POLL: Freestyle Dining

[johnql]

I'm a huge fan of Freestyle dining. I wouldn't rule out a traditional cruise if the price and itinerary were right, but I check out NCL's sailings first. Love having a flexible schedule, don't like being "forced" to dress up if I'm not in the mood, love the selection of alternative dining venues (especially on the newer ships), and don't really care that much about the wait staff getting to know my dining idiosyncracies. I've had good luck for the most part with tablemates but not always.

[Flydude1063]

My wife and I love the freestyle concept. We wouldn't cruise any other way. I just find it baffling why anyone would want to have to dress in a suit and tie for dinner. I don't get that. And we are both very uncomfortable eating dinner with perfect strangers. So NCL is our only option, and we LOVE it!

[lastingtouch]

We too love it. We've been on 4 other lines and might never go back. The dressing up thing turns us off. We're on vacation and felt restricted to have to primp to go to dinner. Having the choice is important. If you feel like dressing up you can do that too. Having a romantic dinner for two is nice. Not having to ask 6 strangers to pass the butter, pass the salt, pass the bread, is heavenly! You can eat with strangers too if you like. I just hope we don't run out of Freestyle cruises!

[tupperstamper]

I really like the freestyle concept. That said though, how good it is really depends on the ship. For me I noticed it worked better on a newer ship(Sun) than on an older ship(Wind). There were more choices on the Sun and so there was less waiting.

[IrishKathy]

Our first dozen cruises were all traditional dining. I might be able to try that again but I would have to drag my DH kicking and screaming into the dining room. We both love freestyle but he doesn't want to EVER sail on a ship that doesn't have it. Nuff said.

 

Kathy

[Brad1185]

we tried it twice, and all came to the same conclusion. Freestyle does not work. Most people seem to want to dine around 6 or 8. We either went early or late and always had long waits. I would rather have a set time with a table waiting for me. Out of 25 cruises, by far the worst service on 2 of those cruises have been on NCL. Extremely hard to get an ice tea, and even harder to get a refill. I have never wanted to eat at 6 one night and 830 another, so whats the point of freestyle and all this waiting around.

[annie m]

My husband had been on a traditional cruise 15 years ago. When I said I wanted to go on a cruise 3 years ago he refused. He didn't like the whole assigned seating thing. I found the NCL Freestyle and he agreed to try it telling me if I was lying he was getting off the first port.:eek: Well we've been going every year now!!:)

[hotspur]

I have never wanted to eat at 6 one night and 830 another, so whats the point of freestyle and all this waiting around.

Perhaps others WOULD like "to eat at 6 one night and 8:30 another." THAT'S "the point of freestyle."

 

And if you read the other postings in this thread, few others reported having to "wait around."

[NJcruiser21]

we tried it twice, and all came to the same conclusion. Freestyle does not work. Most people seem to want to dine around 6 or 8. We either went early or late and always had long waits. I would rather have a set time with a table waiting for me. Out of 25 cruises, by far the worst service on 2 of those cruises have been on NCL. Extremely hard to get an ice tea, and even harder to get a refill. I have never wanted to eat at 6 one night and 830 another, so whats the point of freestyle and all this waiting around.

 

 

everyone is entitled to their opinion and since I have yet to try freestyle or traditional I can't really add to this thread. But I can say that freestyle seems like a much better idea than 'traditional' for a few simple reasons: 1) I do find that I eat dinner at 4 one day, and then the next at 6, and another day at 8 so I anticpate the same on a cruise especially when I want to shower and relax after a day of excursions or sight seeing. I don't want to be forced to be dressed up at a certain time 2) being able to choose if I want a large table or just a table for myself and my boyfriend makes me feel less weary of how others will respond to my "lifestyle" (there are some that I'm sure will be unwelcoming, but not many) 3) the choice of over 10 restaurants (on the newer ships) is just a great idea in my opinion. choice is never a bad thing.

 

I do anticipate on trying a Carnival cruise so once I try both I can honestly say which I enjoy, but as of now, being a first time cruiser I really think that freestyle fits what I'm looking for.

 

Tim :D

[smeyer418]

we tried it twice, and all came to the same conclusion. Freestyle does not work. Most people seem to want to dine around 6 or 8. We either went early or late and always had long waits. I would rather have a set time with a table waiting for me. Out of 25 cruises, by far the worst service on 2 of those cruises have been on NCL. Extremely hard to get an ice tea, and even harder to get a refill. I have never wanted to eat at 6 one night and 830 another, so whats the point of freestyle and all this waiting around.

You don't say which of NCL's ships. I have been on three. Two of which were not set up well for freestyle. The most we have ever waited was 10 minutes, Never been much of a problem. I have found sometimes even with set seatings it can take 10 minutes to get to your seat. There is no excuse for your ice tea not being filled and refilled. If that wasn't done I would have nicely raised it with the Maitre D. I only had bad service one dinner out of all the trips. You do need to tell the waiter every night what you are drinking but honestly that has never been a problem for me.

[BooBooMonkey]

Hi Dianne. Just noticed that you are in Hilliard. We are in Columbus (Galloway/New Rome area). Is USASA related to soccer? We have an 8 yos who will start playing (again) next month here.

 

We are considering a Thanksgiving or Christmas cruise later this year, and I am having a bit of trouble convincing myself to go back to a "traditional" cruiseline. Not too many NCL trips from FLA in the fall/winter, so we may not have too much choice (DH's parents in FL and we're planning a trip down for the Holidays).

 

Anyway...freestyle rules!

 

C

[pazooter]

We love being able to eat went we want and where we want. We usually arrive early when the dining room first opens and ask to be seated at a large table. This way we get to meet many other passengers who opt for the same.

Cathy

[98Charlie]

Is USASA related to soccer?

Nope. For more about ASA Click Here

 

Siemper Vigilantes,

 

Charlie

[WaldosPepper]

Charlie - thanks for that link! I have often wondered what your signature line meant! The link offered very interesting reading, and I learned a lot today!

 

 

So, Thank You - in more ways than one! (it need not be November for me to issue a thanks)

 

And, Semper Fidelis! ;)

 

Pepper

[mambopalace]

Freestyle dining was not for me, different waiter every night, slow service and I experienced a wait staff that really didn't care too much about the people they were serving. If you asked for steak sauce, or anything slightly out of the ordinary - it became a challenge for them. I recently sailed Carribean Princess - outstanding dining room service!

[richtersl]

Does anyone remember the time period leading up to NCL's implementation of Freestyle? These boards were in an uproar of complaints. Most were vowing never to cruise with NCL again...

 

Oh boy do I remember all the whining going on here about that! :p I wish CC would have been able to archive the old message board so that some of you newbies could see them.

 

Some folks still prefer the traditional dining and that's fine. :)

 

Like many others here, I don't know if I can go do that again. To be perfectly honest, I've done only one traditional cruise and it was on the Norway. We had early seating for dinner and boy, what a pain in the butt it was to rush back from an excursion to clean up and get dressed for dinner! :eek: Late dinner was not an option for us because eating at 8:00 PM did not appeal to us.

 

We experienced none of that rushing for dinner on our subsequent freestyle cruises. For us it felt more like a vacation: stay in port as long as possible, stroll back up to the cabin, take our time cleaning up and eventually stroll down to dinner some time before 7:00.

[Another ship trip]

Just got back from a Carnival cruise two weeks ago...Worst part was the assigned dining. Most everything else was fine. I only went to dinner 3-4 nights because I didn't want to eat at the assigned time. Princess also offers this too on some ships so I look at NCL and Princess first. Up until a few years ago this was not available so my first 10 cruises were always assigned dining. I hated rushing back from some ports just to be on time to eat. I don't want to rush to anything on a cruise--things should be on my time with the exception of scheduled shore excursions when I can't do what I want on my own!

[Thurston-Howell-3]

My wife and I love the freestyle concept. We wouldn't cruise any other way. I just find it baffling why anyone would want to have to dress in a suit and tie for dinner. I don't get that. And we are both very uncomfortable eating dinner with perfect strangers. So NCL is our only option,

People who prefer traditional dining enjoy making the evening meal an occasion worthy of dressing properly. For some, a sense of occasion at dinner provides an appropriate and appreciated conclusion to the day's activities.

As for "eating dinner with perfect strangers" -- unless you are anti-social, your table companions should quickly become enjoyable dinner acquaintances and, with any luck at all, you will find among your tablemates a couple (or more) with whom you become fast friends. That has been my happy experience on other cruise lines since the 1950s. However, it would appear that, for younger generations, Freestyle may be a more comfortable alternative - and NCL's larger ships provide that option with admirable style.

[dd4iu]

Freestyle and would have a difficult time doing it any other way now. I'd probably skip dinner a few nights. I have sailed on two NCL ships and never had to wait for dinner at all. With all of the evening activities, and the fact that I like to sit out and watch the sunset every night, I would hate having to eat at a specific time. I love all the options available....fish and chips,Tex-Mex, French, Fusion, Steakhouse, buffet, two traditional dining rooms and more. I can't eat huge big production dinners every night... I don't mind the dressing up, actually I often dressed ( not formal, but dressy) just because I wanted to. I like being able to eat alone if I want or with a group if I want. On my two traditional cruises, one I had great table mates and the other, unfortunately, we struggled to find areas to talk about and just looked forward to the meal being over. We also thought all of the staff at NCL were great and had excellent service every single night.

[morningglorymish]

My husband would never agree to go on a cruise if he had to wear a jacket every night. Nor would my son.That is not a vacation. NCL tapped a group of people who had otherwise not been cruising.Now you have many more families cruising. This was our first cruise and it was freestyle. We loved it and thanks to freestyle we were able to cruise.

[newmexicoNita]

People who prefer traditional dining enjoy making the evening meal an occasion worthy of dressing properly. For some, a sense of occasion at dinner provides an appropriate and appreciated conclusion to the day's activities.

As for "eating dinner with perfect strangers" -- unless you are anti-social, your table companions should quickly become enjoyable dinner acquaintances and, with any luck at all, you will find among your tablemates a couple (or more) with whom you become fast friends. That has been my happy experience on other cruise lines since the 1950s. However, it would appear that, for younger generations, Freestyle may be a more comfortable alternative - and NCL's larger ships provide that option with admirable style.

Have to disagree a bit on the table mate situation. We are far from anti social and have had some great table companions; never any that have become life long friends, but pleasant, we have also had some that were less than cool. One couple and their 2 teen age kids spoke a total of maybe 200 words the entire week. We would ask, what we thought were open ended questions, they still found a way to make the answer 1 or 2 words. They weren't rude, did not display bad manners or anything like that, just very shy I guess: another time it was a party of 4 and us. they were good friends, the one gal, very demanding, letting the wait person know the first night, that if she didn't have tabasco sause waiting for her every night his tip would suffer; the other 3 were having such a wonderful time visiting with each other they forgot we were at the table. And the third example was a table of 8: 3 sisters celebrating a 50th BD, my two adult daughters, myself and a very nice couple from Swedon, she didn't speak English and he spoke very little; the 3 sisters seemed to think the dinner table was the place to argue and that they did. It was only a 4 day cruise, thank goodness and we did have an interesting experience; we still talk about the sisters from time to time. Actually we have met more people we have kept in contact with since the invention of freestyle. NMnita

[LUCY55]

I think that the success of freestyle depends on the passenger mix of that particular cruise. I think that our cruise had alot of midwesterner family groups (springbreak) that liked to go to dinner early. This made it harder to get larger tables at around 6 o'clock. Other cruises with possibly the east coast crowd or European groups might prefer later seatings and then waits are more likely later. Freestyle worked for us but I think we got lucky a few times--once we got the last table available for eight in both the dining rooms. When you read reviews on this site you realize how varied people's experiences (and therefore opinions) are.

[lovemylife]

We never ate at the same time and never waited very long. We were a party of 5, some nights 3 (if the kids went to kids club early) we were only asked to share a table once, but then a table of our size opened up. I loved the beepers, I think we were only the second sailing to use them, and it worked very well for us. My dh, bless his heart, was always ready and willing to go down to the dining room, swipe his card, and pick up our beeper. (this was necessary every night of our 5-night cruise, except the first night, when the dining room was nearly empty at 5:30, we had a waiter all to ourselves, he was very chatty, and sweet to the kids.)

We had very good service, comment cards are tied to promotions, according to our chatty waiter, so although your waiter may not be working for tips, they still care that your meal is enjoyable. We were served all courses promptly, and our water and iced tea glasses were always full. They also served the kids early, and brought my son sliced strawberries or a sliced banana, although the kids menu only offers a mixed fruit plate.

 

The only exception was our last night, we sat often looking at dirty dishes, and waited and waited for water refills and dessert menus. When the assistant maitre'd stopped by to chat, voila, our service improved greatly.

I loved going to dinner when we were ready, without worrying about arriving at a specified time, I'm on vacation, I do enough rushing from here to there at home.

[logcabin]

We have been on several "traditional" cruises with Carnival and RCCL. Always had wonderful table mates. Especially on the RCCL cruise. So much so that our entire table was invited to have dinner with the Captain one evening. Last year we went on the Dawn. Wow! Did we enjoy the Freestyle. We don't eat during peak times. We always ate around 8:30 after the sun went down and NEVER had to wait for a table. It was great to eat whenever we wanted at whatever place we wanted. My wife and I greatly enjoy dinner for two and enjoy each others company (I say that as many hausbands and wifes don't enjoy each others company). As far as having the same server, we enjoyed Impressions the most and ate there most often. Whenever we did, we asked for a certian server and was always given him. He knew us, knew what we liked to drink, etc. We dressed each evening and especially on formal night as we enjoy dressing up. We enjoyed our Dawn cruise so much last year that we are going again this June and staying in the same exact suite that we had last year. We can't wait. My wife and I aren't sure if we would enjoy "traditional" dinning again.

[SueSea]

Can you eat lobster and filet every night? Yes.

 

Please tell me more about how to get lobster & filet every night!

 

But really what is not to like? You choose what you want. In traditionall dining someone else chooses what you will have.

 

I posted that I neither like nor dislike Freestyle because there are some things I like about it and some that I don't. I like being able to eat in the regular dining room if I elect not to dress on formal night. I like being able to pick my own dining time. I miss builidng a raport with a regular waitstaff. I don't like the fact that with no set end time, the time spent at dinner can vary greatly from night to night resulting in missed shows, etc. And while I do like meeting new people, I have enough opportunity at breakfast, lunch and various activities during the day. At dinner it's nice not having to do the "where are you from, what do you do" thing every night. Dining with the same folks allows you to get to know each other a bit more, usually resulting in more stimulating conversation.