Freestyle Cruising?

[kruzekrazy]

DH and I have done 4 Caribbean cruises on Carnival and are considering NCL for this year. We have always loved our dining experiences aboard Carnival and would like to know what those of you who have done both CCL and NCL think regarding the differences. We enjoy dressing up for dinner, even the formal nights. Does anyone dress up on NCL? Do you tend to get good service in the dining room even though you may not get to know your wait staff well?

 

TIA for any help and info.

 

Jen

[carol louise]

We've cruised once on NCL Freestyle and several NCL cruises pre-Freestyle, as well as several cruises on Holland America, which has traditional dining, though not on Carnival. On the Norwegian Dawn last spring, our Freestyle cruise, the wait staff were wonderful, without exception. I missed getting to know a group of tablemates, I must say, though the flexbility of eating schedules and variety of venues were nice trade-offs. On the Dawn, many people dressed up on the optional formal night (my husband wore his tux). I'd say maybe half the passengers were truly formal. Many of the rest were still a cut above casual, and a few decidedly casual. It made for fascinating people-watching.

[jkrislc]

The nice thing about freestyle is the flexibility. In addition, if you get a waiter that you don't like or isn't very good, you can simply avoid them next go around unlike traditional cruising. In addition, if you really like a waiter, you can request his or her section every night.

[katondeck]

The nice thing about freestyle is the flexibility. In addition, if you get a waiter that you don't like or isn't very good, you can simply avoid them next go around unlike traditional cruising. In addition, if you really like a waiter, you can request his or her section every night.

 

We have cruised Carnival twice and NCL once (the Sun Jan 15). I would recommend NCL to people who like the idea of freestyle dining. As the above poster says, you can avoid whomever you like...but if you find a wait team that you like, you can request them each time you decide to go to that dining room.

 

We ate at the Four Seasons four out of seven nights and requested Shanton and Marisa - mostly because Marisa was wonderful to my DD. We went to the Seven seas once and were not happy with the team we had there. We went to Ginza and East meets West, the food and staff were wonderful in both places. For four people dinner was about $150 each night we ate in a specialty restaurant (1 bottle of wine each night)- I am not sure it was worth that much.

 

There were more people dressed on formal night than not. It was not as formal as Carnival or Princess, but it was still very nice. I dressed in a red floor length gown with some sparkle and my DH got into his tux for me - we did not feel out of place.

 

I wrote a review which should show up in the reveiw section of this site in a couple of days. I could not get it to post on the message boards. I did miss several things about Carnival... the 24 hour pizza, soft ice cream, sushi, the size of the staterooms and the shows were not the same. The NCL shows were not bad, they just were not the same caliber as Carnival. The food and service were about the same. The Carnival ships I have been on (Destiny in 2000 and Paradise in 2002) were in a little bit better condition. Not a big deal.

 

If the price is right, I would be on NCL again in a heartbeat, but it would have to be less than Carnival and Princess. Personal Choice on Princess was better to me - but you do not get the same selection of restaurants to try. The important thing to me was not having to be at the dining room at exactly the right time and have not enjoyed having to sit with the same people the entire week. Freestyle and Personal Choice both let you eat with whomever you like.

[Kuffam]

I agree I like the freestyle eating like NCLA Pride of Aloha. On the Semi-formal night about half dressed up and half did "Hawaii causual". We ate mostly in the Buffet or room service because it was easier with two small children, but I found the service at the dinning room to be good.

[Twaincruisers]

Freestyle has never been an interest for my wife and me and we have tried PC on Princess as well.

 

Our NCL Spirit dining experience on the Spirit is memorable for the alternative (extra dollars) and not for the dining room. In the dining rooms we always had to wait, although not too long. Most service was OK, except the last night (which tends to stick in peoples' minds) when our waiter traded us off to another in order to wait on a large group. Our replacement brought us a cup of coffee and never came back. However, we both recommend the Spirit to anyone considering an NCL cruise; it is unique of all ships we have been on. Let us know if you learn where the animal cages are (from Asian shows) or the topless dancers!

[kgraham56]

I have been on Carnival multiple times, Premier (RIP), Princess. Royal Caribbean and NCL. While I do enjoy dressing up on occasion, I found the Freestyle concept very relaxing. I did Hawaiian formal (long pants & Hawaiian shirt) every night and it was wonderful. The other things I liked were, no set dining time and meeting new people every night.

 

Some nights, you just don't want to be rushed, but you don't want to miss out on the dining room dinner. I can't tell you how many times we had to rush back from port just to not miss dinner. Or the stress of waking up 5 minutes before "our" dinner time; Quick shower; Throw on clothes; Run to the dinning room; Eat frazzled because you are "late".

 

I also enjoy meeting new people. When you arrive at the dining room, you are asked if you would like to be seated with a group on on your own. We always pick "with a group". We have found that people who want to meet new people also pick this option. We have rarely had a bad group.

 

With traditional cruise dining, you tend to stay with the same people and while the continuity is nice, we knew 5 times as many people by the end of the cruise as we normally would have.

 

And there are formal nights and pictures and all the trappings, if you would like to do that.

 

For me, this Saturday, my tuxedo stays home and my floral migraines and I are going cruising!!!

:) :) |:)