I loved sailing on Norwegian Wind-free-style cruising NCL.

Will I find HAL too formal,reservations,same tables,same waiters etc? Free-style is maybe a lot more casual,min. of reservations,new tables etc. less formal. Am I right or wrong?

You are right, Freestyle is more casual. Alot of people also like the assigned seating. They like to be able to walk right in to their table and sit right down. They like having the same wait team, which they get to know, and the wait teams knows their likes and dislikes. Depending on your age and what ship and itinerary you do will determine your experience with HAL. You may enjoy one of the newer ships like the Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Noordam, very much.

We just got back from the Westerdam, and yes a few of the formal nights were REALLY formal. Although we wanted to make it to dinner, we only actually made it one night!! We are the casual type so had no problems eating at the Lido or getting room service. We found that there was so much going on during dinner that we always found something else to do. We really enjoyed ourselves and since it was our first cruise we really didn't know what to expect.

Glad to hear you had a great time.