Have you ever been invited to dine at the Captain's Table?

[Joe_Antonelli]

Just really curious how people get invited to the Captain's Table, would love to read about your own personal experiences. Thought it would be a fun and interesting topic for all of us!

 

Joe

[ccletzgo]

yes, on the galaxy, sept. 1999. The social hostess spent some time visiting with us on the first night of the cruise. (I assume she made the arrangements)

 

Lets Go!

 

Royal's Viking Seranade 1/94

Carnival, Holiday, CHristmas/95

Carnival, Jubilee, Christmas/96

Royal's, Song of America 11/98

Celebrity Galaxy 9/99

Royal's, Viking Seranade 6/00

Celebrity, Millennium,Christmas/00

Royal's Vision 2/02

Royal's Vision,Christmas/02

Royal's Monarch 6/03

Celebrity Galaxy 9/17/04 !!

 

 

 

 

[Danno]

Since you asked....I don't know how we got invited but I really think we were "interviewed" by the social hostess when we boarded Horizon last winter. My wife saw a post-it note on our key package that the Social Hostess removed before she approached us at check-in. I really think they are looking for friendly people who interact well and are not shy. The cruise previous I think we were "interviewed", our luggage had gone missing, we were VERY tired and the weather was miserable...In retrospect, I think we missed the cut that time.

 

We had a suite and it was our 8th Celebrity cruise, I don't know if any of this counts but this was our first experience dining with the captain.

 

I would encourage anyone who is asked, and hasn't done this before, to accept. It proved to be an enjoyable evening, the Captain was very pleasant and answered any questions honestly and willingly. It would be hard to find any fault what so ever with the experience we were provided that evening.

 

Dan

 

CenturyX1,GalaxyX2,HorizonX5,VolendamX1,

 

Zenith to Bermuda Oct/04

Century to E.Caribbean Feb/05

 

**email mrtnb(at)efni(dot)com

[tuggers]

Been invited several times. Just off the Century and sat at last formal night. Sometimes I find them boring as you never know what the mix of people will be and sometimes the Captain (or his standin) do not have the best command of the language. Must say this last one was one of the best. Lots of fun and laughing. You just never know. But if asked, always go. It will be an experience! And the food, wine and service is top notch! Then you'll get a picture to remember it by.

 

Going on CENTURY! Third X Cruise In Four Months!

[Lois R]

Hi I was invited to dine at the Captain's Table on my first Celebrity cruise, which was on The Century May 2003.

I also met the Social Hostess and I am guessing she liked me . We chatted after I arrived on the ship and I saw her throughout the week. I was invited for the 2nd formal night.

I was sailing solo and had your basic inside cabin.

I agree with Dan, it is definitely a fun experience and I was honared to receive the invitation.

 

Next up...HORIZON Sept 18th to Bermuda!

 

See My Century and Mercury Pictures at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/lovescruising

[debjac]

Right before we left for the Summit there was a big buzz here on the boards about a light or "glow" coming from the toilets at night. I asked the social hostess at our CC party and she said it was the most unusual question she was ever asked. Next thing you know, we received our invitation

[sueclark]

We have dined there several times, usually with Captain and Joyce Adamidis. I love getting the invitations and feel very special when we are invited. I wouldn't dream of turning one down, even when the table is hosted by another Officer.

 

Earlier this year the Social Hostesses were given new guidelines for seating the table that pretty much limited it to those in the top suites and the VERY Elite CC members.

 

Sue

sueclark@aol.com

 

Constellation Transatlantic 9/7/04

 

Infinity Panama Canal 4/17/05

[lesleyfb]

8 of us from the CC party were invited to dine with the Captain. He was Greek and I learned a few simple words e.g. hello, thank you and goodbye. He answered in Greek so he obviously understood what I said.

We went to a lounge beforehand and had pre-dinner drinks then the social hostess escorts you to the Captain's table (despite her assurances our drinks would follow, they never did). All the wine is complimentary and you get a photograph to remember the occasion by. We had a great trip and we also had the Doctor at our table for 2 formal nights. We had a ball.

[D&L]

We were the very first ones in line for our Southern Caribbean cruise and Analie Harper, Social Hostess, came up to us and engaged us in converstation. Later that evening, our cabin phone rang with Ms Harper asking if we'd accept an invitation to the Captain's Table on the first formal night. Of course, we said "yes" and the next day an invitation was in our room. Laurie was seated next to the Chief Engineer, our Host (as the Captain was not in attendance). The co-host was the Chief Electrician.

 

As an aside, I took Laurie's picture with the Captian at the Captain's Club reception.

 

The price of your room evidently is not always relevant because we had an inside room - 3079. My guess is that Laurie got us the invite because she's drop-dead gorgeous. All the couples were in their 40's and 50's.

 

 

 

Celebrity Century 09/07/02 Eastern Caribbean

Celebrity Infinity 08/29/03 Alaska IP

Celebrity Constellation 03/06/04 Southern Caribbean

Celebrity Summit 03/11/05 Southern Caribbean

[Sparkle 123]

We were invited to dine on the Captains table hosted by the Hotel Manager on the Century last Nov.

I couldn't believe it when we returned to the cabin one evening and found the invite on the bed! We felt very honoured. I think the reason we were asked is because I took a tip from these boards and got chatting to the social hostess whom I recognised from our previous cruise on the Mercury when she hosted the cruise critc party. So you could say our invite was all down to cruise critic!!

By the way it was a truly memorable evening, Celebrity really does treat you famously!! We felt like film stars for the night!!

 

Mercury W Caribbean Nov 2002

Century E Caribbean Nov 2003

Jewel of the Seas mini cruise May 2004

Millennium E Caribbean Nov 2004

[DocJohnB]

Nope!!!

 

 

 

Until we sail on SUMMIT for 10 nights

 

 

Roll Call Summit 11/05/2004 click here

 

 

 

Until MOAGC's on Explorer of the Seas

 

 

 

Seven Cruises last Century, then:

 

Norwegian Sky 2000 GGC2000

Volendam 2001 GGC2001

Paradise 2001

Sensation 2002 GGC2002

Millenium 2003 (Nov 16)

Mariner OTS 2004 (Feb 29)

Summit 2004 (Nov 05)

Explorer OTS 2005 (Jan 09)

[HollyB]

Yes, myself, DH and MIl all dined with Captain Adamidis also on Millie

Very nice!

[SandyR5]

Hi - On RCCL I was the first one to sign up for the CC party. I arrived and met the social hostess. We chatted for awhile and when I saw her the next evening she invited my husband and I to the Captain's table the following night. I was also seated next to him! I guess she thought I'd be friendly! It was lovely...and the drinks flowed...although he didn't drink.

 

Sandy/Long Island NY

[cruisinjudy]

We were invited to the captain's table on Infinity. I also feel it was due to CC as this was the third CC party we had attended with the same social hostess! (Two back to back cruises)

[9sails2date]

Yes! February 1995 on the Zenith! My husband and I had just gotten married on January 14th and my birthday was Feb. 5th. The hostess that greeted us as we boarded was very friendly and she must have seen our beaming faces (and hearts) because 2 hours later the invitation showed up at our door. We also got a special invitation to a "birthday cocktail party" one night and a "newlywed cocktail party" another. (we felt like senior citizens that night since we were 45 and all other newlyweds were in their 20's BUT a free drink is a free drink, right!) I think our TA clued them into those facts!

A cute little note about the dinner with the "captain" (it was another officer)...The dinner was long and the wine flowed freely (great Greek wine) so before coffee was served I excused myself to find the ladies room. I got lost trying to find one so I ended up just returning to our stateroom. When I got back to the table all faces were sad because they had tried to wait for me so the table and officer could sing Happy Birthday to me with a special cake! But, the officer had to return to duties so they sang to my husband and enjoyed the cake! Ha Ha Ha...I missed my 15 minutes of fame.

 

By all means always say YES to dinner with the "Captain"..

 

Zenith,7 nt Caribbean, 1995

Dreamward,7 nt Bermuda, 1996

Galaxy,7 nt Caribbean, 1997

Zenith,7 nt Bermuda, 1998

Zenith,15 nt trans-canal, 1999

Century,7 nt W Caribbean, 2000

Majesty,3 nt Bahama xmas 2000

SUMMIT, 11 nt ultimate carib turned into 7 nt "just barely" carib cruise, Ap 2002.

Majesty,4 nt Bahama Jan 03

Legend,8 nt from NY May 03

Time to Legend 6/24/04

 

[adegner]

Fellow CC's,

 

My husband and I have been invited twice so far. The first time we had gotten aquainted with one of the entertainment staff at Trivia, and they asked us if we mightbe interested in dining at the captain's table. He must have spoken to the social hostess and we received the invitation. I bet the first time cruisers that were also invited (suite passengers) must have thought I was crazy as I went on and on about how great Celebrity is - just like a commercial. The cheif engineer (we did not have he pleasure of the captain's presence) said to me "gee, you sure like Celebrity". I'm sure he thought I was nuts.

 

The second time we were invited was on the Zenith (just this past February). We again had the ship's cheif engineer. I tried to be more restrained this time, but I think my enthusiasm must have shown again. At least this time the other table companions were as enthusiastic as I was.

 

We have also had the pleasure twice of having a ship's officer dine with us at our assigned table. We has the environmental offericer one time and he was very sweet. It helped that we were a table for 6 and had only 5 people assigned to the table.

 

In any case, I highly recommend it. You get to try a lovely taste of wine (usually from Greece) and you also get a free portrait of your experience.

 

Sincerely,

 

Sincerely, Andrea (28 cruises - 24 with X)

 

Horizon 11/92,Majesty of the Seas 3/96,Zenith 2/97,Galaxy 11/97,Century 2/98,Mercury 8/98,Galaxy 11/98,Zenith 2/99,Horizon 9/99,Mercury 10/99,Grand Princess 12/99,Wind Spirit 2/00,Century 7/00,Century 9/00,Galaxy 11/00,Millennium 2/01,Millennium 6/01,Galaxy 11/01,Summit 2/02,Century 6/02,Millennium 8/02,Infinity 11/02,Century 5/31/03,Century 6/7/03,Century 8/2/03,Millennium 10/14/03,Millennium 10/26/03,Radiance 1/18/04,Zenith 2/15/04,Infinity 12/05/04

[MNMickey]

We have only been on 2 cruises and have been invited to the captain's table both times. The first time was on RCCL and most recently on Galaxy in 02/04. We were curious why we were invited, and still really are not sure of the system.

 

The first time we sailed with a group of 6 and all of us were invited. We dined with the first officer and he was single. We think the two drop-dead gorgeous single blondes we were traveling with were the real reason for the invitation! We had a great time, drank a lot of some Norwegian liquor and laughed a great deal. We had a great time and were treated royally.

 

Most recently, we were traveling with another couple and we were invited but they were not. I politely explained to the social hostess that since we were traveling together, we would prefer to dine with them. She interpreted that as me fishing for an invitation for them also (which it was not intended to be). I informed her that was not necessary, but if it worked out that way it would be great. We left our conversation with the understanding we would dine with the captain, if our companions were also invited. They did get invited, but to the wrong seating. So, we decided not to join them and eat at our regular table. Not long after we were seated, the social hostess came looking for us and assumed we had ignored the invitation. I reminded her of our conversation and told of the actual circumstances. As it turned out, our friends were invited, but the invitations were messed up. We did not want to appear rude, so decided to join them. The hostess was a total boor and told the captain she was late because we had messed up!

 

All in all, it was a good time. We did dine with the captain, and were treated very well. However, I would say we much preferred our experience with RCCL. It was as nice as Celebrity, but much more social.

 

We are cruising again in February on the Constellation. We do not expect to be invited this time since we are traveling with our children. I'm not a regular cruiser, but I have never seen children at the captain's table.

[bobabg]

Yes, on Celebrity Mercury during the early December 2003 Mexican Riviera cruise. The social hostess met the four couples who had been invited and "briefed" us before the Captain joined us to procede to the dining room. We had a wonderful dinner. It was the highlight of the first few days of our 11 night cruise. It came about accidently, because I phoned the social hostess to inquire about a cocktail party I had been told about. It happened to be for Captain's Club members only, so we could not attend, not yet being members. She was apologetic about that, but more than made up for it by inviting us to attend the Captain's Table. A very nice experience.

[monibob]

My husband and I got invited on our first cruise to sit at the Captain's Table. This was just last week on Century!! It was a good night, we enjoyed it and hopefully the next cruise we will be invited again. I have no idea how we got invited but I'm glad we did. And would tell anyone that gets invited to go!! And the Captain was not at the table it was the Cheif Engineer and the 2nd Cheif Engineer, but we still had a blast.

 

I know it doesn't matter what kind of cabin you have because all the other couples that sat at the Captain's table didn't have Suites or CC Cabins. We were the only couple that had a CC Cabin, the other couples ranged from a inside cabin to a regular outside cabin.

 

Century - W. Caribbean June 2004

[Silverfox]

Yes -- we've been very lucky and have probably dined at the Captain's Table at least 10 or more times on various lines, but mostly with Celebrity. It is always a great experience and one should accept and enjoy the evening.

 

The only time it was a very boring and difficult night was on a RCI ship many years ago. We were fortunate that our entire table (all friends) were invited, so that should make it very easy -- 8 special friends, along with the captain. Not so. Before we were seated the Hostess told us that this captain does not want any side conversations among the guests and he will always lead the topic of conversation. I felt guilty even saying something softly to my dear friend next to me -- like "pass the butter". The Captain spoke very softly with an accent of course. The table was a huge round table and one could hardly hear across the table. Therefore, most of the evening was spent with a frozen smile on the face.

 

However, that was the lone exception! All other experiences have been so much fun! In fact, on one ship 2 years ago, everyone had such fun, and we all got along so well, that at the end of the evening, the Captain said: "We must do this again -- same people -- next formal night!" The Social Hostess was amazed as that had never happened before. And just as he said, next formal night it was the same people, sitting in the same seats, and again we had a marvelous time.

[tef43]

Back in the day on RCCL they had designated "Officers Tables." When sailing the Song of Norway, we were seated with the Chief Engineer for the first night and both formal nights. Think of a cross between Scotty and the Swedish Chef.

 

Would I give up dining with my regular tablemates for one night? Probably not. I am reminded of what Lady Astor once remarked when invited to the Captain's Table, "Why would I want to dine with the hired help?"

[Linda-E]

We've dined at the Captain's Table three times -- but never with the Captain.

 

On our back-to-back on Galaxy last month, the Bar Manager dined at our table the first formal night. He was great fun, and we ran into him all over the place, on ship and land, for the next 22 days. On the second cruise, we were invited to dine with the Hotel Manager. We are Captain's Club elite members and had spent some time chatting with the social hostess at the Cruise Critic and Captain's Club functions.

 

It is always a special experience for me -- from the pre-dinner cocktails to meet our dining companions to the red rose from the host to the photo that is delivered to the cabin the following day. We've met some really great people at the Captain's Table and I would never turn down an invitation to "dine with the hired help."

 

Linda

[chellie]

We were invited to the captains table last March (2004) on the Galaxy.

 

It was our seventh Celebrity Cruise. We were in a suite and were met at the pier by the social hostess who noted our many prior Celebrity cruises.

 

She asked about our Celebrity experiences; I told her that our only disappointment had been that we had never dined at the captain's table.

 

Soooooooo...from the time we boarded, until disembarkation we were invited to EVERYTHING--special galley tour (with bites and champagne), behind the scenes stage tour with strawberry chocolate and champagne reception, special cocktail parties etc, etc.-- including the second formal night at the captain's table. The officer managing the galley tour took us off with him on our own private tour.

 

Everywhere we went on the ship crew and staff greeted us by name. we received service that was wayyyyy.... over the top.

 

Wow! Great experience. I am like Miss Piggy--just love attention.....

 

Some people would call me overly bold, but I believe that we should communicate concerns, otherwise they cannot be addressed!

 

When I see that hostess again, I will remind her of who we are. and how much we enjoyed the captain's table on that occasion. Perhaps she will invite us again!

 

On Horizon Christamas 2003, we had the Chief Engiiner assigned to host our table. This unfortunate fellow was clearly uncomfortable in that setting. I was 50 and could not longer see without reading glasses. I had a rhinestone, folding lorgnette with me, so I kept opening it and winking at him through it, which cause him to giggle and blush. Now I no longer attend special events without that conversation piece--it breaks the ice!!!!

[tuggers]

I have been at the Captain's Table many, many times and almost always find it enjoyable...one not so enjoyable was with a couple new to cruising. As we were having before dinner drinks, this woman whom I had never met before, looked at me and said (I kid you not) 'Are those earrings real because if they are, I mean, like wow?'. I was seated next to her at dinner and never really had much to say to her! DUH!

[steveweese]

Well..........were they?