Being invited to the Captain's/Officers' Table

[Northern Aurora]

Ditto for the month before. In fact, the only time that I've ever heard of the Captain's Table being moved to a specialty restaurant was this past spring on Connie -- during the infamous "animal house" cruise. :eek:

 

On an Infinity cruise last spring we were invited to join Captain Frantzis for dinner in the wine cellar of the SS United States on the first formal night. I have no idea if another officer hosted a captain's table dinner in the MDR that night.

[MicCanberra]

We have dined at the Captains table several times. Frankly, while it was nice, most people in our group of diners felt a bit uncomfortable. Everyone was a stranger so conversation was somewhat restrained. We did enjoy the meal and the free photo and cruise video we were given. We actually turned down the Hostess once. We just preferred a quiet dinner ourselves that night.

 

You have been very fortunate then, are you a very frequent cruiser perhaps?

[trustee55]

We dined at the Captain's table on the May 31 cruise. Our host was a staff captain who was a delightful conversationalist. The other times we have dined at the Captain's table, the Captain himself was our host.

All times we enjoyed good food, excellent wines and great company.

 

By the way, we have never ever been in a suite...the highest being a concierge cabin. Usually, we are in an outside. We are just an ordinary couple..a retired systems analyst and a retired journalist.

 

Happy Sailing,

 

Carol Ann and Richard

Brantford, Ontario.

[Adidas4fun]

Having dined with the captain and other officers on a number of cruises I have enjoyed my meal each time. Fortunately the table mates we found ourselves with were all good company and more time was spent in conversation with them than with the officer or captain. The dining room staff are that bit more attentive which is also very nice.

[MicCanberra]

Having dined with the captain and other officers on a number of cruises I have enjoyed my meal each time. Fortunately the table mates we found ourselves with were all good company and more time was spent in conversation with them than with the officer or captain. The dining room staff are that bit more attentive which is also very nice.

 

That is a nice bonus along with the wine supplied.:D

[Fblack]

You have been very fortunate then, are you a very frequent cruiser perhaps?

 

We have lots of Celebrity cruises under our belts including quite a few b2b. And have gotten share holder benefits on our Celebrity cruises for years. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy dining with the Captain. One thing I learned was to always try to meet the ships Hostess and introduce yourself. And frankly, they like past cruisers and people who wear a tux (formal attire) for the dinner. One time, on the first formal night, the Hostess stopped by our table to say hello. I may be totally wrong, but I really believe she wanted to see how we dressed for dinner. And we were invited to dine with the Captain later in the cruise. One time we ate with the Staff Captain who was leaving the next month to take over the Millennium. He was a good looking bachelor who had my wife and other woman mesmerized with his charm. He made the women feel special.

[ozark74]

Have been at the Captains table four times and it has always been in the MDR. The food is the same as the menu. No special dishes. You get different wines at dinner not just one type. It was fun. Getting picked to Captains table is luck of the draw.

[MicCanberra]

We have lots of Celebrity cruises under our belts including quite a few b2b. And have gotten share holder benefits on our Celebrity cruises for years. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy dining with the Captain. One thing I learned was to always try to meet the ships Hostess and introduce yourself. And frankly, they like past cruisers and people who wear a tux (formal attire) for the dinner. One time, on the first formal night, the Hostess stopped by our table to say hello. I may be totally wrong, but I really believe she wanted to see how we dressed for dinner. And we were invited to dine with the Captain later in the cruise. One time we ate with the Staff Captain who was leaving the next month to take over the Millennium. He was a good looking bachelor who had my wife and other woman mesmerized with his charm. He made the women feel special.

 

I thought as much, the odds are if you had been invited lots of times that you had also cruised many more. I think you may be right as to inviting people who fit a certain passenger profile which may include things like, frequent cruisers, dresses well, spends money on the ship (possibly Casino as well), personable people, etc.:D

[Wine-O]

Have been at the Captains table four times and it has always been in the MDR. The food is the same as the menu. No special dishes. You get different wines at dinner not just one type. It was fun. Getting picked to Captains table is luck of the draw.

 

We were fortunate to get invited to the Captain's Table on the same cruise as trustee55. In fact my wife sat next to her. :) We have previously been invited to the Captain's Table, and normally you get the same menu as the MDR.

 

I looked earlier to see what they had that night so I was prepared to order. I was pleasantly surprised to see that we were handed a pre-printed menu with our names engraved on each, and it was similar to that night's MDR menu, but a lot of the apps and entrees were different. It was very nice.

[gold1953]

We have been invited twice. The first time we were travelling without formal clothes and declined. The CC hostess said she chose us because we are 'nice ' people.. she noticed us at the elite breakfast and cocktail hour inviting couples who sat alone to join our group.

 

The second time we went and again it was the cc host ( different one) who invited us. He told us that he often has people demanding to eat with the captain.. and these are the people he does not want/

 

Both times we sailed in oceanview cabins

Even tough we didn't know any one at the table it was wonderful

[MicCanberra]

We have been invited twice. The first time we were travelling without formal clothes and declined. The CC hostess said she chose us because we are 'nice ' people.. she noticed us at the elite breakfast and cocktail hour inviting couples who sat alone to join our group.

 

The second time we went and again it was the cc host ( different one) who invited us. He told us that he often has people demanding to eat with the captain.. and these are the people he does not want/

 

Both times we sailed in oceanview cabins

Even tough we didn't know any one at the table it was wonderful

 

Excellent, I think it is great to know that the CC host is rewarding you for just being a nice person. I wish more people were like that on cruises but that is another discussion and involves those who demand ...:eek:.

[hughdm]

We've been invited once and had a great time. We also felt that it was because we had related well with the CC hostess. We didn't schmooze her up on purpose for that reason, it just happened.

[Iamthesea]

DH and I have been invited to dine with the Captain on a few occasions.

 

The very FIRST time we turned down the Social Hostess on the Millie in favor of dining with our children and my parents. :rolleyes:

 

The second invitation came on a RCCL ship and it was by far the best experience. :)

 

Once we dined with both the Captain and the head of the environmental department. Very interesting conversation with him.

 

The last time we dined with a Captain was on Celebrity. It was probably the most elegant experience.

 

We have had a wonderful time and conversations with all of our table mates and with the Captains. ;)

Edited July 7, 2015 by Iamthesea

[H2OH!]

We have been lucky as we have been three times...

 

the first time was wonderful...so exciting...great table host with a staff captain.

 

the second time was with head engineer...a little too stuffy and boring

 

The third time we declined the first invite because DH wanted to watch football in our cabin (as it was our first CS and we had a large TV)...:rolleyes:. plus the second time was a snoozer so we decided to take a pass.

 

well, Bruce the cc host to a liking to us and invited us (stalked) to attend the final formal night so we accepted. We had forgotten DH's shirt and tie so we bought a white shirt in gift shop and borrowed a tie from a fellow cruise critic friend (thank you toby and richard).

 

The staff captain and head engineer hosted the table. The staff captain had his wife on board who was an absolute riot!! we had so much fun. The conversation and wine flowed...lots of laughs...

 

The third time left us with wonderful memories:

1) Borrowed a tie

2) We had met the house of tanzanite rep (love ya kristen) who let me borrow a 35K tanzanite ring and 20K in diamond drop earrings...I felt like a celebrity! so much fun..I treated them like the stanley cup...took pictures with the ring and earrings all over the ship:D

3) We had cruised through an underground earthquake that shook the ship- the staff captain verified the rumor (it happened near Puerto Rico as we sailed by). DH blamed me for shaking the ship as I was in the restroom when the ship shook...lol

here is the news story...http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/01/13/puerto-rico-quake/4449491/

4) The table had a great mix of couples! Fabulous!

Edited July 7, 2015 by H2OH!

[MicCanberra]

Wonderful and funny stories, thanks for sharing.:D

[Iamthesea]

First time, we were in a standard stateroom and it was our first cruise on Celebrity. The other times, we were either in a SS or GS.

 

 

 

The third time left us with wonderful memories:

1) Borrowed a tie

2) We had met the house of tanzanite rep (love ya kristen) who let me borrow a 35K tanzanite ring and 20K in diamond drop earrings...I felt like a celebrity! so much fun..I treated them like the stanley cup...took pictures with the ring and earrings all over the ship:D

3) We had cruised through an underground earthquake that shook the ship- the staff captain verified the rumor (it happened near Puerto Rico as we sailed by). DH blamed me for shaking the ship as I was in the restroom when the ship shook...lol

here is the news story...http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/01/13/puerto-rico-quake/4449491/

4) The table had a great mix of couples! Fabulous!

 

WOW...I am really surprised that any jewelry would be loaned to a passenger.

 

I bet the earthquake csared quite a few passengers. :eek:

Edited July 7, 2015 by Iamthesea

[H2OH!]

First time, we were in a standard stateroom and it was our first cruise on Celebrity. The other times, we were either in a SS or GS.

 

 

 

 

WOW...I am really surprised that any jewelry would be loaned to a passenger.

 

I bet the earthquake csared quite a few passengers. :eek:

 

 

I have the best pictures of the fabulous jewelry! We met Kristen and her colleague during an captains club event and we hit it off. When we told her we were going to dine at the captains club table she said "stop by (the jewelry store) and pick whatever you want from the case...so I did. it is a cherished memory!

 

The earthquake was odd...I was in the restroom :eek::o when the whole ship felt like it shook from the bowels of the ship to the top...DH was on the balcony. I yelled - hey what is going on, what are you doing...as he was yelling the same thing back to me. He was convinced I had done "something" ;) in the bathroom to cause the ship to shake. The next day passengers were talking about it but no one would discuss it. The staff captain confirmed it and said at the next port they had divers go down and check everything out to be sure everything was ok. he said the earthquakes do happen and he had sailed through one once before.

Edited July 8, 2015 by H2OH!

[Patrick IL.]

We've done several, mostly in the MDR. Our last cruise CC hostess asked us, I had been lazy and not brought a jacket, we were in Aqua. I went down to give her our regrets, she replied no problem, The Captain has decided to have the dinner in Tuscan so you'll be fine, its smart casual. It was fun, they had a table set up just like they do in the MDR.

[MicCanberra]

I have the best pictures of the fabulous jewelry! We met Kristen and her colleague during an captains club event and we hit it off. When we told her we were going to dine at the captains club table she said "stop by (the jewelry store) and pick whatever you want from the case...so I did. it is a cherished memory!

 

The earthquake was odd...I was in the restroom :eek::o when the whole ship felt like it shook from the bowels of the ship to the top...DH was on the balcony. I yelled - hey what is going on, what are you doing...as he was yelling the same thing back to me. He was convinced I had done "something" ;) in the bathroom to cause the ship to shake. The next day passengers were talking about it but no one would discuss it. The staff captain confirmed it and said at the next port they had divers go down and check everything out to be sure everything was ok. he said the earthquakes do happen and he had sailed through one once before.

 

LOl, it reminds me of when we had an earthquake and my wife accused me of smashing the car into the house, as I was moving the car out of the garage at the time.:D

[H2OH!]

LOl, it reminds me of when we had an earthquake and my wife accused me of smashing the car into the house, as I was moving the car out of the garage at the time.:D

 

 

Funny. those silly spouses:D:D

[Pinkbudgie]

We just got home from our very first cruise ever on the Solstice to Alaska. We were very surprised to find an invitation to the captain's table. It was on the second formal night of the cruise. First we met in the Cellar (or something like that- a little room with a bar and some tables and seats). We were given appetizers and champagne. Then the captain came in and we all walked with him down the stair case in the main dining room to the captain's table. I ended up being seated right next to Captain Berdos. He stayed and talked and ate with us the entire time- about two hours. He was friendly and talkative. The food was wonderful and the dessert twice as wonderful. I have food allergies and all of that was handled perfectly just like all the times we dined in the main dining room.

 

We don't know why we were invited but we think it is because we have a Greek last name and the captain is also Greek. He explained how Greek names tell you what area of Greece you are from. My husband's grandfather was from Greece but we didn't know about that. Another Greek family was across from us.

 

They took a picture of us and gave it to us along with our personalized menus. Each woman got a rose at the end. The next day we also received an invitation to take a bridge tour which we also enjoyed. It was like a dream! I still can't believe that happened.

[neverbeenhere]

Note to Celebrity: You successfully reeled in another cruise addict. This one is a pink bird.:p

[Pinkbudgie]

Note to Celebrity: You successfully reeled in another cruise addict. This one is a pink bird.:p

 

:D Yep! Husband is already saying, "Next time we should..." and then lists off what we should do or bring. Guess we should always sail on ships with Greek captains!

 

[MicCanberra]

We just got home from our very first cruise ever on the Solstice to Alaska. We were very surprised to find an invitation to the captain's table. It was on the second formal night of the cruise. First we met in the Cellar (or something like that- a little room with a bar and some tables and seats). We were given appetizers and champagne. Then the captain came in and we all walked with him down the stair case in the main dining room to the captain's table. I ended up being seated right next to Captain Berdos. He stayed and talked and ate with us the entire time- about two hours. He was friendly and talkative. The food was wonderful and the dessert twice as wonderful. I have food allergies and all of that was handled perfectly just like all the times we dined in the main dining room.

 

We don't know why we were invited but we think it is because we have a Greek last name and the captain is also Greek. He explained how Greek names tell you what area of Greece you are from. My husband's grandfather was from Greece but we didn't know about that. Another Greek family was across from us.

 

They took a picture of us and gave it to us along with our personalized menus. Each woman got a rose at the end. The next day we also received an invitation to take a bridge tour which we also enjoyed. It was like a dream! I still can't believe that happened.

 

I loved hearing the captains announcements as after Captain Berdos finished the main announcement he would give a life lesson or thought for the day and then he would always say "This is Captain Yannos Berdos, OUT" :D

Edited July 9, 2015 by MicCanberra

[MicCanberra]

:D Yep! Husband is already saying, "Next time we should..." and then lists off what we should do or bring. Guess we should always sail on ships with Greek captains!

 

A strong chance of that with X.:D