Brand new Norwegian cruiser

[Mrs. Ram]

Just booked a mother/daughter(me) cruise on the Norwegian Breakaway for the Nov 30th sailing to Eastern Caribbean and I know nothing about Norwegian. I assume I could just wait until I get onboard to learn all the things but thought I would ask the experts(you!) a few questions. I may be new to cruising Norwegian but I have been on around about 14 cruises with Carnival and Royal. We have an inside cabin on 13th floor (did not know anything about Haven until browsing this site so not in Haven.) We did get the drink package and the spa deal for $199. I looked through 11 pages here and did not see much about what exactly the premium drink package includes (sodas? coffee?) or if the main dining rooms offer good food. Wondering if we will need to splurge on the specialty dining or if there are certain nights/ items in the main dining to be sure to try. Any advice/ tips are greatly appreciated!!

[Two Wheels Only]

15 minutes ago, Mrs. Ram said:

I looked through 11 pages here and did not see much about what exactly the premium drink package includes (sodas? coffee?) or if the main dining rooms offer good food.

 

Standard package includes drinks up to $15. If a drink is over $15, you pay the difference plus 20% on that difference.

Soda, yes.

Coffee, yes.

Specialty coffee, no.

Bottled water, no.

 

The upgraded package (PPBP) includes more including the items above.

 

MDR food is fine. Specialty dining is more of an ambience type of thing. If you look around at some of the menus, you'll get a better idea and see if there are things that you want in the specialty restaurants.

 

The MDR menus rotate so it is impossible to know what specific MDR item will be served on a particular night. Certain items are always available. 

[Ptroxx]

No need for the specialty packages the food in the MDR are more than fine. Buffet is good too.  And the other comp dinning rooms are fine.    

If your in an inside cabin on the 13 deck.    I don’t think you would have been in a haven anyway so no need to worry about that.   Plus it 10x more expensive. 

Others have explained the drink package so.    Don’t forget the gratuities. @20% 

 

[Mrs. Ram]

Thanks @Two Wheels Only and @Ptroxx I feel like there is so much to learn going from one line to another but sounds very similar. I was hoping you would say that the MDR would be fine. I love the old days of cruising being all inclusive. I dine at a lot of fancy restaurants for client dinners that I am fine not paying extra for the fancy meals on the ship.

 

Are there any Norwegian favorites/ must try when it comes to food/ desserts? I love the warm chocolate melting cake on Carnival and always look forward to that.

 

Anything that is not to be missed for first timers?

Edited September 3, 2019 by Mrs. Ram

[BirdTravels]

53 minutes ago, Mrs. Ram said:

Just booked a mother/daughter(me) cruise on the Norwegian Breakaway for the Nov 30th sailing to Eastern Caribbean and I know nothing about Norwegian. I assume I could just wait until I get onboard to learn all the things but thought I would ask the experts(you!) a few questions. I may be new to cruising Norwegian but I have been on around about 14 cruises with Carnival and Royal. We have an inside cabin on 13th floor (did not know anything about Haven until browsing this site so not in Haven.) We did get the drink package and the spa deal for $199. I looked through 11 pages here and did not see much about what exactly the premium drink package includes (sodas? coffee?) or if the main dining rooms offer good food. Wondering if we will need to splurge on the specialty dining or if there are certain nights/ items in the main dining to be sure to try. Any advice/ tips are greatly appreciated!!

So, it is similar to Quantum class ship on Royal. So, like a Quantum or Oasis class ship, you need to make reservations for the two main theater shows and the comedy shows. Reservations for shows are available on your MyNCL account. 

 

The MDRs (3 dining rooms serving the same menu) serve good food. O'Sheehan's is open 24/7 for casual dining. And the Garden Cafe Buffet is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  

 

If you plan to do specialty dining, buying a small dining package (3-night) is the way to go (about $119 per person). You need to make reservations for dining times at specialty restaurants. 

 

The Drinks package pays for the first $15 of bar drinks. If the cost your drink exceeds $15 (hard to do), you pay the difference plus gratuities on the difference. It includes sodas. It does not include bottled water, energy drinks, specialty coffees, alcohol tasting events. 

 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

[kochleffel]

1 hour ago, Mrs. Ram said:

did not know anything about Haven until browsing this site so not in Haven

 

Reading Cruise Critic posts, it would be possible to conclude that everyone, dahlink, everyone books in the Haven or whatever the luxury suite accommodation is on other cruise lines, but it takes only a glance at the deck plans to see that this cannot possibly be true.

 

The number of posts about the Haven or other suites is disproportionately large for the actual configuration of the ships, and there are also fewer posts about inside cabins than the sheer number of them--on many ships, there are about as many inside cabins as oceanview and balcony combined--would suggest that there should be. This is partly because the only difference among most inside cabins is the location in the ship,* while there's more variety in the other types of cabins, so there is more to discuss.

 

*There is some difference in the orientation of inside cabins, with most having the door in the short wall but some, "sideways" cabins, having it in the long wall. To my eye, the latter feel more spacious even if they are not.

[ksignorini]

Some more detail I found on the bevvies:

 

https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/ubp_drinks.pdf

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, kochleffel said:

 

Reading Cruise Critic posts, it would be possible to conclude that everyone, dahlink, everyone books in the Haven or whatever the luxury suite accommodation is on other cruise lines, but it takes only a glance at the deck plans to see that this cannot possibly be true.

 

The number of posts about the Haven or other suites is disproportionately large for the actual configuration of the ships, and there are also fewer posts about inside cabins than the sheer number of them--on many ships, there are about as many inside cabins as oceanview and balcony combined--would suggest that there should be. This is partly because the only difference among most inside cabins is the location in the ship,* while there's more variety in the other types of cabins, so there is more to discuss.

 

*There is some difference in the orientation of inside cabins, with most having the door in the short wall but some, "sideways" cabins, having it in the long wall. To my eye, the latter feel more spacious even if they are not.

Using the Bliss as an example

 

80 Haven Staterooms

1963 Non-Haven Staterooms

 

374 Inside Staterooms (plus 82 Inside Single Studios)

1507 Oceanview/Balcony/Minisuite

 

 

[FitchburgWIFamily]

I am by no means an expert on other lines, but I did cruise once on Royal and can tell you a few differences.

On Royal we purchased the drink package (it is MUCH cheaper on Royal) and the only real differences that we noticed:  Royal made us sign receipts even though we had the drink package, NCL does not.  Royal as mentioned includes and kind of pushes bottled water, NCL does not (tap water on NCL does taste fine and if you bring your own water bottle you can fill up).  Royal had a soda cup with their beverage package, NCL just lets me order sodas.   

I thought the food in the MDRs of both lines was very similar.   Some people will tell you to make reservations for every night ...  I have always had good luck finding a place to eat when I knew I was hungry. 

I like NCLs 24 hour option of a sit down restaurant with a menu better than Royals go grab a piece of pizza.

I love chocolate, but I haven't found a lot of chocolate desserts on NCL that sent me into rapture.  But anything Flan is excellent.   Find the crepe station and have them make a crepe to order with a choice of fillings ...  my choice is always Nutella.

On both lines, the same broad spectrum of dress (formal to flip flops) seemed to exist, so dress like you like and you will fit in somewhere on that spectrum.

We were on an older ship on Royal with an ocean view room and it was small ...really really small.  But others have said NCL's cabins are smaller than other lines, so prepare yourself for that possibility.

I hope you have a great cruise with your mother!

 

Edited September 3, 2019 by FitchburgWIFamily

[Sauer-kraut]

Most desserts are not good on Norwegian HOWEVER, the crepe station in the buffet is fantastic so get a crepe with nutella or any fruit they are offering and then dump some soft serve on it and have fun!