this whole"freestyle"thing

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

Since I have cruised twice before with Carnival but have an upcoming NCL cruise to Hawaii, the freestly concept confuses me. Many people have mentioned you can book all your dinners the 1st day on the ship. But how do you know your plans for each day that far in advance? I don't want to be in the middle of my day offshore then remember OOPS! I have a dinner reservation! Plus it's my vacation, I don't want every day to have a strict schedule where I have to remember things! Which brings me to my next question- is there a dinner reservation cancellation policy? Or what if you just don't show at all? Do they charge you? And can you make lunch and breakfast reservations too or is this only dinner? Believe it or not the freestyle concept was the reason I wanted to try NCL, but I'm just so confused!:confused:

[Fam of 5]

Have no fear. Reservations are only for specialty and extra charge restaurants. You can dine in any of the regular venues at any time. Enjoy your day off the ship and have dinner when you want. Have a great cruise!

[NJGRANNY]

The few times we've eaten in speciality restaurants, we've made the reservations from our cabin and taken what they could give us. We prefer this to reserving at the beginning and being stuck with a schedule.

 

I believe they charge $5 for cancellations after a certain hour on the day of the reservation.

[98Charlie]

Relax. The freestyle concept is simply a concept that allows you to chose between dining in the ship's restaurants where dining is included in the cruise price you have already paid or dining in any one of the ship's offered extra-charge restaurants where reservations are recommended if you have a special time you want to dine.

 

If you have a special occasion you want to celebrate by dining in one of the extra-charge restaurants on a given day of your cruise, then you should make reservations in that restaurant ASAP after you board to ensure you can get the specialty restaurant at the time you wish to dine.

 

Have sailed NCL 7 times on 6 different ships and have yet to feel I want to dine in any of the specialty restaurants - but know that option is open to me at anytime when I want it. That's what Freestyle is all about.

 

IMHO, your comment regarding ``booking all your dinners on the first day of the cruise'' is targeted towards pax who want to book reservations in the extra-charge restaurants at a certain time on a given day.

 

Hope you enjoy NCL as much as we do. DH & I are on the Star in Sept and looking to book our 9th NCL cruise next year.

 

Dianne

[Nilla]

If you want to go to any of the pay restraunts you will have to reserve. What I suggest is if you have any sea days maybe book a specialty restraunt for one of those evenings. I had done 6 normal cruises, and then we did NCL in January, I was not sure if I woudl like it it or not. But I loved the fact you could choose when to dine and when not too. If you had a long day in port and wanted a nap before dinner, you could do that and not have to worry about missing a sit down meal. It will all work out, have fun!:p

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

Thank you and everyone for your comments. This will be my honeymoon on the Pride of America! I very much welcome a change from dining with "strangers" every night. That is just not my thing. That is the one thing about my past cruises I very much disliked.

[Zeno]

Freestyle dining:

Main dining rooms - no need to make reservations. We have taken 3 NCL cruises and go mainly to the main dining rooms for dinner. The longest we have waited to be seated was five minutes. However one recommendation - on the Captain's dinner night (very popular and most people choose to dine in the dining rooms) I recommend NOT dining at "prime" time (7-7:30PM) - this is the ONLY time we saw long lines on our cruises. We dined at around 6PM that night and had no problems. So on that SPECIFIC night I recommend dining early(no later than 6:30PM) or late (after 8:30). On other nights we dined exactly when we felt like it - including two times around "prime" time (that is when we had to wait 5 minutes to be seated) - on other nights we were seated immediately. Also unless you enjoy herding around with a bunch of people waiting for doors to open, I don't recommend showing up EXACTLY when the dining rooms open. When we dined early, we showed about 15 minutes to half an hour after the dining rooms opened and were seated immediately. When we dined late we tended to show up at about 7:30-8PM (not late for some I know) and were seated within 5 minutes.

 

Specialty Restaurants: reservations are required BUT if you are flexible you can always call when you wish to dine at one and see if they have an opening. We usually reserve one night - when we know we want to dine at a specific time. On one of our cruises, we just turned up (at a non 'prime' time) and luckily they had a table but overall I recommend making reservations at the 'specialty' restaurants. You can cancel reservations (I believe but I could be wrong by 5PM on the day of the reservation.) Just "not turning up" is not done - you will be charged for the meal and it is rude anyway because someone else may have wanted the table they are holding open for you.

 

Breakfast and dinner: No reservations and no need for reservations. Many people tend to eat these at the buffet - so the dining rooms are always half empty.

 

Basically we love "Freestyle dining" because it is so much more unscheduled than 'traditional' cruise dining where one dines at the same time, in the same place, with the same people. I really don't like having to dine at the same time every night. It is so nice to returned from a shore excursion and know that you don't have to rush to get ready to go to a dining room for the "early seating" OR eat at the buffet (I don't like buffets). On our last cruise our dining times ranged from 5:45PM - to nearly 8PM - strictly depending on when we felt like dining. I did 3 "traditional" cruises before I tried 'freestyle" and I think it would be hard for me to go back to "traditional'.

[GrapevineTx_Cruiser]

Thank you and everyone for your comments. This will be my honeymoon on the Pride of America! I very much welcome a change from dining with "strangers" every night. That is just not my thing. That is the one thing about my past cruises I very much disliked.

 

You might consider the Honeymoon/Anniversary package. For $79.00, it includes dinner for two at Le Bistro, a bottle of wine with dinner, chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling wine in your cabin on embarkation, a cake and champagne reception and one complimentary 5x7 photo. Also canapes delivered to your cabin one evening. There are also more expensive packages that include spa treatments, breakfast in bed, etc.

[TonyFred]

"But how do you know your plans for each day that far in advance? I don't want to be in the middle of my day offshore then remember OOPS! I have a dinner reservation!"

 

When you sailed on Carnival, didnt you have to make plans "far in advance" to meet the dinner time that Carnival expected you to show up at?

That is the whole idea around Freestyle cruising, you eat when YOU want to, not when the cruiseline tells you to.

Just my two cents.

[F11]

Freestyle-no fuss!!!! Very flexible reservations at Le Bistro,you can cancel up to 2/3 hours before!!!

 

Freestyle-free for ALL dining a friend said to me,and they received it!

 

One restaurant actually cooked a Tuna that a passenger caught....

[cruiserssandr]

Just looked on my free style daily from last week on the Majesty and it does say there will be a $5 charge for reservations not canceled within 24 hours/

[F5Loar]

Now I'm confused. On the bigger NCL ships that have 10 resturants I thought only 2 of them have "extra charge". The other 8 , 2 of which are what is known as the normal dining rooms have no surcharges. Ones like the

Asian Resturant, the Sushi Bar, The Latin or the Italian resturants have no charge, correct? But on some of those speciality resturants (not the 2 main ones) don't you have to have a reservation also or just show up like the main dining rooms?

[cruiserssandr]

Sorry for not mentioning that I was talking about the Bistro on the Majesty. We were on the Jewel in Feb and did need a reservation for the Italian resturant. Have no idea what they did when you cancel last minute there.

[Zeno]

Now I'm confused. On the bigger NCL ships that have 10 resturants I thought only 2 of them have "extra charge". The other 8 , 2 of which are what is known as the normal dining rooms have no surcharges. Ones like the

Asian Resturant, the Sushi Bar, The Latin or the Italian resturants have no charge, correct? But on some of those speciality resturants (not the 2 main ones) don't you have to have a reservation also or just show up like the main dining rooms?

 

The number of "specialty" restaurants varies from ship to ship.

 

"Most" ships have 2 main dining rooms ('free' and NO reservations needed unless you are a large group).

 

"Most" NCL ships have about 4 (or MORE on the newer ships) "specialty" restaurants - they are MUCH smaller than the dining rooms (which is why reservations are strongly advised). On the NCL Sun 3 of the "specialty" restaurants were "pay extra". One was "free". Reservations are advised for ALL the specialty restaurants including any "free" "specialty restaurants". Sometimes you will get lucky and they will have a table available at a "specialty restaurant" if you just turn up (happened to us once). However if I really wanted to eat at a specific "specialty restaurant", I would make a reservation.

[cassie225]

Which restaurant is the free speciality restaurant on the Sun. Also does anyone know when lobster night on the Sun in the main dining,I wouldn't want to have a reservation at a speciality restaurant on that night. I plan on eating in each and every one of the speciality restaurants. I love dining out when I am at home so I know I am going to love dining out onboard,especially when the surcharges seem so reasonably. My only problem is on what nights to go. Also since we like to have wine with dinner do you all suggest I bring my own and just pay the corkage fee,and can we get it served to us in any of the speciality restaurants. Thanks.

[electricron]

Here's a list of the Sun's restaurants:

 

Four Seasons Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Seven Seas Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Pacific Heights

Cuisine: Light/Healthy Cuisine

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: Yes

East Meets West

Cuisine: Steaks

Surcharge: Yes, $15 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

Ginza Restaurant

Cuisine: Asian (Sushi, Sashimi, Teppanyaki)

Surcharge: Yes, $12.50 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

Le Bistro French Restaurant

Cuisine: French

Surcharge: Yes, $15 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

Las Ramblas Tapas Bar & Restaurant

Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex Tapas Bar

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Garden Café/Great Outdoor

Cuisine: Informal Outdoor Dining. Breakfast, Lunch, and Snacks

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Il Adagio

Cuisine: Italian

Surcharge: Yes, $12.50 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

[bonvoyagie]

Dining on the PoAM has many options - two main dining rooms Liberty and Skyline offer sit down dining for B,L and D - the menu changes every day

The Caddy Diner and Little Italy are also free and the Aloha Cafe offers a large buffet.

Caddy Diner offers diner food - Omlets, meatloaf, chili, hamburgers, fish and chips, and desserts etc. you only pay extra for milkshakes and malts

Little Italy offers Italian food

The pay extra dining includes East meets West - featuring Sabo Sabo (swish swish) and Tapenera (not sure of spelling) where they cook you order at the table - like Benihana.

Lazy J Seakhouse - steaks, prime rib etc.

Jeffersons Bistro - French

 

We ate at both Liberty and Skyline once, Little Italy once, Caddy diner several times for breakfast and diner as well as snacks. Aloha Cafe the rest of the time.

 

One nice thing is the ITV system on the ship - it allows you to order room service as well as check the menus at any restaruant for the entire cruise. I noticed that the Skyline and Liberty sometimes offered different entrees on the same night.

 

Talked with several honeymooning couples and most got one of the many packages available and really enjoyed themselves.

 

Whaever you do, hang loose.

 

Mahallo

[PhilBiker]

My wife and I are cruising in August, the only cruise we've ever done was "traditional" with assigned seats. I plan on making reservations at the no-extra-charge Italian restaurant the first night, then letting the 1/2 price specials determine early dinner times for one or two more specialty restaurant experiences, probably on "at sea" days, for the rest of the cruise. The remaining days we'll just go to the main dining room whenever we feel like it. I'm looking forward to the freestyle thing. From others in my family who have done both freestyle and "traditional" banquet style meals, they like both.

[PhilBiker]

Thank you and everyone for your comments. This will be my honeymoon on the Pride of America! I very much welcome a change from dining with "strangers" every night. That is just not my thing. That is the one thing about my past cruises I very much disliked.

Hey go to NCL's web site and check out the "honeymoon/anniversary" package. It's very inexpensive and if you're wine drinkers it's a no brainer.

[sweetpea-2]

Since I have cruised twice before with Carnival but have an upcoming NCL cruise to Hawaii, the freestly concept confuses me. Many people have mentioned you can book all your dinners the 1st day on the ship. But how do you know your plans for each day that far in advance? I don't want to be in the middle of my day offshore then remember OOPS! I have a dinner reservation! Plus it's my vacation, I don't want every day to have a strict schedule where I have to remember things! Which brings me to my next question- is there a dinner reservation cancellation policy? Or what if you just don't show at all? Do they charge you? And can you make lunch and breakfast reservations too or is this only dinner? Believe it or not the freestyle concept was the reason I wanted to try NCL, but I'm just so confused!:confused:

 

that's just for the specialty restaurants....we did one of those but found the food in the regular "free" dining rooms was as good if not better..........you can eat between 5:30 - 10:00, go in and say table for 2 (4 or 6 whatever the case may be) and they will seat you....I found I liked this free style concept very much as if you wanted to stay in port and shop allot you didn't have to worry about being back for your 6 or 8 dinner seating....and you can dress more casually also....capris and a simple top is fine for NCL ....have fun & don't worry ....

[newmexicoNita]

You might consider the Honeymoon/Anniversary package. For $79.00, it includes dinner for two at Le Bistro, a bottle of wine with dinner, chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling wine in your cabin on embarkation, a cake and champagne reception and one complimentary 5x7 photo. Also canapes delivered to your cabin one evening. There are also more expensive packages that include spa treatments, breakfast in bed, etc.

The honeymoon package is a great deal as well as some of the other packages. BTW; Grapevine, I used to live in Lewisville and worked for a Travel agency not too far from Grapevine.

 

NMNita

[GrapevineTx_Cruiser]

The honeymoon package is a great deal as well as some of the other packages. BTW; Grapevine, I used to live in Lewisville and worked for a Travel agency not too far from Grapevine.

 

NMNita

 

Small world! Things have grown so much in the past few years, you probably wouldn't recognize things.

[bangzoom6877]

We love freestyle because it is very convenient with our large group. We are going with over 20 people (normal for us), and we reserve the same table in the dining room each night at 5:30 when the dining room opens. We cruise with small children so the earlier time works for all of us. They just ask that we kindly let them know if a few people in our party will not be joining us. This has happened before (due to specialty restaurants, etc.) and there was never a problem. They just made the table smaller, and the following night it was set up once again for our entire party. They were very friendly and very accommodating.

 

One thing I remember from Carnival and other more traditional cruiselines, is that once or twice before in the past, we requested early seating dinner and were given late seating and were stuck with this. Not something I want to risk with my 18-month old son! He needs to eat early and we prefer to eat in the dining room rather than the buffet, so freestyle is more convenient for us. Usually when we leave the dining room at around 7 or 7:30, we see a few people waiting to be seated. From my experience, this is usually parties of 2 who want to sit alone. If you are willing to sit with others and mingle a little bit, it is much more flexible and you may be seated quicker.

 

As far as the specialty restaurants, we have eaten in Le Bistro (on the Norwegian Sea) and loved it. I never tried the Asian restaurant or the steakhouse. If I try one of the "pay" restaurants again, it would be the steakhouse. However, I do enjoy the steak in the dining room very much too, so this is a tough call. We tried the Mexican restaurant on the Dawn, which was my favorite one on the ship. Excellent food! I did not like the Italian restaurant on the Sea or the Dawn, so I will not be going there on the Spirit next month. I prefer the dining room over the buffet for all meals because I don't like having to work my way through crowds to find a table or get my drink while on vacation. The buffet tends to be most crowded during peak breakfast and lunch hours. On deck I prefer the poolside BBQ over the buffets. The food is cooked fresh and is delicious. And not as long a line either. Sometimes I do this and bring it back to my cabin!

 

The bottom line is that freestyle is what you make of it. If you prefer the buffet, you can dine there every meal the entire cruise. Some people prefer a quicker meal so they do this more. We like a more leisurely meal and when people serve us (sounds snobby but we are not!), because we are on vacation. I do like the Blue Lagoon, which was on the Dawn and is also on the Spirit. Very convenient, excellent burgers and buffalo wings, and open 24 hours!

[1st time crusier]

misssnoopygirl,

Have a wonderful wedding and honeymoon cruise.Have you heard about the romance pkgs? You should look into that. Also, if you choice to do one of the pay specialty restaurants they are half price between 5:30 and 6:30.:o