The beginning of a horrible era.

[DKMDE]

I came back from the NCL Jewel, never wanting to go back. I loved the ship, but I hated freestyle. I missed seeing the same people every night who knew all our preferences and, most of all, I hated running out of dinner to make the show.:mad:

 

Recently I heard HAL was switching to freestyle and RCCL could be next. I wanted to try royal, but if they change to freestyle, so much for that. I was very suprised that HAL switched because from my understanding, HAL is a very tradition-minded line with chimes inviting people to dinner.:confused:

 

Could Carnival be next? After all, it's its last division in N. America not on freestyle yet.:(

[DaytonCruiser]

Anything is possible, but I would doubt it will happen anytime soon. Carnival likes to entertain in the dining room which doesnt go well with freestyle.

[Thirsty Cruiser]

I came back from the NCL Jewel, never wanting to go back. I loved the ship, but I hated freestyle. I missed seeing the same people every night who knew all our preferences and, most of all, I hated running out of dinner to make the show.:mad:

 

Recently I heard HAL was switching to freestyle and RCCL could be next. I wanted to try royal, but if they change to freestyle, so much for that. I was very suprised that HAL switched because from my understanding, HAL is a very tradition-minded line with chimes inviting people to dinner.:confused:

 

Could Carnival be next? After all, it's its last division in N. America not on freestyle yet.:(

 

They sure play it up in their commercials, but I don't know anyone who has tried it that liked it. The biggest complaint is that the "free" dining was a mob scene, and you always felt compelled to do the pay dining choices.

I personally think you will see more supper clubs, but I still enjoy traditional "scheduled" dining.

[RatherBFishin]

Recently I heard HAL was switching to freestyle and RCCL could be next. I wanted to try royal, but if they change to freestyle, so much for that. I was very suprised that HAL switched because from my understanding, HAL is a very tradition-minded line with chimes inviting people to dinner.:confused:

 

Maybe HAL is switching to attract a much younger crowd. You know how rebellious and wild those punk 60-somethings are.

[SouthernCaribbean]

They sure play it up in their commercials, but I don't know anyone who has tried it that liked it.

Lots of people love it. Just take a trip over to the NCL board. Many cruise with NCL based on that fact alone. Its not for me..yet its great that cruise lines offer people alternatives.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=599075&highlight=freestyle

[lives to cruise]

They sure play it up in their commercials, but I don't know anyone who has tried it that liked it. The biggest complaint is that the "free" dining was a mob scene, and you always felt compelled to do the pay dining choices.

I personally think you will see more supper clubs, but I still enjoy traditional "scheduled" dining.

 

 

I fully agree with your statement. I know a number of people that have Sailed NCL recently and none of them liked the freestyle dining. They (NCL) hyped it so much that these people booked thinking it was going to be terrific but instead they found it to be pandemonium, chaotic and as you said, ended up paying a great deal more for a decent dinner.

 

I personally will not sail NCL for this reason.

[Cruising89143]

I came back from the NCL Jewel, never wanting to go back. I loved the ship, but I hated freestyle. I missed seeing the same people every night who knew all our preferences and, most of all, I hated running out of dinner to make the show.:mad:

 

Recently I heard HAL was switching to freestyle and RCCL could be next. I wanted to try royal, but if they change to freestyle, so much for that. I was very suprised that HAL switched because from my understanding, HAL is a very tradition-minded line with chimes inviting people to dinner.:confused:

 

Could Carnival be next? After all, it's its last division in N. America not on freestyle yet.:(

 

 

I just returned from the Dawn a few weeks ago and LOVED Freestyle. No problems as it worked out very well. I also loved the fact that there are no formal nights. Service was outstanding and the food was good too.

 

RCI is trying it out on one ship and it is only one of the dining rooms but IMHO this is the future of cruising. If it works out with RCI look for Carnival to try it next.

[Thirsty Cruiser]

Lots of people love it. Just take a trip over to the NCL board. Many cruise with NCL based on that fact alone. Its not for me..yet its great that cruise lines offer people alternatives.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=599075&highlight=freestyle

I have seen the NCL boards and can't explain it:confused: . I was just saying that I don't personally know anyone who enjoyed it.

[Moondawgie]

If Carnival does this, it will be my last cruise on that line.

 

I do not like freestyle and would not choose it over traditional dining.

[Rowan555]

We'll be on NCL in December - not only that, but on a ship that wasn't designed for Freestyle. I haven't heard one good thing about this cruise from anyone I've personally spoken to. We had some Sea Miles points to burn, though, and we wanted a 7 day out of NOLA - the Spirit was our only option.

 

We tend to eat all our meals much earlier than the average person - we'd be fine eating lunch at 11 AM and dinner at 4 if we had to. I think dinner begins at 5:30 - we'll arrive at 5:15 and hope to beat the crowds. We don't intend to eat at any of the surcharge restaurants.

 

Even though this is a Carnival board, I'm sure I'll mention something about our Spirit cruise here as well, if I can find a way to keep it on topic. Perhaps comparing NCL to Carnival...

[miami]

I love freestyle... I love the resort casual and no formal nights. I have no desire to dress up, I'm on vacation, relaxing. That was the reason I picked NCL in the past but... I'm going to try Carnival with it's traditional seating and formal night (don't think so.. we will be the ones you all talk about). My sister said I will love Carnival... keeping an open mind. We will see :)

[Sundagger]

HAL is going to a mix of traditional and As You Wish dining over the next year. You can select either type when you book your cruise - scheduled or open seating.

[PrettyLA]

I came back from the NCL Jewel, never wanting to go back. I loved the ship, but I hated freestyle. I missed seeing the same people every night who knew all our preferences and, most of all, I hated running out of dinner to make the show.:mad:

 

Recently I heard HAL was switching to freestyle and RCCL could be next. I wanted to try royal, but if they change to freestyle, so much for that. I was very suprised that HAL switched because from my understanding, HAL is a very tradition-minded line with chimes inviting people to dinner.:confused:

 

Could Carnival be next? After all, it's its last division in N. America not on freestyle yet.:(

 

 

Royal is "testing" freestyle...I hope it won't stay for good. But at least they are leaving the option open for traditional dining.

[deborahjo]

Let me first say I have never cruised NCL. Had to cancel my first one on NCL and now I am glad I did. Have talked to many people who have done the Freestyle thing and hate it. The reason is that couples cannot get seated for a long time. You cannot make a reservation as 2 so you have to wait in long lines. One couple I spoke to said they got use to waiting 30 to 45 minutes to dine nomatter when they went to the dining room. Were told they needed to go to the supper clubs if they did not want to wait in line. ( mine you and then pay 30.00 a person to eat) This is wrong. Freestyle is not or never be for me...

[Cruising89143]

Royal is "testing" freestyle...I hope it won't stay for good. But at least they are leaving the option open for traditional dining.

 

 

I'm the other way around. I want it to work and I believe it will. Both traditional and Anytime dining can co-exist.

[Rowan555]

HAL is going to a mix of traditional and As You Wish dining over the next year. You can select either type when you book your cruise - scheduled or open seating.

 

That would be an interesting option for Carnival - one dining room with open seating, one dining room with traditional dining times. Except for the Spirit Class ships, which I believe have only one dining room. Doh! I think there would be many kinks to work out and lots of unhappy passengers during that time, though. Carnival has dinner down to a science, and I doubt they want to mess with something that works so well.

[lvtotrvl1]

I am another that loves the freestyle. NCL has more business than it has ever had and freestyle has surely helped the growth.

[strtdoc]

My wife and I have cruised on both NCL and Carnival. We enjoy both....hey we're on a cruise! Freestyle has certain advantages, as does traditional dining. On NCL we enjoyed not having to move our activities around a dining time, it's just the opposite. We liked the option of a table for two when we didn't care for someone else's company. On the other hand, we never had the same waiter so we didn't get to develop the same type of relationship as we do on Carnival. We both have to dress up for work so when we're on vacation, we don't like to (that was nice on NCL). We found either way works fine for us, but freestyle is certainly not for everyone.

[strtdoc]

Let me first say I have never cruised NCL. Had to cancel my first one on NCL and now I am glad I did. Have talked to many people who have done the Freestyle thing and hate it. The reason is that couples cannot get seated for a long time. You cannot make a reservation as 2 so you have to wait in long lines. One couple I spoke to said they got use to waiting 30 to 45 minutes to dine nomatter when they went to the dining room. Were told they needed to go to the supper clubs if they did not want to wait in line. ( mine you and then pay 30.00 a person to eat) This is wrong. Freestyle is not or never be for me...

My wife and I cruised the NCL Sun last October. Many nights we requested a table for two and were immediately seated. There were two dining room choices (both freestyle seating) and we never had a problem. We were certainly never encouraged to go to the supper club type restaurants.

[Wennfred]

One thing I noticed on this board is that there are people that are afriad to sit with other strangers. They ask for a table for 2, not because its romantic but because they don't want to be bothered. I think that the Freestyle method is great for un-sociable types.

 

 

 

Fred

[bakechef]

I sailed on the NCL majesty, a ship not designed for freestyle. It worked out great for us, we chose the small more desirable dining room, and only had to deal with a line once, and that was on the optional formal night and that wait was only for 5 minutes, and we always requested the same wait team.

 

I think the problem that most encounter with freestyle is that many want to eat at 7:00 a peak time (traditional dining doesn't even offer 7:00 dining). Land restaurants experience the same bottleneck during peak times. We chose to eat early and had no problem.

 

When people expect a cruise to be the same as their last, freestyle can be a shock to their system. I Liked not being tied to a dining time, and still being able to enjoy the food in the dining room (which was outstanding by the way) instead of the lido buffet. We made a reservation in Le Bistro on a sea day, so we wouldn't have to worry about getting back to the ship to eat. I do think that offering both would be a great compromise, but from what I have heard from princess, many sailings are having too many people wanting anytime dining.

 

just my humble opinion

 

MAC

[janetz]

I came back from the NCL Jewel, never wanting to go back. I loved the ship, but I hated freestyle. I missed seeing the same people every night who knew all our preferences and, most of all, I hated running out of dinner to make the show.:mad:

 

Recently I heard HAL was switching to freestyle and RCCL could be next. I wanted to try royal, but if they change to freestyle, so much for that. I was very suprised that HAL switched because from my understanding, HAL is a very tradition-minded line with chimes inviting people to dinner.:confused:

 

Could Carnival be next? After all, it's its last division in N. America not on freestyle yet.:(

 

Why would you be running out to make the show? That is what freestyle is about, eating when you want. Did you choose your time to close to the show times. :)

[janetz]

If Carnival does this, it will be my last cruise on that line.

 

I do not like freestyle and would not choose it over traditional dining.

 

 

Guess you will be sailing Celebrity? ;)

[welldone60]

We were on the NCL Star with a group of ten. Freestyle worked really good for our group on that trip. When DW and I go alone we prefer set dinner times and tables so we can get to know a few other Cruisers. Freestyle dinning is no differn't than your breakfast and lunch in the dinning room on Carnival.

[Cruising89143]

One thing I noticed on this board is that there are people that are afriad to sit with other strangers. They ask for a table for 2, not because its romantic but because they don't want to be bothered. I think that the Freestyle method is great for un-sociable types.

 

 

 

Fred

 

Just because a person or couple does not want to sit with complete strangers does not make them antisocial.:rolleyes: Some people such as myself have been there and done that and grew tired of it. It's not worth the roll of the dice. The Freestyle/Anytime has many pluses for folks that do not want to be tied to the same dining time each evening or want the freedom to eat when the mood hits them. Works great when the ships are in port late. One is not forced back to the ship early to get cleaned up and dressed to rush for dinner.