MEALS & DINING

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Meals & Dining Onboard Cruise Ships

Meals on a cruise ship are included in the price of your cruise. However, there are so many different dining choices and enticing atmospheres to experience, some of which may be charged at a small cover charge depending on the experience and cruise line. It's your holiday and only right that you decide whether to go formal or casual, eat early or late, in the traditional dining room, specialty restaurant or in the privacy of your cabin.

Each cruise line offers a different dining experience with different names given to essentially the same things, but one thing that is common to all cruise lines they all offer a wide choice and variety of onboard dining options and restaurants, underpinned by a service that is unsurpassed.

As well as the main dining room where you can choose waiter service for breakfast, lunch and dinner, to the more informal buffet style self-service dining experiences throughout the day, you can expect every type of menu and diet to be catered for.

Breakfast Onboard Your Cruise Ship

Start your day just the way you wish, whether you order room service and enjoy breakfast in bed, join a few friends in the main dining room, or enjoy the view's al fresco from the back of the ship, it's entirely your own choice and included in the price of your cruise.

Lunch Onboard Your Cruise Ship

The a la carte menu in the main dining room is hard to resist, at least once on your cruise! And if you don't fancy a full lunch in the main restaurant, enjoy a tasty snack, a sandwich, burger with fries or a salad by the pool, in the solarium or in the casual self-service café area, all included in the price of your cruise.

Afternoon Tea Onboard Your Cruise Ship

Typically a British afternoon tea can be taken in the afternoon, served complete with freshly cut finger sandwiches, scones, cream cakes and fresh pastries. And if you don't fancy leaving your cabin, you can order afternoon tea as room service, all included in the price of your cruise.

Dinner Onboard Your Cruise Ship

The traditional main dining experience still remains a wonderful way to share your cruise experiences and meet new friends. The same table will be reserved for you and your table companions every night for first, second or third sitting, typically at 5.30 pm, 6.30pm or 8.30pm depending on the ship, itinerary and cruise line. Most cruises are moving away from the more traditional set times for dining. You have the alternative 'anytime' or 'freedom' dining in the main dining room, which must be requested at time of booking. Some cruise lines will ask for the gratuities to be pre-paid with this option, as you will not be served by the same staff every evening.

On entry to the main dining room you'll be treated to beautifully presented cuisine, exquisite surroundings, exceptional personal waiter service and an enticing menu night after night, all included in the price of your cruise.

Many cruises have introduced a more casual approach to restaurants across their ships, giving you the choice to move away from the more traditional main dining experience. These cruise lines offer no set meal times, dresscode or designated tables. You choose when, where and what to eat, from Spanish Tapas and Steakhouses to Oriental or Italian style dining and more besides. Most dining option are included in the price of your cruise, however some choices may require a small cover charge.

Cover Charges For Speciality Restaurants Onboard Ship

For many alternative restaurants other than the main dining room you should expect to find that reservations are required. There is a typically a cover charge fee for reservations that usually cost between £5-£20 per person and the gratuity for the meal may also be additional. The rationale behind the service fee is that seating is often limited to less than 100 people at a time, and the ambience, cuisine and service are of an even higher standard than you would expect to find in the main restaurant. Most people who experience the private dining and specialty restaurants agree it's well worth paying the extra charge for.

Celebrity Chefs Offering Michelin-Starred Cuisine Onboard your Cruise Ship

More and more celebrity chefs are lending their names to restaurants on cruise ships: Todd English on Cunard Queen Mary 2; Wolfgang Puck and Nobu Matsuhisa on Crystal Cruises; Marco Pierre White on the new P&O Cruises' superliner Ventura; and British favourite, Gary Rhodes, on two of P&O's other ships, Oriana and Arcadia. Needless to say, the speciality restaurants on the P&O Cruises ships and all others get booked up very quickly - where else can you enjoy food prepared by a Michelin-starred chef for such a token amount? Dining in Arcadian Rhodes or Oriana Rhodes is around £20 a head. "By lunchtime on the third day of a two-week cruise, we're sold out," says Rhodes. So the advice to you food-loving cruise passengers is to make your reservations early, as soon as you get on board. You know it's going to be spectacular, so think ahead and book for more than one evening!

Specific Dietary Requirements Onboard Ship

Dining rooms on many ships now have meals geared to specific dietary requirements - low sodium, low fat, low sugar etc - on every menu and will accommodate guests on even more restricted diets such as those with food allergies and intolerances, provided they get advance notice before you sail.

All the cruise lines featured on our website will accommodate your special dietary requirements such as vegetarian, Halal, Kosher, diabetic, low-fat, low-sodium, low-cholesterol, gluten-free and lactose-free diets all included in the price of your cruise. Please contact us prior to sailing to discuss your special dietary requirements.