NCL Rolls Out Freestyle ... 2.0

[LauraS]

Cruise Critic has just posted the following news:

NCL Rolls Out Freestyle ... 2.0

Read the entire news article... (http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2325)

[Cruise Cat]

I must say, they look like they are trying to improve things. One thing I wonder though is what are they doing to maintain/improve service in the Dining Room with the freestyle concept? I am reluctant to try NCL cause everyone I know personnally, and some here on this board, say that there is an assembly line mentality and an "I don't care attitude" among the wait staff since their tip does not depend on their service to you directly.

[smeyer418]

I must say, they look like they are trying to improve things. One thing I wonder though is what are they doing to maintain/improve service in the Dining Room with the freestyle concept? I am reluctant to try NCL cause everyone I know personnally, and some here on this board, say that there is an assembly line mentality and an "I don't care attitude" among the wait staff since their tip does not depend on their service to you directly.

I have never felt that it was an assembly line at all. In fact I had better service on NCL than the QM2....

[deepnite10]

atleast NCL is making the effort with great expense to bring together
the best of the industry..this in addition to leading the way with new
and innovative cruising experinces for their passenger s..

i have also, notice d that industry wide that other cruiseline s are trying
to duplicate the NCL Freesyle experience..much to NCL s flattery..:p

i just hope they don t start coming out with those floating citie s :cool:

[MortgageChick]

Last cruise on NCL was 2001 on the NCL Sun when she was new. It was fantastic in every way. I do not see that in peoples comments in the past few years. I must say that the list of proposed improvements would make me want to try them again.

[spiritkat090909]

Last cruise on NCL was 2001 on the NCL Sun when she was new. ....

That was also OUR last NCL cruise. We switched lines for two reasons...the Freestyle dining was the same as having breakfast & lunch on other ships...we like traditional dining in the evening. AND more importantly, we had been Latitudes members & the difference in past pax treatment was significantly noticeable. Prior to the (at the time) new ownership, we had some nice perks. Rates WERE much less for member cruises than found anywhere else AND even in ordinary balcony cabins, there were gifts & treats of some kind every evening for Latitudes members. Not so on the Sun in 2001.

So. We switched to RCI. Then THEY changed their discounting policy, universal rates to everyone & not competitive with other lines any longer...and we found Princess! Who, so far, has the best deal out there for their past pax. Reduced deposits & onboard credit for booking onboard is the best benefit we've ever received. Love it.

kat
PS Will try Holland American this Spring. Believe we will stay with PCL, but we'll see!

[trarecar]

This makes me want to try NCL even more - I was tired of the same ol' same ol' dining experience by the 5th night, AND the buffet was nothing to get excited about. I think this sounds really nice.

[alwayssingin]

NCL is our favorite. We love the flexibility of Freestyle. :) The changes sound great, especially coffeemakers in each cabin.

[love2relax]

Way to go NCL..Love the idea of flags on the pool chairs! That way the servers are there only when you need them. I think of the changes to the buffet as being more of a cost cutting measure to reduce the wasted food. The "stand in line while it's prepared" idea doesn't appeal to me. That is what I hated the most on HAL. I go to the buffet when I want to grab a quick bite..that being said, I like the expansion of other options...so I'm excited to take another NCL cruise. I'm planning on taking them to Alaska in 2009...so it doesn't look like I'll get to give the deck chair flags a try...ah well...

[CynCyn]

We did a repositioning cruise with NCL. Coming off an Alaskan Princess Cruise, I was expecting sooooo much! Maybe it was the repositioning, I don't know, but service was terrible, the waiters were rude (to the point of bringing a salad with the wrong dressing, and when my tablemate asked for another, telling her it was what the chef reccommended!), and the only thing you were 'free' to do was PAY for each and every specialty restaurant they had. I was not impressed at all, and I will probably never go back unless I get a whole lot of ship board credit to cover the dining charges!

[barante]

Thank you for posting this and many other plugs for stories that appear elsewhere on this site. I most probably would have missed it on the home page, which I seldom follow.
NCL's experimentation may or may not be as successful as described, but boy, oh boy! I find it fascinating that all these mass market lines are doing wonderfully creative things.
Our all-time favorite cruise was last March on the Noordam, a journey we will duplicate in two months. That will be our seventh cruise, with two more booked. The more we cruise, the more I realize that trying different concepts and lines is actually fun. It may even add to your total experience.
We have done HAL once, Celebrity four times, Norwegian twice. We will do Princess and Carnival in the future. No Royal Caribbean so far. Each cruise has been wonderful. In fact we had an extremely pleasant Bermuda cruise in September on the Norwegian Crown (which has since left the fleet). The only reason we were in an oceanview (porthole) room instead of an inside (which we haven't tried so far but will on Carnival to South America) was that it was actually priced lower than an inside.
A previous poster talked about the frenzied atmosphere in Norwegian's restaurant. No kidding. We had good meals but extremely overworked wait staff. The ship itself was bizarre, having been passed from one line to another, each making major design changes. As it now enters the Fred Olsen fleet, it not only will be some 70 feet longer but much of the front superstructure will be reconstructed to serve various functions better. That, after all, is the best space on a ship.
Nevertheless we had a grand old time. I guess what really made the difference was the luxurious fact that we actually stayed in Bermuda for several days. Sailing to Hamilton, right to Front Street, was magic. I liked the Queens Wharf, too. As it now becomes a major stop, due to the use of larger ships, it will boom into quite a stop, of that I am sure. However, fewer tourists will go to Hamilton. Which may be by design. Cruise lines believe that high pecentages of passengers seldom leave the ship. So even during port days, they will be buying drinks etc.
Adding an important element to the cruise was the fact that we had CC rollcall members that somehow just clicked. We only had six who participated. We not only did we have a long rollcall meeting among ourselves but also a dinner on the final night. It floored us that the captain and hotel manager came to our little initial gettogether and stayed. The captain also extended us a "secret" invitation to visit the deck. A very efficient Nicaraguan lady, who was some type of social coordinator for the captain, expressed disbelief that we had kept our secret, when the six of us -- no more, no less -- went to visit the captain. He spent a good 45 minutes talking about this and that.
This turned into a meandereing post. Anyway, I found Norwegian's plans fascinating.

[John1202]

My DW and I recently did the 9 day NCL Gem T/A and experienced Freestyle for the first time. We found it to be a pleasant experience with a great side benefit. Freestyle dining reduced, if not eliminated, the full elevators and long lines of the traditional cruises. People eat when they want, with whom they want, where they want.

There was enough variety in available 'free' restaurants that there was no driving desire to go to speciality restaurants, although we did: both alone and as part of CC group activities. I think we ate at every restaurant sometime during that cruise! Food was excellent at each of the restaurants and portion size was even better. They have reduced the size of the portion so I don't feel guilty of cleaning my plate and eating too much in the process! :D (I didn't gain a pound on this cruise!:) )

The incabin coffee maker was greatly appreciated. I went thru multiple pots some days and the steward always had bags of Folgers available. Having that fresh, hot coffee available first thing in morning was much better thant the room service pots that were often luke warm on other cruises.

I liked the 'action stations' for the food was freshly made yet there were none of the long lines experienced on other cruises. At first, I felt funny bypassing others to go to an action station. It was not obvious the Gem setup was different from other cruise lines, but the second day I had none of that feeling.

I had no rude service, in fact, just the opposite - very gracious service by warm crew members. The hotel manager and restaurant managers were seen in these restaurants throughout the day. They took a personal interest in our service.

Based on this experience, I would take another NCL cruise.

[Mrs. H.]

We will NEVER EVER take NCL again. Cruise from hell :mad: in 2003 out of NY to Bahamas. Got to pier at 12:00 for 4PM departure....ship arrived at 8PM,
left at 10PM. Shore excursion to suppose to be canceled in Florida but was told it was on again only to realized when we got to theme park we coudln't get in until a certain time and then we only had a few hours to spend there before going back to ship.
Freestyle sucked. Only thing we liked was the Blue Lagoon's food.
My sister booked NCL (her first cruise) in 2004. We took our Mother to Alaska for her big birthday. I have to say that I don't think any cruise line can screw up an Alaska cruise.
At least I got to use my $200 "I'm sorry for messing up your previous cruise with us" voucher.
Will stick with the ones I know and love.
RCCL, Princess and Carnival. :D

[slothandle]

I must say, they look like they are trying to improve things. One thing I wonder though is what are they doing to maintain/improve service in the Dining Room with the freestyle concept? I am reluctant to try NCL cause everyone I know personnally, and some here on this board, say that there is an assembly line mentality and an "I don't care attitude" among the wait staff since their tip does not depend on their service to you directly.

Been on five Norwegian cruises and this was definitely not the case for me or my travel partners. I really enjoyed Freestyle and plan to cruise with NCL again asap.

Give them a try--------who knows? You may like them.