Show Times and Freestyle Dining?

Cruze Lover · #1 (**permalink**) August 18th, 2007, 10:56 PM

I will be sailing on NCL for the 1st time in 2 weeks, yea the final countdown to a CRUISE!!!!
How does it work in the evenings for the shows? With traditional dining, there is an associated show and time for early and late seating. We enjoy the shows and don't want to miss them. Are there 2 shows? What time, approximately? We will be sailing on the Crown to Bermuda.

ute_fan · #2 (**permalink**) August 19th, 2007, 12:50 AM

Most nights there will be two shows. In May on the Pearl, they were normally at 7:30 and 9:30, so you can just plan your dining time around the show that you want to attend. On the first night it's seems like there is only one showing most of the time -- ours was at 9:00.

Just read the freestyle daily that gets left in your room the night before, and you'll know for sure what the schedule will be.

nmnita · #3 (**permalink**) August 19th, 2007, 10:14 AM

Ute-Fan pretty well covered it, you shouldn't have any problems with eating and seeing a show. Some do complain they had problems but those are the ones that choose to eat about about 8:30pm, of course that can interfere with seeing a show.

I like the fact, if we choose to eat about 6:30pm we can almost make the first show or choose to wait until the second one. We have never had a problem.

Like most lines, there may a night or two when there is only one show for some reason.

Nita

seajay · #4 (**permalink**) August 23rd, 2007, 07:42 PM

NCL freestyle dining is just that. You can eat whenever you want. Sometimes there is a short wait, but we only ran into a 15 minute wait about 2 times on our Hawaii cruise. There are 2 shows. Usually around 7 - 7:30 and again around 9 - 9:30. The shows last about 1 hr. If you decide which show you want to see, you can arrange your dining to fit the schedule. Many times one of the main dining rooms is less crowded than the other. It's easy to check both. They have the same menu so it doesn't much matter which one you use. Of course, there is always the buffet if you're in a hurry. We found the food far better in the dining rooms. Buffet food is buffet food. Some people love freestyle and others hate it. We love not having to dress up for dinner. We wear smart casual clothes and never even dress up for the formal night. Enjoy your cruise.

genolin · #5 (**permalink**) August 29th, 2007, 08:19 PM

There is usually a 730 and 930 show. Allow 1 or 1 1/2 hrs for dinner. we didn't miss a show.