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#11
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Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL, Dawn and Sun
"Charles" wrote in message d... In article , Peg Caldwell-Ott wrote: How is this "Freestyle Cruising"? Well, even for popular restaurants at home, you have to make reservations, right? And, you still have the freedom to eat when you like and where you like--it only requires a little advance planning--just like making your selections for Shore Excursions!!. If you want to spend the extra few hundred dollars for food. At home I can pick really good restaurants. On the NCL Dawn the food is generally below average. The ones that charge are almost equal to a meal that is included on other cruise lines like Carnival. We cruise to meet people and have good food and entertainment without having to move from hotel to hotel to see the sites. We cruised NCL Spirit last year and tried the freestyle dining room (several times). We were NOT happy with the service or the food. We finally gave up and made reservations at the specialty restaurants, for the remainder of the cruise. Where's a Johnny Rockets when we need one? lol Cagney's--The on board Steakhouse--Not so fabulous food but worth the $20pp cover charge unless we wanted their version of real French Onion soup or anything on the menu that we have come to expect on other lines without an EXTRA charge of $10pp to $15pp on top of the $20pp. On board Asian Restaurant--Excellent. However NOT worth the cover charge. Teppannyaki--food preparation right in front of you. NOT worth the $30pp (If I remember correctly) cover charge. I believe our 'chef' was new to cooking. He fumbled almost everything. He dropped eggs trying to look 'fancy', was totally inept with everything he tried to prepare. Friends, relatives or the CEO of the company couldn't drag us onto another NCL ship. Splenda To each their own. NCL's implementation of open seating is poor. I will avoid NCL unless some friends drag me onboard. -- Charles |
#12
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Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL, Dawn and Sun
"Peg Caldwell-Ott" wrote:
Before we learned our lesson, and how to use the good offices of the Concierge, our "trick" was to wake up early in the morning, call the Reservations Desk to make reservations for that night (and the next one, if they would accept it) and then go back to sleep!! Peg, is it possible you have made so many friends among officers and crew that you've gone a bit "soft" when it comes to the things NCL does badly? Being more forgiving of warts is part and parcel of friendship, so I'm not being critical, just trying to analyze why you are so accepting of the so-called "freestyle" dining process on NCL. For our family, the rigamarole you describe just to get an evening's meal is exactly why we won't cruise NCL again. I'm on vacation. Why in the world do I want to set my alarm to wake up early to make a reservation so I can eat that night? Using a concierge lessens the work...but you still have to assert yourself in some way just to eat. I am not ashamed to admit I love being part of the Pavlovian dining process aboard traditional dining lines like RCI! The clock ticks, it's time to go eat. It's that simple...there's no tracking down the concierge or waking up early to reserve, no queuing in reservation lines or suffering busy reservation phone lines, and no need to schedule the act of reserving. Diana Ball Austin, TX |
#13
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Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL, Dawn and Sun
On Oct 21, 2:19 pm, Peg Caldwell-Ott wrote:
We have found that the extra-tariff restaurants on NCL ships are well worth the money, and the food and service are generally much better than anything we can get at home or even on other ships--and we live on the Upper East side of Manhattan!! That is just sad. Lee |
#14
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Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL, Dawn and Sun
On Oct 22, 9:31 am, "Diana Ball" wrote:
For our family, the rigamarole you describe just to get an evening's meal is exactly why we won't cruise NCL again. I'm on vacation. Why in the world do I want to set my alarm to wake up early to make a reservation so I can eat that night? and... I am not ashamed to admit I love being part of the Pavlovian dining process aboard traditional dining lines like RCI! The clock ticks, it's time to go eat. It's that simple... Amen, Diana!! Couldn't agree more! Lee |
#15
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Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL, Dawn and Sun
Peg Caldwell-Ott wrote:
That depends on which ship you are traveling on. Each ship has its own e-mail number, but if it is the Dawn, the Concierge would be reached at . The "con" in the e-mail address indicates the Concierge, the number indicates the ship. The Dawn is number 14, the Spirit is number 24. If it is another ship, please let me know and I will try to find its e-mail designation for you, or you can ask ncl for the information. They are happy to help, especially for groups! Best Regards, PegNDerek How did you contact the Concierge prior to your trip? I'm curious, since I'm traveling with a group of 9, so it would be nice to be able to pre-arrange a couple of special dinners. Thanks! If all goes well (getting this group to come to a final decision on where and when to go is like trying to herd cats!), it will be Dawn. |
#16
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Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL, Dawn and Sun
Thans, Sue. Everything that we have heard about Carnival of late sounds much better than what it used to be. Perhaps I am just stuck in the mind-set that Carnival makes a good first cruise experience, but then one wants to move on to something better. We have no plans to try Carnival, but it might be more of a possible for us than it used to be. Cheers, Peg On Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:44:29 -0400, Sue and Kevin Mullen wrote: We sailed on the Carnival Conquest about two years ago and at that time it was the best food we had had on a cruise. I feel that the Azamara Journey food is the best, Carnival Conquest 2nd and the Crown Princess 3rd. All three were far better than any of our other cruises food wise. Carnival is only "guzzle and belch" if that is the behavior you are looking for. We have never found this to be the case and our only complaints are the smoke filled lounges/casinos and the singing waiters. sue |
#17
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Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL, Dawn and Sun
Hi Diana,
Good point--and yes, we have made a number of exceptionally good friends on our NCL cruises. But, that friendship does not cover up what we really enjoy about the practice of freestyle. Even on ships of other lines that offer Main and Late seatings, you still have to "assert yourself" at some point to at least make a choice of one of those, right??? And you are locked into your choice for the whole cruise--no variations or alternatives allowed regardless of your excursion plans, napping needs or some other issue--and heaven defend you if you show up late to your seating!! You may well end up in your cabin with no meal at all, or trying to find something palatable at the buffet!! Presumably you have to make shore excursion choices too, and let your selections be known to somebody! Using the good offices of the concierge is easy (by e-mail before the voyage or a simple note left at the Guest Relations Desk), and its nice to have everything in place (shore excursions included) the minute we walk into our cabin these days. The "waking up early routine" was only a means of getting reservations by phone at the time we wanted, and before we found out what the Concierge could do for us!! We always went back to sleep anyway!! VBG Derek and I also enjoy the choice of attire for the evenings too. It is nice when everyone chooses to dress nicely on formal nights, especially special events like Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, but it is also nice not to have to be "on code" every single night unless you want to. After 16 voyages with Celebrity and all the frowns and dirty looks at passengers who dared not to be dressed to the nines on formal night or who (gasp) changed after dinner (not to mention the horrendous dry cleaning bills when we got home), both Derek and I enjoy the freedom to wear what we like when we like. We do still follow "the code", but with a whole lot more flexibility than we used to be able to. Our choice for our first NCL cruise on the Dawn for New Year's 2003-2004 was not based on friendship--we didn't know anybody! Instead, it was based on curiosity (I had not been on an NCL voyage since 1972 and Derek and never tried it) and the desire to sail out of NYC at a time of the year when the only other option was to fly to Florida (or somewhere else) for our annual winter holiday trip. To be perfectly honest, we also really liked the idea of a "year 'round ship out of NYC" (as the Dawn was first advertised on TV here) and wanted to support it. We had no idea what "freestyle"was all about--in fact, I recall asking a lot of questions here on rtc before that voyage. Once we realized what it was all about, we really liked it, and still do--our on-bord friends just make it all the sweeter!! I would imagine that we will go back to Celebrity or Holland America at some point, or give RCI or Carnival a try, but for the time being, we are very happy with our choices--and glad that you are with yours! Bestest, Peg Peg, is it possible you have made so many friends among officers and crew that you've gone a bit "soft" when it comes to the things NCL does badly? Being more forgiving of warts is part and parcel of friendship, so I'm not being critical, just trying to analyze why you are so accepting of the so-called "freestyle" dining process on NCL. For our family, the rigamarole you describe just to get an evening's meal is exactly why we won't cruise NCL again. I'm on vacation. Why in the world do I want to set my alarm to wake up early to make a reservation so I can eat that night? Using a concierge lessens the work...but you still have to assert yourself in some way just to eat. I am not ashamed to admit I love being part of the Pavlovian dining process aboard traditional dining lines like RCI! The clock ticks, it's time to go eat. It's that simple...there's no tracking down the concierge or waking up early to reserve, no queuing in reservation lines or suffering busy reservation phone lines, and no need to schedule the act of reserving. Diana Ball Austin, TX |
#18
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Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL, Dawn and Sun
Very sorry for you, but that just has not been our experience with
NCL. Fortunately there are only two of us (Derek and myself), so our "tab" for the extra-tariff restaurants rarely tops out at a very high rate: Cagney's--usually twice during any given voyage (80 for 2 people on 2 nights), Teppanyaki --usually once during any voyage (40 for 2 people for one night--or luncheon, as it was on the Spirit this last time out) and Bamboo (on the Dawn) or Shogun (on the Spirit)--usually once during any given voyage (20 for 2 people for one night). That is a grand total of $140 and we always feel that it is well worth it!!Other dinners are in the non-extra-tariff rooms, including Trattoria, which we really enjoyed on the Spirit this last time out. We found the new regular menus in the standard Dining Rooms to be very good, and there was always the steak and baker option if nothing on the menu appealed. We also save a lot of money overall by not being gamblers, and not being shoppers. The only other area where we splurge on voyages is in the bar--embarassing, but most of the charges that one sees on our bill at the end of a trip are for this bar or that one!!!!! VBG Peg On Sun, 21 Oct 2007 17:47:20 -0500, "Splenda" wrote: If you want to spend the extra few hundred dollars for food. We cruised NCL Spirit last year and tried the freestyle dining room (several times). We were NOT happy with the service or the food. We finally gave up and made reservations at the specialty restaurants, for the remainder of the cruise. Where's a Johnny Rockets when we need one? lol Cagney's--The on board Steakhouse--Not so fabulous food but worth the $20pp cover charge unless we wanted their version of real French Onion soup or anything on the menu that we have come to expect on other lines without an EXTRA charge of $10pp to $15pp on top of the $20pp. On board Asian Restaurant--Excellent. However NOT worth the cover charge. Teppannyaki--food preparation right in front of you. NOT worth the $30pp (If I remember correctly) cover charge. I believe our 'chef' was new to cooking. He fumbled almost everything. He dropped eggs trying to look 'fancy', was totally inept with everything he tried to prepare. Friends, relatives or the CEO of the company couldn't drag us onto another NCL ship. Splenda |
#19
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Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL, Dawn and Sun
On Oct 22, 6:54 pm, Peg Caldwell-Ott wrote:
Hi Diana, \Even on ships of other lines that offer Main and Late seatings, you still have to "assert yourself" at some point to at least make a choice of one of those, right??? You make the choice once, and you're set for the week. Shows and other events are scheduled around the set dining times, so there's one less thing to try to schedule around. With freestyle, what if you get all your dining reservations made early in the cruise, only to find out that you'll be missing all the shows because of the dining times you picked? Shows aren't that important to me, truthfully, but I still like knowing I have the option to attend, and that my evening meal won't interfere with that schedule. And you are locked into your choice for the whole cruise--no variations or alternatives allowed regardless of your excursion plans, napping needs or some other issue--and heaven defend you if you show up late to your seating!! Right. So, with a set dining time, you know when dinner is, and can work your naps around that. Typically, I choose late seating (the later of the two late seatings on HAL). The ship has already left port by that time, so there's no conflict with shore activities. In fact, there's plenty of time for nap before dinner. And, even ships with tradtional dining have specialty restaurants, if you're looking for something other than the dining room routine. And, what happens with freestyle, if you show up late for your reservation? How long do they hold the table for you? You may well end up in your cabin with no meal at all, or trying to find something palatable at the buffet!! The buffets are usually pretty good for the evening meal - quite a few steps above "palatable". Presumably you have to make shore excursion choices too, and let your selections be known to somebody! Usually plan my own independent tours - my schedule. Using the good offices of the concierge is easy (by e-mail before the voyage or a simple note left at the Guest Relations Desk), and its nice to have everything in place (shore excursions included) the minute we walk into our cabin these days. Is this concierge service available to all NCL passengers? Lee |
#20
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Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL, Dawn and Sun
You make the choice once, and you're set for the week. Shows and other events are scheduled around the set dining times, so there's one less thing to try to schedule around. With freestyle, what if you get all your dining reservations made early in the cruise, only to find out that you'll be missing all the shows because of the dining times you picked? Shows aren't that important to me, truthfully, but I still like knowing I have the option to attend, and that my evening meal won't interfere with that schedule. We have only ever attended one show on a voyage--and that was on the Meridian in 1993--our first voyage together for our honeymoon. We very quickly realized that neither of us care for shows at all. We would rather go to a bar and listen to music, or to one of the dance venues on board where we can relax and dance if we want to. And, what happens with freestyle, if you show up late for your reservation? How long do they hold the table for you? Usually 30 minutes, and they call your cabin to see if you have changed your mind, or would prefer to make a different reservation. Is this concierge service available to all NCL passengers? Yes |
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