Any other "freestyle" cruise lines?

[beekrock]

I'm currently in the planning phase for my second cruise, but I'd like to pick the brains of you cruise veterans out there. My first cruise was a NCL Freestyle cruise, which fit my tastes perfectly. I unfortunately have to choose another cruise line for my next one because of timing issues. My first question is; Are there any other cruise lines that offer "freestyle" cruising? If not, my follow-up question is; What is the crowd like on non-freestyle cruises? I'm 26 and I liked the age range of freestyle, but I have a fear of being swamped by the elderly if I go with non-freestyle:confused:

[98Charlie]

I'm currently in the planning phase for my second cruise, but I'd like to pick the brains of you cruise veterans out there. My first cruise was a NCL Freestyle cruise, which fit my tastes perfectly. I unfortunately have to choose another cruise line for my next one because of timing issues. My first question is; Are there any other cruise lines that offer "freestyle" cruising? If not, my follow-up question is; What is the crowd like on non-freestyle cruises? I'm 26 and I liked the age range of freestyle, but I have a fear of being swamped by the elderly if I go with non-freestyle:confused:

No other mass market cruise line duplicates all of the aspects of Freestyle Cruising.

 

Princess has Personal choice dining (or Anytime Dining). This is only with regard to the time of dining. They still have recommended dress for each evening.

 

If you go with a larger ship of most of the lines, you will likely find more passengers in your age category. It really is the luck of the draw though.

 

We have sailed NCL, Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Other than NCL, I would suggest that you check out the larger ships of the Carnival and Royal Caribbean lines.

 

Good Luck,

 

Charlie

[beekrock]

Thanks, Charlie. The freestyle cruising seems to be more of a family friendly cruise. Since I haven't ever been on a regular cruise I figured it would be mostly older couples. By the way, are evening dress codes and eating times the only difference between freestyle and regular?

[djmtravel.com]

I think you might like cruising on a Freedom or Voyager Class ship. Besides having the ultimate in onboard features and amenities – the dining options are great too. I like how Royal Caribbean has included a big selection of food chooses in the Windjammer buffet area. The additional of Jade for Asia inspired food. They offer Chops Steakhouse and Italian options too. Lastly – they offer many other cool food venues from pizza, salads, and coffee house selections too. I just finished my 65th cruise and choose The Freedom of The Seas. Hope this helps.

[newmexicoNita]

RCI is in no way even remotely similar to freestyle. If you want a line that offers a form of freestyle and don't want a luxury line I would suggest Princess. They off a choice of personal choice dining or traditona. The dress code isn't as relaxed but becoming more so, but you do have the option of eating when you choose. No, you will not get as many dining choices, but it will come closer to NCL. HAL, which isn't for someone your age is experimening with the freestyle or personal choice dining starting next week on a couple of their ships. Hope this helps a little.

 

NMnita

[hotspur]

Oceania is freestyle, but costs more.

[djmtravel.com]

Princess offers less options then Royal Crib and NCL, I know for a fact. If we listen to the needs provided by beekrock - Princess is not a good fit. NCL, RCI, and Carnival may be better options then Princess. It sounds like beekrock is looking for a younger cruise crowd with options. I respect others options, like newmexicoNita and hotspur. However, offering Oceania is a 5-star luxury product with a client demographic that is truly outside the age bracket of beekrock is wrong. And claiming “RCI is in no way even remotely similar to freestyle” is a bit off.

NCL is a great cruise line and truly offers a nice product – I find the next best is Royal Caribbean.

[hotspur]

However, offering Oceania is a 5-star luxury product with a client demographic that is truly outside the age bracket of beekrock is wrong.

No, it isn't "wrong." The question was "any other freestyle cruise lines?" One answer to that--and there are very few--is Oceania. And I pointed out that it was considerably pricier. Butt out, pal.

[djmtravel.com]

Ok, lets not get hostile. I am just offering my advice like the rest of you.

[johnql]

By the way, are evening dress codes and eating times the only difference between freestyle and regular?

Yes, those are the two primary differences between NCL's Freestyle cruising and traditional cruises. Keep in mind that in addition to no fixed dining times, Freestyle does not have assigned tables or assigned tablemates as with traditional cruises. Lastly, Freestyle also has a more passenger-friendly disembarkation procedure whereby you are allowed to stay in your cabin until your assigned, color-coded group is called for disembarkation. With most traditional ships, you are asked to wait in a public lounge.

[ZAKARIYA2]

Regent Formerlly Radisson Seven Seas Is Relaxed On Timing And Who You Sit With. But Pricier And By No Means The Same As Ncl Freestyle.

[shoreguy]

Remarkable we can turn a simple question into a food fight :D

 

beekrock you will find the same age demographics on my traditional lines as NCL. It will be determined by date, intinerary, lenght of cruise. RCCL, Carival, and Priincess would all be good options.

 

I love Freestyle but a traditional cruise every once in while is not all bad. The simple difference less options for dinner. Most lines now have some options but no near as many as an F@ ship from NCL and in many cases a lot more $ then NCL. You will have an assigned dining room, table and time. More then likely you will have others that share that table with you every night. They could become life long friends are the folks from hell. You will have to dress up for formal night at least a jacket. On the positive side (for many) you will have the same wait staff every night. They really get to know your likes and dislikes. Get ready for what I call the wait staff hustle. You will know all about their life & family by the end of the cruise to make sure you would feel guility if you stiffed them the last night ;)

 

If you miss dinner because you are having fun off to the buffet for you:eek:

 

Last morning you will be sent to a public area to wait to disembark.

 

The rest of the cruise will feel almost the same. Same goofy CD. Same types of entertainment, silly pool games etc.

 

We all enjoyed traditional ships no matter our ages when that was the only option. More people cruise on a traditional ship every week and somehow they manage to have a great time.;)

 

Have fun - Think about it if you are on a RCL or Carnival Mega ship and only 10% fall in your age group that translates to 450 passengers to party with. :)

[smeyer418]

Ok I'll add my two cents on this one two. Oceania is mostly in Europe. If you compare NCL prices to Europe and compare it to Oceania's two for one specials with free airfare the price is not that much different in my opinion. So Oceania would be a "reasonable" alternative and is clearly freestyle. Cunard also has options that are less formal than the regular dining room but I wouldn't call them freestyle. In fact when I ate at one of the alternate ones that is changed over from the buffet the Maitre D turned out to be someone we had met when she was working for NCL.

 

The one thing I really hate about other cruise lines is not waiting in your cabin to get off.

[beekrock]

Thanks for the opinions and info, everyone! No need to fight! I wanted to know if any other cruise lines have freestyle, but I also wanted to know about demographics so that I could weigh the options. Thanks again!

[Wormy53]

We usually sail with Princess. Started doing this when they offered anytime dining. It is still suggested that you dress in the day's attire. That being said, the last few times - there were people dressed in everyday clothes (country-club casual) even on the formal nights. There are dining options also that people don't seem to dress up as much for. As far as demographics, if you are going to the Carribean on a 7 day cruise, there will be lots of people to party with (trust me!) It also matters what time of year you go.

I come over and look at the NCL board all the time, because I would not give up my dining options. We usually want a table for 2, or maybe joining some new friends - but never - early - table for 10 - dancing waiters!! This is the line I would choose if I didn't have repeat benefits. It is always nice to have different options!!

[newmexicoNita]

Remarkable we can turn a simple question into a food fight :D

 

beekrock you will find the same age demographics on my traditional lines as NCL. It will be determined by date, intinerary, lenght of cruise. RCCL, Carival, and Priincess would all be good options.

 

I love Freestyle but a traditional cruise every once in while is not all bad. The simple difference less options for dinner. Most lines now have some options but no near as many as an F@ ship from NCL and in many cases a lot more $ then NCL. You will have an assigned dining room, table and time. More then likely you will have others that share that table with you every night. They could become life long friends are the folks from hell. You will have to dress up for formal night at least a jacket. On the positive side (for many) you will have the same wait staff every night. They really get to know your likes and dislikes. Get ready for what I call the wait staff hustle. You will know all about their life & family by the end of the cruise to make sure you would feel guility if you stiffed them the last night ;)

 

If you miss dinner because you are having fun off to the buffet for you:eek:

 

Last morning you will be sent to a public area to wait to disembark.

 

The rest of the cruise will feel almost the same. Same goofy CD. Same types of entertainment, silly pool games etc.

 

We all enjoyed traditional ships no matter our ages when that was the only option. More people cruise on a traditional ship every week and somehow they manage to have a great time.;)

 

Have fun - Think about it if you are on a RCL or Carnival Mega ship and only 10% fall in your age group that translates to 450 passengers to party with. :)

Just thought I would throw this in: to our amazement HAL lets you stay in your cabin on debarkation morning as well. We were pleasantly surprised. Now, as for Oceana and a few other suggestions: yes, they do offer a form of freestyle but the prices are much higher. I know, some say because air may be included etc they really aren't that much more. I say they are much higher if you compare a standard cabin with what they offer. NMnita

[Leafpeeper]

We love freestyle cruising on NCL. We also like personal choice dining on Princess new ships. Last Fall we sailed the Crown Princess and loved that ship. They have two anytime restaurants where you can dine anytime you want. There are also two specialty restaurants where you make reservations (steak house and seafood). Another thing we loved on Crown Princess was the outdoor movie theater and multiple swimming pools--something for everyone.

 

We like Royal Caribbean new ships for the size and ports, and specialty dining. We know in advance that assigned dining on RCI is not what we like--same waiter, same table, same room, same table guests making small talk, and dining at the same time every night with people you may not enjoy being around. On RCI, we eat the majority of our meals via room service and specialty restaurants. RCI does offer a great buffet compared to other cruiselines. With assigned dining, other table guests sometimes act upset if you skip dinner on occasion. That's why we request a table for 2 on RCI, and usually get bad service because they are catering to large tables of 8-10 people. We'll stick to room service and buffets on RCI on those nights we are not in the specialty restaurant.

 

We wish we could get freestyle dining on every cruiseline--at least something similar. Princess is the closest we've found to NCL.

Princess is a great cruiseline if that is in your list of options. I always recommend people try multiple cruiselines to find out what they like and don't like. I do like the movie theaters on NCL and Princess. Royal Caribbean focuses more on sport activities--which many people enjoy. RCI does not usually have movie theaters onboard. They show movies on tv and in certain areas of the ship on a few days.

 

NCL definetely has variety when it comes to just about everything. That's why we like them because we like lots of choices.