Dining and entertainment reservations

[realnice46]

New to NCL, there will be 3 of us in Club Suite and 1 of us in a solo studio, I understand I can make reservations early, will I be able to include solo person in those resrvations since we are traveling together? Do I need to connect our cruise reservations? Thank you for any information.

[hallux]

Dining reservations are made by one person for the size party that's needed.  Entertainment reservations need to be made by at least one person in each cabin (they can book for all in that cabin).

[KeithJenner]

When you make a booking you just book for the number of people you want. You don’t tell NCL who you are dining with, and can book for people in other rooms if you want.

 

Just think of it like reserving a table at a restaurant on land. You are booking a table for the number of people you want and the restaurant doesn’t care who the other people are.

 

In fact, you are very unlikely to be able to book for 3 people anyway, as NCL generally only makes reservations available in even numbers (3 people will be seated at a table for 4), so you will have to make reservations for 4.

 

Entertainment is different as you are booking a space for named individuals. That is why someone from Each cabin will need to make the reservations for the people in their room. There is no reserved seating so if you turn up together you can find seats together.

[Big Red 85]

When are these reservations first opened?  First time NCL cruiser here too.  Do various activities have different times prior to the sail date when we are able to lock in reservations?

[cwn]

Where do you find the place to make dinning reservations, I can only find the place to buy extra dinnin, drink packages, etc. Thanks

[hallux]

1 hour ago, Big Red 85 said:

When are these reservations first opened?  First time NCL cruiser here too.  Do various activities have different times prior to the sail date when we are able to lock in reservations?

NCL FAQ Entertainment - 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/when-can-i-pre-book-entertainment

 

Dining - 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/when-can-i-pre-book-dining

 

1 hour ago, cwn said:

Where do you find the place to make dinning reservations, I can only find the place to buy extra dinnin, drink packages, etc. Thanks

In your cruise planner.

[Nola26]

NCL is Freestyle so you don't have to reserve everything. Best to reserve for specialty meals but main dining room reservations are not required, available but unless you are particular for a place or time. I'm not even sure The Local takes reservations and I've only reserved the Asian restaurant onboard, but perhaps it's possible to do it ahead of time.

 

Entertainment reservations for free shows will vary by ship, but I don't think I've ever been turned away from a show. Even for comedy club shows I've gotten in via the standby line.

[cwn]

Thank you both!

[cincicruisers]

15 hours ago, hallux said:

NCL FAQ Entertainment - 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/when-can-i-pre-book-entertainment

 

Dining - 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/when-can-i-pre-book-dining

 

In your cruise planner.

Thank you for posting this.  What time are the shows?  Thinking of making dinner reservations at 6:00 with shows at 7:30??  

[hallux]

18 hours ago, cincicruisers said:

Thank you for posting this.  What time are the shows?  Thinking of making dinner reservations at 6:00 with shows at 7:30??  

Show dates and times can vary by cruise, there's no set time fleet-wide for them to start.

[KeithJenner]

I may be wrong, but I think that a dining reservation may allocate a time of two hours, so I’m not sure whether you would be able to book the timings mentioned.

 

I can’t say for sure, as I very rarely do any shows and haven’t booked one for years, but I’m sure that has been mentioned here.

[vacation44]

19 hours ago, cincicruisers said:

Thank you for posting this.  What time are the shows?  Thinking of making dinner reservations at 6:00 with shows at 7:30??  

If you make reservations for dinner at 6:00 p.m. and then show reservations for 7:30 p.m., make sure you tell your server that you have a show reservation at 7:30 p.m.   They will push dinner through for you.   

[bkrickles1]

48 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

If you make reservations for dinner at 6:00 p.m. and then show reservations for 7:30 p.m., make sure you tell your server that you have a show reservation at 7:30 p.m.   They will push dinner through for you.   

That is super tight. Lmao!

I'd be a little nervous as you'd have to be done by 7:15.

This is why we almost always book the late showtimes.

One time, I think on Escape, we had a similar window to get to a show so we went to Taste/Savor and only ordered apps. We ordered a bunch of them, they came fast, and we were out of there in less than an hour. 

Of course we sought out dessert after the show. Lol!

[vacation44]

Just now, bkrickles1 said:

That is super tight. Lmao!

I'd be a little nervous as you'd have to be done by 7:15.

This is why we almost always book the late showtimes.

One time, I think on Escape, we had a similar window to get to a show so we went to Taste/Savor and only ordered apps. We ordered a bunch of them, they came fast, and we were out of there in less than an hour. 

Of course we sought out dessert after the show. Lol!

I agree it is tight, but once we were in and out of either Taste or Savior (I do not remember which) in less than a half an hour, with no dessert ordered.   

[cincicruisers]

34 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

That is super tight. Lmao!

I'd be a little nervous as you'd have to be done by 7:15.

This is why we almost always book the late showtimes.

One time, I think on Escape, we had a similar window to get to a show so we went to Taste/Savor and only ordered apps. We ordered a bunch of them, they came fast, and we were out of there in less than an hour. 

Of course we sought out dessert after the show. Lol!

What time are the late production shows?

[bkrickles1]

5 minutes ago, cincicruisers said:

What time are the late production shows?

9:30 or 10pm

We're starting to get sleepy by then but we plow through. Lmao 😂 

[hallux]

17 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

9:30 or 10pm

We're starting to get sleepy by then but we plow through. Lmao 😂 

I missed part of Jersey Boys my first time on the Bliss.  I was at a 9:30 showing after a port day...

[vacation44]

24 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

9:30 or 10pm

We're starting to get sleepy by then but we plow through. Lmao 😂 

I have been known to fall asleep a time or two, or three or four.................

[cruiser2015]

Currently on the Bliss.

Shows are 6:30, 7, 7:30 for early; and 9 or 9:30 for late.

Dinners have run from 1 hour to 1:45 with rather slow service.

For our first (early) show res, had to ask the server mid meal to speed things up - they did, and we were on time.

 

However, note that just making the show start time means, especially for the prime shows, the worst seats as they fill up early.

 

Best option if you have a tight schedule and no reservation is using the buffet.

[SugarStar00]

this might be a dumb question but when you have reservations for a show, do you have assigned seats? Or is it open seating?

[hallux]

@SugarStar00 you're simply reserving a spot in the theater, no assigned seats...