Captain's Table

[tropicbird]

It is a rather nice gesture from the cruise line.

 

For those that have not (yet!) had the pleasure, here's how it usually goes..

 

You start with drinks in one of the lounges before going to the table...after everyone else is seated so that everyone looks up when the Captain and tablemates stream in!

 

At the table are name placards that you can keep as a souvenir. The menu is often different than that offered in the rest of the dining room, and I dare say the food a bit better.

 

Of course you have red and white wine, fairly decent labels, and bottled water (Pellegrino or similar) instead of tap water.

 

A ship's photographer takes a table photo and each guest receives a complimentary copy.

 

Frequently, but not always, you get one of the little after dinner apertifs in the shooter glass.

 

The service is outstanding, usually a head waiter and a couple of waiters are in attendance.

 

All in all a nice "bonus" for lucky cruisers!

 

(on a Celebrity cruise the captain was Greek and asked for a bottle of Ouzo to be brought out. The bottle followed us to the theater where we had a reserved section for the show. Not a drop was left by the end of the show, and I dare say no one left without having a good time :-)

[macfin]

So first off there really are people that live in Rhode Island, we may be small but we have a pretty load voice.

 

My DW and I would be pretty honored to be invited to sit at the Captains Table, probably me more than her, but it would be interesting, especially since growing up my dad was a photographer for many sports and goverment officials and it was never boring meeting some of the worlds best....

[suebcoop]

Had dinner with Captain Bang on Sunday on the Liberty. We have dining with him on another cruise. 2 of the passengers were Pinnicle members.

 

He is on of our favorite Captains.

Small world...You must have met my Mother Helen. She also had dinner that night with Capt Bang.

Sue

[rubrrick]

Never been to his MDR table on RCI, but out of 4 Celebrity cruises, we have 3 times. According to the Captain's Club host, it's because of our friendly, joking attitudes. DW being a hot blond may have something to do with it too. ;)

 

You two may have never been invited to the Captains table on RCL........but I know that you two have dined with a captain.....on a Royal Caribbean ship..........as it was also with us!!

 

Happy Holidays!;)

 

Rick

[Aquahound]

You two may have never been invited to the Captains table on RCL........but I know that you two have dined with a captain.....on a Royal Caribbean ship..........as it was also with us!!

 

Happy Holidays!;)

 

Rick

 

Yes, and it remains my favorite experience to date. But that had a lot to do with the rest of the company....not just the Capt. ;)

 

Happy holidays to you and Bobbie as well! :)

[ckrobyn]

We were invited to dine with the Captain on the AOS last March - no idea why, but could be because it was our 10th cruise on the AOS and we are D+, OR it may have been because my last name reflects a certain country and that is where this particular Captain was from? :rolleyes: Either way, it was a memorable experience and the souvenir invites, menu and picture were a lovely surprise!

 

For those who say they don't care to ever dine with the Captain or they would be bored......I kinda don't believe you!!! :p

 

[ryano]

I dont care what naysayers say :rolleyes: I would love the opportunity and would certainly consider it an honor........out of thousands of people on board, only a very select few get the chance......how could that NOT be an honor?

 

If I were caught in a situation where I didnt have what I deemed to be proper attire, I would even rent a tux on board for the occasion!

[tnt10]

Out of the six times we have been invited to dine with the Captain, only once was it not very enjoyable. The other times were, quite frankly, a blast!

Expect to be invited again, and will most certainly accept when the invitation is offered.

Happy Cruising,

TnT

[struther1]

We were invited to dine with the Captain on the AOS last March - no idea why, but could be because it was our 10th cruise on the AOS and we are D+, OR it may have been because my last name reflects a certain country and that is where this particular Captain was from? :rolleyes: Either way, it was a memorable experience and the souvenir invites, menu and picture were a lovely surprise!

 

For those who say they don't care to ever dine with the Captain or they would be bored......I kinda don't believe you!!! :p

 

Oh yeah, Well I kinda don't believe you. I think all you people that talk about how wonderful it is to dine with the captain are in a plot to try and draw all the rest of us into being stiff and bored out of our skulls while on vacation.:p But seriously Robyn, I'm glad you enjoy it. You met me once, not sure if you remember, we were on the same B2B as you. If you remember me, you KNOW I wouldn't care to dine with the captain and if you don't remember me I WOULDN'T and it's OK if you don't believe me.

[struther1]

I dont care what naysayers say :rolleyes: I would love the opportunity and would certainly consider it an honor........out of thousands of people on board, only a very select few get the chance......how could that NOT be an honor?

 

If I were caught in a situation where I didnt have what I deemed to be proper attire, I would even rent a tux on board for the occasion!

Since no one seems to know why people get picked it makes this an "honor" much like winning the lottery is an honor. The only difference, for me, is I wouldn't turn down the lottery winnings :D. As far as attire, why would you change being you to sit with anyone?

[Cindy]

We would LOVE to be invited to dine at the Captain's table, but I don't think we could be that lucky. Long formal dinners are right up our alley!

[Aquahound]

I dont care what naysayers say :rolleyes: I would love the opportunity and would certainly consider it an honor........out of thousands of people on board, only a very select few get the chance......how could that NOT be an honor?

 

Ignore the naysayer. It really is an honor and it's a nice experience.

[ckrobyn]

Oh yeah, Well I kinda don't believe you. I think all you people that talk about how wonderful it is to dine with the captain are in a plot to try and draw all the rest of us into being stiff and bored out of our skulls while on vacation.:p But seriously Robyn, I'm glad you enjoy it. You met me once, not sure if you remember, we were on the same B2B as you. If you remember me, you KNOW I wouldn't care to dine with the captain and if you don't remember me I WOULDN'T and it's OK if you don't believe me.

 

Well Struther, to be honest - I don't remember your name, BUT I am quite sure if I saw your picture I would remember your face! :) I see you are still enjoying the Southern Caribbean!!!! Happy sails!!!! :D

[hawlcruiser]

We were invited to dine with the captain on the Rhapsody several years ago. Was a very nice evening with excellent food and drink. The conversation was lively, the wine flowed, and the pictures were a nice touch. Would be pleased to do it again.

[ChipLondon]

I love your Mum, she is simply fab, we also joined her at the Captains Table, and had a great time.:)

 

Small world...You must have met my Mother Helen. She also had dinner that night with Capt Bang.

Sue

[AFsouth]

We are still trying figure out why the head waiter asked us and our table mates. It was my wife & I, along with 3 couples from New York, that we never meet before. It was the first time for all of us on a RCCL ship. Just chalked it up to stuff happens, in the right place, at the right time.

 

The Captain had his wife, kids, and in-laws on the ship with him. We dined with them, except for the kids, and was invited to a tour of bridge later in the trip. His wife and kids meet us for the bridge tour and we all had a great time.

Apoligize for highjacking, but we have wonderful friends that live in Belle Chasse, Good News Ave. :)

[suebcoop]

I love your Mum, she is simply fab, we also joined her at the Captains Table, and had a great time.:)

I will pass on your comment to my Mother. She will get a kick out of it. I'm sure you all had a wonderful time. It is always a special evening one does not forget.

Sue

[ryano]

. As far as attire, why would you change being you to sit with anyone?

 

The general consensus around here seems to be that you at least need to have a sport coat and tie to sit at the captains table and I can agree with that......That would usually be no problem for me as I usually always hire a tux but if I were in a situation where I didnt have the "proper" attire, I wouldnt let it stop me......They rent tuxes on board every day :)

 

I have decided to skip the whole formal thing on Freedom and go to the specialty dining those nights BUT if I were "lucky" enough to get the invitation, I WILL be hiring a tux and sitting with the Captain :)

[sweet angel]

Somehow I've managed to dine at the Captain's Table twice. First time was 1989 on my honeymoon on Premiere's Big Red Boat -- most of the other tablemates were also honeymooners or anniversaries. I was 23 and terrified!

 

Second time was in 2006 with Captain and Mrs. Bang, and the dinner was anything but boring. I was thrilled to be asked and it really was a fantastic experience. They are wonderful people!

[ChipLondon]

Sue, you know your Mum better than anyone but WOW, what a Lady, the Belle of the Ball, she knew everyone by the end of the second day.

I have never met her before, and therefore never knew your father, who she spoke of everyday with great love and pride.

If everyone had a Helen on their cruise, then many other would appreciate how lucky we are to enjoy life and be able to cruise, and make new friends that make them smile.

Please persuade your Mum to get an email address, as we would love to keep in touch, say hi from Dave and Anita xx

 

 

I will pass on your comment to my Mother. She will get a kick out of it. I'm sure you all had a wonderful time. It is always a special evening one does not forget.

Sue

[cruisegirl1]

We have been invited many times, once very early on in our cruising experiences ( don’t know why) and now frequently as our RCCL credits or points have grown. One of the perks of 340+ points is a meal with a senior staff on a 7+ night sailing. More recently we’ve been invited to a meal on shorter cruises, sometimes with the hotel director and or some other senior staff.

 

We had a lovely meal last week on the Jewel with the Staff Captain. It was not on formal night (there was no Captain’s meal on formal night) but the next evening. The invitation noted “semi formal”. We wore what we had on the previous evening.

 

 

The table make up was interesting. The staff Captain, a senior staff, one Pinnacle couple (highest points cruiser on our sailing), one couple who were noted as the third highest, one couple on their third cruise, and us (over 400 points) .

 

The menu was upgraded, the wines were good, bottled water, and nice conversation. As the table was large, most of the conversation was just with the folks next to you, or maybe one person away. The staff Captain was a gracious host.

 

I read on these boards that some will refuse this invitation – and that is fine for them. I happen to enjoy the experience.

[efiinut]

The general consensus around here seems to be that you at least need to have a sport coat and tie to sit at the captains table and I can agree with that......That would usually be no problem for me as I usually always hire a tux but if I were in a situation where I didnt have the "proper" attire, I wouldnt let it stop me......They rent tuxes on board every day :)

 

I have decided to skip the whole formal thing on Freedom and go to the specialty dining those nights BUT if I were "lucky" enough to get the invitation, I WILL be hiring a tux and sitting with the Captain :)

 

Not necessarily, On our 2009 cruise Australia-New Zealand we were invited to captains table. Don't have a clue as how we were picked, although we were diamond at the time and did the land portion precruise in Australia as did the person in question. This person showed up in a caribbean/hawaian shirt. No problem. I was shocked. This was with senior staff not the captain.

[suebcoop]

Sue, you know your Mum better than anyone but WOW, what a Lady, the Belle of the Ball, she knew everyone by the end of the second day.

I have never met her before, and therefore never knew your father, who she spoke of everyday with great love and pride.

If everyone had a Helen on their cruise, then many other would appreciate how lucky we are to enjoy life and be able to cruise, and make new friends that make them smile.

Please persuade your Mum to get an email address, as we would love to keep in touch, say hi from Dave and Anita xx

Thank you again for your lovely comments about my Mother. You would have really enjoyed my Father also. He was a real character. There is no way my Mother will ever get a computer. We have tried with no luck. If you would like to speak with her you can email me at "Suebcoop@Yahoo.com" with your phone number. She has International Calling and I am sure she would call you sometime.

Sue

[Iluvcruising2]

We have been invited many times, once very early on in our cruising experiences ( don’t know why) and now frequently as our RCCL credits or points have grown. One of the perks of 340+ points is a meal with a senior staff on a 7+ night sailing. More recently we’ve been invited to a meal on shorter cruises, sometimes with the hotel director and or some other senior staff.

 

Is 340 some magic number?

 

I assume 700 is, since that is Pinnacle.

[efiinut]

Is 340 some magic number?

 

I assume 700 is, since that is Pinnacle.

 

 

As you go up the # of days sailed, you get more perks between D+ and pinnacle.

 

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cas/benefits.do

 

The different bennies are in the footnotes.