Dining questions

[ahoff]

We are planning out first cruise this November, and have some questions on the dining situation. I see in the posts here 'dining rotations'. Do you have a choice in this or is it based on deck or when you board? And what does it mean exactly? Do you go to a different restaurant every night? What and where is 'formal night'? Is a sport jacket and tie enough for this? Is the dining rotations for dinner only? What about Castaway Cay? I am seeing posts about coolers, mugs, and free soda. I was under the impression that cruises are all-inclusive.

Lots of questions, glad we have a few months before we go! And haven't even gotten to the flights/transfers/rentals issues yet! Thanks!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

The dining rotation is for dinner only. Basically, you rotate through the three different restaurants each night. Your tablemates and wait staff rotate with you. You are assigned a rotation, I don't think you can choose one unless you book a suite. The rotations are determined somewhat by the makeup of your party, i.e. families with small children will mostly be put in the same rotation, etc., but there are no hard-and-fast rules. You can choose which seating, early (main) or late, you'd like, provided that there is space in the one you want when you book. Formal night happens only on the 7-night cruises, and will happen regardless of which restaurant you're eating in that night. You'll see a range from people in tuxes to people in shirt and tie (or sometimes even less). Go with what makes you feel comfortable.

Cruises are sort of all-inclusive. Almost all of the food is included in the fare, with the exception of snacks sold outside the theatres. At one point, soda was free in the dining rooms, but you had to pay for it at the bars. I haven't been on board since this was changed, but I believe there is a soda station now where you can get all the soda you want. The soda mugs used to be for sale for a set price, allowing you unlimited sodas for the week. Alcohol is extra. People sometimes bring their own beer/wine/soda on board in a soft-sided cooler. While this goes against their stated policy, the seem to allow it.

 

[PoohJen]

I think you can request a particular rotation through your TA, but no guarantees you'll get it. Ultimately, you don't need to do this, you will rotate through all the restaurants and the rotation schedule won't really make a difference. (if you have a particular favorite restaurant, you might try to get that first in your rotation, so that you rotate thru it 3x)

Which Nov cruise are you taking? We're on Nov 13, and there's a great group of people with an active thread dedicated to that cruise:
http://130.94.75.33/showthread.php?s=&threadid=418711&perpage=15&pagenumber=38

(if that link doesn't work, just look on the "Cruise Meets" thread for your sailing date; it's at the top of the forums page!)

 

[crisi]

There is a lunch buffet of CC as well, included.

What is not included, alcholic drinks, smoothies, fancy coffee drinks, pop outside the dining rooms or gotten from somewhere other than the drink station (i.e. bars), snacks near the theater (candy and such), photos from Shutters (they take a lot of pictures, some people buy them, some don't), excursions, bingo, souvieniers and TIPS!!!!!!

Don't underestimate the tips.

 

[kcashner]

The rotations are set up by the age of the children--families with young children are in one rotation, middle aged in another, and adults/teens in another. The exact age cutoff changes on each cruise as the cruises differ in the ages sailing. The basic idea is that a party of 4 adults probably doesn't want to sit in the dining room with a bunch of fussy toddlers.

That said, you can request a rotation prior to boarding by having your TA call DCL. Your rotation will be printed on your KTTW card when you check in. If for some reason you are unhappy with what you have, you can go to "Dining Changes" and request a change. The staff tries very hard to give you what you want, but again, no promises.

You can request early or late seating....early fills first, so the sooner you make this request, the better. There are 3 restaurants, so on a 7 day cruise, you will eat in each one twice and the one you start at you will have for an extra night. You eat breakfast and lunch any time/any where you desire. The choices are posted on the Navigator that will be placed in your stateroom each night.

You do not need a cooler, although some people like one to take on excursions. Soda used to be free in the dining room, charged for at the bars. You could buy a mug and a soda package. However, sodas are now supposedly free all over the ship. Other non-alcholic drinks (fruit juices, milk, tea, coffee, etc.) were always free.

You will pay for alcohol, smoothies, snacks purchased outside theatres (you can always bring your own, get cookies from room service, or just not eat in the theatre). Tips to the wait staff and room stewards are not included. Basically, you can go on the cruise and have very close to NO additional expenses except tips...or you can spend a gazillion dollars on extras. It is totally up to you and what you choose to do. Shore excursions, photos, souveniers, alcohol, smoothies, arcade cards, etc. can all add up quickly. We don't allow arcade games (they're cheaper at home, and we didn't cruise to play video games...besides, there are limited numbers of free games on the computers in the kid areas). We take lots of our own photos and buy very few professional shots. Most shore excursions can be booked more cheaply on your own than thru DCL.....

Please ask questions here....and have a great trip.

 

[ahoff]

Thanks for the responses and info. We are going on a three night cruise on Nov 18, so looks to be no formal night. According to my wife, she was told during booking that the early rotation is filled. We didn't know what that meant at the time. We will be a party of four, DD 15 and DS 11 along also.

Do they match up the tablemates in any way, such as children/no children, or is it sort of luck of the draw based on boarding times or something like that?