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Dining Aboard Norwegian Dream you'll discover NCL has rolled out the red carpet for its guests. This is Freestyle Cruising at its finest. We've created a dining atmosphere that's as free-spirited as the islands and cities we visit. Our guests can not only select from 10 spectacular restaurants with cuisine choices from all around the world, they also have the freedom to dine whenever they want. They're welcome to come early and stay late because our evening hours extend from 5:30 'til midnight. For casual dining we have two cafes that offer savory choices around the clock and 24-hour room service. And guests are encouraged to dress according to their style, not ours. There are optional formal nights, and throughout the cruise, resort casual attire is always appropriate for dinner. The food is fine, service is good, but the views are the best: the lobster tail and the strip steak come with a side of sea and sky in the three main restaurants all of which boast panoramic vistas. Tables for two, four, six and eight are featured. Freestyle Cruising is in full swing onboard and dining rooms are open from 5:30pm until midnight but you must be seated by 10pm. The Sun Terraces (234 diners) is arguably the nicest restaurant (most intimate) followed by The Terraces (308 seats). Both have terraced seating and floor-to-ceiling windows opening up to the ship's tiered aft decks. The Four Seasons (452 seats) has great tables next to glass walls on each side. Port side tables are best; some may find the starboard side tables (where a walkway crosses the restaurant) distracting. Le Bistro, a reservations-only, 78-seat alternative restaurant, serves Italian fare for an additional fee. There is no official Lido restaurant: the Four Seasons offers buffet breakfast at sea; and the Sports Bar features buffet breakfast, lunch, teatime snacks and fresh popcorn, but it is a very modest space for this number of passengers --with only 85 seats inside (20 of which are for smokers) it was almost as hard to find an open table during bad weather as winning at bingo with only five numbers called. There is a poolside snack bar/pizzeria, ice cream bar and a small coffee lounge. The lavish Chocoholic buffet -a sumptuous spread of everyone's favorite treat-is the most popular of the midnight snacks. Room service is available 24 hours -a mid-afternoon order took only 13 minutes to arrive. While dishes were well prepared and presented, they were often disappointing and not as tasty as they looked. Desserts however were absolutely sinful. Don't miss the nachos and fresh popcorn in the Sports Bar or the Chocoholic buffet � so good it's now expanded to two of the restaurants! The pizza is not great, but better than I expected. And unless you enjoy really, really well-done hamburgers, you can pretty much avoid them, not only here but on most ships. It's a health thing. A major part of Freestyle Cruising is the change in dining arrangements. In addition to new dining choices, open, restaurant-style seating in the main dining rooms gives passengers the option to choose their dinner companions each evening and request tables of any size, seating from two to ten people. There are six places to dine onboard. The two main dining rooms are found on Deck 9. The Terrace, situated aft, has plenty of glass and views of a swimming pool and beyond to the sea. The Four Seasons Restaurant, midship with glass walls on both sides offers a view from every table. There are quite a few tables for two in each restaurant. Alternative dining venues include The Sun Terraces, drenched in sunlight from the vast wall of glass that makes this spot virtually a solarium. Open from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. it is an Italian Trattoria offering traditional Italian fare. Le Bistro, alternative restaurant, is open from 5:30 p.m. to closing. There is expanded seating in the Sports Bar and Grill, open from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. serving buffet style breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks throughout the day. In addition you'll find an on-deck Caribbean Night barbecue with Jerk-chicken, pork, ribs, and fish. Freshly baked pizza is always available at the Cafe and Pizzeria and the 24-hour room service features an extensive menu with a section just for kids.
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