Dining Questions

Most ships have room service available 24 hours a day. Some lines are even letting you order off the dinner menu (during dinner hours) if you prefer to eat in your cabin.

You can eat all day if you want. Let's look at a day on the Carnival Destiny:

* Room Service at 6:00 am
* Breakfast in the Dining Room at 8:00
* Still serving Breakfast on the Buffet till 10:30 am
* Lunch Buffet is open at 11:00, I think I'll just have a salad. I'm cutting down
* Lunch in the Dining Room at 12:00 pm
* 2:00 pm, I think I'll have Chinese at the Chinese Grill

Absolutely! Most cruise lines will even treat you to a complimentary cake and a chorus of Happy Whatever to honor the occasion. Your birthday or anniversary can be more festive with champagne, flowers, canapés, wine or cheese. You can even arrange for a special private party. All you have to do is advise your mytravelco.com agent in advance.

Dinner falls into 3 categories: Formal, Informal (also called semi-formal) and casual. Since there are many types of outfits women can wear, we won't comment on this - just dress to compliment the guys.

Breakfast & Lunch: no special dress code, even in the dining room. Shorts and tasteful t-shirts are acceptable. No swim suits or cover-ups.

Dinner: no shorts (although I have seen this on casual nights)

Casual: slacks (nice jeans) and sport shirt
Informal: suit or sports coat with tie; some ships don't mention a tie (i.e. Holland America)

Rarely is this a problem. However, if you wish to move to another table, speak with the maitre d'. He'll make every effort to seat you with more compatible dining companions...discretely and politely.

This may not be a bad idea after a couple of days on the ship, but the answer is - NO. (Unless you sleep right into lunch). Breakfast and lunch are always available in the buffet (Lido or whatever it is called). Breakfast is usually served until 10 a.m. or later.

Breakfast and lunch used to be served at two seatings, but many ships now have an "open" dining room - which means you can come at any time when they are open (i.e. 12 - 2 for lunch). This not to be confused with "open seating" which means that you'll sit at whatever table is open (sometimes at their direction).

Today, virtually all ships have smoking and non-smoking table and/or sections in the dining rooms and lounges. In fact, many cruise ship dining rooms are now totally smoke-free, reflecting passenger requests. If you want your dining table in a non-smoking area, just tell your CLIA-affiliated travel agent. Onboard, in open-seating situations, you can advise your waiter or the maitre d'.

Tipping is a matter of individual preference. A general rule of thumb is to plan for about $2.50 to $3.00 per person per day for your room steward and dining room waiter, and about half that amount for your busboy. (A few cruise lines include tipping in the price and will so inform you.) Other ship board personnel can be tipped for special services at your discretion.

Most ships can accommodate salt-free, low-carbohydrate, Kosher, or other diet preferences. However, this request must be made in advance, so be sure to advise your agent of this requirement when you book your cruise.

On the more upscale lines like Crystal, , Seabourn and such a table for two is usually no problem. It's on the mass market lines where this request is a little more difficult to confirm.

Everything you've heard about cruise ship dining is true. You'll find a varied selection of entrees (appetizers, salads, soups, vegetables, and desserts, too) every time you sit down. And there's virtually no limit on what or how much you can order. Just because your cruise ship offers plenty of delicious food doesn't mean you'll come home out of shape. You can choose low-cal, spa, or fitness menu selections that are just as tempting as the regular menu. You can also jog, do aerobics, work out in the gym, swim, golf, play tennis, and much more. Burning calories was never so much fun!