Just Curious -- what's the deal with the 'Captain's Table'?

I'm a newbie planning my first for next month.

I occasionally hear people refer to being invited to the Captain's table', which generally seems to be regarded as an honor or privilege. I certainly respect the Captain as a professional and appreciate his/her experience and expertise, but... am I missing something? Are they all reputed to be sterling hosts and witty conversationalists? Is the food better at their table? :) Or is it just supposed to be 'kind of a neat thing' to be able to say you've had the experience?

In fact, does the term "Captain's Table" necessarily mean he/she actually dines there, or is it just a table set aside for special treatment/perks?

We were invited a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The food was the same but the service was better. The captain was interesting. We got free wine and a picture with the group. We also were invited to a tour of the bridge the next day.

How does one get invited/Why does one get invited?

We were invited a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The food was the same but the service was better. The captain was interesting. We got free wine and a picture with the group. We also were invited to a tour of the bridge the next day.

Thanks for the post. I've always wondered what the story was on that.

Guess I'll never get an in-vite:rolleyes: . My impression is that you have to be either well connected or spend a lot of money with the cruise line.

Jennifer

Galaxy 9/04

Galaxy 10/05

Liberty 4/06

Galaxy 12/06

Then we won't be invited, either!!!

my wife had made friends with the receptionist in the spa, who happened to be a very hot lady from Spain, who was kind of the captains girlfriend. She got us invited along with a herself and a few others. Very nice.

It was fun to tell our regular tablemates that we would not be dinning with them because the captain had invited us to have dinner with him. ha ha

We were invited on our last cruise, and no we don't spend a lot of money cruising. It was our 3rd, maybe 4th Royal Caribbean cruise. We actually declined. We really loved our table mates and didn't want to leave them. It was lobster night, and they actually didn't eat lobster at their table, because the captain didn't like it! I am not sure how they pick people, but there was a wide range of people at his table that night!

There are many way to be invited to the Captain's table. We have been invited three times and would not have missed it for the world.

The first time we were picked out during embarkation by the Social Hostess after talking to us at the end of the embarkation desk. The second time we had the most cruises with Celebrity on ship. And the third we knew the new Social Hostess from another cruise when she was with the activities staff.

On our last cruise the Hostess said that if we had met her earlier in the cruise she would have set us there again. She also told us that there is a protocol that they follow. 1) V.I.P.'s 2) Suites 3) Repeat Ccruisers 4) People of intrest to the Officer's . I've met three couples that were invited on their first cruise and had either an inside or oceanview stateroom no suites, nor have we ever had a suite.

Our experience was much like Bearface's. It was our first cruise ever, on Celebrity in Alaska, and we had a nice conversation with the Social Hostess, Natasha, at check-in. A few days later we found the lovely invitation to the Captain's Table in our cabin. We enjoyed pre-dinner cocktails, wine during dinner, roses after dinner and an 8x10 photo of the table - all free. The service was extra special and the Captain had some great tales, but also got to know each of his guests. The next day we were invited for a tour of the Bridge.

Our guess is that we fit the right demographics that Celebrity is trying to attract - in our late 40's, no kids, etc., so they invited us to the Captain's table as a form of good PR. It worked - totally turned my non-cruising husband into a cruiser.

BTW, we had a balcony cabin. We didn't spend a ton of money or anything. I think meeting the Social Hostess, and having a pleasant conversation with her did the trick. That and we fit the demographics. The other couples at the table were very similar to us in demographics, and all but one couple had never been on a Celebrity cruise before.

I have had the pleasure of dining with the Captain and/or ship's officers on mulitple occasions. The reasons for being invited differ from line to line.

The food IME was NOT the same as the regular menu. On RCI for eight or so occasions, we were handed separate menus with fixed items. The waiters wear gloves, fine wines are freely poured and the companionship of the other passengers is generally very congenial.

I had my first experience at the age of 10 and enjoyed three dinners with the Captain last summer on Vision during a Member's cruise. They were all lovely. After dinner, one is normally presented with a photo commemorating the evening.

We will be staying in a Grand Suite but we have never cruised Royal Caribbean before. Is there any chance we would be invited to dine at the Captain's table? This has always seemed like a memorable thing to do.

A guy on here a while back said that a couple days into the cruise, he writes a complimentary letter to the Captain, and that in most instances he was invited to eat dinner with the Captain. Do you think this would work/help, or would he be put off by it? :confused: Please don't flame me about this, I'm just wondering.

I have had the pleasure of dining with the Captain and/or ship's officers on mulitple occasions. The reasons for being invited differ from line to line.

 

The food IME was NOT the same as the regular menu. On RCI for eight or so occasions, we were handed separate menus with fixed items. The waiters wear gloves, fine wines are freely poured and the companionship of the other passengers is generally very congenial.

 

I had my first experience at the age of 10 and enjoyed three dinners with the Captain last summer on Vision during a Member's cruise. They were all lovely. After dinner, one is normally presented with a photo commemorating the evening.

Sounds wonderful!

We were invited to eat at the Captain's table on our first Celebrity cruise last November and we are neither well connected nor had we spent a lot of money with Celebrity. LOL We weren't in a suite either, though we did have a Concierge Class stateroom. The Social Hostess was very tight-lipped about how we were chosen, but she did admit that she made the decision, though she wouldn't give any more information than that.

As to what's the big deal - it really IS an honor - after all, very, very few people on any given cruise have this opportunity, so it really is special. And you definitely get special treatment - a few of the perks being cocktails in the lounge pre-dinner, the never-ending wine with dinner, a complimentary photo with the Captain and your tablemates, a rose for each of the ladies at dinner.

I'm sure we had basically the same menu as everyone else that night, although our Greek Captain had something altogether different, and we had more courses, including Uzo with the Captain, than were offered at the typical evening meal. We were also in the dining room for quite a while after everyone else had finished and left.

My personal opinion was that it was a great opportunity to meet some very interesting people, enjoy some stimulating conversation, make some new friends, so for me, it was a great experience.

The best perk of all was that our group was given a bridge tour on our last day of the cruise. This was particularly interesting to one of our group, who was a retired Navy Commander, and also to me, since I've worked for a marine surveyor for over 25 years - and I knew what a lot of the bridge equipment was and what it's function was, but had obviously never seen it in action in such a setting before.

It was amazing to see the Captain and officers at work on the bridge. If you've ever had any doubt about it, I can tell you that every single thing that is done in there is taken very seriously, no matter how small. It was very quiet, they were very professional, and everything was done with such precision and on a very specific timetable. It was very orderly and quite impressive to watch. It's amazing how they control a large ship in such small spaces.

OH - and the view from the bridge is breathtaking! We saw the Americas Cup sailboat as we were leaving Key West - a view of it we would never have gotten anywhere else onboard. For me, that was the highlight of our cruise, simply because the view was so incredible and also because it was something only 8 of us got to do, and who knows if I'll ever get the chance to do it again.

Karen

Thanks for the post. I've always wondered what the story was on that.

 

Guess I'll never get an in-vite:rolleyes: . My impression is that you have to be either well connected or spend a lot of money with the cruise line.

 

Jennifer

 

Galaxy 9/04

Galaxy 10/05

Liberty 4/06

Galaxy 12/06

Not true at all. My husband and I were invited to dine at the captains table on our second cruise with carnival. We were very surprised. We had no connections. 30 year old nobody's lol. Yes same food but incredible service and all the wine of your choosing free. We also got a tour of the bridge AND my husband got a tour of the engine room the next day. He LOVED this. I couldn't go. They said it wasn't really allowed but my husband convinced someone to take him during dinner.

Many years ago, my parents were invited to eat at the captains table pretty randomly. I was always under the impression that it had nothing to do with influence or money. I've personally been seated at the table with the ship's second mate. He was a very nice man, but he missed most of the dinners because of his work schedule. However, when he was present, there was free wine for all. Good times.

I'm a newbie planning my first for next month.

 

I occasionally hear people refer to being invited to the Captain's table', which generally seems to be regarded as an honor or privilege. I certainly respect the Captain as a professional and appreciate his/her experience and expertise, but... am I missing something? Are they all reputed to be sterling hosts and witty conversationalists? Is the food better at their table? :) Or is it just supposed to be 'kind of a neat thing' to be able to say you've had the experience?

 

In fact, does the term "Captain's Table" necessarily mean he/she actually dines there, or is it just a table set aside for special treatment/perks?

On Carnival, passengers who previously sailed with Carnival were invited to the Captain's table for a private dinner. I was invited.... on Carnival's Legacy. I had dinner with the Captain and the senior officers, it was very nice.

I am 14 and got invited to the captains table on the mariner of the seas, all i am going to say is the menu was different from the rest of the ship. Most of us got Fillet Mingon that was as tall as a cellular phone!:) Was very good. The best captain on Royal Caribbean is Captain Svein Petterson

On Costa Cruise Lines they put anyone they have had a problem with at the Captains Table. No Captain, but good service. It was a code they had. We were told this by the head waiter.

Ok funny story...

On one of our NCL cruises we had 17 family members cruizing..

Well we had to have 2 tables because of all the people. Anyway the captains table was located in the middle of the dining room decorated with beautiful flowers and it seated at least 17 people. The funny thing was nobody (including the captain) ever sat at the table. So one day my husband asked our waiter if we could sit there with all of our family members. He cleared it with the powers that be and for the rest of the cruise we sat at the captains table MINUS the captain!!

On Carnival, passengers who previously sailed with Carnival were invited to the Captain's table for a private dinner. I was invited.... on Carnival's Legacy. I had dinner with the Captain and the senior officers, it was very nice.

Carnival Legacy:confused::confused:

We were invited once to dine with the captain on our Celebrity Horizon cruise a couple of years ago. The captain was an excellent host, and we had all the wine we wanted to drink with the meal. Service was excellent, food was the same as everyone else had. The social hostess picked us at embarkation. We were the only ones in the Captain's Club line, and she talked with us at length while we were checking in. My wife complimented her on her hair...........maybe that's why we were chosen, who knows..............

I first cruised in 1990 on RCCL Song of Norway. My fiance and I were seated with 3 other couples. On the two formal nights, the ship's doctor was seated at our table. It was a lot of fun to talk with him and learn about cruise life.

Last October, I traveled with three female colleagues on the MSC Armonia in the Eastern Med. WE had made this a budget trip by all four adults squeezing into one oceanview stateroom. It was cozy but we had a good time. We had brought enough luggage for a party of 8 as we decided we wanted to dress up all week.

On this voyage it was necessary to visit the chef d'hotel upon boarding to be assigned a table for dinner. One of the girls jokingly asked if we could be seated close to the Captain's table. Well that evening we found ourselves assigned to a table that was positioned at the end of the captains table.

Though the captain's table was not used every evening, the evenings he was there he had a direct view of our smiling faces. The Captain made a point to parade his guests in and out of the dining room and so passed our table each evening that he dined with greetings of hello to all in the dining room.

Well gotta love my friends spunk, the penultimate evening of the cruise, as he passed ahe asked if we would have the pleasure of seeing him next to us for the final night of the cruise. With a giggle and a wink he said only if you are there my dear and kept going. We laughed about it and finished our desert.

The next day to our surprise we received those personal invitations in our stateroom. Dinner was everything that others have explained and more. The captain and 4 members of the Sr Staff and the 4 of us in the center of the dining room with aspecial menu and wine that did not stop. The cruise director arrived to thank the passengers for sailing during the week and we all received champagne as well to toast the captain.

Another of my friends kept the captain entertained through the dinner which yielded a visit to the bridge right after dinner. The crew there was surprised to have the captain and visitors on the bridge at all let alone after dark.

The next morning, fog in Venice had closed the port for entry of ships. The captain calle dour stateroom directly to apologize and invite us to his stateroom for coffee. So cappacino with the captain while waiting for the fog to clear was the finish to our wonderdul week.

So I guess you never know what can happen. I never thought I would sit at the Captains table but I did. Who knows you could be next.

Christopher

Last October, I traveled with three female colleagues on the MSC Armonia in the Eastern Med. WE had made this a budget trip by all four adults squeezing into one oceanview stateroom. It was cozy but we had a good time. We had brought enough luggage for a party of 8 as we decided we wanted to dress up all week.

 

On this voyage it was necessary to visit the chef d'hotel upon boarding to be assigned a table for dinner. One of the girls jokingly asked if we could be seated close to the Captain's table. Well that evening we found ourselves assigned to a table that was positioned at the end of the captains table.

 

Though the captain's table was not used every evening, the evenings he was there he had a direct view of our smiling faces. The Captain made a point to parade his guests in and out of the dining room and so passed our table each evening that he dined with greetings of hello to all in the dining room.

 

Well gotta love my friends spunk, the penultimate evening of the cruise, as he passed ahe asked if we would have the pleasure of seeing him next to us for the final night of the cruise. With a giggle and a wink he said only if you are there my dear and kept going. We laughed about it and finished our desert.

 

The next day to our surprise we received those personal invitations in our stateroom. Dinner was everything that others have explained and more. The captain and 4 members of the Sr Staff and the 4 of us in the center of the dining room with aspecial menu and wine that did not stop. The cruise director arrived to thank the passengers for sailing during the week and we all received champagne as well to toast the captain.

 

Another of my friends kept the captain entertained through the dinner which yielded a visit to the bridge right after dinner. The crew there was surprised to have the captain and visitors on the bridge at all let alone after dark.

 

The next morning, fog in Venice had closed the port for entry of ships. The captain calle dour stateroom directly to apologize and invite us to his stateroom for coffee. So cappacino with the captain while waiting for the fog to clear was the finish to our wonderdul week.

 

So I guess you never know what can happen. I never thought I would sit at the Captains table but I did. Who knows you could be next.

 

Christopher

I got invited on my very first cruise on ADMIRAL CRUISE LINES in 1988. It was strange. We went to a cocktail party first where everyone was so afraid to speak. I had to break the ice for everyone. Then at the table they sat me next to the captain and I was just my usual jovial self, but it was hard to make conversation. He told a few stories and was probably bored to tears at our table. He left before dessert. I think when he gets bored he signals to someone to come whisper in his ear like there was something urgent at the bridge that he needed to tend to right away!