Seating and Freestyle Dining

[NJGRANNY]

My daughter and I just returned from a cruise on the Sea. We liked freestyle dining very much, but were a little disappointed that they don't seat people at large tables together. To me, part of the fun of a cruise is meeting new people at dinner. Is it NCL's usual policy to seat parties at tables alone? One night, they didn't have a table for two, so we sat with two other ladies and had an enjoyable time.

[johnql]

When you arrive at the dining room, you can request to be seated at a larger table. They will wait until another party arrives that they can combine you with (that also wants additional company). That way, you will all start your dinner at the same time. When you place your request, there's also a chance that they just seated a party at a larger table that wants company. In that case, they would seat you with them immediately since they haven't started serving yet.

[kirbmeister]

My wife and loved the freestyle dining. We had reservations on two separate nights. One in a main dining room and one in a specialty restaurant. We actually found it it pain to have to go at a certain time and found it much nicer to go when we were ready.

 

We shared a table once. The couple behind us requested a certain waitress and her only available table was a table for eight and they were asked if they would share the table. We agreed to share with them just to do something diffferent and had an enjoyable visit.

 

On one of our excursions there was a gentleman (term used loosely) who was overbearing, loud and complained about everything. I turned at one point to my wife and asked how she would like to be in a traditional setting with him at our table.

 

Even with tables not being full and lots of couples eating alone, we were almost always seated immediately. The only exception was breakfast on debarkation morning. It took maybe two minutes that morning.

 

I can see the advantage of getting to know the wait staff better in a trditional setting, but I will definitely stick with freestyle.

[kirbmeister]

Freestyle also gave us the opportunity to fill out positive comment cards on more servers, as we never had bad set.

[NJGRANNY]

I totally agree that freestyle is great. Now that I know we can ask to be seated at a large table that will keep us happy.

 

And the freedom not to have to eat at a certain time is very relaxing. We just ate when and where the urge hit us that evening.

 

I think it will be very hard to go back to traditional seating - even though we probably will if a cruise comes up that's hard to pass up on another line. We've been very fortunate to be seated with interesting people on all our cruises. Some, of course, more compatible than others. If you get someone really horrible, you can ask to be moved. On one cruise, we were seated with two people who we thought were going to be awful and who turned out to be alot of fun and very nice people.

[seamac29]

My wife and I have traveled usually 2 or 3 times a year for the last 26 years and enjoy eating alone. We are both socialable, it's just that we enjoy talking to each other at these times , it is dare I say, romantic. We are going next year on the Star to Alaska and it is our first cruise. We have always put off cruising on the fear that we would feel trapped on the boat and forced into activities etc. This appears unfounded. Freestyling was a major reason we chose NCL. We figure we can always make friends at other times and then will end up dining with them. We are in a mini suite number 11562 and having read the many comments I feel these are far more informative than any guide book. I will continue to read and learn from your experiences. Thanks. I ass u me ( we know what happens when you do that ) that it doesn't matter what side of the boat ones cabin is on , as when it returns you are opposite side of the boat ?

[kirbmeister]

The only time we were "forced" to do anything was the muster drill and that only took 15 minutes. Oh, I guess we were forced to get off the ship at the end of the cruise.:D We never had any trouble getting a table for two. We took this cruise to get away and it worked. You will enjoy it.

[seamac29]

Thanks.I can see forced is a wee bit dramatic. Thanks:)

[ronandannette]

Sailing on the Sun repo September 25 out of Vancouver. Expect the boat to be full. Will we ABSOLUTELY need to make reservations at the specialty restaurants (Party of 4) or can we just walk up and wait for a table? Also, are children barred from the specialty venues? The general plan is to have our little one in the kid's club during dinner and dine like civilized people;) , but just in case... Any other relevant dining information would be greatly appreciated as this is our first NCL and we're a little bit :confused: .

[johnql]

Sailing on the Sun repo September 25 out of Vancouver. Expect the boat to be full. Will we ABSOLUTELY need to make reservations at the specialty restaurants (Party of 4) or can we just walk up and wait for a table? Also, are children barred from the specialty venues? The general plan is to have our little one in the kid's club during dinner and dine like civilized people;) , but just in case... Any other relevant dining information would be greatly appreciated as this is our first NCL and we're a little bit :confused: .

Yes, you need reservations at the specialty restaurants. I suppose it's possible to walk up and get a table (especially early or late), but I wouldn't count on it. Children are NOT barred from the specialty venues.

[1cruiselvr]

Just off the Spirit 2 weeks ago. Dined in 2 of the specialty restuarants. You must have reservations, they do not take people without them.

As for freestyle dining, we were a party of 2. Each night when we entered the DR (without reservations), we were asked if we wanted to dine alone or with others. We let the choice be theres (response was "whatever is easiest for you') and were seated with others. Each night was a very unique dining experience and we enjoyed learning about fellow pax. I suggest if you are dining in a party of 2 and are willing to share a table, that you tell the hostess when you arrive and they will be more than willing to accommodate your wishes. Sometimes I think they get too many negative responses to the sharing question, that they give up on party of 2s and just assign them their own table automatically. Happy Sailing!

PS They only seat you with folks that indicated they didn't mind sharing a table so there are no hard feelings when you arrive to their table.