Everything you've heard about cruise ship dining is true. At each meal, you'll find a varied selection of entrees (appetizers, salads, soups, vegetables, and desserts, too), and each day the selection will be different. If you've ever wanted to experiment with a cuisine or try a dish, you can feel free to order more than one entrée or appetizer (or dessert!). But, 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, vegetarian or fitness menu selections that are just as tempting as the regular menu. Best of all, the one thing you'll never see on a cruise ship menu is a price. Because your meals are included!

 

Again, there are choices and more choices. During the day, there are many different places to eat - in the formal dining room, on deck, in a pizzeria, at an espresso bar, to name a few. At night, most ships offer several venues. Some ships' dining rooms can accommodate all guests at one time, called a "seating." Many ships offer you a choice of several eating times, and others encourage you to come to dinner whenever you like. More traditional ships have two seatings in their formal dining rooms, which differ only by time: typically 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. To choose, just decide whether you prefer to dine early or late--then have your travel agent request your preference when you book your cruise. Frequently, you can choose to dine at night someplace other than the formal dining room, such as in an intimate restaurant that features, for example, Italian, Chinese, Japanese or Southwestern cuisine. More and more cruise lines are opening up their informal lido areas to evening dining, where the dress and dishes always are casual, and sometimes, you can even eat out under the stars. And a large number of ships offer romantic in-cabin dinners. The choice is yours!

 

Dress Code

Most cruises all have at least one formal night. Be sure and check your brochure or ask your travel agent about your particular cruise. This is what you can expect on most cruises.

 

Three and four-night cruises usually consist of one formal night. Seven-night cruises usually consist of two formal nights. Ten, eleven and twelve-night cruises usually consist of two formal nights.

 

Some cruises have formal nights, smart casual nights and casual nights. Suggested guidelines for these evenings are as follows:

 

Casual nights:  We suggest sport shirts and slacks for men; sundresses or pants for women.

 

Smart casual nights:  We suggest dresses and pantsuits for women; jackets and ties for men.

 

Formal nights:  We suggest women wear cocktail dresses; men should wear suits and ties or tuxedos (optional). (Most cruise lines do rent formal wear)

 

The dress code for children is no different.  We ask parents to use their judgement.  Again, these are guidelines and your evening attire is left up to your discretion.  In addition, every ship provides some type of casual dining on formal evenings if you choose not to attend.  (Please be advised that the dress codes on some sailings may vary. Shorts are normally not allowed in the main dining room.