To pay or not to pay for "freestyle"?

[lusitanica]

One of CC posters says about "freestyle" cruising on Epic: "Plenty of places where you can just turn up whenever you want to sit and eat at no extra charge so Yes Freestyle."

 

At the same time, as we all know, the whole Epic "freestyle" hype in fact is evolving around extra charge dining venues.

 

Needless to say that inviting others to enjoy "freestyle" in the "included" venues "that poster" actually prebooked "extra charge" program for himself.:)

 

I promised him to post a poll to find out how many CC members are going to (or did) "freestyle" on Epic without paying extra.

 

So I am trying to do it now.

[Single Cruiser]

But isn't this down to people interpretation of Freestyle.

 

To me it's "no dress code, no fixed time dinners etc.. " I wouldn't necessarily mix freestyle with options for premium dining!

[sdmike]

What do you consider "extra"? I know you mean specialty dining options for sure, but what about:

 

Alcohol

Sodas

Video Games

Pictures

Shore Excursions

Tips

Shopping

 

Our family did one specialty restaurant, a couple of drinks, lots of video games, one professional portrait, no NCL shore excursions, full tips and a bunch of shopping.

 

Freestyle doesn't mean "everything is free". Freestyle means you have plenty of choices of where you want to eat, how you want to entertain yourself, and WHEN you want to do it.

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

But isn't this down to people interpretation of Freestyle.

 

To me it's "no dress code, no fixed time dinners etc.. " I wouldn't necessarily mix freestyle with options for premium dining!

 

 

That's EXACTLY what it means, SINGLE CRUISER!

 

The OP's constant dwelling on the negative is rather disturbing and often misguided!

 

Some folks only read the word "FREE" and are disappointed to find their comprehension skills failed them!

 

We never paid for anything on the ship and never went hungry or had a bad cruise experience on any of the lines or ships we sailed.

 

Paying for "extras" is an option - not a necessity - and certainly not a requirement of "freeSTYLE" cruising.

 

:rolleyes:

[AustinOO]

Ditto on Freestyle being our ability to select our own times and dining companions. Even the fact I have made reservations already for our Oct 2 cruise, I still consider the fact I can choose my times and places (we're choosing all specialty in all likelihood), and what I will wear to a large degree, freestyle. I am well aware that I have plenty of included dining options but I like variety and the sense of specialty cuisine of the specialty restaurants.

 

It's still much freer than our Disney cruise which we booked late and only had a late seating available. Our DD 4 fell asleep before the appetizer came and DS 6 barely made it without falling asleep. The head waiter did get us an earlier seating but we still had to rush to make our dinner a few times. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some of what comes with the non-freestyle cruising, but to suggest that NCL's freestyle is tied to cost is understating what makes it flexible.

 

(Does that make me a fanboy? I mean I have not actually sailed on NCL and have no loyalties to any particular line) :P

[Flying Solo]

Anyone who gets on this boat is paying for "freestyle". Part of freestyle is the OPTION to pay an extra charge for something extra. The Epic has more of these options than most other boats. If someone, like Lusitanica, prefers a more traditional cruise and is offended by having additional options with a charge, why would they go on this boat. It looks pretty clear from this poll that most people getting on Epic understand that the concept for the Epic is not "all inclusive". We just want to have some fun and are willing to pay what has been described to us before getting on board.

[orangegrove]

I looked up the definition of freestyle:

 

a performance or routine featuring relatively free, unrestricted movement or intended to demonstrate an individual's special skills or style, as in figure skating, gymnastics, or surfing.

 

I believe NCL is using the word "freestyle" to demonstrate that individuals are "unrestricted" to do whatever, whenever. Meaning no set dining times, and they have several dining choices, games to play or not, shows to go to or not, etc. It is one word, not two seperate words.

[welove2cruise*]

Unless you are sailing with Silverseas or one of the high end cruise lines which are all-inclusive - every main stream cruise line (RCL, Princess, Disney, Holland, Celebrity, Carnival etc) have extra cost options for dining (and of course gambling, drinking, sodas, etc.)

 

In my opinion, NCL has simply found a niche which caters to those of us who were opposed the the regimen of eating at the same time, stuck at a table with people you didn't know (I couldn't stand that personally), offering unique and different options for entertainment and pushing the envelope to find the experience that was unique and attractive to a segment of the market that was looking for that.

 

I have decided that I would never book another cruise that did not offer "anytime" or "freestyle" dining. Thankfully, several of the other lines are offering that alternative, however right now I usually still find NCL to be the line that I prefer. I have four cruises booked with them in the next year. I hope the new pricing structure that went into effect in August will not sway me from continued bookings with them, but the fact that I have alternatives will have to be measured.

 

 

Right now, the entertainment on the Epic, with the exception of the Cirque Dreams dinner show is all included. I hope it stays that way. If you took the time to add up the cost of tickets to a Blue Man Group show, a Legends in Concert show and even just cover charge for a bar that had Howl at the Moon and/or a Jazz club, you would probably be surprised at the entertainment that you are getting without an extra cost.

 

I watched a special on cruising a few years back. These ships don't make up the cost of the cruise on the fare they charge for the rooms. They depend on your on board purchases to turn a profit. Hopefully they will continue to offer reduced fares and then we can all decide which nickles and dimes we choose to spend on our onboard purchases. I hope this ship is a big boost for the company as I look forward to the next phase of ideas and industry firsts that NCL will come up with next.

[lusitanica]

If someone, like Lusitanica, prefers a more traditional cruise and is offended by having additional options with a charge, why would they go on this boat. It looks pretty clear from this poll that most people getting on Epic understand that the concept for the Epic is not "all inclusive". We just want to have some fun and are willing to pay what has been described to us before getting on board.

 

Who told you that I was "offended by having additional options with a charge"?:confused:

Let more people vote. I will comment later.

[DMH15]

I enjoy having OPTIONS! Thank you, NCL!

[coffeebean]

Unless you are sailing with Silverseas or one of the high end cruise lines which are all-inclusive - every main stream cruise line (RCL, Princess, Disney, Holland, Celebrity, Carnival etc) have extra cost options for dining (and of course gambling, drinking, sodas, etc.)

 

In my opinion, NCL has simply found a niche which caters to those of us who were opposed the the regimen of eating at the same time, stuck at a table with people you didn't know (I couldn't stand that personally), offering unique and different options for entertainment and pushing the envelope to find the experience that was unique and attractive to a segment of the market that was looking for that.

 

I have decided that I would never book another cruise that did not offer "anytime" or "freestyle" dining. Thankfully, several of the other lines are offering that alternative, however right now I usually still find NCL to be the line that I prefer. I have four cruises booked with them in the next year. I hope the new pricing structure that went into effect in August will not sway me from continued bookings with them, but the fact that I have alternatives will have to be measured.

 

 

Right now, the entertainment on the Epic, with the exception of the Cirque Dreams dinner show is all included. I hope it stays that way. If you took the time to add up the cost of tickets to a Blue Man Group show, a Legends in Concert show and even just cover charge for a bar that had Howl at the Moon and/or a Jazz club, you would probably be surprised at the entertainment that you are getting without an extra cost.

 

I watched a special on cruising a few years back. These ships don't make up the cost of the cruise on the fare they charge for the rooms. They depend on your on board purchases to turn a profit. Hopefully they will continue to offer reduced fares and then we can all decide which nickles and dimes we choose to spend on our on board purchases. I hope this ship is a big boost for the company as I look forward to the next phase of ideas and industry firsts that NCL will come up with next.

 

NCL certainly is innovative and I commend them for taking risks to introduce a new product in the cruise industry. Thank you, NCL.