Question about Freestyle/NCL

Suzila · August 19, 2005

Thank you all for your opinions. We've been to hawaii many times, but never on a cruise. So, I'd rather have more time ON the ship than off...at least at dinner time.

I'm disappointed because I really did want to go back to Hawaii, but from what you've all been posting, I don't think freestyle dining is what we want. All morning I've been looking for something else that might suit us, and maybe an Alaskan trip would do the trick. We've done the inside passage before, but our friends have not, and I see Vision of the Seas (Royal Carribbean) leaves from Seattle and visits Victoria. That might be an option.

You know how once you get the bug in your head about going on a cruise, you can't stop until you find what you want? That's what's happening here. I'm on a mission now to book a cruise.

Thanks again, everyone, for your opinions. Sue

JoeyandDavid · August 19, 2005

celebrity has an itinerary that leaves San diego and does hawaii

Shari2 · August 20, 2005

Sue...

You may want to check out my review of the "Infinity" to Hawaii trip in the review section. It was a great cruise! I think they have raised the price a bit now, though, but if you're anywhere near San Diego or LA, you won't need air fare.

jtutak · August 20, 2005

I disagree with all you people. :tongue: The food in the main dining room on the NCL Spirit was excellent. :cheesy: We never had to wait for a table for longer than 5 min. There were 2 Main dining rooms and you can dine with who you want to and what time you want to. I personally don't like people telling me when to eat and who to eat with, of course this is my opinion you :grin: either like freestyle or you don't. I think you are missing out on something if you don't try freestyle

KeithnRita · August 20, 2005

Our next cruise will be free style. We are going in with an open mind. We are hoping we like in as well, or almost as well, as traditional.

Lisa63 · August 21, 2005

I just got back from an NCL cruise today. Freestyle Dining worked well for us... we usually arrived 6:15 and were seated immediately. Once, we arrived at 7:45, and it was only a 15-minute wait. It would have been shorter had we shared a table with others.

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to cruising, and I was reluctant to give Freestyle a try. Yet it wasn't that bad. The best part was setting our own schedule. We could take our time getting ready for dinner. The down sides, of course, are that you don't develop a rapport with your waiter, plus if you have after-dinner plans such as a show or meeting friends, you have to time it right.

As far as the food, we thought it was fine, and the dinners were excellent. We had 5 dinners in the main dining rooms, one at the buffet (not my choice) and one in the pasta cafe (no charge, excellent service). We did not dine in Le Bistro, which had a $15 pp cover charge ($20 if you wanted lobster).

IMO, I wouldn't turn down a dream itinerary based solely on Freestyle. We were in the same situation when deciding on Norwegian Majesty to Bermuda, and I'm glad we made the choice we did.

Again, this is JMHO.

JoeyandDavid · August 21, 2005

Lisa ..Nicely put! Especially the last paragraphÃ¢â‚¬Â¦Thanks for the observations from one that has experienced Ã¢â‚¬Å“freestyleÃ¢â‚¬Â<]

jtutak · August 21, 2005

Well I'm glad that Lisa enjoyed freestyle, like I said You either like or not, you just have to try it. I also think NCL has improved the experience and the newer ships are built for freestyle. Suzila Maybe you should do both Alaska & Hawaii. :grin: :grin:

JohnG · August 25, 2005

We just returned from the Norwegian Star, our second freestyle cruise. We love it. The Versailles Restaurant is beautiful, formal, and we never had to wait to be seated no matter what time we arrived. We showed up about 8pm most nights. Of up to 10 restaurants on NCL ships, never more than 4 have a cover charge. Some of the other restaurants, with limited seating recommend that you make reservations. The restaurants that charge on Star are Ginza (Oriental/Tepanaki and sushi) with ala carte pricing, Cagney's Steakhouse (similar to the "charge" steakhouses on Princess and Celebrity), Le Bistro their French restaurant, and SoHo with Pacific Rim cousine and pick your own lobster. Two others recommend reservations, Endless Summer with Mexican and tapas, and La Trattoria itallian food. The classic Versailles and the Aqua main dining rooms do not require reservations and if you wish to eat in the same dining room every night at the same time, you can. You just aren't likely to get the same waitstaff, as they move them around, too. And the "Lido-like" Market Cafe is open 24 hours. In addition they have the Blue Lagoon, a non reservation wok/wings/fried rice, etc dining area open 24 hours.

The point of Freestyle Dining is choice. If you want traditional, you can do it, and if you want variety, eating in a different style every night at a different time, you can do it.

Freestyle also means that formal night is optional, although most migrate to the main dining room if dressing formal.

It also means that on debarkation day, you leave when you are ready to leave, and can keep your carry on in the cabin until you do, instead of lugging it to breakfast, etc. There are no mobs of people blocking stairways and lobbies with luggage in tow. No line to debark.