Which NCL Restuarant?

[nlvc12]

....I would not recommend making reservations and cancelling them. The specialty (cover charge) restaurant menus do not change like the main dining rooms. Decide what you feel like and make your reservation. ...

 

Great Information. I'm sure this is what Momofmeg was looking for.

 

Would you happen to remember what the Cancellation policy is for the Specialty restaurants? I won't PLAN on cancelling, but just wondering at point you MAY change your arrangements.

 

Thanks.

 

Nancy

[mylesf]

Great Information. I'm sure this is what Momofmeg was looking for.

 

Would you happen to remember what the Cancellation policy is for the Specialty restaurants? I won't PLAN on cancelling, but just wondering at point you MAY change your arrangements.

 

Thanks.

 

Nancy

 

CANCELLATION POLICY

• <LI class=MsoNormal>Guests can cancel up until 5pm on the day of the reservation. <LI class=MsoNormal>We will hold a table for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the guest is considered a no-show, and the table is made available to others. <LI class=MsoNormal>If the party shows up after the 15 minute grace period they are seated at the next available opportunity, if one exists, and they are NOT assessed the fee.
  
• Guests that fail to show up at all are assessed a fee equal to the cover charge for that restaurant for up to two guests in the party. On the guest’s folio, it will indicate a cancellation fee.

[Host Kewlguy]

I assumed you could. Other lines you can, but of course those PAX get priority and usually their butler takes care of those things for them. In our case, we will be standing in line making them ourselves.

 

Perhaps Nita or Kewlguy can tell us? Another thing, Nita, can we make reservations online?

 

On NCL you can make restaurant reservations 24/hrs in advance unless you have suite/vip perks. For instance when you first board the ship you can make reservations for that night as well as the following night. You cannot make restaurant reservations online at this time.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

We ate at Tepanaki, a Benihana-style venue. It is one of Pearl's most expensive extra pay restaurants, $25 a person. The steak was excellent. I loved the garlic fried rice too. We didn't eat there, but thought the Lotus Garden menu looked delicious. That restaurant was very popular, always crowded.

 

We also ate in the main dining room at the back of the ship, the one with the crystal chandeliers. We were seated by the huge rear window and could watch the ship's wake. It was a lovely table to be at. The food was okay. The setting, very elegant.

 

We were there at 5:30PM. Sadly, the entire time we were there, the dining room was only about one third full. I found it sad that such an elegant and FREE restaurant was not being used.

 

Another thing that seemed odd was that on that particular evening the ship was heavily promoting their "White Hot Party" where everyone there must wear white. They were selling T-shirts with the theme, "Ice, ice, baby." Every waiter in that elegant restaurant wore those T-shirts, as did much of the staff on the ship that night. In the restaurant, it seemed out of place somehow...such a beautiful restaurant, but the waiters were in t-shirts!

 

Revisiting Tepanaki. The hostess/maitre d' told my husband to change from his shorts to pants for our 5:30 seating. So he ran up to the room and changed. We were no sooner seated than a very large extended family came in. One of the women was in short shorts. At least one of the men wore shorts and I think all of the boys were in shorts! I could not believe the same hostess would allow them to wear shorts when not ten minutes before she had just told my husband to change into long pants.

 

It should be noted that every restaurant podium for pay restaurants does have a sign that says after 5:00PM no shorts or tank tops will be allowed and I feel that is appropriate, but why the uneven enforcement?

 

We checked out Cagneys but didn't get a chance to eat there. I would like to try it though. The Italian resturant is very quaint with rustic tables and a kind of Tuscany feel.

 

One passenger told us that he likes the French Le Bistro the best of all restaurants aboard Pearl.

[nlvc12]

CANCELLATION POLICY

• <LI class=MsoNormal>Guests can cancel up until 5pm on the day of the reservation. <LI class=MsoNormal>We will hold a table for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the guest is considered a no-show, and the table is made available to others. <LI class=MsoNormal>If the party shows up after the 15 minute grace period they are seated at the next available opportunity, if one exists, and they are NOT assessed the fee.
  
• Guests that fail to show up at all are assessed a fee equal to the cover charge for that restaurant for up to two guests in the party. On the guest’s folio, it will indicate a cancellation fee.

 

thanks for the information -- just what I was looking for!

 

Nancy

[momofmeg]

On NCL you can make restaurant reservations 24/hrs in advance unless you have suite/vip perks. For instance when you first board the ship you can make reservations for that night as well as the following night. You cannot make restaurant reservations online at this time.

 

Oh well, I guess I will not be planning that far ahead then.

[shadow1988]

We love Cagneys. We ate there on The Pearl and Spirit.

[momofmeg]

Okay, on our roll call someone was wanting to know the prices of these restaurants. Now we are on the Pearl. Cagneys $20, le Bistro $15, mexican and italian $10, right? and how much is the Asian?

 

Which restaurant serves lobster for $15 extra over the covercharge?

[momofmeg]

On NCL you can make restaurant reservations 24/hrs in advance unless you have suite/vip perks. For instance when you first board the ship you can make reservations for that night as well as the following night. You cannot make restaurant reservations online at this time.

 

I was told balcony rooms could book 48 hours ahead. Is this true? If it is then we could book for Tuesday night when we board. Monday night we will try out the reg. restaurant.

[mylesf]

I was told balcony rooms could book 48 hours ahead. Is this true? If it is then we could book for Tuesday night when we board. Monday night we will try out the reg. restaurant.

 

Yes if you are in a balcony on up you can book 48 hours in advance. Eveyone else is 24 hours. Also one of your questions in a previous post was, could you book on-line and that answer would be a "no".

[mylesf]

Okay, on our roll call someone was wanting to know the prices of these restaurants. Now we are on the Pearl. Cagneys $20, le Bistro $15, mexican and italian $10, right? and how much is the Asian?

 

Which restaurant serves lobster for $15 extra over the covercharge?

 

Sorry but which ship do you want the pricing for?

[mylesf]

Norwegian Dawn

Aqua

Main Dining Room $0 D

 

Venetian

Main Dining Room $0 B, L, D

 

Blue Lagoon

24 hr Food Court $0 B, L, D

 

Garden Café

Buffet $0 B, L, D

 

Bimini Grill

Poolside Grill $0 pp D

 

Salsa

Tex-Mex Restaurant $10 pp (as of 7/1/08) D

 

Impressions

Italian Restaurant $10 pp D

 

Bamboo

Asian cuisine $15 (as of 04/20/08) D

 

Teppanyaki

Japanese$25 (as of 04/20/08) D

 

Sushi Bar

Japanese$15 (as of 04/20/08) D

 

Cagney's

Upscale Steak House $20 (as of 04/20/08) D

 

Le Bistro

French Restaurant$15 (as of 04/20/08) D

[momofmeg]

Norwegian Dawn

Aqua

Main Dining Room $0 D

 

Venetian

Main Dining Room $0 B, L, D

 

Blue Lagoon

24 hr Food Court $0 B, L, D

 

Garden Café

Buffet $0 B, L, D

 

Bimini Grill

Poolside Grill $0 pp D

 

Salsa

Tex-Mex Restaurant $10 pp (as of 7/1/08) D

 

Impressions

Italian Restaurant $10 pp D

 

Bamboo

Asian cuisine $15 (as of 04/20/08) D

 

Teppanyaki

Japanese$25 (as of 04/20/08) D

 

Sushi Bar

Japanese$15 (as of 04/20/08) D

 

Cagney's

Upscale Steak House $20 (as of 04/20/08) D

 

Le Bistro

French Restaurant$15 (as of 04/20/08) D

 

Thanks, I see you saw we are on the Pearl.

[uppitycats]

I vote Le Bistro. I had the best rack of lamb I've ever encountered, ever!

[RachieLnnn]

I would vote Le Bistro and Teppenyaki. We have not tried Cagney's yet but hope to!

 

On another note, I may be slammed for this or the only person who feels this way... but please don't think it's no big deal to make reservations and then cancel last minute, especially if you make them for the entire week! Has not happened to us, but some on this board have been unable to make reservations because they were all booked up by those in suites. When people fill all the slots then cancel last minute, the rest of us are unable to book tables that otherwise might be open. :mad: That's what happens when there are only so many tables for an entire ship.

 

If you really want to get in to a specific restaurant, go ahead and make a reservation for one night. Go with the flow on the other nights and don't stress so much trying to plan every detail. Everything will fall into place - and if you miss one specialty restaurant during your cruise like we missed Cagney's - well, just book another NCL cruise like we did. :)

 

Over our last 7-night cruise, we made it into Le Bistro, Teppenyaki, the asian, italian, and mexican restaurants (they had different names), one of the main restaurants, and the Blue Lagoon, all without a problem.

[mylesf]

I would vote Le Bistro and Teppenyaki. We have not tried Cagney's yet but hope to!

 

On another note, I may be slammed for this or the only person who feels this way... but please don't think it's no big deal to make reservations and then cancel last minute, especially if you make them for the entire week! Has not happened to us, but some on this board have been unable to make reservations because they were all booked up by those in suites. When people fill all the slots then cancel last minute, the rest of us are unable to book tables that otherwise might be open. :mad: That's what happens when there are only so many tables for an entire ship.

 

If you really want to get in to a specific restaurant, go ahead and make a reservation for one night. Go with the flow on the other nights and don't stress so much trying to plan every detail. Everything will fall into place - and if you miss one specialty restaurant during your cruise like we missed Cagney's - well, just book another NCL cruise like we did. :)

 

Over our last 7-night cruise, we made it into Le Bistro, Teppenyaki, the asian, italian, and mexican restaurants (they had different names), one of the main restaurants, and the Blue Lagoon, all without a problem.

 

Because NCL has changed their policy and they no longer allow you to make reservations for the entire week, IMO it is easier to get into speciality restaurants. I agree with you not to stress over it. I did find that if you are a little flexable and go later during the dinner hours you can get a table. I had no problems on my last cruise. Tried Cagney's and they were booked so they booked us in the Italian restaurant and then during the night Cageny's opened up and they tracked us down, changed our reservation! Above and beyond the call for customer service! Will be on the Star soon so I will be able to test this again and let you know.

[momofmeg]

I assume you can go there for a snack and not eat a whole meal there-is there a charge at the sushi bar?

[uppitycats]

To make myself understood I will give an example- I get up Wed. morning-I have not booked a specialty restuarant for Wednesday evening-I check out the main restuarant menus- and I am not interested in the choices offered-could I THEN make reservations for THAT NIGHT( Wed. night) in the Italian or Mexican?

I know I can book all the reservations I want the day I board. As I said previously I plan to book 3; Cagney's, le Bistro, and the Asian.

What I do not understand is why you asked me to clarify when you say you haven't cruised NCL since freestyle? If that is true you cannot help me-But no matter- Nita already answered my question.

 

We got off the Jewel last week. I don't know if this is true of ALL of the NCL ships, but on teh Jewel, the daily newsletter says clearly that RESERVATIONS ARE NOT NECESSARY FOR ANY OF THE RESTAURANTS on the ship -- "speciality" or otherwise. We only saw people turned away once from Le Bistro. Otherwise there was always room. We generally just walked up, and got seated.

[DMH15]

Paid $15 at Sushi bar - lunch time - all you can eat.

[momofmeg]

Paid $15 at Sushi bar - lunch time - all you can eat.

 

Thanks for replying but hubby likes to just get a little snack, like the way Canrival and Celeebrity does with the sushi. He wouls go every evening after dinner or before dinner for a "nibble". He says $15 is too much for a snack and he does not want a meal of sushi. He would be willing to pay $5 but not $15.

[momofmeg]

Which do you prefer? and why? in particular I am asking about NCL Pearl.

 

Miffy, here is the thread. Lots of info for you. We are defienelty doing le Bistro and Cagneys.

[Miffy2003]

Miffy, here is the thread. Lots of info for you. We are defienelty doing le Bistro and Cagneys.

 

Thank you so much! I am going to enjoy reading this thread :)

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Miffy, here is the thread. Lots of info for you. We are defienelty doing le Bistro and Cagneys.

 

 

Well..you and dad...

 

I'm doing Le Bristo... still not sure I wanna do Cagneys...I'm not a steak person...

[momofmeg]

Well..you and dad...

 

I'm doing Le Bristo... still not sure I wanna do Cagneys...I'm not a steak person...

 

Meg, Miffy does not care about that-she just wanted info about the Pearl restaurants.

 

 

Miffy, after we return from our crusie, I will post on your thread and tell you more.

[katiel53]

I like this idea in concept; it is something I often do when making travel plans - book multiple hotel rooms, rental cars, until I've figured out the best deal. Then I cancel well ahead of time, thus not leaving the vendor short a sale.

 

What concerns me about your suggestion, though, is that if we were to do this on a regular basis over the entire length of the cruise, the Dining folks might 'catch on' when you routinely cancel -- While technically following their rules, I would think they would note an objection to this behavior.

 

We're on a 13 day cruise and perhaps it would be even more noticeable. We can book up to 48 hours in advance, since we're in a balcony.

 

Just curious as to whether or not you have conducted this practice yourself on some cruises and, if so, whether or not the Dining Svcs people gave you any flack.

 

Thanks.

 

Nancy

 

We haven't done what was suggested to you as we think it is unfair to someone who might want to book but is told there are no tables available, only to have someone else call later and get a table because you cancelled. Sorry, I think it's wrong. JMO.

 

Unfortuntaly non-balcony cabins can only book 24 hours in advance, so their choices are limited to start. Please be consdierate of your fellow passengers.

 

(We book a JS so I know we can book 48 hours in advance, but we only make the reservations we plan to keep.)