Why the dislike of Freestyle/NCL

[cruzerfornow]

I am a lawyer. In my full time job I am paid a set salary every month to represent children. I do not bill by time. Courts are pretty much shut down this week and next.

 

Who are you to suggest when I should be on CC?

 

Go ahead and leave your violent thingie up if it means that much to you.

 

I watched it a couple times through and enjoyed it!:eek: Does that make me a bad person....or just an annoyance to a lawyer? :D

 

Mike------>off to google annoying sig cartoons to put on CC! ;)

[Queen_Of_Natick]

I am a lawyer. In my full time job I am paid a set salary every month to represent children. I do not bill by time. Courts are pretty much shut down this week and next.

 

Who are you to suggest when I should be on CC?

 

Go ahead and leave your violent thingie up if it means that much to you.

 

 

I'm suggesting it because its apparent you're being too sensitive. Is it the case you're working on? Since you brought it up (not me), I'd have to say yes.

 

In other words, you trippin.

 

Were I to have the shot of bugs bunny slapping the hell out of daffy duck, you'd have a problem with that too.(even though he did it often and yeah, its funny because its a CARTOON)

 

RNE actually got it right, and its what I see reflected on this board ALOT.

 

-Q

[DAGVBSB]

People have different interests, different likes, different points of view. That what makes us all unique.

 

There was an interesting thread on here just the other day, one person didn't like NCL because the daytime actitivies were "boring" and there wasn't anything to do. But another person came on and said that they prefered just being able to sit around the pool (or on their balcony) and relax and didn't care about the activities.

 

That is it in a nutshell....different strokes for different folks.

 

Freestyle allows that.... if you want to dress up for dinner, then go for it; if you don't, then just wear resort casual. If you want to dine at the same time each night, then make reservations for that time.

 

I would love for a person who believes in traditional cruising to answer the following questions for me:

1.) Why do people have to be tied to a certain dining time?

2.) Why do people have to be stuck eating with the same people every night?

3.) Why do people have to have the same waiter every night? (what if he's a dud?)

4.) Why do people have to dine at the same table in the same venue every night?

5.) Why do people, who don't like to dress up, have to dress up at least twice on a cruise or be relegated to the buffet?

6.) Why do people have to be herded like cattle into public lounges waiting to disembark instead of being allowed to stay in their cabins?

7.) Why are there no choices in your vacation that you have spent your money on?

(the answer is that they can't without saying "that's the way it has always been.")

 

I think other posters have hit the nail on the head, those who attack Freestyle are those who are afraid of it. Those who fear that it is going to become the "traditional" style of cruising and push the "old fashioned" style of cruising out.

 

I hate to tell them, they are losing the battle. Princess, RCCL and even old Holland America are all implementing versions or parts of Freestyle cruisng and are meeting with positive reviews of their changes. With the new Freestyle 2.0 coming online, it will even more cement Freestyle as the way of cruising in the future. Traditionalists have a huge fight on their hand and haven't won much yet.

 

Finally, YES, there are those who have tried Freestyle and don't like it for one reason or another. But at least they tried it before condeming it and I can respect them for that. Those who attack it because of what they heard or what they have read are really nothing more than hypocrites.

[CanadianTwosome]

I guess I misunderstood this thread. Rather than just another 'freestyle vs traditional' thread, I thought the OP was confused about why, rather than just stating an opinion, so many people express seething hatred for NCL and freestyle... sorry.

 

So... my answer to the question 'Why don't people like Freestyle?' is:

 

Everyone has unique life experience that leads to a different perspective on everything that they see or do. I can tell you why I like freestyle, but I can't tell you why my neighbor does or doesn't. Speculating on why anyone would or wouldn't like anything is like trying to figure out what your dog is thinking. :)

 

So... my answer is 'I don't know.' :) I could list all the reasons I've seen given, but that would just be hearsay! ha ha ha

[tommy]

The original concept of freestyle I like.But it seems to me that now the service and food quality in the free part of freestyle has dropped considerably.If you want a good steak or lobster you have to go to speciaty[pay]dining.And what started as 1 is now 5 or 6 speciaty restaurants.Before the basic replies start I know they dont force you to eat at the specialty restaurant and it isnt something that would ruin my cruise.Its just something I think has happened with thier going to freestyle.

[petesweet]

It really has to do with a stuffiness factor. Freestyle means that formality is greatly reduced and traditional cruisers like nothing better than sitting in a dining room eating mediocre food while wearing formal clothes while on vacation.

 

The look down your nose attitude about freestyle is getting worse because a number of other lines are starting to adopt variations of it, and the traditionalists are not happy.

 

There is also a misconception that service suffers. Service has never been that good on any mass market line and some people believe that freestyle makes it worse because there is no tipping but mandatory service charges instead. Most crew members work with the same zeal whether or not they are getting tipped or are part of a pooling.

 

The bottom line is that it is a change and the traditionalists just don't like it.

 

Lots of generalities here, aren't there? People are different, and that's all there is to it. I don't think people should care what other people like. There are enough ships for all of us to sail.:) (I enjoy both lines but prefer traditional dining.)

[DAGVBSB]

The original concept of freestyle I like.But it seems to me that now the service and food quality in the free part of freestyle has dropped considerably.If you want a good steak or lobster you have to go to speciaty[pay]dining.And what started as 1 is now 5 or 6 speciaty restaurants.Before the basic replies start I know they dont force you to eat at the specialty restaurant and it isnt something that would ruin my cruise.Its just something I think has happened with thier going to freestyle.

 

But I think food quality and service is a subjective matter. What you consider to be bad service, I might consider mediocre. What you consider poor food quality, I might like. So to say that service and quality food is only available in the specialty restaurants is not true. One of the worst quality of service I ever had on NCL was in a specialty restuarant. My parents hated the food quality in Cagney's on the Pearl this summer (although we thought it was very good in Cagney's on the Dawn the year before.) There are way too many variables and tastes to blame poor service or poor food quality on Freestyle.

 

People are different, and that's all there is to it. I don't think people should care what other people like. There are enough ships for all of us to sail.:)

 

Excellent point, but it seems that Traditionalists can't seem to accept that fact. They want to attack Freestyle every chance they get. They can stick to lines like Cunard and Celebrity while we who like Freestyle, or a form of it, will go to NCL and Princess.

 

The simple truth is that they are afraid of Freestyle changing the entire face of cruising.

[Retired not Expired]

It takes three things to make a good cruise.

1.… Ship

2.….Crew

3.….Passenger(s)

All three must work together for it to be good.

 

But, anyone one of those can make a bad cruise. But sometimes it takes more than one of those things to turn it into a bad cruise.

 

Case in point, the review written by Sailor Jack about the NCL Dream cruise that hit the barge. Number 1, the ship got into a problem. Many passengers let this ruin their cruise. Sailor Jack instead turned it into an adventure and saved his cruise. He wouldn’t let it become a bad cruise, at least for him.

 

Now, we have six pages of people from many cruise lines coming together laughing. That is until page 5 of that thread. There we have one lone cruiser who used that happy thread to voice his complaints about the same ship from a cruise of long ago. None of his complaints were of a serious nature like Sailor Jack had. One made it positive, one made it negative.

 

Think about it when you read the negative. It doesn’t matter which cruise line. First, if it is all negative, crew was rude, food was all bad, etc., take it with a grain of salt and move on. Legit complaints will be those who explain what happened. Look at that poster other posts to see if they are a complainer or most posts are giving positive things or asking questions, etc. Ask yourself if that would cause you to have a bad time. Are many people reporting the same thing RECENTLY, or are most of those supporting the mishap the same ones who come back over and over to support any bad report. This way you can see if it was the norm or out of the norm. Read ALL of the reviews. I sometimes see both good and bad reviews from the same sailing and someone will come on here and say all they are seeing are bad things. I don’t know if they just want to see bad things or if the bad scares them so much they can’t see the good. My own opinion is people who come back with the “Cheerleader” or “You must work for the cruise line” to those who don’t support them are people with chips on their shoulders so I tend to discount their report. Your mileage may vary.

 

Lastly remember, someone with a complaint is much more likely to voice it than someone who had a great time. Therefore, sometimes what you see if not an accurate accounting of what has happened.

[Planer's Edge]

 

 

The simple truth is that they are afraid of Freestyle changing the entire face of cruising.

 

I agree wholeheartedly. Freestyle is attacked by other cruiseline loyalists who state that they tried it and hated it because of any number of "boilerplate" reasons. When someone writes one of these reviews it seems as though they are "cutting and pasting" from any one of the many NCL bash threads from the past.

 

I believe that these said loyalists are simply afraid that their favorite line will change their vacation and force them to have to make choices. They might also have to mingle with more than their close circle of friends or acquaintances and dinner mates. I am not belittling their preferences, I am just stating that they seem to feel the need to come over here and belittle ours with little or no facts involved with their whiny rants.

 

Just my $.02

 

PE

[flamingos]

 

I would love for a person who believes in traditional cruising to answer the following questions for me:

1.) Why do people have to be tied to a certain dining time? Some people like the same time. Want a different time, just go to the buffet or the speciliaty restaurant. Regularity is not a bad thing for everyone.

 

2.) Why do people have to be stuck eating with the same people every night? It's a way to meet new people. If you go with your own group, you could literally never speak to anyone new the entire trip. Part of my cruise experience is speaking to folks from other places.

 

3.) Why do people have to have the same waiter every night? (what if he's a dud?) Never had a dud. Why do I like it? Dinner is more fun when your waiter makes some conversation, isn't just some unknown server. There are many little extras that are tossed in during a week when you have the same servers.

 

4.) Why do people have to dine at the same table in the same venue every night? There is always the option of the buffet, which many people take advantage of. I have never done so.

 

 

5.) Why do people, who don't like to dress up, have to dress up at least twice on a cruise or be relegated to the buffet? 'Dress up' is relative - while there are lots of tuxes, there are lots of polo shirts too. I saw a man get turned away from the Summer Palace on the Pearl because he was wearing jeans to dinner - why did he have to pack slacks just to eat dinner?

 

 

6.) Why do people have to be herded like cattle into public lounges waiting to disembark instead of being allowed to stay in their cabins? That's changing on many lines now - but it is an definite advantage of freestyle, as is the walk-off debarkation.

 

 

7.) Why are there no choices in your vacation that you have spent your money on?

(the answer is that they can't without saying "that's the way it has always been.") What 'no choice'? It's open seating breakfast and lunch in the sit-down dining rooms for extended hours - longer hours than I got on the Pearl. The buffet is open almost all day, many lines have a 24-hour place that has food out and ready - not the slow service and very limited menu of the sit-down Blue Lagoon. Dinner is either early or late, with a show either before of after dinner plus many other activities. Don't feel like sitting down to dinner? Order it from room service. It's not as limited as you think.

 

Now, I ask you: Why must I pay to get a decent steak, or a shrimp cocktail, in a free restaurant on NCL?

 

Why were there so many unhappy people on my NCL cruise, complaining about not being able to get into Indigo, La Cuccina or Mambo's?

 

Why was there a line every morning at the dinner reservation desk - did those people really plan to spend their vacation (that they paid good money for) standing in line waiting to reserve tomorrow night's dinner?

 

I didn't care for freestyle. I tried it and didn't like it. So far that seems to make me stuffy and afraid of change. :rolleyes:

[Cruising89143]

I have not read all the responses on this thread and may be repeating what has already been said but many of the ones that are very negative towards this are the ones that have not tried it. I did this past July on NCL and it worked out great. This is the future of cruising like it or not. Some people are afraid of change. It is the unknown to them and they do not want to step out of their comfort zone.

 

The largest amount of negative comments have come from the RCI board lately and again many of them are going by what they have read in place of actually having tried it for themselves. The reports coming back from the ones that have tried it on RCI's Freedom of the Seas have been positive. RCI is now going to add a few more ships to the trial period. I for one am happy that they are giving us a choice between Traditional and My Time Dining. Something that will work for everyone.:)

[Planer's Edge]

 

I didn't care for freestyle. I tried it and didn't like it. So far that seems to make me stuffy and afraid of change. :rolleyes:

 

...and how many times and different ways do you feel the need to say so.:rolleyes:

 

Do you feel you are going to save someone from a disastrous experience if the try NCL? Or are you trying to convince those us that like NCL that we are somehow being duped with a false sense of enjoyment?

 

PE

[hazeleyez3]

People have different interests, different likes, different points of view. That what makes us all unique.

 

There was an interesting thread on here just the other day, one person didn't like NCL because the daytime actitivies were "boring" and there wasn't anything to do. But another person came on and said that they prefered just being able to sit around the pool (or on their balcony) and relax and didn't care about the activities.

 

That is it in a nutshell....different strokes for different folks.

 

Freestyle allows that.... if you want to dress up for dinner, then go for it; if you don't, then just wear resort casual. If you want to dine at the same time each night, then make reservations for that time.

 

I think you already answered the questions below with, "different strokes for different folks."

 

I would love for a person who believes in traditional cruising to answer the following questions for me:

I can only say why I prefer it, I can't say why its "required" or that it should be (I wouldn't care if there was a freestyle and traditional option).

 

1.) Why do people have to be tied to a certain dining time?

Its a vacation. Part of the relaxation aspect of a cruise is not worrying about making reservations, and not waiting (with a pager) for your name to be called off the waitlist.

 

2.) Why do people have to be stuck eating with the same people every night?

I enjoy having a few fellow passengers to talk with (actually getting past the "hello" part). I do not like the fact that you never really have a "true" conversation on freestyle. Each night you start the same general way: "who I am, what I do, where I live" etc.

 

3.) Why do people have to have the same waiter every night? (what if he's a dud?)

I've never had a bad "traditional" waiter. I will have to say that I do like knowing who he is, and who the assistant is (I don't mean personally, I mean that if I want something I know who to go to). There have been times on NCL where I've had 5 different "waiters" and they never seemed to communicate with each other.

 

4.) Why do people have to dine at the same table in the same venue every night?

I really couldn't care less about this - you can put me in the corner near the swinging door to the kitchen for all I care, just as long as I have a nice dinner.

 

5.) Why do people, who don't like to dress up, have to dress up at least twice on a cruise or be relegated to the buffet?

It is enjoyable to me to go out and get dressed up one night, get some nice pictures, etc and not feel completely over dressed because of the number of casual dressed people I see at dinner (not saying anything is wrong with the casual, just I enjoy a night where everyone is dressed up for a "special occasion" type scenario). Again, I wouldn't care if freestyle was offered in a seperate dining room (maybe have one where formal is mandatory, and another where formal is excluded - yes I know this won't happen I'm just stating my thoughts).

 

6.) Why do people have to be herded like cattle into public lounges waiting to disembark instead of being allowed to stay in their cabins?

Don't even get me started on how unfreestyle-like (yes, I made that word up) the POH's disembarkation was.

 

7.) Why are there no choices in your vacation that you have spent your money on?

(the answer is that they can't without saying "that's the way it has always been.")

If I am reading this correctly then there are choices: the line, the ship, the itinerary, the room category (sometimes the actual room), the set dining time, and the excursions I want to take.

 

I think other posters have hit the nail on the head, those who attack Freestyle are those who are afraid of it. Those who fear that it is going to become the "traditional" style of cruising and push the "old fashioned" style of cruising out.

 

I hate to tell them, they are losing the battle. Princess, RCCL and even old Holland America are all implementing versions or parts of Freestyle cruisng and are meeting with positive reviews of their changes. With the new Freestyle 2.0 coming online, it will even more cement Freestyle as the way of cruising in the future. Traditionalists have a huge fight on their hand and haven't won much yet.

 

Finally, YES, there are those who have tried Freestyle and don't like it for one reason or another. But at least they tried it before condeming it and I can respect them for that. Those who attack it because of what they heard or what they have read are really nothing more than hypocrites.

 

Just some thoughts from one who is pro-traditional

[Toyz711]

a very long time ago, in a city far way...i was part of a business, that business had a few competitors that were not that friendly. we could have learn to work together to help all our business, but that never happened. due in part to some mutal customers that went around to each business spreading rumors. they would do so in a friendly manner and it took years to find out that they weren't friendly customers after all.

i see the same thing happening between the boards on this site.

yes, there will always be some people who like the attention they get with bad reviews or going to the other boards and spreading gossip about how bad NCL is. many of these "know not what they speak" of.

there are those that had real problems with NCL or the NCL product, there are others like had minor problems and reacted badly handling them. then there are those like just like the familar...either way it's always best to look beyond the written word and try things for yourself.

[CanadianTwosome]

Isn't it interesting how we all seem to have such different ideas about how to answer (or perceive) the same questions?

 

The reality of having freedom of choice is that very few choices are absolute, or without compromise. For those of us who prefer having the choice, we accept that we must make compromises.

 

I am ecstatically happy to take a beeper and sit comfortably with my family and possibly some new friends, on a cruise ship, with beautiful ocean views, while I wait for a table, (which is generally a lot shorter wait than many I have had on land), if the other option is going when I'm told and eating with people that I have nothing in common with other than a set dining time and table.

 

I've been to Disneyworld many times; waiting in line for reservations twice on a cruise (we're only interested in two specialties) is something I will have no problem with. (I'm absolutely certain it will be trivial compared to 90 minutes for Splash Mountain in August).

 

While I absolutely respect my servers, any relationship I may develop with them is confined to the dining room. They are not allowed to socialize with me at any time, so I'm not expecting to form any lasting friendships with them. I enjoy meeting new people, also, so if I have seven different servers in a week, that means seven new people I can meet and learn a little about instead of only one. With the mix of nationalities on cruises, it's always neat to find out where everyone is from and maybe ask a question or two about their homes, as well.

 

I've said this before and I'll say it again... and again... and again... If I want to have the freedom to choose what I want to wear and when I want to wear it... I have to accept that others will do the same. My pet peeve (as some of you will know :p ) is ball caps in dining rooms. (indoors at all, really) I just have to deal with it. On the other hand, not everyone likes tie dye... but if you're on a cruise with me, you're going to see it every day. I actually checked the fabric content on my new formal gown to see if I could tie dye it!!! ha ha ha Unfortunately, it's 100% polyester, or it would have become a MUCH more interesting and bright dress!!! :)

 

These reasons for loving freestyle and not being the least bit bothered by the things that some people can't abide by are MINE. I don't expect anyone else to agree with me. I can and do only speak for myself. :)

[mbisson]

Or are you trying to convince those us that like NCL that we are somehow being duped with a false sense of enjoyment?

 

PE

 

My enjoyment is real! I know, 'cause there are some things a guy just can't fake ;)

[Don Haynes]

The reason why you are standing in line everyday to make speciality restaurant reservations is you don't like the continental menu in the main dining rooms, and the food at the buffet. You don't need reservations for the main dining rooms or the buffet.

 

There once was a time when you could make all your reservations for the cruise at one time. Unfortunately, the new cruisers never bothered to learn how freestyle worked. When they caught on, all the reservations were taken. So NCL limited the number of reservations to two days allowing them to learn and make reservations later when they did bother to learn.

 

Now you complain you have to make reservations every day. The simple solution is to dine in the main dining rooms or the buffet. Of course, its better to do so once, but new cruisers will gripe again if NCL allowed it again. The new cruisers won.

[Queen_Of_Natick]

 

 

My enjoyment is real! I know, 'cause there are some things a guy just can't fake ;)

 

 

-Q

[DAGVBSB]

Now, I ask you: Why must I pay to get a decent steak, or a shrimp cocktail, in a free restaurant on NCL?

 

Why were there so many unhappy people on my NCL cruise, complaining about not being able to get into Indigo, La Cuccina or Mambo's?

 

Why was there a line every morning at the dinner reservation desk - did those people really plan to spend their vacation (that they paid good money for) standing in line waiting to reserve tomorrow night's dinner?

 

I didn't care for freestyle. I tried it and didn't like it. So far that seems to make me stuffy and afraid of change. :rolleyes:

 

 

First of all, I have been quite upfront with the fact that I have no problem with people like you who TRIED Freestyle and didn't like it. You are not the people I am talking about. It is those that attack it without trying it who are afraid of change and are hypocrites. You I commend for trying it before you spoke. That makes your opinion of Freestyle so much more valid than most of the others speaking out against it.

 

Second....I go back to one of my earlier statements: what you feel is a good steak and what I feel is a good steak could be completely different. One should not use food quality as grounds for attacking a cruise line because food is subjective. I enjoyed the steaks that I had in the main dining rooms just as much as the one in Cagney's. My wife, in fact, said that shrimp cocktail that she had in the Main Dining room was better than the one in the specialty restauarant.

 

Third.....I have never waited in line to make reservations for the dining venues on NCL ships and only twice have I had a problem getting the dining times that I desired. (earlier the better). This includes the days when you could make reservations for the whole week. I have also never waited in line to be seated at a restaurant. (except the time it took to seat the people ahead of me in line which was less than 5 minutes.)

[DAGVBSB]

Just some thoughts from one who is pro-traditional

I wish I could respond to your responses, but the quote function won't allow it.

 

Let me just add this....we did Disney this past summer and I never had to plan more for a vacation than I did for that trip. Which parks to go to on which days, making dining reservations and making sure you were at the right park at the right time. Rushing out of parks to make dinner reservations. Running to attractions to get "Fastpasses" Making sure you arranged the rest of your day so that you could get back to use your "Fastpass." Dodging runaway trams (wait, thats another story). Waiting in lines.

 

 

I know, I know....we made the decision to go to Disney. But my point is for comparision. No matter what vacation you go on, you are going to have do some planning. You are going to have to wait in lines and you are not always going to get what you want.

 

One of the problems with Disney was making food choices that everybody liked. Not a problem with Freestyle Cruising....we just split up.

 

Finally, most of the responses to my questions said to go to the buffet. Why should I have to be relegated to the buffet just because I don't like my seating time, my tablemates or the dress code? Sounds pretty unfriendly to me.

 

and, I don't care what anyone else is wearing to dinner. They could be naked for all I care. I only care about enjoying my food and enjoying the company that I am with. It is, and always will be, my opinion that those who care what anyone else in the room is wearing are insecure with their own image and lifestyle.

[katiel53]

I think a lot of people dislike Freestyle cruising because it's new to them, therefore unfriendly/fearful.

 

We have been on over 50, closer to 60 cruises now, and only one has been Freestyle. We went to Alaska in May of 2005 on Star. I personally loved the informality of the ship. We did bring "formal" clothes for the one formal night and jackets for the men for dining in Cagney's and Le Bistro.

 

There were 5 of us and our first night's dinner was in the main dining room. Our service was awful. The waitress told us a million times there were other restaurants available. We were ignored, had no dessert, let alone coffee, it was just horrible.

 

The next night we went to the other main restaurant. It was great. We had reservations for the remaining nights in the specialty restaurants. One morning, we all had breakfast in the main dining room. Don't you know we got that same waitress with the same story? We kind of laughed later, (try 2 years later) but at the time weren't happy.

 

Our last night dinner was at Cagney's. We had atrocious service. Our waitress, who was doing a great job, left to receive some award from the Captain. The other waitress who was to take over our table, never did, so the assistant, and God bless her, did the best she could. Seven people at dinner with all different meals drove the poor girl over the edge. She served one, then another, then another, and well, the first food was cold by the time the last one was served. It was awful.

 

Will we ever do another Freestyle cruise? Of course. Stuff happens on all cruises, albeit, not necessarily like this one. We are going to Alaska again in May. This time on Pearl. I'm sure we will have a wonderful time.

 

If things are as bad as last time, I will talk to the headwaiter at the time. I too have learned a lot since that cruise.

 

One more thing, to us Freestyle isn't exactly Freestyle, in that the restaurants we wanted to go to, other than the main ones, needed reservations. We had reservations for 7PM every night. That isn't Freestyle, but it's the time we eat at home, or like to eat when we go out. So, even if we truly don't follow the Freestyle type of dining, we sure get what we want.

 

We are looking forward to our trip in May.

[Planer's Edge]

DAGVBSB...you've PM over on the light side.

 

PE

[JWestShuh]

I guess I misunderstood this thread. Rather than just another 'freestyle vs traditional' thread, I thought the OP was confused about why, rather than just stating an opinion, so many people express seething hatred for NCL and freestyle... sorry.

You were right:) I found it so strange when I was surfing away on Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, ect. that when people would ask a question like - "Help me choose my next cruise" that if anyone mentioned NCL there were a large number of posts saying things like - You have to be joking, NCL is horrible, low class cruise line, you actually have to wait to eat for 15-20 mintues!!!, ect. Does it seem like NCL is the black sheep of cruise lines to anyone else?

P.S. Of course I like the freestyle vs. traditional question as well.:)

[tommy]

But I think food quality and service is a subjective matter. What you consider to be bad service, I might consider mediocre. What you consider poor food quality, I might like. So to say that service and quality food is only available in the specialty restaurants is not true. One of the worst quality of service I ever had on NCL was in a specialty restuarant. My parents hated the food quality in Cagney's on the Pearl this summer (although we thought it was very good in Cagney's on the Dawn the year before.) There are way too many variables and tastes to blame poor service or poor food quality on Freestyle.

 

 

 

Excellent point, but it seems that Traditionalists can't seem to accept that fact. They want to attack Freestyle every chance they get. They can stick to lines like Cunard and Celebrity while we who like Freestyle, or a form of it, will go to NCL and Princess.

 

The simple truth is that they are afraid of Freestyle changing the entire face of cruising.

I been cruising for 11 years 4 ncl and I would be surprised if anyone who cruised before freestyle didnt think service and food were better before.I dont think the complaints are just from traditional cruisers.But if freestyle means paying for more things that used to be free,then yes Iam afraid that the other lines will follow suit.

[NowVoyager908]

Many people simply have an aversion to change. To them, the concept of cruising has certain traditions attached; and innovations such as freestyle and/or personal choice just don't fit in with those traditions. The problem for these travellers is that because of the success of freestyle, more and more cruiselines are adopting some version of it. They may have no choice but to adapt or give up cruising altogether. The times they are a changing . . . LOL.

 

I'm on the other side of the coin. I am looking at a couple of cruises out of NY next January. RCI vs. NCL. RCI is actually the better price, but the idea of traditional dining is horrifying to me . . . a real step backwards after my last two cruises on NCL. I guess I'm an NCL snob now. ;)