Capatains Dinner?

[heatherandjerad]

Whats the Captains Dinner? I heard they serve free drinks and dinner. Has anybosy gone to one?

[danp]

My wife and I have been on 47 cruises and never invited to the Captains table.

[heatherandjerad]

The lady I was talking to made it sound like a event they went to.

[alexkrn46]

On RCCl, one formal night is Captain's Dinner, there is a cocktail party where drinks are served. Depending on the ship there will be different locations.

[Tyler80]

The "Captains Dinner" you are referring to is the Captains Gala onboard Royal Caribbean ships. It is basically the first formal night you have onboard. There is a reception after dinner where free drinks, normally champagne or mimosas, are served and you can have your photo taken with the Captain. Generally the Captain will also give a speach welcoming everyone onboard. It's a ritzy, but fun affair. Enjoy!

[pcur]

We ate with the Captain on the Rhapsody in October, and then with the Hotel Director on the next cruise (they were b2b cruises). It's a nice dinner with your choice of white or red wine, a slightly different menu, a special dessert, and a group picture they put in a folder and give you with the menu.

 

We enjoyed both dinners, and they weren't stuffy at all like we thought they would be.

[pcur]

Ooooooh, the Captain's cocktail party. Du-uh!!

[heatherandjerad]

Thanks for the replies! We are going on our first cruise and don't want to miss anything.

[ToddinVA]

We got invited to eat at the captain's table last spring on our honeymoon on the Adventure. It was my wife's 10th RCI cruise and my 3rd. All of the invitees met at the bar outside the MDR room first, and then we all went in at the same time. The captain was very nice but I doubt it's his most favorite thing to do though. The odd thing was that we had assigned seats and were split up. I didn't like that very much. My wife sat next to him and I was on the other side of the table and couldn't hear much. We had a special menu and were able to order the better steak that normally costs money. We also got free drinks. The other weird thing was that the service was worse than what we got at our normal table. They were very attentive to the captain (not surprisingly), but not so much to me and the others on the other side of the table.

[Turk]

One night on the Voyager our friends went to the theater for that night's show that was to include a talk by the captain. My wife and I stayed in the english pub. The captain came down the promenade and was talking to a couple nearby about their son. We joined in and shared drinks (he did not drink). We learned alot about him and his devotion to the ship. He was married but one could tell he was married also to the ship. We had a wonderful 20 minutes when I ask if he would be late for the show. He replied "They can wait a bit longer" and he stayed another 10 minutes. He then said he had to go to the show and off he went.

 

After the show our friend said the captain was late, but he was very nice and talked about the ship. We said we were sorry we missed it. : )

 

We showed them the pictures I took of the captain and my wife! Sorry, but I have to dig those image off another drive to show you, but I will if someone questions me!!!

[rubrrick]

It's always an honor to be invited to dine with the Captain......whether it be your first time.........or more!:D

 

I still have no idea why we are selected with new Captains.......but with ones that we know.......we are very much at home with them, and the conversation is very easy.

 

There are many that are not associated with CC, that are friends with the Captain..........and we have gotten to know many of them as well.......and now enjoy cruising with them.

 

There are more ways to dine with the Captain........than just at his table, on formal night.

 

We have had impromtu get togethers.......from our cabin......to the Windjammer.

[labadooze]

We got invited to eat at the captain's table last spring on our honeymoon on the Adventure. It was my wife's 10th RCI cruise and my 3rd. All of the invitees met at the bar outside the MDR room first, and then we all went in at the same time. The captain was very nice but I doubt it's his most favorite thing to do though. The odd thing was that we had assigned seats and were split up. I didn't like that very much. My wife sat next to him and I was on the other side of the table and couldn't hear much. We had a special menu and were able to order the better steak that normally costs money. We also got free drinks. The other weird thing was that the service was worse than what we got at our normal table. They were very attentive to the captain (not surprisingly), but not so much to me and the others on the other side of the table.

Our experience was similar on the Liberty. Met for "free drinks" at a bar near the MDR. Seating was assigned at the Captains table but I did sit next to my wife. The dinner was great, but it was hard to have a conversation because the table was so big. They took a picture of all of us at the table and had the 8 X 10 delivered to our room. In addition we were all invited for a bridge tour the next afternoon. It was a great experience and one of my best memories of all our cruises.

[YoungPlatinumGuy]

On my 8th and my wife's first cruise, which happened to be the 3rd ever on the Freedom, we got invited by the head waiter on the first night of dinner to join the captain.

 

To our surprise, out of the 3 couples at our table, two gentlemen declined.

 

We sat there during the first formal night, enjoyed champagne outside the DR for 20 mins with the officers, etc. then got to meet the captain. When we entered the DR we were told many times not to move our napkin....this was because we took a picture together with the big table. Right after dinner we were presented with a free 8x10 and a menu signed by the captain.

 

We were served free wine (Coppola, pretty decent stuff) and chatted with everyone. We were seated deliberately away from our partners so we would converse with other people. At the end of dinner, the captain asked us to join him on the bridge on the second to last day...

 

We got a tour of the bridge after some thorough security checks, but it was the time our lives. Totally spoiled my wife....she thought this kind of thing happened all the time.....

[tgjr]

Has anyone traveling with kids or teens been invited to the Captains table ?

[YoungPlatinumGuy]

We were by far the youngest at the table at 28 and 29.

[John Henry on CC]

Has anyone traveling with kids or teens been invited to the Captains table ?

The only youngsters I have ever seen at the Captain's table belonged to officers.

[BMT]

We have had dinner at the Captain's table many times, but only once with a child.

 

He was a 10 year old with his parents, who were the best friends of the Captain. In fact, the husband was the Captain's best man at his wedding and was still in the Navy. I seem to remember that the boy was the Captain's godson. Very well-behaved and dressed smartly.

 

It is very boring for the Captains much of the time. Its just part of the job, although recently, many are just inviting people to Chops etc. However, its such a pity to see such traditions fall by the wayside. In the 'good ol' days' we had a doctors table, a first officers table, etc. etc. It was so interesting and one of the first officers we dined with and who became a great friend, ended up as a commodore. Sailed with him and his family many times and they also stayed with us and we with them. Still in touch.

 

Don't know if this is just a funny story or true. "A large table on a ship had a spare seat and there was a single man at the next table. A guest asked the server to ask the gentleman if he would care to join their table. The server replied that he was an ex-Captain and swore when he retired, never to eat with another passenger." Boom boom. However, I suspect there may be a semblance of truth in this story:D:D

[madforcruising]

Has anyone traveling with kids or teens been invited to the Captains table ?

 

No personal experience, but I´ve read reports on the boards where people with kids onboard have been invited to the Captains table, but without the kids.

 

I would think that, as stated, the only kids that would be found at the Captains table would have some kind of relation to the Captain.

[RM]

We have never seen a child invited to the Captains table. My DH and I were invited but they didn't invite my 18 year old so we declined.

[flarad]

We've been invited several times to captain's tables and have never been able to figure out why. On Disney we had gotten to be very friendly with the Maitre' D and think that must be it. We were invited without our children but the waiters went out of their way to say that they would take care of them (preteens) while we dined elsewhere. It worked out well. Dinner was in their specialty restaurant and the food and service were spectacular. Wine with every course although I sat next to the captain and noticed he just barely tasted each glass. I find it fascinating to get to know the captains and staff as people apart from their jobs.

[Trantor]

It’s probably apocryphal, but there is a story from years ago about a very formal lady who was invited to sit at the captain’s table on a ship. She declined, saying that she was “unused to dining with the hired help.”