Cruises are different that other types of vacations, & this includes food & dining. These are the dining mistakes that cruise passengers are making, that you want to avoid!
Whether you’re going on a cruise for the first time or you’re a frequent cruiser, these cruise tips will help you have the best cruise main dining room experience. Good tips and cruise information for Carnival cruises, Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Celebrity cruises & more. If you’re cruising with food allergies & restrictions, this video is full of helpful cruise advice & cruise mistakes to avoid.
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Hi! I’m Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!
Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travelers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.
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25 Comments
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If you email the cruise line they will put you at the same table
My son is a foodie, and at 6 years old was sick of the kids menu on night two in the main dining room. Our server asked if he wanted an adult menu and the boy was in heaven. Escargot, calimari and a cheese plate for dessert. I’m so grateful to that server because we were first time cruisers and didn’t even think to offer my son that. Meanwhile, my 8 year old ordered the same thing every night with perfect happiness.
We’ve been on Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival, but gravitate toward Carnival. Carnival has never let me down on food quality, choices and dining experience.
The steak house on Carnival, Fahrenheit 555, is excellent. For the price, you can’t beat the quality and quantity of the food you get.
On sea days, they have a brunch that is phenomenal. On port days, if we’re not in a hurry, we’ll do breakfast in the dining room. It’s a very relaxing way to start the day as the dining room is t very crowded.
What are the definitions of open dining and traditional dining?
Is there an age limit for the main dining? I have a 2 year old.
Open dinning and ONLY a table for 2. Easy to do when you need gluten free choices.
We like traditional dining whenever traveling with more than about 6-8 people because wrangling a crowd and getting them to agree on when to go is exhausting. It’s much easier to have a prearranged set time and place and everyone can meet at the table. If traveling with 4-6 people we like open dining for the flexibility
I heartily agree about the MDR for breakfast and lunch. I’ve been on cruises where I’ve never even been to the buffet. I’m on vacation and I want to relax and have someone bring me food. I don’t want to carry my own food around
I am getting ready to go on my first cruise I have been saving and I watch this channels videos so much as I learn so I can have the best cruise experience.
My advice would be check the sunset time and traditions on the ship before stacking yourselves in a wrong place during a sunset. I was cruising on Carnival Legend, and I didn’t know that her captain has “a thing” for the sunsets. Every evening he turns the ship towards Sun, so it would be a spectacular view from the main dining room. Questionable action, if you ask me. One can only hope that it’s not affecting safety. Remember Concordia? Her captain also had a “thing” to impress somebody. So, if you want to take a picture of a sunset without obstruction, you have to pay a hefty price to a ship photographer, because only they could have the best spot on the upper deck free of other passengers.
How do you know if something’s is not included. Does it say it on the menu?
Good advice! We enjoy eating in the main dining room for any meal, and taking our time. You are definitely right about asking your waiter for something you want. One night on Princess there was onion soup and my husband liked it so much he told our waiter he wished he could have it ever night. Our waiter said, "I'll see what I can do!" So every night afterwards my husband had his onion soup! I once asked our waiter on HAL, "This is a Dutch ship. Do you have any Edam cheese? I really like it." He brought me a plate of cheese and crackers that night and every night afterwards he had a little package of crackers and Edam cheese to take with me for a midnight snack!
Traditional dining early is the best love to have the same waiter
I would not eat a big meal the meal before you you go to a specialty restaurant, i.e. going to Oceanview Cafe for lunch and going to Tuscan Grille on Celebrity Solstice.
can somebody please let me know if you would be able to get avocado/guacamole on most cruise restaurants even though none of the plates from the menu have it.
A cruise is just a city on a boat
Do the same as going out to a city of night on the town .
With lobster tail sometimes you can ask your server the menus and it may be free one night of your cruise I remember on carnival ecstacy we had this issue but it was definitely worth the wait
Princess has a separate Vegan Menu for dining.
I would like to hear what current dress is for dining. 😊
Is it ok to excuse yourself from the table when you're done or do you have to wait for everyone to be finished?
The MDR on Carnival is like going to Golden Corral. The passengers just don’t care what they wear. I’ve never seen someone turned away. The buffet is even worse. People wearing their bathing suits to dinner. Men wearing tank tops with their armpit hair hanging out everywhere. Kids running around out of control. I honestly think Carnival likes it this way because it forces people like me into the Specialty Dining options.
We have enjoyed our dinner, gone to a show and then the buffet for dessert. I asked the waiter at dinner if he could send my dessert to the room and yes he did so happily.
we like open dining. It works well on late port days so you dont have to rush and get ready for dinner.
We are going on our 1st ever cruise. My husband and I are early to rise and early to bed LOL do we have to reserve all of our meals? Our dinner hour is usually 3-4 pm