Dining w/Captain or just on TV

[marquez305]

When I was about 12, my mom, my aunt and I sat at the Captain's table. He kept hitting on my mom...it was gross.:rolleyes:

 

This wasn't on Carnival.

[poobears]

I'm one that wouldn't enjoy it I don't think and honestly would turn down the invitation if it wouldn't offend, which it would so I would go LOL

 

I would love the bridge tour though, that would be interesting.

[iluvdoxies]

My husband and I chatted with the captn Claudio Cupisti almost evey night on the Splendor back in Nov. He would come in to smoke a cigarette and usually just sat down with us. He;s very nice and actually quite funny.

[LovesCruising]

Several years ago my husband and I was on RCI Splendor or the Sea's with our daughter and son in law. We had a balcony cabin, they an ocean view.

First night at dinner (table for the 4 of us) we are approached by an officer, called by name and asked if we all would care to join the Captain for dinner at his table the following night - formal night. Well, I couldn't say yes of course, thank you - fast enough!

We were joined by 2 other couples who were from Europe.

I was seated next to the Captain and I must say he really put me at east with very pleasant conversation.

The menu was a special one, wine included. We talked so much during the evening that we were the last ones out of the dining room.

The Captain, being Norwegian, made a comment to my husband that he knew he was from Norwegian decent by our last name. So, we suspected that is how we were invited. Luckily, my husband remembered how to say thank you for the food in Norwegian so the Captain really got a kick out of that. Other than that, have no idea why we were chose.

At the end of the meal, he asked if we would be interested in a tour of the Bridge at the end of the week. Wow, we jumped on that and had a wonderful day with him again at the end of the week. A copy of the menu as well as a group photograph was delivered to our cabin. Along with all the photo's he allowed us to take and posed with us on the Bridge. My son in law got to sit in the Captains seat with the Captains blessing. (My son in law is a policeman and the captain had quite a few questions for him as well!)

All I can say is it was the highlight of any cruise we have taken so far and we have taken about 16. Never been invited since, keep hoping. If you ever receive this invite, don't turn it down, you will have the experience of your life.

[jimbo5544]

The most approachable, outgoing Captain I've met is Massimo Marino. I'd be wandering about the ship and he'd make a point of asking how things were going.

 

He startled me a tad once when he came up behind me, put his hand on my shoulder and said hello...

 

:)

 

I am terrible with names, so I can't recall who the ones that were so outgoing. I suppose it is like people in any job, some are really outgoing people by nature and others are not. I guess that is what made it so strange. On an Alaskan trip we met the captain one day. Two days later we were sitting out on deck remarking on the wonderful scenery and he walked up with his wife and child (which I had never seen before...have seen it more often since tho) sat down, introduced them and we had a 15 minute conversation. Later that week on of his senior staff asked me to take a picture of him and a couple of other officers. Just interesting.

[*Mach*]

I am terrible with names, so I can't recall who the ones that were so outgoing. I suppose it is like people in any job, some are really outgoing people by nature and others are not. I guess that is what made it so strange. On an Alaskan trip we met the captain one day. Two days later we were sitting out on deck remarking on the wonderful scenery and he walked up with his wife and child (which I had never seen before...have seen it more often since tho) sat down, introduced them and we had a 15 minute conversation. Later that week on of his senior staff asked me to take a picture of him and a couple of other officers. Just interesting.

 

 

To paraphrase... Captains are people, too...

They're busier than most folks I know but they all seem to be good people.

Captain Scala is notable for his outgoing personality and 'Cigars Under the Stars' thingy that he does...

:)

[jpbullfrog]

On a RCL ship last year they had a very interesting program in which they had a silent auction fundraiser for the Make A Wish Foundation in which one of the prizes was dinner with the captain on the 2nd Formal Night. The final price was around $1200 and IMO it was a great way to help a wonderful organization and have fun at the same time.

[jimbo5544]

On a RCL ship last year they had a very interesting program in which they had a silent auction fundraiser for the Make A Wish Foundation in which one of the prizes was dinner with the captain on the 2nd Formal Night. The final price was around $1200 and IMO it was a great way to help a wonderful organization and have fun at the same time.

 

I would agree.......ok have to ask, what is the island empire?

[Julia Goolia]

I sat at the Captain's Table just this past week on the Carnival Legend. I actually got 6 of us invitations. It is tricky and a little hard to get an invitation. With the help of a friend, it took me about 3 days to get one. I've attached photo. I'm the one sitting to the Captain's right dressed in Black. We also had several from the Senior staff sit with us as well.

 

Hi, Ann!

 

How did I know that I would find you on this post? :D Glad you stopped by and posted the photos though. I'm at work and therefore wouldn't have been able to post my photo. Plus, I don't have the aerial one. Where did you get that one? That is pretty cool. At first I couldn't find myself. Then I realized -- oh yeah, I'm the one with the big yellow epaulets on my shoulders. LOL

 

Got an email started to send you. Will hopefully get a chance to finish it this afternoon and get it sent out.

 

Talk to you soon,

[Julia Goolia]

I'm one that wouldn't enjoy it I don't think and honestly would turn down the invitation if it wouldn't offend, which it would so I would go LOL

 

I would love the bridge tour though, that would be interesting.

 

Just out of curiosity, why do you think that you wouldn't enjoy dining with the Captain? (Please don't think I'm judging you because I'm not...I am truly just curious.)

 

We had a great time at dinner that evening. I was fortunate enough to sit between the Captain, Vito Giacalone, and the Hotel Director, Guna Chellam. Both were delightful and extremely interesting men to converse with. I especially enjoyed my conversations with the Guna. He was awesome. As is my habit from both being in the military and living in the south, I call all men "Sir." He insisted that I call him Guna and each time I slipped up and called him Sir, he would give me this reprimanding look (good naturedly, of course.)

 

I ordered the lobster (which was delicious, by the way.) When our dinners were delivered, I commented on how good Ann's prime rib looked. That's it -- just one simple comment about how good it looked. Throughout the entire meal, Guna kept asking me if I would like a prime rib. I kept telling him no because it was just too much food for me. He insisted that he would get a small portion for me so I finally relented. He picked up his cell phone and called someone and within a matter of moments, I had an entire prime rib dinner in front of me and I think my prime rib was larger than the one that Ann had been served for her dinner. (Patrick, our Air Force friend also relented and was brought a prime rib.) So much for a "small portion." I just looked at Guna and he laughed and laughed. I ate what I could of it but there was no way I was going to finish it all. What I did eat was absolutely delicious though.

 

Guna was quite the jokester. He kept looking at me and touching his nose -- as if he was trying to discreetly tell me that I had something on my nose. I kept rubbing my nose and looking over at my niece to see if she could tell if there was anything on my nose. Of course there wasn't. He was just being silly. Once again, he just laughed and laughed.

 

The Captain was delightful as well and thanked us several times for what we do. It was eye opening for me because my original thought was that he could care less about US military personnel since he is Italian (not that he wouldn't respect us or whatever, but my thought was...we aren't serving his country so it wouldn't mean as much to him. Kind of hard to explain what my thoughts were without it sounding deragatory. That's not how it was meant at all.) However, he pointed out to us that if we didn't do the job we do, he wouldn't be able to do his job since the vast majority of people on the ship are US Citizens and if the US Citizens were not free to sail, he would not have a ship to captain. It was humbling to hear his respect and appreciation. Such a kind, kind man. And extremly personable as well.

 

I had a small traveling bear with me that was wearing an Army uniform. We took it everywhere with us, taking photos, etc. and will now send it on to someone else who will take it on their cruise and do the same thing. He just goes from person to person and is continuously sailing on one cruise or another. Anyway, the bear even came along with us to the Captain's table. My niece was holding it on her lap (fairly discreetly). She was sitting next to the Chief Engineer, Nunzio Priolo. He saw it and grabbed it off her lap to examine it. I think that was one of the first times that I saw him smile and chuckle a little. He passed it across the table to the Captain and we were able to get a photo of the Captain holding the bear. He got quite a laugh out of it too. I'm looking forward to sending the bear on to the next person who will take it on a cruise so that I can send that photo with it.

 

Unfortunately because of the size of the table and our seating positions, I did not get a chance to converse with any of the other senior officers who joined us for dinner.

 

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the meal/experience, as I think we all did. (The free -- and good -- wine was a bonus too. ;)) I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to dine at the Captain's table and will cherish it for years to come.

 

Oops -- guess I got a little wordy. Sorry about that.

 

Anyway, Poobears -- if you wouldn't mind responding, I would love to hear why you think that you wouldn't enjoy it. And yes, it would be insulting so if you ever do get invited, please don't decline the invitation. :D

 

Take care,

[dan40]

Just out of curiosity, why do you think that you wouldn't enjoy dining with the Captain? (Please don't think I'm judging you because I'm not...I am truly just curious.)

 

We had a great time at dinner that evening. I was fortunate enough to sit between the Captain, Vito Giacalone, and the Hotel Director, Guna Chellam. Both were delightful and extremely interesting men to converse with. I especially enjoyed my conversations with the Guna. He was awesome. As is my habit from both being in the military and living in the south, I call all men "Sir." He insisted that I call him Guna and each time I slipped up and called him Sir, he would give me this reprimanding look (good naturedly, of course.)

 

I ordered the lobster (which was delicious, by the way.) When our dinners were delivered, I commented on how good Ann's prime rib looked. That's it -- just one simple comment about how good it looked. Throughout the entire meal, Guna kept asking me if I would like a prime rib. I kept telling him no because it was just too much food for me. He insisted that he would get a small portion for me so I finally relented. He picked up his cell phone and called someone and within a matter of moments, I had an entire prime rib dinner in front of me and I think my prime rib was larger than the one that Ann had been served for her dinner. (Patrick, our Air Force friend also relented and was brought a prime rib.) So much for a "small portion." I just looked at Guna and he laughed and laughed. I ate what I could of it but there was no way I was going to finish it all. What I did eat was absolutely delicious though.

 

Guna was quite the jokester. He kept looking at me and touching his nose -- as if he was trying to discreetly tell me that I had something on my nose. I kept rubbing my nose and looking over at my niece to see if she could tell if there was anything on my nose. Of course there wasn't. He was just being silly. Once again, he just laughed and laughed.

 

The Captain was delightful as well and thanked us several times for what we do. It was eye opening for me because my original thought was that he could care less about US military personnel since he is Italian (not that he wouldn't respect us or whatever, but my thought was...we aren't serving his country so it wouldn't mean as much to him. Kind of hard to explain what my thoughts were without it sounding deragatory. That's not how it was meant at all.) However, he pointed out to us that if we didn't do the job we do, he wouldn't be able to do his job since the vast majority of people on the ship are US Citizens and if the US Citizens were not free to sail, he would not have a ship to captain. It was humbling to hear his respect and appreciation. Such a kind, kind man. And extremly personable as well.

 

I had a small traveling bear with me that was wearing an Army uniform. We took it everywhere with us, taking photos, etc. and will now send it on to someone else who will take it on their cruise and do the same thing. He just goes from person to person and is continuously sailing on one cruise or another. Anyway, the bear even came along with us to the Captain's table. My niece was holding it on her lap (fairly discreetly). She was sitting next to the Chief Engineer, Nunzio Priolo. He saw it and grabbed it off her lap to examine it. I think that was one of the first times that I saw him smile and chuckle a little. He passed it across the table to the Captain and we were able to get a photo of the Captain holding the bear. He got quite a laugh out of it too. I'm looking forward to sending the bear on to the next person who will take it on a cruise so that I can send that photo with it.

 

Unfortunately because of the size of the table and our seating positions, I did not get a chance to converse with any of the other senior officers who joined us for dinner.

 

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the meal/experience, as I think we all did. (The free -- and good -- wine was a bonus too. ;)) I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to dine at the Captain's table and will cherish it for years to come.

 

Oops -- guess I got a little wordy. Sorry about that.

 

Anyway, Poobears -- if you wouldn't mind responding, I would love to hear why you think that you wouldn't enjoy it. And yes, it would be insulting so if you ever do get invited, please don't decline the invitation. :D

 

Take care,

 

Standard answer is the Captain is HIRED to control the ship. He/She is hired help!

 

Who wants to dine with the help???

 

 

The above is a joke!!:D:D

On a RCL cruise roll call I posted a similar quip.

 

While quaffing a beer at the English Pub on the Royal Promenade, the Captain and his wife strolled by. I was wearing my CruiseCritic lanyard. They stopped to chat, I told them my board name and his wife yanked my chain [in good fun] about not dining with the hirelings! She was an active member of the roll call for that cruise. BUSTED!!:D

[Julia Goolia]

Standard answer is the Captain is HIRED to control the ship. He/She is hired help!

 

Who wants to dine with the help???

 

 

The above is a joke!!:D:D

On a RCL cruise roll call I posted a similar quip.

 

While quaffing a beer at the English Pub on the Royal Promenade, the Captain and his wife strolled by. I was wearing my CruiseCritic lanyard. They stopped to chat, I told them my board name and his wife yanked my chain [in good fun] about not dining with the hirelings! She was an active member of the roll call for that cruise. BUSTED!!:D

 

LOL, Dan. Careful what you post and who you then talk to/admit your board name to, huh? :D I know that the response about dining with the hired help was a joke. However, Poobears posted that s/he was one who would not enjoy dining at the Captain's table (and would decline the invitation if it wouldn't be an insult) and s/he seemed quite serious so I was curious why s/he felt that way.

[thelmalou]

The answer to "If the Captain's in the dining room, who's driving the ship?" :

 

It's not "auto-pilot."

Haven't you heard of CRUISE CONTROL!!!!!!!:p:p:p:p

[tina257]

I've been wondering if anyone gets invited to dine with the Captain or is that only on TV?:rolleyes:

 

My husband and I were invited to the Captain's Table but not on Carnival...we were on a Celebrity ship.

[dan40]

The answer to "If the Captain's in the dining room, who's driving the ship?" :

 

It's not "auto-pilot."

 

Haven't you heard of CRUISE CONTROL!!!!!!!:p:p:p:p

 

That is dumb! The cruise control is in my car and its way back at the dock.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[thelmalou]

dan40

 

It was stupid. But a stupid joke. C-r-u-i-s-e control. Get it?

[dan40]

dan40

 

It was stupid. But a stupid joke. C-r-u-i-s-e control. Get it?

 

Yes, I got your joke! My JOKE evidently went right by you. And that DOES NOT prove it wasn't funny!!! Too dumb, maybe, almost certainly but still funny---a little:mad::p:D:D

[happylady]

You guys are cracking me up....cruise control!! My husband just walked by me and asked what I was laughing about!:D:D

 

Thanks for all the great responses. I'd love to be invited to dine with the Captain. On the other hand my husband asked "Why?" and that he really wouldn't want to. I guess that me being a more outgoing person would find it interesting while he wonders what subject they'd speak of.

[ugagal07]

How did you go about dining with the captain on the legend might I ask?

[Traveler353]

I have never even seen the Captain in a dining room.