How does the freestyle dining work?

[kelkel2]

So I'm looking at a cruise on the Getaway. I just had some questions.

I'm assuming there's a main dinging room, along with specialty restaurants and a buffet.

For the main dining room are you just assigned a dining room and then you eat any time you want? Kind of like other cruise line's any time dining concept?

The specialty restaurants, do you need reservations?

 

I am looking at booking a cruise with the UBP and the UDP so would I be able to eat anywhere on the ship?

[KeithJenner]

There are three main dining rooms on the Getaway, but you aren't allocated one. You choose where you want to eat yourself.

 

There are other free options as well, such as the buffet, pub (o'Sheehans) and the Noodle Bar.

 

If you want to eat in any of those places then you just turn up when you want to eat and will be seated in your group. At busy times you may have a short wait.

 

Reservations aren't essential for the speciality restaurants, but they are recommended. You can book online before you cruise (from 90 days out, 100 if you're in a suite). You can also book onboard, or just turn up, but there is no guarantee of getting a table if you do just turn up.

 

When thinking about freestyle dining, don't get too complicated. It is basically how it works in everyday life. Nobody tells you where or when to eat and who to sit with, but some places require reservations if you want to be guaranteed a table whereas others are based on people just walking up.

 

If you have the UDP (actually called the Speciality Dining Package now) then this will cover you for a certain number of meals. The main difference between having the package and not is that the cost is covered. It doesn't mean that you can just turn up, and reservations are still recommended. I believe there is some sort of guarantee with the packages that you will get a reservation with 24 hours notice, but it could be anywhere.

[kelkel2]

There are three main dining rooms on the Getaway, but you aren't allocated one. You choose where you want to eat yourself.

 

There are other free options as well, such as the buffet, pub (o'Sheehans) and the Noodle Bar.

 

If you want to eat in any of those places then you just turn up when you want to eat and will be seated in your group. At busy times you may have a short wait.

 

Reservations aren't essential for the speciality restaurants, but they are recommended. You can book online before you cruise (from 90 days out, 100 if you're in a suite). You can also book onboard, or just turn up, but there is no guarantee of getting a table if you do just turn up.

 

When thinking about freestyle dining, don't get too complicated. It is basically how it works in everyday life. Nobody tells you where or when to eat and who to sit with, but some places require reservations if you want to be guaranteed a table whereas others are based on people just walking up.

 

If you have the UDP (actually called the Speciality Dining Package now) then this will cover you for a certain number of meals. The main difference between having the package and not is that the cost is covered. It doesn't mean that you can just turn up, and reservations are still recommended. I believe there is some sort of guarantee with the packages that you will get a reservation with 24 hours notice, but it could be anywhere.

 

Thank you very much!!

So no assigned seats and no table mates? I can go to a dining room and ask for a table for 2 no problem? That sounds heavenly!

[scrappinannie]

Yep, whenever you're ready to eat just choose your venue and walk up and put your name in. Sometimes there may be a short wait and if so, they'll try to give you an estimated wait time and a buzzer. We loved the Freestyle concept on the Epic. Never had to wait for any restaurant, but the only specialty one we did was the oriental one (the name escapes me right now) and while we did make reservations, we did it the day of. Decided mid day we wanted to try it for dinner that night so I called and got a reservation no problem.

 

Some have reported having trouble finding acceptable dinner times for the party sizes they have (apparently sometimes larger parties are harder to accommodate) but we never had any issues. We have booked The Escape for April with our 2 kids so I hope we don't have to schedule every meal...that would kind of ruin the whole freestyle concept.

[Sparkygirl]

Thank you very much!!

 

So no assigned seats and no table mates? I can go to a dining room and ask for a table for 2 no problem? That sounds heavenly!

 

 

As an example of how easy and no problem freestyle dinning is...cruisers include myself and my husband, our daughter, my two stepchildren, their mom and her husband.

 

Night 1 we make a reservation for 7 people at restaurant of our choice.

 

Night 2 stepkids are with mom, she makes reservation for 4, we make reservation for 3

 

Night 3 step kids are with us, we make reservation for 5, she makes reservation for 2

 

Night 4, all kids eat in buffet and each couple makes reservations for 2

 

We meet up each evening and decide on plans for the next day and then kids mom and I decide on which restaurants to give each other space when we are not doing joint meals. We then book the reservations either that evening or the next morning.

 

The only reservations we book ahead of time is our two joint meals for our upcoming cruise it's illusionarium and teppanyaki.

 

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Edited January 26, 2016 by Sparkygirl

[bydefault]

How does it work? Quite slowly and poorly.

 

 

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