8 things I wish I knew before cruising For the First Time With Norwegian Cruise Line

If you’re taking your first cruise with NCL below are 8 things that I think you should know.

I love Norwegian and have been cruising with them since I was 11 when I was lucky enough to cruise to Alaska on the Norwegian Spirit.

NCL’s cruising style is all about relaxation and being able to do things on your own schedule.

Knowing the following 7 tips will help you get the most out of your cruise!

1. Freestyle dining – Means No Table Sharing

No Set Meal Times or Dress Codes

On Norwegian, there are no set meal times and no dress codes.

I love the flexibility of “Freestyle dining” which means that you can eat whenever you are hungry.

You never have to share a table which is brilliant. You just show up whenever you want and get seated, much like a normal restaurant on land.

I usually cruise in a group of 2 and 4 and I don’t recall ever having to wait for a table. I do dine pretty early though.

When the restaurant is busy you will be given one of those pager things that vibrate so you can go and get a drink.

You can also book restaurants via the Norwegian Cruiseline App.

You don’t need to buy the ship’s WiFi To use the Cruise ship’s app. Find out more about that here:

You Don’t Need to Pay For Wi-Fi To Use a Cruise Line App – Here’s Why

Main Dining Rooms

Norwegian usually has the option of 2 or 3 main dining rooms, which are large and offer the more traditional cruise dining experience -minus the dress code.

They usually all have the same menu which changes each day.

The restaurant on the Norwegian Spirit has HUGE windows which span the length of the restaurant which I really loved.

Buffet/O’Sheehans/ The Local

There is also a buffet on all ships and a pub-type restaurant, usually called O’Sheehans or The Local on more modern ships.

Speciality Restaurants

There are also a number of speciality restaurants which cost extra, these can get quite busy and you do have to book to dine in these.

You can book Speciality Restaurants easily and quickly via the cruise ship App

Speciality dining is sometimes offered as part of a booking perk, for example as part of their “Free at Sea” package.

There are many speciality restaurants onboard Norwegian ships.

They have an additional cover charge per person, or you can buy a “Speciality Dining Package” at a reduced rate if you want to try a number of different restaurants.

Go medium-rare at Cagney’s Steakhouse, savour délicieuse French cuisine at Le Bistro or try succulent Brazilian barbecue meats at Moderno Churrascaria. The choice is yours and the flavours endless!

Norwegian Cruise Line

I have always found the food on NCL to be brilliant, it is not as ‘posh’ as on some other cruise lines – but I much prefer this as it means you get large portions.

You’ll never go hungry on an NCL cruise, there are so many options that there is something to suit everybody.

To read more about NCL’s freestyle dining check out this post:

Freestyle dining explained.

2. Book the shows on newer ships

They have some brilliant shows on NCL. There is a variety of performances in the theatre and there is something on every night.

They always have dancers, and singers – and usually have a magician or comedian too.

Each cruise they have a Broadway-style theatre production, and they’re normally really good.

It blows my mind how they can perform and dance as they do on a rocking ship! 

I recently sailed on Norwegian Prima. The shows onboard didn’t disappoint. To find out more about that amazing ship, watch this video next:

Booking Shows

When cruising with NCL, check to see if you must pre-book the shows. In the past I have arrived onboard to find that some of the best shows are already sold out.

You only have to pre book Theatre shows on the newer Norwegian ships, with more passengers

Ideally, book the shows before you cruise, you can do this on the NCL App. If not try to book them on your first day onboard.

You can do this through your stateroom TV or through the phone App. It doesn’t matter if you don’t end up going, they will just give away your space to somebody else.

When you get to the theatre your room keycard is scanned to check that you have pre-booked, you can go into the theatre around 30 minutes prior to show time.

If you haven’t booked you are made to wait outside until ten minutes before the show when they give away the remaining seats.

You more than likely will still get a seat like this but they’re likely to be the worst seats in the theatre.

3. Get ready to be busy! (If you want to be)

NCL are one of these cruise lines that fills every inch of the ship with things to do.

If you like waterslides/rock climbing/ropes courses/bowling/ Go Karting etc then NCL is ideal for you!

I tried all of the water slides, slides and Go Karts on Norwegian Prima. Find out how I got on here:

Freestyle Daily

Every night a ‘Freestyle Daily’ will be placed on your bed. This paper sheet lets you know what is happening the following day.

You can also find the same information on the NCL App.

The Freestyle Daily is the timetable of where and when events are taking place around the ship. There are events going on from way before I get up until way after I go to bed!

One of the things which I particularly enjoy about NCL is that you can just go for a wander and you are sure to find something going on somewhere.

The ships are always filled with live music and there are a number of gameshows/presentations every day.

4. There is a “Corkage” Charge If you Bring alcohol onboard

On other cruise lines, you are able to bring on alcohol without a corkage charge – providing that you don’t take it into the restaurants.

This isn’t the case on NCL. You can bring onboard corked wine but that is subject to a corkage fee which is $15.00 for a 750ml bottle or $30.00 USD 1,500 ml

This charge has never seemed worth it to me, so I haven’t ever brought wine onboard.

You can’t bring on any non-alcoholic drinks, beers or liquors onboard. They will put your bags through an airport-style scanner when you board to make sure you don’t sneak anything on.

5. No Free Room Service Or Laundry

I have been on other cruise lines that provide free Room Service.

This isn’t free on NCL, at the time of writing it costs $9.95 per order.

There also is no free laundry room where you can do your washing/laundry.

When you reach the higher tiers of latitudes you do get a free bag of laundry though which is brilliant.

Find out more about the laundry service on Norwegian Cruise Line here;

Norwegian Cruise Line Laundry – Price List, Services, and Packages

6. It’s Perfect for Kids/Teenagers

I have been cruising on NCL since I was 11. Below is a photo of me as a kid, in my NCL club hat!

When I was a child I attended the kids’ clubs and spent time in the teen lounges when I was a teenager.

From personal experience. I would say that NCL is one of the better cruise lines when it comes to kids.

They have a lot of events going on for them every day, and most ships have a “Teen Lounge” where teenagers can hang out away from their parents.

When I would go to the Teen Lounge with my friends we would play on the Playstation or play Pool.

I met lots of people in the Kids/Teen clubs onboard, many of whom I still are friends with to this day! (Well Facebook friends.. that counts right?).

If you have kids or teenagers I would definitely recommend NCL as a cruise line to consider.

Many cruise lines are now trying to appeal to children and young adults. Find out more about that here:

Are Cruises For Young People? Why are more young people cruising Than Ever?

7 – The Waterfront

One of my favourite things about NCL is “The Waterfront”

Most other cruise ships have a promenade deck but NCL take this idea to the next level with restaurants and bars where you can sit out and watch the world go by.

I often cruise in inside cabins so I like to treat the waterfront as my own giant balcony.

I would often would grab a drink, find a comfy chair and read a book. If you are cruising with NCL make sure you take advantage of this! I really miss it when I cruise on other cruise lines.

Before You Go

I recently sailed on Norwegian Prima, and found what i think is my favourite ever balcony cabin. Read all about that here:

I Stayed in a Balcony Cabin on The Norwegian Prima (Full Review)

Find out everything I ate onboard Prima, in the main restaurants and in the Speciality Restaurants here:

Everything I Ate on Norwegian Prima (Menus, Speciality and Included Dining)

Taking a Cruise: Recommendations and Resources

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