NCL First Timer With Many Questions!

[CarnivalCruiser875]

Hi!

 

Have only cruised with Carnival since 2008, doing a 12 day sailing on Norwegian Escape. With the trip a few months away, I've had a list of compiled questions I'd rather ask the experts (those reading this thread) instead of getting a sales pitch from NCL. Greatly appreciate answers, feedback, etc!

 

- Free at Sea+: With my booking I received regular Free at Sea, but have been offered Free at Sea+ for an additional $350. Between the full internet package (to check in with family), premium drinks (not a huge drinker but love a fancy glass of wine at dinner or a cappuccino in the morning), and two additional specialty dining meals, it sounds worth it. Question - Is the upgrade worth it?

 

- Breakfast Dining: Straight to the point, not a breakfast buffet fan. For Carnival cruisers, I'm a regular at the MDR for the yogurt parfait and fresh pressed juices 😁 Question - What are the breakfast options on the Norwegian Escape/what is your favorite place to eat breakfast?

 

- Coffee Shop on Escape: I've read some ships have a full Starbucks, but this one does not. Question - Does this coffee shop also offer pastries, hot teas, etc?

 

- Evening Dining: I've booked Teppanyaki one night, but wondered what other specialty restaurants are a can't miss. Also wondering about the complimentary/main dining room dinners. Question - What is your favorite specialty dining venue/what is your favorite meal in the complimentary venues/main dining room?

 

- Evening Activities/Entertainment: Some folks have shared to not miss The Newlyweds Game and other theatre productions. Question - What's there to do after dinner for activities or entertainment?

 

- Port to Airport Transfer: Straight to the point, never used this with Carnival either. Question - Is this a good/viable option to get back to the airport after debarkation? It's currently $37 from NCL.

 

- What Else?: Any other tips, tricks, secrets, or comments to share for my first time on NCL? Thank you!!

 

 

 

[DorothyB]

Free at Sea - first, look at the cost of the gratuities on the Unlimited Drink Package (and on the Plus version of the drink package).  We decided that we didn't drink enough to be worth paying the gratuities.

 

I have sailed on many NCL ships, but not Escape.  However, I do know that one of the main dining rooms is open for breakfast most mornings (not sure if closed on port days? or ??).  Also O'Sheehan's serves breakfast.

 

Teppanyaki is my only "must do" and I might not even do it on my next cruise because I am sailing solo.  I LOVE the fried rice and main course, but don't want to sit through the "show" again.  You can google and find dining room menus.  They are basically the same on every ship and include some items that don't change and some items that are different each day.  I believe there are 10 menus they can rotate through but that might have changed.  I have always been able to find some main course I liked even though there have been a few times that I chose from the "classic entrees" that are there each time - grilled strip steak and shrimp fettucini alfredo are my go to's there.  Desserts is another issue - I'm not a fan of most of the main dining room desserts.  On some cruises I would leave the dining room before dessert and go have a crepe from the buffet or walnut carrot cake from O'Sheehans.

[BirdTravels]

28 minutes ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Hi!

 

Have only cruised with Carnival since 2008, doing a 12 day sailing on Norwegian Escape. With the trip a few months away, I've had a list of compiled questions I'd rather ask the experts (those reading this thread) instead of getting a sales pitch from NCL. Greatly appreciate answers, feedback, etc!

 

- Free at Sea+: With my booking I received regular Free at Sea, but have been offered Free at Sea+ for an additional $350. Between the full internet package (to check in with family), premium drinks (not a huge drinker but love a fancy glass of wine at dinner or a cappuccino in the morning), and two additional specialty dining meals, it sounds worth it. Question - Is the upgrade worth it?

 

I would say no. I would not make good use of the + features except the dining. What can’t you live without and price that separately. 

 

- Breakfast Dining: Straight to the point, not a breakfast buffet fan. For Carnival cruisers, I'm a regular at the MDR for the yogurt parfait and fresh pressed juices 😁 Question - What are the breakfast options on the Norwegian Escape/what is your favorite place to eat breakfast?

The Taste and Savor MDRs are open. O’Shehan’s 24/7 restaurant is open. The buffet (which is good) is open. And the American diner may be open. All complimentary. 

 

- Coffee Shop on Escape: I've read some ships have a full Starbucks, but this one does not. Question - Does this coffee shop also offer pastries, hot teas, etc?

The Escape does not have a Starbucks. The atrium coffee shop will sell specialty coffee. There are no pastries. (On ships with a Starbucks,’the pastries are for sale). The escape will have candies and macarons for sale. 

 

- Evening Dining: I've booked Teppanyaki one night, but wondered what other specialty restaurants are a can't miss. Also wondering about the complimentary/main dining room dinners. Question - What is your favorite specialty dining venue/what is your favorite meal in the complimentary venues/main dining room?

Our favorite specialty restaurant is Le Bistro (French). And the lobster Thermidor (it has an upcharge from the standard dining package). 

 

- Evening Activities/Entertainment: Some folks have shared to not miss The Newlyweds Game and other theatre productions. Question - What's there to do after dinner for activities or entertainment?

There will be shows in the Theater every night. They often repeat the shows in the smaller venues like the Comedy Club and Syd Norman’s. There will be a dance party by the pool most nights. 

 

- Port to Airport Transfer: Straight to the point, never used this with Carnival either. Question - Is this a good/viable option to get back to the airport after debarkation? It's currently $37 from NCL.

I assume that you are disembarking in Europe somewhere. It is easier (for us) than worrying about drips for a taxi. We would do it. 

 

- What Else?: Any other tips, tricks, secrets, or comments to share for my first time on NCL? Thank you!!

 

The following link is to one of my Live posts from the Escape. it’s a couple of years old, so the information is dated and it was a 7 night Caribbean cruise. But, it will give you a peek at the ship and its venues. 
 

 

 

[Ellis1138]

Free at Sea plus opinion: I don't drink, but for the plus, you also get the soda and carton water and (I think) specialty coffees. The unlimited non-streaming internet is a $250 value by itself, so if you're going to use it a lot, it's worth it. 2 specialty dinings are worth about $160-ish. So, if you will be drinking and using all that, it's a decent package price.

(Why I never took it: I don't drink alcohol or soda, the tap water on the ship is great to drink and I was in the Escape Studios with the best coffee machine for free. My itinerary was port-heavy New England/Canada, so I had nearby wifi and data coverage and didn't need to use up the 150 minutes.)

 

I tend to go Hobbit Mode for breakfast. I would get up at 5 am, have a coffee from the Studio Lounge machine and then head up to O'Sheehans for extra crispy bacon. (I can't swallow pills with water alone, so I use bacon to help me get them down.) The regular coffee there was good and they do have some nice stuff, like corned beef hash. After my pills and bacon, I went to the buffet for the 'made for you right there as you like it' omelet. Then down to Taste (MDR) for pastries, pancakes/waffles and tea. I never went to the Starbucks but I think they had pastries too.

 

I did Moderno twice on the Escape. I love that salad bar, the pao de quiejo and all the meat. I also like not having to keep track of 1 appetizer, 1 entree, 1 dessert. They cooked the meats as I requested and brought me new ones if I thought the meat was overcooked.

My favorite night for the MDR is when they have chimichurri beef.

 

I did none of the entertainment, so do not know how that was. There was a lot of it and the stuff in the Atrium was 85 decibels. I had to wear Hear-Os. The casino tends to be smoky, but I had fun at a slot pull.

 

The Escape is a really good ship and I enjoyed it. 

 

 

 

[JandC_Cruising]

37 minutes ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Hi!

 

Have only cruised with Carnival since 2008, doing a 12 day sailing on Norwegian Escape. With the trip a few months away, I've had a list of compiled questions I'd rather ask the experts (those reading this thread) instead of getting a sales pitch from NCL. Greatly appreciate answers, feedback, etc!

 

- Free at Sea+: With my booking I received regular Free at Sea, but have been offered Free at Sea+ for an additional $350. Between the full internet package (to check in with family), premium drinks (not a huge drinker but love a fancy glass of wine at dinner or a cappuccino in the morning), and two additional specialty dining meals, it sounds worth it. Question - Is the upgrade worth it?

 

- Breakfast Dining: Straight to the point, not a breakfast buffet fan. For Carnival cruisers, I'm a regular at the MDR for the yogurt parfait and fresh pressed juices 😁 Question - What are the breakfast options on the Norwegian Escape/what is your favorite place to eat breakfast?

 

- Coffee Shop on Escape: I've read some ships have a full Starbucks, but this one does not. Question - Does this coffee shop also offer pastries, hot teas, etc?

 

- Evening Dining: I've booked Teppanyaki one night, but wondered what other specialty restaurants are a can't miss. Also wondering about the complimentary/main dining room dinners. Question - What is your favorite specialty dining venue/what is your favorite meal in the complimentary venues/main dining room?

 

- Evening Activities/Entertainment: Some folks have shared to not miss The Newlyweds Game and other theatre productions. Question - What's there to do after dinner for activities or entertainment?

 

- Port to Airport Transfer: Straight to the point, never used this with Carnival either. Question - Is this a good/viable option to get back to the airport after debarkation? It's currently $37 from NCL.

 

- What Else?: Any other tips, tricks, secrets, or comments to share for my first time on NCL? Thank you!!

 

 

 

Free at Sea plus...Lot's of opinions, so I'll just give ours.  We upgrade all the time.  We enjoy higher shelf whiskeys and more expensive wines with dinner.  We get bottles of aqua pana with every meal.  We also enjoy getting the extra two specialty meals (on top of our platinum status meals).  We have starbucks every morning and take advantage of the Wifi upgrade and extra $50 shore excursion credit it gives us.  So it is definitely worth it for us.  We make heavy use of the benefits.

 

The Escape does have a Cafe in the atrium that sells specialty coffees.  The Free at sea plus will cover the coffees but not the pastries.

 

The two smaller MDR's (Taste and Savor) will be open each morning for breakfast.  O'sheehans also serves breakfast each day (except disembarkation day)  We typically will eat there each morning.  Except for one morning each cruise so I can have eggs benedict in the MDR.

 

Favorite specialty dinners will also get a full range of responses:  We love Le Bistro and Bayamo on Escape (Ocean blue elsewhere).  Pinchos tapas is also very good, but we will often do that for lunch on a sea day when it is open.

 

We've always had good success with the NCL transfers.  If we are going directly from airport to port or vice versa, we will usually book the transfer to make it simple.

 

The Escape is one of the many ships with a great Thermal Suite with therapy pools and saunas, steamroom, Iceroom, etc.   Loungers and great views.  If that's your thing consider getting a pass for the cruise.  We use it every day (even on port intensive cruises).  It's a great place to chill after a long day on shore.

 

We are on the Escape this upcoming Christmas and cannot wait to enjoy her again.

 

[luckybecky]

3 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Hi!

 

Have only cruised with Carnival since 2008, doing a 12 day sailing on Norwegian Escape. With the trip a few months away, I've had a list of compiled questions I'd rather ask the experts (those reading this thread) instead of getting a sales pitch from NCL. Greatly appreciate answers, feedback, etc!

 

- Free at Sea+: With my booking I received regular Free at Sea, but have been offered Free at Sea+ for an additional $350. Between the full internet package (to check in with family), premium drinks (not a huge drinker but love a fancy glass of wine at dinner or a cappuccino in the morning), and two additional specialty dining meals, it sounds worth it. Question - Is the upgrade worth it?

 

- Breakfast Dining: Straight to the point, not a breakfast buffet fan. For Carnival cruisers, I'm a regular at the MDR for the yogurt parfait and fresh pressed juices 😁 Question - What are the breakfast options on the Norwegian Escape/what is your favorite place to eat breakfast?

 

- Coffee Shop on Escape: I've read some ships have a full Starbucks, but this one does not. Question - Does this coffee shop also offer pastries, hot teas, etc?

 

- Evening Dining: I've booked Teppanyaki one night, but wondered what other specialty restaurants are a can't miss. Also wondering about the complimentary/main dining room dinners. Question - What is your favorite specialty dining venue/what is your favorite meal in the complimentary venues/main dining room?

 

- Evening Activities/Entertainment: Some folks have shared to not miss The Newlyweds Game and other theatre productions. Question - What's there to do after dinner for activities or entertainment?

 

- Port to Airport Transfer: Straight to the point, never used this with Carnival either. Question - Is this a good/viable option to get back to the airport after debarkation? It's currently $37 from NCL.

 

- What Else?: Any other tips, tricks, secrets, or comments to share for my first time on NCL? Thank you!!

 

 

 

 

 

Free at Sea+.  Honestly, I don't see the value. We enjoy drinking wine with dinner, but we aren't connoisseurs. We are perfectly fine with the wines that are included with the basic package. As for other drinks, we could get almost anything we wanted. My husband likes Bombay Sapphire gin martinis. No problem to get that. He also likes whiskey. Bulleit, Crown Royal, Jack Daniels were all included in our package. Also many cocktails such as mojitos, mudslides, margaritas, spritzes etc. We took full advantage of the drink package and never had to pay for anything. We did give our favorite bartenders and servers a tip at the end of the cruise but this was not required. 

 

Sorry I can't comment on breakfast or coffee as we aren't big breakfast eaters. Usually we just grab a quick bite in the buffet and sometimes take it back to our room if the seating in the buffet is too crowded. 

 

Evening dining: for specialty dining, we like Cagney's best. Le Bistro and Ocean Blue are very popular choices. We didn't have the most amazing experience on Teppanyaki but it was mostly because our tablemates were duds. The Italian is always good. For main dining room, on our last cruise Taste was our favorite. It was more intimate than the larger Windows dining room and service was much better in Taste -- but this may vary widely by ship. 

 

Evening activities: we LOVE the game shows, comedy club and main theater production shows. Go early to get a good seat, especially for the big production shows. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime and people will already be lining up at that time. The game shows are smaller and we always thought they were so much fun, including the marriage show. We tried to go to them all. Comics rotate all the time, some may be better than others. In general, however, we really enjoyed the comedy shows. 

 

We haven't used NCL transport to airport. 

 

Other tips or secrets: if you like the hot tubs, we found that they are not all the same. Some are much hotter than others. So if the first one you try is hotter or cooler than you like, maybe give another one a try.

As soon as you get on board, find out where to go to make your dining reservations and get that done ASAP. Some dining slots will be open before you board, try to grab those. But whether ahead of time or on board, reservations fill up fast so get that done as soon as you can. If you don't get your desired times, you can always try walk-in. Sometimes they will have tables available,

 

Happy cruising!!

[schmoopie17]

12 hours ago, DorothyB said:

 

Desserts is another issue - I'm not a fan of most of the main dining room desserts.  On some cruises I would leave the dining room before dessert and go have a crepe from the buffet or walnut carrot cake from O'Sheehans.

On this point I need to disagree. My feeling is that desserts are the one area where NCL consistently excels. I almost never get dessert when we go out for dinner on land, but I always get dessert after every meal on an NCL cruise.

 

As for entertainment, I'm shocked that nobody has mentioned "Choir of Man". Probably the best NCL production show...until they replace it with some inane game show (but hopefully not before September when we're on the Escape again).

[JandC_Cruising]

2 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

As for entertainment, I'm shocked that nobody has mentioned "Choir of Man". Probably the best NCL production show...until they replace it with some inane game show (but hopefully not before September when we're on the Escape again).

Good pull!!!!!

Yes..."COM" is  great and not to be missed.  We have seen it 3 times now and it is always fun.  

In fact it is playing locally in Chicago right now and I've told all my non-cruising friends that it is a must see.

[mcmomny]

I agree with JandC-cruising! But I also will mention it depends on the type of cruise we are on. Caribbean no but our special cruise to Greece or Europe yes!

 

On our Greece cruise on The Jade this past fall we did the Plus upgrade and really enjoyed it!

 

This was a trip we had been planning for years and had to cancel several times for one reason or another so we opted once could finally go to make it extra special!

 

My husband loved his Starbucks everyday and his cappuccino after dinner, the unlimited wifi was a huge plus as we own our own business and he needed to be able to keep in touch.

 

The two extra dinners were also a huge plus for us!

 

He also loved his high end scotches each night and the extra $50 shore excursion came in handy as we only used NCL for our excursions in Greece. So $100 per port meant some excursions were close to covered or only a few dollars.

 

Plus we had unlimited boxes of water.

 

Now for our upcoming Canada New England cruise we will not upgrade as we figure we will be enjoying a lot of local beer in port and doing our own thing in port (no excursions) and each port will have good wifi for him to keep in contact.

 

We are now Platinum so will have two extra dinners.

 

We have only used NCL transfers twice and both times were great experiences. These two times were because we had early flights home.

 

Most places we book our own excursions but for Greece we went with NCL for each port and they were all great excursions.

 

After shows we love the Marini or the Whiskey Bars, always someone singing or playing the piano.

 

Don't miss Howl at the Moon!

 

The Escape has H2O which is an adult only outside area with bar, hot tubs lots of loungers and a water feature to cool off in.  No pool in this area but their is a main pool in the center of the ship

 

My husband loves Teppanyaki but I much prefer the Italian or French they are quieter and more romantic, Teppanyaki is loud! 

 

Also enjoy MDR for breakfast and lunch, much less crowded or noisy!

 

As for Free Style this also means attire, you will see everything from PJ"s to glitter gowns and tuxes.  We are not PJ public people and also not glitter tux people so we wander in our typical vacation attire, sundresses for me and button down short sleeve shirt and khaki pants or shorts for him! Several dining options will require long pants for men, sometimes it is adhered to and others not. In Europe all of our experiences have been they do adhere to dining dress code

 

Enjoy NCL, we do!

 

 

[hallux]

13 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Question - What are the breakfast options on the Norwegian Escape/what is your favorite place to eat breakfast?

As others noted - there are two MDRs open for breakfast, plus the included venue in the Atrium.  I'm a buffet breakfast person - the omelette station is pretty good, as is the bacon and sausage.

13 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Question - What is your favorite specialty dining venue/what is your favorite meal in the complimentary venues/main dining room?

I give another vote for Le Bistro - Steak TarTare, Baked Onion soup, the Sole is my go-to meal there.  In the MDR, the seemingly 'simple' breaded Flounder is one of my favorites.

 

On my last cruise, on the Bliss, I also had a really good meal at Cagney's.

 

12 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

There will be a dance party by the pool most nights.

Sorry to contradict you, Bird, but on the Escape I recall the dance parties being in Spice (with photo evidence. ok, maybe not the BEST photo to show a 'hopping' dance party, it was the first I found)

 

13 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Question - What's there to do after dinner for activities or entertainment?

Comedy, theater shows, The Pour House, Howl at the Moon ('dueling pianos').  The shows in The Pour House were AMAZING.  If you're a Fleetwood Mac fan, they do the Rumours album start to finish one night with some speaking interludes explaining how the album/songs came to be - you need to be in line an hour or more before show time though (I walked by around 8/8:15 for a 9:30 show and the line was already quite long).

Edited May 5 by hallux

[BirdTravels]

Yup. Spice H20 for parties. 
 

My last three cruises have been on the Encore and Viva (plus a few RCCL and MSC cruises). I am in a non-Spice mind frame.  Maybe the Encore will have a Spice soon. 

[hallux]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Maybe the Encore will have a Spice soon.

Fingers crossed!  However - Bliss holds those same parties on the pool deck despite having Spice...

[Distinctive-Destinations]

We do Free At Sea Plus on every cruise and will continue to do so. 

[olemissreb]

I'll be on my first NCL cruise in March '25. 7 ports in 7 days, but we chose to upgrade to FAS+. My BF is a high end bourbon drinker, so that in itself will probably offset the cost. 🤪 Plus I know I'll have a capuccino in the morning, and grab a bottle of water to take with me in to port. And even though I prefer to book independent excursions, the additional $50 credit is making the NCL excurions look pretty durn good for my pocketbook.  All in all, it was worth the extra cost for us. 

 

Sorry I can't speak to anything else...at least not till March.