Guest Author - Shasta Wilson

For many cruise guests, the dining room is either the most exciting or the most daunting part of the whole trip. Upscale dining is always a talking point for cruise clients, and as a travel agent, I find that fear of the unknown is what makes most potential cruisers anxious. It's one thing to get dressed up at a local fancy restaurant, but it's quite another experience to be in the middle of the ocean donning formalwear and dress clothes. And all guests with kids find it extra difficult to pull everything together each night. To ease restless minds, I've compiled some tips to help dinner be the most enjoyable part of the day.

Confirming Your Table Location
On the day of departure, take a minute after boarding the ship to locate your dining room. On ships with assigned dining rooms and times, you should be given this information upon checking in. Though the dining rooms aren't officially open for meals that early, a member of the waitstaff should be at the maitre d' stand to confirm table numbers and seating arrangements. If you ask politely, you can usually get the host to show you the table location so that by the time dinner rolls around, you can easily make your way to the appropriate seating area. Confirming your table with the maitre d' is a good idea in general because it guarantees that your arrangement is correct and adequate for all guests in the group. I especially recommend verifying seating arrangements for parties with handicapped guests or children. The waitstaff is always willing to correct any seating problems, and they appreciate being able to make adjustments in advance.

Understanding the Dining System
For guests traveling on ships with open dining room seating, it's definitely worthwhile to have a quick chat with the maitre d' or host. They can give you the lowdown on the seating process and offer tips on being seated quickly. Some ships have dining rooms which run like restaurants where it's first come, first served, and once the tables fill up, there's a wait time. Making a reservation or designating a specific dining time will help to alleviate long waits. Cruise lines that offer 'anytime dining' or multiple dining areas can be equally as difficult to navigate. It's always best to make dining room reservations (when possible), especially for smaller specialty restaurants.

Make Friends with the Dining Staff
Guests in assigned dining rooms will have the same waitstaff each night. For open dining rooms, try to request being seated in a particular server's area. Getting to know your server helps keep dinner running smoothly, and I always recommend that guests with kids get on the server's good side. The waitstaff is usually grouped into small teams assigned to a specific area. The more they understand your dining preferences, the more they can prepare for your meal in advance, making service easier for the whole crew. My husband and I once traveled with friends who had a 10 month old. Their daughter would always start to whine as we were reading our menus, and we soon discovered that the only way to quell her crying was to give her crunchy breadsticks to chew on. For every night after that, our server made sure to place a huge supply of breadsticks on the table before we arrived. As we sat down to dinner, the baby was happy, we were happy, and our fellow diners were very happy.