Of all the common misconceptions I hear concerning cruises from potential new cruisers, (and I do hear ALOT) is the misconception that cruising is all about dressed up formal dining. Nothing could be further from the truth!
While most cruise lines do still offer at least one formal night a cruise and have the traditional assigned time and seating dining option, a cruiser has a virtual myriad of dining options onboard their cruise ship. Depending on the cruise line, the cruise passenger has multiple options, including traditional assigned seating in the main dining room, specialty restaurants, buffets, 24-hour room service, and open-seating dining in a secondary or the main dining room to mention a few.
Traditionally, a cruiser could expect only one dining option for their evening meal. A cruiser would receive an assigned table in the main dining room at an assigned time. With the increased size of most modern cruise ships, the main dining room is not large enough to serve all the passengers onboard at one sitting, therefore, the cruise lines will have 2 seatings, one early (usually starting around 5:45 pm – 6:30pm) and one late (usually starting around 7:45pm – 8:30pm). The cruiser would arrive each evening at the appropriate time and be seated at their assigned table in the proper attire. Cruise lines now recognize 3 types of attire; casual attire, smart casual attire, and formal attire. Even though cruise lines do allow casual attire most evenings, they still frown upon shorts, jeans or shirts without collars or sleeves in the main dining room.
In today’s cruise vacation, the traditional option is still the preferred, and most opted for dining by most cruisers. However, most cruise lines are now offering their own version of what is termed “alternative” dining. For example, Princess Cruises has adopted “Personal Choice Dining” on it’s ships. Passengers can come to the dedicated Personal Choice Dining Room at any time within a set interval and will be seated with their own party. They can also make reservations if they want a specific favorite table at a certain time. Evening dress codes apply in both the traditional and the Personal Choice Dining rooms. Many other cruise lines have also adopted a similar alternative dining option, including Royal Caribbean International’s “Mytime Dining”, and Holland America’s “As You Wish Dining” option.
Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) is the cruise line credited with the advent of alternative dining venues. NCL’s “freestyle” cruising is their claim to fame and shook up the cruise industry some years ago. All new NCL ships now have been built with the “freestyle” concept in mind, no large main dining rooms anymore; smaller, themed restaurants instead. NCL can boast the most dining venues of all the major cruise lines, as many as 13 different restaurants on a single ship. However, there are certainly pros and cons to the “freestyle” dining concept on NCL. While you certainly have many dining options, some dining venues will certainly be more popular then others, and those popular dining venues will be very crowded and have long wait times for those wanting to dine there. While those on more traditional cruise lines and have the traditional dining option, will always know they have a table ready for them every night at the appointed time.
Disney Cruise Line has a unique dining format. Passengers are assigned a table at a set time each evening. However, instead of dining in the same restaurant every night, passengers — along with their tablemates and waitstaff — rotate dining rooms, so they dine in three different restaurants during the cruise, each with a unique theme.
Other options onboard include the popular buffet, open for all meals and late night snacks. Alternative restaurants that are only open for specialty evening dining, these restaurants will require advanced reservations and surcharges usually apply. Many ships also have poolside grills and pizzerias for the sunworshipper looking to maximize their tanning time. You can also find speciality coffee stands, ice cream shops, delis, sushi bars, and cafes with snacks and pasteries throughout the modern cruise ship. And lastly, room service is available 24-hours and is included in your cruise fare.
Your dining options onboard a cruise ship are varied and “aplenty”! Don’t believe the old cruise ship dining misconceptions, you do have plenty of dining options. Bon Appetit!
