Thinking of trying NCL but worried about "freestyle dining" and smaller rooms

Hi,

I was on Carnival Last year to Alaska and LOVED it, looking to do a cheap vacation this year with my brother and our significant others (we are 22-28 year olds). So went looking for mexico cruises since then we don't need airfare. With NCL's sale right now 3rd and 4th passengers sail "free" so it puts the per person cost similar to Carnivals, PLUS we can get the UBP for two and Soda for the other two for free (does anyone know for sure if this is how that works if we are all over 21? I know if you BUY it everyone has to buy it but it really doesn't specify that in the offer). But one of our favorite parts of our last cruise was having traditional dinner, making friends with other people at the table and building that relationship with the wait staff. Can anyone tell me how they feel about the "freestyle dining" is there always a wait? what is the likelihood of getting the same waiter? mostly in regards to the main dining room, we may do a specialty place one night but the main dining room on Carnival seemed to be fine for us. The other question I had was we are looking to book an Oceanview for the 4 of us, I see the average sf is about 151, which is almost 35 sf smaller than carnival, I'm not too worried about the 4 of us fitting (it will be tight we know), but what about our stuff? especially with two girls who will want to dress up a little for dinner each night. How is storage in theses cabins? and how big are the showers? are the comfortable to turn around and bend down in? thanks for the help :)

Hi,

 

I was on Carnival Last year to Alaska and LOVED it, looking to do a cheap vacation this year with my brother and our significant others (we are 22-28 year olds). So went looking for mexico cruises since then we don't need airfare. With NCL's sale right now 3rd and 4th passengers sail "free" so it puts the per person cost similar to Carnivals, PLUS we can get the UBP for two and Soda for the other two for free (does anyone know for sure if this is how that works if we are all over 21? I know if you BUY it everyone has to buy it but it really doesn't specify that in the offer). But one of our favorite parts of our last cruise was having traditional dinner, making friends with other people at the table and building that relationship with the wait staff. Can anyone tell me how they feel about the "freestyle dining" is there always a wait? what is the likelihood of getting the same waiter? mostly in regards to the main dining room, we may do a specialty place one night but the main dining room on Carnival seemed to be fine for us. The other question I had was we are looking to book an Oceanview for the 4 of us, I see the average sf is about 151, which is almost 35 sf smaller than carnival, I'm not too worried about the 4 of us fitting (it will be tight we know), but what about our stuff? especially with two girls who will want to dress up a little for dinner each night. How is storage in theses cabins? and how big are the showers? are the comfortable to turn around and bend down in? thanks for the help :)

Lunarias, here are the Terms and Conditions for the UBP Promo Offer.....

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPagesPopup.html?pageId=wave15terms

In 2007 we decided to give NCL a try when they returned to New Orleans. We did not really like the Freestyle dining, some waitstaff was good, most seemed just indifferent. We also enjoy meeting different people at dinner. Now I have read the food in the main dining room has improved but in 2007 we didn't think it was as good as Carnival.

I can't comment on oceanview rooms but the balcony rooms were smaller, so was the balcony. Now we still enjoyed our cruise, there were many things about NCL that we liked.

In 2013 we tried Royal Caribbean, we booked late so had to go with their freestyle choice, forget what they called it. They did a wonderful job of seating us with other people, we always had people to sit with and by the middle of the cruise we had several couples that we would eat with every night. I'm not sure how well NCL does this, in 2007 we were 2 couples and never sat with anyone else. It's usually just me and my husband sailing so we really like to have other people to eat with, makes it so much more fun.

The promotion they have going with the UBP is very good, so it's a great time to try another cruise line. You can't really know if you'll like it until you try it. Because of the promotions we have decided to give NCL another try, we went with a suite so we will be eating in the specialty restaurants, hoping they have the option of sitting with others. Of course with free drinks we may not notice! :D

Hi,

 

I was on Carnival Last year to Alaska and LOVED it, looking to do a cheap vacation this year with my brother and our significant others (we are 22-28 year olds). So went looking for mexico cruises since then we don't need airfare. With NCL's sale right now 3rd and 4th passengers sail "free" so it puts the per person cost similar to Carnivals, PLUS we can get the UBP for two and Soda for the other two for free (does anyone know for sure if this is how that works if we are all over 21? I know if you BUY it everyone has to buy it but it really doesn't specify that in the offer). But one of our favorite parts of our last cruise was having traditional dinner, making friends with other people at the table and building that relationship with the wait staff. Can anyone tell me how they feel about the "freestyle dining" is there always a wait? what is the likelihood of getting the same waiter? mostly in regards to the main dining room, we may do a specialty place one night but the main dining room on Carnival seemed to be fine for us. The other question I had was we are looking to book an Oceanview for the 4 of us, I see the average sf is about 151, which is almost 35 sf smaller than carnival, I'm not too worried about the 4 of us fitting (it will be tight we know), but what about our stuff? especially with two girls who will want to dress up a little for dinner each night. How is storage in theses cabins? and how big are the showers? are the comfortable to turn around and bend down in? thanks for the help :)

Depending on which ship you are planning on going on, and what time you go to dinner, there is usually not a wait for the MDRs if you don't go at the absolute peak time. On most ships, a lot of people tend to try to go around 6:00 so they can go to an early show (once again this is different on Breakaway and Getaway and Epic). We always had no trouble if we went at 5:30 PM to dinner, or after 7:30 PM ... The advantage of freestyle is that you are not tied to a specific time and place for dinner, but rather you can go when and where it suits you.

Can you have the same waiter? It is possible to a certain extent, but they do rotate into different restaurants in some cases. If you wanted a waiter you had before you can ask the hostess to seat you in in that waiter's section. You definitely won't had the traditional experience of the same table mates each night unless you count the 4 of you.

As for cabin size it can change with the ship, so without knowing what ship, its hard to say. In general with 4 adults in any room, the storage will be difficult unless you are in a suite. The showers are also different sizes depending on the ship, with Sky and Sun having the smallest showers in the fleet. I haven't had a problem and I am a larger guy...

I would think that 4 adults in one cabin on any cruise line would be a bit tight. On the ships we've been on though, the storage was comparable to what you would find elsewhere and the showers were a good size.

We actually prefer Freestyle dining and always request a table for 2. I know Carnival will seat you with others, probably because they don't have quite as many smaller tables. At least, that seemed to be the case on the ships I've been on. We're on the Valor in 2 months with Your Time Dining so we'll see if it's any different. We just don't like being locked into a set schedule. You can try to get the same servers every night but it might not always happen since they don't always work in the same section or restaurant. Regarding the food, I didn't find much difference except I thought NCLs buffet was better.

I have never had to wait to eat on a NCL ship, but we tend to eat quite early.

There is no need to wonder whether you will get on with freestyle dining. Just go to a restaurant in your local area. It's possible that you may need to make a reservation if it is at a busy time. You will be seated by yourselves, rather than be seated with some random people who you may or may not like, and you will probably need to tell the waiters what you want to drink. That is basically how freestyle works. If you get on with that then I really don't see any reason why you would have any problem with freestyle.

Question: Are you booking an OV with 3 and 4 free AND getting free UBP and sodas? Did I read the post right?

Question: Are you booking an OV with 3 and 4 free AND getting free UBP and sodas? Did I read the post right?

That is what I was able to Pseudo book earlier this month, I was surprised, that is why I was seriously considering them. the 3rd and 4th person sail free was automatically added and then we got to pick one the othe other 3 promotions....and lets be realistic the UBP is the best upgrade. The ship in particular we were looking at was the jewel in Oct.

I just went to see what rooms were available and this is the selection at the top of the page after you select your date and sailing

Freestyle Choice Plus– Automatically get free or half price 3rd & 4th stateroom guests plus apply any promo code below for a bonus offer!

Free Onboard Credit Promo Code: CHOO

Free Ultimate Dining Package Promo Code: CHOD

Free Ultimate Beverage Package: CHOB

Here is the setup for 4 people in a room on the Pearl. Since the Jewel is the same class as the Pearl, I assume they are similar. There aren't any rooms on the Pearl with 2 beds/2 bunks. Just the set up in the picture below. (I'm new to NCL and so just beginning to do research. So hopefully others will join in and give comments to make sure I am telling you correctly.)

Maggie

Here is the setup for 4 people in a room on the Pearl. Since the Jewel is the same class as the Pearl, I assume they are similar. There aren't any rooms on the Pearl with 2 beds/2 bunks. Just the set up in the picture below. (I'm new to NCL and so just beginning to do research. So hopefully others will join in and give comments to make sure I am telling you correctly.)

 

 

Maggie

THAT is good to know! thank you, since it is two couples this sleeping setup is interesting, not undoable (each pair of us can sleep on a twin bed, we have done it ;) ), but good to know as this is obviously not ideal. Thank you!

Here is the setup for 4 people in a room on the Pearl. Since the Jewel is the same class as the Pearl, I assume they are similar. There aren't any rooms on the Pearl with 2 beds/2 bunks. Just the set up in the picture below. (I'm new to NCL and so just beginning to do research. So hopefully others will join in and give comments to make sure I am telling you correctly.)

 

 

Maggie

WOW..thanks for the picture! I have always wondered about how an inside room can sleep 4 and about the layout. Now I know!

My only experience has been on the Star and in a suite.

We DID have to wait in the MDR at 5:30 for dinner. Did not like it one bit. We didn't get the same waiter.

We are traditional diners and still prefer that, but the rest of our group liked it.

As I said, we were in a suite and LOVED it, but our DS and DIL and infant were in an inside and it is the smallest inside I have ever seen. I assume OV's are not that much bigger.

That said, NCL has the greatest suite perks, and we love it. :)

Patti

For years, we sailed NCL and sometimes, RCCI (bigger staterooms) in a variety, sometimes 2 & occassionally 3 to a cabin, but never 4. With 4 adults, it will be tight but most importantly, you are on a cruise - key is bedding & bathroom, work out a system - get cozy, it will be fine. Not everyone can afford nor want to spend $$$ on an oversized suite or up. We sailed the Carnival Splendor & wow, all that extra room and it was 3 of us, SIL with her own comfortable sofa bed & plenty of room to spread out (and, it was a "regular" balcony) so I understand.

NCL ship in question & even the newer ship with "smaller" cabins have plenty of storage, experienced travelers can do it with a 22" carryon for a week+ and aside for ladies & extra shoes, rest of us can survive with fewer sets of different matching pieces, LOL. (OK, our nieces noticed the same ones being re-worn in our pix)

As for the beds, you can also do a U shape for the 3 beds for a bit more room to sit & stand, it's still wall-to-wall bedding and there are photos here - just Google it - for the Jewel class ship, it will definitely work. Stateroom stewards usually will do that upon request.

And, if you can get the 3rd & 4th free + taxes/fees only and UBP/soda, go for it or at least do a mock/courtesy booking to hold it for 24 hours while you decide - the promo supposed to last thru 2/28 but if the cabins are gone at the rates, costs will go up.

As for dining, NCL has plenty of tables for 4 and can seat you together easily, unless you wanted to share and meet "strangers" as friends for 7 nights. If you find a nice waiter/ress team, ask & you can "follow" them for the duration as look as they aren't being rotated into specialty $$ dining room. Just food for your thoughts.

THAT is good to know! thank you, since it is two couples this sleeping setup is interesting, not undoable (each pair of us can sleep on a twin bed, we have done it ;) ), but good to know as this is obviously not ideal. Thank you!

I have heard that you can ask the room steward to put the trundle bed in a U shaped position compared to the other beds. That might work better or worse for you, not sure. :)

I can't find a link to the picture but I saved it on my computer. I attached it here.

Also, there are other ships that do have the 2 upper/2 lower bed arrangement.

Maggie

I can't (or shouldn't) comment on the dining aspects, since I loathe assigned seating with other people and will.not.do.it. I wouldn't get the UBP anyway, so I haven't paid attention, but it looks like you have good advice from others.

Regarding the cabins and bathrooms, it depends on which NCL ship you're taking. I'm guessing it'll be the Star or the Jewel in your case. I think room, and even storage, might be tight for 4 adults who have a lot of stuff though storage is more than adequate for two. You're correct that Carnival cabins are a good bit larger in terms of actual room.

NCL bathrooms on those two ships in an oceanview cabin are three-piece affairs: a central (small) portion containing a sink, a side (tiny) portion containing a toilet with a door, and another side portion containing a large-enough shower. The shower is rectangular-shaped and quite long, as opposed to Carnival's more square shape. NCL's shower has a door, where most Carnival showers have plastic curtains. You could probably bend down in the NCL shower if you do it in the long part of the rectangle. As you know, you can easily bend over in Carnival showers because of the plastic curtain. As long as you don't mind your butt hanging out.

Probably more info than you ever wanted to know about cabin bathroom and showers, but I hope it helps.

I can't (or shouldn't) comment on the dining aspects, since I loathe assigned seating with other people and will.not.do.it. I wouldn't get the UBP anyway, so I haven't paid attention, but it looks like you have good advice from others.

 

Regarding the cabins and bathrooms, it depends on which NCL ship you're taking. I'm guessing it'll be the Star or the Jewel in your case. I think room, and even storage, might be tight for 4 adults who have a lot of stuff though storage is more than adequate for two. You're correct that Carnival cabins are a good bit larger in terms of actual room.

 

NCL bathrooms on those two ships in an oceanview cabin are three-piece affairs: a central (small) portion containing a sink, a side (tiny) portion containing a toilet with a door, and another side portion containing a large-enough shower. The shower is rectangular-shaped and quite long, as opposed to Carnival's more square shape. NCL's shower has a door, where most Carnival showers have plastic curtains. You could probably bend down in the NCL shower if you do it in the long part of the rectangle. As you know, you can easily bend over in Carnival showers because of the plastic curtain. As long as you don't mind your butt hanging out.

 

Probably more info than you ever wanted to know about cabin bathroom and showers, but I hope it helps.

No thank you, that is very helpful, we were pleasantly surprised at how roomy the Carnival showers were, So i wanted to get an idea of how they would compare, my boyfriend is a bigger guy and I don't want him to feel uncomfortable, he wont complain but I want him to be happy.

I didn't notice if someone had already mentioned that you can make reservations for the MDR now, either online prior to your cruise or onboard. We booked for 630 a few nights on our last cruise and never waited

I didn't notice if someone had already mentioned that you can make reservations for the MDR now, either online prior to your cruise or onboard. We booked for 630 a few nights on our last cruise and never waited

ok so if we wanted to eat at 7 every night we could set that up? Awesome another good thing to know, I'm glad you can do that online before hand :)

ok so if we wanted to eat at 7 every night we could set that up? Awesome another good thing to know, I'm glad you can do that online before hand :)

Yes, just book it through myncl online.

No thank you, that is very helpful, we were pleasantly surprised at how roomy the Carnival showers were, So i wanted to get an idea of how they would compare, my boyfriend is a bigger guy and I don't want him to feel uncomfortable, he wont complain but I want him to be happy.

I think your guy will be fine in the shower because they're almost as wide as a Carnival shower and much deeper, but the toilet area could be problematic. It's SO tiny. Photographs make it look a lot bigger than it actually is. I don't want to offend anybody's delicate sensibilities, but he'll probably be okay with the ummm...standing business, and maybe even the sitting business. The ummm...after business might be challenging, because the toilet closet is so very small. Sitting "sidesaddle" might help.