When Does the "Freestyle" Begin?

[JC5240]

I just returned from the Breakaway this past Sunday, and the only things that we reserved were the specialty restaurants and Rock of Ages.

 

When we got on board, we did reserve the Comedy Club (Second City) as well as Escape the Big Top (which was AWESOME!!!). Other than that, we pretty much just decided as we went what we wanted to do/eat, and it really wasn't that bad. Before we got ready for dinner, we'd ask how long the wait would be, and if it was over 30 minutes, we'd take a buzzer to our room and get ready (they say they don't really work throughout the ship...but ours did. Maybe because our cabin was Aft [Deck 14]).

 

I think you'll see that now that the reservations are out of the way, it'll become freestyle for you. You have the option to switch things around once on board, and if you see something during the day that conflicts with a reservation time, they'll gladly move you around. It'll become harder as the week goes on to move specialty restaurants around though, as everyone is trying to get into them by the end of the week.

 

You may feel as though you're strapped to a schedule with everything that you scheduled, but once on board -- the choices are yours as to if you want to stick to it. That's the beauty of freestyle. Schedule dinner at 6, but you're not hungry, or you want to participate in a trivia game? No problem -- switch it to a later time. The choices really are yours!

 

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you enjoy your cruise!!! NCL is the best <3

[Travel R]

Thanks again for your responses.

 

I am going to add one more fact into my initial question to see if it makes a difference to anyone's suggestions. For the upcoming voyage, we will be sailing in a region which is very port-heavy (which we had not visited before). For some of these ports we are taking tours (private and NCL) in which the tours are literally 8-10 hours in length.

 

Thanks,

 

Travel R

[Bootman4U]

Perhaps "the thing" you should have reserved: a Haven cabin. You are making this MUCH MORE complicated than it should be. I do hope your distaste for waiting in line for anything does not mean you are a chair hog.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Thanks again for your responses.

 

I am going to add one more fact into my initial question to see if it makes a difference to anyone's suggestions. For the upcoming voyage, we will be sailing in a region which is very port-heavy (which we had not visited before). For some of these ports we are taking tours (private and NCL) in which the tours are literally 8-10 hours in length.

 

Thanks,

 

Travel R

 

Everyone else on the cruise will have the same situation. If you were on a land vacation with tons of activities and tours, you'd still need reservations for dinners unless you went to fast food. Same with NCL--if you don't want to make dinner reservations then go to one of the MDRs, O'Sheehan's, or the buffet. Honestly, it's not that hard. I've been on a couple port-intensive cruises with NCL and it worked fine. On one of them I had the Ultimate Dining Package (where you dine in specialties every night) so I had to make reservations for every single night of the cruise; it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the cruise or make me feel like I was tied down at all. It's easier than on cruise lines where you have set dining. If you have early dining at 6:00 (or whatever time it is--it's been several cruises since I sailed on a line with fixed times) and you're in port until 8:00, then you have to be back early to eat on board at your assigned time or miss out on dinner on the ship. With NCL you can make a late dinner reservation. Simple.

 

You've got your reservations made, now go and enjoy your cruise! :D

[Travel R]

Perhaps "the thing" you should have reserved: a Haven cabin. You are making this MUCH MORE complicated than it should be. I do hope your distaste for waiting in line for anything does not mean you are a chair hog.

 

Chair Hog? Chair Hog? That's one of the most insulting terms on Cruise Critic. But, I see you wrote this at 4:30 AM, so I guess it was before your first cup of coffee, or maybe it is your love of theater that provided the motive to be dramatic - OR - maybe you are offering to pay for our upgrade to to the HAVEN (if so - thank you!!!!).

[Reesesinmiami]

This is not a complaint, but as a virgin NCLer (first one in one month), it seems like in order to be freestyle you need to make a lot of reservations first. We will be on the Getaway for 9 nights, so there are a lot of reservations to make.

 

 

 

Pre-Cruise

 

 

 

• 
   
  
• Make reservations for specialty dining
   
  
• Make reservations for non-specialty dining
   
  
• Make reservations for Million Dollar Quartet
   
  
• Make reservations for Burn the Floor
   
  
• Make reservations for the Cirque Dreams and Steam
   
  
• Rearrange reservations for Burn the Floor, since the reservations for the Cirque show did not open until a few days after the rest of the reservations first were available
   
  

 

As I understand it, I still need to show up at least a half an hour before the shows or else wind up with poor seats or with limited visibility seats.

 

 

 

I am aware that I do not need to make reservations for the dining options before-hand, but having to wait in line, even 15-20 minutes, does not seem life free-style to me, but wasting time. Not to mention that I have to get the times to sync up with the shows and other events.

 

 

 

At beginning of cruise

 

 

 

• 
   
  
• Reserve comedy shows
   
  
• Reserve Escape the Big Top (which I have to be on the lookout for)
   
  

 

And I still have to get to these shows at least 30 minutes early.

 

 

 

I am sure that once I make these final reservations I can put the brain on autopilot and not have to think about anything administrative. But it just seems silly to call this "free-style" with having to pre-reserve everything.

 

 

 

Is there anything else I need to reserve?

 

 

 

• 
   
  
• We are not doing the Wine Lovers Show
   
  
• Excursions are booked
   
  
• Reserved the drink package
   
  
• Online check-in finished this weekend
   
  
• DW is reserving any spa treatments (for herself/DDs)
   
  
• Not purchasing any of the misc. "gift" items
   
  

 

I have done the My-Time dining on RCI - is there any real difference between RCI and NCL freestyle besides the lack of a dressing formal once or twice and a lobster night?

 

 

 

With all of the above being said, I know we will have a great cruise, regardless of anything. We had been on one that went through a hurricane (120 mph winds, 24+ foot swells) where the upper deck was closed for two days, and maybe two hours of sunshine the entire cruise, we still had a great time.

 

 

 

The reason I am posting is to ask all of the expert veterans on this board if there is anything else I need to do before or as soon as I get onto the ship so I can ensure that I have a great cruise (and do not need to think of anything administrative).

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

 

 

Travel R

 

 

 

I've been on a few NCL cruises and I've never made reservations prior to arriving on the ship and have never encountered any issues or a long wait anywhere. Just got back in fact from the 11-day British Isles cruise on the Jade and we made our specialty dining reservations while on the ship.

 

 

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[fshagan]

You can easily go on Getaway and do and see everything you want with minimal waits and without making reservations. Part of "freestyle" is that you choose to make the reservations.

 

That was our experience on Epic too. We actually made a reservation for Blue Man Group, but missed that night. We went three other times and got a seat. We never had a problem for any of the other shows.

 

We did reserve for specialty dining.

 

Some people like to plan, and some don't. You can choose either way.

[Aquahound]

When I return from the cruise, I'll come back to this thread to express my first-hand impressions of NCL's freestyle concept - and if I believe all of the pre-registering was worth it or not.

 

Despite some of the nonchalant posts here, you did good by making reservations. On Escape, I tried "freestyling" my way into a couple specialty restaurants during the cruise with no luck. They were full. The only way I would have gotten in without a reservation was if I waited until almost closing time.

[Travel R]

I have returned from the cruise.

 

First, let me state that I am EXTREMELY HAPPY that I made as many reservations in advance as I could.

 

When many people provide comments on Cruise Critic, they do not always take into account the information provided before them, and will just give their opinions based on their own circumstances (I especially love the posts that start with "I have never been on that ship, but . . . . . .). Well, I think this was the case for many of the above responses. Although genuinely provided to help, they lacked context to the question (and there were some that were just being trolls).

 

 

• If this was an itinerary I had done before, I can understand the lack of need for reservations.
  
• If this was not a very port-intensive itinerary (having previously been on a Med cruise, the Baltic itinerary was even worse), I can see where reservations would not have been needed.
  
• If I had not been travelling with a teen and a tween, reservations also may not be as important.
  
• If this were not a ship/cruise line that I had not tried before (and wanted to try experience the various entertainment options), I can see validity in reservations not being as important.
  

However . . . . .

 

Some of days were long. How long? In Saint Petersburg (SPB), we had to meet up with the people from our tour group at 7:15 AM, and on the first day did not get back to the ship until almost 6 PM (we got back at 5 on the second day). Even a less-intensive city as Stockholm had us meet at 7:45, and we did not get back to the ship until 4 PM. Try having your teen and tween wait to eat dinner after 8 to 11 hours of touring (and the adults were hungry as well). Even on the days that did not last so long, having something reserved provided us with the comfort that we did not have to wait that long to eat after returning to the ship.

 

It's a lot different than something like the Caribbean where you may have a 10 AM excursion for two or three hours (or no excursion at all), back on the ship by 2 or 3, and lounging out by the pool, sipping some fruity drink, until someone says they are hungry. Let's be honest, for some of the Caribbean islands, there is not much to do, especially if you have visited those islands before, so relaxation takes precedent over reservations.

 

Besides my own schedule (the schedule of myself and my DW) to contend with, I also had to deal with the schedules of my teen and tween. They both were very active with their friends in the kid/teen clubs, which also had their own scheduled activities. By setting a schedule, especially for dinner on the two sea days, it provided a hard-lined rule for everyone to go by.

 

This was my first time on the Getaway, and my first time on NCL. There were a number of entertainment options that we wanted to experience. In order to ensure that we could see them, and they did not conflict with other shows/activities/excursions, obtaining reservations was the most logical way of scheduling our time and allowing us to make the most of all the options available. We do not cruise all the time, so we did not want to do some things this cruise and some things the next cruise - the next cruise may not be for years, and it may not be on NCL.

 

For all of you that stated that we should just reserve a Haven - since it is no big deal to you to pay for this option, then obviously you have enough money to offer to me to pay for the difference in price the next time we cruise. I thank you all for the offer!

 

In summary . . . . Due to the facts provided above, as they applied to myself and my family, I am very happy that I had made all of my reservations in advance (pre-cruise, and 1st day of cruise for the remaining options).

 

As a closing note - Having sailed RCI with their MTD option, I see no difference between the dining plans - they both seem very flexible. However, I never needed to make so many reservations with RCI for shows than I had to do with NCL. [And I am still shaking my head as to why some of the entertainment cannot be reserved in advance of the cruise or in your stateroom via the entertainment screen.]

 

Before some of you go into defensive mode - the above is not a bite or a negative against NCL. We enjoyed the ship and our vacation as a whole. It's just that the marketing the term "Freestyle" as doing whatever you want, whenever you want - it will depend upon the passenger and what they want to get out of the cruise.

 

Happy sailing,

 

Travel R

[CruisingUS]

I have returned from the cruise.

 

First, let me state that I am EXTREMELY HAPPY that I made as many reservations in advance as I could.

 

When many people provide comments on Cruise Critic, they do not always take into account the information provided before them, and will just give their opinions based on their own circumstances (I especially love the posts that start with "I have never been on that ship, but . . . . . .). Well, I think this was the case for many of the above responses. Although genuinely provided to help, they lacked context to the question (and there were some that were just being trolls).

 

 

 

 

• If this was an itinerary I had done before, I can understand the lack of need for reservations.
  
• If this was not a very port-intensive itinerary (having previously been on a Med cruise, the Baltic itinerary was even worse), I can see where reservations would not have been needed.
  
• If I had not been travelling with a teen and a tween, reservations also may not be as important.
  
• If this were not a ship/cruise line that I had not tried before (and wanted to try experience the various entertainment options), I can see validity in reservations not being as important.
  

However . . . . .

 

Some of days were long. How long? In Saint Petersburg (SPB), we had to meet up with the people from our tour group at 7:15 AM, and on the first day did not get back to the ship until almost 6 PM (we got back at 5 on the second day). Even a less-intensive city as Stockholm had us meet at 7:45, and we did not get back to the ship until 4 PM. Try having your teen and tween wait to eat dinner after 8 to 11 hours of touring (and the adults were hungry as well). Even on the days that did not last so long, having something reserved provided us with the comfort that we did not have to wait that long to eat after returning to the ship.

 

It's a lot different than something like the Caribbean where you may have a 10 AM excursion for two or three hours (or no excursion at all), back on the ship by 2 or 3, and lounging out by the pool, sipping some fruity drink, until someone says they are hungry. Let's be honest, for some of the Caribbean islands, there is not much to do, especially if you have visited those islands before, so relaxation takes precedent over reservations.

 

Besides my own schedule (the schedule of myself and my DW) to contend with, I also had to deal with the schedules of my teen and tween. They both were very active with their friends in the kid/teen clubs, which also had their own scheduled activities. By setting a schedule, especially for dinner on the two sea days, it provided a hard-lined rule for everyone to go by.

 

This was my first time on the Getaway, and my first time on NCL. There were a number of entertainment options that we wanted to experience. In order to ensure that we could see them, and they did not conflict with other shows/activities/excursions, obtaining reservations was the most logical way of scheduling our time and allowing us to make the most of all the options available. We do not cruise all the time, so we did not want to do some things this cruise and some things the next cruise - the next cruise may not be for years, and it may not be on NCL.

 

For all of you that stated that we should just reserve a Haven - since it is no big deal to you to pay for this option, then obviously you have enough money to offer to me to pay for the difference in price the next time we cruise. I thank you all for the offer!

 

In summary . . . . Due to the facts provided above, as they applied to myself and my family, I am very happy that I had made all of my reservations in advance (pre-cruise, and 1st day of cruise for the remaining options).

 

As a closing note - Having sailed RCI with their MTD option, I see no difference between the dining plans - they both seem very flexible. However, I never needed to make so many reservations with RCI for shows than I had to do with NCL. [And I am still shaking my head as to why some of the entertainment cannot be reserved in advance of the cruise or in your stateroom via the entertainment screen.]

 

Before some of you go into defensive mode - the above is not a bite or a negative against NCL. We enjoyed the ship and our vacation as a whole. It's just that the marketing the term "Freestyle" as doing whatever you want, whenever you want - it will depend upon the passenger and what they want to get out of the cruise.

 

Happy sailing,

 

Travel R

I read everything on this thread. So please don't accuse me of that.

 

 

- Some reservations are saved up for when you move up the latitudes program.

 

- You can let your teens run around the ship and do their own thing. Just have a set meeting time at like 6pm at the MDR. That's what I did. That's the beauty of freestyle cruising. It can be done and is the preferable way we did it when I was younger. We would meet at the MDR and talk about our day and share w/ ea other. Or you could not. There are no set plans unless you make them, which you clearly did.

 

- When booking excursions, you have to plan out your day. That is true of any line and not specific to NCL.

 

- if you want to pack your trip full of activities, then you have to schedule things no matter what CL.

 

- I have been on many ships where I have never been on before and I can do the freestyle just fine.

 

 

It seems like you like to plan. I don't. Hence why NCL is a better fit for me. I walk over to where ever and do w/e I want. It's very chill.

 

 

With all do respect, it seems like you created your own obstacles and complained about climbing over them.

[Barb Nahoumi]

We always cruise on the mid-sized ships, Dawn, Gem, Pearl, etc. They're truly freestyle, where we never have to make reservations for the MDR, shows, or anything. However, we do for the specialty restaurants.

 

Sadly, the smaller ships don't have the range of entertainment found on the megas, such as ,Burn the Floor etc. We still like the ambience of mid-sized ships.

[Travel R]

 

- When booking excursions, you have to plan out your day. That is true of any line and not specific to NCL.

- if you want to pack your trip full of activities, then you have to schedule things no matter what CL.

 

 

Thank you for proving my point. Regardless of ship or cruise line, it is not truly "freestyle," and the amount of planning directly corresponds to the amount of activities to be conducted.

[garycarla]

You are welcome to do totally Freestyle and just show up. But, if more people than the room will hold get there before you, you will have to "Freestyle" yourself down the hall. LOL!

 

Not sure of anyway around the reservation process. Any ideas?

[Travel R]

We always cruise on the mid-sized ships, Dawn, Gem, Pearl, etc. They're truly freestyle, where we never have to make reservations for the MDR, shows, or anything. However, we do for the specialty restaurants.

 

Sadly, the smaller ships don't have the range of entertainment found on the megas, such as ,Burn the Floor etc. We still like the ambience of mid-sized ships.

 

I also enjoy the the smaller ships, although we did pick a mega for this cruise (for my reasons as to why, see the review (still being written) in my signature).

 

FYI - unknown before the cruise, but we sailed with almost 4600 people on this itinerary, and most days, due to weather, many of the outdoor activities on deck were cancelled.

[caddykid12]

So heres my question. I have 9 in my group!

 

Should i make a reservatiom to be safe. What if we dont go to eat one night or 2 what happens. I just feel a walk in of 9 will be hard to seat in a timley manner

[CruisingUS]

Thank you for proving my point. Regardless of ship or cruise line, it is not truly "freestyle," and the amount of planning directly corresponds to the amount of activities to be conducted.

This is just common sense right here...if you want to do 10 events in 10 hours, you are going to have to organize your day.

 

 

And freestyle cruising lets you optimize that

[CruisingUS]

So heres my question. I have 9 in my group!

 

Should i make a reservatiom to be safe. What if we dont go to eat one night or 2 what happens. I just feel a walk in of 9 will be hard to seat in a timley manner

reservations. 9 people is a lot to accommodate

[BostonGal35]

i hate to waste time and i like to stick to a schedule. for me, reserving everythign ahead of time is a no brainer and a must. the need on a smaller NCL ship is less (example, you cant even reserve shows) but even when on a smaller ship, i book my dining so that i know i can make the 9pm show every night.

 

most of the negative reviews on the big ships center around the lines/waits/stuiff sold out. you'll have a much better experience overall if you do what you did and book ahead.

[Travel R]

So heres my question. I have 9 in my group!

 

Should i make a reservatiom to be safe. What if we dont go to eat one night or 2 what happens. I just feel a walk in of 9 will be hard to seat in a timley manner

 

From my experience during this past cruise, yes, make reservations to be on the safe side.

[fshagan]

You should always plan out your cruise and make reservations. Plan each day. Use 15 minute increments, and make sure everyone in your party adheres to the schedule. You can buy a coach's whistle to summon them. For those that break the schedule, and force everyone else in the party to wait on them, use a non-marking punishment. You can find humane doggie trainers; one is like two sticks taped together on one end. One slap with that and the miscreant is not harmed, but does take notice!

 

Asking for advice on the Internet, then complaining that the advice did not take all the unknowns into consideration is one way to be disappointed. You can plan around this. List every possible answer that you would like to hear, and ask the Internet to choose one of them. Do not let them use their experience and opinions (you have a whistle and a slapper thingy, you know).

 

Disclaimer: The above is intended to be funny, and is considered as 'gentle ribbing' by at least one person on earth. No animals were harmed in the making of this post, including testing the doggie trainer (we tested on spouses on "Batman Tuesdays" in the privacy of our own homes). May contain nuts.

[uneamie]

Personally, I would reserve some down time some days doing absolutely "nothing". Perhaps lounging on a deck chair by the waterfront with a nice book or taking a nap with the ocean breeze. Try not to cram activity into every single minute onboard or you will have vacation burn out. Relax, and don't worry if everything is booked and reserved......if it's not you will find something to replace it. Be flexible and you will have the time of your life. Enjoy your cruise!

[Travel R]

 

Disclaimer: The above is intended to be funny, and is considered as 'gentle ribbing' by at least one person on earth. No animals were harmed in the making of this post, including testing the doggie trainer (we tested on spouses on "Batman Tuesdays" in the privacy of our own homes). May contain nuts.

 

Humor is subjective.

[Travel R]

Personally, I would reserve some down time some days doing absolutely "nothing". Perhaps lounging on a deck chair by the waterfront with a nice book or taking a nap with the ocean breeze. Try not to cram activity into every single minute onboard or you will have vacation burn out. Relax, and don't worry if everything is booked and reserved......if it's not you will find something to replace it. Be flexible and you will have the time of your life. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Did I state anywhere in this thread that I was not flexible?

 

Or did I state that we were not going to rest and/or relax?

 

FYI - This was a very port-intensive cruise, but yes, of course, we tried to have whatever R&R we could while on board. Even though most of the days were cloudy, cool, and in the mid-60s (with some rainy days), I was able to make a lot of use of my balcony, either listening to music or reading (and I was even able to multitask and do both at one).

 

Please note, I do thank you for your concern.

[AlexandNessa]

I feel your pain from when we were first timers with NCL.

 

Now, hubby and I typically take at least a few days to have zero plans/reservations. These are "game day decision days." Over-planning and over-scheduling isn't our bag anymore since becoming accustomed to NCL.

 

You will never be hungry or completely bored. Decide on your absolute "must-dos" and start there. Not everything requires a reservation, but it depends on how flexible you are or can be. I would never risk being reservationless with a large party who wanted to do every activity together. But a party of two? Feel free to freestyle that up!

 

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[graphicguy]

Taken quite a few NCL cruises. Not belittling the "planners" out there. But, I've never pre-planned a single thing. I show up and decide when and where I want to eat, see a show, get a drink, which excursions I want, etc.

 

To me, the whole point of a vacation is not to plan my day. I don't like being stuck to a schedule like that. You can do that with NCL. I'm never disappointed.

 

Still, I understand some who need to plan everything out. I'm just not one of those people. OP...I just looked at all the other cruises you've been on and now understand the who pre-planning thing. You're used to doing that as that's what was required of the other cruises.