If you think of dining on cruise ships and think of stuffy, three-course meals with food reminiscent of bad catered wedding buffets, think again.
In recent years, cruise lines have really revamped their dining options and now, foodie travelers canโt get enough of some of the award-winning, celebrity chef-approved eats offered on some of your favorite cruise lines.
However, really getting the most out of your dining experience on a major cruise line will take a little extra effort on your end. Donโt expect to just show up on the ship and have a stellar, rave-worthy meal, three times a day. Youโll need to plan, purchase the right drink and meal packages and go to the right restaurants, at the right times.
Hereโs everything you need to know to truly enjoy dining on Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean.
In This Article:
How to Truly Enjoy Dining on Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian offers a bevy of delicious restaurants, with lots of options that are free-of-charge, as well as specialty options that come with a la carte fees.
The offerings are diverse, providing no shortage of unique dishes, so you can try something new, every day of your cruise. Dining on Norwegian is also extra-easy, thanks to the cruise lineโs โFreestyleโ dining approach.
Hereโs how you can make the most of it.
Make a Reservation (when you need one!)
While some cruise lines may require you to pick a set time and place to dine every day, with reservations galore, Norwegian makes things simple and streamlined. Freestyle dining allows you to eat where you want, when you want.
That said, freestyle dining does come with some downsides. You may end up waiting in line on occasion, if you try to eat at certain, busy times of day.
So, if you do want to make a reservation at one of the main dining rooms, so you can be assured that youโll get that table, as soon as you walk up to the hostโs stand, you can.
Worth Reading: What You Should Never Do at the Cruise Ship Buffet
You should also make reservations at specialty restaurants, which book up quickly. Plan to make reservations for your specialty restaurant dining experiences before your cruise sets sail, in the Norwegian app or on the website.
Avoid the Crowds
Sometimes, during a cruising experience, crowds are unavoidable. However, if you can avoid them, especially while dining, why wouldnโt you?
Itโs a given that most cruise ship buffets will be extra-busy on embarkation day, but NCL’s buffets are also often busy during breakfast. As such, consider dining elsewhere.
You can get room service on Norwegian, 24/7, but also check out the breakfast options at OโSheehanโs, the lineโs pub, or those at the suite guest-only restaurants, Haven Restaurant. The Observation Lounge also offers some breakfast options on select ships.
Similarly, Norwegianโs specialty restaurants are usually busiest in the evening, as most cruisers save their more formal meals until dinner, so consider visiting the specialty restaurants for lunch instead. This is when you can often find more affordable prices as well.
Donโt Limit Yourself to Just the Complimentary Dining Options
NCLโs ships typically have around five or so complimentary dining options, including the buffet and the main dining room (some ships have up to three main dining rooms).
While this is enough to give you something new to try, each day of most cruises, definitely donโt miss out on the specialty dining options, if you really want to get the most out of your cruise.
Norwegianโs fleet boasts nearly 30 specialty dining options, so plan to visit at least one or two during your cruise. The extra expense will be well worth it, when you visit some of the lineโs most acclaimed restaurants, like Ocean Blue, Cagneyโs Steakhouse or Onda by Scarpetta.
If you want to save a little cash, and plan on going to multiple specialty restaurants during your cruise, consider investing in a specialty dining package, which allows you to pre-pay a flat fee for a set number of meals at select specialty restaurants ahead of your cruise. The bigger the package you buy (in terms of number of meals), the less youโll pay per meal.
How to Truly Enjoy Dining on Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival is known as a fun, family-friendly cruise line where you can cruise for a relatively modest price and have an amazing party, every single day. However, while the focus may be on the fun, donโt overlook the food.
Carnival offers some really spectacular dining options that you wonโt want to miss. Hereโs how to make the most of them.
Make Tracks for One of the celebrity-endorsed restaurants (at the right time!)
Carnival has done an awesome job of partnering with celebrity chefs and celebrities to create unique restaurant concepts that cruisers have come to love.
Thereโs Guyโs Burger Joint, Guyโs Pig & Anchor Smokehouse, Emerilโs Bistros at Sea and Shaqโs Big Chicken, to name the most popular. Youโll find Guyโs Burger Joint on every Carnival ship, while the other restaurants are found on select ships.
Since these restaurants have gained quite a fan following, they can be busy, so make plans to go to them during, ideally, port days, when other cruisers are off the ship and you wonโt have the long wait to get into some of them.
Additionally, take note of these restaurantsโ hours. Some close earlier in the day, as is the case with Guyโs Burger Joint, so youโll want to plan accordingly.
If You Like to Party, Buy a Drink Package
Carnival cruise ships definitely have a party-like atmosphere, and if you plan to party each day away, save yourself some money by investing in a drink package.
Not only will it make your long afternoons by the pool more enjoyable (and more affordable), but it will also do the same for each and every dining experience.
Carnivalโs Cheers beverage package will give you 15 alcoholic beverages per person per day, and youโll have your choice of any and all beer, wine and spirits that come at less than $20 per drink. The package starts at $70 per person per day.
Take Advantage of All the Freebies
There are certain food freebies that you can find on Carnival, beyond just whatโs on offer at the many complimentary restaurants (which includes favorites like Guyโs Burger Joint!).
For example, cookies and milk before bed? Free via room service. Room service breakfast is also free. You can also order a cheese plate in the main dining room to take back to your room for free, for later noshing.
If you donโt want to buy a drinks package, you can bring a bottle of wine onto the ship (one bottle per person) for free. During afternoons, you can find free sandwiches, pastries and similar light bites at the Javablue Cafรฉ.
Additionally, do keep in mind that, if youโre dining in the main dining room, youโre not limited to just ordering one appetizer, one entrรฉe and one dessert. You can order multiple appetizers and desserts, as well as two entrรฉes per person.
Itโs a great way to try a few different menu items and all for free (if you do order more than two entrรฉes, thereโs a $5 fee per each extra after the first two).
You can also ask for smaller portions of these multiple menu items, if youโre positive you wonโt eat everything youโre ordering and you donโt want to waste food.
Check Out the Special Dining Experiences (that, yes, you can sometimes get for free!)
Carnival offers a bevy of specialty dining experiences for a fee, like The Chefโs Table experience, wherein a select group of cruisers enjoy a chef-led dinner, and the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast for families, with visits from Dr. Seuss characters.
These are enjoyable experiences worth a splurge, but donโt overlook the free special dining experiences that you can find in the main dining rooms.
Most cruise itineraries include a special Brunch at Sea meal, on sea days, and others also include an afternoon tea, also on sea days. Carnival also hosts either one or two Cruise Elegant dinners in the main dining room, each cruise, during which a slightly fancier menu is offered and cruisers are asked to wear their nicest attire. If youโve never attended such an event on a cruise ship before, these are a canโt-miss.
How to Truly Enjoy Dining on Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbeanโs dining options get a lot of love from the cruising industry, especially on the cruise lineโs newer ships that offer a jaw-dropping number of restaurants, both complimentary and specialty.
In fact, some of these newer ships might have so many restaurants that you could never experience them all in just one cruise (as is the case with Icon of the Seas, with more than 40 restaurants and bars, or Utopia of the Seas, with more than 20 restaurants alone).
With so many options, how do you make sure you have the best time possible?
Get Those Reservations and Dining Packages ahead of Time
Royal Caribbean has several dining programs and packages, unlike some other cruise lines that may just give you an option between reserved dining and non-reserved dining. Whichever you pick, though, you need to do it in advance.
Thereโs My Time Dining, which allows you to reserve your table, but you can pick a different reservation time every day. That way, youโre not stuck making your way to the main dining room, every single day at the same time, leaving you more flexibility in your plans.
Then, thereโs My Family Time Dining, which allows families with small children to get into the dining room first, so the kids can eat quickly. Then, after theyโre done, parents stick around for a longer meal while Adventure Ocean staff take the kiddos away for an evening of play.
For specialty restaurants, though, you will need specific reservations, and you can make those starting 90 days ahead of your sail date. (You can make reservations once youโve boarded the ship, too, but you might not have as many options.)
Read Also: Royal Caribbean Amenities You Should Pre-Book
If you want a specialty restaurant package, to pay a flat fee for a set number of meals, you can purchase either a three-restaurant package that allows you to dine at three different restaurants, three times during your cruise, or you can purchase an unlimited specialty dining package that allows you to eat at a specialty restaurant every night of your trip.
Youโll also be able to eat at any specialty restaurant during lunch on sea days, and youโll get discounts on bottles of wine at meals.
Additionally, if you want to save a little cash, look for specialty dining specials, like reduced menu prices. Royal Caribbean sometimes offers these on embarkation day.
Go to the Right Restaurants, at the Right Times
If you want to avoid the crowds that flock to the buffet and the main dining rooms, consider eating in the main dining rooms for breakfast or lunch, and then eating at the buffet during sea days or at dinnertime. These are the times when both are the least crowded.
If you want an uncrowded breakfast and donโt fancy the main dining room, consider stopping into the Solarium Bistro. It also has a buffet, but itโs adults-only, so may be preferrable to the actual buffet. If youโre a suite guest, you can likewise grab breakfast at Coastal Kitchen. Johnny Rockets also serves breakfast on select ships.
Make Reservations Based on the Main Dining Roomโs Menus
Thereโs a little bit of overlap between whatโs served in the main dining room for dinner, and whatโs served in the buffet for dinner.
With that in mind, if there are certain days that the main dining roomโs menu doesnโt look quite so appetizing to you (because the main dining room menus change every day!), opt to make your specialty restaurant reservations for those nights.
Otherwise, you could end up looking for another meal elsewhere and not really liking your options. You can find main dining room menus in Royal Caribbeanโs app or online.