Formal dining with freestyle dining

[teeredi2cruise]

Hi all,

We are considering a NCL for the first time and was wondering with with freestyle dining, do they still designate any nights as formal wear night.

 

What have been your likes and dislikes about the freestyle cruising?

 

This would be our first time not doing traditional cruise dining and are trying to figure out the best way to make it work for our group. What tips does anyone have that make make the transition fairly smoother? Thanks in advance.

[cruise4kicks]

There are "Dress up if you want to" nights on NCL. These are what would traditionally be called "formal nights." Many people choose to dress up on these nights.

 

On my last two NCL cruises I found myself doing "dressy" even more than when I had "traditional" cruises! ;)

 

Freestyle has worked very well for us because we're not pinned down to dining at a particular time. We're more free to follow our own muse and do whatever we want, when we want. :cool:

[Toyz711]

1st...there is no transition for freestyle. you do it every day, every time you go to a land-based restaurant. some,like the main dining rooms, you just go. others, like the surcharge, you get a reservation.

either way, you just go up to the host/hostess and tell them how many in your party. sometimes they will ask if you wish to be seated with others.

 

we love it! hated set dining times, hated hurrying to make the early and starving to make the late. in alaska, we would have missed several early dinners. (late port time)

last cruise we were totally "freestyle", if we turned right (out of the cabin) we had choices and if we turned left we had other choices. never decided until the last minute. it was great. never tied down to dining times.

as far as formal, it just depends. in alaska (NCL star) over 60% dressed up for the optional formal nights. last cruise (NCL spirit) less then 50% were dress in more then resort casual on those nights.

[lukes]

Usually there will be 1 or 2 optional formal nights. Optional being the key word. Our experience has been 25% - 33% dressing up in jackets, ties, the odd tux. Resort casual is accepted every night. You may dress up and the next table maybe casual.

 

We enjoy freestyle, basically the freedom to eat when we want is the key for us.

 

How many in your group? For groups 10 and over they recommend reservations even in the main dinning rooms. Our last cruise we were a party of 6 we did not make reservations in the main dinning rooms and had to wait only once. The other times we were seated immediately.

 

The speciality restaurants require reservations which can only be made 1 -2 days in advance.

[Garn]

The comments from those who hated freestyle tend to be:

1. We hated waiting in line/making reservations for dinner

2. We hated not having the same waiters and tablemates each night

3. We hated the informality

 

It is different than traditional, but if you understand how it works, then it can work to your advantage. To address those points:

1. If the ship is full and you go at peak times, there might be some wait for the main dining rooms. But if you go any time outside of ther 6:30-7:30 window, you should be fine (and even at peak times, a lot of people don't have a problem). Similar deal with the reservations- yes, it's some extra effort, but isn't having the option better than not?

 

The other thing to consider is that without set times, you can go to the Tapas bar when it opens for some snacks, go to dinner in the dining room, see a show, and the go back for dessert.

 

2. If you like having the cruise line tell you you're being seated with the same strangers every night, then you're out of luck. You can dine with just your group, or request to share a table- and if you hit it off, you can always arrange to meet them the next night. Or, try a new group to meet. Or split it up- some days dine alone, some with strangers, some with new friends.

 

You can also request to be seated with the same waitstaff. Of course, that assumes you go back to the same dining room.

 

3. If seeing others dressed less formally than youself is a big concern, this is probably the only issue you can't work around. There is a "no-jeans" dining room, but it still can be fairly casual.

 

So, the bottom line is whether you prefer to have everything arranged in advance, so it's one less thing to worry about, or would you rather have the flexibilty to do what you'd like at the spur of the moment. One isn't better than the other, just different.

[Guest maler]

On my last NCL cruise there were no designated formal nights, at least nothing listed in the daily. Some nights people got a little dressed up anyway but I saw nothing that I would have considered formal. No tuxedo's or gowns at all like on other lines.

 

My least favorite part of freestyle is that you will likely get seated at a different table each night and served by different waiters, none of which ever get to learn your preferences. I always enjoyed the waiter getting to know what I wanted to drink and brought it to me as soon as I sat down without me having to ask.

 

Otherwise you show up at the dining room and wait for a table like any restaurant in your home town. Sometimes the line is long and sometimes not. I waited 45 minutes twice that week and there were dozens of empty tables and twice I was seated immediately. The other nights we ate in the buffet and in the premium restaurants.

 

Freestyle is not my style.

[greywillow]

Freestyle is not my style.

I guess you never go out to eat at shoreside restaurants then.

[criscruise]

We were on NCL Spirit a few years ago and loved Freestyle. We never had to wait in line. When we got back from a late excursion, we just changed and went where ever we felt like eating. There was an optional formal night. Some dressed for it others were casual. We had a server that we really liked in the main dining room. Whenever we ate there, we asked to be seated in her station. They did no problem. We even asked for a copy of the menu one night. It was so fun. It was a "White House" night. Every item on the menu was a favorite of a past president or first lady.

We are going on NCL again and one of the reasons is because of their Freestyle cruising.

Whatever your preference, have a great time!

[zqvol]

I guess you never go out to eat at shoreside restaurants then.

 

If no one else will say it I will. That comment was uncalled for. The poster was voicing his opinions and observations. No bashing, just said that freestyle wasn't his style. He is entitled to enjoy his vacation like he wants, and if he prefers more formal on his cruise, so be it!

[Got2Cruise]

Does anyone wear ballgowns and tuxes anymore, really?

I love the fact that we don't have to pack the extra dressy clothes for our cruise to Alaska. You have to be at least semi-flexible to enjoy Freestyle cruising. Some people are not flexible, that is their nature, and there is nothing wrong with that. But, it is up to you to be honest with yourself if you are flexible enough to try freestyle cruising. jmo

[cruise4kicks]

Does anyone wear ballgowns and tuxes anymore, really?

Yes. But only when we feel like it. ;)

[DMRick]

The only thing we didn't like about it was that we had to adjust our time of eating. We went at 6:30, and apparently, so did most others. We were told it was a 45 minute wait the first time, and so we went elsewhere (to the other main dinning room) and got right in. The second time we really lucked out..we were told 35-40 minutes, and a waiter walked up and said he had one more table for 4 left. After that, we went later, or ate, when able to get a reservation (not always easy, as the free specialty restaurants always seemed to be full, even if I called at 7) in a specialty restaurant.

On formal night (or not), the designated formal night (or not) restaurant had a big percentage of dressed up people. Only a few tuxes and really dressy gowns, but a large percent of suits and beautiful dresses and long skirt and sparkly blouses.

I did miss knowing I could go right in and sit down, and I did miss having the same waiter..although there were a few I would not have liked having over and over..but then our ship was having noro problems, and I think there was a lot of stress on the waiters, with so many crew ill.

Would it stop me from going on NCL again? No, I knew it going in, and we still had a good time.

[DAGVBSB]

I too have NEVER waited for a table. I think the longest waits (5 minutes) have been due to others in front of me waiting to be seated as well....the maitre'd can only seat you so fast...lol.

 

The most appealing thing about Freestyle is the CHOICE...

....the choice to dine with WHO you want

....the choice to dine WHEN you want

....the choice to dine WHERE you want

....the choice to dine dressed as YOU want

 

The optional formal nights are listed in the Freestyle Daily each day, rather impossible to miss if you read it. They are listed as "Dress up or not nights." You will find about 40% of the passengers will dress up and that will range from tuxes to shirt/tie. The rest will be in resort casual which simply means polo shirts, sneakers and kahki pants (jeans are allowed in all restaurants with the exception of one main dining room each night.).

 

Let's not forget about the Freestyle Disembarkation. You have the CHOICE of Express disembarkation, where you carry off all your own luggage but are one of the first one's off. OR you can take normal disembarkation where you put your luggage out the night before and then gather it up once on shore. The best part about that is that you can stay in your cabin until your luggage tag color is called....no being herded like cattle into a public arena waiting to be called to get off the ship.

[travelmatron]

We were on NCL the last cruise before they went free style. I was sooo glad that we still had the traditional seating because we had always enjoyed our waiters knowing our preferences, and the great tablemates we met made dinners fun, and added to our experiences. On that particular cruise though we had a waiter who never did learn that I only wanted decaf coffee at dinner, and our table mates were less than a joy. While we miss having that traditional base, we have found that we really enjoy free style. We, too, like eating when we're ready rather than when the dining room is ready for us. We've been seated with others that we've arranged to dine with again. We've rarely had much of a wait unless we wanted a small table of people we knew. I've always enjoyed the dressing up part, and my husband likes wearing his tuxedo. As time goes by, we're noticing that fewer people are dressing as formally, and that's ok. We still do it because we want to.

[DAGVBSB]

I've always enjoyed the dressing up part, and my husband likes wearing his tuxedo. As time goes by, we're noticing that fewer people are dressing as formally, and that's ok. We still do it because we want to.

 

and that is what NCL Freestyle is all about.... Being able to dress as you want to!!

[mec55]

:D

I have traveled on several NCL cruises. So have other members of my family. Here are my comments regarding freestyle dining - I would stay away from it during "school break" times. When the ship is crowded, especially with families, the waits tend to be long. As for having the same waiter/waitress, on our first NCl cruise (and all since then) we have specifically asked to be seated with the same waiter/waitress. In fact, we actually arranged with the Maitre'd to have standing reservations each night. We just informed the waitress what time we would arrive the next night. If we went to a speciality resaurant, we just let them know we wouldn't be there. They were very accommodating and we had a blast.

[Toyz711]

and we are just the opposite. we love meeting the new servers each night...never eating the same time or the same place. that's the nice thing about freestyle, those that like a routine can have it and others, like us, can avoid a routine.

[wack001]

go to my blog, a lot of info on freestyle.

http://www.*****

[DMRick]

I too have NEVER waited for a table. I think the longest waits (5 minutes) have been due to others in front of me waiting to be seated as well....the maitre'd can only seat you so fast...lol.

I was not making a comment on how fast we could be seated..but that at the time we chose to go to dinner, the dining room was pretty full..at least for what the staff could handle..it wasn't a matter of waiting 5 minutes..and those behind us on the day we got the last table had to wait for someone in the crowd to finish eating, to get a table. If dinner takes about 1 1/2 hours (as it did us), and the dining room opens at 5:30 to a crowd, it stands to reason, you will wait about 30 minutes for a table. I know the difference between waiting a few minutes, and waiting over 30 minutes. 6:30 seemed to be a very busy time on our cruise. But this was our cruise, not yours, and good for you, that you have never waited. Some on this board have, however, and have posted about it. Just like different people have had different percents of people dressed up (our percent was much higher than yours on formal/non night) experiences are different depending on when the bulk of people want to dine.

 

Unlike being at home, where I can make reservations for 4, on the Star we couldn't (I tried). There were other places to go (for instance the other dining room, which we did), but we quickly found that if you weren't up at 7 am, or had a concierge room, it wasn't going to be the specialty restaurants.

 

I wasn't complaining about it..but stating a fact, that happened on our cruise. We lived with it..wasn't a big deal, but after our third NCL anytime dining experience, I find I actually prefer having a sit down time. Others don't.

[wack001]

As I said, go to my blog and read the STAR and JEWEL reviews, I go into a great deal of inof about all the "For A Fee" sorry I meant freestyle.

All the info is in the dining section of these reviews.

 

http://www.*****

[Deaf Dude]

The only thing we didn't like about it was that we had to adjust our time of eating. We went at 6:30, and apparently, so did most others. We were told it was a 45 minute wait the first time, and so we went elsewhere (to the other main dinning room) and got right in. The second time we really lucked out..we were told 35-40 minutes, and a waiter walked up and said he had one more table for 4 left. After that, we went later, or ate, when able to get a reservation (not always easy, as the free specialty restaurants always seemed to be full, even if I called at 7) in a specialty restaurant.

 

The idea that with freestyle you can eat wherever you want anytime you want is not true. In reality you can only TRY to eat wherever you want anytime you want. If you have to wait in line 45 minutes, then you are obviously not eating at the time you wanted. if you run to another restaurant to see if you can get in there, then you are also not eating where you originally wanted. May posts here say to avoid certain times, so that limits the "anytime" you can eat. It's kind of funny that the "busy times" that the large crowds go to eat is the same time that other lines use for traditional dining. Having to wait 45 minutes can make you miss other activities that night. So, what can you do? you make can a reservation for the next day. You call and they can't seat you at the time you want, but can give you a time that they can seat you. So, the next day you have to eat at the time they told you and not when you wanted. you may have to hurry to get dressed to make it at that time. hmmmm, that sounds the same as traditional dining. It seems to me that freestyle just makes you "think" you have more control over your dining.

[greywillow]

The idea that with freestyle you can eat wherever you want anytime you want is not true.

Making a sweeping generalization like this is just silly--and misleading to anyone who has not cruised NCL. As most NCL regulars have noted on Cruise Critic (see the recent poll), we've almost never waited to be seated in a main dining room, other than for someone to come back to the hostess's podium to walk us to our tables. This is no different than walking into any good shore-based restaurant.

 

And, by the way, no one ever said that "with freestyle you can eat wherever you want anytime you want." It's made clear that specialty restaurants require a reservation--although several times we were able to be served without one. The point is: you can eat in the main dining rooms anytime you want. Try that on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean.

[DAGVBSB]

The idea that with freestyle you can eat wherever you want anytime you want is not true. In reality you can only TRY to eat wherever you want anytime you want. If you have to wait in line 45 minutes, then you are obviously not eating at the time you wanted. if you run to another restaurant to see if you can get in there, then you are also not eating where you originally wanted. May posts here say to avoid certain times, so that limits the "anytime" you can eat. It's kind of funny that the "busy times" that the large crowds go to eat is the same time that other lines use for traditional dining. Having to wait 45 minutes can make you miss other activities that night. So, what can you do? you make can a reservation for the next day. You call and they can't seat you at the time you want, but can give you a time that they can seat you. So, the next day you have to eat at the time they told you and not when you wanted. you may have to hurry to get dressed to make it at that time. hmmmm, that sounds the same as traditional dining. It seems to me that freestyle just makes you "think" you have more control over your dining.

 

No, what Freestyle means is that you do not have to follow a strict regimented schedule like on traditional dining. With traditional dining you are told WHEN you have to eat, WHERE you have to eat, with WHO you are going to be stuck with at your table and HOW you have to dress. I compare Traditional dining to when I was 8 years old and my parents told me how to dress, when dinner was going to be and what dinner was going to be.

 

I'm sorry... I've grown up, I don't need a cruiseline to be my "mommy."

[DMRick]

Making a sweeping generalization like this is just silly--and misleading to anyone who has not cruised NCL. As most NCL regulars have noted on Cruise Critic (see the recent poll), we've almost never waited to be seated in a main dining room, other than for someone to come back to the hostess's podium to walk us to our tables..

 

And while that may be true for those that responded to the poll, on our recent cruises, we've not found anyone that has heard of Cruise Critic, other than our roll call people. So, while those that are on Cruise Critic may be regular NCL cruisers, most of those who sale on NCL, are not regular Cruise Critic regulars. So, IMO, the poll means nada.

 

There was a line behind us that went up the stairs and over to where the turn is..I knew those people were going to wait, since we were told we had the last table, but I am pretty sure they will never be part of a poll. There was more grumbling on this NCL cruise than I heard even on our HI trip, which surprised me. I do wonder how much of it had to do with so many crew either down ill, or having to work in the buffet serving, rather than being a second server in the main dining room. I also wonder if the reason we had a hard time getting reservations in the specialty restaurants was because after a couple of days, people figured out the service was better there..and were up and at them (the phones to make reservations) at 7 AM. I was not...it was my vacation, and I didn't want to get up quite so early...or if I was, I was in a hurry to try and get some breakfast, before I left for a tour. Oh, I could get reservations in one place, if I wanted to eat at 9:30 PM..I didn't.

 

We did score a reservation for two days away in Endless Summer..but that was because when I went there and asked if I could be put on a cancellation list, the guy smirked at us, and said people rarely, if ever cancel here quite loudly. I told him I didn't think it was nice of him to smirk at us, and he straightened out his face, then said if we would like, he would make a reservation two days away (which we were not able to do on the phone or in person earlier).

 

It really didn't bother us..other than to make a comment laughing, 'aha..so this is anytime eating'.

[Deaf Dude]

Making a sweeping generalization like this is just silly--and misleading to anyone who has not cruised NCL. As most NCL regulars have noted on Cruise Critic (see the recent poll), we've almost never waited to be seated in a main dining room, other than for someone to come back to the hostess's podium to walk us to our tables. This is no different than walking into any good shore-based restaurant.

 

And, by the way, no one ever said that "with freestyle you can eat wherever you want anytime you want." It's made clear that specialty restaurants require a reservation--although several times we were able to be served without one. The point is: you can eat in the main dining rooms anytime you want. Try that on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean.

 

A poll that over 2000 people read but less than 200 chose to answer can't be that accurate. As most regular CC members know, each cruise line has their cheerleaders here and they come out in droves to defend their cruise lines. Maybe you never had to wait but the gentleman I quoted said he had a 45 minute wait to eat. I don't remember seeing that mentioned or that reservations were required in NCL TV ads. reading some of the messages here on CC it is clear that many people don't even know there is a charge for certain restaurants. That is not in the TV ads either. For many people, none of this is "made clear" until they are actually on the ship or they read it here in CC.