Captains party on board & dinner?

[chrismch]

When you go into the Captain's parties are you limited to just what they hand you to drink or can you order a cocktail for no charge?

How flexible is the kitchen with dinner? At dinner can I request a different vegetable with an entree that is available with another entree that night? Can I request a menu for the next night and order other items in advance that may not be on the menu for that night?

[wingit]

On our recent cruise on the Zaandam we were invited to a Captain's cocktail party where it seemed as though you could order pretty much what ever you wanted, within reason. It was held in the Explorer's Lounge so a makeshift bar was set up for the event - it wasn't a full-service bar so I don't think blended drinks or exotic concoctions were available. At the Suite luncheons hosted by the Captain wine was served.

I can't be of any help regarding the flexiblity of the dinner menus.

[RuthC]

How flexible is the kitchen with dinner? At dinner can I request a different vegetable with an entree that is available with another entree that night?
I do this all the time! The meat from one selection, potato from another, and vegetables from a third. The stewards take it with aplomb :); I don't know how they take it in the galley (nor do I care) ;).

[richnorto]

WOW! That is great to hear! I always have had to "make do" with not eating the served veggies/sides I don't like in the DR. We have even done the "table swap" sliding plates around to change out sides - rather uncouth! I will definitely order my preferred sides if on the menu in the next 2 weeks!:) Nice tip Ruth!

[Spinner2]

I mentioned, sort of joking, that I liked a particular veggie mix on night, except that I hated zucchini so I'd be picking those out of the mix and when the entree came up our wonderful steward had already either picked them out for me or had the galley pull some veggies out that didn't have the zucchini in there yet. Then I wished I hadn't said anything; I hadn't intended to make extra work for anyone. I pick zucchini out of veg mixes all the time as here in California it seems that everyone must work hard to get rid of all the zucchini that grows here--goodness knows it's served with everything all the time. Sometimes I think that for every one of those things that's picked, two must grow back which would make it hard to get rid of, of course! :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

At the Captain's Welcome Aboard Toast -- only free drinks are champagne, white wine and red wine. Any other drinks -- you pay for.

If you are invited to the Captain's VIP party -- all drinks are free. It is usually held after our dinner time so we just have a Grand Marnier.

At the suite lunch (if your ship has one) -- wine and champagne is served.

At the Mariner's Brunch/Lunch -- again the only drinks that are free are the champagne, red wine and white wine.

Nearly every night I select a meat, potato and vegetable from different dishes. HAL is more than happy to meet your requests.