Silly Question - Making Reservations

[sandc4e]

Hi All,

Hubby and I are booked on our first cruise for May 10th - The Getaway.

 

I see people talk about making reservations, but don't see an option on NCL.com, what am I missing?

 

I was thinking I wanted to book my specialty restaurants early, if possible.

 

Thanks for you help.

 

Sheila

[roger001]

I haven't been on the Getaway yet. However, on every other ship we've cruised, with the exception of Teppanyaki which only sets a limited number of persons and is very popular, the specialty restaurants were seldom crowded. You could frequently just walk up without reservations. And, we have always been able to reserve any time we wished by going to the reservation desk the morning of the evening we wished to dine. I might suggest you wait until on board to reserve which will make your dining decisions much more flexible.

[time2cruise1]

Reservations open 45 days before your cruise on MyNCL.

[time2cruise1]

I haven't been on the Getaway yet. However, on every other ship we've cruised, with the exception of Teppanyaki which only sets a limited number of persons and is very popular, the specialty restaurants were seldom crowded. You could frequently just walk up without reservations. And, we have always been able to reserve any time we wished by going to the reservation desk the morning of the evening we wished to dine. I might suggest you wait until on board to reserve which will make your dining decisions much more flexible.

 

 

We will see if that still holds true with the new UDP. All recent bookings for balcony and above got it free for the first two in the cabin and many more have or will purchase it. I see many more filling the speciality dining venues. I agree Teppanyaki is good to book early but there are a lot more tables then the Jewel class ships

[peg013]

Hi All,

Hubby and I are booked on our first cruise for May 10th - The Getaway.

 

I see people talk about making reservations, but don't see an option on NCL.com, what am I missing?

 

I was thinking I wanted to book my specialty restaurants early, if possible.

 

Thanks for you help.

 

Sheila

 

If you are in suite, you can call now (55 days out) and make your reservations. Otherwise at 45 days out you will find the option to make your reservations once you log in to your cruise at MyNCL. You pay when you make your reservations so if you have OBC you should wait until you are onboard to make them.

Edited March 15, 2014 by peg013

[garycarla]

...I see people talk about making reservations, but don't see an option on NCL.com, what am I missing?...

 

 

You will also find many people that never make advance reservations. And another large group that eat in the non-pay restaurants as well.

[sandc4e]

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and information - much appreciated!

[ALadyNCal]

If you are in suite, you can call now (55 days out) and make your reservations. Otherwise at 45 days out you will find the option to make your reservations once you log in to your cruise at MyNCL. You pay when you make your reservations so if you have OBC you should wait until you are onboard to make them.

Yes, that is the good news/bad news we figured out! You CAN reserve ahead of time but you have to PREPAY.

 

Another odd thing I found is during trial attempts at dining reservations -- which require $$$ -- it would give me the option to choose 5 or 8 guests but NOT 7 :confused: My group is 7. Clearly it can be worked out onboard but seems strange it wasn't on the drop down menu. At the moment I don't remember which restaurant, but I think it was for La Cucina.

[blackwing]

OK, I have a stupid question. We sail Saturday on Getaway. I would rather not deal with trying to get dining reservations once on board, and would rather plan them out now in advance while I have more time and less things to do.

 

1) If I book specialty dining now and change my mind, is there a cancellation fee ? I'm assuming there is a no-show fee.

 

2) There is no "kids" option on the specialty restaurants. It seems we pay in advance online. Do they adjust the pricing later?

 

Thank you!

[saxgirl84]

OK, I have a stupid question. We sail Saturday on Getaway. I would rather not deal with trying to get dining reservations once on board, and would rather plan them out now in advance while I have more time and less things to do.

 

I believe I have seen several times that you can book reservations from the TV in your cabin, as well as at several interactive screens throughout the ship, or if you download the iConcierge app to your phone, so there shouldn't be any standing in line waiting to book the reservations...

 

1) If I book specialty dining now and change my mind, is there a cancellation fee ? I'm assuming there is a no-show fee.

 

If you don't cancel within 24 hours of the reserved time, there would be a penalty. I'm not sure if it is 100% of what you have paid (if you book prior to boarding, you have to pay up front. If you book on the ship, it gets added to your account). I'm guessing they would issue an OBC if you decide to cancel a prepaid reservation.

 

 

 

we were going to book all of our dinners ahead of time, but then decided we would just wait to see what we were "in the mood for" each day to avoid the cancellations etc. It really sounds like NCL is trying to help avoid a lot of waiting in lines by introducing the interactive stations around the ships.