First time on NCL

We have been on many cruises but not on NCL. We are thinking of taking a 7-night cruise on the Breakaway out of New Orleans, LA. Anyone on this cruise before? Pros and Cons please. Can you get basically anything with the free drink package? Also, we are foodies and have heard mixed reviews on NCL's food. For $50 more per couple we can get a 3 night specialty dining package. Would you recommend that?

Thank you!

We have been on many cruises but not on NCL. We are thinking of taking a 7-night cruise on the Breakaway out of New Orleans, LA. Anyone on this cruise before? Pros and Cons please. Can you get basically anything with the free drink package? Also, we are foodies and have heard mixed reviews on NCL's food. For $50 more per couple we can get a 3 night specialty dining package. Would you recommend that?

 

 

Thank you!

What is and is not covered under the drink package: (UBP)

https://www.ncl.com/terms/ultimate-beverage-package

Make sure you read the Terms and Conditions of the FREE promo. You will have to pay gratuities on that.

I preface this comment to say that I haven't been on a NCL cruise yet, but am going on one later this year as a foody.

The consensus is that the specialty restaurants are noticeably better than the standard cruise food.

Beyond that, well, everything is subjective so you can't really say. From what I've heard (outside of this NCL section; from non-frequent to VERY frequent cruisers and range from people I personally know to things I've read in the other cruise line forum sections) is that yes, the standard NCL food is below average. It's not generally regarded as "bad", just if you've been on other cruise lines (outside of Carnival), it's not as up to par. "Boring" and "adequate" is generally the feedback I get.

I'm not addressing value at all. Most of the people I personally know who have sailed on NCL would NEVER pay extra for specialty dining. So, they compare standard fare to standard fare across the cruise lines. However, I decent amount have tried NCL's standard and specialty. Value is another totally subjective thing. Still, my two cents is that for $50 more for a 3 night specialty dining package, that's a good deal. That breaks out to $25 per person, and a little over $8 per meal. If you are foodies, that's totally worth it for the increase in quality you get. If you're actually paying a la carte, considering you've already paid for the standard meals, at the prices NCL charges, you may or may not feel it's worth it. But hey, it's Freestyle. You don't have to pay it if you don't want to. The 3 nights can be totally enough. For us, that's what we're doing. We'll take the 3 nights and just eat the standard fare the other days.

I think if is important to know that only Pepsi products are available on board. This may or may not be important to you. I found it to be more important that I expected it to be.

Barbara

I enjoy the dining package...and sail time to get to the gulf from NOLA takes a while....6-8 hours I believe...no casino during this time if that interests you.

Drink package works well for the Bride and myself...

I preface this comment to say that I haven't been on a NCL cruise yet, but am going on one later this year as a foody.

 

The consensus is that the specialty restaurants are noticeably better than the standard cruise food.

 

Beyond that, well, everything is subjective so you can't really say. From what I've heard (outside of this NCL section; from non-frequent to VERY frequent cruisers and range from people I personally know to things I've read in the other cruise line forum sections) is that yes, the standard NCL food is below average. It's not generally regarded as "bad", just if you've been on other cruise lines (outside of Carnival), it's not as up to par. "Boring" and "adequate" is generally the feedback I get.

 

I'm not addressing value at all. Most of the people I personally know who have sailed on NCL would NEVER pay extra for specialty dining. So, they compare standard fare to standard fare across the cruise lines. However, I decent amount have tried NCL's standard and specialty. Value is another totally subjective thing. Still, my two cents is that for $50 more for a 3 night specialty dining package, that's a good deal. That breaks out to $25 per person, and a little over $8 per meal. If you are foodies, that's totally worth it for the increase in quality you get. If you're actually paying a la carte, considering you've already paid for the standard meals, at the prices NCL charges, you may or may not feel it's worth it. But hey, it's Freestyle. You don't have to pay it if you don't want to. The 3 nights can be totally enough. For us, that's what we're doing. We'll take the 3 nights and just eat the standard fare the other days.

The consensus is what one reads it to be and which reviews you select. We've been on 20 cruises with 4 lines and here is our 2 cents worth. From experience, not reading reviews, Norwegian food used to be just not quite as good as RCCL or Princess. That being said, it's just not been true for a while now. Our most recent experiences are these: We cruised the Getaway last year and found the food choice, taste and presentation in the Tropicana dining room to be very good as main dining rooms go nowadays. The food in Cagney's, LaCucina, and LeBistro was better for the most part, especially with the outdoor dining options. The food and service in all of the dining areas was good and for an anytime meal O'Sheehans's was particularly good. Now for an honest and truly unbiased comparison with the Crown Princess, which we sailed on this January. We boarded with our past experiences with Princess of excellent food and service for the price you pay, so one will naturally expect the same. What is true, the service and willingness to accommodate is still very good, even though, just as with all major lines, the bean counters have reduced staff. the Crown service in the restaurants was good. The food in the Leonardo main dining room wasn't what it used to be whether it was choice, taste or presentation. (read Carnival fingerprints all over a good product). For example, the ingredient quality wasn't as good as NCL, the choice fell short of NCL and the service was about the same as with Norwegian. So for an opinion to be given without experiencing the food for oneself has dubious value, albeit with good intentions. We will be sailing the Dawn in January on a 10 day from San Juan and are looking forward to it.

The consensus is what one reads it to be and which reviews you select. We've been on 20 cruises with 4 lines and here is our 2 cents worth. From experience, not reading reviews, Norwegian food used to be just not quite as good as RCCL or Princess. That being said, it's just not been true for a while now. Our most recent experiences are these: We cruised the Getaway last year and found the food choice, taste and presentation in the Tropicana dining room to be very good as main dining rooms go nowadays. The food in Cagney's, LaCucina, and LeBistro was better for the most part, especially with the outdoor dining options. The food and service in all of the dining areas was good and for an anytime meal O'Sheehans's was particularly good. Now for an honest and truly unbiased comparison with the Crown Princess, which we sailed on this January. We boarded with our past experiences with Princess of excellent food and service for the price you pay, so one will naturally expect the same. What is true, the service and willingness to accommodate is still very good, even though, just as with all major lines, the bean counters have reduced staff. the Crown service in the restaurants was good. The food in the Leonardo main dining room wasn't what it used to be whether it was choice, taste or presentation. (read Carnival fingerprints all over a good product). For example, the ingredient quality wasn't as good as NCL, the choice fell short of NCL and the service was about the same as with Norwegian. So for an opinion to be given without experiencing the food for oneself has dubious value, albeit with good intentions. We will be sailing the Dawn in January on a 10 day from San Juan and are looking forward to it.

That 10 day you speak of out of San Juan looks enticing...The Bride and I are about ready to book it...

That 10 day you speak of out of San Juan looks enticing...The Bride and I are about ready to book it...

We are looking forward to it. The ports changed after we booked it, but we like Aruba and Cuacao too. They dropped Martinique and another island which I don't recall. Come aboard and join the rollcall!

I would get the dining package, check CC for menus & make reservations at the 3 restaurants that appeal the most to you. The MDR menu will have some items available every day and some change daily, try not to book dining on a day that has something on the MDR menu that really appeals to you.

I love the flexibility of Freestyle dining, others miss the routine of set dining, will have to see for yourselves which you like better

We are looking forward to it. The ports changed after we booked it, but we like Aruba and Cuacao too. They dropped Martinique and another island which I don't recall. Come aboard and join the rollcall!

Sail date for your cruise?

I agree that the food in the complimentary restaurants is below average for cruise food. My wife and I were both disappointed whenever we ate there. f you can swing a Haven cabin, I would recommend that for the exclusive restaurant you'll have access to. The food in The Haven is very good, much better than other mainstream cruise line offerings. We won't cruise NCL w/o being in there.

I agree that the food in the complimentary restaurants is below average for cruise food.

This has been true for my one, and only, NCL trip. Some NCL cruisers who weren't even on my trip somehow disagreed with my review of NCL food but the folks on my sailing all agreed.

I was told by some NCL cruisers that my experience eating gristly steak you can't even chew through is "subjective."

Sail date for your cruise?

December 30 out of New Orleans

I agree that the food in the complimentary restaurants is below average for cruise food. My wife and I were both disappointed whenever we ate there. f you can swing a Haven cabin, I would recommend that for the exclusive restaurant you'll have access to. The food in The Haven is very good, much better than other mainstream cruise line offerings. We won't cruise NCL w/o being in there.

Have you been on rccl vision of the seas? Do you prefer them?

This has been true for my one, and only, NCL trip. Some NCL cruisers who weren't even on my trip somehow disagreed with my review of NCL food but the folks on my sailing all agreed.

 

I was told by some NCL cruisers that my experience eating gristly steak you can't even chew through is "subjective."

Do you prefer royal Caribbean?

That 10 day you speak of out of San Juan looks enticing...The Bride and I are about ready to book it...

We are doing the cruise but not in Jan. We are doing it in Feb and are very excited. So many ports, so little time. We have been to most of the ports, but still are looking forward to spending time in many of them.

The Dawn is a great ship; I know we are off topic, but just wanted to add my 2 cents worth.

We have cruised over 40 tines and on all mass marketed lines, plus a few lines that have gone by the waste side or maybe I should say the deep water side. Anyway, we find the food on NCL just about par for most mass marketed lines. Some of it is very good, some not worth ordering, but overall it isn't below par in comparison. The only line I can think of where the food is really superior to NCL is HAL. The advantage of sailing NCL is you have so many choices where to eat, whether you choose the specialty dining rooms or the complementary ones. We love to grab a quick meal in O'Sheehan's now and then. I think it is sad when people don't bother to experiment and try as many different dining places as they can.

As for the dining package, yes, OP it it worth it. The food is better, no getting around it. As for the drink package, any drink that would cost less than $15 is included.

We have been on the Breakaway and sailed out of NOLA. But we didn't sail the Breakaway out of NOLA.

Enjoy your cruise and take both overly positive and overly negative reviews with a grain of salt. Also remember, food is very subjective. I am a foodie and considered a blue ribbon cook, and yet there are some dishes I make that a lot of people would not like. There are things on NCL I do not like, and some food that is above and beyond. When anyone says all the food or almost all the food is below par, I would not pay too much attention to them.

Food is so subjective. I have had great food and so so food on NCL. I can say the same for Celebrity and Princess. The one good thing is that if you aren't thrilled with the food, you are welcome to try another entree. I will admit, I don't cruise for the food, I cruise for the itinerary. I do like the specialty restaurants they aren't as crowded and quieter and slower paced and that makes for a better dining experience for me.

Sail date for your cruise?

We Sail January 17. There is a roll call out there for it!

We have been on 20 NCL cruises and have 4 more booked. We are foodies and happen to enjoy most of the meals served to us while on cruises, whether they are in MDRs, Buffets or Specialty restaurants.

We choose to sail on NCL because of the variety of dining venues. As foodies we tend to vary our eating choices on daily basis. Like we'd like Italian one day, steak the next day, Asian the next day etc.

We are partial to Indian (and Asian) curries, and on our last cruise on the Spirit (11 days) we found ourselves going to the Raffles Café (buffet) at lunchtimes on sea days and some dinners, and taking the plates of curries out on the Raffles Terrace (aft outdoors). And the Raffles Bar was great!

Over many decades we learn to enjoy the food we eat - we both are good, but amateur cooks - so we enjoy NCL's cooking.

As well as friendly crew, good sanitation ratings most of the time and decent entertainment, we choose NCL because of the food variety. Yes, some foods are not great, if I got a tough steak I would just blow it off or send it back. I wouldn't spend hours griping about it. Life is too short. The quality of food on most mid range priced cruises, regardless of the line is about the same: some really good meals, some not so good.

The food in the specialty restaurants tends to be a bit better but I would only get the package as one of my free perks (and paying the small tax only). The free Asian restaurant on most ships is great as is O'Sheenans for pub fare. If you pick and choose in the main dining room and buffet it can be a decent experience. That said I don't think the $20-$30 extra per person without the dining package would be worth it.

We have been on many cruises but not on NCL. We are thinking of taking a 7-night cruise on the Breakaway out of New Orleans, LA. Anyone on this cruise before? Pros and Cons please. Can you get basically anything with the free drink package? Also, we are foodies and have heard mixed reviews on NCL's food. For $50 more per couple we can get a 3 night specialty dining package. Would you recommend that?

 

 

Thank you!

If it makes you feel any better, on CC today there is a review on dining on the three main lines. Actually came out on top. Of course there was very little difference between the 3 lines, but NCL did get a 4 rating. I know this will surprise many of you. I have to admit it surprised me a little, but it is good news.