RCI joins Freestyle imitators

[spongerob]

Freestyle is new and revolutionary...on cruise ships.

No, it's an old idea that has been reinvented. Alternative dining was available on German liners in the early 1900's, and included the first added-charge restaurant option (Ritz) on the Imperator. Casual dining options were provided on Mauretania and Lusitania. Open seating was also available, so long as you were booked in 3rd class.

[Got2Cruise]

No, it's an old idea that has been reinvented. Alternative dining was available on German liners in the early 1900's, and included the first added-charge restaurant option (Ritz) on the Imperator. Casual dining options were provided on Mauretania and Lusitania. Open seating was also available, so long as you were booked in 3rd class.

 

Well evidently it is a reinvented idea whose time has come. It is what people want, that is why all the lines are introducing it. The same goes for casual dress. It won't be long until the other lines add "optional" next to the word "formal". As it stands, it is actually "suggested" dress, and nobody is turned away from the dining room on any mass-market ship.

[CruisnGram]

I am not for sure where in MD you are from, but have you ever eaten at a place in Balitmore called Sabatinos? (not for sure of the spelling.. I think the locals just call it Sabs). OMG.. the best Italian I have ever had..

 

No doubt that Sabatino's is the best! Seems like everytime we go to the city for dinner, we always end p at Sabatino's. Glad you enjoyed it!

[CruisnGram]

No, it's an old idea that has been reinvented. Alternative dining was available on German liners in the early 1900's, and included the first added-charge restaurant option (Ritz) on the Imperator. Casual dining options were provided on Mauretania and Lusitania. Open seating was also available, so long as you were booked in 3rd class.

 

While that may be true, I think that you are really reaching to use this as an example of freestyle dining. I believe that most of the conversation here is centered around modern cruise lines. And until NCL launched freestyle, all MODERN day (within the last 30 years) offered traditional dining.

 

In addition, did those cruiselines you mentioned also offer traditional dining? NCL does not. It is all freestyle.

[spongerob]

My point is that the idea isn't new, nor is it unique, in spite of what NCL's marketing hype says and people here seem to be willing to parrot.

[greywillow]

My point is that the idea isn't new, nor is it unique, in spite of what NCL's marketing hype says and people here seem to be willing to parrot.

It is the traditional proponents who are "parrots," my friend. In particular with their nonsensical statements about "better service" and "hot food." Attempting to serve 1,000 meals at the same time guarantees the food is not going to be hot.

 

In fact, "Freestyle" is what we all enjoy every time we go out to eat at a shore-based restaurant. We choose our restaurant, choose with whom we are going, choose when we want to eat, and wear what WE feel is appropriate. There's nothing revolutionary about it. It's normal. It's the way we live. Free. Unfettered. Able to choose.

 

So "Freestyle" is nothing new. What is different and strange and unnatural is the notion that someone going on a vacation must eat every dinner at the same time every night and at the same table with the same strangers served by the same (perhaps good and perhaps not-so-good) wait staff while wearing what the cruise line tells you you must wear. That bizarre concept is now going the way of the dodo...thankfully.

 

Parrot on, spongerob.

[MrPete]

What is different and strange and unnatural is the notion that someone going on a vacation must eat every dinner at the same time every night and at the same table with the same strangers

 

To whom?

 

And strangers in ALL my cruises were only that at the first meeting. Most are now life long friends.

 

I look forward to every different, strange, and unnatural encounter.

[Hatsoff389]

Terrific. I'm happy for you and your wife.

 

But I hope you'll understand that many of us don't go on vacation with the desire to build a relationship with our waiter. And some of us are even repelled by the bottom-kissing of some servers we've had on traditional dining ships in their misguided zeal to maximize tips. Others, I suppose, mistake this fawning behavior for good service.:rolleyes:

 

We do not go on vacation with the desire to build a relationship with our waiters. We just enjoy sitting down and having the same waiters everynight. We enjoy conversing with them as they serve us. I do understand that many people do not enjoy traditional dining and that is fine. We all have our own opinion. I have never felt that servers kissed our bottom to maximize tips. We have enjoyed our waiters on every RCI ship.

[Hatsoff389]

It is the traditional proponents who are "parrots," my friend. In particular with their nonsensical statements about "better service" and "hot food." Attempting to serve 1,000 meals at the same time guarantees the food is not going to be hot.

 

In fact, "Freestyle" is what we all enjoy every time we go out to eat at a shore-based restaurant. We choose our restaurant, choose with whom we are going, choose when we want to eat, and wear what WE feel is appropriate. There's nothing revolutionary about it. It's normal. It's the way we live. Free. Unfettered. Able to choose.

 

So "Freestyle" is nothing new. What is different and strange and unnatural is the notion that someone going on a vacation must eat every dinner at the same time every night and at the same table with the same strangers served by the same (perhaps good and perhaps not-so-good) wait staff while wearing what the cruise line tells you you must wear. That bizarre concept is now going the way of the dodo...thankfully.

 

Parrot on, spongerob.

 

We receive better service everytime on RCI while dining. NCL and RCI do not compare when it comes to service in the dining room. This is why I enjoy the traditional dining over freestyle. Remember, this is my opinion.

 

RCI does not tell us what to wear in their dining rooms. There website may say one thing, but I see many people very casual in the dining rooms on RCI ships on non-formal nights. We do not sit in the dining room with people we do not know when we cruise with RCI. We have had a table for two on every RCI cruise because we enjoy dining alone. We do like meeting people on cruises, but not in the dining room, and have never had a difficult time getting a table for two.

[bagelsnbrew]

It is the traditional proponents who are "parrots," my friend. In particular with their nonsensical statements about "better service" and "hot food." Attempting to serve 1,000 meals at the same time guarantees the food is not going to be hot.

 

In fact, "Freestyle" is what we all enjoy every time we go out to eat at a shore-based restaurant. We choose our restaurant, choose with whom we are going, choose when we want to eat, and wear what WE feel is appropriate. There's nothing revolutionary about it. It's normal. It's the way we live. Free. Unfettered. Able to choose.

 

So "Freestyle" is nothing new. What is different and strange and unnatural is the notion that someone going on a vacation must eat every dinner at the same time every night and at the same table with the same strangers served by the same (perhaps good and perhaps not-so-good) wait staff while wearing what the cruise line tells you you must wear. That bizarre concept is now going the way of the dodo...thankfully.

 

Parrot on, spongerob.

 

So many insults, so little time.

 

It's a good thing you're a NCL fanboy, at least for those sailing other lines! Maybe you should consider trying out for NCL's latest scare tactic ad campaign? The idea of you as a table mate has the potential to send many uninformed first time cruisers NCL's way. Good luck with that!

[beachchick]

To whom?

 

And strangers in ALL my cruises were only that at the first meeting. Most are now life long friends.

 

I look forward to every different, strange, and unnatural encounter.

 

To many, many people. Every darn time that someone on the RCI forum asks how to request a table for two (or just their family)--and I'm sure you know that's a common question--rafts of "large table, sit with people assigned by the cruise line" proponents proceed to tell them how very, very wrong they are for not wanting to sit in a structured dining environment at a large table with people they don't know.

 

Now, if you're talking about meeting people throughout the ship, then I have a different answer. Most people enjoy meeting people on cruises, but many (like us) prefer to do so in more casual and "easy" environments onboard than at assigned dining. For one thing, you can choose the people you meet and spend time with in other venues.

 

Why is it so difficult for some people to understand that many people don't enjoy the large table assigned dining of the "traditional" cruise ships? We're among those who feel that we don't dine with strangers at home and don't care to on a cruise. When we've met people on the ship whom we want to spend a bit more time with, we'll arrange to meet for drinks or at the buffet or at a specialty restaurant or what have you. That's what works for us--and obviously for many thousands of others or Freestyle and all its variations wouldn't have become a "thing" in the past several years! Also, lines such as Oceania (very traditional in some ways) has all open seating for dinner, so assigned dining isn't necessarily equivalent to a "classier" experience.

 

We do not go on vacation with the desire to build a relationship with our waiters. We just enjoy sitting down and having the same waiters everynight. We enjoy conversing with them as they serve us. I do understand that many people do not enjoy traditional dining and that is fine. We all have our own opinion. I have never felt that servers kissed our bottom to maximize tips. We have enjoyed our waiters on every RCI ship.

 

And that is a perfectly fine and lovely preference. I would never say otherwise. A little note though. On our first RCI cruise, we did feel that our waiters were "sucking up" to us, likely to maximize tips, but also possibly simply because that's what they figure pax expect (we don't expect it or care for it). On all other RCI cruises, our waitstaff has been fine, but not subservient.

 

We receive better service everytime on RCI while dining. NCL and RCI do not compare when it comes to service in the dining room. This is why I enjoy the traditional dining over freestyle. Remember, this is my opinion.

 

RCI does not tell us what to wear in their dining rooms. There website may say one thing, but I see many people very casual in the dining rooms on RCI ships on non-formal nights. We do not sit in the dining room with people we do not know when we cruise with RCI. We have had a table for two on every RCI cruise because we enjoy dining alone. We do like meeting people on cruises, but not in the dining room, and have never had a difficult time getting a table for two.

 

You know that tables for two can be difficult to get on RCI. Sometimes people end up forced to eat with strangers at a table for 10 or forgo the dining room entirely for dinner. That kinda stinks, IMO. As dining table size requests are just that, requests and not reservations or bookings, there's no way to guarantee one (except D+ or RS pax). There have been any number of threads and posts over the years by people who have had trouble getting a table for two or just their family. On NCL, it's much easier to get a table for two every night.

 

Again, let me be clear that I respect your opinion and personal experiences. Ours differ. We've had equally good service on RCI and NCL.

 

As for attire, we think that either RCI (and the other ships that have specified dress nights) should either make more effort to "enforce" the requested attire or do away with it entirely. That way there would be far fewer people complaining (and sometimes with good reason) about other pax dressed in shorts and sloppy t-shirts being allowed into the dining rooms on formal nights. We always dress in the requested attire because we feel it is respectful to our fellow pax and the cruise line to do so. OTOH, if someone is wearing their very best "Sunday go to meeting" clothes and that's the "fanciest" attire they own, I think they should not be made to feel "less than" others. It's funny how some people think Freestyle attire is a free-for-all. NCL has some very basic requests for pax regarding attire, which we should all respect.

 

beachchick

[chrisbd1]

I always adhere to the suggested attire when dining on NCL. On our last cruise, we saw a show and got out at 7:30 pm. Since we were hungry and I had on jeans, we went to the more casual dining room, since jeans are not acceptable in the main dining room after 5 pm. We walking up and got a table for 2, after the people in front of us were seated. Our waitress (Catherine)was great. We talked to her about other NCL ships that she'd sailed on, that we had been on as well. Even her assistant was funny and engaging. I ordered 2 appetizers and they were brought, one after the other, quickly. There was no lag between courses and I had a great dinner.

 

The Wine Sommelier from Le Bistro actually stopped by to talk to us as well. It turned out, we' sailed on some ships that he'd helped launch, as well. All in all we had a great dinner and had great conversations with the staff and they didn't stop because there were tips to be had, they stopped because they were just being friendly. None of this felt forced or UN-natural.

 

This was NCL's Freestyle at it's best. I ate when I wanted, with whom I wanted, dressed for for where I wanted and had great service from people who were friendly and efficient. I might get this on another line but until the other lines get ALL the kinks worked out, I still afraid to give it a go.

[halos]

I thought I'd hate Freestyle because I love Traditional.

I was wrong.

 

I found that it is possible to love both.

 

 

For the cruislines that are now giving an 'Anytime' option, (which is most of them at this point) I will still choose Traditional, but when sailing NCL, I do love the freedom. I have only sailed one NCL cruise so far. It was a 15 day cruise and of those 15 nights, there was only ONE night that we couldn't get into a restaurant that we wanted....it bothered us NONE. There were 7 other places to choose from!

We encounterted little wait unlike some who claim to wait for an hour to get a table, but then again, we usually ate after 8pm.

 

My favorite thing about Freestyle (because I enoy meeting new people) is that when we ran into someone that we had met (and liked) on the way to dinner, we could have them join us.

For the introverted people and for people who have difficult times in strange social situations, I imagine that Freestyle is a blessing. Not everyone is open to meeting new people and sitting with strangers for 2 hours over a meal, which is probably why other lines are now giving the option.

 

Also, (this is my theory)....with technology being what it is today, and our children doing more virtual socializing on lline and less in person; more video games by themselves and less active play outdoors with other kids, I truly think that there will be more and more people who really are uncomfortable in social situaions in the future.

[Sooners]

We have been on only one Freestyle cruise. We travel as 5 people, DH and I, sister and bro-in-law and my father. We have been on many cruises together and separately.

 

Three years ago we decided to go to Alaska and went on Star. We went to dinner the first night in the Versailles (might be wrong name) restaurant. The waitress told us repeatedly that there were other venues for dinner. She ignored us and we had the worst service we have ever had.

 

We decided well, that didn't work so the next night we would go to the other main restaurant. We did and service was ok. For the rest of the week we made reservations at the specialty restaurants.

 

We had reservations for 7PM every night. That to me, was not really freestyle as we needed to decide which restaurants we wanted etc. Our last night, we went to Cagney's along with another couple. Our waitress was being honored with an award from the captain, so she left before our main course. Another waitress was to service us, but she/he never did. The assistant waitress served us. Some dinners came out and the other didn't. We with out main course sitting in front of us waited for the others to be served. Our dinners were cold, theirs were ok. It was probably one of the worst dinners we have ever had as far as service wise.

 

On ships with traditional dining, we haven't ever had this problem, least of all in a specialty restaurant. Oh, I almost forgot. My husband and I do not get up early to eat breakfast in the dining room. The others in our group feel that is the way to go. One morning, I think it was in Ketchikan, we decided to all meet early for breakfast as we were in port a short time. We went to the main dining room and don't you know we got that same waitress we had the first night????? She was no better, told us a million times that there were other places to eat etc. We never got a second cup of coffee and once again the service was absolutely horrible.

 

To us, Freestyle wasn't what we expected, but it wasn't anything different than having set dining times after we made all our reservations. We are going on Pearl next week and looking forward to the trip. I fully expect that we will make reservations for the specialty restaurants again. I know we are going to have a great time, just as we do with traditional dining on other ships.

 

My hope is that the terrible waitress we had at dinner and breakfast won't be on Pearl. That would be a nightmare, lol.

 

Hi Katiel53:

 

The Pearl last year was top notch. I sure hope you have a better experience this year.:D

 

As far as this whole Freestyle/Traditional topic goes, I completely understand everyone having a different opinion on it. My own family disagrees, my kids prefer RCCL, I prefer NCL and my wife is neutral. But really, who cares, just get me on the ship and I will manage to make it work for me. I will never be reduced to bashing one line over another.

[CruisnGram]

The problem is that you have those who love traditional, which is perfectly fine, but they won't be happy until they come to these boards and continually trash both NCL and freestyle. It's fine that they prefer traditional...good for them, I have no problem with that. But they have a problem with those who do enjoy freestyle. Why is that? I certainly don't go to the RCCI boards and continually trash RCCI and traditional dining (which I cannot stand). I have never done so, and won't.

 

One poster in particular has made it very clear that he will never sail NCL again. So why doesn't he just go back to the board of his cruiseline of choice and enjoy great conversation with those whom he has something in common with? I'm sure there are many posters there that are new to that line and want information that he can helpfully supply. Instead, he pops up on EVERY thread criticizing NCL/freestyle every chance he gets.

 

Life is too short to spend your time being snarky and negative. Freestyle isn't for everyone. We ALL agree on that. But it's not necessary to make a career out of criticizing those that disagree with your viewpoint or being negative just for the sake of being negative.

[Sooners]

But it's not necessary to make a career out of criticizing those that disagree with your viewpoint or being negative just for the sake of being negative.

 

I agree!:)

[katiel53]

:)

Do you think complaining about the service the first night would have resulted in a different experience with the server the next time you saw them? I can't imagine any employer retaining a server who actively encouraged patrons to eat elsewhere.

.

 

I also wanted to point out - as I have in the past and likely will in the future - that having to make reservations does in no way make freestyle like traditional - it's all about CHOICE, which is clearly what you are exercising when you pick where you want to eat, whether it is 24 hours ahead or not. Also, there are NO cruiselines currently offering 7pm as a set dining time, so again, if you reserved your table for 7pm every night, it was NOT like traditional. Early or late, that's traditional. Anywhere in between, you're at the buffet.

 

I apologize if I am coming off as harsh, but I really get tired of reading posts full of complaints here with no mention of actually complaining ON THE SHIP. I am not suggesting that people shouldn't describe their negative experiences here, but if you don't tell anyone then you can't hold them responsible for not addressing the issue and ensuring that it doesn't recur. I have never had poor service on an NCL ship, but if I ever do, you can bet your bottom that I'll be speaking to someone about it.

 

 

I do think you come across as harsh because when someone doesn't agree with YOUR opinion, we are told we are wrong, full of complaints, not complaining on the ship etc.

 

No where did I say that I did or did not report the poor service. For your information, we did report the waitress, both times. We were told that it would be looked into. Obviously, nothing changed from the first time to the last time with her. I wrote a letter to NCL when we returned also describing all the poor service we had. We received a very nice letter in response to our letter. I think you jump to conclusions as to what people do or don't do.

 

 

 

You have your opinion of what freestyle is and NCL advertises something that can't be done with their eat where you want when you want. Without reservations for the specialty restaurants, which is my choice as you pointed out, we wouldn't have been able to eat where or when we wanted. On other cruises, we had the SAME CHOICE to eat at a specialty restaurant at a specific time. So, IMO, not yours, but mine, freestyle isn't really what it is said to be. You can argue your point and I can argue mine and we are never going to agree.

 

I know we are going to have a wonderful cruise next week, even if we have to make reservations for the restaurants which I am sure we will have to do.

[Sooners]

:)

 

I do think you come across as harsh because when someone doesn't agree with YOUR opinion, we are told we are wrong, full of complaints, not complaining on the ship etc.

 

No where did I say that I did or did not report the poor service. For your information, we did report the waitress, both times. We were told that it would be looked into. Obviously, nothing changed from the first time to the last time with her. I wrote a letter to NCL when we returned also describing all the poor service we had. We received a very nice letter in response to our letter. I think you jump to conclusions as to what people do or don't do.

 

 

 

You have your opinion of what freestyle is and NCL advertises something that can't be done with their eat where you want when you want. Without reservations for the specialty restaurants, which is my choice as you pointed out, we wouldn't have been able to eat where or when we wanted. On other cruises, we had the SAME CHOICE to eat at a specialty restaurant at a specific time. So, IMO, not yours, but mine, freestyle isn't really what it is said to be. You can argue your point and I can argue mine and we are never going to agree.

 

I know we are going to have a wonderful cruise next week, even if we have to make reservations for the restaurants which I am sure we will have to do.

 

Katiel53:

 

I don't think you needed to explain anything from your original post. You had a bad experience and stated it. The fact that you are sailing on NCL again says you are open minded and willing to give NCL another chance.

 

My comment on this whole freestyle/traditional topic was not directed at you. I just wanted to clarify that just in case you intepreted it the wrong way.

 

Jeff