How to Eat onboard for dummies...

Dining Decisions aboard Your Cruise

Do you want to have time after dinner to take in a show, or do you
prefer to linger over an after-dinner drink? Do you want to spend
(relatively) private time with your loved one(s) during meals, or are
you looking forward to socializing with your fellow passengers over
surf'n' turf? This section helps you make these decisions.

Timing is everything
The logistics of trying to fit all the passengers in a dining room at
the same time are generally impossible, so you often have to sign up
for a designated time to eat, especially for dinner. Some ships,
including those in the Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess fleets, make
exceptions to this rule by offering restaurant-style, open-seating
options in their dining rooms. Assigned seating is not normally
required on smaller or ritzier ships. But on most ships, table space is
still reserved.

If you like to eat early, go to the main or early seating around 6 p.m.
Advantages and disadvantages exist for early and late times, so it
basically comes down to whatever you prefer. Families, seniors, and
people who don't like larger crowds generally go to the early seating.
You may feel like you need to eat quickly because the staff rushes
around to get things ready for the late diners. However, because your
food doesn't have to sit for hours under warmers, it may be fresher.
You may find that activities right after dinner are less crowded, and
you may get better seats to shows while the other half of the
passengers eat. And after a good night's dancing, you feel famished
just in time for the midnight buffet.

Late seating falls around 8:30 p.m., giving you time for a nice long
shower or one last game of shuffleboard before dinner. Your meal isn't
rushed at all - unless you want to catch the 10 p.m. show. Unlike the
early diners, you may not be hungry again at midnight, which can be a
good thing if you want to watch your waistline.

The dining room assigned-time rules are supposed to be in effect during
breakfast and lunch, too; however, most ships are fairly lenient during
these times. Crowds in the dining room are typically only an issue at
dinner. If you show up before or after your assigned time at breakfast
or lunch and your assigned table is occupied, the staff seats you
elsewhere. Alternatively, you can also eat at one of the more casual
eateries on the ship.

In a bid to be more flexible with its main dining room seating policy,
Carnival Cruise Lines offers four assigned dining times: 5:45 p.m.,
6:30 p.m., 8:00 p.m., and 8:45 p.m. You still have to pick your
preferred time in advance of your sailing, however.

Tabling seat assignments
Dinner on a cruise ship is a very sociable time and an ideal situation
to meet some of your fellow passengers. You can choose to sit at a
table of 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, or even 12 people, although the smallest
tables are the hardest to come by. You can wait and see what you get,
or you can indicate your seating preference when you book your trip
(travel agents can make these arrangements). The cruise line assigns a
table to you based on your request. The assignment may show upon your
ticket, or you may not get it until you board the ship. If you don't
get the assignment you want, try to change it. A tip for the maitre d'
can inspire him to find an opening for your party.

In some cases, you can make known your preference for either a smoking
or nonsmoking section of the dining room in advance of your cruise.
Many cruise lines - including Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, and
Royal Caribbean - ban smoking completely in their dining rooms,
making this point moot.

If you have any special dietary requirements, alert the cruise line
when you make your reservation. After you board, check with the maitre
d' your first day out to make sure that the kitchen got your request.
Some lines offer kosher menus and most have vegetarian, low-fat,
low-salt, or sugar-free options.


Grazing throughout the day
Excess: The key word for cruise ship eating. In fact, cruise ships may
offer organized activities just to help distract you from the endless
edible offerings. Check out this typical meals listing from one cruise
line to see what's meant by that old joke, "You come on as a passenger
and you leave as cargo":

Top o' the morning: (6:30 a.m.) Coffee and simple pastries.
Buffet breakfast: (8 to 10:30 a.m.) Daily specials, sweet rolls, fruit,
eggs, bacon, cereal, yogurt, croissants, coffee, juice, and tea.
Breakfast in the dining room: (Main seating begins around 7 a.m.; late
seating around 8 or 9 a.m.) Full breakfast, including omelets, eggs,
French toast, pancakes, breakfast meats, potatoes, fish, cereal,
oatmeal, fruit, yogurt, and juices.
Mid-morning snack: (10 a.m.) Sweet rolls, muffins, coffee, and tea.
Buffet lunch: (11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) Full hot and cold lunch
offerings, including salad bar and pasta station.
Lunch in the dining room: (Main seating at noon; late seating at 1:30
p.m.) Full luncheon with a rotating menu of hot dishes, salads,
sandwiches, pastas, grilled items, and desserts.
Afternoon tea: (3:30 to 5:00 p.m.) Tea and cake.
Snack time: (All afternoon) Ice cream and fat-free frozen yogurt.
Dinner in the dining room: (Early seating at 6 p.m.; late seating at
8:15 p.m.) Gourmet cuisine, including popular international and
American dishes served in seven courses with desserts.
Midnight buffet: (Guess!) Extravagant offerings of hot and cold
entrees, desserts, salads, cold meats, breads, cheeses, and fruit.
As if you could still require more eating opportunities, your ship may
also have a pizza parlor, an ice cream parlor, or maybe even a sushi
bar. Some ships, particularly the newer and larger ones, may also boast
coffee bars, which tend to offer sweets, and champagne bars, where you
can have caviar with all the trimmings. (Be aware of an extra charge
for the caviar, as well as possible charges for espresso, cappuccino,
and gourmet ice cream.)

Mastering dining room etiquette
Even the most socially polished cruisers may need some pointers on
shipboard dining. Display good manners in the dining room by following
these tips:

• Arrive in the dining room on time. Dining hours are listed in the daily program.
• Display your understanding of what the members of the dining staff do.
• Order from the waiter, not the busboy.
• Offer wine to the others at your table. If your tablemates are as polite as you are, one of them will order the next night's bottle.
• If you don't finish your bottle of wine, ask your waiter to have it corked. You can have it held for the next night.
• Consider the waiter's suggestion about menu items or specials. The waiter can tell you the most popular menu items.
• To keep from embarrassing yourself or your dining companions, don't do
the following:

• Don't start eating until the waiter serves everyone at your table. Good etiquette no matter where you dine.
  

• Don't show up dressed inappropriately for the evening. Check your daily bulletin for the dress code for the evening and prepare accordingly.
  

• Don't use the incorrect silverware. Use your silverware moving from the outside in. The first fork on the left is the one that you use for the first course.
  

• Don't feel as if you have to eat a meal you don't like. Feel free to send food back and ask for something else if you don't like your selection.
  

• Don't try to smoke in a no-smoking section. Or, even worse, in a no-smoking dining room.