Advice, Suggestions, Clarifications

[todelekat]

It has been about 10 years since my last cruise (Commodore - Enchanted Seas) and I need some advice or clarity on what has changed.

 

I am thinking about cruising out of Houston or Galveston, and I notice that NCL constantly has the lower price, but I am a bit confused by the "Freestyle" concept. From the reviews I have seen, it would appear that you now must pay for your meals, which I always thought were typically included in the price of the cruise. The Carnival trips are slightly more expensive, but I haven't seen any indication that you must pay for the meals, so I would assume that in the long run, the Carnival cruise would represent the better value.

 

I will be cruising with my 10 y.o. daughter, and it sounds like a lot of other children her age would be on either cruise line (during the Summer months), so hopefully there will be plenty of activities for her.

 

Any suggestions, advice or information will be greatly appreciated.

[geoherb]

Here is NCL's page about Freestyle Cruising. You don't pay extra for meals unless you opt to dine in one of the specialty restaurants. Check out the Norwegian board for reviews about cruises and whether it's worth it to pay extra for some meals. We enjoyed eating in the specialty restaurants on a couple of Princess ships.

 

Here's the exact wording from the FAQs on NCL's website:

 

Q. Do I pay extra for all these dining choices?

A. All meals in the main restaurants, Lido Café and 24-hour restaurant are included in your cruise fare. Snacks, room service and on-deck grills are also complimentary. Specialty restaurants have a nominal fee or have à la carte pricing.

[trish1c]

Freestyle has to do with dress & timing.

 

The dress code for the whole cruise is resort casual. You never have to pack formal wear if you don't want to. People do get dressed up for formal night though.

 

You also are not assigned a table & a dining time. You can eat whenever you want, just like in a resturant at home. You walk in & if it will just be you & your daughter, you ask for a table for 2. If one of you makes friends aboard ship & you want to eat with them, walk in, give the number in your party & viola, a table for you to sit together. If you'd like to meet new people, you can ask to be seated at a table to share. Then you will be seated at a larger table -- 8 or 10 -- with other people so you can talk & visit.

 

If you want something fancier you can opt to dine at a for pay restuarant, but it's your choice. You don't have to spend the extra money.

 

Hope that helped.

[Schplinky]

Does freestyle dining mean that there can be wats to get in if a surge of people arrive at the same time?

[killer32]

From all the posts I have read about the subject there can be a wait between 7-9- it seems most people were saying 20 minutes. (so just like any resteruant)

[Happy ks]

There can be waits at the larger restaurants if you go during the typical dinner hour. We prefer to eat a little later in the evening and never had any problem being seated. Our one and only (so far) freestyle cruise we decided to opt out of the formal night and we were glad we did. The lines for the restaurant and the line for formal photos was extremely long. Although we felt that the food onboard NCL wasn't nearly as good in the main dining room as other lines, that can be subjective. We very much enjoyed being able to be seated alone and took advantage of the specialty restaurants. The food in the specialty restaurants was excellent and, if we cruise NCL again, we would probably budget to eat in those venues most evenings.

 

Our overall experience with NCL was much more positive than with Carnival, but either one would probably be a good choice for you and your daughter. If budget is a big concern, NCL may be a better choice, onboard expenses (tips, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, excursions) would probably be about the same.

 

If I were you, I would narrow down my choices, then go to the reviews section of Cruise Critic and read about each ship before booking.

[Copper_beeches]

There can be a wait, but I never experienced more than 5 minutes at 6:30 or so... plus there are multiple restaraunts on most of the ships, so you can always just go somewhere else if there's too long a line... I loved the food, and we didn't visit a pay restauraunt at all, the NCL fare DEFINITELY includes copious amounts of food :-) I think the kids crew program on most the ships is very well regarded, check out the NCL board for more info... there's a very loyal following :-) I've heard very good things about kids and freestyle... flexibility, eat when they're hungry not when you're scheduled, eat at a veriety of places, good kids menu etc...