Hosted Dinners

[kathy16]

Does the Mariner offer any "hosted dinners", that passengers can request invitations for?

We enjoyed several on SB - met a lot of different people- entertainment staff, some officers, etc.

[Travelcat2]

Generally, officers host dinners on "special" nights (nights of the Captain's Reception and Farewell as well as the Seven Seas Society dinner. Those that receive invitations tend to be guests in the top suites as well as long-time cruisers but this is not cast in stone. One Captain invited passengers traveling alone to his table. Generally the officers have no idea who they will be dining with. This is not a hard and fast rule by any means.

 

With 490 - 750 passengers, only a few nights with hosted tables and not that many officers, most passengers will not be invited to dine with an officer. You could certainly make the request and it may result in an invitation but I would think that it would be one invitation rather than the "several" you noted in your post.

[morneau]

While we're on the subject.....we were in a Grand Suite on Explorer and never received an invitation to a hosted dinner. According to the suite details, that should have been offered. My husband and I prefer to eat by ourselves or occasionally with another couple anyway and had made prior reservations in the specialty restaurants, but I did think it was curious that we never did received any invitations. TC, your thoughts on this?

[RachelG]

We have eaten dinner with various officers or the captain many times. I have never "requested" an invitation or sought one out, but now we have cruised enough on Regent that we know a lot of the officers and tend to get invitations from them when they see us onboard. Some dinners are great fun, but a couple were just awful--due to the other guests at the table. Like doing a sharing table with people you don't know, it can be hit or miss. Usually a hit, but occasionally a terrible miss.

On Oceania, which we have only cruised twice, we did have two dinner invitations on our last cruise, but one was because I had given medical assistance on a long excursion. That one was with the captain and the CD and was one of the most fun evenings ever!

[Travelcat2]

While we're on the subject.....we were in a Grand Suite on Explorer and never received an invitation to a hosted dinner. According to the suite details, that should have been offered. My husband and I prefer to eat by ourselves or occasionally with another couple anyway and had made prior reservations in the specialty restaurants, but I did think it was curious that we never did received any invitations. TC, your thoughts on this?

 

We have sailed in both a Grand and Master Suite on Explorer and did not receive an invitation to dine with the Captain which is clearly stated on Regent's website and literature. IMO, Regent should insure that this "benefit" is given to upper suite guests or should be removed from their advertisements.

 

Like Rachel, we know quite a few officers and do receive invitations from them. We do not have a desire to dine at the Captain's table. There is one Captain that we dine with whenever we sail with him but it is because we know him - not because of what suite we are (and he does not host large tables - he prefers to host small tables).

 

As Rachel indicated, hosted dinners can be uncomfortable due to the passengers - not the officers. A few years ago at the table of an Italian captain, one passenger wanted to discuss the Costa Concordia. While the captain answered graciously, the reset of the table stared at the man in shocked silence. Not exactly something to be discussed at dinner.

[irishwitchy]

Kathy16 (this could be my name, I'm a Kathy and born on the 16)! Anyway, the first cruise we sailed on was with Regent and we ended up at the captain's table. Since we were new to Regent, not in a big suite, etc - we decided that our TA, made that happen. I would follow with them to see if they can pull some strings. These days I would also expect some data analytics may play into this equation also.

 

I have to tell you we had a great time, because 1) Two of the women from Arizona knew good friends of ours from NJ that moved to Arizona two years ago - small world. 2) My husband mentioned that he liked Henricks gin, but the ship didn't seem to have that. By the time we got back to the room after the show, a bottle of Henricks was waiting for him!

[morneau]

When we didn't receive any invitation I double checked the website and noticed that they had changed the working to "dinner with a Senior Officer", so it looks like they are no longer offering dinner with the Captain. When we were on Seabourn we were in a large suite and invited to dinner with the Captain, but my husband and I found it too much work to engage in small talk with strangers. I admire those who enjoy the hosted tables, but for us it's just not our thing. Other perks of the Grand Suite we did not use (we didn't host a cocktail party, or have in suite caviar set up) but it sure would have been nice to get free laundry and pressing, an amenity we enjoyed in a Silver Suite on Silversea. For reference, the Silver Suite is considerably less expensive than the Grand Suite on Explorer. Wouldn't it be nice if we were given a list of possible amenities and we could choose just a few that were important to us? Just a thought......

Edited May 4, 2017 by morneau

[Travelcat2]

We really enjoyed the Silver Suite benefits on our Siversea cruises. We also enjoyed caviar service on the Explorer and had small parties in the suite. It took us years to get free laundry so we aren't pleased that Gold Seven Seas Society Members get a bag of free laundry per week. We also had to wait to get included internet and now everyone gets it. IMO, it dilutes Regent's loyalty program.

[mikenbob]

We have been invited to several dinners with the captain, officers, and senior staff over the years. Generally a pretty overrated experience, but sometimes fun if the table mix works well. To be honest, on nights when we want to dine with others we have asked the matre'd to seat us at a larger table and invite others to join and we have never been disappointed.

[Caroldoll]

We find dining with the officers quite boring. There is one on Oceania we dine with, but never any others. When we check on we tell our butler that we do not want hosted dinners. I would assume you could indicate that you DO want one.

[ronrick1943]

We've been asked on "O" a few times-we did it once on another line-but it to us it just isn't are thing. But we also don't eat with others unless we meet them first and enjoy the company-then we'll ask and see if they want to get together.

[kathy16]

Thanks for the info. We weren't really interested in dining with the captain - we don't "rent" the expensive suites. On SB, and SS, we have been invited to dine with the CD and staff, the entertainment staff,etc at a relatively large table. Spouses don't sit together, and we have met some very interesting people. We have not had a bad experience (so far).

[flossie009]

We have enjoyed very interesting and entertaining company at hosted tables (both hosts and other guests)

 

Whether an invite is received does seem to be somewhat of a lottery. We were in a Penthouse Suite for 41 nights over Christmas & New Year without a single invitation. We were in a Concierge Suite for our recent voyage of 17 nights and received four invitations to join hosted tables

[sundial]

My husband and I were invited to so many "hosted dinners" when we have sailed with Seabourn that we finally stopped answering the phone! It was fun at first, but then we got a little weary of it. And one night at a table hosted by the manager of the onboard boutique I was seated next to a woman who would not stop carrying on about her personal political views. I hope we can avoid that situation on our upcoming Regent cruise.

[flossie009]

My husband and I were invited to so many "hosted dinners" when we have sailed with Seabourn that we finally stopped answering the phone! It was fun at first, but then we got a little weary of it. ..................... I hope we can avoid that situation on our upcoming Regent cruise.

 

On Regent you receive a written invitation for a hosted table, with a request to contact Reception to confirm

If you do not wish to join the table just tell Reception...............as soon as possible so that they have the opportunity to invite replacement guests

Or just inform Reception as soon as you board that you do not wish to receive invitations

[Isklaar]

My husband and I were invited to so many "hosted dinners" when we have sailed with Seabourn that we finally stopped answering the phone! It was fun at first, but then we got a little weary of it. And one night at a table hosted by the manager of the onboard boutique I was seated next to a woman who would not stop carrying on about her personal political views. I hope we can avoid that situation on our upcoming Regent cruise.

 

If you cruise with Seabourn again, let Guest Services know that you don't want to receive invitations to hosted tables.

 

What happens usually is that you're sent a written invitation to your suite, which you then RSVP to Guest Services. The phone calls, in my experience at least, are only made on the evening of the dinner when there have been refusals by RSVP. In other words, you're getting a call to fill empty seats!

 

I often travel alone and I appreciate a last-minute invitation to join a hosted table. I don't appreciate those calls when I'm onboard with my partner or friends, so I just let Guest Services know in advance.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Some Travel Agents have hosted dinners as part of the contract with the line. American Express offered it for a while as a Platinum benefit. We had a few really fun dinners with officers and crew. One was with the Chief Engineer during Soccer/Football finals and the staff kept calling with the score. The wine kept pouring too. It was on Navigator and one of the best nights onboard. Another time it was with the Capt. of the Paul Gauguin and the other passengers made it really fun. Several times it was uncomfortable - the passengers were from another country and spoke No english and we did not speak their language.

[ronrick1943]

Some Travel Agents have hosted dinners as part of the contract with the line. Several times it was uncomfortable - the passengers were from another country and spoke No english and we did not speak their language.

 

That's just poor planning of the cruise line, no reason whats so even for this to happen-your on the ship for more than one dinner-they should be able to work that out-like someone isn't doing their job.

[Travelcat2]

Rick, from my experiences with dining with officers, what the previous poster described is an anomaly. While sometimes people are boring (talking non-stop about themselves) or unpleasant, they have always spoken English. Since almost all Regent passengers do speak English (even if it is their second language), when guests are invited to dine with officers, it is likely that the person(s) involved in decision making process for the invitations are not aware of the language issue.

 

As mentioned previously, the trend with many officers is to host smaller tables. Sometimes we dine with an officer and one other couple or two officers and two other couples. If one couple did not speak English there are certainly others to chat with.

[UUNetBill]

I've taken seven Regent cruises so far. I've dined with a Staff Captain (once) and a CD (twice) and while I enjoyed these dinners and found them interesting (for the most part), I have just as much fun dining with my dear wife and/or fellow passengers.

 

Officers, schmofficers. :p