Freestyle vs Traditional Dining

[MONETTE]

After traditionally dining on a 24 day HOA cruise, we were quite uncertain when we took our grown kids on a 15 day Princess cruise in December. We LOVED the Anytime Dining........it was the BEST.
We could just "go"...........we could made reservations...........we could make reservations for a certain table.
We could dine alone (the four of us) or at larger tables. We could go to a show, then dine, then go to the later entertainment..........it was wonderful.
If we were in port, we didn't have to rush to shower and clean up to make it to dinner on time. We never did stand in line and they serve the SAME menu at anytime dining as in the formal diningroom. The restaurant was decorated exactly the same as well.
AND, think about it! If you aren't dining with the same people each night, you can take fewer dress up clothes.........no one knows what you've worn before (if you don't spill)
New things can bring great experiences.........enjoy!

[NancyN]

Monette,
I hope you had a chnce to vote in the Dining Preference Poll in the General Cruise Chat Forum:
http://cruise-chat.com/eve/forums/a/...2/m/9791079531

[MONETTE]

NancyN.............
THANKS! I voted. I never believed we'd like/love Anytime Dining. It's SO much better than the formal, planned times that can be so easy to miss on short days, etc.
You never know till you try it, right?
It just made things so much more relaxed............with the same food as in the "formal" dining room.

[hmwende]

I didn't bother reading everyone's responses so please excuse me if I'm redundant. Freestyle is great! You can go to the restaurant and ask to "share" a table with others and you will be seated with other people who agree that they too would also like to share. It was a great way to meet lots of different people on the cruise and not get stuck with table mates that you didn't necessarily like. Conversely, they also have quaint tables just for two so that my husband and I could enjoy romantic dinners together. It's a great set up and I hope you enjoy it. Also, if you get there right before they open you can guarantee you will get a seat by the windows. If you don't want to eat too early you can get there at 6:30 and ask the maitre d to seat you at the next available window table. By that time the 5:00 diners will be about to leave.

[susanmaz]

What I didn't like about Freestyle dining was the constant motion in the dining rooms. The staff was constantly bussing and resetting tables. I noticed the wait staff also seemed over worked and stressed. It looked like REALLY hard work. How many changes of diners at one table between 5:30 and 10:30? My husband and I were talking to a crew member while waiting to debark. He noticed my HAL bag and commented that when his contract with NCL was up, he was going back to HAL. He said the reason was Freestyle - too hectic.