NCL Spirit - How freestyle is Freestyle Dining?

[B17]

Okay so we have freestlye dining which I quite like the idea of. However I can see we can 'prebook' a table in the MDR at allocated time slots. My concerns are

1. the time slots online booking seem to go in one hour slots at half past each hour.

2. for the majority of the days the later times seem to be full and only 5.30 or 6.30pm remain.

 

I want to enjoy freestyle in the sense that its meant to be...ie I want to turn up at the dining room at say 7.15 one night then 7.45 pm the next. So how does it work in reality given that the times appear to be booked up and I cant see any quarter to quarter past or on the hour time slots?

 

I have cruised with NCL many years ago (before you have the privilege of booking online) and know that you could just turn up at the dining room and ask for a table, but in reality whats the situation these days with people prebooking? Will I struggle to be seated when I want

(And please noone suggest the buffet - I dont do self service in the evenings);)

[KeithJenner]

There is no need to prebook the main dining rooms unless you are a large group. Just turn up when you want. If it's a busy time then there may be a short wait.

 

If it's very busy and the wait could be longer then apparently they will give you a buzzer. I say apparently because it's never happened to me.

[B17]

Thank you - there are six of us travelling together. I was starting to panic when I couldnt see any time slots at the time we wanted.

[momofmab]

We were on the Spirit during one of the spring break weeks, so full ship. We saw people waiting every night outside the MDR's. Not sure how long they were waiting. We were a party of 3 and made reservations on the nights we wanted to eat there. One night we tried to go earlier than our reservation time and the hostess told us the wait would be longer than our original reservation time. That said, I don't think you need to necessarily make a reservation before you board. They have TV screens (on deck 7, I think) that show you each day, which restaurants have openings and which ones are getting full. For the MDR's I think you could check on the days you want to eat there and make your reservations then. For a party of 6, I would lean toward making reservations.

[denatravels]

NCL was my first cruise. I found the dining experience to be very "un-freestyle". But I did have the specialty package-- EVERYTHING needed to be prebooked: dining, entertainment,comedy club.

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

Just as a little aside, it depends a little as to what you think of as freestyle.

 

If it is the ability to choose whatever you want to do whenever you want with little or no notice, with the guarantee that you won't have to wait and that you will be able to get in, then the Spirit (nor any other NCL ship) fits into that. I would note that to my knowledge this has never been what NCL has advertised.

 

However, if you are expecting to have the ability to decide what you want to do (when and where to eat and what entertainment to go to), but appreciate that things require reservations at busy times (i.e. Speciality restaurants), then the Spirit does this very well.

 

Going back to the MDR, I have never made a reservation there on any cruise and never had to wait more than a couple of minutes. However, I don't tend to eat at the busiest times.

 

With a group of 6 then it's possible that reservations may help. However, I think this can be done onboard. Others will know more than me about the procedures.

 

One other point. The last post relates to newer ships. There is no need (or ability to book any entertainment on the Spirit).

Edited May 8, 2016 by KeithJenner

[GLYNAGP]

We have done 3 Cruises on the Spirit all departing from Spain and have never needed to book any dining time . On one cruise there was an exceptionally large percentage of Spanish passengers who tend to eat late so there was sometimes a long queue around 2030 each evening so we steered clear of that time but otherwise the longest wait we have ever had is just a few minutes.

[rvsullivan]

NCL was my first cruise. I found the dining experience to be very "un-freestyle". But I did have the specialty package-- EVERYTHING needed to be prebooked: dining, entertainment,comedy club.

 

 

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OP is on the Spirit and there is no way to reserve anything except dining. There is never a need to reserve for anything. Walk up is allowed and done routinely at every dining venue. Can there be a wait, yes, just the same as at a shore side restaurant. Reservations for the MDR's is a relatively recent addition at NCL. If you can wait a short time, you can walk up with no issues. If there is a longish delay, they will give you a pager and a chit for free drinks in a nearby bar and page you when your table is ready. As an FYI, advance reservations for dining is limited to about 30% of available space, so the fact that times are currently showing no availability means nothing once you board. If you have a specific date and time that is important to you, by all means reserve it when you board. Otherwise, enjoy your cruise!!

[BirdTravels]

NCL was my first cruise. I found the dining experience to be very "un-freestyle". But I did have the specialty package-- EVERYTHING needed to be prebooked: dining, entertainment,comedy club.

 

We were on the Spirit 2 weeks ago. At peak times, there was a short wait at the MDRs. Just like going to a restaurant at home at 7:15 pm. But no need to pre-book.

 

The Spirit does not allow you to pre-book entertainment. And there is no comedy club on the Spirit,,, so you can't pre-book that either.

 

We have been on the Breakaway, Getaway, Escape a total of 5 times. While they allowed you to pre-book entertainment and the comedy club, we we have always been able to walk in and get decent seats with no problems. If you want to be the first ones in the theater and get the seat second-row center, yup, pre-book the show. If you are not picky, then Freestyle it.

Edited May 8, 2016 by BirdTravels

[denatravels]

 

One other point. The last post relates to newer ships. There is no need (or ability to book any entertainment on the Spirit).

 

 

I apologize--my experience with "freestyle" is on the breakaway.

 

 

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[hawkeyetlse]

I found the dining experience to be very "un-freestyle". But I did have the specialty package-- EVERYTHING needed to be prebooked: dining, entertainment,comedy club.

As KeithJenner explained (but I think it bears repeating, because it is a common misconception), Freestyle Cruising does not mean that nothing needs to be pre-booked and that there will always be availability for walk-in groups of any size at any time. It only means that you don't have a table reserved for your group every night at the same time in the same dining room (i.e. traditional dining). You get to choose where and when you eat, but so does everybody else…

 

It's just like when you're at home and planning a night out. You can take your chances and show up at a popular restaurant without reservations on Saturday night, or you can call ahead and let them know to expect you. There's nothing special or magical about Freestyle: you're probably doing Freestyle right now. :p

[denatravels]

As KeithJenner explained (but I think it bears repeating, because it is a common misconception), Freestyle Cruising does not mean that nothing needs to be pre-booked and that there will always be availability for walk-in groups of any size at any time. It only means that you don't have a table reserved for your group every night at the same time in the same dining room (i.e. traditional dining). You get to choose where and when you eat, but so does everybody else…

 

It's just like when you're at home and planning a night out. You can take your chances and show up at a popular restaurant without reservations on Saturday night, or you can call ahead and let them know to expect you. There's nothing special or magical about Freestyle: you're probably doing Freestyle right now. :p

 

 

I don't need people to keep explaining it. I had my experience on NCL- everything HAD to be prebooked. There was no "just show up"-- for specialty restaurants, entertainment, comedy club. That's the way it was. I get that we are talking about a different ship. And someone else may have had a different experience. But that was mine, good or bad.

 

 

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[hawkeyetlse]

I'm not disputing your experience. I'm saying that you were wrong to call it "very 'un-freestyle'". That is Freestyle.

[B17]

Thanks for all the replies. Exactly one of the reasons why I now avoid the mega ships. although I am a very organised person who likes to plan there is no way I want to have to book to see a show nor pre book for anything, I just want to be able to chill and go with the flow.

[denatravels]

I'm not disputing your experience. I'm saying that you were wrong to call it "very 'un-freestyle'". That is Freestyle.

 

 

So glad that you know better than the NCL website:

"Feel like keeping your options as open as the view"

"Feel like following the stars instead of a schedule"

"Feel like following the sun instead of a schedule"

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

So glad that you know better than the NCL website:

"Feel like keeping your options as open as the view"

"Feel like following the stars instead of a schedule"

"Feel like following the sun instead of a schedule"

 

 

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That particular bit of advertising speak is particularly annoying, as it really doesn't indicate what freestyle is in practice. It is actually one of a few times that NCL have gone down that route when describing freestyle and it is very misleading.

 

What freestyle actually is is the ability to plan your own holiday, but especially on the larger ships some planning and booking is necessarily if there are things you don't want to miss. I will add that I have been on cruises on the newer ships with no bookings and still did loads and had a great time.

 

The result is that we get threads on here where people describe the newer ships as being un-freestyle when actually there are so many options.

 

Anyway, all this is very off topic, as the main discussion is about the Spirit.

Edited May 8, 2016 by KeithJenner

[hawkeyetlse]

So glad that you know better than the NCL website:

The website is as truthful as marketing materials can be expected to be. You are free to look at the sun and the stars to your heart's content. But if you want to watch a show, there is obviously a schedule for that…

 

As KeithJenner said, Freestyle puts you in charge of planning your activities on board. In other words, it potentially requires more effort than traditional cruising. They're not going to put that on the website, but you, too, know better than the website now.

[FSNA5861]

Okay so we have freestlye dining which I quite like the idea of. However I can see we can 'prebook' a table in the MDR at allocated time slots. My concerns are

1. the time slots online booking seem to go in one hour slots at half past each hour.

2. for the majority of the days the later times seem to be full and only 5.30 or 6.30pm remain.

 

I want to enjoy freestyle in the sense that its meant to be...ie I want to turn up at the dining room at say 7.15 one night then 7.45 pm the next. So how does it work in reality given that the times appear to be booked up and I cant see any quarter to quarter past or on the hour time slots?

 

I have cruised with NCL many years ago (before you have the privilege of booking online) and know that you could just turn up at the dining room and ask for a table, but in reality whats the situation these days with people prebooking? Will I struggle to be seated when I want

(And please noone suggest the buffet - I dont do self service in the evenings);)

 

We just returned from B2B on the Spirit (9-23 Apr 16).

 

We had dinner in the Windows MDR most evenings aside from four dinners in Le Bistro. We never pre-book before a cuise as we do not want to be tied to a schedule. We ate at different times and never had a problem getting a table.

 

For those who want to attend the shows in the Theatre which are held at 1930 and 2130, there may be a bit of planning required. You have to allow at least 90 minutes for your meal to be served specially if you order drinks. If you are in a rush, simply tell your server that you have an engagement to attend and they will do their best to accommodate you.

 

Should you desire to do so, you can make your reservation for specific seating times directly at the MDR hostess.

 

For large groups, I would definitely make reservations to allow the MDR personnel time to arrange the required tables for your group for your requested seating time.

 

If you have a reservation for dinner in the Windows MDR, you will be directed to enter the MDR from the Starboard side (right-hand side facing forward of the vessel) and those with no reservation enter the MDR from the Port side (left-hand side facing forward of the vessel).

 

We never experienced long waiting times and the MDR staff is great and we truly enjoyed our dining experience.

[cb at sea]

The "popular" times....7-8 or so, will be packed....if you can show up later or earlier, then your wait is reduced. It's like ANY land-based restaurant....

[atomax]

We recently got off the Pearl going through the Panama Canal. One thing that really helped us was changing when we did dessert. We would eat apps and dinner on the early side (say 5:30-6), go to the early show, and then go back to the MDR to get dessert. It allowed us to digest all the food from dinner and enjoy dessert (which, on the Pearl, was usually very good - Chocolate Volcano FTW!). We became known on the ship as the "Dessert Couple" and no one blinked an eye because, "Freestyle." (well, servers would automatically try to drop bread at our table and stare at our dessert menu with some confusion, but no one really cared).

Edited May 13, 2016 by atomax
edits

[calmpets]

We just returned from B2B on the Spirit (9-23 Apr 16).

 

We had dinner in the Windows MDR most evenings aside from four dinners in Le Bistro. We never pre-book before a cuise as we do not want to be tied to a schedule. We ate at different times and never had a problem getting a table.

 

For those who want to attend the shows in the Theatre which are held at 1930 and 2130, there may be a bit of planning required. You have to allow at least 90 minutes for your meal to be served specially if you order drinks. If you are in a rush, simply tell your server that you have an engagement to attend and they will do their best to accommodate you.

 

Should you desire to do so, you can make your reservation for specific seating times directly at the MDR hostess.

 

For large groups, I would definitely make reservations to allow the MDR personnel time to arrange the required tables for your group for your requested seating time.

 

If you have a reservation for dinner in the Windows MDR, you will be directed to enter the MDR from the Starboard side (right-hand side facing forward of the vessel) and those with no reservation enter the MDR from the Port side (left-hand side facing forward of the vessel).

 

We never experienced long waiting times and the MDR staff is great and we truly enjoyed our dining experience.

 

This is 100% accurate for the Windows dining room. However, the Garden Room main dining room provided a totally different, and considerably less pleasant, experience. The Garden has only one entrance, with a not-very-wide hallway, and both reserved and non-reserved parties are filtered through the same space. So, you will have parties with reservations pushing their way through the line to get to the kiosk for immediate seating. You'll get reserved parties waiting in the line, getting annoyed at the people pushing through the line. And you get the stand-bys, who have no idea why people are pushing past them at all. It's a hot mess, IMHO, and truly the only thing I disliked about the Spirit. I actually only ate in the Garden Room once, because the wait was so unpleasant.