Cruise tips, dining options

It was always the case that dinner on a cruise ship was a formal affair: it would be served at a specific time and passengers sat at the same table, with the same people, for the duration of the trip.

There were always a few nights where formal dress in the dining room, as well as formal seating, were part of the deal, and those tended to be the nights when the ‘shipboard photographer’ would be much in evidence. But in 2002, NCL shook up the cruise world with its ‘Freestyle Cruising’ concept. It’s very simple: if you want to eat in a restaurant on an NCL ship, you show up between 5:30 pm and 10:30 pm and order from the menu. There is no dress code. You can ask for a table for two, or you can sit at a large table and meet other passengers.

Both the two main restaurants, and two other venues always offer meals at your timetable, for which you do not pay extra. This trend has spread like wildfire: Princess Cruises offer ‘Personal Choice Dining’ where passengers can either use the traditional fixed seating plan, or call the restaurant and make reservations each night and Holland America offers ‘As You Wish’ dining, which allows guests to choose either the pre-set dining time or flexible seating, where they can make reservations on a daily basis or just walk up during dining hours and grab a table.