What freestyle means to me

[swedish weave]

I'm talking NCL, about as bad as you can get.

 

Give me a 6:00 dining time with a reserved table and I'm a happy. Make me wait 30 minutes holding a pager screaming for it to buzz, that's NCL.

 

Why cruise a cruise line you don't like ??

[christiecruise]

Hubby and Dad have to dress up most days for work, don't want to wear a tie or jacket on vacation!

 

We have different plans each port day which may impact our dinner schedule and generally like to eat a bit later, but maybe not as late as a 2nd seating.

 

Love the freedom of freestyle! Dad only agreed to go with us if he could relax and not "dress" for dinner. The right choice for our family!

[emcelh]

I'm talking NCL, about as bad as you can get.

 

Give me a 6:00 dining time with a reserved table and I'm a happy. Make me wait 30 minutes holding a pager screaming for it to buzz, that's NCL.

 

With so many choices in cruiselines, there's one that's right fit for everyone. We prefer the flexibility NCL offers and we've never been handed a pager or experienced a 30 minute wait for dinner on any of our NCL cruises. I'm sure it can happen but that hasn't been our experience.

[BadKitteh]

I'm talking NCL, about as bad as you can get.

 

Give me a 6:00 dining time with a reserved table and I'm a happy. Make me wait 30 minutes holding a pager screaming for it to buzz, that's NCL.

 

 

What ship? We tended to eat at peak times in the popular restaurants and never waited with a pager.

[nikimouse]

I havent tried freestyle yet.

My expirience of assigned dining wasnt great. On our first cruise with disney we had early dining but it was difficult to get the kids ready on time after being in port, we were 45 mins late on one of the days. The second cruise we chose anytime dining with carnival. it was okay but the seating reserved for anytime diners was kinda out of the way in a corner with no window view and we felt we were away from the action of the middle of the room and singing waiters ect. The 3rd time I was cruiseing with my mum and had joined a great rollcall, i was looking foward to meeting people at dinner but they sat us on a table for 2 up on the balcony. I asked if we could sit with some friends who were on a table for ten and said they had good tablemates, this wasnt possible so we asked if the 4 of us could sit together that night as we had been together all day. omg it was such a hassle for them but they agreed as long as we didnt order a starter as we were 30 mins late at this point after standing around waiting for them to find a table. it just seemed to be a huge problem that we would even dare to sudgest sitting somewhere else, and im sure some people will think we should have just gone to the buffet, but we wanted to sit in the main dining room, we only ate there 3 times that week. I got dressed up for the formal photos, I like that aspect of cruise dineing but being told where to sit and when to eat is BS !!! I am looking foward to freestyle.

 

Are there lots of tables for 2 or 4 people or are large tables available. would it be weird if I went up to a table and asked do you mind if I sit here? just wondering how social freestyle dining is and if people keep to themselves more and dont mix as much. Do people make friends and decide to all go to dinner together? I dont wanna eat with my mum again all week lol

[groo]

Ah freestyle long waits, pagers, extremely poor service.

 

We all know this isn't real.

[puddles99]

Are there lots of tables for 2 or 4 people or are large tables available. would it be weird if I went up to a table and asked do you mind if I sit here? just wondering how social freestyle dining is and if people keep to themselves more and dont mix as much. Do people make friends and decide to all go to dinner together? I dont wanna eat with my mum again all week lol

 

I don't think you can just walk up to a table and join since usually you're seated according to party size, but there are no assigned seats so you can absolutely meet up with new friends and get a table together. Enjoy!

[Sauer-kraut]

There are many people who will ask to 'share' a table. Many people don't like having strangers as mates so many will be seated at a private table.

 

You check in to the restaurant with the hostess, and they will take you to a table, just like in a restaurant on land. Be sure to mention you would like to share and they will try to accommodate you.

 

If you have a rocking roll call, or meet interesting people on an excursion, etc. by all means if you all show up together at the dining room they will try to seat you together. The larger the group, the wait might be a little longer but there are tables of all sizes in the dining rooms so they shuffle fairly quickly.

 

Have a great time.

[chezbo99]

I love being able to just take a carry on and not have to worry about checking luggage or the airline losing it! With careful planning and packing we've enjoyed all of our cruises with what fits in our carry ons! And even though we won't be flying to NYC next month, we'll still pack light...in a carry on!!!

[russianmom]

My last 3 cruises were NCL then my cousin invited me to try CCL this past August.

 

The pain of taking formalwear for my son and myself and having to eat when I was told with whom I was told just cemented that fact that FREESTYLE IS FOR ME!!!

[nikimouse]

There are many people who will ask to 'share' a table. Many people don't like having strangers as mates so many will be seated at a private table.

 

You check in to the restaurant with the hostess, and they will take you to a table, just like in a restaurant on land. Be sure to mention you would like to share and they will try to accommodate you.

 

If you have a rocking roll call, or meet interesting people on an excursion, etc. by all means if you all show up together at the dining room they will try to seat you together. The larger the group, the wait might be a little longer but there are tables of all sizes in the dining rooms so they shuffle fairly quickly.

 

Have a great time.

 

thanks, thats great if I meet some people we can all just go to the dining room and eat together without feeling like we are asking too much, honestly they looked at me on carnival like I was crazy when I asked if we could have a table for 4. I dont know if I would just ask strangers if I could sit with them, I just meant if I see someone who I recognise from earlier or whatever I could sit with them or invite them to come join us.

Imagine not being able to sit with friends and them having to go to their table, and you go to yours on the other side of the room, then meet after dinner, its a bit silly, and freestyle just makes more sence!

[retired rascal]

Right now we are in a condo on Maui...why here??? gorgeous setting 180 degree unobstructed view, do what we want when we want, eat when we want, book an excursion with the concierge if we want, stay in all day if we want, pack very little....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO dress up....some shorts; some Hawaiian shirts for HIM; some sundresses, shorts, tops for HER; some bathing suits. Kindle, computer. THAT'S WHY WE LIKE AN NCL SUITE.....same thing.....except we even get fed by the Butler or go to Cagneys and don't have to get in the rental car. Can't beat the Lavazza. We hate formal; we hate 'dressing,; we hate schedules on vacation. We love NCL and Maui......at different times. We don't do NCL in Hawaii.

[perkydebrajean]

I chose NCL to be my first cruise next summer because of the Freestyle. I like the idea of eating when I want and where I want. I don't know if I'm going to be hungry at the same time every night. And I really don't want to have to dress up for dinner if I don't feel like it. I'll still dress nice for dinner but don't have to worry about bringing a lot of fancy clothes for dinner.

 

Maybe later on down the line I'll try a more formal cruise, but for my first I prefer it to be a laid back cruise.

[capriciousc]

We took a Disney cruise last year, and the one aspect of it that absolutely didn't work for us was the assigned dining times. Even though we booked several months in advance, we could only get the late seating (8:30 pm). Our daughter (who was five at the time) fell asleep at the table the first night. After that we never returned to the main dining room - it was just completely infeasible for us to begin dinner at our daughter's bedtime. Our next cruise will be on Norwegian, and we're looking forward to being able to be flexible and just "go with the flow".

[altarr]

So....I was going to say something that most of you did which is, I dress exceptionally well for work. I hate it. I am on vacation, I do not need to play James Bond in Monte Carlo. What I do want to do is pretend is that I have a life that allows me to wear the flip flops and shorts I intend on wearing the whole year round. There is a reason that there is a whole style called cruise wear. If you want to be in a place where everyone dresses up, go to a restuarant in a city and leave my shorts out of it.

[capriciousc]

[quote name='altarr']So....I was going to say something that most of you did which is, I dress exceptionally well for work. I hate it. I am on vacation, I do not need to play James Bond in Monte Carlo. [/quote]

I love this visual :)

Like you, DH and I dress up daily for work, so when we're on our own time, dressing up holds no appeal for us. Perhaps that's the key? Vacation is a chance to escape the trappings of our day-to-day life?

I have a friend who is a physician and wears scrubs to work every day. Recently we had a conversation where I was envious of the fact that she basically wears pajamas! every day! to work! She was envious of the fact that I get to dress up and wear nice clothes and shoes and have some variety in my work wardrobe. My grandmother was right - we always want what we don't have :)