Dinner or lunch with the captain

[mark22mac]

Does anyone know how you get picked for dinner or lunch with the captain?2 out of the last 3 cruises we have been invited for dinner and then lunch with the captain.just curious how they choose guests for this as we have never asked to attend but enjoy going since it is such a great time and great food.

[Clarea]

Each management staff has their own way of picking guests for the dinners. Some guests are obvious high point cruisers or Royal Suite guests. Other guests are first time cruisers. Still others have been picked by some unknown criteria. It's a mystery.

[mark22mac]

Each management staff has their own way of picking guests for the dinners. Some guests are obvious high point cruisers or Royal Suite guests. Other guests are first time cruisers. Still others have been picked by some unknown criteria. It's a mystery.

 

 

We are in our mid 50's all 13 cruises have been royal. The other 3 couples were in their mid 20's one never cruised before one had one cruise with another line and the last couple had 3 cruises but just one with royal. So to me it was definitely targeted toward the younger new cruisers but I was just curious as why we were chosen with them and the process of choosing. But I guess maybe it's just random and we were just lucky to be invited.

[AussieVisi2r]

On many occassions people are picked if the same nationality as the captain.

 

R

[yogimax]

Does anyone know how you get picked for dinner or lunch with the captain?2 out of the last 3 cruises we have been invited for dinner and then lunch with the captain.just curious how they choose guests for this as we have never asked to attend but enjoy going since it is such a great time and great food.

 

More information please...

 

1. What category cabin were you staying in?

 

2. What is your Crown and Anchor status?

 

Those two questions are crucial to an answer.

[mermaidgal]

I'm diamond plus and I've never come close to getting invited, often in a suite too....I'm waiting....lol!

[Clarea]

I'm diamond plus and I've never come close to getting invited, often in a suite too....I'm waiting....lol!

How do you know if you haven't come close? You might have been the fifth one on the list and they could only take four.

[mermaidgal]

Clarea, tongue in cheek of course! I feel lucky just to vacation on RCI as many times as I have! My day will come, in the meantime, packing for my next cruise at the end of the month![emoji568]

[John&LaLa]

More information please...

 

1. What category cabin were you staying in?

 

2. What is your Crown and Anchor status?

 

Those two questions are crucial to an answer.

 

RFS, as I recall from a previous post.

Diamond if I had to guess

[John&LaLa]

On many occassions people are picked if the same nationality as the captain.

 

R

 

That happened on the Legend this past December. Two men we sat with during Chef's table were Norwegian, as was the Captain, and they got an invite

Edited October 6, 2015 by John&LaLa

[Retired LEO]

We've been invited several times with either the Captain or Hotel Director. Only once I knew the reason why. I have no clue about the others.

[CruiseDucks]

On Anthem we ended up dining with the captain without an invite! We went to Izumi for dinner and were asked if we'd be happy to be seated at the long bench table; we said yes. About half way through the meal, the captain came and sat next to us!

[Miryam1234]

On many occassions people are picked if the same nationality as the captain.

 

R

 

That happened on the Legend this past December. Two men we sat with during Chef's table were Norwegian, as was the Captain, and they got an invite

 

This is exactly what happened to us: we were the only Finns on board Adventure with Captain Toni Calne (Halloween 2014). The others on the table were Captain's brother and his friend, the brother's work colleague with her friend and the couple that were somehow related to that friend, at least they were traveling together as a group. All of them were from Sweden. We all had maximum Platinum status, nobody in a suite. So it was a Scandinavian mix and the discussion was very open and relaxed. Very fun night!

 

Captain Calne said that he can pick his table mates freely, as well as to choose to dine at his cabin. But he also said that he gets suggestions to pick higher level C&A guests. On that day, he had had lunch with some pinnacle guests.

[BillOh]

I overheard one crew official talking to another in Chops one evening. On that cruise there was a person from the Captain's hometown. Also a crew member witnessed a passenger helping out someone they didn't know when their power wheel chair quit while boarding. Apparently the person had some professional knowledge of the chair and fixed it on the spot. His family got invited.

[Summerknight]

We were invited to the Captains Dinner before we became Diamond. This was on the Enchantment. We had an inside cabin. None of the other couples that were invited were Diamond or above.

 

We had mentioned to the Head Waiter on night one how much we loved The Enchantment and it was our 6th cruise on her. At the end of dinner, we were asked to join the Captain. Our waiter later told us that the wait staff are to keep their eyes and ears open to make recommendations.

[BillOh]

Our waiter later told us that the wait staff are to keep their eyes and ears open to make recommendations.

 

I've heard this one many occasions.

[sjb317]

We've been invited 3 times to have dinner with the Captain. It is a wonderful experience with very good food & wine, but we have no idea why we received the invitations, especially the first time as it was only our 5th cruise.

 

The last time was on Monarch in 2013. The woman next to me asked how many cruises we had been on, and when I told her, asked me how we got invited? I wish I had given her a smart*** answer, but at the time just replied that I had did not know. She did not talk to me for the rest of the evening.:D:D

 

Sherri:)

[mark22mac]

RFS, as I recall from a previous post.

Diamond if I had to guess

 

 

Correct! And The first time was before we made D and we had a balcony cabin. We were the highest level out of the 4 couples. And oldest. Lol all the others were mid 20's with 4 cruises between them. The only thing I could think of is that I did meet him on formal night at vintages for the captains cocktail reception.

[Retired LEO]

The last time was on Monarch in 2013. The woman next to me asked how many cruises we had been on, and when I told her, asked me how we got invited? I wish I had given her a smart*** answer, but at the time just replied that I had did not know. She did not talk to me for the rest of the evening.:D:D

 

Sherri:)

 

I've had the exact same experience. All of those at the table were top cruisers except for us. A lady turned to me and said "So, how many cruises have YOU been on". I said "I've been on 8". End of conversation.

[Crazycombine64]

We got invited once for dinner. A friend working for RCL helped me with booking our cruise and she added us to a VIP list during the reservation. We were still Gold members at that time, so we were very surprised when we received the invitation. Speaking with the Captain, he asked me about my friend. Looks like my friend had very good connections to get us to dinner with the Captain. Sadly she's not longer working with RCL. All the people seating at the table with us were Diamond members.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Crazycombine64

[yogimax]

There are actually a number of ways that people are invited to the Captain's Table (either with the captain or another officer). It varies from ship to ship and cruise to cruise. Some captains enjoy hosting a table, others have no desire to do so. Apparently, John Denton is one Hotel Director who enjoys hosting a table. There are just so many variables that there is no hard and fast rule.

[negc]

There are actually a number of ways that people are invited to the Captain's Table (either with the captain or another officer). It varies from ship to ship and cruise to cruise. Some captains enjoy hosting a table, others have no desire to do so. Apparently, John Denton is one Hotel Director who enjoys hosting a table. There are just so many variables that there is no hard and fast rule.

 

I think that you have hit it on the head. We have been fortunate enough to get an invitation on a number of occasions and I think that there have been various and different reasons for the invites. Well before we attained a high C&A status we were invited based on several different occasions. and as you mentioned sometimes the host has been someone other than the ship's Master including the Staff Captain, hotel director, food and beverage manager, Chief financial officer etc) We don't concern ourselves of the reasons and simply enjoy the experience. Now that they frequently offer lunch or dinner with an officer for all C&A members who have accrued a certain number of membership points, I think many more guests will get to share a meal with someone of rank and that can offer some fascinating conversations and experiences.:)

[cruisegalfl]

There are actually a number of ways that people are invited to the Captain's Table (either with the captain or another officer). It varies from ship to ship and cruise to cruise. Some captains enjoy hosting a table, others have no desire to do so. Apparently, John Denton is one Hotel Director who enjoys hosting a table. There are just so many variables that there is no hard and fast rule.

 

We love John Denton! :)

[SailingSal]

We have been invited twice to dine with the captain. The first time we met the captain at the "meet the captain" evening and talked. He had a little boy the same age as our children and we talked about how much we miss the children. This was on our 2nd cruise, and the next day we received an invitation to dine with the captain;)

Our second time that we dined with the captain was when we were up-graded from a balcony to the royal suite:eek: I know that this will never happen again in our life-time!

[rudeney]

We were invited to the captain's table in the MDR on our Freedom cruise. It was our first RCCL cruise, so no C&A status at all, but we were in a GS. The concierge is the one who extended the invitation to us and he explained that he had recommended us as he thought we would be a good fit for the table. That captain preferred to invite married couples only traveling with no kids. We declined the offer as we were traveling with my mother (in the JS next to us) and she was not invited. We did not want to leaver her out. The concierge said he understood that, but asked anyhow. He actually knew we were traveling with MIL as he had invited her to join us in the CL each night (François was his name and he was a wonderful concierge!) .