on cruises ❖
cindy bertram
A New Generation of Shipboard Dining WHAT BEGAN WITH TWO seatings in the main dining room, simple lunches and no alternatives beyond room service has changed dramatically. Dining onboard today is about flexibility and choices, from casual fare to highend cuisine, as new ships debut and cruise lines offer more options. A new generation of dining awaits your groups. Norwegian Cruise Lines’ “Freestyle Dining,” launched in 2000, and Princess Cruises’ “Anytime Dining” really pioneered dining flexibility. Now other cruise lines have incorporated similar programs, and they’re available to groups. Royal Caribbean International, for instance, has “My Time Dining” and “My Family Time Dining.” Holland America Line’s “As You Wish” dining allows guests to choose traditional pre-set seating and dining times or a completely flexible schedule. With flexible dining, passengers can make reservations ahead of time or simply walk in. Finally, after doing a pilot program in 2008, Carnival Cruise Lines just launched “Your Choice Dining” in April as a third dining choice with a “Your Time” open seating. It’s currently being rolled out fleetwide and will be featured on all Carnival ships by summer 2010. Specialty restaurants are now the norm and usually involve an additional per-person surcharge. Exclusive to Holland America Line’s Eurodam is Tamarind, a Pan-Asian restaurant with a capacity for 144 guests. MSC Cruises’ MSC Orchestra has Shanghai Chinese Restaurant, the only dedicated Chinese restaurant at sea. On Royal Caribbean 10 October 2009
International’s much anticipated Oasis of the Seas debuting in December, Keriann Von Raesfeld, an internationally acclaimed chef, will be heading up 150 Central Park, the ship’s signature restaurant in the Central Park area. And when NCL’s Norwegian Epic debuts in 2010, she will offer 17 different dining options,
Policies vary from cruise line to cruise line, but most do have an option for groups to reserve dining at a specialty restaurant. A critical factor involves group size – larger groups might have to split up and dine at different times. With Princess Cruises, each group is assigned to a group onboard service co-
More choices in dining styles and times gives cruise groups an ocean of options including the largest teppanyaki restaurant at sea. Celebrity Cruises has introduced some new restaurants as well, including the Silk Harvest Restaurant, showcasing the exotic tastes of Asia on its Solstice-class ships. An extremely popular experience that debuted on Princess Cruises’ Emerald Princess in 2008 is the Chef ’s Table, a private, behind-the-scenes dinner. Available to 10 diners per night with a surcharge of $75 per person, it is being rolled out across the Princess fleet with a few exceptions. GROUP RESERVATIONS Dining for your group can still be requested in advance – that really hasn’t changed. MSC Cruises ships continue to offer just main and late dining, but with more lines offering three dining options (main, late and a flexible dining time), it’s important to find out what your group members prefer. Do they want to dine together all the time, or break it up and dine in smaller groups at some of the alternative restaurants?
ordinator who sends information out (to the booking agent) covering onboard venue options about four months prior to the sailing date. The coordinator then handles any special onboard requests for the group, including pre-arranging reservations for any of the restaurants. Holland America groups, depending on the size, can set up and make advance reservations at an alternative restaurant. Group reservations for MSC Cruises’ specialty restaurants are handled through the operations manager. Carnival Cruise Lines will take advance reservations for groups at the supper clubs, but there are “waves of guests, spaced 15 minutes apart.” So your group members would have to be assigned this way. With all the options now available, your group can enjoy the latest waves in the evolution of shipboard dining. Cindy Bertram has 15+ years of cruise expertise in sales, marketing and training, with an MBA from Loyola University Chicago. She can be contacted at cindy@ptmgroups.com LeisureGroupTravel.com