can we join captain's table for dinner?

[Hlitner]

We have been invited to dine with Captain's on 5 ships (3 different cruise lines) including once on Princess. With one exception, we could never understand why we were chosen since we are generally in lower cost cabins and do not have a tremendous number of cruises with any one cruise line (we have spread ourselves around having been on 11 cruise lines). On Princess, we are now Elite, but when we did get to dine with the Captain (on the Grand Princess) we were just Platinum and in a normal Cat BB balcony cabin. On that cruise we got a call from the hostess the day of a formal dinner and she asked if we could do the Captains Table on short notice (it turned out that somebody got sick and they had an opening). Once on RCI (Sun Viking) we ran into the dining room manager who had been our waiter on that same ship about 8 years earlier. He immediately asked if we wanted to dine with the Captain and we said no since we were traveling with another couple on their first cruise. He said, no problem and they were also invited (so they got to the Captains table on their first cruise). On that ship we were in the one of the cheapest cabins on the ship. I end this post with an old story (probably true). Once upon a time, a lady, traveling on the old Queen Elizabeth, was asked to dine with the Captain. She replied, "Sir, I do not dine with the hired help."

 

Hank

[aaerobear]

I checked on the Sea Princess yesterday and the PSD most definitely had FOUR stripes. I asked and he said that was what they all had.

 

Shogun,

 

The difference with the stripes between a Captain and a Commodore are that a commodore has a sun emblem over the stripes (on Princess) The Sea Princes Captain chuckled when i asked him what the difference in the epaulettes was.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sea Princes Captain chuckled when i asked him what the difference in the epaulettes was.

 

Thought that was a 60's band? :eek:

[Shogun]

Hi aeerobear,

 

All Princess Captains have the P&O rising sun,

 

since I am having lunch with an officer tomorrow

 

I will find out.

 

Nice people on the Crown inviting me back for the day.

 

yours Shogun

[donna5]

Hi aeerobear,

 

All Princess Captains have the P&O rising sun,

 

since I am having lunch with an officer tomorrow

 

I will find out.

 

Nice people on the Crown inviting me back for the day.

 

yours Shogun

 

:DMaybe you could have them all line up and take pictures of the stripes and then post them and their stations!!!!:D

[Mooguk]

Agree there are only (2) 4 stripers, Staff Capt/Capt

 

The following list is the rank structure onboard a cruise ship (and quite a few other merchant ships) - please note that even though I've put deckies first in the list it doesn't mean that they are the most important!

 

Deck dept. high to low:

Commodore (of the fleet) 4 big stripes (or 1 big one and possibly a normal stripe - depends on the company) - maybe even a company logo too

Captain 4 stripes

Staff Captain 3 stripes + 1/2 stripe

1st Officer (or Chief Officer) 3 stripes

Environmental Officer 3 stripes

Senior 2nd officer 2 1/2 stripes

2nd Officer 2 stripes

Secuirty officer 2 stripes

3rd officer 1 stripe

4th Officer 1/2 stripe

Deck Cadet 1/4 stripe (vertical)

 

Technical Dept, (all stripes with burgandy background)high to low:

 

Chief Engineer 4 stripes

Staff Chief Engineer Officer2 1/2 stripes

1st Engineer Officer 3 stripes

Senior 2nd Engineer Officer 2 1/2 stripes

2nd Engineer Officer 2 stripes

3rd Engineer Officer 1 stripe

4th Engineer Officer 1/2 stripe

Engineer Cadet 1/4 stripe (vertical)

 

 

Hotel Dept. (all stripes with white background):

 

Hotel/Passenger Services Manager 4 stripes

Staff Pursuer 3 1/2 stripes

1st pursuer 3 stripes

Senior Assitant Pursuer 2 stripes

Assistant Purser 1 stripe

Juniour Assistant purser 1 stripe

 

Medical Dept (stripes witrh red background)

 

Senior Doctor 3 1/2 stripes

Doctor 3 stripes

Senior nurse 2 1/2 stripes

Nurse 2 stripes

 

The cruise director is responsible for all passenger entertainment and activites and has the equivalent of 3 1/2 stripes.

 

So Colo Cruiser, are ther only 2 4 stripes onboard??? I can count at least 3, maybe 4, depending on the company!

 

Mooguk

 

 

(ps, I'm a 3rd Engineering Officer)

[Mooguk]

Staff Chief Engineer Officer2 1/2 stripes

 

Staff Chief is 3 1/2 stripes - my bad!

[Bowie MeMe]

"If all my sailing had been on Princess I would be in better number than I am. :D Miserable sentence, but you know what I mean. "

 

Yup - I know what you mean - mine tally up to 2667 days at sea ;)

 

That is the problem with loyalty programs -- we are not so loyal:p

16 different lines and counting. 3 of the lines we are just under platinum and who knows maybe will make it someday.

 

Because we are equal opportunity cruisers we sure do get lots of email and snail mail. I must be on every travel mailing list in America!

[Bobed1927]

I really don't know what the big deal is about dining at the captain's table. I was invited once and it wasn't much fun. It was a very staid experience. The only benefits were free wine and outstanding service. The same food as elsewhere in the MDR and we couldn't start until the captain arrived. If offered again I would decline.

 

This was several years ago and we had an old time captain---a really nice guy. You would see him frequently walking around the ship. (I've seldom seen a captain cruising the ship on these newer, larger ships.) On a couple of occasions we were having lunch in the Lido and he joined us. Of course it was a much smaller ship (Royal Viking Sun) but it was a more laid back experience than at dinner.

[cruiserforlife]

Yeah but those lunches are soooo good. :D

 

So true.;)

I rode wifey's coat tails once and we got the invitation to a luncheon once,while we didn't sit with the Captain,we were seated with some very high-ranking staff and it was a most excellent meal and great conversation.

 

I would say that meal was better than the Chef's Table dinner that cost us $75/pp.

[merela]

Hi There,

 

You need to do some forward planning and look for the cruises that attract a lot of first time cruisers, or a younger crowd with lots of kids.

 

That way you might make it with only a few hundred sea days.

 

 

yours Shogun

 

On our recent Christmas cruise (7-day Mexican Riviera), there were over 600 kids on our ship, but there were so many Elite passengers that my parents who had 34 Princess cruises under their belts were probably at the bottom of the Elite pile. The top cruiser had 900+ days!!!! My parents were invited to a special cocktail party with the Captain. Not sure if there was a special luncheon for the top 20 passengers.

[pablo222]

It's the top 40 (persons, not couples) most travelled (days, not amount of cruises) that are invited to the luncheon and to sit with the Captain you need to be first, second or third.

 

It's not always a luncheon. Each time I've been on Emerald

Princess, it has been a cocktail party.

 

Once on Sun Princess, it was a brunch.