Before we learned our lesson, and how to use the good offices of the
Concierge, our "trick" was to wake up early in the morning, call the
Reservations Desk to make reservations for that night (and the next
one, if they would accept it) and then go back to sleep!! Yes, you
have to be a little flexible (as you would with any good restaurant at
home), but we never got stuck with "5:30 or 9:30" time slot
reservations unless we wanted them!! We prefer to eat later on usually
anyway (avoiding all of the kids). Using the Concierge has made all of
that unnecessary.

We have never tried Carnival, although we have heard that the food is
much better now than it used to be. Perhaps some day--although
"guzzle and belch" cruising still does not appeal to us, nor does the
extreme size and passenger load of the Carnival ships. "Each to his
own"!!. We have found that the food in the non-specialty restaurants
on NCL is very good to excellent, especially over the past year after
they changed the menus. Worst case scenario, you can always get a
steak-baker-salad combo (that will satisfy anyone) if nothing on the
menu appeals.Or, ask for a "kiddie" menu--the hot dogs and fries are
always good, or even the grilled cheese sandwich!! As long as I don't
have to cook it, clean it up, or do the dishes, I am happy, especially
with meals that are tasty and palatable!! We have found that the
extra-tariff restaurants on NCL ships are well worth the money, and
the food and service are generally much better than anything we can
get at home or even on other ships--and we live on the Upper East side
of Manhattan!!

Too bad you are unwilling to keep an open mind about NCL as are many
others. Don't let anyone drag you on board--the rest of us enjoy the
ships and "freestyle" way and prefer not to have to put up with the
disgruntled who are not where they choose to be. "Each to his
own"--which is the best thing about modern cruising!!

PegNDerek



On Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:43:46 -0400, Charles
wrote:

In article , Peg
Caldwell-Ott wrote:

(2) Call from the comfort of your cabin in the mornings to make
reservations for the evening. The number on the Dawn is 9930.

Do that and have a choice of 5:30 or 9:30 PM.

How is this "Freestyle Cruising"? Well, even for popular restaurants
at home, you have to make reservations, right? And, you still have the
freedom to eat when you like and where you like--it only requires a
little advance planning--just like making your selections for Shore
Excursions!!.

At home I can pick really good restaurants. On the NCL Dawn the food is
generally below average. The ones that charge are almost equal to a
meal that is included on other cruise lines like Carnival.

Basis for information: 3 previous cruises on the Dawn and 4 on the
Spirit. We ADORE freestyle and will probably not go back to anything
less in the future!!

To each their own. NCL's implementation of open seating is poor. I
will avoid NCL unless some friends drag me onboard.