First Time on NCL!

[going to see the world]

Just booked my first cruise on NCL, pretty excited! 
Wondering if anyone has any advice/ tips that I should know that would be different from CCL (please save the hate if you aren’t a fan- the price is always right lol) 

[BirdTravels]

33 minutes ago, going to see the world said:

Just booked my first cruise on NCL, pretty excited! 
Wondering if anyone has any advice/ tips that I should know that would be different from CCL (please save the hate if you aren’t a fan- the price is always right lol) 

welcome to NCL

 

Specialty Dining reservations open at 12 midnight 

 

120 days prior to departure - steerage

125 days prior to departure - club balcony

130 days prior to departure - suite

 

If you are on a large ship, entertainment bookings may be available at the same time or once you are onboard. 

[sailorusvi]

Following.

 

We just booked our first NCL cruise too!    I've been on cruises before (RCL Princess), but the last one was in 1997 . I'm sure they have changed since then. 😀  It's my husband's first cruise.  

 

We are going on Feb 18th, so reservations have been open for a while, so things seem to be limited so far.  Hopefully we can get something on embarkation day.  We are go with the flow people, so I'm sure we will be fine, but I'm looking forward to some pointers.

 

Have fun!

[Uff da]

The biggest thing is no set dining times except for specialty dining. You eat when you want. Just show up and they will seat you as soon as they can. It's usually quick. 
The dress code is lax with the exception of a couple specialty restaurants. No formal nights, they call them dress up or not nights. Do some people dress up for dinner? Yeah. Do you have to? No. There is not the dress code shaming you see on some of the other lines. Nobody cares. 
This is freestyle cruising. It's pretty chill. People have fun but it's not party central like CCL. You will find more similarities than differences with daily activities onboard. 
NCL has some pretty cool bars, venues and shows and you should check them out. You didn't say which ship, so it's hard to be specific. 
NCL is my favorite for the "vibe" of it. Has it been perfect? No. Does that stop me from sailing with them? Nope! It hasn't been that serious. I don't think I had perfect on CCL or RCCL either. It's been a while for those two but I'll revisit them to compare again some time. 
You will have a great time on NCL. Each line is what you make of it. 
 

[ColeThornton]

If you haven't done so make sure you read through all of the FAQ's on NCL.com.    Lots of good info that many don't take the time to read.

[YangtzeCruiser]

Haven't been on NCL since 2018; took three cruises on CCL in 2022, so some of this may be dated. What we noticed:

a) CCL's low-end inside staterooms seem to be a little more spacious than NCL's

b) NCL has more varied activities during the day; CCL has mostly trivia

c) Entertainment on NCL seemed better. May just be personal preference

d) NCL: No lobster in MDR on formal night; CCL: the tails are small, but I had 3 on our last cruise

e) CCL: cakes on the buffet were drier than the Atacama desert, but wife liked the food better overall

f) NCL: no free specialty restaurants (we've never cruised on a megaship; may be different there)

Bottom line for me - unless NCL has drastically degraded service, it's all about going to destinations I want to visit at a price I'm willing to pay. Among the three cruise lines we've used (NCL, CCL, and RCL), if all three offered identical itineraries/amenities at identical prices, I'd just randomly pick one.

[blueslily]

10 hours ago, going to see the world said:

Just booked my first cruise on NCL, pretty excited! 
Wondering if anyone has any advice/ tips that I should know that would be different from CCL (please save the hate if you aren’t a fan- the price is always right lol) 

 

Hi there, That's awesome. Which ship are you sailing on and when/where are you cruising? That information might help with some of the replies as well.

 

I enjoy NCl. Was last on the Encore. Working on bookings now for European sailings next. Those will be on smaller, older ships.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[going to see the world]

10 minutes ago, blueslily said:

 

Hi there, That's awesome. Which ship are you sailing on and when/where are you cruising? That information might help with some of the replies as well.

 

I enjoy NCl. Was last on the Encore. Working on bookings now for European sailings next. Those will be on smaller, older ships.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks so much, I’m going on the Sun to Bermuda in November 😀

[schmoopie17]

1 hour ago, YangtzeCruiser said:

 

 NCL: No lobster in MDR on formal night;

NCL doesn't have formal nights. But you're correct in regard to lobster. Haven't seen lobster in the dining rooms for years.

[Snate]

I will be going on NCL for the first time this summer.  We will be on the Prima so still trying to figure out some NCL stuff also.  For starters, we have been on Celebrity, Princess, Carnival and Royal.  For meals we have been doing anytime dining on these ships for years so I guess NCL will be similar.  We usually eat in the main dining room on our other cruises but for NCL it seems like most people’s reviews are of the specialty restaurants.  So my first question is, is it necessary to  spend extra money for the specialty restaurants each night or is the MDR gonna be decent food?  Is it worth doing the dining packages they offer per nights as the drinks package on NCL was not worth it to me since I don’t drink enough to make it work and the wife doesn’t drink at all.  My cruise did come with 2 free specialty nights but its a 10 day cruise so that leaves 8 nights in the MDR.  Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Karaboudjan]

2 hours ago, Snate said:

I will be going on NCL for the first time this summer.  We will be on the Prima so still trying to figure out some NCL stuff also.  For starters, we have been on Celebrity, Princess, Carnival and Royal.  For meals we have been doing anytime dining on these ships for years so I guess NCL will be similar.  We usually eat in the main dining room on our other cruises but for NCL it seems like most people’s reviews are of the specialty restaurants.  So my first question is, is it necessary to  spend extra money for the specialty restaurants each night or is the MDR gonna be decent food?  Is it worth doing the dining packages they offer per nights as the drinks package on NCL was not worth it to me since I don’t drink enough to make it work and the wife doesn’t drink at all.  My cruise did come with 2 free specialty nights but its a 10 day cruise so that leaves 8 nights in the MDR.  Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.  Thanks.

 

We were on the Prima two weeks ago and liked the Hudson's MDR very much.  We ate one lunch and two dinners and I did not notice any real difference in the quality compared to the specialty restaurants.  Pretty much every table should have a nice view and some are spectacular (depends on how close to the windows you are)  I also thought it seemed more spacious than most of the specialty restaurants.

 

On Prima you also have Indulge, which is great, so if it was me I would be fine with just the two specialty meals.

[www3traveler]

3 hours ago, going to see the world said:

Thanks so much, I’m going on the Sun to Bermuda in November 😀

The Sun is a wonderful small ship.  Love the back deck of the buffet, wonderful place for early morning coffee and beautiful sunrises.  I beleive the Sun is the only ship to have a balcony area across the front of the ship of the Observation lounge.  Great place to watch "pier runners" (people who are late returning to the ship after an excursion, shopping etc.)  You are supposed to be back on board 30 minutes before the posted departure ship.  You will get a daily newsletter telling you what time you  will be arriving in a port and the time that you need to be back on board.

 

Enjoy your enjoy.  After your first cruise, like so many of us, you will become addicted to cruising and can not wait to get back onboard a NCL ship.  Welcome to the family.

[EngrJones]

3 hours ago, Snate said:

So my first question is, is it necessary to  spend extra money for the specialty restaurants each night or is the MDR gonna be decent food?

It's not.  Besides the MDRs, you'll have The Local and the buffet.  I've had excellent dinners in all of them.

[dexddd]

The buffet on Sun is small but you can eat outside or use Moderno during breakfast and lunch which is port side from buffet.  The outside area has a small selection of food and drinks.

[J0Y0US]

Dont show up late? lol

 

I have not been on that line but from being on a couple different lines it all seems the same to me in general. It comes down to more specifically the ship you are on.

 

So worry less about NCL and instead read more about your specific ship and watch youtube vlogs regarding people on the ship you are going on.

 

This will give you an idea of what there is to do, if they ran in to issues, and different things like that.

[theloo]

Is there lunch in the MDR on embarkation day or at sea days?  

[zqvol]

2 minutes ago, theloo said:

Is there lunch in the MDR on embarkation day or at sea days?  

Yes as to both