POLL: Freestyle Dining

[FLACRUISER99]

Sorry if this has been answered before -

 

Do all the restaurants allow casual clothing? If not, is the casual wear only for the buffet area like on Carnival? Can you get a steak or lobster dressed casually?

 

Not sure I get the idea of freestyle dining. Carnival always has food available in the buffet area whenever you fell like eating - is this how it is on NCL? Is everything buffet style?

Do all the restaurants allow casual clothing? YES

Can you get a steak or lobster dressed casually? YES

Is everything buffet style? No it's Just like going to a land restaurant. Get seated,order from menu and enjoy.

 

All things being equal we NCL is my first choice in cruise lines.

[piediscalzo]

Just back from ouir first NCL freestyle cruise. BIG NEGATIVE was we waited an hour EVERY night for dinner. We started with a group of 18 at two side by side tables. We gave up on that after 2 nights. Then we split into 2 or 3 tables spread apart form each other for a couple of nights. By the end of the week we were all eating in groups of 2 to 4 in which ever restaurant we could get into, which was still about an hour wait. The good thing was the people who were ready for dinner first were still waiting for their table when us less punctual people straggled in and we got to visit in the waiting areas. Because my sister was with toddlers, they got great reception from some staff and rather rude form others. They had to eat when the babies were hungry so they eventually had to resort to waiting by the dining rooms when they opened so that they could be seated in a reasonable amount of time. Even that wasn't terribly smooth. With traditional dining we could have wandered directly to our table and eliminated the hostess element of being seated and we could have had a wait staff who realized that we tipped every night for the extra effort required in cleaning up after three babies. Another BIG AGGRAVATION wa that we missed all but one show because with the long wait we were never out of dinner in time to get to the entertainment. Arriving in the dining room for 7:00 pm did not get us out in time for a 9:30 show. That being said, I have heard the Dream is exceptionally bad for Freestyle dining so I would try it again on another ship. We were also sailing at full occupancy (but that is not terribly odd from NO) so maybe it would not be so bad with a less full ship. I would have been miserable trying to get to dinner at 5:30 every night. With Freestyle we were able to sit with half our group one night for dinner and the other half for dessert a couple of hours later. The different dining rooms were nice for a change of scenery but I still like how Disney offers this the best. One thing I hated more than missing shows for freestyle dining was the way RCL did the show for late seating before dinner. I absolutely hated that. If we went to the show at all we didn't have much time to get ready for dinner and it kind of took away the sense of getting ready for a night out. We missed most shows on RCL too. I hate having to be dressed and ready for a night out at 5:00 Taht's why we always choose late seating.

As far as dress code we dressed no different for NCL than any other cruise we've been on. This also seemed the same for the people around us. In your documents they say no jeans or T shirts in the dining room for dinner. Since this is not enforced in any way, there may have been more jeans than previous cruises and there is only one truly designated formal night but most everyone seemed to participate and you weren't supposed to go in the dining rooms if you were dressed casually. This also is not enforced in any way but I've never seen it enforced on any other ship either. As far as a tux is concerned, I saw a few but not really less than any other cruise. Formal doesn't mean what it used to. Personally as long as I can get dressed up if I want to and feel comfortable I don't much care if everyone is in gowns and tuxes or not. On formal night on NCL I would have been just as uncomfortable if I wasn't in formal clothes as on any other ship.

Now, Freestyle disembarkation... WHY on EARTH doesn't everyone do that???? It's crazy that the other companies haven't made disembarkation easier. It was wonderful compared to having to be out in the common areas first thing in the morning. We even lingered a little to enjoy our last breakfast together (well sort of).

[BettyB2]

I have only cruised once with our second one planned and after reading this thread I do like the idea of freestyle dining. Early seating for our group of 38 (ages 33-80) worked well on most nights and the food was FABULOUS..but on port days we would find many that could not make it in time. Like the idea of being able to eat at 5 -6-7-8-9 ish....very nice.:) I did not vote because I have never tried it, but would hate to have to wait an hour for dinner if I was hungry:p

[Brad1185]

I guess the people here who like freestyle dining, like waiting for dinner. Personally I like set times, where I can come to dinner 615 with my table awaiting and an ice tea already there, unlike NCL where it is next to impossible to get one.

[hotspur]

I guess the people here who like freestyle dining, like waiting for dinner. Personally I like set times, where I can come to dinner 615 with my table awaiting and an ice tea already there, unlike NCL where it is next to impossible to get one.

Few people here have reported having to wait for a table. And I'm perfectly capable of asking for an iced tea if I want one.

 

Not being compelled to eat every night at 6:15 is a marvelous benefit of freestyle.

[98Charlie]

5 NCL Cruises in the pas 26 months and never had to wait on a table more than 10 minutes. It's only the two of us and we don't mind sharing tables.

 

Like hotspur, it's great to just go to dinner. As far as iced tea with the meal or coffee after, I ask.

 

Freestyle is not for everyone. It's not for us for every cruise. When we go NCL we enjoy it.

 

Charlie

[Brad1185]

You can ask for ice tea all you want, like I did, and asked and asked and very few times I got one, and when I did, a refill was even harder to get. If you only had to wait ten minutes, good for you, beats 45 to an hour.

[98Charlie]

You can ask for ice tea all you want, like I did, and asked and asked and very few times I got one, and when I did, a refill was even harder to get. If you only had to wait ten minutes, good for you, beats 45 to an hour.

I guess it is just our experience but never had to wait for seating and only one time when the service was slow. I too would be discouraged waiting for an hour for a table.

 

Charlie

[marlar]

Just returned from the Spirit. Loved freestyle. Didn't have to wait. Granted we did have reservations every night at the specialty restaurants. Food was excellent. Service was excellent. Le Bistro the best. Have to have the chocolate fondue!:)

[SCDockman]

We really enjoyed the option of doing what you wanted to do and not being tied to a schedule. However, it was our first cruise, so my opinion could be called biased. However, we got to eat in each of the main dining rooms (the menus are the same in each, though they change daily) at different times; sometimes alone, sometimes with friends and once we joined the couple waiting in line behind us. You can try different rooms and times to find out what you're more comfortable with. I ate with friends in Le Bistro one night and was so impressed with the food and service that I went back later in the week to enjoy it again (it was DEFINITELY worth the extra cover charge). My wife and I opted to go to the formal night and enjoyed dressing up and pretending we were rich for a night. I was impressed enough with the food/selection that I sought out the head chef and commended him on the last day. They (the service staff) all seemed to work hard and genuinely cared about their jobs. Just take a few seconds and ask them about themselves/where they're from/what brought them there and you'll be amazed how they brighten up. Made things really enjoyable all week.