"Freestyle"-type cruises

[portagyplaya12]

Hi all,

 

Here's a little background about myself. I'm 20, love cruising, and have cruised twice, both with NCL. What I love the most about NCL is their "freestyle" atmosphere because I get very stressed out when I have to stick to a schedule and being able to do things on the fly or at my own pace makes it that much more enjoyable for me.

 

My question is, what other cruise lines out there have a similar "freestyle" atmosphere? From what I understand, most other lines enforce schedules, have a mandatory "formal night", and have seating assignments with others at dinner. Although I've never tried this type of cruise, it doesn't really seem like my ideal type of vacation and I like to stick to what I'm used to!

 

Any other lines similar to NCL that I could look into?

 

Thanks!

 

Corey

[smeyer418]

Hi all,

 

Here's a little background about myself. I'm 20, love cruising, and have cruised twice, both with NCL. What I love the most about NCL is their "freestyle" atmosphere because I get very stressed out when I have to stick to a schedule and being able to do things on the fly or at my own pace makes it that much more enjoyable for me.

 

My question is, what other cruise lines out there have a similar "freestyle" atmosphere? From what I understand, most other lines enforce schedules, have a mandatory "formal night", and have seating assignments with others at dinner. Although I've never tried this type of cruise, it doesn't really seem like my ideal type of vacation and I like to stick to what I'm used to!

 

Any other lines similar to NCL that I could look into?

 

Thanks!

 

Corey

 

yes

 

Oceana

[janetz]

Hi all,

 

Here's a little background about myself. I'm 20, love cruising, and have cruised twice, both with NCL. What I love the most about NCL is their "freestyle" atmosphere because I get very stressed out when I have to stick to a schedule and being able to do things on the fly or at my own pace makes it that much more enjoyable for me.

 

My question is, what other cruise lines out there have a similar "freestyle" atmosphere? From what I understand, most other lines enforce schedules, have a mandatory "formal night", and have seating assignments with others at dinner. Although I've never tried this type of cruise, it doesn't really seem like my ideal type of vacation and I like to stick to what I'm used to!

 

Any other lines similar to NCL that I could look into?

 

Thanks!

 

Corey

 

 

Try Royal Caribbean. You can choose my time dining. You just go to dinner when you want and are not committed to dine with others. There is a formal night which you do not have to participate in if you don't want to. For your age I would choose, FOS, Oasis, or Allure. If you like shows, Oasis and Allure offer the best at sea.

[portagyplaya12]

Try Royal Caribbean. You can choose my time dining. You just go to dinner when you want and are not committed to dine with others. There is a formal night which you do not have to participate in if you don't want to. For your age I would choose, FOS, Oasis, or Allure. If you like shows, Oasis and Allure offer the best at sea.

 

I've been looking at a lot of the RCI ships and they look amazing but I always thought they were one of the more strict cruise lines in terms of formality and schedules. This is really great to hear. Thank you!

[paul929207]

The major cruise lines all offer some form of dining where you show up when you want to eat. Princess, Carnival & RCI all offer it. Each has their own name for it, so none of them have "FreeStyple Dining", but they have things like Anytime Dining or My Time Dining

[Treven]

There's nothing that says you HAVE to participate in the formal nights. I generally don't; I eat in the buffet on those evenings. As others have brought up, every line has some variation of anytime dining, in one or two main dining rooms, where you eat when you want to.

[janetz]

I've been looking at a lot of the RCI ships and they look amazing but I always thought they were one of the more strict cruise lines in terms of formality and schedules. This is really great to hear. Thank you!

 

 

Times have changed and the lines are offering more flexibility to do your own thing. On our Oasis cruise many people in the dining room were not in formal wear. Knowing your age, I think RC is a good fit. Plenty to do, or not. :)

[Aquahound]

Hi all,

 

Here's a little background about myself. I'm 20, love cruising, and have cruised twice, both with NCL. What I love the most about NCL is their "freestyle" atmosphere because I get very stressed out when I have to stick to a schedule and being able to do things on the fly or at my own pace makes it that much more enjoyable for me.

 

My question is, what other cruise lines out there have a similar "freestyle" atmosphere? From what I understand, most other lines enforce schedules, have a mandatory "formal night", and have seating assignments with others at dinner. Although I've never tried this type of cruise, it doesn't really seem like my ideal type of vacation and I like to stick to what I'm used to!

 

Any other lines similar to NCL that I could look into?

 

From my recent couple NCL cruises, I learned all this Freestyle hubub really only applied to dinner. All it means is you can eat whenever you want. The shows are still at certain times, as are the activities, parties, etc. So basically, you still have to eat based on when you want to attend the shows.

 

All the other major cruise lines now have anytime dining. Give RCI a look. Yes, their ships are amazing, especially Oasis Class. Good luck! :)

[portagyplaya12]

Great info everyone, thank you all for your input!

[LHT28]

Depends on your budget & what you are looking for

If you want a bit of an upgrade try Oceania or Azamara

Smaller ships, both have open dining & elegant casual dress code for dinner

[mshimko]

It's all personal opinion and preference, but for me, I LOVE the wait-staff knowing my preferences the minute I walk in. This results in better, as well as faster service.

 

The "my time" dining at NCL? We've only been on one NCL cruise, and "my time" dining meant you walked down to the dinning room, and stood in line for 20 - 40 minutes before you could get seated.

[janetz]

It's all personal opinion and preference, but for me, I LOVE the wait-staff knowing my preferences the minute I walk in. This results in better, as well as faster service.

 

The "my time" dining at NCL? We've only been on one NCL cruise, and "my time" dining meant you walked down to the dinning room, and stood in line for 20 - 40 minutes before you could get seated.

 

 

Wow, that is to bad. We have never had to wait no matter what time we decided to have dinner. :)

[doneinne]

We were on the Carnival Magic and I never felt pressured to stick to any schedule. It was totally laid back.

[portagyplaya12]

Thanks everyone, glad to hear it! In response to the comment about waiting in line for dinner aboard NCL, I've cruised with them twice and I can't say that I've ever had to wait for a table in the main dining room. They have a ton of tables and if you go just before or just after peak hours it's not nearly as crowded.

[elbodans]

just wanted to add my two cents--i recently (ish) sailed on NCL and then on RCI. the freestyle dining on NCL is very different from the my time dining on RCI. on NCL you walk up to the restaurant and are seated--just like in the real world (assuming your real world restaurant choice isn't a place that's booked up months in advance). on RCI, you still have to make reservations, and you'll be seated with other people or not. what appeals to me about NCL's freestyle system is that it enables friend-making. so say you are having a nice time playing bingo (or trivia or mini golf or whatever) with a couple or a group. you can all say 'hey, let's have dinner together' and be able to do that. on RCI, half of the people have traditional dining and even if you don't, you still need a reservation for 'my time' dining, so those friends will leave after your round of mini golf and you'll never see them again.

 

thus, the two models feel very different to me. additionally, when using my time dining on RCI, i was placed with people in various stages of their meal. so, for example, i'd sit down with a family that already had an appetizer, and then mid-main course they'd seat another family. it just felt odd and disjointed.

[Jimnbigd]

On my first few cruises (all NCL) even MDR breakfast and lunch was at a fixed time and seating. Now it is open seating for breakfast and lunch. (Are there any cruise lines that still do fixed seating for breakfast and lunch?) I wonder if some day all cruise lines will have open dining for dinner too, like NCL does? I personally hope not. As was said before, evening activities such as the main theater shows start at fixed times, so for use fixed dining makes more sense. Plus with a large group (we have 10 going on the Mariner of the Seas in a few weeks) I think fixed time dining makes it simpler for everyone to know when and where they need to be for dinner -- no waiting outside for everyone to show up so you can walk in as a group.

[beachchick]

On my first few cruises (all NCL) even MDR breakfast and lunch was at a fixed time and seating. Now it is open seating for breakfast and lunch. (Are there any cruise lines that still do fixed seating for breakfast and lunch?) I wonder if some day all cruise lines will have open dining for dinner too, like NCL does? I personally hope not. As was said before, evening activities such as the main theater shows start at fixed times, so for use fixed dining makes more sense. Plus with a large group (we have 10 going on the Mariner of the Seas in a few weeks) I think fixed time dining makes it simpler for everyone to know when and where they need to be for dinner -- no waiting outside for everyone to show up so you can walk in as a group.

 

These days it seems most cruise lines offer at least some form of open dining while still maintaining the option of assigned/fixed dining. I think that's not a bad idea because then people can choose their own preference. I find it interesting that even some of the premium lines (e.g., Oceania) have all open seating and no formal nights.

 

As an FYI, I know that on many ships and specifically on NCL, a larger party such as yours can make reservations for not only the same time, but the same table every evening. I agree that it can make it easier for a group if everyone knows when and where dinner will be each evening.

 

beachchick