Help with freestyle dining?????

[jtb123]

We wil be taking our 1st freestyle cruise. All the others have been traditonal dining. I have read you need to make reservations. Does that include the main dining room?? We will be on the POA in Hawaii with our 2 granddaughters 6 and 9. Where is the best place to eat with kids? Kids menus?? Is there a charge for all the dining areas?? I would appreciate if anyone who could help me understand how this works.

Thanks

[Grandpaul]

The main dining rooms have no reservations. First come, first served. There are a few specialty restaurants you have to make reservations at. Having Granddaughters myself the same age as yours that might be an adventure. There will be a buffet also that the kids might like. I would think the buffet or the Main dining room might be the best with the kids. There are kids menus there. Is this the first time you've taken the kids on a cruise?

[tunseeker1]

The main restaurants will take reservations also. You can either call down or you can stop by.

[newmexicoNita]

The main restaurants will take reservations also. You can either call down or you can stop by.

I am not certain about this, but I don't think a party of less than 6 or 8 can make reservations in the main dining rooms. I could be wrong.

 

to the OP, no you do have have to make reservations.

 

nita

[electricron]

Which ship, the Pride of America, or the Pride of Aloha?

 

A list of restaurants aboard the Pride of Aloha

 

Palace Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

Crossings Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

Royal Palm Bistro

Cuisine: French

Surcharge: Yes, $15 plus tax per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Kahili Restaurant

Cuisine: Italian

Surcharge: Yes, $15 plus tax per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Pacific Heights Restaurant

Cuisine: Hawaiian/Asian

Surcharge: Yes, $12.50 plus tax per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Hukilau Cafe

Cuisine: Assorted Buffet, Food Stations, Snacks & Grill

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

[CC Help Michell]

At least on Pride of Hawaii, parties of fewer than 8 couldn't make main dining room reservations. However, with the ages of your granddaughters, I also wanted to mention the Kid's Club. I know you are taking this cruise to be with them -- but I can say on our ship there were tons of kids, and at night we virtually never saw them because they were having a blast at the Kid's Club, which includes dinner on a few nights. I say "virtually" never saw them because a few nights we saw them having parades, scavenger hunts, etc. -- always supervised. It's your choice -- when I was in 7th grade my grandparents took me on a European vacation which I remember to this day -- but I remember it at least in part because they also took my same-age cousin, and we fell in with two other girls on our trip, so we had a lot of "kid fun" in addition to the "family fun."

 

There isn't a charge for all the dining areas. There are upcharge restaurants on board NCL ships, but certain areas are included in your cruise fare -- on Pride of America those include the Liberty and Skyline main dining rooms, Cadillac Diner (sort of a coffee shop), Aloha Cafe (buffet), and Little Italy. The upcharge restaurants are Jefferson's Bistro (French), the Lazy J Texas Steakhouse (steak) and East Meets West (Asian fusion, teppanyaki, sushi). ALL the specialty restaurants (the three upcharge, plus Little Italy) normally function via reservations.

 

When you board your ship, they will be taking dining reservations both for upcharge and no charge specialty restaurants. Find that location and go ahead and book the first and second nights as your budget and taste buds dictate -- it's fairly consistently reported that on the Hawaii ships on sailing day all specialty restaurants except the steakhouses are 2-for-1. After that time reservations are normally taken at 7 AM at the reservations desk, or over the phone beginning at 8 AM (this is TOTALLY subject to change -- NCL knows there have been problems with their reservation system and changes are common -- check your Freestyle Daily for the most current policy on your sailing). In your situation, after the first two days, I think I'd plan on two days for the girls to do kid's club dinner (if they want to) and make reservations for you and your wife at a specialty restaurant -- maybe one night French and one night steakhouse. That's four days of a seven nighter. The other three nights I'd do a combination of main dining room and buffet.

 

Let me caution you -- a LOT will depend on what you are really up for after a full day of Hawaii shore excursions -- beach + swimming + sun + biking + volcano viewing + whatever = tired people! The NCLA Hawaiian itineraries are all about the islands, and much less about the ships. I'd be ready to go with the flow and be ready to just do buffet or room service if everybody's ready to crash. Also, be aware that a newly-published NCL policy says that upcharge reservations must be cancelled by 5 PM or they will charge two base charges to your sign and sail.

 

Freestyle is all about letting you eat when you want -- but it doesn't mean that everyone on the ship can eat wherever they want, whenever they want. But if you are flexible and do a little homework in advance, plus read your Freestyle Daily, you shouldn't have a problem finding a good meal for whatever combination of your party you choose.

 

Hope that helps!

 

PS Oh bah, forgot about the whole "POA" thingie. Well, Electricron gave you the info for Aloha, and I have the America info above, so just go by whichever one you are on! :)

[Corie]

Hi Michell,

Love your review - thank you so much. DH & I will be on PofAm on 8/25. I have one question - well probably 101, but you mentioned in your review about the Cadillac Diner having good milkshakes & desserts. Can you tell me if they charge for those? My DH is addicted to chocolate and if the soda card includes the milkshakes I might have to buy 2 !! Also, thanks to your excellent review, we decided to change from Capt. Zodiac to FairWind - gotta have those bathrooms!

Thanks for your help,

Corie

[tunseeker1]

My parents were on the POA and they made reservations every night for the 2 of them, and I made reservations on Majesty. They do limit when you can make them for time wise. It is earlier and later in the dining times. I know that re had reservations for 2 on lobster night!

[CC Help Michell]

Hi Michell,

Love your review - thank you so much. DH & I will be on PofAm on 8/25. I have one question - well probably 101, but you mentioned in your review about the Cadillac Diner having good milkshakes & desserts. Can you tell me if they charge for those? My DH is addicted to chocolate and if the soda card includes the milkshakes I might have to buy 2 !! Also, thanks to your excellent review, we decided to change from Capt. Zodiac to FairWind - gotta have those bathrooms!

Thanks for your help,

Corie

 

Thank you for the kind comments, Corie. We actually were on Pride of Hawaii, so we didn't have the Cadillac Diner -- must have been another review you read. :) Have a fabulous Hawaii vacation!

[jtb123]

Thanks soooo much for all the wonderful info. We will be on the Pride of America and we have taken the kids on a Disney cruise(everything is geared for kids.) We don't expect that!!! The girls do want to do the kids club so that suggestion is very helpful for evenings.

[kapeavey]

We will be sailing the Dawnon 11/18 with about five families. What are your suggestions with reservations for such a big group. We were thinking of choosing 2 out of the 7 nights to make a reservation at the same restaurant/same time. The remaining nights we'll probably split up and each whereever with whoever. I'm sure it will be very hard to organize anything else. Any suggestions?

[perry001]

we will be sailing on the spirit 11/24/07 with our daughter and her family, including two boys ages 1 and two. i don't think that they will be happy eating too many meals in the specialty restaurants but i wonder about the main dining rooms? we are willing to take the kids to the buffet a couple of times so that dd and sil can have some special time. this will be the first cruise for all of them and we want it to be as hassle free as possible. any suggestions would be appreciated.