How do the dinners on cruise ships work?

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TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

First of all there are some differences, though minor, in the dinner process on cruise ships. So you have to consider what cruise line you go on. I have cruised on Norwegian, Celebrity, Princess and Royal Caribbean ships and so I'll tell you how its been on those ships. There may be some minor differences if you go on Carnival, Holland America, or Cunard.

When you select your cruise on most cruise lines you will be asked whether you want and "early seating" or a "late seating" for dinner. The early seating usually begins at 6:00 PM and the late seating at 8:30 PM. On several cruise lines there are some other options for dinner seatings. On Norwegian they have what they call "freestyle" cruising which essentially means that you can go to dinner any time after the main dining room opens at about 6:00 PM. On the NCL ships you are seated by the staff at whatever table is available when you arrive. Sometimes they will ask if you want to share a table, or you can request a table for 2 or 4 or however many is in your group.

Princess Cruise lines has a similar arrangement that they call "Personal Choice" cruising. When you make your reservations you can either select a seating time, or elect to just go to dinner when you want and get whatever table is available, again making requests for a table to meet your needs.

Holland America also has about the same process but they call it "As You Wish" dining. Again you pick one of the two times or just go whenever you want. Royal Caribbean has also begun to offer the same options but on only a few of its ships.

All three of these cruise lines have optional dining restaurants. Most ships on Holland and Princess have 2 or 3 alternatives. Norwegian has the most alternatives with up to 8 or 9 on some ships. These alternatives places typically charge a fee/gratuity of between $5. and $25 per person per visit. Some of the alternative restaurants on NCL ships do not have a fee.

IF you select a dinner seating time on any of these cruise lines you will be assigned to a table. You can make requests for a table for two or whatever your group size is, and they will try to honor your request. I have had many cruises where we requested a table for two and it was provided. On NCL with their freestyle cruising you can almost always get a table for two.

Your table assignment will be printed on the cruise card that will be given to you when you board the ship. The cruise card is standard on all cruise lines but may be called a different name depending upon the cruise line. It serves as your room key, pass to get off and on the ship and also your charge card for all on the ship purchases. It will have on it your name, but not your cabin number, and also the dining room you have been assigned to AND the table you will sit at. (cruise ships now days typically have 2 or 3 main dining rooms to accommodate all of the passengers).

When you first board the ship its a good idea to find the dining room and your table assignment and if you wish to make a change, make that request immediately. There is usually a Matre D or someone available to do that.

Now you can really be informal for dinner on all cruise ship, although NCL is the one that advertises the most informality. All cruise ships have a buffet that is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and its always casual dining, all you need on is shoes and no swim wear that is not covered. The buffets have great food for all meals and many choices. You serve yourself and sit wherever you want. I think Princess cruise line ships even have a buffet that is open all night.

You do tip the waiter, and also the assistant waiter and the head waiter, but not on a daily basis. The cruise lines typically assess a daily per person gratuity fee of $10. and that covers all of the wait staff AND your cabin steward. So you don't need cash for tipping and the total for tips/gratuities is added to your bill at the end of the cruise. Each time you order a drink (alcoholic or soft drink ) they will automatically add a tip of 15 percent to your total bill that you sign when you get the drinks.

The dress on ship is casual all day until 6:00 PM, so your can wear shorts and swim wear just about everywhere on ship. After 6:00 PM they request that you wear "sports or resort casual" attire. That's attire that you would expect a person to wear in a business office, (like a bank employee), shirt with a collar, slacks, skirt, blouse, etc. You can still wear shorts and swim wear in the pools and spas but not in public areas like dining rooms and restaurants, show rooms, bars, casino, etc.

Your cruise will have a formal night or two when you can wear your best stuff and get pictures taken, and maybe meet the shipâ€™s Captain. The formal nights are REQUESTED not required attire. You DO NOT have to dress up formal and you will not be denied entry to the main dining room if you decide not to dress up, as long as you are at least sport

shhhhhhhhhhhimhiding

you will be assigned a time and table (unless you are the ship they are trialing anytime seating).

1 formal night on anything less than 7, 2 on 7-12. the gratuties are paid in a lump sum ( $10 a day) that is distributed among the people who serve you,the other nights are resort casual (no cut off's, tank tops, flip flops) you can always choose to eat on the Lido deck which has buffetts for all the meals and then some (almost anything goes there)

you can always choose to tip more (the service went above and beyond etc)

harajuku lover

well i just went on a royal caribbean cruise in july and it was incredible! anywyas i think the dinners is the same type of setup on most ships. there is a dining room and it's what you would call formal but there are 2 formal nights, casual nights, and smi casual. if you don't want to do formal you can go to the buffet by the pool which is like always open. but go for the restaurant cuz the food is great! you tip the waiters but you can just charge it so it isn't a hassle. you have to tip a lot of people unfortunately. ur room attendant every day, bartender every day, waiter every day, and assistan waiter. the dining room times for me was 6:30 and 8:30.

piegee

there will be formal evenings but normally limited to about 2 evenings in a 7-day cruise. seatings are pre-assigned in the regular dining room. you can just tip the waiters on the last night of the cruise since the same waiters will be assigned to your table for the duration of the trip. there are set times for dinner - you will be allowed to come in up to a certain time (i think up to 30mins, can't remember) from the time they open dining room seating. after which, you'll have to look for alternative dining or ask if there is availability on the next seating.

Kristina L

I know many of the lines do their own thing, but my experience has been the following:

There is assigned seating.
On a 7 day cruise we had 2 formal nights and 2 semi-formal nights. The rest of the nights were kind of business casual - no shorts, no jeans.
You can choose to sit at a small table with just your friends/family or you can choose to sit at a group table to meet with other passengers. You make this decision when you book and you do the same thing every night.
You don't tip the waiters - tips are charged to you at the end of the tour at about $10.00 a day - then the tips are spread out among all the people. That way, people don't have to carry cash on the ship. However, if you want to tip a little extra to someone, you would do this in cash directly to that person.
Many cruises have structured eating times, so you can't go as you wish. Some of started doing "freestyle" dining - which gives you more flexibility. Some offer the same fare from the formal dining room on the Lido deck - where you go when you want and don't have to change clothing - very casual. I really like this option as I hate to dress up on vacation.

You will want to double check with which cruise line you are with because not all of them are the same.

Hope that helps a little. Enjoy your cruise!

Lou G

Totally depends on the cruise line.

Check with your travel agent, or, if you booked direct, contact the cruise line. Either one will be able to email you all the information.

I've been on the 'mandatory seating, business formal dress, seating at 7' cruises, the 'dinner is from 5-9, come when you want, sit where you want' cruises.

For my money, I prefer to eat when I want, with whom I want.

Either way, you'll still have fun.

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