Do cruise ships have too many dining options?
ABOARD THE NORWEGIAN ESCAPE — It is a scrumptious dilemma, but a dilemma nevertheless.
There are 29 dining options on this ship, and it’s kind of paralyzing.
Escape, which debuted in November, is a sleek, modern example of where cruise ship dining is going: Everything in dining is a choice, and lots of choices cost extra.
In fact, with more than 4,000 passengers on this sold-out cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, I could not decide if 29 options were too many or too few. Passengers swamped O'Sheehan's Grill. They queued up at regular dining rooms. Some were turned away from the full Japanese restaurant Teppanaki. Cagney’s Steakhouse was sold out for the whole cruise on the very first day. I tried Food Republic, a clever global fusion restaurant. I sampled the Haven, the elegant dining room for premier passengers. But at the end of the week I kept thinking, what did I still miss?
What to do about lounge chair hogs on cruise ships?
If the dining atmosphere on Escape seems more chaotic than on traditional cruise ships that have assigned tables, table-mates, times and waiters, that is on purpose, says Jovo Sekulovic, hotel director of the Escape. Having so much choice is not bad, he says. It’s good.
“On most cruise lines, walking the ship at 7 o’clock in the evening means nobody is there because people are either eating or at the show. Now we have a ship that is alive all the time,” he says. In addition, the Freestyle Dining system introduced by Norwegian in 2000 (with no set dining times or tables) has proved so popular that most other lines have copied it in part.
“It gives you a possibility of sitting with others if you wish, but the possibility of having a miserable cruise is actually very low,” he says. “It is less bad this way than the other way, because you have more choices.”
A zillion decisions
Cruise enough and you will have a dining story to tell. You may have encountered the tablemate who talks of nothing except her husband’s brain tumor. Being assigned to the “singles table” could mean a week of torture. Sign up for a group table of eight, and what do the lonely two of you do if the others never show up? And while tablemates may turn out to be delightful or become lifelong friends, often that’s not the case.
Because of these and similar issues, cruise lines have increasingly decided to transfer dining decisions to the customers. Now the tidal wave of choices can be overwhelming.
Escape, for example, has two levels of specialty restaurants alone: the set-fee ones, like the Brazilian Moderno Churasscaria ($24.95), and the á la carte restaurants like the Cuban-flavor Bayamo or Cagney’s, with entrees ranging from about $13-$30. In addition, it has the Garden Cafe basic buffet and three regular dining rooms: Taste, Savor and Manhattan. You don't need a reservation for those but probably should if you want to avoid a wait.
The first specialty restaurant on board a ship in modern times was introduced by Norwegian in 1998, a French-themed the Bistro, according to Douglas Ward, who rates cruise ships for Berlitz. It was followed by similar moves by Crystal Cruises. Suddenly, every cruise line had a specialty restaurant that charged extra and promised to have extra-super deluxe food, often by a famous chef.
Still, most passengers continued to eat in the dining rooms where their meals were included in the price of their tickets. No sense racking up extra charges when there was plenty on your free plate, right?
No more.
“The willingness of people to pay, which is really incredible, is a break from everything that was going on in cruising the last 10 years,” says Sekulovic, who sees a more optimistic passenger these days and more high-end dining demand.
“When you are able to offer something substantial,’’ he says, “people will go for it.”
In the 2004 book “The Paradox of Choice,” author Barry Schwartz wrote that while choice brings autonomy, too much of it is paralyzing and stressful. So theoretically, 29 dining options instead of one or two on a cruise ship would not be a great idea.
But that is the trend. And passengers are getting used to it. And paying more for it.
Cruise line rules
Most lines now offer their own version of Norwegian Cruise Line’s 16-year-old invention, Freestyle Dining, allowing passengers freedom to choose when and where to eat. But many cruise lines still retain the option to dine at a certain time, at the same table, every night in a particular dining room.
Here’s a sample of policies:
Norwegian: All dining is Freestyle, with no set dining times, although you can make reservations in the main dining rooms to avoid waits. Also offers specialty restaurants that charge extra. As of January, most pricing at specialty restaurants switched to a la carte pricing, www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/cruise-dining
Carnival: Two set dining times in main dining rooms, or choose a flexible Your Time dining option — with possible waits and no guarantee your group will sit together. Also offers specialty restaurants that charge extra. https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3439
Regent Seven Seas: All open seating in main dining room and specialty restaurants; all dining options are included, no extra charge. https://www.regentcruises.com/cruise-lines/regent-cruises-cuisine.html
Seabourn: Open seating and dining times at the main dining room the Restaurant. Also offers a small-plates restaurant, no extra charge. Seabourn, by the way, reassures its customers that the caviar it serves is sustainable Russian Black River Ossetra. www.seabourn.com/luxury-cruise-vacation-onboard/Dining.action
Princess: Set dining times in main dining room, or choose the Anytime Dining option on some ships. Also offers specialty restaurants that charge extra set fees. One cool option: get dinner served on your cabin balcony. www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/
Royal Caribbean: Set dining times, called Dynamic Dining Classic, or flexible times, called Dynamic Dining Choice. Also offers specialty restaurants that charge extra. www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/category.do?pagename=onboard_cat_dining_options
Holland America: Set dining times in main dining room, or choose the “As You Wish” flexible dining option. Also offers specialty restaurants that charge extra. www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-vacation-onboard/Dining.action
Cunard: Passengers in certain grades of stateroom can dine whenever they wish; others have a traditional set-time seating in the dining room. Also offers specialty restaurants that charge extra. Offers afternoon tea on all ships. https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/dining_options
Disney: Traditional set-time seating in the dining room. Also offers specialty restaurant that charges a set fee. https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/dining-food-beverages/dinner-times/
Should you buy dining packages?
A few cruise lines, including Norwegian, offer specialty restaurant dining packages. You can buy three or more nights’ worth of specialty dining at a discount. The only catch? Reservations go quick, and some people can find themselves completely shut out or in long waits at the restaurants despite buying the packages.
An analysis of cruise ship dining packages aboard Norwegian, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean done by Brittany Chrusciel, associate editor at CruiseCritic.com found that in certain cases, the packages were worth getting. www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2064
What about drink packages?
It may sound like a great deal because cruise lines typically charge $10 for a glass of wine, a mug of beer or the specialty drink of the day. But do the math. The deal aboard Norwegian Escape, for example, offers an unlimited alcoholic drinks package for the seven-day cruise for $69 per person, per day.
That is $483 for the week — or nearly $1,000 per couple. If you decide to get it, make sure it’s worth it. About 25% of passengers on Norwegian Escape get the drinks package, Sekulovic said.
Contact Detroit Free Press Travel Writer Ellen Creager: ecreager@freepress.com or on Twitter @ellencreager.
