A must read for all those new to NCL or who haven’t sampled their new all-inclusive programme

When I got a call last month from my manager to ask if I wanted to sail on the Norwegian Jade for a couple of nights to familiarise myself with their new all-inclusive programme and their already well established free-style concept to cruising the answer was a no brainer.  Yes Please!  These are the features that set NCL apart from many of their competitors and appeal to those who don’t want to be told when or where to dine.  They’re all about choice.  Also for those not looking to build up a huge bill by the end of the holiday, even gratuities are included.  I didn’t spend a penny on-board and had a great time!

There’s so much about the Norwegian Jade I’d love to talk about but I’m going to focus on the dining options and all-inclusive drinks package.  After all, on cruises food and drinks are very important!

Dining options

The following options were available inclusive with the price of the cruise

• The Grand Pacific Restaurant – A la carte dining with a great selection of dishes
• Alizar – A la carte dining with a great selection of dishes
• Garden Café – Buffet restaurant with an amazing amount of choice and seating outside at the back of the ship available to enjoy dining al fresco.
• Jasmine Garden Asian Restaurant – Asian Cuisine serving freshly prepared noodles, wok fried dishes and more.
• O’Sheehan’s – Casual dining atmosphere with Irish pub classics which you can enjoy while watching sports.
• The Pit stop – Race car themed outside bar with a grill for informal dining.
• Topsiders Bar & Grill – Dining area near the pool for casual dining.

Now onto the speciality restaurants! Yes, there is a cover charge or prices per dish but these are well worth sampling for an extra special dining experience.

• Moderno Churrascaria – Brazilian Steakhouse with amazing salads but more importantly all the meat you can eat, carved at your table. Guests keep their mat green side up for more food and red if they’re taking a break or full up.  All for a cover charge of $24.95
• Cagney’s Steakhouse – Boasts amazing steaks cooked to order. Pay per dish.
• Teppanyaki – Show cooking at its finest in this Japanese Hibachi restaurant. Enjoy an amazing interactive cooking experience in an intimate restaurant atmosphere watching the chef cook your food (with plenty of tricks in between).  Cover charge $29.95 (this is well worth it and the best dining experience I have had).
• La Cucina Italian restaurant – Enjoy a la carte Italian dishes in this sleek looking restaurant with beautiful sea views. Pay per dish.
• Le Bistro French Restaurant- Enjoy signature French dishes in a Parisian styled restaurant. Pay per dish.
• Sushi Bar- Why not try something a bit different, watch your sushi being prepared in this excellent addition the Asian quarter of restaurants. Pay per dish.

Unfortunately for me, only being the cruise for 2 nights I only got to experience one of the speciality restaurants (The Teppanyaki) and the Grand Pacific restaurant.  A fellow agent was able to experience the Brazilian steakhouse experience and was as impressed with it however as I was with my Japanese dining experience.

All-inclusive drinks package

How many of you have seen your on-board bill sky rocket through drinks purchases, or held back a bit for fear of spending too much?  This is the great thing about NCL as your cruise is now inclusive of most drinks up to $15 per glass.  Now this isn’t your usual package where only a few selected options are available.  I couldn’t have sampled every cocktail available even if I wanted to as there were so many included.  There are also a great selection of beers, wines, spirits, soft drinks and speciality hot drinks included too.  These are available both with your meals and in the amazing range of bars on the ship.  The other thing I was surprised about was how organised NCL were with it and the lack of queues for drinks.

As you can see NCL is all about choice.  If you want to eat in a restaurant that you don’t have to pay extra for then there is plenty of choice.  If you want to try something a bit different then there are plenty of amazing options and tv screens around the ship showing what restaurants are available and at what times.  If you want to try a drink then chances are it will be included within your cruise price so you don’t have to debate about trying something new.  You don’t have to plan your day around a set time and that is what makes NCL a very attractive prospect to many cruisers and even those who haven’t cruised before.