Invite to Captain's table ?

[Scotto97]

For those that have experienced this rare treat, what prompted your selection?

 

My wife and I started cruising on Princess early on, and she's been on over 25 cruises while being just 42.

 

Last week was our 20th wedding Anniversary and we'll be going on another cruise shortly to celebrate. (Full suite)

 

Any advice on how we could improve our chances? 

[memoak]

In 40 plus cruises have never seen this.  I do not believe such a thing exists. The officers eat in there own mess

[Colo Cruiser]

20 minutes ago, Scotto97 said:

For those that have experienced this rare treat, what prompted your selection?

 

My wife and I started cruising on Princess early on, and she's been on over 25 cruises while being just 42.

 

Last week was our 20th wedding Anniversary and we'll be going on another cruise shortly to celebrate. (Full suite)

 

Any advice on how we could improve our chances? 

There is no Captains table on Princess.  

Congrats on your anniversary and suite.

If you make the top of the top 40 most travelled passenger you may be seated at the Captains luncheon table.

We have been lucky a few times for that.

[reedprincess]

Princess doesn't do a "Captain's Table" where an officer hosts a table most nights of the cruise, whether captain or staff captain or such.  Occasionally an officer may invite you to dine with them, whether in MDR or specialty dining, if you have a relationship of some sort with them. But it's not an every cruise event or some special thing offered to guests - it's basically because you know them from many cruises or such. 

Princess does do Most Traveled Passenger lunch, which is their version of meal with officer. 40 most traveled passengers along with a companion, have a special fancy lunch with officer, recognition, etc. It's lovely.  And generally takes a fair few more than 25 cruises - our last one, the cut off was about 500 days with Princess. And that was a fairly low count. The most Traveled Passenger had over 1400 days aboard. Assuming you're wife's cruises have been average length, 7-10 nights, she's got a ways to go! 

If you want a Captain's Table Experience with all the hoopla, escort, seated with officer, photos and so forth - try Celebrity, pretty sure they still do it. Royal Caribbean used to do it, been 2 years since we've tried them.. Cunard likely does them, they were a one and done for us.  

We've got a fair few cruises on you and your wife, while being approximately same ages - and haven't made the MTP lunch yet with Princess, although we did make Most Traveled Passenger on Celebrity once, which was a riot as we were only 35nd 31 at the time. The looks on the other passenger's faces were an absolute riot!  

 

You could try the Chef's Table, which is the biggest hoopla extravaganza meal Princess does - galley tour, appetizers in the galley with the chef, escort to special table, 4 or 5 course gourmet meal with wine pairings, maitre'd and chef all personally attending, etc. $95-115 per person. Amazing experience. No ship's officer such as Captain involved, but still excellent

Hope that helps, happy sails. 

 

[Scotto97]

Thanks for the replies, we've done the Chef's table twice and it was enjoyable.

 

I had thought Princess did a Captain's Table, but I'm probably confused with Royal Caribbean where I had seen a beautifully arranged table in the middle of the dining room with Officers and guests attending a few years ago.    

[geoherb]

You can improve your chances of making the Top 40 luncheon by going on an Alaskan cruise. There were fewer than 50 Elites on my back-to-back cruises this summer on the Island Princess. It was my first time making the cut. I had just 172 days at the beginning of my northbound cruise. There was a luncheon on the northbound cruise and a cocktail party for the Top 40 on my southbound one. The Captain's Circle hostess explained that she liked to alternate between the two events because some people preferred one more than the other. I enjoyed both.

[Shelly97060]

The most travelled luncheon is the only opportunity we have had to dine with the captain and officers.  

 

At the luncheon, each table had a different Officer and of course the captain. We werent seated at the captains table ( I think that honor was for  those with the highest number of days sailed).  It was nice to be invited and our lunch was really nice ( surf and turf). 

 

So, the only way I know how to get invited is to just keep booking cruises 😁

 

 

 

[neverbeenhere]

Yes, Celebrity is the place to be for the Captain’s tables almost every cruise. It is a different affair then it once was as it is a “private” event nowadays. 

 

Princess has a Captain’s table available occasionally, but he is a Patriot’s fan and it is best not to travel with him during American Football season.  BTW: the rowboat is quite small. 

 

😁

[oldjetdriver]

DW and I were pleasantly surprised to make the cut for the 'Most Traveled Passenger Lunch' on our last cruise with 148 days. 🙂

 

Tom

[CarChick]

I have been invited to private cocktail parties with the captain, his family (who happened to be on board one time), and the senior officers, but it has been nearly 20 years.  When I was a kid, it was because of my father's company's relationship with the cruise line.  On an Alaskan cruise when I was 10, we went to a private lunch in the captain's quarters - Captain Cortini.  It was the captain, XO, my family and 4 other passengers.  I was in a Snoopy phase (hey, it 1981) and brought my stuffed Snoopy with me (dressed in a tux, for the occasion).  Turns out that Captain Cortini was a Snoppy fanatic!  He had snoopy stuff all over his private sleeping quarters, including a Snoopy phone that he had made his Chief Engineer hack it to work on the ship's phone system.  Needless to say, we became fast friends. It was a special experience that I will never forget.

 

Later (in my late 20s), I was on the old Dawn Princess.  By pure dumb luck, I happened to meet the XO at the welcome aboard cocktail party, and we realized that both of our first cruises (me as a 2 year old passenger, him as a young crew member) was on the old Sitmar ship, the Fairsea, in 1972. (Princess bought Sitmar in 1988.) We had fun talking about the "old Sitmar days". The Captain had also served with Sitmar.   The next day, I received a lovely, handwritten invitation to a "family" cocktail party in the captain's quarters.  It was literally the Captain's family (wife, kids and some siblings maybe?) and the senior officers, some of whom also had family aboard.  My husband and I were the only passengers.  When I (graciously) asked why we were invited, the Captain said that since I "grew up" on Sitmar, he considered me "familia".  Yep, I cried and hugged him.

 

Ships these days are so big, with so many well-travelled passengers, that I'm lucky to score an invite to the most travelled passenger party - as my mother's +1. Lol.  But I am blessed to have had those special experiences in the past, and I will treasure the memories. 

[john_galt]

I've been invited when in the PH on the Celebrity Constellation. Never heard of it on Princess.

[memoak]

20 minutes ago, CarChick said:

I have been invited to private cocktail parties with the captain, his family (who happened to be on board one time), and the senior officers, but it has been nearly 20 years.  When I was a kid, it was because of my father's company's relationship with the cruise line.  On an Alaskan cruise when I was 10, we went to a private lunch in the captain's quarters - Captain Cortini.  It was the captain, XO, my family and 4 other passengers.  I was in a Snoopy phase (hey, it 1981) and brought my stuffed Snoopy with me (dressed in a tux, for the occasion).  Turns out that Captain Cortini was a Snoppy fanatic!  He had snoopy stuff all over his private sleeping quarters, including a Snoopy phone that he had made his Chief Engineer hack it to work on the ship's phone system.  Needless to say, we became fast friends. It was a special experience that I will never forget.

 

Later (in my late 20s), I was on the old Dawn Princess.  By pure dumb luck, I happened to meet the XO at the welcome aboard cocktail party, and we realized that both of our first cruises (me as a 2 year old passenger, him as a young crew member) was on the old Sitmar ship, the Fairsea, in 1972. (Princess bought Sitmar in 1988.) We had fun talking about the "old Sitmar days". The Captain had also served with Sitmar.   The next day, I received a lovely, handwritten invitation to a "family" cocktail party in the captain's quarters.  It was literally the Captain's family (wife, kids and some siblings maybe?) and the senior officers, some of whom also had family aboard.  My husband and I were the only passengers.  When I (graciously) asked why we were invited, the Captain said that since I "grew up" on Sitmar, he considered me "familia".  Yep, I cried and hugged him.

 

Ships these days are so big, with so many well-travelled passengers, that I'm lucky to score an invite to the most travelled passenger party - as my mother's +1. Lol.  But I am blessed to have had those special experiences in the past, and I will treasure the memories. 

Haven’t seen the +1 option for several years. Just the top 40 or so

[CarChick]

The most travelled passengers party invite is for 2 - usually the 2 people in that cabin.  Often, those 2 people are a couple and both qualify.  Sometimes, just one qualifies, but the spouse or a travel companion is permitted to join them (+1).  My mother is single, so I get to be her +1 when she gets the invite and we are cruising together, even though we don't share a cabin.  The invitation always says her name "and guest". 

[Colo Cruiser]

7 minutes ago, CarChick said:

The most travelled passengers party invite is for 2 - usually the 2 people in that cabin.  Often, those 2 people are a couple and both qualify.  Sometimes, just one qualifies, but the spouse or a travel companion is permitted to join them (+1).  My mother is single, so I get to be her +1 when she gets the invite and we are cruising together, even though we don't share a cabin.  The invitation always says her name "and guest". 

We have been unable to bring 3 people at any of our Princess MTP luncheons even though both of us have 70 plus Princess cruises. It was only 2 guests allowed. 

If only one in the cabin qualifies you can still only bring 1 additional. (spouse etc) 2 total.

[queensquared]

1 hour ago, CarChick said:

I have been invited to private cocktail parties with the captain, his family (who happened to be on board one time), and the senior officers, but it has been nearly 20 years.  When I was a kid, it was because of my father's company's relationship with the cruise line.  On an Alaskan cruise when I was 10, we went to a private lunch in the captain's quarters - Captain Cortini.  It was the captain, XO, my family and 4 other passengers.  I was in a Snoopy phase (hey, it 1981) and brought my stuffed Snoopy with me (dressed in a tux, for the occasion).  Turns out that Captain Cortini was a Snoppy fanatic!  He had snoopy stuff all over his private sleeping quarters, including a Snoopy phone that he had made his Chief Engineer hack it to work on the ship's phone system.  Needless to say, we became fast friends. It was a special experience that I will never forget.

 

Later (in my late 20s), I was on the old Dawn Princess.  By pure dumb luck, I happened to meet the XO at the welcome aboard cocktail party, and we realized that both of our first cruises (me as a 2 year old passenger, him as a young crew member) was on the old Sitmar ship, the Fairsea, in 1972. (Princess bought Sitmar in 1988.) We had fun talking about the "old Sitmar days". The Captain had also served with Sitmar.   The next day, I received a lovely, handwritten invitation to a "family" cocktail party in the captain's quarters.  It was literally the Captain's family (wife, kids and some siblings maybe?) and the senior officers, some of whom also had family aboard.  My husband and I were the only passengers.  When I (graciously) asked why we were invited, the Captain said that since I "grew up" on Sitmar, he considered me "familia".  Yep, I cried and hugged him.

 

Ships these days are so big, with so many well-travelled passengers, that I'm lucky to score an invite to the most travelled passenger party - as my mother's +1. Lol.  But I am blessed to have had those special experiences in the past, and I will treasure the memories. 

What a wonderful memory! Thanks for sharing.

[CarChick]

^^That was what I was trying to say, but I didn't explain well.  Thank you for clarifying.  My mother can only bring 1 guest, not 2, so my husband does not get to come with us.  He could care less about these things, so he doesn't mind being left out.

Edited September 17, 2019 by CarChick

[towhee]

Back in the '90's on our third or fourth sailing we were seated at a table set for seven people.  After all of us sat down there was still one seat empty.  I figured that it was left over from the early seating (we were late seating).  At the end of the meal our waiter asked us if it would be OK with us if the Captain joined us for dinner the following night.  You can imagine our surprise and glee.  Of course we said "Yes".  He joined us three or four times during the twelve day trip.  I have no idea how we were so lucky.

[caribill]

7 hours ago, reedprincess said:

Princess does do Most Traveled Passenger lunch, which is their version of meal with officer. 40 most traveled passengers along with a companion, have a special fancy lunch with officer, recognition, etc. It's lovely. 

 

The total number of attendees is 40. This includes any traveling companions that were otherwise not eligible.

[leck57]

9 hours ago, geoherb said:

You can improve your chances of making the Top 40 luncheon by going on an Alaskan cruise. There were fewer than 50 Elites on my back-to-back cruises this summer on the Island Princess. It was my first time making the cut. I had just 172 days at the beginning of my northbound cruise. There was a luncheon on the northbound cruise and a cocktail party for the Top 40 on my southbound one. The Captain's Circle hostess explained that she liked to alternate between the two events because some people preferred one more than the other. I enjoyed both.

 

We were just on an Alaskan cruise and were surprised to get an invite to the Captains cocktail party. We just turned Platinum. We didn't go as the dress was formal and I had decided a while ago that I was not taking a coat on any more cruises. I wasn't that fussed anyway as these sorts of functions do not do anything for me. I feel sorry for the captain getting the same old boring questions time and again.

[reedprincess]

1 hour ago, leck57 said:

 

We were just on an Alaskan cruise and were surprised to get an invite to the Captains cocktail party. We just turned Platinum. We didn't go as the dress was formal and I had decided a while ago that I was not taking a coat on any more cruises. I wasn't that fussed anyway as these sorts of functions do not do anything for me. I feel sorry for the captain getting the same old boring questions time and again.

That's a standard Platinum and Elite Perk. Happens on all Cruises 7 nights and longer.  (Sometimes there's an event on shorter cruises, depends on timings, length, Captain and Captain's Circle host)

[leck57]

12 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

That's a standard Platinum and Elite Perk. Happens on all Cruises 7 nights and longer.  (Sometimes there's an event on shorter cruises, depends on timings, length, Captain and Captain's Circle host)

 

Really? I didn't know that and it's not listed as one of the benefits.

Thanks for letting me know. Still not worth dragging a coast along.

[Coral]

The Sun Class ships had one table that was sort of elevated and was deemed the "Captain's Table". We were assigned this table several times  and our wait staff indicated it was the Captain's Table but the Captains never used it for such.

 

It is obvious on Celebrity where the Captain's Table is.

[Coral]

13 hours ago, Scotto97 said:

 

My wife and I started cruising on Princess early on, and she's been on over 25 cruises while being just 42.

 

As odd as this sounds, this no longer is that many. There are a ton of 18 year olds who exceed this number.

[happy cruzer]

Seabourn has hosted tables almost every  night and most cruisers get invited at least once.  So the people who like a hosted table normally get to attend a few times.  They are hosted by different staff members and menu is exactly the same as other tables.  It is fun for people who are like meeting new people and socializing.  Also if you are booking suites on Princess, Seabourn is in your price range :).

 

 

[skynight]

1 hour ago, leck57 said:

 

Really? I didn't know that and it's not listed as one of the benefits.

Thanks for letting me know. Still not worth dragging a coast along.

Shown in the benefits as an exclusive event starting with the 2nd cruise, Gold status. The wording is a little misleading as it's not very exclusive at all. With so many repeat passengers at the platinum and elite levels, most recent voyages have held the Gold, and I think also Rub, event in the theater. Each passenger is provided a drink voucher and one passenger is selected to receive elite benefits for the voyage.

Edited September 17, 2019 by skynight