'Freestyle dining'..is RCCL going to follow..other though-provoking ?s..

[negc]

Freestyle (NCL) isn't about going to the buffet restaurant....it's about going to different venues....asian, french, italian, steak, seafood every night....different themed restaurants---as though you were going out to dinner. Not a tacky buffet where you had lunch poolside.

 

Personal choice (Princess) is about going to the dining room with or without the same server every night - just flexibility in the time.

 

They are not interchangeable - totally different.

 

Several of the restaurants that you cite in your description of freestyle dining are extra charge. RCI offers that alternative with Portofino and Chops.

I think that many people who have dined in the Windjammer would object to your description of it as a "tacky buffet", but you are entitled to your opinion.

 

Freestyle and anytime dining may differ to a degree, but basically the debate on here has been about preferring traditional dining to some form of open seating dining, whether it be in different themed restaurants or just another dining room.

[cws]

I won't try Princess because I can't be guaranteed I will have traditional dining - it is that important to me!

 

But you can be guaranteed traditional dining on Princess. You simply confirm it when booking your cruise (either early or late seating). The Anytime Dining is an option only (unlike NCL where Freestyle is the only choice and there is no traditional dining).

[negc]

But you can be guaranteed traditional dining on Princess. You simply confirm it when booking your cruise (either early or late seating). The Anytime Dining is an option only (unlike NCL where Freestyle is the only choice and there is no traditional dining).

 

You CAN be guaranteed traditional dining, but all too frequently people who request it aren't guaranteed it and are either placed on a waitlist with literally hundreds of others, or are put in anytime dining and told to request a change to traditional when they board. (The maitre'ds probably support this since it provides them with an additional source of income from the gratuities that accompany that request.:D)

 

On the face of it, Princess came up with a good solution for all of its passengers, those who don't want the strictures of having a set time for dinner each evening, and those who prefer traditional dining. Unfortunately the devil is in the details, and in reality, too many passengers are unable to get the style of dining they request. To add insult to injury, those who requested traditional but ended up with anytime dining are told that they can essentially replicate the traditional dining experience by reserving the same table, servers and dining time, find that when they attempt to do so, their request is either denied, or they are allowed to do so only at dining times that are less than desirable.:(

[Dorie7]

I vote for anytime dining. I am not fond of eating the same time every day and am not a formal person at heart. However, I don't want to eat in the Windjammer for dinner.

JMO

Dorie

[Cruise_More_Often]

Well, you can tell from my signature that we are real NCL Freestyle fans. We have done two Monarch 4-nighters, but we do not enjoy traditional dining at all. The first time we chose a table for four, and our tablemates' "conversation" consisted of monosyllabic answers to our questions. This year we specified a large table, and we're still not sure how the woman seated next to my DH ate because she talked constantly (about herself) and another couple spent their dining time bickering. We'll probably cruise on the Monarch in the future, because it's a great little trip between our longer cruises; however, DH has made me promise that we will eat every dinner in the Windjammer!

 

We also find it humorous when we read/hear that the waitstaff gets to know you and your habits during traditional dining. Unbeknownst to me, I got cream in my after-dinner coffee in January, so I had the waiter switch it for black. Every night after that, I had to cover my coffee quickly before he slipped that cream into my coffee again. And forget having a conversation with them, because they are way too busy.

 

As far as dressing for dinner on NCL, we dress every evening, and at least on the cruises we've been on, it appears that almost everyone does (I've never seen a pair of shorts or jeans in any dining room on NCL).

 

Isn't it great that there's something out there for every one of us!

[megacruiser]

I must say I like certain aspects of both Traditional and Freestyle dining, but how far will NCL take Freestyle? This may be an April Fools joke but some of the NCL die-hards find it a bit too close for comfort.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=324390

[abridalmaven]

On NCL in the paying restaurants was over the top with service ( and you were allowed to tip THEM). But in the regular dining room it was mediocre at best. Since all the tips are prepaid each day and pooled they have no reason to be better.

[negc]

my waiter on Explorer 2 weeks ago said he's been hearing rumors that RCCL was going to go freestyle with Genesis class, and may even test it out on the Final freedom class ship.

 

And everyone knows how accurate the information that we get from the waiters can be.:D April Fool's Day is certainly the appropriate day for this type of post. Actually the waiter is probably correct in saying that he is hearing these rumors. We see the same rumors on these boards, but that doesn't mean that they are accurate.

[kulekhatt]

I love having the choice. Freestyle dining suited us fine on the Caribbean Princess. :-)

[mrdiv]

I'd prefer "Freestyle" dining.

[negc]

I'd prefer "Freestyle" dining.

 

And there are cruise ships which offer that. Unfortunately for you, and fortunately for me, Royal Caribbean doesn't. As the Stones have been known to say "You can't always get what you want".:)

[redheadx3]

It would be nice if they would split the dining area, half for the traditional and half for freestyle. I'm leaning towards the freestyle because I have kids and sometimes getting everyone ready for a set time is a challenge. It would be nice to be able to show up when we are ready.

[abridalmaven]

When I was a child and when I raised my children we always ate at a set time. We always were able to get places on time. But then again now eating at early seating is way to early for us, late seating is just fine for us. I guess people are just used to eating on the run now.

[Isaac]

Funny to hear people arguing that a cruise line with rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks, and a boxing ring on the way should stay "traditional." My how the industry has changed...

 

We've done traditional many times and freestyle on NCL twice. We didn't mind the flexibility of freestyle. What turned us off was the crappy service. Having a different waiter every night meant no personalized service and the tipping structure left no incentive for crew to excel. Of course, we returned to traditional a few weeks ago and our dining service was friendly and personal, but unpolished and rushed, so go figure.

[spaz44]

I like the idea of the same waiter and waitstaff and enjoyed it on my one cruise. (next one 7 days away.:D )

 

But I didn't like the idea of having to dine at the same time, don't like being forced to dress up. (yes I understand that I can go to the windjammer but it just isn't the same)

 

IMO there is room for both choices.

 

Give people the option of traditional and freestyle but find a way to do both well.

[bubbie617]

Bubbie,

 

Wouldn't you agree that with cruises being mass-market today, the possibility of that level of personal service may only be found on lines such as SilverSea, etc?

 

I absolutely agree with you. I understand why they have gone to open seatings for breakfast and lunch. It makes perfectly good sense on a financial level for them. That doesn't mean that I can't remember those days fondly.

 

Frankly, just get me on a ship, almost any ship, any time, and I'll be happy.

[TexasMom2]

We had anytime dining on Grand Princess in December and didn't like the long waits for a table. First formal night was 45 minutes. The service was not very good, I had to ask for iced tea 3 times one night and never got it before the end of dinner. I think it had to do with tables being at different stages of the dinner, some having appetizers, others entrees or dessert.

 

Folks on the Princess board suggest making reservations if you are stuck with anytime dining, but you can't make a reservation between 6:30 and 8:00. In my opinion, having to make a reservation is the same as early or late traditional dining, except you are doing the work to secure the reservation.

 

We booked 11 months in advance and traditional dining was waitlisted.

 

If RCI moves to some kind of "freestyle" dining, I hope they figure out a way that really works.

[johnny cruise]

We had anytime dining on Grand Princess in December and didn't like the long waits for a table. First formal night was 45 minutes. The service was not very good, I had to ask for iced tea 3 times one night and never got it before the end of dinner. I think it had to do with tables being at different stages of the dinner, some having appetizers, others entrees or dessert.

 

Folks on the Princess board suggest making reservations if you are stuck with anytime dining, but you can't make a reservation between 6:30 and 8:00. In my opinion, having to make a reservation is the same as early or late traditional dining, except you are doing the work to secure the reservation.

 

We booked 11 months in advance and traditional dining was waitlisted.

 

If RCI moves to some kind of "freestyle" dining, I hope they figure out a way that really works.

 

 

 

 

This is how we found it to be on the star in december. I dont think it works very well since we have done it three times on a princess ship's.

 

JC

[mstr824]

If I want the anytime dining experience I can go to my local restaurant at home and get it.

 

If I want the "traditional" dining experience I can get all dressed up and go to a local fancy, expensive restaurant at home and get it as well.

 

What's your point?

 

RCI has enough ships in their fleet where they could easily make some of them freestyle / personal choice while keeping others traditional dining, then let their customers decide which one they prefer.

[cws]

RCI has enough ships in their fleet where they could easily make some of them freestyle / personal choice while keeping others traditional dining, then let their customers decide which one they prefer.

 

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I don't think RCCL could just switch some ships to freestyle/personal choice dining. A ship needs to be designed to accomodate this by having several small/medium-size dining rooms instead of one huge dining room. RCCL ships are not built this way. If traditional diners went to the main dining room, where would the freestyle/personal choice diners go? There are no other no charge restaurants to accomodate them.

 

Besides, freestyle/personal choice is a branding thing. A cruise line would not want this on some ships because then you don't have consistency in your product across different ships. I would think it would either need to be on all ships or none. (It should be noted though that Princess does not have the personal choice option on its three smallest ships simply because they are too small to have multiple dining rooms.) I guess the exception would be if the newer ships all started being built with both traditional and personal and that was the plan for all new ships.

[TexasMom2]

If I want the "traditional" dining experience I can get all dressed up and go to a local fancy, expensive restaurant at home and get it as well.

 

What's your point?

 

RCI has enough ships in their fleet where they could easily make some of them freestyle / personal choice while keeping others traditional dining, then let their customers decide which one they prefer.

 

Freestyle on NCL and Anytime on Princess are two different things - dress code is more relaxed on NCL but normal dress code applies in Princess Anytime. I haven't tried NCL - about half who post about freestyle love it and the other half hated it and wouldn't sail NCL again. Same thing on Princess - some love anytime dining and others don't.

 

On Princess, traditional is always waitlisted yet they have two anytime dining rooms and one traditional dining room. Occasionally the traditional diners will jump ship and go anytime, but the anytime diners waitlisted for traditional rarely get switched to fill the gaps, so you end up with long waits in anytime and a half-empty dining room in traditional. Add to that the tables held for reservations in anytime and it can be a mess.

 

What I'm saying is that if RCI considers either concept or a blend of the two, I hope they take their time and figure out how to do it right. Possibly having passengers make a choice and stick to it would help.

 

If you are looking for a more casual dinner experience, try NCL...I plan to try as many cruise lines as possible for the experience. NCL has great itineraries and prices so you should be able to find a great cruise to give it a shot.

[Iamthesea]

The OP posted

Fast forward, the cruisers on the Princess boards stated that one has to practically book a year in advance for traditional dining, otherwise they have to clear a waitlist and dine 'anytime' between 5:30-10:30? at the 'personal choice' restaurants. One said it's Princess' way of forcing people into the new 'personal choice' dining.

Not true!

 

We have never booked a cruise a year in advance. We booked our last Princess cruise in July of 2005 and cruised that October. No problem getting late traditional. Although it is 6 months out this time, we just booked our cruise for next fall and have LT again. :rolleyes:

 

I hope RCCL doesn't do away with traditional. :(

[TexasMom2]

The OP posted Not true!

 

We have never booked a cruise a year in advance. We booked our last Princess cruise in July of 2005 and cruised that October. No problem getting late traditional. Although it is 6 months out this time, we just booked our cruise for next fall and have LT again. :rolleyes:

 

I hope RCCL doesn't do away with traditional. :(

 

It's not true or untrue, just that people have different experiences. You have been lucky with your cruises, others posting here on this thread and in the many threads discussing anytime dining on the Princess board, haven't been lucky to get their choice of traditional dining.

 

It isn't true "anytime" dining if you have to make a reservation.

[mstr824]

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I don't think RCCL could just switch some ships to freestyle/personal choice dining. A ship needs to be designed to accomodate this by having several small/medium-size dining rooms instead of one huge dining room. RCCL ships are not built this way. If traditional diners went to the main dining room, where would the freestyle/personal choice diners go? There are no other no charge restaurants to accomodate them.

This could be easily phased in as various ships go into dry dock.

Nothing that a few strategically placed walls, kitchen adjustments, and some redecorating couldn't fix.

 

Besides, freestyle/personal choice is a branding thing. A cruise line would not want this on some ships because then you don't have consistency in your product across different ships.

You mean like certain classes of RCI ships have a Johnny Rockets and others do not?

Why can't certain classes of ships have traditional dining only and others have freestyle, personal choice, or some combination of them?

 

After our upcoming cruise on BOS, RCI will have lost three customers, since my family and I don't particularly like being told while on vacation when we have to eat and what we have to wear (without being resigned to the Windjammer / Seaview). We definitely will give NCL or Princess a try for our next cruise.

 

Wouldn't it be in RCI's best interest to try and accomodate as many different dining preferences as possible,

rather than lose market share to NCL and Princess?

 

ETA: Princess was actually my first choice when I booked a cruise last August for April '06, but balcony cabins were already sold out on the ship I wanted.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

We do not like Freestyle/Personal Choice. We feel that it is a detraction from good service and the dedication to the art of dining on a traditional cruise. Ships should offer Freestyle as an alternative to traditional dining...not the other way around.