Putting the FREEDOM back in Freestyle

[mikedw]

In my opinion, if you expecting perfection with any vacation, you might as well stay home. When I worked for Amtrak, we would be a hour late due a freight train breaking down in front of us and you could tell that this little event ruined some people entire vacation. Relax and go with the flow.

 

Michael

[browniegirl]

Although I agree that a vacation should "de-stress" and not create stress, I am in favour of a self-made schedule so that I feel that I'm getting my money's worth.

 

When I figure that my family vacation on the Pearl is going to cost at least $8000 when I count air fare, cruise fare, taxis, excursions, beverages (alcoholic drinks & pop passes), specialty restaurant surcharges, tips and a few souvenirs, FOR SURE am I going to thoughtfully plan this one (as usual!)

 

Suppers in the specialty restaurants will likely be arranged for sea days, taking advantage of the 50% off. My family is fussy about their food, so yes, we'll be consulting menus if available. For example, my husband loves tuna tartare - so we'll hit the main dining room for the Chef's Dinner. Sometimes there's a great band playing between 5:30 and 6pm in a lounge - so if you know about it, you can have a drink and relax while you listen, and eat later.

 

For sure I'm going to research and plan excursions to find ones that the whole family will enjoy and book ahead. No hemming and hawing over excursion choices on the boat when we could be out on the deck enjoying the sunshine!

 

Bottom line, if I'm spending a lot for a memorable vacation, I'm going to make sure that my cash is well spent. Unexpected pleasures always pop up, and I'm not saying "plan every minute", but for sure my family will have a game plan and get bang for our buck!;)

 

I have to agree! We are taking our 5 kids on the Jewel, my parents and grandparents are coming as well, so it a very expensive vacation for us and we want to have some plans. We do, however, LOVE freestyle. We were on the Sun 2 years ago and loved being able to go to dinner whenever we wanted with the kids (4 of them then...) and hit either the early or late show... it was so flexible that we all had a fantastic time. Thankfully, due to the internet, I found out that our crusie next January is mainly comprised of a large group that has many of the venues booked up for the nights we are on our cruise, ie: 4 nights there is only an early show in the theatre because they have it booked from 8:30 pm on, 2 nights the pool and area is booked from 8 pm on because of their functions, etc. This ruins the whole "freestyle" thing for me. There goes our spontineity on those nights as we'll have to eat very early (there are 11 of us and it takes a while to get thru 11 people in the dining room) in order that we can get to the show in time and not miss it. What if we wanted to go swimming....oh yah, can't, the large group has it booked... those kinds of things ruin the whole relaxed freestyle thing for us. Our TA has contacted his district rep who has contacted NCL but of course, it's been almost a month and we've gotten no reply from NCL on what we can do. We are 3 families to coordinate for dates and we have fantastic staterooms, so we are not sure what to do..... it's a really tough decision to make. Hopefully, either we will move ahead a week or two, but then the chances of getting the same cabins goes down the toilet as they aren't available, or who knows what....it's tough. In the end, we may end up having to switch to another cruise line, but we can't wait much longer, things get booked up as we all know! I loved NCL on our last cruise and was really looking forward to cruising on it again, the freestyle, go anywhere do anything at your own pace is awesome, very very relaxing.

 

Leah

[bobbygirl]

If you're a new Latitudes member, NCL must have sent you an info package with your cards with a rep contact. I got info from them because of Latitudes, but also when I ordered brochures off their site (which I never received!!!). I got a letter and a hand-written postcard from a rep who also phoned me. We've emailed back and forth several times, and she has been very helpful, even forwarding my e-tickets directly from NCL when I had a problem with my TA. She answers questions promptly and points me in the right direction. They must respect the fact that your TA "owns" your booking, but a good relationship with a personal NCL rep could be useful to you.

 

Just an idea to look into...or maybe I got lucky with my rep?

[browniegirl]

If you're a new Latitudes member, NCL must have sent you an info package with your cards with a rep contact. I got info from them because of Latitudes, but also when I ordered brochures off their site (which I never received!!!). I got a letter and a hand-written postcard from a rep who also phoned me. We've emailed back and forth several times, and she has been very helpful, even forwarding my e-tickets directly from NCL when I had a problem with my TA. She answers questions promptly and points me in the right direction. They must respect the fact that your TA "owns" your booking, but a good relationship with a personal NCL rep could be useful to you.

 

Just an idea to look into...or maybe I got lucky with my rep?

 

Gosh, that is definitely something I will look into. We rec'd our lattitude cards after our last cruise, but I don't recall anything else coming with them. I never rec'd the brochures off the website either...oh well. I will definitely try and give them a call myself, see if I can get somewhere with this. My TA is a great guy and he is kind of in a bind himself because he has to go through his district rep who then contacts NCL with our "issues". However, after almost a month with no reply back from NCL or the district rep, we are getting a little worried about what to do as the cruise is just over 4 months away.... I will definitely try and find something out about the rep, do you call the main NCL phone number or the lattitudes number?

 

Thanks!!!!

 

Leah

[bobbygirl]

I'm surprised that nobody contacted you. I got contacted by a 2nd rep after I made a 2nd brochure request. But since I had already established a working relationship with the first one, I just pitched the letter.

 

Try this NCL number: 1-866-234-0292 and give your Latitudes number and ask if there's a rep assigned to you...it's worth a shot.

[Callandre]

Going with the flow...what a nice concept!

I find the real key to using these boards is Balance. There are some really helpful ideas shared here, but I think the information vs. Minutia line is a wobbly one for most of us. For me, the most successful planning occurs when I can book an excursion that has had mostly good reviews, but I am also careful not to over book every minute of every day. I leave time to just see what the wind blows our way. I agree that vacations are supposed to be about relaxation and recuperation, and that usually happens best outside the borders of our own world. However, once we venture outside the parameters of our individual comfort zones, we can end up more stressed than necessary. I missed out on a dolphin encounter excursion on my first cruise because the first I heard of it was when embarked. It had been sold out for weeks! I learned a lot about the advantages of planning ahead, and that has allowed me to avoid that particularly painful sting of deep dissapointment.

To the folks who discovered they'd booked a cruise with a large committment to a bigger group already: you could make plans of your own to complement the ship's areas that will be off limits: for example, if the pool is busy, that should mean the restaurants are quieter, or if the theater is busy, the pools should be less crowded. Make their plans work FOR you by scheduling against theirs, and you can have as much fun as you would have anyway. That same thing happened to us in Las Vegas, and we figured out how to work around things. So many other un-affiliated travelers left the hotel that we had many of the public areas almost totally to ourselves! But if the worry about the possible inconvenience to you on this cruise is going to overshadow any upside, then by all means, consider other avenues...the attitude we bring to things often determines our feelings about the outcomes!

[tomluvsaida]

:(

I think the over planning when it comes to NCL also has come from those, like me, who have waited to plan and have been told mid week "sorry we're not taking anymore reservations" :( I think people feel, its better to make them first day and cancel 24 hours before, then be let down and feel like your missing something.

 

When we were on the Dawn 2 weeks ago, there was no more first day sign up line. If you were in a mini or above, the concierge made them, if you were in any other category you had to call the restaurant directly after 5 PM or wait till the next morning when a reservation person was in the lobby in front of the model ship. That line was HUGE. They were also taking reservations for the Venetian, which I found helpful for formal night. Traveling with 4 kids who want to run all over, having a set dinner time, with no lines to wait on made dealing with them much easier. :)

Thanks, sorry about your experience on the Dawn :( but it actually backs up what I'm saying. I hope that not being able to make reservations when first getting on board is not a trend on all NCL/NCLA ships. We will be on POH end of October. We have a mini-suite so I guess the concierge can make them but I'd rather do it myself so I don't have to wait to find out the results. It's like this, when you get in a car, boat or plane that gives you the freedom to go where ever you want; do you think it takes away from that freedom to check the gas, oil or look at a map? The same logic goes into making reservations at the specialty restaurants.

[Hflors]

. I found out that our crusie next January is mainly comprised of a large group that has many of the venues booked up for the nights we are on our cruise, ie: 4 nights there is only an early show in the theatre because they have it booked from 8:30 pm on, 2 nights the pool and area is booked from 8 pm on because of their functions, etc. This ruins the whole "freestyle" thing for me. There goes our spontineity on those nights as we'll have to eat very early (there are 11 of us and it takes a while to get thru 11 people in the dining room) in order that we can get to the show in time and not miss it. What if we wanted to go swimming....oh yah, can't, the large group has it booked... those kinds of things ruin the whole relaxed freestyle thing for us. Our TA has contacted his district rep who has contacted NCL but of course, it's been almost a month and we've gotten no reply from NCL on what we can do. We are 3 families to coordinate for dates and we have fantastic staterooms, so we are not sure what to do..... it's a really tough decision to make. Hopefully, either we will move ahead a week or two, but then the chances of getting the same cabins goes down the toilet as they aren't available, or who knows what....it's tough. In the end, we may end up having to switch to another cruise line, but we can't wait much longer, things get booked up as we all know! I loved NCL on our last cruise and was really looking forward to cruising on it again, the freestyle, go anywhere do anything at your own pace is awesome, very very relaxing.

 

Leah

What ship are you on next Jan that is booked with a large group? I trying to decide on a cruise out of ny on the dawn and I would hate to be with another large group. Been there done that!

[jimc_usa]

I am a planner and also a computer engineer. I have always been afraid of paying a fortune for a vacation only to find out on the last day we missed so much! So for me I try to know everything about my trip before I go, and the internet is a fabulous source of all things magic.Travel agent, library, matchmaker, newspaper etc, etc.

That being said I do not peruse the menus, I leave something as a surprise.

[Guest BeckyThane]

If I may share a little of the mentality behind 'cruising' the cruising boards: ESCAPISM.

HEAR, HEAR!!! :p

[bubiesmom]

Originally Posted by Host Cecilia

I never thought that not being able to get chocolate sauce or ranch dressing was something I needed to be prepared for. If it's not available, what else do I have to choose from? It's good to get outside your own box to try new things. If I could get everything on a ship that I had at home, why do I need the cruise? I can stay at home and not have to expand my world.

 

Yes, I agree. I have been talking with my kids for months about trying new food and new experiences. ( I see it's 28 days until Nathan's BD. Is he your only child?) Ranch dressing and chocolate milk are one "staple" for each of my kids. They plan to try new things, but they need their "crutch" to fall back on. Every person has their favorite food. Chocolate buffet, lobster night, etc. If they had to do without Ranch dressing and chocolate milk, it might be good thing or it might turn ugly...(LOL). Nathan, I'm sure has his favorite foods too.

[Host CMLA]

Yes, I agree. I have been talking with my kids for months about trying new food and new experiences. ( I see it's 28 days until Nathan's BD. Is he your only child?) Ranch dressing and chocolate milk are one "staple" for each of my kids. They plan to try new things, but they need their "crutch" to fall back on. Every person has their favorite food. Chocolate buffet, lobster night, etc. If they had to do without Ranch dressing and chocolate milk, it might be good thing or it might turn ugly...(LOL). Nathan, I'm sure has his favorite foods too.

Don't get me wrong...to some people (my sister) she can't leave the house unless she knows there's a Coke machine somewhere along the way. That's just not the kind of person I am. I love Diet Dr. Pepper but couldn't get it on my last cruise. No worries for me. I drank something else. That would be a big deal to someone else. I was just saying that it's not a big deal to me. As for Nathan...he's only 11 months old now and his favorite foods come strained in a jar. He's flexible though. If one day it's squash, apples and chicken and applesauce and the next day it's sweet potatoes, apples and ham and banana fruit medley...he adjusts. And unfortunately for him and his future...he'll have to adjust to going with the flow sometimes too because that's how we are. But a debate on how much control kids have over things in the house is another debate for another forum. LOL :D

[bubiesmom]

Yes, host Cecelia you are correct. Kids SEEM to think they have control of alot of things.....mine are 15 and 11. (They seem to have that stubborn "Italian gene" too). I hope this cruise goes well......

[Host CMLA]

Yes, host Cecelia you are correct. Kids SEEM to think they have control of alot of things.....mine are 15 and 11. (They seem to have that stubborn "Italian gene" too). I hope this cruise goes well......

Oh my...two. Our one is enough for us. Yes, he's only 11 months old so we have a long road ahead but we hope to maintain control. If there's a power struggle, I'm afraid for Nathan. I'm the mommy and I win. That's how I was raised and my dad always told me that when I'm the parent, I get to make the rules.

 

Just tonight I was talking to DH about this topic and how scheduled we should be now that we have a kid. I'm not sure what we'll do if Nathan freaks out because he can't have this or that or something is different than what's at home. I suppose how he behaves will dictate how many times we take him on vacations and how often we drop him at grandma's house. :p

[bakechef]

I find the internet an extremely useful tool, but I almost cancelled my upcoming cruise after booking it, then finding cruise critic. I focused on the negative reviews posted on this site, but over time, I saw that my ship had a very loyal following, and that my worries were unjustified. My first cruise was before the internet was a daily part of most peoples life, the anticipation, and dreaming of how it would be was magical, and having it unfold, one surprise after another was wonderful!

 

The more I read on this board the more that I feel that freestyle is for me, I follow a schedule for work all week, and fit in my life where I can, BUT on my days off I LIVE FREESTYLE, as much as possible, keep my plans loose, and try to keep planned activites to a minimum, and I do the same on vacation. My partner taught me this, I always planned everything, so now on land vacations, he only lets me plan and reserve the lodging, everything else, is fly by the seat of your pants (of course I do a little internet reasearch, to see what there is to do there). Since learning to live this way, I have eliminated alot of needless stress, it has been truly liberating!:D

[cruise2much]

Is the internet and these boards a good or bad thing? I guess it’s all in how you look at it. We are conditioned this day in age to expect to be taken advantage of in every transaction we perform. We have this image of a boardroom full of executives devising the best way to pry the hard earned money from our hands and the cruise industry is not excluded from this observation. I think the internet and these boards are a defense tool as much as anything to keep from being taken advantage of. There is a difference of being informed and obsessing, but with millions be able to communicate it adds something to the old adage “Word of mouth is the best advertising” I think if it was not for our ability to communicate on this level we would be taken advantage of. The cruise lines are well aware of the Cruise Critics boards and you can bet they are as active as we are on it. So, I think of it as my own word’s being heard in that boardroom as they discus whether or not to raise prices or not to pay their art auction bills and pass the problem on to it’s guests. If no one knows it’s a problem is it a problem?

[Globaliser]

We are conditioned this day in age to expect to be taken advantage of in every transaction we perform. ... I think if it was not for our ability to communicate on this level we would be taken advantage of.

Do people really think like this? I know it's good to be aware that some people or companies might take advantage, but it seems to be a depressingly cynical view about business to think that every business is trying to take advantage of you in every transaction.

[cruise2much]

Do people really think like this? I know it's good to be aware that some people or companies might take advantage, but it seems to be a depressingly cynical view about business to think that every business is trying to take advantage of you in every transaction.

 

No no not at all, I just meant that without a check & balance most business will explore every avenue to increase its bottom line after all thats why they are in business to make money. But in some cases it is at the consumers expense and the ability to communicate the way we can is just a tool to avoid surprises.

[NJBear]

..................... We are conditioned this day in age to expect to be taken advantage of in every transaction we perform. We have this image of a boardroom full of executives devising the best way to pry the hard earned money from our hands and the cruise industry is not excluded from this observation. ......................

 

Yikes!! I don't know who the "we"are that you refer to here but I asked a few other people and none of them have that conditioning or images of the boardroom execs.....

 

Actually "I" (unfortunately noone else will let me speak for them today):D see a room full of executives trying to make their consumers experiences have more..for less, or at the very least a competitive product ...and in doing so insure that they have a great company that people will love to utilize in the future

[seahorse]

Is the internet and these boards a good or bad thing? I guess it’s all in how you look at it. We are conditioned this day in age to expect to be taken advantage of in every transaction we perform. We have this image of a boardroom full of executives devising the best way to pry the hard earned money from our hands and the cruise industry is not excluded from this observation. I think the internet and these boards are a defense tool as much as anything to keep from being taken advantage of. There is a difference of being informed and obsessing, but with millions be able to communicate it adds something to the old adage “Word of mouth is the best advertising” I think if it was not for our ability to communicate on this level we would be taken advantage of. The cruise lines are well aware of the Cruise Critics boards and you can bet they are as active as we are on it. So, I think of it as my own word’s being heard in that boardroom as they discus whether or not to raise prices or not to pay their art auction bills and pass the problem on to it’s guests. If no one knows it’s a problem is it a problem?

 

WOW........what a cynical view:( I don`t think that it works that way. An informed consumer is a wise consumer. If a business tried to take advantage of the consumer they would not be in business too long.:)

[bakechef]

Is the internet and these boards a good or bad thing? I guess it’s all in how you look at it. We are conditioned this day in age to expect to be taken advantage of in every transaction we perform. We have this image of a boardroom full of executives devising the best way to pry the hard earned money from our hands and the cruise industry is not excluded from this observation. I think the internet and these boards are a defense tool as much as anything to keep from being taken advantage of. There is a difference of being informed and obsessing, but with millions be able to communicate it adds something to the old adage “Word of mouth is the best advertising” I think if it was not for our ability to communicate on this level we would be taken advantage of. The cruise lines are well aware of the Cruise Critics boards and you can bet they are as active as we are on it. So, I think of it as my own word’s being heard in that boardroom as they discus whether or not to raise prices or not to pay their art auction bills and pass the problem on to it’s guests. If no one knows it’s a problem is it a problem?

I do think there are a certain percent of people who think like this, I work retail, and it is this type of customer that tends to stick out in my mind unfortunately. I have known people like this first hand, and have made a point to distance myself from them.

 

What I have found to be a reality, working for large companies, is they are constantly challenging the impossible, trying do do more with less (less labor, less waste etc...). As a lower man on the ladder, it can be frustrating, trying to serve customers, and give them the product that they are expecting, when we are given less and less to work with, from decisions made purely from numbers, by people who are out of touch with those who are trying to maintain the product.

 

The information on the net is a double edged sword, you really have to wade through alot of untruths, rumors, and just flat out opinion, I get chain e-mail sent to me daily from family members making claims, often untrue, and people really believe this stuff, or it wouldn't continue to spread.

 

We can't deny it, there is that element of cynical people, the best I can suggest is to distance yoursef from them, and not feed their need to be cynical. (stepping off soap box now):D

 

MAC