Many cruise travelers want to be sure all plans are in place for the perfect vacation before they set sail, including their dining preferences. This can include not only a dining time for the Main Dining Room, but also who their dining companions may be.
Carnival Cruise Line, however, is asking that guests not attempt to reach out individually to each ship’s maître d’ for such arrangements. To do so would cause an overwhelming amount of confusion for the already complex dining room assignments.
The issue was raised to John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, on his popular Facebook page. Nearly every day, Heald addresses a wide range of dining room inquiries.
Menu selections, butter temperatures, special dietary needs, celebratory holiday menus, group seating arrangements, dining time selections, dress codes, and who should pull out chairs are just some issues Heald has discussed.
The idea of emailing the maître d’ for special arrangements has not been asked before, but Heald points out that doing so is not a good way to get one’s questions answered.
“I have been told that guests can still email the maître d’ on each ship,” the guest asked. “This was confirmed to me by everyone on [social media]. I have had no response.”
The guest explained how they determine the proper email address for the maître d’ for each of Carnival Cruise Line’s 27 ships, though Heald does not confirm or deny that they have the correct addresses.
“We do not want to be put with people we have zero in common with,” the guest continued. “What do we need to do. Why is there nowhere to find the correct email addresses.”
Heald quickly responded and noted that it isn’t always possible for guests to reach out directly to the maître d’ of different vessels.
“We ask you not to email the maître d’ or Restaurant Operations Managers as they are known. They have a truly complicated reservation system and can you imagine if hundreds of guests were emailing them too?” Heald noted. “When they do not reply then they are accused of being rude.”
Heald also explained that emails from unknown senders may be automatically routed into spam folders, and therefore, each maître d’ may not even see messages from upcoming guests.
Instead, Heald offers to help guests make suitable dining arrangements if they contact him several days before setting sail.
“If you really need my help please send me a request a minimum of 4 days before the cruise and while I cannot promise, I will do all I can,” he said.
When guests have a legitimate concern about their dining arrangements, Heald is often able to assist. This could be something as relatively simple as ensuring a larger group is seated together, or positioning travelers using mobility scooters in a more accessible location in the dining room.
Dining With Strangers
It can indeed be awkward to be seated with strangers in the Main Dining Room, but many cruisers welcome the opportunity to meet new people onboard and share their travel experiences.
It can be helpful, however, if different dining groups at least have some common ground to begin with, such as similar ages, family sizes, marital status, or other means to break the figurative ice.
While the maître d’ will take some of these factors into account when making seating arrangements, it is important to note that they are trying to accommodate hundreds of guests for each dining time.
Read Also: Free Carnival Cruise Dining Options You’ll Want to Know (With Menus!)
It simply isn’t possible to do a deep dive into guests’ personal details – which the maître d’ does not have access to anyway – in order to seat guests according to individual interests.
Passengers should also be aware that making seating arrangements is only one of the maître d’s many duties. They also supervise all the wait staff, address any complaints or incidents, resolve unexpected difficulties, greet guests, coordinate dining room entertainment, and much more.
