The beginning of a horrible era.

[scottyo72]

Norwegian Spirit was actually one of, if not the very first ship designed keel up for Freestyle. It originally sailed as Sperstar Leo for Star cruises in Asia, but Star designed it for Freestyle, then transferred it to NCL after Pride of America partially sank at her dock in Germany.

 

My parents sailed Norwegian Spirit a few years ago. They are also early diners, and said they consistenly got their table for two near the stern facing windows in the Windows dining room whenever they asked for one.

 

We'll be sailing Spirit a few weeks after you in January. I hope you enjoy youself... Ok back to the Carnival discussion. Apologies for the off topic post.

 

We'll be on NCL in December - not only that, but on a ship that wasn't designed for Freestyle. I haven't heard one good thing about this cruise from anyone I've personally spoken to. We had some Sea Miles points to burn, though, and we wanted a 7 day out of NOLA - the Spirit was our only option.

 

We tend to eat all our meals much earlier than the average person - we'd be fine eating lunch at 11 AM and dinner at 4 if we had to. I think dinner begins at 5:30 - we'll arrive at 5:15 and hope to beat the crowds. We don't intend to eat at any of the surcharge restaurants.

 

Even though this is a Carnival board, I'm sure I'll mention something about our Spirit cruise here as well, if I can find a way to keep it on topic. Perhaps comparing NCL to Carnival...

[last_mango]

I LOVED freestyle dining on the NCL Jewel, it worked out so well for us, we never had to wait for a table, we tried 1 specialty restaurant (which was great...and free), and sometimes we sat alone and sometimes with other people, depending on our mood. Service was excellent everywhere we ate, and since we didn't eat at peak times, we felt like we had the ship to ourselves during typical dinner times. I thought it was fabulous and would keep cruising with NCL just for that if I didn't keep finding good deals on Carnival ships.

 

ETA: If Carnival had a ship doing Freestyle dining, I would be one happy girl!

[big_duck]

:confused: LOL~That's INTERESTING? WHY????

 

Because to make freestyle more manageable, they turned it into traditional. :rolleyes:

[Rowan555]

Norwegian Spirit was actually one of, if not the very first ship designed keel up for Freestyle. It originally sailed as Sperstar Leo for Star cruises in Asia, but Star designed it for Freestyle, then transferred it to NCL after Pride of America partially sank at her dock in Germany.

 

 

Thanks for the heads up - my PVP with Carnival told me the Spirit was not designed for Freestyle, and I just took it for granted without looking it up. The Dream used to be hear, and all I ever heard about that ship was TERRIBLE. The Spirit seems to be a much better-liked ship. I can't wait!

[curiousl8y]

They sure play it up in their commercials, but I don't know anyone who has tried it that liked it. The biggest complaint is that the "free" dining was a mob scene, and you always felt compelled to do the pay dining choices.

I personally think you will see more supper clubs, but I still enjoy traditional "scheduled" dining.

 

[waves hand]

 

I'm one of the ones who loved Freestyle cruising.

 

We dined in the main dining room and several of the alternative restaurants, just because we wanted to check out what was going in the different venues.

 

Never saw a "mob scene".

 

We wandered to breakfast/lunch/dinner when we wanted, left when we were done, sometimes ate and socialized with others, sometimes just wanted to be alone with each other.

 

Fabulous.

 

Linda

[Yvonne]

One thing I noticed on this board is that there are people that are afriad to sit with other strangers. They ask for a table for 2, not because its romantic but because they don't want to be bothered. I think that the Freestyle method is great for un-sociable types.

 

 

 

Fred

No, not "afraid" to sit with strangers. We just don't WANT to. DH and I would always be asking for a table for 2 if we were given the option of freestyle dining. I guess you think we are "unsociable", but that's fine. We don't enjoy feeling pressure during a nice dinner to make small talk with people we will never see again. It's the same old questions over and over and over. Where are you from? What do you do for a living? How many children do you have? We prefer to dine alone, and spend quality time with each other which is basically why we're on the cruise in the first place. :)

 

I think any ship that has more than one regular dining room should have one for traditional seating, and one for anytime seating. Please everyone that way.

[Kurbanfan]

Well I'll let ya know when we come back from our cruise on the Crown Princess in Dec. That is one of the major reasons we chose Princess.

Some people need that sort of stucture, that's probably why they choose to cruise for a vacation. Everything is on some sort of schedule....

We are on a schedule every day of our life. When I'm on vacation we don't like being on any kind of schedule. The only schedule we want to follow is what time to be back to the ship:p

We don't need the attention from the waiters. We don't mind waiting for a table. Which is normal at any restaurant on land. And we certainly will not miss the silly performance from the singing waiters:p

So that being said......I'm all for it......

[janetz]

Well I'll let ya know when we come back from our cruise on the Crown Princess in Dec. That is one of the major reasons we chose Princess.

Some people need that sort of stucture, that's probably why they choose to cruise for a vacation. Everything is on some sort of schedule....

We are on a schedule every day of our life. When I'm on vacation we don't like being on any kind of schedule. The only schedule we want to follow is what time to be back to the ship:p

We don't need the attention from the waiters. We don't mind waiting for a table. Which is normal at any restaurant on land. And we certainly will not miss the silly performance from the singing waiters:p

So that being said......I'm all for it......

 

 

I think you will really enjoy Princess. Have a great cruise! :)

[Kurbanfan]

I think you will really enjoy Princess. Have a great cruise! :)

 

Thanks! From what we have seen the ship looks gorgeous! We are really looking forward to it.:)

[Cascades]

We traveled with three generations and we all dressed up every night for dinner on the NCL Pearl with my husband even wearing a tux. More women than men dressed up. It is really up to you. We did not feel awkward:it is what we love about cruising. Even the 6 and 8 year old liked it

[bigphilky]

Look at it another way: invite them to join you. Why is it okay for them to invite you, but not for you to invite them?

 

 

I see your point! However, I don't want others to feel like I am desperate for company because I am there as a solo. I know that maybe a bit shallow but I feel that way honestly.

[bakechef]

Some of the upsides to freestyle.

 

-Meet some people you like, you can dine with them in the dining room.

 

-No room for dessert? Go back to the dining room later for dessert and coffee

 

-depending on your mood, you can have an intimate dinner for 2 or with strangers.

 

-choose your own show time.

 

To those who feel that requesting a certain table at a certain time is not doing freestyle, I beg to differ, they were given the choice to do this and to choose the wait team and the time.:)

 

I enjoy both, but lean toward freestyle/anytime dining, it really was nice not having a schedule on vacation and still being able to enjoy the dining room.

 

MAC

[Giantfan13]

There are certain cruise destinations and itineraries that just beg for free style dining. Alaska is one, Hawaii is another. You are going to places you may never be again. There is so much to do and see, and then, oh my, you have to rush back to the ship because it's your time to eat.

With free style, there is no need for that, stay out and long as you like. Just get back by 9:30, or whenever the dining room closes and you can still enjoy your dinner. In these places there is so much to do and so little time to do it in, free style dining helps you do a bit more.

 

Also, there was a thread on here a week or so ago, asking if you can dine alone some nights and dine with a group another. On any cruise that has set seating times, you can't, but on any free style cruise you can. Some nights you may not wish the company of others, just you and your partner, on other nights you feel chatty, and want the company of others. You can have it both ways on NCL.

 

One more thing, all who sail Carnival or other set dining times, do you eat breakfast or lunch in the dining rooms??. Do you hate that experience because you don't have your regular waiter or regular seating partners?? I don't think so, so why would dinner that way, be any different??

As the old expression goes, "Try it, you'll like it".

[PACURN]

Not that I would go as far to say ANTI_SOCIAL, but my DH works plenty, sometimes leaving before me & the kids get up, and home after the kids are asleep! We we are on vacation, we like to be able to talk to each other, be a family, and sometimes sitting with other people is just not what we want to do.:cool:

 

With that said, I am unsure about the freestyle seating :confused: (never been), but I do know I really enjoy having the same waiters all week. I guess I like having them know I already want tea to drink, no bread, shrip coctail for appitizer, ceaser salad, and the diet cake for dessert! LOL! I guess that part spoiled me!:eek:

 

I'm with you about the waiters. I love the fact that they know my preferences and love the personal attention we get. I have never done freestyle" and am not sure about it so I guess I can't comment.

The way I see it - it's like breakfast and lunch on Carnival. You show up and are seated where ever. I have found that the service is not a good. It seems more hurried and less personal. JMHO

[nybumpkin]

There are certain cruise destinations and itineraries that just beg for free style dining. Alaska is one, Hawaii is another. You are going to places you may never be again. There is so much to do and see, and then, oh my, you have to rush back to the ship because it's your time to eat.

If I'm in a port where dinner time conflicts with shore time, I'll probably do what I do for lunch in port: find a great local place to eat.

[Rowan555]

One more thing, all who sail Carnival or other set dining times, do you eat breakfast or lunch in the dining rooms??. Do you hate that experience because you don't have your regular waiter or regular seating partners?? I don't think so, so why would dinner that way, be any different??

As the old expression goes, "Try it, you'll like it".

 

That's the one thing that gives me pause regarding our upcoming Spirit cruise with NCL. We DON'T eat in the dining room for breakfast or lunch on Carnival ships because we don't like the way they do things. We prefer to eat breakfast and lunch together as a family rather than seated at a table with strangers for each meal, so we eat on the Lido Deck for those two meals.

 

As long as we can request a table for 4 on the Spirit, I'll be just fine :)

[bakechef]

That's the one thing that gives me pause regarding our upcoming Spirit cruise with NCL. We DON'T eat in the dining room for breakfast or lunch on Carnival ships because we don't like the way they do things. We prefer to eat breakfast and lunch together as a family rather than seated at a table with strangers for each meal, so we eat on the Lido Deck for those two meals.

 

As long as we can request a table for 4 on the Spirit, I'll be just fine :)

 

It is a little different, they are not just piling people at tables to fill up sections at a time, it more like a land dining experience, and there isn't much to worry about, and your request for a private table for 4 should not be a problem.

 

Have fun on the spirit, I would love to book this ship if they ever offer some really good (cheap) rates, and a port that I can drive to. It looks like a beautiful vessel, very unique to the fleet with its Asian decor, I've heard it is quite dramatic.

 

MAC

[scapino]

One thing I noticed on this board is that there are people that are afriad to sit with other strangers. They ask for a table for 2, not because its romantic but because they don't want to be bothered. I think that the Freestyle method is great for un-sociable types.

 

 

 

 

 

Fred

 

Knocking folks who would care to dine alone??? Not nice

[M. St. Louis]

All the things you like about traditional dining can be had with freestyle. You just have to do your own planning. The schedule is not set for you.

 

I can have the same waiter and same table mates all week?

 

We would LOVE to try Open Seating for ourselves. I think this may be due to the fact that we talk to 75 plus people a week, and it would be nice not to feel compelled to smile and politley tell someone; "Yes, we are from Florida,we are Hairstylists, and yes it's an exciting job, and no, I haven't a CLUE what to do with your bangs...":rolleyes:

 

I'm confused. If you hate that, aren't you just going to get even more of it with open seating? Every night different table mates means every night introducing yourself, who are you, what do you do, where are you from...

 

It's why I hate the open seating breakfasts.

[PhoneGoddess]

Well I'll let ya know when we come back from our cruise on the Crown Princess in Dec. That is one of the major reasons we chose Princess.

Some people need that sort of stucture, that's probably why they choose to cruise for a vacation. Everything is on some sort of schedule....

We are on a schedule every day of our life. When I'm on vacation we don't like being on any kind of schedule. The only schedule we want to follow is what time to be back to the ship:p

We don't need the attention from the waiters. We don't mind waiting for a table. Which is normal at any restaurant on land. And we certainly will not miss the silly performance from the singing waiters:p

So that being said......I'm all for it......

 

The Crown Princess is my favorite ship so far! We had anytime dining on this ship and never had to wait for a table. It was a great experience. I hope you have a wonderful cruise!:)

[PhoneGoddess]

One thing I noticed on this board is that there are people that are afraid to sit with other strangers. They ask for a table for 2, not because its romantic but because they don't want to be bothered. I think that the Freestyle method is great for UN-sociable types.

 

 

 

Fred

 

When we cruise by ourselves, we always ask for a table for two. I'm not "afraid" or unsociable. While I personally do not understand why anyone would want to sit with complete strangers...to each his/her own!

When we dine out at home, we are never asked if we want to sit with others, so why would we do it on a cruise ship? To me, it feels like forced socialization and I find it to be extremely uncomfortable. We have also had some really bad experiences with tablemates and the last thing I want on my vacation is to dread going to dinner every evening!:eek:

[kelz66]

If I wanted to wait in line to be seated for dinner I would have vacationed at a land based resort.:rolleyes: :p

[MississippiMom]

I can have the same waiter and same table mates all week?

 

First of all, let me start by stating that I have cruised Carnival (traditional dining) and NCL (freestyle dining), and that I absolutely HATE buffets, so I tend to eat as many meals as possible in the dining rooms.

 

When you are on Carnival, for example, and assigned a seating time and table, you still aren't "stuck" with that assignment. If you are unhappy, you can ask the maitre'd (sp?) to schedule you at a different seating or table, and they will, if possible. Also, if you like your specific wait staff, you can request to be seated in their area at the open seating meals, like lunch. If they are there, they will tell you, and if they are working somewhere else, they will tell you that, too. Now, if you haven't bothered to even learn their names, just sit wherever and you might be pleasantly surprised with different wait staff that you might like.

 

When you go to the dining room on NCL, they will ask you what size table you are interested in. If they can seat you immediately, they will, and if there is a wait for your request, they will tell you and ask you if you want to wait or prefer to be seated differently. You might even be told that they are full at the moment and that you are welcome to try the other freestyle restaurant. (We were never pushed toward a pay restaurant.) We were a party of six, and we never, ever waited for a table large enough for all of us, and we typically were near a window. We had our two young daughters (so close in age that everyone thinks they are twins) with us, and any wait staff that had ever served us - breakfast, lunch or dinner - would swing by to at least say hello to our little girls (sometimes they did magic tricks for them, sometimes they made them oragami items, sometimes they brought them a "special" dessert, etc.). Trust me, if you have made a positive (and friendly) impression on any wait staff, they know who you are, even with Freestyle dining.

 

If on NCL, you want to be guaranteed the same table at the same time with the same wait staff, just ask the maitre'd, and you will have a reservation at that dining room. You asked if that means that you eat with the same people and that would depend on whether or not they want to be part of your "reservation."

 

I will admit that I did not expect to enjoy the Freestyle dining concept, because I am a structured and scheduled person by nature. With children, I absolutely LOVED it. I didn't feel the stress of trying to get them ready and out the door to the restaurant by a specific time. I did, however, miss the formal attire, since I enjoy seeing my husband in his tux (like on our previous Carnival and Symphony cruises, prior to children), and I love playing "dress up." But we did bring some "fancier" (i.e. Easter-type) dresses for the girls to wear on one night and my mother and I wore nice dresses and my husband and father wore sports coats. Not the same elegance, but the little girls liked it, especially since they were going to a "Prince and Princess Ball" in the kids' area later in the evening.

 

 

I'm confused. If you hate that, aren't you just going to get even more of it with open seating? Every night different table mates means every night introducing yourself, who are you, what do you do, where are you from...

 

It's why I hate the open seating breakfasts.

 

Again, you can request the size table that you want. If you don't want to introduce yourself, repeatedly, request a smaller table. You can do this on any cruise line, or at least I have always been able to, and I can't imagine that it is no longer an option.

[BillnBobbi]

Lots of people love it. Just take a trip over to the NCL board. Many cruise with NCL based on that fact alone. Its not for me..yet its great that cruise lines offer people alternatives.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=599075&highlight=freestyle

 

 

We happen to enjoy the freestyle alternatives on the NCL ships. We never encountered a problem with waiting for a table either on three cruises with them.

 

We enjoy Carnival's Conquest class ships which is why we have gone on our last four cruises with Carnival. We also enjoy the itineraries. Carnival tends to make one or two more stops than NCL on comparable cruises. Also, the Carnival cabins are more spacious.

 

Frankly, our main negative with Carnival IS the dining rooms, not because of the food, which we find very good to excellent, but because of the nonsense that Carnival insists on doing (which NCL does NOT do) namely the dancing and singing waiters and the color war stupidity. If it wasn't for those two things, then we'd give Carnival the edge.

 

We leave for the airport in a couple of hours to catch the Freedom leaving from Rome tommorrow. I intend to give a comprehensive review of our Eastern Med cruise when we return in the latter part of August.

 

BnB

[BillnBobbi]

Just because a person or couple does not want to sit with complete strangers does not make them antisocial.:rolleyes: Some people such as myself have been there and done that and grew tired of it. It's not worth the roll of the dice. The Freestyle/Anytime has many pluses for folks that do not want to be tied to the same dining time each evening or want the freedom to eat when the mood hits them. Works great when the ships are in port late. One is not forced back to the ship early to get cleaned up and dressed to rush for dinner.

 

I completely agree. Just because one does not like to sit with strangers, does not make one unsociable. What would happen if you went to a restaurant ANYWHERE and the maitre d' or hostess told you that you HAD to sit at a table for four (or six) with COMPLETE STRANGERS? Would you say, "ok"? Or would you object to this imposition on your night out?

 

Sitting down at a formalized (not formal) dinner with complete strangers is a roll of the dice. I don't care how much effort Carnival or anyone else makes to attempt compatibility. Dinner is a ritualized meal, with attendant social graces. To be forced to sit with strangers is unnatural. In the real world one usually makes acquaintance with people, and if compatible, then decide whether or not they'd like to dine together. This could also work nicely on a cruise ship, in where one meets someone on an excursion, or strike up a conversation on the lido deck, and decide to have dinner together.

That is simply how the civilized world works.

 

Putting people serendipitously together is a leftover from the days when cruise ships (and transatlantic liners) were not nearly as large as they are now, and when the only choices on cruise ships (because of the way they were laid out) was to sit communally at tables with others.

 

Since modern ships are designed completely differently, this traditional mode is now falling by the wayside, slowly but surely. When there were only a couple of hundred passengers, you pretty much got to see just about the entire ships complement in a couple of days. On the modern liners with several thousand souls, you might not see someone ever again for the remainder of a cruise.

 

Why ruin a nice dinner because one is forced to sit with utter strangers who may or may not be compatible. This one fact, was the deal breaker for us with regard to cruising for a long time. We had a dreadful experience at

dinner on one particular cruise, so much so, that it caused anxiety before dinner. That is no way to spend a nice vacation.

 

Bravo for the concept of Freestyle Dining. It showed that NCL fully understood a potential segment of the marketplace, and acted on it.

 

I predict that sooner or later, Carnival will follow suit with some kind of alternative - and do away with the Dancing and Singing and Intrusive Announcements.

 

BnB