dinner dress ?

[dennis99ss]

It has been years since I have been on NCL. Is there a dinner opportunity on the NCL ships that allow dress(formal), or is it all casual. I am looking for a quick 3 night cruise, and ncl fits the bill, but I don't get freestyle dinning. The ncl site says there is one restaurant with dress, but I cannot find any description.

 

tks

[CC Help Michell]

It has been years since I have been on NCL. Is there a dinner opportunity on the NCL ships that allow dress(formal), or is it all casual. I am looking for a quick 3 night cruise, and ncl fits the bill, but I don't get freestyle dinning. The ncl site says there is one restaurant with dress, but I cannot find any description.

 

tks

 

On any night every NCL restaurant permits formal. On any night every NCL restaurant permits resort casual (and except for one of the main dining rooms, that includes "nice jeans"). That's the stated policy.

 

The good news is you can dress as formally as you wish, no problem.

[pbadeer]

we just got back from a 12 day cruise on NCL Jewel to the Baltics - also after a long absence from cruising.

 

I'm not sure how it works on the shorter 3 day cruise, but for the longer one, there were two nights of what they called "Dress Up or Not" Nights.

 

Depending on your memories of cruising and/or what you are hoping to experience, you may not like that kind of flexibility. As the title of the night suggests, you could dress up or not. We saw a lot of people in tux and formal dress on those nights...but walking right next to them into the same restaurant was someone in Khaki's and a polo shirt.

 

If the ambiance of a formal dress night is attractive to you, I will say that NCL/Freestyle may not be for you. And it's hard for me to say that because even though I have nothing to compare it to, I really did enjoy NCL. (and after saying that, I now expect to have posts made against me wondering how I can like NCL if I haven't tried anything else), but you really need to decide what is important to you.

 

Our last NCL cruise was before Freestyle, and we really didn't like it. We did not like having someone dictate when and where and with whom we should eat - particularly when we met everyone at our table and pretty much detested each and every one of them from the start. It meant we didn't eat in the main dining room very often. Also, depending on ports, the idea of eating at exactly the same time wasn't our "thing". Sometimes we ate at 5:30, sometimes we didn't eat until 9. It depends on what we're doing - and that's where Freestyle really shines. Because you don't have anywhere you are "supposed" to be, you can make your choice.

 

Also, in re-reading your post, I think the NCL comment that one of their restaurants was for dress (at least on our ship, the Jewel) was simply that the "nicer" of the two main (free) dining rooms became the "designated dress restaurant" (that's how it was noted in the daily schedule), and it was noted that jeans were not allowed after 5:30 (although we saw people in jeans). But except for the casual buffet restaurant (also free), NONE of the restaurants allowed shorts after 5:30 - learned that the hard way when turned away at the door of the Italian Restaurant - so all of the restaurants have some kind of decorum for evening meals.

 

If you like the formal nights, you can definitely participate, and you'll have plenty of company. Just don't get disappointed by - or worse, "judge" - those who don't partake of the opportunity.

 

Go for it!