Reserving Dining....question

We have a group of 3 couples going on the NCL Epic out of Barcelona in 3 days. One in our group reserved a table for 6 for each night (except for one night at a specialty restaurant) in the Manhattan Dining Room. Do the rest of us have to go in to our NCL accounts online and reserve that Dining Room, or does her reservation cover all of us?

It's been decades since I sailed NCL, and I am unfamiliar with how it works.

Really looking forward to our Trans-Atlantic cruise, though! :)

We have a group of 3 couples going on the NCL Epic out of Barcelona in 3 days. One in our group reserved a table for 6 for each night (except for one night at a specialty restaurant) in the Manhattan Dining Room. Do the rest of us have to go in to our NCL accounts online and reserve that Dining Room, or does her reservation cover all of us?

 

It's been decades since I sailed NCL, and I am unfamiliar with how it works.

 

Really looking forward to our Trans-Atlantic cruise, though! :)

The reservation for 6 will cover all of you.

No need to do anything else.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Forums mobile app

Thank you so much for your reply! Now, one less thing to think about -- other than having a great time here in Barcelona -- before our cruise!

Bon voyage have a great time and don't forget to share your thoughts!

Okay... this has me confused.

We took our first NCL cruise last month (and loved it, and booked a few more).

However, when we asked the Concierge (in advance) to help us get a dinner reservation in one of the MDR's, both times her reply was "They won't hold a table for you". She did nothing else, not even to ask about possible time. That was it: "They won't hold a table for you."

So we stopped asking, no surprise.

In that case, what in the world is the point of having a "reservation", if one must just stand in the same line again anyway?

One of those times, because we were running late and the line was long, we went back to our suite, asked our butler to bring us dinner (telling him what we were planning to get anyway), and within minutes, we were having a great dinner, and went to the show with plenty of time to spare.

What did we do "wrong" or misunderstand, or was it the Concierge?

Yes, on our next longer cruise, we'll PLAN some dinners in our suite, but this wasn't our plan that evening. We'd rather do that in a more leisurely fashion.

(We also felt badly asking our butler to get us a full dinner on such short notice.)

And if MDR reservations ARE "supposed to work" like any regular reservation at a restaurant, do we just hope we get a more helpful Concierge next time?

We were pleased with a number of things our butler did to make our trip much more pleasant.

The Concierge? Not so much.

Thanks.

GeezerCouple

However, when we asked the Concierge (in advance) to help us get a dinner reservation in one of the MDR's, both times her reply was "They won't hold a table for you". She did nothing else, not even to ask about possible time. That was it: "They won't hold a table for you."

So we stopped asking, no surprise.

 

....

 

What did we do "wrong" or misunderstand, or was it the Concierge?

It was the concierge. We have never had any problems getting MDR reservations through the concierge even in the time before general reservations to MDR became possible - earlier MDR reservations were possible only to suite guests, other VIPs and large groups (min 8 pax).

It was the concierge. We have never had any problems getting MDR reservations through the concierge even in the time before general reservations to MDR became possible - earlier MDR reservations were possible only to suite guests, other VIPs and large groups (min 8 pax).

Thanks.

We've come to realize that we had a sub-par Concierge.

That's probably why we don't much see the point of one.

Now, we DID very much appreciate the assistance avoiding the long line when we returned back the final day, and the line to get off the ship truly looked endless.

This was a Bermuda cruise, so we didn't need help with lines at various ports, as it was "on and off as one pleases" throughout the stay in Bermuda.

I guess we'll appreciate this perk more on our next cruise, which is longer and has several different ports of call.

The assistance getting on board the first day was also very nice, but that wasn't the Concierge leading us (we had met her in the sitting area at the terminal). The little snack there was nice, but no big deal.

We haven't seen anyone mention her on lists of "great Concierges".

Even our butler was rarely mentioned, and although there were a few oversights, he was very pleasant, obviously trying very hard, and he DID make a big difference to our enjoyment of the entire cruise.

So: How DO MDR reservations "work", and how does one avoid that line if one does have a reservation?

Thanks!

GeezerCouple

How DO MDR reservations "work", and how does one avoid that line if one does have a reservation?

In my experience (from lowest suites to one cruise in Garden Villa) the line may or may not be something one could bypass even with a reservation. However, during the peak hours the line is only to enter the queue and get the beeper so it usually moves quite quickly.

When you have the reservation, you will be seated immediately or almost immediately after you reach the maitre d's station even when others in the line would get beepers and would have to go and wait for a table to free up.

IME, the concierge can get you a dinner reservation in the MDR of your choice and it should be waiting on you - even at a peak time. If you are in a suite, this is part of the concierge's job responsibilities. If the concierge refuses or rebuffs you, go to the HD. Hopefully, you will have gone to your roll call's M&G. There, you should have received a card with the officer's phone numbers.

There were several reports here that a couple of concierges were refusing breakfast from Cagney's to be delivered to suites - which is not correct. I asked a couple of friends who are officers for Norwegian if something had changed. They assured me nothing had changed - Cagney's breakfast is completely available for suite guests to be delivered to their suites. I haven't heard any more complaints since then so maybe that got corrected.

I have a feeling some of the comments in this thread would not relate to our party.

As I said, I am a bit unfamiliar with NCL.....but the concierge and butler sounds like it is a perk for those in suites. Am I correct?

We are in a regular inside stateroom, so assume we won't be assigned either a concierge or a butler. ;)