jenniferandwhatnot

Because of this thread, I went and priced out similar cruises similar to the one I have booked to Alaska with NCL. We have the beverage and dining packages as perks.

Celebrity and Holland America have somewhat similar perk offers right now (drinks, specialty dining or wifi). So even when I ran through them both, NCL beat their prices by $300 on both Celebrity and Holland America (for similar room type and comparable perk offers).

Alchemy bar for the most expensive drinks! I had a vesper martini that was being rung in at over $20!

Can we please just have direct answers to the question, and not a lot of other comments and kit chat. Thanks, we all appreciate it. Have a wonderful day.

Why not call NCL directly and ask them? There's usually some chit chat on a discussion board.

LOL, I was on this ship last November. Didn't notice too much what others were wearing to dinner.

I'd rather it be a little too chilly and put on a sweater than too hot and unable to do anything about it.

They do cut you off at 15. The system won't let them sell you anymore alcoholic drinks.

HOWEVER, we are definitely heavy drinkers, and we only hit the 15 limit one night. And that was more than enough. The bartenders seemed impressed and were joking about it with us.

I was worried about this and brought our 1 bottle of wine per person carry on allowance, and we never even had a chance to touch those. I recommend the drink package for someone who can drink a lot. Also, if you do hit 15, your wife can buy a beer and hand it to you when you walk away from the bar.

I would take a look at both menus. I find the steak at Le Bistro to be superior to that in Cagney's, but there are many more items on the Cagney's menu that I would enjoy, so I end up getting the same meal at Le Bistro even if I go twice in one week (and I don't mind - it's good!) But if one or both of you don't find any of the desserts or soups/salads appealing, that may make the decision for you.

 

I like Cagney's well enough, and it's better than the main dining room, but it's not really competition for a good steakhouse on land. Same for Moderno -- if you have churrascaria at home, you probably won't be terribly impressed.

Interesting. We did the steakhouse on a Carnival cruise and weren't impressed, but I was hoping Cagney's would be up to par with Ruth's or Mastros, at least.

We also have done Fogo de Chao a few times and their meat quality is so good, I hope Moderno holds up.

Such first world concerns to have! :confused:

In the end though, I think we've agreed to try both Le Bistro and Cagney's - because why not? We are working and saving up for this cruise, so might as well treat ourselves!

Excellent Game Plan - although DARN - no Los Lobo's offered !

 

Use the SDP on the 3 most expensive restaurants and option the 4th on your On Board Account.

First time dinners sample all of these so the next cruise you can zero in on what is best for your taste !

 

Also note that you can purchase the SDP in minimum increments of 3 and a maximum of the number

of days in your cruise - the normal increment is 3 on a 7 day cruise.

 

IN answer to the OP ? - my preference is Cagney's.

 

And BON APETITE !

Merci!

So, if I still have an SDP credit remaining on my account, but want to have, for example, Teppanyaki charged to my on board account, do I just tell the server? I was thinking we might have to strategically plan our reservations in order to use the 3 SDP credits on the a-la-carte places before going to the flat rate spots?

cagney's is our favorite. We eat there 2 times each cruise. Others say about the creme brulee being good in le bistro, but cagney's has a raspberry creme brûlée that is fabulous.

You had me at raspberry creme brulee (y)

It's exactly what I did with no regrets. For what it's worth, I hit Le Bistro twice. Amazing seafood pastry app, French onion soup and the 5 peppercorn filet mignon are to die for! Cagneys has a much larger menu though.

Well if you went twice, that certainly tells me that it's good. :)

The scalops on Le Bistro and the creme brûlée were the best thing I ate my cruise!

 

 

 

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DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.

Both of those look so good.

And creme brulee - that moment where you crack the hardened sugar with the spoon :loudcry:

I've also read about their mushroom soup being very good.

Since both Moderno and Teppanyaki are prix fixe restaurants, why not pay cash for one and use that third SDP meal for one of the a la carte places?

 

In terms of value, a 3-meal SDP is $69, or $23 per meal (plus 18% gratuity), Moderno is $25 (plus 18% gratuity). You will probably get much better value at Cagney's where some of the entrees alone cost more than that.

Yes! I honestly had not considered that! I think we will go this route -- totally makes sense. Thanks for this! (y)(y)

We have the three specialty dinners included. I already know we want to do Teppanyaki and Moderno.

So we have one remaining - should we do Cagney's or Le Bistro?

We go to steakhouses often and he is a huge fan of a good ribeye. But we also have never been to a French restaurant, and I have heard that Le Bistro makes a great steak.

Any opinions?

This is on Pearl, BTW. :D

Great review! Thanks for posting all of the menu and food pics - yum. You also gave me a few ideas about excursions that I am looking into. Thanks again! Oh- and I totally know what you mean about receiving the disembarkation instructions on the last day - so depressing!

We changed our $200 Excursion credit to $200 (any) Gift Shop credit.

I had no idea they did gift shop credit!

I'm having the same issue. We have 2 upcoming cruises booked. It shows up on our June 2018 cruise but not on our December 2017 cruise. It is on our confirmation but not on the NCL website. Our TA did call NCL and confirm it's there but it's still strange.

 

I guess if it doesn't show up, I'll just ask about it when we check in and show them the confirmation.

Can you contact NCL directly about this, or do they direct you back to your TA? I would be inclined to trust the TA but also nervous about things going wrong at check-in.

So far, so cool! I love reviews like this, they are my guilty pleasure! :p

I also have the Marriott booked - thanks for confirming that everything is within walking distance, I was concerned about that.

Do you have your invoice where it shows you paid for the service charges on both packages? You can change your choices up until a few days before sailing so no problem if you call to change.

I thought I had selected it but I guess I hadn't!

I just called and they added the beverage and specialty dining no problem - and added the service charge too of course, but well worth it!

Good to know that it can be changed up to 3 days prior. :D

Thanks for responding! I am only seeing the on-board credit that was also included in the package.

I may have to call NCL today.

I know that when I booked during the Free at Sea promotion, I selected the two perks as the UBP and SDP. When I check my reservation and the booking confirmation email, I don't see it listed anywhere. It makes me second guess whether I did something wrong. Do you remember seeing these "free at sea" items listed on your reservation?

Thanks for the info! Pearl is one of the lesser reviewed ships.

Yeah, totally agree on tipping a bit extra. I like to carry $1's with me. I think getting to know the bartenders and finding a favorite can really add to the cruise fun.

The Alchemy bar was really top-notch, IMO. It's where I had the most amazing Vesper Martini, and I haven't found one on land that compares. :D

There are some recent YouTube vids that include the Pearl's refurbishment details!

I definitely noticed a vibration, was in a balcony on the main deck, November 2016. One of the metallic ceiling panels just went nuts toward the end of the week, I had to sleep with a pillow on top of my head. But honestly, the slamming balcony doors all around us were way more annoying.

Are those the dates of the swingers cruise?