lunch vouchers to the Reception Desk and upgrade for dinner vouchers there.

 

Hope this helps you out. By the way, there were a number of people from the Crown who dined at the Carriage House at St. Georges. Everyone that we spoke with thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The food was out of this world, and the service was excellent.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!!

[marianneyaya]

When using the voucher, do you still tip? Thanks!

[cruiserssandr]

When we ate at the Carriage House on June 1 the tip was included in the total of the check then they just deducted $100. All we ended up paying for were the drinks. The food was excelent.

[Lthouselady]

according to the NCL literature I received....meal, tip, and soft drinks are included.

[mare1045]

Thank you for all your input!

[Lthouselady]

Does anyone know if the Swizzle Inn takes the vouchers?

[macdays1]

I believe they do take them, and also the White Horse Pub in St. George's.

[cruiserssandr]

They do take them at the White Horse but Swizzle in is not listed in the guide we received last week on the Majesty.

[pianolady99]

Just thought that I would let you know that neither soft drinks or alcoholic beverages are included in the voucher.;)

[Lthouselady]

Well then I guess the flyer I got in the mail from NCL is outdated then. It specifically says that soft drinks and tip ARE included. :confused:

[smeyer418]

here is the link to the NCL website.

 

http://www.ncl.com/destinations/berm/bda.htm

 

pretty sure that tips are included but not soda..

[Writeratsea]

here is the link to the NCL website.

 

http://www.ncl.com/destinations/berm/bda.htm

 

pretty sure that tips are included but not soda..

I have the booklet that we got with the vouchers last Sept. It is a list of qualified resteraunts and sample menus. Some of the resteraunts have a special menu with choices of appetizers, dinners and desserts. I prefer the resteraunts where you can order whatever you want off the menu and you have a credit of $25 for lunch or $50 per person for dinner. Gratuities are included but not sodas or alcaholic beverages, which is only relevant to the fixed, special menus. Unfortunately the Swizzle Inn does not participate. It is such a great place, try to work it in to your schedule anyway as it is so lively. You are initially given a lunch voucher which will charged $5 to your onboard account. If you want dinner, you need to go to the reception desk and change the voucher to a dinner voucher which will now cost $10. Still a bargin. I have heard great reviews of the Carriage House in St George. The booklet also states you have to show proof that you match the voucher via your NCL ship key card. We had to show that when we ate at the Pickled Onion in Hamilton, which was great by the way. If you have any questions about a specific resteraunt, I can try to answer them.

NCL Majesty Aug 2004

NCL Majesty Sept 2005

NCL Majesty Sept 2006

[cruiserssandr]

We ate at the Carriage House using the voucher for dinner on June 1. Tip was included and they DID NOT ask for any ID. We have never had to show ID anywhere we have used the vouchers.

[pianolady99]

When we dined at the Carriage House on Tuesday, May 30, we were asked to show our NCL Ship key card. If I remember correctly, the voucher even stated that we needed to show our key card at the restaurant of our choice. I guess it depended upon who your waiter was whether you were asked for that type of identification. We can't say enough about our dining experience there. My husband even commented to our waiter that the chef at the Carriage House should work aboard the NCL Crown.:)

[Got2Cruise]

Hi, did you make reservations for the Carriage House? How does one go about doing this? Thank you. We are looking forward to eating at the Carriage House on our July 9th cruise.

[cindala]

Are the Freestyle Dining Choices available for NCL ships that are only docked for the day, say from 8am to 5pm? We'll be on the Dawn docked at the Royal Naval Dockyards and I was wondering if we too qualify.:D

[smeyer418]

You will only be able to use them at lunch and yes they are supposed to be available. It will be hard to use them at St George although it is possible. Its a one hour each way ferry ride from the Dockyards to St George....and the first one doesn't leave until 10 or so...

[pianolady99]

Although you could probably make reservations for dinner at the Carriage House in advance of sailing, we didn't make our reservations until we landed in St. Georges on Tuesday morning. After we went ashore, we walked straight to the Carriage House and had no problem securing a reservation for dinner at 6:30 PM. When we arrived for dinner, the restaurant was fairly empty, but by the time we left it was pretty busy.

 

I'm sure that you will enjoy whatever you choose to order, but we both ordered the "Bermuda Triangle" which consisted of a small filet mignon, a chicken breast, and 2 jumbo shrimp each with their own distinctive sauces. It was absolutely delicious.

 

Enjoy!!!:)

[yuckylucky]

Are the Freestyle Dining Choices available for NCL ships that are only docked for the day, say from 8am to 5pm? We'll be on the Dawn docked at the Royal Naval Dockyards and I was wondering if we too qualify.:D

 

I asked this same question on another thread last week. Other CCers weren't entirely sure so I just called NCL directly and they told me that yes, we have the option as well! Obviously we'll have only the lunch option but it's still an excellent deal! We'll be on the Dawn 6/24...counting down to it!

[Worfiedoodles]

Does anyone know if there is a way to tell which restaurants that participate in the program are kid-friendly, if any of them are?

 

We would love to try it, but I wouldn't take my ds8 into a really fancy restaurant...he thinks the 99 is the height of cuisine. He's well-behaved, but he would get bored over a really long meal.

 

Thanks for any replies!

[smeyer418]

Does anyone know if there is a way to tell which restaurants that participate in the program are kid-friendly, if any of them are?

 

We would love to try it, but I wouldn't take my ds8 into a really fancy restaurant...he thinks the 99 is the height of cuisine. He's well-behaved, but he would get bored over a really long meal.

 

Thanks for any replies!

 

If the child is well behaved why not? This is how they learn. Most fancy resturants including 3 stars in Paris ARE kid friendly that is one of the things that good service means- serving all that come in. I must tell you those restuarants that are stuck up and look down at children in my opinion just don't do good service. I have many stories about my son at fancy restuarants all good by the way- In France where people say that the French are stuck up and kids break the ice.

 

Jules Verne in Paris was particularly nice to my son and we saw two eight to ten year olds eating at Tour D'Agent. The Hotel Europa in Charters was particular nice to my son over a 3 hour meal(we would take him out periodically)... of course if its late and he was tired and cranky he shouldn't be there....

[yuckylucky]

Does anyone know if there is a way to tell which restaurants that participate in the program are kid-friendly, if any of them are?

 

We would love to try it, but I wouldn't take my ds8 into a really fancy restaurant...he thinks the 99 is the height of cuisine. He's well-behaved, but he would get bored over a really long meal.

 

Thanks for any replies!

 

If I were you, I would look at the list of participating restaurants on the NCL website and then do an internet search to see if each restaurant has a website. This way, you can get an idea if they have a photo gallery or something. Or, you can just call and ask what type of atmosphere or dress code is required. That would be a good indicator as well.

[cindala]

I asked this same question on another thread last week. Other CCers weren't entirely sure so I just called NCL directly and they told me that yes, we have the option as well! Obviously we'll have only the lunch option but it's still an excellent deal! We'll be on the Dawn 6/24...counting down to it!

 

Thanks so much for the information. I figured it would only be for lunch, but at least it gives you the opportunity to try some of the local eateries and experience local culture. We've been once before to Bermuda, and know that it is a very expensive place to eat. Paying $5 for a $25 voucher is a steal! We are set to sail the Dawn July 8th. Hope you have a great cruise!;)