New Cruisers Tip #2: Dining Requests

Another common misconception for new cruisers is with dining requests. I’m not sure if this applies to all cruise lines, but it does with the ones I’ve been on. When you book your cruise, you can specify if you want “early” or “late” seating. The cruise lines call these “requests.” And there is a good reason for this. That’s all what these specifications are. They are simply requests, nothing more.

The reason I bring this up is because I’ve seen too many new cruisers get upset because they requested one seating and got the other. The cruise lines do everything they can to fulfill your requests, but this is not always possible. If everyone on the ship requested early seating, clearly this wouldn’t be possible. Of course this doesn’t happen. But if enough people request a certain seating, someone’s going to have to be turned down.

So what do you do if this happens to you? When you embark, you will receive your room key, which should have your dining room, table, and time listed on it. If the time is not what you requested, go to the Maitre’d and ask to have your seating time changed. You can try slipping him some money to help “get something done.” Even if you slip him a 20, there’s still no guarantee you will get your requested seating. But if you don’t at least ask, nothing will change. I suppose you could also try going to the purser’s desk and putting in the request there as well if the maitre’d cannot help you. We’ve never done this, so I’m not sure if it would work. Has anyone had any experience doing this?

I must also stress that it seems that medical excuses don’t expedite the process either. I read a story online of a family who had a diabetic and needed to eat at a certain time. They were placed at the other seating, and requested a change. They were never moved. So they ended up at the buffet every night since the diabetic passenger had to eat around a certain time. This might have been a fluke. Who knows. Of course, I would assume medical excuses would be given priority, but that might not be the case, based on stories like this.

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Similarly, you can request a table change as well from the maitre’d. Let’s say you’re a family of four, two adults and two kids. You requested a booth, but was put at a table for 8 with two older couples. This isn’t ideal for anyone. You don’t feel comfortable sitting with these older people, and they don’t feel comfortable with your younger kids. If this happens, you can go to the maitre’d and ask for a table change. This change might happen in several ways, if at all. First, you might just be moved to a different table. You could also be moved to the other dining room, if the ship has two main dining rooms. You might also be moved to a different seating as well. Or any combination of the above. So when you make your request, try to be as specific as possible. “Can we get moved to a booth, this seating, please?” or “I don’t care where/when we are moved, we need to have a booth.”

So when you’re booking your next (or first) cruise, be sure to specify your seating arrangements (time, table type/size) when you make your reservation. And keep in mind, it’s only a request, not a guarantee.

Roberto

My last article was about the staff onboard a cruise ship. This article will focus on our waiter from our last cruise (July 2007), Roberto. Our last cruise was a seven day Exotic Western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Legend in July of 2007. We chose the early (main) seating. On the first day, we like to walk around and explore the ship. We usually check out the dining room to see our table. This cruise we were seated at table 204, a table for four. As we entered the dining room, we peeked at the maitre’d table list. This is a drawing of the layout of the dining room, with numbered tables. We found our table on the sheet and walked over. To our surprise, our table was the only table in the entire dining room with the table number still on it. All the tables were unmarked, except ours. We felt this had to be a sign (either good or bad, we weren’t sure).

As it turns out, this was a good sign. Later that day, we entered the dining room and proceeded to our table. We were greeted by Roberto and his assistant waiter (whose name I forget). My first impression of Roberto wasn’t much. He seemed like a shy, timid fellow. I began to feel disappointed, as I was hoping for another “Mr. Kool” — see my last article for more on him! He introduced himself and we had a little conversation. We gave him our names and mentioned other facts about ourselves, simply part of the conversation. I felt that we were doing all this in vain. Our past two waiters addressed us simply by sir or madam. Roberto seemed to be just like them. Anyway, we ordered dinner and went through our meal. Roberto asked if we enjoyed our meals, and then said goodbye to us as we left.

The next night, we were greeted once again by a smiling Roberto. To my surprise, he welcomed me by my first name! “Good evening, David,” he said in his accent. As time went on, he began to address me as Mr. David. By the third night, Roberto was aware that I enjoyed the cold soups for appetizers. He would make the suggestion every time he would hand me the menu. “Mr. David, the strawberry bisque tonight is for you,” he would say. He did this with all of us. Not only was he addressing us by our first names, but he was making suggestions for us personally, not just the “I recommend…” suggestions. This added a very nice personal touch to his service. This is something I like to expect from my wait staff in the dining room. It’s probably not an easy task to memorize everyone’s names and tastes in a matter of days, so I assume only the best waiters can do this. Roberto was certainly one of them.

Anyway, one night Roberto told us about his life. He took some time out of his busy schedule to tell us what life was like for him back home, and what life was like on the ship. It was really nice to get to know him more than just where he was from. I don’t remember any specifics, but I remember the overall impression I got was quite sad. As I mentioned before, most of these workers come from poor backgrounds. It was nice when Roberto told us he was doing this so he could send money back home. This really made me feel closer to him. He wasn’t just another waiter. He had a personal life, he had a family.

One night, Roberto brought out a special dessert for my sister. It was mentioned on the first night that she had just graduated college and was starting her job as a nurse after our cruise. We didn’t think anything of it when we mentioned it to Roberto. It was just part of the conversation. But Roberto picked up on it and remember what we had said. One night he brought out a special dessert for her. This was a complete surprise and made my impression of Roberto that much higher.

Another night, my sister was sick. She left dinner early to go rest. Roberto seemed truly concerned that she would be alright. He questioned and said he hoped she would feel better by the next night. The next night, she was at dinner. Roberto was happy to see her. He asked her if she was feeling better and that he was glad to see her again.

All of these personal touches made Roberto one of my favorite waiters. He wasn’t crazy and loud like some great waiters are. He was very personable. He would learn everything he could about you, and work with what he knew about you to make your experience as great as it could be. So comparing Roberto to Mr. Kool is like comparing apples and oranges. They’re both great at what they do, but in completely different ways. I will say though, that if I ever get another waiter as great as Roberto was, I will be quite surprised.

Oh, the Food!

One of the reasons I love to cruise so much is the food. All day long, there is great food to enjoy. It starts before breakfast… We usually bring danish and coffee back to the room and we’ll enjoy it out on our balcony. This is always something nice to look forward to right after waking up. Sometimes I just want to sleep all morning, but this is something that forces me to get up. If it weren’t for this, I might just sleep right through breakfast!

Next is breakfast. Depending on what we’re feeling that morning, we’ll either go to the buffet or dining room for breakfast. I’d say this is split pretty evenly. Both places have their pros and cons as well. Eating in the dining room is nice because, well, you get served. It’s nice to sit down and enjoy a good breakfast. The bad part is you get a waiter who might not necessarily know you. Either way, it’s still nice to get served. The buffet is nice because I can get what I want, and I can choose how much I want. The second part is the kicker. In the dining room, it’s up the waiter to decide how much I get (unless I specify I want multiple orders). At the buffet, I can get more bacon if I want it, or I get another scoop of eggs if I’m in the mood. It’s all up to me. Of course, the downside is that there aren’t always tables available, and that you have to wait in line. Waiting in line is a pain. I hate it, but sometimes we just have to do it. The lines usually move fairly quickly though.

Next is the pre-lunch snack. This usually consists of an ice cream cone (or just the ice cream), and either fries, a second portion of breakfast, or a slice of pizza. This is nice because it gets you ready for lunch. You know, those two platefuls of breakfast just weren’t enough! I need to have some fries before lunch so I don’t die of starvation. </sarcasm> But seriously, it’s nice to get a little something to eat and watch the buffet to see what’s going to be served for lunch.

Now it’s lunch time. Most of the time we eat lunch at the buffet. I think I’ve eaten lunch in the dining room maybe once or twice out of all the cruises I’ve been on. For some reason I’m just not into it. From what I hear, the food is sometimes better in the dining room. But I’ve just never done it. Anyway, lunch always consists of multiple portions. If I’m at the buffet, my first course consists of a small samples of everything that looks good. The next course is a full portion of what I liked the most. Next I will get full portions of other things I really liked. Finally, I get some dessert. This will usually be a slice of cake, fruit, jello, or any combination of them. Another option for lunch is the deli. I’ll get a Reuben sandwich, that’s my favorite. After that I’ll stop by the buffet for some more food.

After lunch is the post-lunch snack. This is similar to the pre-lunch snack. I’ll either get a slice of pizza, something from the grill (usually a hot dog), or I’ll go back to the buffet for some more food.

The rest of the afternoon consists of fasting. I will not eat anything until dinner. The only time this isn’t the case is when we have late seating dinner (around 8:00). Then I’ll have a snack around 4:00. But when we have main seating dinner (around 6:00), I hold back on all food until dinner.

Dinner is always a great meal. I’ll start out with an appetizer and/or a cold soup. I always get the cold soup of the night, except the cold creamy cucumber soup. Yes, it’s as bad as it sounds. The rest of the cold soups are good. They include gazpacho, strawberry bisque, cream of lychees, and more. For salad, I get the Caesar salad, which is always very good. I always get at least one entree, depending on what’s being served. Sometimes I’ll get more than one if there are a couple things I like. Finally, there is dessert. I’ll usually get one dessert, sometimes two. I get coffee to go with dessert.

After dinner is entertainment time (casino, shows, etc.), so there’s not much eating going on then. But later on in the evening, I’ll get a slice of pizza before heading back to the room for the night.

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The food itself is almost always good. Breakfast is same every day: eggs, sausage, bacon, grits, oatmeal, pancake and/or french toast, condiments, etc.As I mentioned earlier, my favorite at the deli is the reuben sandwich. I enjoy the Chinese food as well for lunch. There is also a “taste of nations” station at the buffet, which changes daily. This gives you a chance to try international cuisine.Dinner gives me the chance to order full course meals, which I normally cannot do. There is also good food at dinner. Obviously, a lot of the food I eat at dinner is food I only get a chance to eat on a cruise. The cold soups, lobster tail, and the exotic foods are some of these.You can’t beat 24-hour pizza. The pizza (at least on Carnival) is very good too. The grill has good hot dogs, burgers, and fries. Also, some grills will also cook up a steak sandwich if you ask. Most people don’t know about this. The soft-serve ice cream is good too. And from what I hear, the frozen yogurt is good as well.Overall, I would say the food is the top reason I love cruising. Good food, at all hours of the day. You can’t beat it!Coming up next time: the wait staff and other cruise ship staff.