silly first time cruise question

[ppxyz]

is food typiclly included in the price i.e. the buffet etc.

[pdxmichelle]

Yes, all food is included in the buffet, main restaurants, and small restaurants. Your ship might have some specialty restaurants like a steak house, french or Japanese, etc. These do charge extra, but you don't have to go to them. You will get great quality of food in the main (free) restaurants. You can check the information about different ships and their restaurants on various websites.

[Jane110]

Yes, your cruise price includes your meals.

 

Some cruiselines have specialty restaurants (also called "alternative dining" and on some cruise ships, there is an additional charge to dine in them)

 

There are some things you will pay extra for and depending on cruiseline, this varies. Water, iced tea, hot coffee/tea are always free and available 24 hours. Some ships include lemonade, some don't. Almost no ships include soda and many cruiselines sell soda cards, where for a flat fee, you get a card that entitles you to unlimited soda. If you drink a lot of soda, this works out to be alot cheaper than buying them one by one.

On lower and mid level ships, you have to pay extra for alcoholic drinks, cappuccino/espresso. HAL offers cappuccino at no extra cost.

[aldesonia]

Most ships have 24hr. room service free. A 1-2 dollar tip is recomended.

[Happy ks]

There are no silly first time questions. I have seen some fairly silly answers, though.

 

Most everything is included in your fare, it's the extras you have to be careful of. Just be aware that most cruiselines push the extra charge stuff at you, but do not feel pressured to buy any of it if you don't want it. On our first cruise, we were presented with a drink upon embarkation, not realizing there was a charge for it. Being too embarrased to give it back, we signed for it and drank it (we don't care for foo-foo drinks). I wish I would have had a board like this to let me know little things like that.

 

Don't be afraid to ask onboard if there is a charge for an item. If you don't want it, just say no. I get a little annoyed with people who complain about "nickel and diming" comments, you don't have to buy anything you don't want. Don't be afraid of asking any question you want here, there may be some obnoxious answers, but most of us are nice to give you an honest answer.

 

With the exception of gratuities, you can really go on a cruise for nothing more than your cruise fare and taxes.

[serene56]

. Don't be afraid to ask onboard if there is a charge for an item. If you don't want it, just say no. I get a little annoyed with people who complain about "nickel and diming" comments, you don't have to buy anything you don't want. .

 

 

Here-here- I second all that. You have the option to do the buying with the nickle and dime stuff. We dont. THe most we spent on a ship as a couple was 300. but that was because i wanted towels, massages,photosand a dinenr in the supper club. THat 300 included our 140 worth of tips too.

[ppxyz]

thank you all. appreciate it.

[MsBlue]

Of the six cruiselines I've sailed, only Carnival has complimentary cappuccino and espresso with any meal, in the dining room only. HAL had cappuccino at ONE meal only (in my experience), and that was at lunch. The other lines charged for cappucino and espresso in the dining rooms.

 

There's usually comp lemonade, fruitpunch, juices, coffee, tea (hot or cold), chocolate and regular milk, hot chocolate, and water. Room service has a good variety of beverages and food as well, at no charge. In your cabin will be a few bottles of soft drinks and bottled water. If these are consumed, the charge will appear on your account.

 

As suggested above, don't be afraid to ask if you're in doubt.

[Snoopywy]

So how can I know which restaurant is free ? I will take Mariner of the Sea..

Many thanks.

[smrtypnts]

The main dining room is free and you don't need reservations. The restuarants that you have to make a reservation are not free.

[Sheffie]

Something else to know is that you can have more than one appetizer, soup, salad, entree, or dessert if you want. If you try something new and don't like it, you can have something else. This is the time to try new things. I would NEVER try escargot in a restaurant - what if I didn't like it after I had paid the $$$$? The cruise is the place to try it. I did and found that I like escargot, but not enough to order it other than on a ship! (I'm too cheap.)

 

On our first cruise my DH ordered EVERY dessert EVERY evening!

 

Have fun! Enjoy the new experiences!

[Snoopywy]

Thanks for reply, I know more:)