Grandparents watching little ones while parents dine and do a show

[Petoonya]

My adult kids and I are Oceania and Windstar regulars. And taking first NCL cruise primarily to help with very young ones on 7 night Alaska cruise. We've (grandparents only) done the itinerary several times before so no problem missing a few things.

Need help with dining- no clue as to how this works. Some questions.

 

How early are you allowed to make reservations?

What dining venues are best for gathering a few vegetarian and a few meat eaters together? (Vegetarians but eat fish).

I'm assuming there are no prior reservations for shows?

If my kids are celebrating an anniversary- what would be the best restaurant for them for a quiet romantic meal?

We all have the dining perk. Would we be happier adding 4 nites specialty dinner or is GDR decent? Realize it's not Oceania or Windstar and not to have same expectations.

With beverage package can I get San Pelligrino?

 

Sorry for the long list but I'm new. Thanks so much for your help and opinions!!

 

[KarlChilders]

Which ship, if it is away class or away+ class, you will be able to make show reservations at 120 days out (130 if in Haven). Buffet and MDR will have at least one vegetarian selection. Oh, and no bottled water on the standard drink plan

Edited January 21, 2020 by KarlChilders

[MNcruisingcouple]

It would be helpful to know what ship you are on, as I could be more specific with recommendations. 

 

I know many people reserve their dining ahead of time, but we've never had issues booking as soon as we board, even for up to nine people.  Restaurant reservations is always our first stop.

Most the restaurants have both meat and fish options.  Personally, I would get the extra dining package.  The food is definitely a step up from the MDRs. 

The romantic dinner really depends on the ship.

Bottled water isn't included in the drink package.  

[Petoonya]

17 minutes ago, KarlChilders said:

Which ship, if it is away class or away+ class, you will be able to make show reservations at 120 days out (130 if in Haven). Buffet and MDR will have at least one vegetarian selection. Oh, and no bottled water on the standard drink plan

It's Bliss. Sorry, but since I don't know NCL don't know which class. 😞

Thanks for your help.

But still wonder what restaurant anyone would recommend if meateaters and veg's are dining together- if they all have veg options are there any you'd more strongly recommend? And romantic night, anything we should consider?

Thanks again.

Edited January 21, 2020 by Petoonya

[Petoonya]

9 minutes ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

It would be helpful to know what ship you are on, as I could be more specific with recommendations. 

 

I know many people reserve their dining ahead of time, but we've never had issues booking as soon as we board, even for up to nine people.  Restaurant reservations is always our first stop.

Most the restaurants have both meat and fish options.  Personally, I would get the extra dining package.  The food is definitely a step up from the MDRs. 

The romantic dinner really depends on the ship.

Bottled water isn't included in the drink package.  

Bliss.

Thanks for all the help. We'll let advance reservations for dining plans go till we board.

[smplybcause]

34 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

My adult kids and I are Oceania and Windstar regulars. And taking first NCL cruise primarily to help with very young ones on 7 night Alaska cruise. We've (grandparents only) done the itinerary several times before so no problem missing a few things.

Need help with dining- no clue as to how this works. Some questions.

 

How early are you allowed to make reservations? 120 days out unless you're in Haven. Haven is 130 days. But only about 25% is released online. The rest are made on board

What dining venues are best for gathering a few vegetarian and a few meat eaters together? (Vegetarians but eat fish).

I'm assuming there are no prior reservations for shows? Pescatarians are a lot easier to find food for. I think most of the restaurants should have a fish option. Obviously Ocean Blue will have the best choices, but most of the others should have at least one fish dish (with Q maybe being the exception).

If my kids are celebrating an anniversary- what would be the best restaurant for them for a quiet romantic meal? Le Bistro is the only specialty that requires men to wear pants, so that might be your best option. Cagneys, La Cucinia, and again Ocean Blue also might be good options.

We all have the dining perk. Would we be happier adding 4 nites specialty dinner or is GDR decent? Realize it's not Oceania or Windstar and not to have same expectations. Depends on how picky you are. I've been on 5 NCL cruises and only eaten in specialty dining once. Though my next cruise I got 4 nights as a perk so that'll be interesting. I've had some great dishes and some meh dishes in MDR.

With beverage package can I get San Pelligrino? Not with the free at sea one. If you upgrade to PPBP which is about an extra $270pp for a 7 day cruise it is. 

 

Sorry for the long list but I'm new. Thanks so much for your help and opinions!!

 

 

Answers in red

 

If the kids are under 12 the free menu they have is the same in any dining room. If they're eating off the specialty dining menus it's the same price as adults I believe - though I think I've seen posts where people aren't always charged for kids. 

[MNcruisingcouple]

4 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

Bliss.

Thanks for all the help. We'll let advance reservations for dining plans go till we board.

 

I haven't been on the Bliss so I can't speak to all the restaurants, but Cagney's, Le Bistro, La Cucina and Teppanyaki should all work for both seafood and meat eaters.  My choice for romantic dinner would be Le Bistro, but I don't have experience with Ocean Blue.

 

[mjkacmom]

I’d make specialty dining and show reservations in advance, and if not, immediately after boarding.

[Turtles06]

Just now, mjkacmom said:

I’d make specialty dining and show reservations in advance, and if not, immediately after boarding.

I would also make reservations in advance, especially given the size of your group and since the cruise is so short. Also, assuming your kids want to celebrate their anniversary on a particular day, it’s best to reserve in advance to guarantee that day.  
 

We haven’t sailed on the Bliss, but we’re on the Gem right now and the food in the MDRs has been quite good  — the best we’ve ever had on an NCL ship— and the service has been excellent. In sharp contrast, I think the specialty restaurants have really declined, both in terms of the quality of the food and the service.  
 

If I were new to NCL, like the OP, and only on a 7-night cruise, I’d stick with the dining promo and give the MDRs a try, I would not buy more specialty dining. 

[Petoonya]

Thanks for all the input everyone! Very much appreciated. 

Will I get a reminder when it’s 120 days out? Or just keep track myself?

thanks!

[esm54687]

8 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

Thanks for all the input everyone! Very much appreciated. 

Will I get a reminder when it’s 120 days out? Or just keep track myself?

thanks!

Safer that you personally set a reminder at 121 just so you remember and go over last minute changes for day 120.  If you don't get your desired time, don't panic as you can always make them once on board (only about 27% are available for on line booking)

 

There's a reminder within MyNCL.com but nothing that actively reaches out to you. 

[Petoonya]

Thanks a million. Helps a lot ! 😀

[JustAPilot]

Also set your expectations now. You are going from high end cruising to a mass market ship. Food, crew vs passenger ratio, service and the type of passengers you will interact with will not be like Oceana and Windstar. Crew will not know your name nor would they care about it with 4,000 other passengers to serve. 

[Peachypooh]

Will the little ones be eating in a specialty restaurant with you? When my grandchildren were 4 and 7

we took them to  specialty restaurants (they were well behaved having been taught well by their

teacher parents LOL). They ordered the children's meal but since I can't eat all the courses they split my

appetizer and dessert. I even gave them a little of my steak. NCL allowed this at the time and I don't

see why they wouldn't now.