There is no decision yet as to whether or not RCI is going to implement anytime dining fleet wide. It is still in the testing stages. I would imagine it would take quite some time to implement something like this fleet wide.
There is no decision yet as to whether or not RCI is going to implement anytime dining fleet wide. It is still in the testing stages. I would imagine it would take quite some time to implement something like this fleet wide.
It would most certainly take a long time, should RCI decide to go for anytime dining, which they will not
It would most certainly take a long time, should RCI decide to go for anytime dining, which they will not
Atleast I hope they will not go for anytime dining!
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There is no decision yet as to whether or not RCI is going to implement anytime dining fleet wide. It is still in the testing stages. I would imagine it would take quite some time to implement something like this fleet wide.
It would most certainly take a long time, should RCI decide to go for anytime dining, which they will not
I have a feeling you are out of luck. They are going to route of anytime dining, just not sure when yet. They have extended the testing on Freedom as far out as April, and it is only a matter of time before it is fleet wide. But at least they will still have traditional as well. So you will have your option to do either.
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I have a feeling you are out of luck. They are going to route of anytime dining, just not sure when yet. They have extended the testing on Freedom as far out as April, and it is only a matter of time before it is fleet wide. But at least they will still have traditional as well. So you will have your option to do either.
I have a feeling you are out of luck. They are going to route of anytime dining, just not sure when yet. They have extended the testing on Freedom as far out as April, and it is only a matter of time before it is fleet wide. But at least they will still have traditional as well. So you will have your option to do either.
I have a feeling someone has given me wrong info
It's funny. At first I thought, without even trying it, I would love anytime dining. But then, after reading about the testing over on CC, I decided that I would hate it. I always wanted to try it, and now, not so much. I actually like having a scheduled time, and eating with the same people every night. And if I have to eat with people anyway, even with anytime dining, I would rather have the same folks every night. And with the friends that I usually travel with, it's nice to know that they won't delay my eating time with traditional. lol
Just guessing, but I think a lot will depend on how it goes or doesn't go on Freedom. I'm sure we'll be hearing more as they continue to test it there.
I have never cruised on a ship which offered open seating. What is the negative side of this type of seating
We tried the freestyle on NCL - no thank you.
Unless you schedule a specific time and dining room (just like traditional dining), you will not have the same wait staff. We found that the wait staff was not as attentive as they are at traditional dining where they get to know you.
In addition, since the waiter had different tables at different stages of the meal, it was harder to pace the dining. More than once, we waited a long time between the appetizer and the salad and then he was hovering over us with the main course.
On the plus side, since we always requested to eat with others, we got the opportunity to meet more people, rather than just the 4-6 others at a traditional table. However, I like traditional better where I know what time to eat (don't have to stand in line) and my watier knows how I like my food and what beverages to have on the table when I arrive.
Call me old fashioned - I prefer traditional dining.
I was speaking to a lady who took a NCL cruise and said she would never do so again because of the free-style dining. She mentioned that if you at go to dine and all the tables are full, the personnel take you name and put you on a waiting list. Once a table is free, they will call your name!
Sorry, guys, but I certainly hope RCCL never implements free-style dining.
elf
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I think I'd rather have traditional seating myself. Everything I've heard about freestyle dining just doesn't fit my "cruise picture"
I like having ONE thing in my day scheduled - okay at 8:30 I'm eating dinner, my waiter will be the same one I had yesterday and the people there will be the same too.
I like having ONE thing in my day scheduled - okay at 8:30 I'm eating dinner, my waiter will be the same one I had yesterday and the people there will be the same too.
we were on ncl spirit twice and they had open seating. The first year we liked it, but the second time we cruised we found that it wasn't all that great. like some of the people here are saying we had to wait for a table. the problem with open seating is that most people go to eat around 7:00 or so and so does half the ship. one time they gave us a buzzer and told us the wait was twenty minutes. also, you don't have the same waiter and i felt it wasn't as classy as rccl. we are going on the mariner in april and i'm looking forward to the formal nights and everything else that goes with this cruise. everyone has there own opinion, so it's good that the ships offer variety. quincy
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The other big issue with Freestyle Dining....if RCCL decided to build a ship based on it? Not good.
Once you start building a ton of different restaurants (Hence, Norwegian ships), you don't have alot of activities to do on the ship. Because of the space taken up by the restaurants, there's nothing else to do.
Freestyle Dining is definately false advertising. You don't eat when you want to because you still have reserve a time.
I really hope Royal doesn't do this. It's going to create one hell of a storm....
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A big part of the dinning experience is the repeated interaction with the wait staff. Their personality, friendliness and desire to serve is part of the cruise we always take home.
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Hi Mike L,
I totally agree with you about the wait staff, and I too would love to take them home with me, along with the kitchen staff and a cabin attandant :-)
Hi all, thought I'd chime in on this too. Just got back from a week on Freedom. We requested a table for 6 but actually got a table for 8. Not any big deal but the funny thing was, only one other couple ever showed up. So it was just us 4 every night. And once again, we were fortunate enough to have been with some very nice people. We actually spent other time with them on the ship and have already been in contact with them. And as we have also stayed in touch with some other folks we met onboard past cruises, I would definitely have to say we prefer traditional. If we had done something else, we probably would have never developed these friendships. And, once again, we had a great waiter, assistant, and headwaiter. It's funny how you kind of develop a relationship with them too, almost like dating. Think about it. You start off a little tentative because neither you or the waiters really know each other. Then as you get more familiar, you both begin to loosen up and get in kind of a groove about your likes and dislikes. On this trip, I was talking with our waiter who was Indian about Indian food as I like it a lot and, being somewhat of a foodie, we talked about all different aspects of it. A few nights later, he brought us all little sample dishes of Indian food that we had not seen anywhere else on board. And each night, we got something different. A nice, thoughtful (and delicious) touch that I bet you wouldn't get just wandering in and getting a table and a strange (no, not personality-wise) waiter. And in the end, you are talking about families, careers, desires, and when you finally part, you feel like your kind of leaving a close friend or family member. No, not exactly the same but you feel bad about not seeing these people anymore. Out of 8 cruises, I can only think of one time where it wasn't like this and it really wasn't because the waiters weren't nice, they just weren't that outgoing and that's just a personality item. So, I would miss that interaction. Heck, our waiter also was waiting on 2 families with kids at the next table and on the last night, two of boys who were about 8-10 years old were hugging him and crying when they were saying goodbye. Try getting that kind of contact with freestyle dining.
Also, they were doing the freestyle testing onboard but we never really saw how they were doing it or how many people were involved. When we passed the entrance that had the sign for it, we never saw more than a few people waiting to go in but it was not a scientific observation by any means. Don't know how it will end up but I hope they stay with traditional for all or at least the majority of their seating.
Oh, the ship was awesome. But, I sure miss the peek-a-boo bridge. Would have tried the Flowrider just to say I did it but the night before the cruise, I sliced a finger to the bone with my brand new multi-tool knife and ended up
in one of Ft. Lauderdale's finest emergency rooms getting stitches. Who posted that one of those was a must have item to pack? So the first few days of the cruise I was in a lot of pain and was also ordered to keep it dry. Thank goodness there were one or two bars onboard. I was able to get my daily dose of mojito-phine for the pain. And with that, it was still an outstanding ship and cruise. I'm ready to go back tomorrow (right after the stitches come out).
Hey Roland, I just noticed your info block says Stockholm. Was RCCL running big specials in the papers there recently? There was a fairly good amount of Swedes on Freedom with us. I picked up on a few folks speaking Swedish the first day but then I kept hearing more and more of it, and it was always people I hadn't seen yet. By far the most heard non-english language on this cruise, at least by me. It was starting to sound like these parties my grandparents used to have.
Hey Roland, I just noticed your info block says Stockholm. Was RCCL running big specials in the papers there recently? There was a fairly good amount of Swedes on Freedom with us. I picked up on a few folks speaking Swedish the first day but then I kept hearing more and more of it, and it was always people I hadn't seen yet. By far the most heard non-english language on this cruise, at least by me. It was starting to sound like these parties my grandparents used to have.
Right cm, I am in Stockholm (where are you ) and yes RCCL have advertised a lot during the last months with the goal of increasing bookings for Swedes with up to 40% in the four coming years.
The other big issue with Freestyle Dining....if RCCL decided to build a ship based on it? Not good.
Once you start building a ton of different restaurants (Hence, Norwegian ships), you don't have alot of activities to do on the ship. Because of the space taken up by the restaurants, there's nothing else to do.
Freestyle Dining is definately false advertising. You don't eat when you want to because you still have reserve a time.
I really hope Royal doesn't do this. It's going to create one hell of a storm....
You have posted this info twice and I feel I must correct this impression. You DO NOT have to reserve a time to eat on NCL. Only when you want to eat in the specialty (pay) restaurants.
You DO eat whenever you want wherever you want. It actually works very well.
You DO NOT have to reserve a time to eat on NCL. Only when you want to eat in the specialty (pay) restaurants.
You DO eat whenever you want wherever you want. It actually works very well.
Maybe you have had better luck than I did. I have sailed the freestyle cruising twice and you had to make a reservation if you didn't want to wait for 20-30 minutes to get into the dining room. I was NOT eating in the specialty restaurants, just the dining room. Maybe there were times when there wasn't a wait, but we tried eating at different times and always had to wait. Give us a set time anyday.
Maybe you have had better luck than I did. I have sailed the freestyle cruising twice and you had to make a reservation if you didn't want to wait for 20-30 minutes to get into the dining room. I was NOT eating in the specialty restaurants, just the dining room. Maybe there were times when there wasn't a wait, but we tried eating at different times and always had to wait. Give us a set time anyday.
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