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Who has tried Norwegian Freestyle Crusing? |
Travel Info My husband and I enjoy cruising, but we tend to stick with the same line. Last year we tried another line, and we now feel that it is safe to branch out. We are interested in booking a cruise with Norwegian because we like the idea of traveling freestyle. I'd like to know what you think. Travel Tips I just returned from an 8 day Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Spirit. It left NYC (what a great start!) and went to Bermuda, Tortolla and St. Thomas and back to NYC. Since we are from the northeast, and there were six of us traveling, not having to include airfare was a plus. It was my first cruise; however, we went with my parents who have been on 8 or 9 cruises on Royal Caribbean. We chose NCL because the travel agent recommended it for kids and people who didn't feel like dressing up. In terms of that, it was great. The kids really enjoyed the pirate pool and kids activities. My husband liked not having to don a tie the entire cruise. However, the buffet food was just that, buffet food...OK but not great...good hours of operation though. Specialty restaurants were very good but hard to get into. Make reservations early! Main dining room food was pretty good but kind of strange. The room made me seasick! Since NCL charges a stateroom fee instead of individualized tipping, superior service is not the main concern of the staff. Overall we really enjoyed it, but I have nothing to compare it to. I thought it was a pretty good value. My parents were not impressed and said they would go back to Royal Caribbean because of the service. Others I personally believe that once you've Freestyle Cruised, there's no other way to cruise. It really depends on where your priorities are. When I cruise, I like not knowing what I'm going to do next, and that includes eating and enjoying leisure activities. With Freestyle Cruising, I can have fun or eat pretty much 24 hours a day. For example, they have a lot of clubs, casinos, sports, and dancing open past midnight. They also have 24-hour restaurants that only close when the main/fancy restaurants are open. They also have a buffet that's open for 16 hours of the day. It also makes your cruise more enjoyable. You don't have to be back on the ship at a specific time to eat. That means more fun at the ports because you can always get a great meal at one of the buffets or 24-hour restaurants when you get back on. Trust me, it's a lot better. We just did the 11 day Hawaii/Fanning Island cruise, one of the last that NCL did and it was terrific. Not having to dress up for dinner means far less luggage, that's a huge plus. Not having 'set' times for dinner was another, plus not having to put on a gown or suit made everything lots easier. We've been on many cruises, some, like the QE2 was full dress every night and at a set time. Imagine doing that for 28 days. Same on a 28 day cruise around So. America on Princess Lines. We're completely sold on the freestyle cruising concept. It didn't work well with my family of 5 b/c we could never agree on a dinner time. My sisters & I enjoy eating late. My parents like to eat earlier. Plus, it's always fun meeting new people at the dinner table. Just my opinion... BTW- we were also on the 11 day Fanning Island/HI cruise! |
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