Free Style Cruising not what we hoped for.

[Mallory's Mom]

When I was on the Spirit in September, we made reservations for every night atthe main restaurant for 3 - no problem - for 7:00pm.

[Zeno]

I haven't cruised NCL before and I must say the Freestyle is an attraction- but maybe I don't understand how it works.....?

Do I need to make reservations every day for the restaurant that I want to dine at tomorrow?

If I only decide at 5pm what kind of food I want that evening,can I just go to that type of restaurant and just wait for a table the same way I would at a local restaurant?:confused:

 

I agree with mbisson on this one. We have taken 3 NCL cruises and never felt the need to make a reservation for the main dining rooms. We just turn up when we feel hungry. Our longest wait to be seated was less than 10 minutes - mostly we were seated immediately. We are a party of two or three.

For the specialty restaurants (which are MUCH smaller than the dining rooms) it is a good idea to always make reservations. Sometimes you can get lucky by just turning up at a specialty restaurant (this happened to us once) BUT most of their tables (as Monte points out) ARE reserved even if empty at the time you look in.

So in summary: Main dining rooms - UNLESS you are in a large group reservations are unnecessary and not encouraged

Specialty Restaurants - make reservations as recommended

[keep on cruisin]

I have a question. We'll be sailing the Spirit. Which is the "nicest" specialty restaurant, and when and how do I make reservations? I also have a coupon for a TWO for ONE dinner. Do I give that to the server or before I go in?

 

 

We were on Spirit May of last year, and can't wait to go on her again this May 5th. We tried, Cagney's, Tepenyaki, an La Tratoria.

 

I felt the Tepenyaki was a little expensive, it was not a flat rate fee. Every thing was A la carte as I recall. Food was good, show a little lacking compared to what we get at home. Not a big deal, and certainly understandable that they would not do the big flame on the grill(my son likes that, and the onion volcano at home)

 

La Tratoria was in a partioned off area of the buffet. Mostly the same food selections from the buffet but prepared for you in a fancy setting.

 

We definitely prefered Cagney's. The food was very good. Nothing especially good or bad about the wait staff. We both chose the esclated menu with the Lobster.

 

My Aunt & Uncle just came back from the Spirit on Sunday. They sent me the Menus for the Main Dining rooms. I think we may do Cagneys once, but spend the rest of the days in the mains. Much better choices this year then last year.

 

You mentioned that you have a 2 for 1 coupon. We gave it to the server when we first sat down. If it is the same coupon book we got from Expedia last year, read the fine print. It was only available for embarkation night. They also tried to tell us that since we wanted the $25. menu it would not apply. We could get the $20 menu for free but not the $25. menu, even if we gave them the extra $5. The maitre d stated he spoke to 3 supervisor, but they were going to accept it with the $5 for the 2nd. They did say this was an Expedia problem, not an NCL problem. Kudos to the Maitre D' for doing the right thing in end. I am sure he actually made the decision himself, but wanted me to think he had to fight for me.

 

Enjoy your cruise, I know I can't wait to be on mine.

[coka]

Hi Briansdad,

You might consider cruising NCLA or NCL again now that you have a better understanding of how the system works. It seems you liked everything else. I understand though if you choose to cruise elsewhere. Check out the other boards and ask questions so you can get feedback from a variety of cruisers. Your travel agent should also give you an idea of what each cruiseline is like. No matter where you go, if you need to lodge a complaint, the best practice is to be as nice and as respectful as possible. In my travels I have seen many get nowhere when they are ticked off. For me, a big wall goes up when I hear "this is totally unacceptable..."

Good luck in your future travels and may you experience more enjoyable dining moments.

Sincerely,

Coka

[jplotts865]

I really do not think I would enjoy NCL's "free style" cruising and, thus, can't see myself booking a cruise on the line. I suppose this is one of those examples of "options".

 

I much prefer tradtional cruising, thoroughly enjoy "my" table in the dining room and have always met interesting, entertaining table companions. To me this is part of the fun of a cruise. On one of our cruises we did make a reservation in the specialty resturant but cancelled it when we decided we'd much rather be with our delightful table companions than dining without them in Portofino's.

 

Another interesting lesson I seem to have learned: on my past two cruises I've had rather expensive balcony cabins (more so since I have to pay the hefty single supplement which is double the price per person). I found that since I had invested so much money in the blasted balcony I felt obliged to "use it" and thus missed mingling with the other passengers. In future I'll be quite happy with an ocean view cabin and an "assigned" seat in the dining room.

 

Lastly...sorry...but I really can't stand NCL's overly decorated (gaudy?) ships - ships (real ships) don't have flowers painted all over them.

 

On the other hand I have friends who sail ONLY NCL...so, as they say, that's why they make chocolate and vanilla.

[scubabetty]

Not to put a damper on everyone's good experiances, but I also did not have a very good experiance with Dinning on NCL. I did go to Hawaii so that may be the key. It was always a 10-20 minute wait for the main resturant.

 

Some days the entire ship was out of lemons, other days there were lemons only available for the specialty resturants and although I really don't need/use lemons, my DH does and it was hard on him.

 

The specialty resturants were easy to book as long as I booked them the night before.

 

The main problem was the service. We waited over an hour one morning just for breakfast. DH had to get the Matre'de and apparently the order was never placed. Had several experiances like that in the main dining hall so we stuck to the specialty resturants or buffett for breakfast.

 

On one night the main resturant was even closed for dinner. They said because they were in port for 2 days too many people did not eat in the dinning room so it was closed. This did make me mad, I don't care if I am the only one in there, but I do want a nice meal and I don't want the buffet fair.

 

All in all I was okay with the Freestyle cruising, but I don't think I will choose NCL unless the price is right and the ship has great reviews on here.

[Linerguy]

Listen, first of all, it's bull that anyone, anywhere on a cruise should have to wait to be seated for dinner,...Freestyle or traditional, it just shouldn't happen. The idea of cruising is to be pampered and to get away from the hassles of eveyday life,....and that includes waiting to get into a restaurant. The idea that people have to actually take precious time out of their vacation to call for reservations, sometimes on a daily basis, is ridiculous. But what is more idiotic is having to wait even when a reservation has been made.

 

The problem here is that the idea of Freestyle is appealing...but NCL's execution of the idea is flawed. And while I admit my experience with Freestlye was okay (not great), I still prefer sailing on a ship where I don't have to waste time calling over and over again, day after day, simply to set up a time to dine. I also have a problem with someone handing me a pager to carry around,...what's this, Outback Steakhouse, Fridays, or is it a luxury cruise ship?

 

Yes, the OP wrote one giant paragraph; but his point is clear: Freestyle is not for him because he simply feels that wasting valuable time of his vacation is not what he wants to spend his money doing. Staunch defenders of NCL have every right to express how happy they've been with their experiences, for which I'm very happy. But to tell the OP that he should have done his research before he went is inappropriate because it's just like saying, "hey, that's the way it is,..ya shoulda known better".

 

Russ

[mbisson]

Speaking of Bull!

 

But then I research all my vacations just to make sure I'm not upset over things being the way they are ;)

 

I don't think ANY cruise is gonna be perfect, and I'd rather be happy than right.

 

-Monte

[krystall]

Sorry Freestyle dining did not work for you.

We love it! ;)

[shoreguy]

Listen, first of all, it's bull that anyone, anywhere on a cruise should have to wait to be seated for dinner,...Freestyle or traditional, it just shouldn't happen. The idea of cruising is to be pampered and to get away from the hassles of eveyday life,....and that includes waiting to get into a restaurant. The idea that people have to actually take precious time out of their vacation to call for reservations, sometimes on a daily basis, is ridiculous. But what is more idiotic is having to wait even when a reservation has been made.

 

Russ

 

 

One question for you - did you ever take a land based vacation, planning and sometimes waiting for dinner is a normal part of that experience taking lots more of that "precious" time. I spent more time getting to the restarants on HI then I ever waited to be seated onboard a Freestyle ship. Much of what Freestlye is about is to offer some of that flexibility and remove some of the traditional structure of cruising. There is a price for that and it is not for everyone.

[Zeno]

On one night the main resturant was even closed for dinner. They said because they were in port for 2 days too many people did not eat in the dinning room so it was closed. This did make me mad, I don't care if I am the only one in there, but I do want a nice meal and I don't want the buffet fair.

 

 

Uhm - why didn't you just eat in the OTHER main restaurant - ALL the NCLA ships currently cruising Hawaii have at least TWO Main restaurants.

[Linerguy]

"I spent more time getting to the restarants on HI then I ever waited to be seated onboard a Freestyle ship. Much of what Freestlye is about is to offer some of that flexibility and remove some of the traditional structure of cruising. There is a price for that and it is not for everyone."

 

That's YOUR personal experience and, as stated, I'm glad to hear it. But this is where the problem is,..the inconsistency that seems to plague Freestyle.

 

The notion that people either like Freestyle or not doesn't hold water. I'm sure that many people go on NCL liking the idea and flexibility that Freestyle is SUPPOSE to offer; but it's obvious that it doesn't always deliver. Who wouldn't like the idea of doing what you want, when you want?

 

And yes, I have taken land based vacations,..all-inclusives, EP's, etc. and, yes, there has been a wait. This, among other reasons, is why I don't particularly like land based vacations. That's why I cruise.

 

-Russ

[Zeno]

That's YOUR personal experience and, as stated, I'm glad to hear it. But this is where the problem is,..the inconsistency that seems to plague Freestyle.

How many "freestyle cruises" have you been on? I have been on three and never had a problem with "inconsistancy". MANY of the people who complain about "freestyle" have ONLY been on the NCLA ships ('Pride of..."). These ships have had problems related to the inexperienced American crew NOT because of the "freestyle" concept. Things have improved on the NCLA ships and will continue to do so as the crews become more experienced. On the NCL ships, the international crew has had years of experience and worked their way up to their positions. They know how to make "freestyle" work.

The notion that people either like Freestyle or not doesn't hold water. I'm sure that many people go on NCL liking the idea and flexibility that Freestyle is SUPPOSE to offer; but it's obvious that it doesn't always deliver. Who wouldn't like the idea of doing what you want, when you want?

Actually it does. Some people like "traditional" dining and some people like 'freestyle'. I have tried both and I prefer 'freestyle'. For me "freestyle" delivers the kind of flexible dining experience I like. I want to eat when I am hungry, with the people I have chosen to eat with and NOT dressed up on command.

And yes, I have taken land based vacations,..all-inclusives, EP's, etc. and, yes, there has been a wait. This, among other reasons, is why I don't particularly like land based vacations. That's why I cruise.

One of the things I especially disliked about the traditional cruises was milling about in a large herd of people (like cattle in a feed pen) waiting for the dining room doors to open at the appointed time. For me a 5 minute wait to be seated is preferable any time. So - different people have different definitions of what makes a relaxed vacation.

[DaisyL]

Sorry, freestyle dining on a NCLA -Hawaii ship is NOT the same experience as on a NCL ship.

 

We have been on the Dawn 3 times and we absolutely love Freestyle dining.... The Dawn is our 1st preference of any ship out of NY/NJ area and will be on her again in Sept this year.

 

The PoAm was terribly understaffed for our Oct. '06 cruise and it seems they have not improved conditions. Long waits, poor service, spotty food quality, running out of food and utensils... If this was our only 'NCL' experience, I could understand being turned off to this company.

 

It's really all too bad because the NCLA experience is not up to par with the NCL experience.

[Linerguy]

Zeno,..

 

I have been on two Freestyle cruises,...Majesty and N. Sea. And while you are vastly more experienced than I (afterall, you do out number me by ONE), I have cruised enough (37 times) to be able to form an opinion.

 

You missed my point entirely. The gist of my last post was to say that, just because some people don't care for Freestyle doesn't mean that they are turned off by the concept,...they simply are not elated with NCL's execution of the idea,....which, on the contrary to what you say, is inconsistent.

 

In a sense, NCL fans are saying that, if one goes Freestyle and loves it, NCL is great and is doing a good job. But if someone isn't thrilled with NCL because it fails to deliver, it's their fault because they should have known better. Sorry, I don't buy it.

 

You are correct that, on traditional cruises, people waiting to get into the dining room can be very irritating,....I simply go to the dining room about 5 minutes after the doors open and all is well.

 

Lastly, the OP WAS on a "Pride of" ship which, as we know, has been a pebble in NCL's shoe from the get go. But your comment that the American staff is inexperienced is only partially correct. Yes, they are inexperienced but, they are also are along for a free ride around the Hawaiian islands and, when expected to actually work, they take on a "you want me to what?!" attitude. NCL Hawaii has the highest employee turn around of any cruise line in the industry. Weekly, they are bringing new people on board to take the place of the ones who jump ship. They also have cushy homes to go back to,...whereas their foreign counterparts on NCL's other ships, as well as other lines, don't. There's not much incentive to work their tails off,....

 

See ya,..

 

-Russ

[mbisson]

I have been on two Freestyle cruises,...Majesty and N. Sea.

-Russ

 

I think you would find the freestyle concept (as done by NCL) works much better on their larger/newer ships that were designed for it.

 

BTW-In reading the post by the OP, I doubt he would have been nearly as unhappy (with the entire cruise) had he been able to make reservations in the main dining rooms for 2 people. IMO it looks like that colored his entire cruise.

 

-Monte

[Zeno]

Zeno,..

 

I have been on two Freestyle cruises,...Majesty and N. Sea. And while you are vastly more experienced than I (afterall, you do out number me by ONE), I have cruised enough (37 times) to be able to form an opinion.

 

 

Most of those who have cruised both NCL's older ships (which were NOT designed for Freestyle) and newer ships seem to say that "freestyle" on the newer (designed for freestyle ships) works much better. I have been on the Sky and the Sun (twice). The Sun was designed for freestyle and I found no "inconsistancies" in "freestyle" on the Sun (or even on the Sky for that matter). Neither the Majesty or the Sea were designed to be "freestyle" ships so I would imagine it does not work as well on them.

 

As for traditional dining, I certainly don't begrudge your opinions on that since you seem to have very extensive experience. I have only been on 3 traditional cruises and I enjoyed them just fine except for the "feed pen mentality" and one unfortunate cruise where we had rude, racist and in general exceptionally annoying tablemates. I much preferred "freestyle" dining on NCL. (I am sure the pleasure of always dining with whom I want contributes to my satisfaction with the NCL experience.)

[sreed41]

We're (a group of 6) taking our first cruise on NCL (I guess it would be NCLA) in July on POA. Our travel agent has already warned us that things will be VERY different on this cruise than they have been on previous cruises on HAL and Princess. She mentioned that much of the difference comes from the fact that the crew is American and has a very different work ethic and work expectations. Knowing that from the beginning and now reading all of your helpful posts is giving me a much more realistic view of what it's going to be like. We've been advised to view the ship as a floating hotel and to consider the restaurants (excluding the specialty ones) as nothing special. While I normally don't have low expectations for a cruise, it sounds like I'm better off going with low expectations for this particular cruise -- at least when it comes to the food and service. Thanks for everyone's excellent comments and I'm sorry that Briansdad had such a negative experience. I hope that there were other parts of the trip that made up for that part of the trip.

[Leafpeeper]

We take 2-3 cruises per year and usually on different cruiselines for a variety of reasons. We like to try different ships each time we cruise. Everyone has different preferences. That's why we are fortunate to have so many cruising options.

 

We've never had a problem with NCL dining. We were pleased that on NCL Star a month ago that we could only make reservations 24 hours in advance. We never have had to wait to be seated in any of the main dining rooms. We usually dine at a table for 2.

We had no problems getting reservations for specialty restaurants either.

NCL should have the same policy with all their ships of only taking reservations 24 hours in advance.

 

We sailed RCCL from Hawaii to the west coast two years ago. It was the worst cruise experience we've ever had. The ship only had one dining room and one buffet. There were no specialty restaurants. Our waiter on this ship could never remember to come back for our order. He kept busy with his large tables and kept forgetting our table for 2. We eventually gave up halfway through our ten night cruise and began eating cafeteria style in the buffet. It was not our dream Hawaii cruise.

 

This bad experience on RCCL has not stopped us from booking future RCCL cruises on other ships. We took another Rccl cruise last year and have one booked in 2008. We have simply learned never to book RCCL again unless there are multiple specialty restaurants onboard. We will never be stuck on a ship with only one dining room for ten days ever again.

 

We prefer freestyle dining on NCL and anytime dining on Princess over assigned dining. However, we do like RCCL specialty restaurants and room service. We'll only sail Carnival on short cruises because they don't have many dining options. Dining at the same time, same waiter, same people, same room just don't appeal to us. I'd rather dine in my cabin where it is quiet than in a noisey dining hall.

 

Best thing about NCL Hawaii is that you don't spend 4 sea days rocking and rolling in cold weather. Those 4 days are much better spent in the Hawaiian islands. We'll be flying both ways next time around.

[Cubechick]

I think you would find the freestyle concept (as done by NCL) works much better on their larger/newer ships that were designed for it.

 

 

I would humbly disagree, in principal. We are four time cruisers of the NCL Majesty (the fleet’s second smallest/oldest ship) and have found the waits the main dining room to be less than three minutes, on average. Usually we are seated right away, 6-8 minutes in most extreme of circumstances.

[Don Haynes]

Most of my dining experiences with NCL take from one and a half hours to two hours to dine in the main dining rooms, and my one Carnival cruise was similar.

 

If the dining rooms open at 5:30, and it takes two hours to dine, the dining rooms will be most likely fill between 7 and 8 PM. Don't expect the first diners who arrived early to leave until 7:30.

 

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out.

 

Instead of showing up at 7:30, it is wise to wait until 8 or later. Instead of a ten minute wait, you'll probably be seated quickly.

 

But the ones who complain they have to wait a little while at 7:30, keep in mind none of the other cruise lines have a 7:30 sitting time. Its either 6 or 8:30.....but they wish to dine at 7:30....

[newbe dave]

I just got off the Jewel (my second NCL cruise) and I love Freestyle. At this point, I will not cruise if someone is going to tell me when I have to eat dinner each night on the cruise. I would much rather dine at my choice of times.

 

I will say, however, that using freestyle to my advantage takes some advance research. For example, I knew prior to the cruise that Monday at 8AM at Tango's I could make reservations for Tuesday night. So, I went to Tango's at 8AM Monday and made my reservation. People that went there later may not have been able to get a table. I do not see that as a failure in the system, just a failure in the way some people used the system.

 

I also realized that the second night, dinner at the main restaurants (Tzar's) would be very busy because this is the lobster and steak night. So, we decided to go early (5:30) to avoid the rush. And as someone pointed out, going to Tzar's at 7PM for dinner could cause you to have to wait on a busy night. The early people are in the middle of their meal and no one really could have left their table yet.

 

So, put me down as a huge Freestyle fan. I am willing to do the research and put in the little bit of effort and thinking required to make Freestyle work perfectly for me.

[newmexicoNita]

I really do not think I would enjoy NCL's "free style" cruising and, thus, can't see myself booking a cruise on the line. I suppose this is one of those examples of "options".

 

I much prefer tradtional cruising, thoroughly enjoy "my" table in the dining room and have always met interesting, entertaining table companions. To me this is part of the fun of a cruise. On one of our cruises we did make a reservation in the specialty resturant but cancelled it when we decided we'd much rather be with our delightful table companions than dining without them in Portofino's.

 

Another interesting lesson I seem to have learned: on my past two cruises I've had rather expensive balcony cabins (more so since I have to pay the hefty single supplement which is double the price per person). I found that since I had invested so much money in the blasted balcony I felt obliged to "use it" and thus missed mingling with the other passengers. In future I'll be quite happy with an ocean view cabin and an "assigned" seat in the dining room.

 

Lastly...sorry...but I really can't stand NCL's overly decorated (gaudy?) ships - ships (real ships) don't have flowers painted all over them.

 

On the other hand I have friends who sail ONLY NCL...so, as they say, that's why they make chocolate and vanilla.

Freestyle certainly is not for everyone, but it seems to be the wave of the future. Not only does NCL offer it, Princess offers Personal Choice dining, giving passengers the choice and HAL has introduced the same. I think, often for singles traditional dining does work a little better, but I know singles that like freestyle. Now, for your comment about the gaudy decor? Some do agree with you. Have you seen the ships in person? the pictures look ugly, I agree, but actually it adds a lot of energy to the ship. Real ships dont have many things our modern ships have. NMnita

[sazzle99]

Zeno,..

 

 

Lastly, the OP WAS on a "Pride of" ship which, as we know, has been a pebble in NCL's shoe from the get go. But your comment that the American staff is inexperienced is only partially correct. Yes, they are inexperienced but, they are also are along for a free ride around the Hawaiian islands and, when expected to actually work, they take on a "you want me to what?!" attitude. NCL Hawaii has the highest employee turn around of any cruise line in the industry. Weekly, they are bringing new people on board to take the place of the ones who jump ship. They also have cushy homes to go back to,...whereas their foreign counterparts on NCL's other ships, as well as other lines, don't. There's not much incentive to work their tails off,....

 

 

-Russ

 

You know we were on Pride of Aloha on July 2005 for our honeymoon, and this was right around the time of the terrible reviews. I approached our cruise with some trepidation but didn't have this experience at all and certainly didn't have this experience of the staff. Sure, not everything was perfect , sure mistakes were made but the overwhelming majority of the staff were extremely friendly, willing to please and hard working. I really feel for some of the staff on those ships when people imply that the American staff have a couldn't care less attitude. I really didn't find that in my experience.I don't mind mistakes if there is a genuine and honest attempt to put them right.

 

We tend to dine late - 8 pm onwards - and rarely had to wait for a table. We got reservations for Le Bistro and the fusion East/West easily at the beginning of the week. We rarely waited longer than 5 minutes at a non reservation restaurant.

 

Even after a fabulous cruise on Regent we have re booked NCL for feb 2008 so I guess that says something about how much we enjoyed NCLA in Hawaii.

 

I also can't believe that someone can cruise Hawaii without saying how wonderful the places are - even if you didn't like the food/service/whatever!!! We had a fabulous time

[retired1998]

My Dh and I sailed on Pride of America in October 2005. We were able to get reservations for 2, but we booked the whole week in advance. I think the idea of freestyle dining is great, but in reality I don't think it works that well. I saw many people come in and have to wait a while for a table. The reason we chose Norwegian is because it is the only line that sails Honolulu to Honolulu. I didn't want to have to go from California (with 4 days at sea on both ends of the trip). That said, we may be doing this again in August.