Royal Caribbean Copies Freestyle

[SeaShark]

You gotta love the RCCL loyalists spending their time on the NCL forums...they are certainly amusing...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the fun diversion...

[barnacle_boy]

Well, if we're going to be fussy, "Freestyle" didn't really originate with NCL either. It had been used earlier by Star Cruises to accommodate Chinese behaviors and preferences. When they bought them in 2000, Star simply brought the concept of having many different dining venues with no set times over by transferring several Star newbuilds (what would eventually become Norwegian Star and Norwegian Dawn) over to NCL.

[juksing]

True...but you're missing the point. Nobody is saying that one cruise line doesn't copy from another, the problem with imitation arises when you copy what someone else does, but then you try to pass it off as an original idea using terms like "revolutionary", "ground-breaking", and "never before seen at sea".

 

It is all marketing mumbo jumbo. If u feel RCI does it too much compared to NCL that I take your point, as I have noticed that RCI does seem more boisterous in the way they market. Well, I will do my research, trolling the forums and make my own opinion.

 

I may be wrong in assuming but it seems frog and shark have been doing this dance many times before between their respective cruise lines...

[Aquahound]

Now you must be kidding, right? Can you show me where I said NCL does not copy others? (or is that something that you're trying to infer?)

 

One does not need to infer when you flat out said it. You said it right here.

 

NCL isn't copying what RCCL does....and NCL posters aren't hanging out on the RCCL forum trying to sell NCL.

 

I can think of at least 4 things NCL has recently copied from RCI, not to mention what they copied from Carnival and Princess.

[swedish weave]

 

I can think of at least 4 things NCL has recently copied from RCI, not to mention what they copied from Carnival and Princess.

 

Can you enlighten the rest of us with your findings ? What specifically did NCL copy from each line ?

[graphicguy]

RCCL boards seem to be much more critical of the decision for Royal's new ships to emulate Freestyle (to the point where many say they won't cruise Royal again). Yet here, in an NCL thread, there's the opposite from the Royal folks. Not sure I get that.

[Aquahound]

Can you enlighten the rest of us with your findings ? What specifically did NCL copy from each line ?

 

Well, starting with RCI, they copied the Quest, the Married/Not Married show, the ability to reserve show times, the rock wall and their failed attempt at a ice rink. I'm sure there's more, but that's all that comes to mind right now.

 

As already mentioned, the ropes course and large screens were also a copy.

 

To be clear, I don't see it as a bad thing and I am not bashing NCL for it. I'm just debating the person who knows no other cruise line and said NCL doesn't copy RCI.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Aquahound

[kdzkatz]

I enjoy pizza. I could eat it everyday. I don't but I could. Since our one and only cruise ever on RCCL they have set the bar....the low bar for pizza. It was hands down the absolute worst pizza I have ever had. So RCCL is certainly the best at making the worst pizza in the world! :roll eyes:

 

P.S. Thanks for making us sit with a bunch of snobs if we wanted to the honor of eating in your MDR instead of with the nice people we met during the cruise. I think their motto could read, "RCCL, for pretentious snobs or those that want to learn to become one"

[kdzkatz]

Youre kidding, right?

• RCI AOS MTD food served piping hot every time. Excellent food. Excellent service. Food served across a four hour service.
  
• NCL Spirit food served cold/warm and dried out every time. Was an effort to get water/bread/drinks/menu/starters etc
  

I would say the AOS MTD works more like a restaurant, with the Spirit food all prepared in one great big batch and kept under a lamp.

 

 

Froggit....I have an answer for you.....don't cruise NCL...we won't miss you.

[KeithJenner]

Dynamic dining is without question revolutionary. If blows NCL freestyle dining out of the water. On NCL you eat off ONE MENU any tiem you want on a single day, or pay an upcharge. On RCCL you can now select any number of FREE restaurants each with a unique menu INCLUDED in the price, or pay extra to go to any number of other included places to eat.

 

 

I don't really want to get into this particular p***ing contest. I'm happy with NCL, and am also happy if other prefer RCI, but just have to say this.

 

You posted earlier that Dynamic Dining was better than Freestyle because the free venues apparently had a varying menu each night. If that had been the case then I would have agreed that is significantly more than NCL offers as inclusive options.

 

However, it's been pointed out that this isn't the case. The RCI included options seem to have a fixed menu which doesn't change each night.

 

What we do have instead is, on one hand 4 restaurants with a fixed menu, and on the other hand two restaurants with daily changing items. I don't see how either of those is obviously better than the other. As an observer, I don't see anything about that difference which is "without a question revolutionary". The result for the customer sounds very similar to me.

 

 

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[swedish weave]

We sailed AOS in the summer and Spirit in the winter this year.

 

Service/staff on AOS was lightyears more superior than Spirit.

 

Don't most of the cruise lines staff their newer ships with their more experienced people ?

 

Assuming AOS means Allure it entered service in 2010 while the Spirit entered service in 1998 with Star cruises and transferred to NCL in 2004.

 

Perhaps a better comparison would ships nearer the same age.

[Aquahound]

What is the Married/Not Married Show? I don't recall ever seeing that.

 

And...who is this person who you claim "knows no other cruise line"? How do you know that to be a fact?

 

It was their version of RCI's Love and Marriage show (like the Newlywed Game). Married/Not Married was what it was called on Sky and Dawn.

 

And let's stop with the games, alright? I don't even need to refer to your signature. Your inability to acknowledge anything good beyond NCL speaks volumes. If you tried not being married to one cruise line, you might find there's a lot you've been missing.

[cruzfitter]

Freestyle on NCL is about a dang sight more than dining.

 

I would love for you to explain this statement.

[KeithJenner]

Don't most of the cruise lines staff their newer ships with their more experienced people ?

 

 

 

Assuming AOS means Allure it entered service in 2010 while the Spirit entered service in 1998 with Star cruises and transferred to NCL in 2004.

 

 

 

Perhaps a better comparison would ships nearer the same age.

 

 

I'm going on the Spirit in a couple of weeks and have been keeping an eye on comments about it for a while. It does seem that the are some particular issues with the MDR on the Spirit, for whatever reason. There has been quite a bit of speculation about why this may be, but it does seem that the MDR food/service gets more criticism on the Spirit lately than on other ships.

 

 

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[swedish weave]

Youre kidding, right?

• RCI AOS MTD food served piping hot every time. Excellent food. Excellent service. Food served across a four hour service.
  
• NCL Spirit food served cold/warm and dried out every time. Was an effort to get water/bread/drinks/menu/starters etc
  

I would say the AOS MTD works more like a restaurant, with the Spirit food all prepared in one great big batch and kept under a lamp.

 

A little knowledge of the kitchen operation of ANY cruise line would correct your misconceptions. Keep in mind that ALL cruise lines have government imposed rules and regulations they must comply with and ALL are subject to unannounced inspections at any time.

Edited March 30, 2014 by swedish weave

[cruzfitter]

Not in the least. Always pushing style over substance (IOW "wow"), RCCL has a long history of trying to copy and one-up what NCL does. And its a practice they'll continue as long as their customer base continues to buy their "innovations".

 

I'll try this again. Care to elaborate?

[Stillfloatin']

I obviously love NCL and Freestyle, but I gotta admit, looking at the menu selections on RCCL sure got my mouth watering. They seem to offer a lot of yummy choices. If it makes NCL up their MDR game, we all win. :)

[bingo3]

I know. Its just a fun diversion. Sort of like using the beam of the flashlight to make the cat chase the light....even if he catches it, he still looks funny.

 

 

All one has to do is watch their behavior. RCCL spends a lot of time copying what NCL does. The RCCL posters are here on the NCL board trying to convince us that RCCL is somehow the best thats out there.

 

NCL isn't copying what RCCL does....and NCL posters aren't hanging out on the RCCL forum trying to sell NCL.

 

Their actions speak volumes over their words.

 

Honestly, until you try another line, you really can't compare them.....It doesn't appear you have ever sailed anyone but NCL by the sailings you have posted, so naturally you will be taking up for them, and that is fine, but you can't bemoan those who like things about other lines just because you don't. I have sailed others and all have their pros and cons, all have differences; some liked, some not. Same with NCL. No line is perfect....not even NCL. :) By the way, judging by ratings, perhaps NCL should do some mega ship copying..... JMHO, which is worth as much as anyone else's opinion...:D

[barnacle_boy]

That is true, but actually Freestyle is just how we live our lives each and every day...only on a cruise ship. It was never an orginal idea, NCL was just the first to do it on a ship.

 

Star merely adopted the same multi-restaurant concept that was in use at land based resorts also owned by parent Genting Group. Still, if we want to be picky, Star had Freestyle long before the transfer of Superstar Libra and Scorpio (Norwegian Star and Dawn).

 

Actually, a lot of the "innovations" of recent years predate RCI and NCL by half a century. The original shipboard specialty restaurant was the Ritz-Carlton Restaurant aboard HAPAG's SS Amerika in 1905. Although many know that RCI's Royal Promenade was copied from Silja Serenade, few remember SS L'Atlantique. Built in the 1930's, she too had a long central corridor several decks high with not only a large number of shops, but also a full-size car on display as well! NCL advertised Pearl as having the first bowling alley at sea, and RCI similarly advertised Oasis as having the first carousel at sea, but few modern cruise enthusiasts remember that both amenities could be found upon French Line's Ile de France in 1927.

 

Essentially, there's nothing really new under the sun, only re-introductions and refinements. I embrace the widespread mutual borrowing because it typically leads to these more refined products that ultimately provide a better cruising experience :) I'm a diehard NCL fan, but I do enjoy cruising on RCI too, and I'm really looking forward to trying RCI's take on Freestyle on my Quantum sailing later this year. If it works out, hopefully NCL will take notes!

[KeithJenner]

This thread really does nobody any credit.

 

The fact is that RCI are introducing something which is, for whatever reason, similar to Freestyle. Some aspects may be better, some not as good. It doesn't seem, in my opinion, to be a massive improvement on what NCL offer.

 

What it does seem to me to demonstrate is the continued movement, especially with the bigger ships, away from traditional cruise dining. I feel for those who enjoy that, but I think that over time they are going to have to learn to live with it or accept that they need to spend more money for the more expensive lines.

 

Is this a good thing? As someone who was put off of cruising for years by the idea of traditional dining the I would with reservation say yes. I just hope that those who want other options are able to get them for as long as possible.

 

As for all this "my cruise line is better than yours" nonsense. There are some differences between them all and, as with so many things, we have our preferences. What that means is that your preference fits best for you. It doesn't mean that your preference is inherently better, or that others are wrong for not having the same preference. Not understanding that seems to cause some people a lot of grief.

 

 

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[Dave85]

I obviously love NCL and Freestyle' date=' but I gotta admit, looking at the menu selections on RCCL sure got my mouth watering. They seem to offer a lot of yummy choices. If it makes NCL up their MDR game, we all win. :)[/quote']

 

With the express caveat that I haven't tried either (Breakaway later this year and Quantum isn't sailing yet), I agree that the RCI dynamic menus look better on paper than the Breakaway menus. I made the mistake of reading them right before dinner time and my mouth was literally watering.

 

That said, after my upcoming May cruise my next two will be Breakaway and Quantum, so I'll be very excited to compare the two similar concepts!

[swedish weave]

This discussion about reading the menus reminds me of my early days of cruising on Sitmar.

 

One item on the menu looked very appealing, but I didn't know what it was, so I asked the waiter what it was.

 

He wrinkled up his nose and said in his heavy accent "MEAT LOAF" .

 

That has had a lasting impact on my impression of items on menus !!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

To be honest, my first cruise was NCL a few years ago and I've only ever sailed NCL...

 

I've never known anything other than Freestyle... I thought about trying RCL to try Oasis or Allure of the seas... but when I heard about "traditional dining", I decided against it. I don't want to eat at a set time with people I don't know.... What if I miss dinner or something, do I not get to eat that evening?

 

It sounds like you are looking for a reason to stay with NCL which is just fine.

 

There are many people that have great cruises on a certain cruise line and don't want to spend their hard earned money on an unknown cruise line.

 

Making a statement like "do i not get to eat that night"? looks like you really didn't read anything about the RCI ship.

 

Bill

[Aquahound]

With the express caveat that I haven't tried either (Breakaway later this year and Quantum isn't sailing yet), I agree that the RCI dynamic menus look better on paper than the Breakaway menus. I made the mistake of reading them right before dinner time and my mouth was literally watering.

 

That said, after my upcoming May cruise my next two will be Breakaway and Quantum, so I'll be very excited to compare the two similar concepts!

 

I currently have no plans to cruise Quantum. This whole Dynamic Dining thing is something I'd prefer to just wait and see how it plays out. To me, it looks like a cross between NCL and Disney. Time will tell if it's popular and if it becomes a fleet wide thing on RCI. But I do agree the menus look better and the presentation in that promo was interesting.

 

What does make me optimistic is the fact they hired 3 renowned chefs to create the menus. They're hosting an event sometime soon in New York to showcase the dinners.

 

Maybe when Anthem comes to Florida late next year I'll give it a try, but until then, I'll just rely on the reviews.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Aquahound

[SpencerNY1]

Can you enlighten the rest of us with your findings ? What specifically did NCL copy from each line ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch NCL undercover boss. They tried fake ice skating on rubber mats with ky jelly squirt all over it, rock climbing wall, leveling pool table. From carnival the rope course. From Princess the movie screen. Freestyle cruising was actually an expanded version of Princess cruises personal choice dining. Whatever they all copy benefits us the consumers. People seem so heated on these topics I personally will continue to go on any cruise ship over any land based vacations.