Question about specialty restaurant reservations

[chrisbd1]

They offer the half off specials as an incentive, sometimes. If many people are dining early, the specials will sometime run for later dining. If many people are dining later, the special will sometimes be for earlier dining. Sometimes there's no reason to run the special at all. It depends on the sailing.

[Refugee]

I booked last minute for our 3/1 cruise and this will be our 1st on NCL. I have been lurking and reading a lot but I am not completely clear on the reservation system. What I understand so far is that there is a desk to make specialty reservations or you can call the number from your stateroom-is this correct? Is it simple to get reservations the day of, or do you need to make them days ahead of time-perhaps setting them all up on the first day of the cruise? Is it mandatory to have reservations for the specialty restaurants-or do they take walk ins?

 

Also, what should we expect when dining in the main dining rooms? Will there be lines of people waiting to be seated (I assume this would depend on timing)-is it generally a quick wait?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but since this is our first freestyle cruise we are just trying to get a feel for it. Any other freestyle 101 tips would be appreciated!

 

Thanks so much!

Just got back from the 2/8/08 Pearl sailing. There are 4 or 5 specialty restaurants that you pay for. You can indeed call from your room. However, reservations are taken only for that day or the next. There also are 2 specialty restaurants that you don't pay for, Mambo's (very good Tex-Mex) and La Cucina (superb). Found it difficult to get reservations because the insominiacs queue up at 730am so when the hostess shows up at 8am, they can be the first to make reservations (again for current or next day). The Indigo restaurant was nice. The one we liked best was the Summer Palace. Anywhere we ate, including the Garden Cafe (deck 12) the food was wonderful. Makes me wonder why some folks are disappointed in it. Perhaps they have a limited knowledge of international seasonings/cuisines. The time I saw lines for dinner was between 530pm-630pm. Worst case scenario, you'll get a pager like at any other restaurant.

 

Enjoy!!

[bcpappas]

It was nice to hear all the stories and be able to get an idea. Can't wait to enjoy the trip.