Finance and Resource Management Consultants
Celebrating 30 Years of Study Groups
1985
to
2015
30
years
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the "Dine-Arounds" that are scheduled each night for dinner?
Dine-arounds are opportunities to mingle and dine with others in our group, but in smaller numbers. Our group package covers the surcharge at all on-board restaurants that require them, and to further simplify things, we've pre-blocked 40 reservations at five specialty restaurants during the week, at 6pm: Cagney's (Steakhouse), Moderno (Churrascaria), Shanghai (Asian), Le Bistro (French), and Teppanyaki (Japanese performance cooking). La Cucina (Italian) is the remaining 6th specialty restaurant on board Epic, but the group has a buyout of ALL the seats for the opening night sail-away (5:30 dinner, please arrive 5-5:20).
On Sunday night outside La Cucina, there will be sign-ups for each night's dine-arounds, and you may sign yourself, your family, your group - however many - to secure your seat(s) for dinner. You will be in a clustered area of the restaurant with our group. The earlier dinner time of 6pm each night allows you to have a later evening free to enjoy with further socializing, or retire to your cabin to plan and rest for the next day's adventure in port. Depending on your day, some port returns will make a tight turnaround for 6pm, but you will appreciate the ability to come right in and start dinner from a day that has brought you back hungry and with stories of the day's adventures.
Besides dinner Sunday at La Cucina which is for for everyone, there are two other nights where we are not hosting dine-arounds. The first is Monday (our day at sea), when David Nelson and FRMC has sponsored our entire party to enjoy a private dinner and show of Cirque Dreams. This is not part of your package, but a special gift to each guest joining us on this anniversary cruise! Saturday night is our other night with no blocked reservations - dinner is on your own, and you may use your package to return to any specialty restaurant, or try out the Main Dining options on board. We will be coming together this final night though at 7pm for a cocktail hour, followed by pre-confirmed reservations at the 9pm show of Blue Man group.
To Confirm: You do not need to make reservations for either Cirque Dreams or Blue Man - they have been taken care of for you! Regarding dine-arounds, if there is a night you would like to have an intimate dinner outside of the dine-arounds, you have the option to book reservations as you wish, and your group package will cover your surcharge.
Nightly Social Hour
See agenda for the time and location of each evening's private complimentary social hour. Come have a glass of wine while you connect and unwind.
What is the dress code on board?
When it comes to what to wear, you can go resort casual or get decked-out and look your best - it’s your call. That’s the freedom of Freestyle Cruising.
Dress cruise casual anytime during the day, in the buffet and in most specialty restaurants. For women, it includes summer and casual dresses, skirts, regular or capri pants, shorts, jeans and tops. Khakis, jeans, shorts and casual shirts are fine for men. Swimwear is acceptable at the buffet and outdoor restaurant, but a shirt or a cover-up and footwear are required.
Smart casual for dinners, other than the first opening night dinner (Sunday) in La Cucina restaurant where it is cruise casual. For women, smart casual includes slacks or jeans, dresses, skirts and tops. For men, it’s jeans or slacks with a collared shirt and closed-toed shoes.
Kids 12 and under are welcome to wear nice shorts in all our restaurants. You may want to pack a sweater too—air conditioning can be chilly.
Power - do I need adapators? Converters?
Perhaps. On board the ship, there are sockets for both 110V (US) and 220V (Euro), but if you are staying in Barcelona pre and/or post, it is probably only 220V. If your devises are Dual voltage, you will only need an adapter plug. Most devises these days are dual, but commonly hair curling irons/the like are not - check. In that case you would need a power converter, or to buy a dual-voltage version of the item you want to bring.
In most cabins there is one shaver plug, one 110V and one 220V. It is HIGHLY advisable to bring a power strip to accommodate your multiple charging needs.
Will my smart phone work?
See NCL Epic's Q&A on this here.
Free wifi is not freely abundant in ports, but there are establishments that offer it (Starbucks!). Some of the port docking stations offered it as well (ie Cannes) and advertised it well for guests to take advantage of the connection.
What is our first event - do I need to check in, where will I find Study Groups?
Our first official event is a group-exclusive dinner in La Cucina on Sunday night, arrive 5:00-5:15, with dinner starting at 5:30. David Nelson wants to welcome you all, and introduce himself and the team to those who may not have met us in person before. There will be a cocktail reception following dinner as well.
We will also have an office on board where you can stop by on Sunday as you are walking arond getting to know the ship. It is on Deck 5 close to the Epic theater, the Biscayne Meeting Rooms. It will be on the agenda as well where we will be located, along with times it will be staffed.
Is my room at Hotel 1898 confirmed?
We've started sending your reservation information over to the hotel for assignments. If you want to double-check, Lisa Langford can confirm status for you. If you are staying elsewhere, please send Lisa your hotel name and cell contact info, for emergency contact purposes.
What if I have more questions?
The e-mail group for those registered for the cruise has been enacted for direct contact on the cruise. If you didn't receive an email on Monday 3/16/15, contact Lisa Langford to be added.
Otherwise, Lisa is your contact for most questions, unless they are cruiseline specific, then the NCL website most likely has the info you need (or you can always call the group phone number, or any NCL info number if you are a registered guest).