Freestyle dining opinions and advice needed

[pezgirl43]

We are considering cruising on the Norwegian Pearl to Alaska. We have not been reading good things about freestyle dining. We hear that there are long waits and hidden extra charges to your account for tips. Anyone have any advice? Thanks for your help.

[silkhair1]

We hear that there are long waits and hidden extra charges to your account for tips. Anyone have any advice? Thanks for your help.

 

 

Do you mean the $10.00 per pereson per day tip charge added to your account? That charge covers everyone you run into during the day for tipping. You can also tip extra if someone deserves it, but I think the tip charge is very affordable and easy to live with.

[cliffd64]

We are considering cruising on the Norwegian Pearl to Alaska. We have not been reading good things about freestyle dining. We hear that there are long waits and hidden extra charges to your account for tips. Anyone have any advice? Thanks for your help.

 

 

OK. Let's clear up a few myths:

 

1.) Freestyle dining is like going to restaurants back home... if you happen to go at the busiest time of the night, you MAY (not always) have a little bit of a wait. If you have to go at that busy time (usually between 6:30 and 7:30) then you may exerience a wait. However, if you wish to eat earlier (ie around 5:30 or so) or later (8:00 or later) you should have no issues depending on the size of your party. Larger parties may require a longer wait just like a restaurant back home. You can also make reservations for the specialty restaurants, and of course you won't have to wait in that case.

 

2.) There are NO hidden charges. Freestyle cruising has an automatic service charge for tips of $10 per person per day. This is clearly outlined in all your brochures, all over the website, everywhere you look. It is not hidden, and is a well known fact and policy. It really makes things easy for you.

 

If you decide to cruise on the Pearl... have a good cruise :)

[silkhair1]

We are considering cruising on the Norwegian Pearl to Alaska. We have not been reading good things about freestyle dining. We hear that there are long waits

 

If you go out to eat at certain times to restaurants on land you also have to wait. If you eat at not so busy times it is not bad. We are early eaters and have never had a problem. I think if you go on vacation with an open mind you will be fine.

 

Freestyle is not for everyone, but I would not cruise any other way!

[Toyz711]

i am guess that you haven't read a few of the pages on this board? there was a discussiono on this about 2 days ago...many, many people saying very positive stuff.

NCL has "auto tipping"...it's not a hidden charge. it's right out in the open. $10 per day per person for a automatic tipping charge. works great for freestyle, since it would be next to impossible to find everyone to tip them youself.

the pearl has several restaurants...in the 2 main dining rooms, you MAY find a wait if you only want a seat between 7 and 8:30 at night.

i did alaska on the NCL star, the same route the pearl is doing. great route, love glacier bay...get a balcony on the port side if you do a balcony.

freestyle is perfect for alaska (perfect for us anyway). you don't have to run back to the ship to dress up for a set dining time. we came back to the ship wet (we were there in sept), could take the time to clean up and go to eat when it suited us. had great service.

here are some comments from the alaska boards on the NCL pearl:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=612814&highlight=ncl+pearl

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=609827&highlight=ncl+pearl

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=601800&highlight=pearl+alaska