First time on NCL - Looking for advice

We just booked NCL Jewel for July 2019 - Alaska northbound. This is our first NCL cruise. Some advice please:

1) Just to clarify, my understanding is that there are complimentary dining options, such as the MDR, buffet, etc., all of which have a cruise casual type dress code, but no formal night. DH and I enjoy dressing up for dinner, is there a specific night to go all out, or not really?

2) We are trying to decide whether or not to add in our 13 year old. From what I can tell, there are plenty of options for kids club/activities for little kids, and a teen club, but nothing really in between. Does anyone have experience with this? We will definitely need a few breaks from him (he's a typical middle schooler;p)! We're not really interested in paying for a cruise for him to sit in front of video games half the day, so we'll want him involved in actual activities when he's not with us.

3) I don't really understand about the shows - are any of the shows included in your cruise fare, or do you pay extra for some? Also, what's the deal with reservations?

Many thanks for the insights!

Point 1. You can dress up or not any night you want. Most cruises have a Norwegian Night Out on the second night. Some (maybe 20%, probably less) will dress up (ie blazer and tie, dresses and heels) Most won't but if you like to, you won't feel out of place.

Point 2 no idea

Point 3 Most shows are included, some ships have one show which is extra charge, it usually includes a dinner.

(1)There is no real "Formal" night. Usually the evening of the 1st Sea Day, the Captain will be in the lobby for a short period of time for pictures. Some people dress for that and others do not.

(2) Others will have to answer this one.

(3) On larger ships like The Bliss or Joy, yes you need reservations for shows in the theater and for some dinner shows there is an extra charge. None is true on The Jewel.

I have sailed many times on The Jewel and love being on Her. She has a fantastic staff.

Enjoy

#1 as stated there is no real formal night. But people do dress up for dinner and pictures.

#2 My tween and teen love NCL. Push them to head to the team/kids club the first day to make friends. On cruises where they miss the first day or two, all they want to do is hang with us. On ones where they make friends its the opposite, we have to beg them to spend time with us. They do keep the kids pretty busy as well.

#3 as stated above, depends on the boat, But mostly no, no other charge but you do need to make reservations.

The kids club will have organized activities. You should book your son as the third passenger because it will be easier to remove him from the reservation rather than trying to add him at a later date.

#1 as stated there is no real formal night. But people do dress up for dinner and pictures.

#2 My tween and teen love NCL. Push them to head to the team/kids club the first day to make friends. On cruises where they miss the first day or two, all they want to do is hang with us. On ones where they make friends its the opposite, we have to beg them to spend time with us. They do keep the kids pretty busy as well.

#3 as stated above, depends on the boat, But mostly no, no other charge but you do need to make reservations.

None of the shows on the Jewel can be reserved in advance.

Must disagree with what "snownow" stated. Spent many nights on Jewel Class ships. Never needed reservations for any of the shows. The Jewel is a fantastic ship.

So happy to see all the positivity about the Jewel. We're not real particular about the size of the ship or all the extras and we're not married to any particular line - any cruise is a good cruise in our opinion! We're just trying to feel our way through the differences between NCL and Carnival. Thanks to everyone for the input!

We just booked NCL Jewel for July 2019 - Alaska northbound. This is our first NCL cruise. Some advice please:

 

1) Just to clarify, my understanding is that there are complimentary dining options, such as the MDR, buffet, etc., all of which have a cruise casual type dress code, but no formal night. DH and I enjoy dressing up for dinner, is there a specific night to go all out, or not really?

 

2) We are trying to decide whether or not to add in our 13 year old. From what I can tell, there are plenty of options for kids club/activities for little kids, and a teen club, but nothing really in between. Does anyone have experience with this? We will definitely need a few breaks from him (he's a typical middle schooler;p)! We're not really interested in paying for a cruise for him to sit in front of video games half the day, so we'll want him involved in actual activities when he's not with us.

 

3) I don't really understand about the shows - are any of the shows included in your cruise fare, or do you pay extra for some? Also, what's the deal with reservations?

 

Many thanks for the insights!

1. There are no formal nights. NCL embraces “dress up or not”. Folks who want to dress up do. People who love their shorts dress down. Most people dress like they are going to a nice dinner at home. Day 2, your first sea day, would be the night to dress up (and day 3-6 if you like, since there will be photographers set up taking pictures in the oublic areas).

2. Your 13 year old goes with the teen club. Lots of “teen time” and some organized activities. See the following link for examples (this is from a bigger ship). https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56771083&postcount=40

3. No extra money shows on the Vancouver/Seward cruises. Entertainment is free (unless it is martini tasking or wine tasting :)). No show reservations on that itinerary. Like other small ships on any cruise line, first come first serve. That’s specific to the big ships (Bliss and Joy in Alaska).

All of my kids have been to the teen club, they found new friends and we saw them only for breakfast, dinner, shows and excursions, plus in passing. Make sure he goes the first night. My kids liked cruising when they were younger, but loved cruising as teens.

On point #2. -- Our daughter, then 13 spent 15 days on the Sun in spring 18 (yes that sun trip) and we had to force her the first day to show up at the teen club. We almost never saw her again. A group of about 8 of them, age 13 to 16 coalesced into a roving group of well behaved kids. We would see them on the BB court, the card room playing games, hanging out in the Atrium sipping mocktails and participating in ship board games. Hanging around the Great Outdoors doing that teen talking thing. 3 times they even reserved their own dining room table and had formal night dinners. Even had pictures taken. All without parent involvement.

I obviously cannot state that your child will have the same experience, but if you give them the push to get to that first day meet and greet at the teen club, you could very well be surprised at how they get along.

We just booked NCL Jewel for July 2019 - Alaska northbound. This is our first NCL cruise. Some advice please:

 

1) Just to clarify, my understanding is that there are complimentary dining options, such as the MDR, buffet, etc., all of which have a cruise casual type dress code, but no formal night. DH and I enjoy dressing up for dinner, is there a specific night to go all out, or not really?

 

2) We are trying to decide whether or not to add in our 13 year old. From what I can tell, there are plenty of options for kids club/activities for little kids, and a teen club, but nothing really in between. Does anyone have experience with this? We will definitely need a few breaks from him (he's a typical middle schooler;p)! We're not really interested in paying for a cruise for him to sit in front of video games half the day, so we'll want him involved in actual activities when he's not with us.

 

3) I don't really understand about the shows - are any of the shows included in your cruise fare, or do you pay extra for some? Also, what's the deal with reservations?

 

Many thanks for the insights!

Shows are included. I think you are referring to the mega ships with a combination of pay for shows and free ones.

I am sure your 13 year old would have a great time. Yes there are lots for kids to do, plus Alaska is very port intensive.

Lots of places to eat without the expense of specialty dining: buffet, 2 MDRs, and O"Sheehans which is like a coffee shop with a limited but good menu. I would recommend you try one specialty dining room. In fact if you like to dress up a bit you would want to give Le Bistro a shot.

No, there are no formal nights, but usually the second night is the night for dressing a little more formal if you want. Long dresses and tux, no. a sports jacket or suit for the men and a nice cocktail type for gals will not make you stand out or over dressed. You can do what you want. That is the beauty of freestyle :cool: