Freestyle?

[goblue1981]

So DW and I are new to the cruising world. We're going on our 2nd cruise October 4 on the getaway, our first was the sky 3 day to the Bahamas. We both really liked the freestyle of ncl as the whole eating at set times and with strangers doesn't really appeal to us. However in reading through other threads, rccl and carnival, I noticed a lot of people don't think highly of the freestyle way. My question is what everyone's thoughts and preferences are in regards to freestyle. Also if we book on rccl are we going to hate it since all we know is ncl freestyle?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Illyria]

So DW and I are new to the cruising world. We're going on our 2nd cruise October 4 on the getaway, our first was the sky 3 day to the Bahamas. We both really liked the freestyle of ncl as the whole eating at set times and with strangers doesn't really appeal to us. However in reading through other threads, rccl and carnival, I noticed a lot of people don't think highly of the freestyle way. My question is what everyone's thoughts and preferences are in regards to freestyle. Also if we book on rccl are we going to hate it since all we know is ncl freestyle?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Other cruise lines have their version of "Anytime Dining", so if you really don't want to have dinner at set times, you have that option. You can also request a table for 2, if you don't want to sit with strangers. Me, I prefer traditional dining, with set times and formal nights, and we've had some really interesting people as our dinner mates over the years. But to each his own.

[DorothyB]

I like freestyle - both being able to eat when / where you want and the casual dress code.

[Demonyte]

Mostly the reason why people that prefer cruising with the lines focused on traditional dining do not like freestyle because they prefer having set dining times and servers for the whole cruise. Like for OP, those things do not appeal to us at all so we cruise exclusively with NCL (at least for now).

 

Other cruise lines' versions of Freestyle Dining vary a lot, so if one books RCCL or CCL, one can't expect the exact same experience as with NCL. I'm not saying (by what I've read) that their versions and setups would be better or worse, but different. Different strokes for different folks.

 

I'm sure that when trying new cruise lines with an open mind, one can't have a truly miserable cruise with any of the major cruise lines - some specific things that one either likes or dislikes might be different but in the reality the companies in bigger picture are more alike than different.

[Hikini]

We love freestyle! Being able to eat when we are hungry - not when we are told it's time to eat. We don't care to share a table with strangers. When we go on vacation, DH and I like to be alone with each other.

 

We love that it is less structured and it works very well for us.

[emcelh]

Although other cruiselines now have some time of flexible dining available some feel it works better on NCL since their ships were designed for it with many more tables for smaller parties. My only experience away from NCL was on Carnival (and on one of their older ships). They used 1 dining room for Anytime Dining and we were usually seated with others since tables for 2 were scarce and there was a long wait for them.

 

It all comes down to personal preference. Some feel that the service isn't as good if you don't have the same wait staff every night. Some don't want to worry about waiting for a table at peak times. For others, like us, those things are not an issue.

[Ewoodspark]

My question is what everyone's thoughts and preferences are in regards to freestyle.

 

 

 

We had discussed cruising for a few years but after watching programmes on TV of passengers in penquin suits and ball gowns on large dining tables of 8, my DW basically refused to have anything to do with a set up like that. However, we then read up about NCL and tried the Pearl on a Caribbean cruise setting off from Jamaica after spending a week there. It was exactly as we wanted. Freedom to dress as you want, smart casual for dinner and shorts through the day. Dine when you want in the MDR's or buffet. My DW was highly delighted and there is no way that we would ever consider any other cruise line apart from NCL and are currently looking forward to a repeat visit to the Greek Islands next year

[sparks1093]

I suspect that since you've asked the question on the NCL board that most of the replies will favor Freestyle and I am one of them. We have one other cruise line under our belt with a goal of trying all of the main stream lines at least once. Many of the other lines have copied NCL to a degree regarding anytime dining (only available to a percentage of passengers) and a more relaxed dress code. We prefer Freestyle but are able to tolerate other ways of doing things in order to try out new things.

[biker@sea]

On our first cruise we were asked if we wanted to share . I was a bit confused as we don't have community dining in any Boston restaurant that I have ever been to .

So we tried it ONCE .

That was enough one lady went on and on and on about this and that and back to this again . She never shut up.

Diner took for ever. Never shall we do that again .

 

I'm not a shrink . I don't want to hear a stranger's problems!

 

I like my freestyle. :D

[Cruzaholic41]

However in reading through other threads, rccl and carnival, I noticed a lot of people don't think highly of the freestyle way. My question is what everyone's thoughts and preferences are in regards to freestyle. Also if we book on rccl are we going to hate it since all we know is ncl freestyle?

 

When it comes to dining, people who prefer other cruise lines are usually grouped into 2 categories. The first is those who still love traditional seating and having the same wait staff every night. The second, which I am a part of, is those who found the Anytime option on other lines to actually work a lot better than NCL's Freestyle.

 

If you are considering giving RCI a try, I say do it. Just, make sure you choose their My Time Dining option since you don't want assigned times.

[khaide612]

I had Anytime Dining on Carnival but we were a party of 5 so got our own table. Thank goodness. I did Royal my first few cruises and was lucky on my very first to be seated with a nice family with good table manners. My other Royal cruises were with large family groups so no strangers. I like freestyle for the choices & being able to go when I'm hungry and choose where I want to eat. But mostly because I don't have to sit with strangers. I like meeting people on vacation but not eating with them.

[mypleasure]

If it wasn't for Freestyle I doubt I would ever have set foot on a cruise ship. Back in the '90s I worked with someone who, along with her parents and other family, were avid cruisers. What I heard was enough to put me off for life. I could not face the set dining times or the table companions. Formal night made me shake uncontrollably at the mere thought.

 

I wanted to go to alaska and a cruise fit the bill but I was scared. I heard about NCL and freestyle and we thought we would give it a go. 12 down, 3 more booked. Never cruised another line yet. I think those who put down Freestyle are those who take comfort in being told where to eat, when to eat, who they will eat with and what to wear while they are eating. Take that away from them and they struggle. I am the opposite. It is those things that would cause me to start fighting against them. My comfort comes from the Freestyle options.

 

I am still unsure of sailing on other lines with any time dining due to the sharing a table option. I remain unconvinced on that one for now. If sharing tables and formal wear doesn't bother you then why not try it. It is the only way to decide. Other peoples opinions are just that. Form your own from your own experience.

[sparks1093]

I had Anytime Dining on Carnival but we were a party of 5 so got our own table. Thank goodness. I did Royal my first few cruises and was lucky on my very first to be seated with a nice family with good table manners. My other Royal cruises were with large family groups so no strangers. I like freestyle for the choices & being able to go when I'm hungry and choose where I want to eat. But mostly because I don't have to sit with strangers. I like meeting people on vacation but not eating with them.

 

That reminds me, on our CCL cruise DW and I decided to have breakfast in the MDR one morning (a first for us). I hadn't given it any thought, but we were seated with other people (and it wasn't that we were all seated together, people were seated at our table 15 minutes or so after we'd been seated). It worked out okay but I'm not in the mood to be overly social that early in the morning.

[Aquahound]

I think those who put down Freestyle are those who take comfort in being told where to eat, when to eat, who they will eat with and what to wear while they are eating. Take that away from them and they struggle. I am the opposite. It is those things that would cause me to start fighting against them. My comfort comes from the Freestyle options.

 

I don't agree with that. That may be true for some people, but certainly not all. As someone who has actually sailed other lines and hasn't had assigned traditional dining in several years, I can tell you first hand that some cruise lines handle unassigned dining better than others. There are only 2 cruise lines I have been handed a pager and made to wait upwards of 30 minutes for a table....NCL and Princess. On my last NCL cruise, it was every night. So, I think my putting down of Freestyle is a little justified. Hopefully my experience on Getaway will be better. My best unassigned experiences have been on RCI, Celebrity and most recently, HAL.

 

By the way, RCI is slowly switching over to a concept similar to Freestyle. They call it Dynamic Dining. Only one restaurant will be formal. It starts with Quantum Class and is being added to Oasis in her upcoming drydock. The jury is out on how it'll work, so we'll just have to wait and see. I also heard distant rumor that Carnival is exploring something similar.

 

Sorry....I guess I just hate to see people limiting themselves to only one cruise experience due to misconceived notions of other lines.

[khaide612]

That reminds me, on our CCL cruise DW and I decided to have breakfast in the MDR one morning (a first for us). I hadn't given it any thought, but we were seated with other people (and it wasn't that we were all seated together, people were seated at our table 15 minutes or so after we'd been seated). It worked out okay but I'm not in the mood to be overly social that early in the morning.

 

Oh don't even think about making me chat in the morning. The one thing I did like on Carnival was afternoon tea, but we sat with people and met a very nice chatty couple who would not stop talking...annoyingly so. I try to be polite but at some point I just put an end to it & left (and this was long after they stopped serving tea and had to ask us to leave). They were very "see you at the next one" so I didn't go back.

 

We go to a family style restaurant in Lancaster that makes you sit with other families. Once I had a sip of my iced tea and got dirty looks. Then someone at the table decided we had to hold hands and pray. I will politely & respectfully bow my head but don't ask me to hold hands with strangers before I'm going to eat. Yuck.

[CruzLover80]

I'm a mixed bag and actually like both. Having done the freestyle, assigned dining and anytime dining on Carnival and NCL. I like the idea of the freestyle and anytime, but also like meeting new people.... sometimes. Other times, I want to eat without having to find conversation or commonalities. I love the personalization you get with assigned dining, the waitstaff typically knows what you like to drink and your name, which is really nice. Yes, I love the cheezy dancing waiters on Carnival and the formal nights offered. With NCL even the dress up if you want nights are mixed, not everyone dresses up which is disappointing. Freestyle works perfectly for the non-structured type. It just matters on your specific preference for that specific cruise.

 

We have met some wonderful people while cruising and some that we still keep in contact with. Find what makes you happy and don't be afraid to try new things!

[Still Dreaming]

We love the freestyle and NCL but I don't pick a ship, I pick where I want to go. We choose Celebrity southern Caribbean last year. Loved it! And we are going on the Getaway this year. The select dinning on Celebrity worked great but there were more Tux and suites at dinner. Oh and I have already booked the celebrity summit for 2016.

[Barb Nahoumi]

After many cruises with NCL, we decided to try RCI last spring. Since we could not get early dining times, we opted for the Mytime dining. As a group of six, we were able to have our own table at 6:30 in the same restaurant every night. I would call it an enhanced version of freestyle, because we had the same server team, and no waiting for a table.

 

We're planning to return to NCL next time. It feels more like home.

 

Our servers knew us, and the kinds of foods we enjoy. The only thing was, RCI made us prepay our DSC. There were two formal nights, with about 90% of the ship dressed up.

[shealea]

My dh and I love ncl and freestyle! We like the fact that we don't have to carry along extra luggage just to be able to dress up. And dressing up is just not our style. Dh would not like having to change just to go eat dinner.

 

We just got off the Jewel, and we never had a wait at all getting into any of the dining rooms. I think we did tend to eat at later times, so maybe that is why.

 

We are hesitant to try any other cruise lines, because we are so happy with ncl and freestyle cruising. It fits us so very well!

[Hikini]

My dh and I love ncl and freestyle! We like the fact that we don't have to carry along extra luggage just to be able to dress up. And dressing up is just not our style. Dh would not like having to change just to go eat dinner.

 

We just got off the Jewel, and we never had a wait at all getting into any of the dining rooms. I think we did tend to eat at later times, so maybe that is why.

 

We are hesitant to try any other cruise lines, because we are so happy with ncl and freestyle cruising. It fits us so very well!

 

Amen to this post. Can't wait to board the Jewel in just 10 days and experience freestyle all over again!! :D

[Demonyte]

I don't agree with that. That may be true for some people, but certainly not all. As someone who has actually sailed other lines and hasn't had assigned traditional dining in several years, I can tell you first hand that some cruise lines handle unassigned dining better than others. There are only 2 cruise lines I have been handed a pager and made to wait upwards of 30 minutes for a table....NCL and Princess. On my last NCL cruise, it was every night. So, I think my putting down of Freestyle is a little justified.

 

 

To be honest, I don't see that opinion as justified - even a little. You are comparing cruise lines where majority of people have traditional dining to the only cruise line that doesn't. While you are (at least for now) in minority on most other cruise lines, people that have fixed reservations (either to MDRs or speciality restaurants) are in minority on NCL.

 

Your experience of getting the beeper on a NCL ship every night just tells us that you have chosen to have dinner at the same time as most others.

 

Personally I hate big crowds and queueing on vacations (surprisingly I liked Getaway a lot) and hence we choose our dinner times and places so that there are no long waits. Because of that on all my NCL cruises I've only been given beeper once. Ever. We have had to stand in queue for more than couple of minutes maybe a dozen times but other than that, it's couple of minutes or less (often only one or two parties before us in the queue) and we are already sitting in our table.

 

And despite of that we've been able to attend all the shows we've wanted and seen all the other performers we've wanted to see, so eating at the same time every night is definitely not necessary for planning and seeing those things unlike some here (not in this thread though) like to claim.

 

Even without seeing other available variations, I don't believe that NCL manages to do everything so that there wouldn't be something to improve, but like for many others in this thread, Freestyle Cruising is what got us cruising in the first place and from what I've read here on CC about other cruise lines, it is what probably keeps us with NCL in the future too.

[goblue1981]

Thanks for all of the responses. Having only cruised the one time on ncl sky I appreciate all of the feedback. Freestyle definitely is what got to cruise in the first place, I'm not into mindless chit chat about someone's kids that I don't know. If I wanted to eat with someone other than my wife we'd cruise with friends. Don't get me wrong I like meeting new people, but not when I'm stuck at a table and can't leave if they aren't my type. Plus for our first cruise and our next (oct 4 on the getaway) it's time for me and DW to get away from the kids and have some us time, so dining just the two of us is fantastic since we never get to that at home.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[lynnc99]

We just returned from a 7 day Getaway cruise - our first! - and loved the freestyle approach.

 

Truth is, we had always steered clear of cruising exactly because we didn't want to be told when, where, and with whom to eat. We have no issue with dressing up and looking nice, but a tux in the Caribbean in August? Come on.

 

I loved being able to order whatever I wanted. Two nights I opted for a selection of appetizers in the Tropicana room - so perfect!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I've cruised Princess and Carnival (Platinum) and will cruise on NCL for the first time in October. It's interesting to hear the opinions of those who've cruised lines other than NCL and hear what they like or dislike about each. I'm looking forward to seeing how NCL differs--from what I can tell from reading the threads is that the only real dining differences are that there is more variety for dining with all the specialty restaurants (I prepurchased UDP as I plan to try most of them) and that NCL doesn't have a formal or "elegant" night.

 

Since Carnival implemented Your Time Dining, I haven't eaten with strangers in years--the last several cruises, we've had a table for two and we've been able to request the same wait staff each evening. I love that as you get to know them a little and they know what your preferences are--on our last cruise our waiter brought me coffee each evening with dessert without my asking for it once he knew my preference and they knew DD had the beverage package so a diet Coke was always on the table within a couple minutes of sitting down. :D Also, with YTD, you go when you want and only once have I ever had to wait for a table.

 

As far as dressing up for dinner, I've never minded that at all and certainly never had to bring extra luggage in order to do it! Nice slacks outfit is fine--hardly anyone wears a tuxedo or ballgown these days. :) If we were going on a cruise and I somehow knew beforehand that I didn't want to ever dress up on it, I'd just eat in the buffet on formal night. Not a big thing.

 

So, those of you concerned about trying another line because you don't want to eat at the same time every evening or eat with strangers, I know from experience that you don't have to do either on at least Carnival and Princess. I'm very much looking forward to trying a different line as the majority of my cruises have been on Carnival (and that was my ex-husband's choice--he's quite the creature of habit and I always wanted to try other lines). Who knows? Maybe I'll become a Freestyle convert. :D

[Shawnino]

We go to a family style restaurant in Lancaster that makes you sit with other families. Once I had a sip of my iced tea and got dirty looks. Then someone at the table decided we had to hold hands and pray. I will politely & respectfully bow my head but don't ask me to hold hands with strangers before I'm going to eat. Yuck.

 

Good for you. I had something similar happen and I didn't do it on purpose but I just burst out laughing. I covered my mouth as quickly as I could, it all happened so fast, but the damage was done. Uncomfortable for all concerned. Wished I could have gone back an hour in time and chosen another restaurant.