Meals on a cruise are the most important issue. Because on an empty stomach, even the coolest trip on the most luxurious liner will not be a joy.
In this article, using my experience of traveling on sea cruises, I will reveal all the nuances. I will answer questions related to eating on board a cruise ship, which you often ask in comments and private messages.
Meals on a cruise
And so, 20 questions and the same number of answers in this article will reveal the full picture about food on board a cruise ship. Let’s go!
Meals are included in the price of the cruise or you need to pay extra for food on the ship?
You don’t need to pay anything extra: food is always included in the price of the cruise. Drinks – no, but food – always. Even if you somehow end up on a cruise ship with no money at all, you won’t go hungry.
Moreover, food on a cruise does not only mean breakfast, as in European hotels. This is complete nutrition for the whole day:
- Early breakfast,
- breakfast,
- brunch,
- snack,
- lunch,
- another snack,
- cakes for tea,
- dinner,
- late dinner,
- snacks for night owls.
So, it’s better not to worry about what to eat on the cruise, but about how not to gain weight during the trip.
At the same time, on cruise ships there are also paid restaurants, that is, where they feed you for money. But if you don’t want to go there, don’t go, no one will force you.
I will eat in a restaurant, in a cabin, or they will give me rations?
Cruise ship passengers eat either in restaurants or at buffets.
There are several free restaurants (free, of course, conditionally, since you have already paid for them when buying a cruise) on ships – there may be two, three, four, etc. – depends on the size of the cruise ship. For example, on the Symphony of the Seas (the largest passenger ship in the world today) there are nine free restaurants.
There is usually only one buffet, but it occupies a significant part of the upper deck (and sometimes two decks). It operates on a buffet basis. In the buffet, the majority of passengers usually have breakfast before going ashore for an excursion.
About breakfast in more detail – what they feed you and when?
You can have breakfast in two places – at the buffet or in the restaurant.
Buffet
For breakfast, it is typically open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. And you can have breakfast at any time during this period.
But, let’s be honest, the buffet can be very crowded in the morning. This is due to the fact that usually at 7-8 am the liner arrives at the new port and everyone wants to have breakfast quickly so they can go to the city. Therefore, sometimes finding a free table at a buffet for breakfast is a real problem. And there may also be small queues when serving dishes (for example, an omelet).
What they serve at the buffet?
As a rule, this is a standard buffet, like in a regular hotel:
- sliced cheese,
- sausages,
- sausages,
- salads,
- porridge,
- yogurts,
- omelets,
- fried eggs,
- buns, etc.
Drinks usually include coffee from the machine, juice and tea (included in the price).
The variety of “dishes” in the buffet depends on the cruise company: the higher its class (and, accordingly, more expensive the cruises), the more varied the food. But even in the most “democratic” options there are no problems with choosing food.
Restaurant
If you couldn’t find a table at the buffet for breakfast, you can go to the restaurant for breakfast (this is also included in the price). But usually, the choice there is less than at the buffet, and you will have to order from the menu. This can be really long. For some reason, the waiters are especially slow at breakfast; you can wait about twenty minutes for each item.
Is there a dress code for breakfast?
Not at the buffet. Of course, it’s better not to come bare-chested, think about other passengers, but a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops are completely acceptable.
You may not be allowed into the restaurant if you wear flip-flops. But this already depends on the cruise company – they may also refuse those who are wearing shorts.
Can I order breakfast in my cabin?
As a rule, this is an additional option and is not included in the standard included services. You can order breakfast in your cabin either for an additional fee or for free if the cabin privileges allow (for example, Premium from Costa Cruises or Fantastica from MSC Cruises).
Breakfast in your cabin is mainly a continental breakfast, but sometimes you can order something hot, it all depends on the cruise line.
Where and what will I have for lunch?
If a cruise ship is in port, then most of the passengers on it do not have lunch at all, as they are on excursions.
But if you stayed on the ship, or today is a “day at sea”, then you also have two options where to go for lunch – a buffet or the main restaurant.
Buffet
For lunch it usually opens around 1pm and stays open until 4-5pm. At this time, you can dine on cold appetizers, soups, meat and vegetable dishes: meat, fish, pasta, etc. Sometimes there may be something local – for example, sushi, pasta, pizza, etc., as well as desserts and fruits.
On one cruise, passengers from almost all over the world gather on the ship, so the chefs work real miracles, trying to satisfy the needs of most of them.
And, by the way, on some cruise lines, the price of lunch may include alcoholic drinks, such as beer and wine.
Restaurant
Lunch at a restaurant is usually à la carte. The food is almost the same as in the buffet, but the difference is that you do not have to go with a tray to get your food – the waiter will bring it to you.
Can you bring food from the buffet to your cabin?
Yes. Unlike hotels, which prohibit taking food out of the restaurant, on cruise ships there is complete democracy in this regard: you can fill a plate of anything and take it to your cabin.
And if I can’t live without doctor’s sausage, can I bring my own food onto the ship?
For the safety of all passengers and crew, bringing food on board is prohibited. But in reality, passengers bring food from the ground, however, this mainly concerns some kind of snacks, appetizers, or products such as cheeses, jamon, etc.
You are unlikely to be allowed to bring a piece of raw meat or a stick of sausage onto the liner. Although, a lot depends on the team that checks the passengers.
But keep in mind that on some ships there are no refrigerators in the cabins (for example, there are none on the Costa Smeralda), so before you bring cheese on board, think about where you will store it.
In any case, there is a really wide variety of food on board a cruise ship, and it is included in the cost of the cruise, so it only makes sense to carry something from the port if you have a special diet. But it’s better to discuss these questions when booking a cruise, so that there are no surprises later.
Can I bring alcohol to the ship from the city?
As a rule, no. All passengers boarding the ship at any port during the voyage are screened in much the same way as at the airport. Therefore, all your bottles of alcohol will be visible to team members.
And then, everything depends on them. Strong alcohol is usually confiscated and sent to a storage room – it will only be returned to you at the end of the cruise.
As for wine or beer, much depends on the control command at the entrance. One or maximum two bottles may be missed, but if you carry more, they will most likely be confiscated.
If I have some special diet, what should I do?
Some special dishes will be prepared for me personally?
Many cruise lines offer the following menu options on board their ships upon special request:
- vegetarian
- diabetic
- low fat
- low-salt
- low cholesterol
When booking, the manager makes a special request and makes a note. The ship’s à la carte restaurant will then serve a special menu or prepare meals on site according to your special request.
In any case, it is very important to remind the waiter or head waiter about this on the first day of the cruise. At the buffet, in the description of the dishes there are notes about the composition, that is, you can decide for yourself what you will eat and what not.
Where and how is dinner on the ship?
Dinner is the most formal part, and unlike breakfast and lunch, most passengers prefer to go to a restaurant for dinner rather than a buffet. (The dinner buffet is also open, so if you want to eat quickly, you can go there).
In a restaurant, evening meals usually take place in two shifts – the first at 18:00 – 20:00, the second at 20:00 – 22:00. This was done so that all passengers on the ship had time to eat. While the first shift eats, the second goes to the theater for a performance or walks around the ship. When the second shift arrives at the restaurant, the same performance for the first shift begins in the theater.
Hence the conclusion: no one will let you sit in a restaurant for more than two hours.
Food menu with three courses. The menu in the main restaurant is updated every day. The dishes are very varied: you choose from 4-5 appetizers, 2-3 salads, 2-3 soups, 5-6 hot dishes. And after dinner there is a separate dessert menu.
The food is tasty and plentiful.
Moreover, the dishes can be quite unusual. For example, at Carnival Legend they brought a plate of octopus and other sea creatures for a snack. At Costa Magica, chefs prepared dishes from different regions of Italy every evening: Tuscan rabbit, swordfish with mashed potatoes and green peas, pork escalope with smoked ham, etc.
By the way, for dinner at a restaurant you can order at least all items on the menu. So if you want to eat three appetizers and two mains today, feel free to order them all. At least I’ve never been rejected before.
Let me remind you once again – all this is included in the cost of the cruise. But drinks for dinner are not included, only water and tea/coffee.
Alcohol for dinner you can order beer, champagne, wine by the glass. But it’s cheaper to order a bottle right away; prices for wine start somewhere between 20-25 euros. Leave whatever you don’t drink, the alcohol will wait for you until tomorrow.
Each passenger is assigned a certain table and a group of waiters in the restaurant for dinner during the entire cruise. So whatever you didn’t finish today, they will bring you tomorrow.
How I recognize my table at dinner?
Your dinner time, restaurant name (if there is more than one on the ship) and table number will be indicated on your cruise card, which will be given to you upon check-in at the port before the start of the cruise.
It looks like this – Costa Mediterranea liner, Argentieri restaurant, deck 3, shift 1, table 244.
Liner MSC Magnifica, restaurant L Edera, deck 10, second shift, table 467
Can I choose the time for dinner?
When booking a cruise, you can indicate your wishes. But the final decision is still made by the cruise company. There are no guarantees that your wishes will be taken into account. And even then, wishes can only be expressed on cruises at higher fares; this is not practiced on the cheapest options.
If you are not satisfied with the dinner time, already on the ship you can go to the reception desk and try to change it. But again, no guarantees.
And this is not because the companies are so evil: just imagine, on average there are about 3000 – 3500 people on a cruise ship, and there are ships that accept 6500 passengers, and it is impossible to rearrange the schedule for each of them.
We will be alone at the dinner table?
If there are such tables in a restaurant and you are lucky, you will be alone. But, as a rule, tables in ship restaurants are designed for 4–6 people, and you will only find out who you will be sitting with at the first dinner. And it won’t necessarily be your compatriots; according to the linguistic principle, no one seats guests on the liners.
How to dress for dinner?
Depends on the cruise line. On premium segment liners, people without jackets may not be allowed into the restaurant.
If you have a more “democratic” ship, then there is no strict dress code for dinner. Of course, you most likely won’t be allowed into the restaurant in shorts and a T-shirt.
If you want to surprise and amuse foreigners, you can wear a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. This is permissible according to the ship’s rules, but the rest depends on your upbringing.
The exception is the so-called “captain’s dinner” – usually this is one evening during the entire cruise, when the captain personally greets passengers in the evening. This evening, all passengers on the liner are usually dressed up:
- ladies – in dresses,
- men – in suits.
What food cruise companies offer to children?
If I am traveling with a baby, will they give me formula, porridge or puree?
As such, there is no baby food on cruises, because children, according to the rules of cruise companies, begin traveling from six months and older. Accordingly, either a request is made in advance about the possibility of bringing some mixtures from the sushi, or you can choose from the buffet what is suitable for the child’s diet. There is always steamed meat, pasta, vegetables, fruits and so on.
We’ve sorted out the free restaurants.
Paid restaurants, what they are and who can go there?
There are usually more paid restaurants on ships than free ones. For example, on the Norwegian Epic liner, out of ten restaurants, eight are paid: if you dine at least once in each of them, then to visit them all, the cruise must last more than a week. There are 15 restaurants on Costa Smeralda, of which only five are free, including the buffet.
Each cruise company has its own conditions and its own restaurants. For example, luxury companies immediately include these restaurants in the price of cruises, and Oceania Cruises cruises have this “trick” – during the trip you can go to each paid restaurant once completely free of charge. In other words, if there are six paid restaurants on the ship, then during a week-long cruise you can dine in a new restaurant every day.
In general, paid restaurants on ships are small themed establishments, as an addition to the standard options. Many cruise lines enter into exclusive partnerships with the world’s best chefs and bring unique restaurants on board.
Any passenger can go to such restaurants, but usually you need to book a table in advance.
Paid restaurants are expensive?
Depends on the restaurant and cruise line. To be honest, I rarely went to paid restaurants on liners – the “free” ones are quite enough for me, but I often saw their advertisements with special prices, like “a whole lobster for 50 euros”, or something similar.
Here is the latest example: a photo of the menu from the Teppanyaki restaurant on the Costa Mediterranea. Please note that you can choose two main courses at once:
For example, lobster looks like this:
And all the fun (first course, two main courses and dessert) for 35 euros per person (drinks not included).
Like with alcohol on liners? It’s included in the price?
There is always alcohol on cruise ships, but whether it is included in the cost of the cruise depends on the cruise company. For example, Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises do not include alcohol. Royal Caribbean may include wine for dinner on some cruises, and beer may be included for lunch and dinner on AIDA Cruises.
How much does alcohol cost?
I can describe it for a long time, but it’s better to publish a photo of the menu from the bar (from the Costa Mediterranea liner):
How to save on alcohol?
If alcohol is not included in the price of your cruise, you have two options: either don’t drink or pay for it. To ensure that the final bill for alcohol does not equal the cost of the trip itself, I advise you to buy packages of drinks.
Package prices also vary and depend on the cruise line. For example, Costa Cruises’ most popular package – Piu Gusto – costs 35 euros per day per person. Or 245 euros for a seven-night cruise.
By paying for this package, you can order almost any drinks (except elite wines and cognacs), including cocktails, in any bar or restaurant throughout the day. You can drink at least a case of beer (if your health allows), although they will serve you by the glass (you won’t be able to order a bottle).
The stingy and greedy pays twice
At first glance, it seems that with the cost of a budget cruise being 700-1000 euros, paying another 250 euros for alcohol is expensive. But this is only at first glance.
On one cruise, I once regretted paying 334 euros for two packages of drinks (for myself and my wife), deciding that we wouldn’t drink that much. As a result, we limited ourselves to bars throughout the cruise, stretched out the drinks as much as possible, and at the end we received a bill for alcohol for about 400 euros. But they could pay less and drink without restrictions.
Towards the end I want to say
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