Cruise Ship Dining Guide: Restaurants, Buffets, Fees

Cruise ship dining comes down to three options: a main dining room and buffet included in your fare on almost every ship, and speciality restaurants that charge extra for steakhouses, Italian, sushi and other themed menus. Seating runs from fixed times to anytime dining, and dress codes go from casual by day to smart casual most evenings.

Cruise dining options compared: main dining room, buffet and speciality restaurants

There are three places you’ll end up eating on a cruise ship: the main dining room, the buffet (you’ll also hear it called the ship dining room, or just the cafeteria if you’re being blunt about it), and speciality restaurants. The main dining room gives you a waiter, a tablecloth and a menu that changes every night, plus breakfast and lunch on sea days if you fancy it.

The buffet is help-yourself, open from morning to night, and it’s where families gravitate for the sheer range: salads, pasta, dishes from half a dozen countries, and a dessert table that doesn’t know when to stop. Speciality restaurants are a different animal altogether, themed venues like steakhouses, Italian, French, seafood, Mexican and sushi, plus a Chef’s Table where the ship’s chef cooks for you with wine to match.

What’s included in your cruise fare and what costs extra

What’s included in your cruise fare comes down to two things: a main dining room and, on all but the smallest ships, a buffet, both serving breakfast, lunch and dinner at no extra cost, whichever line you sail with. Not every dish inside those venues stays free, mind.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean now charge extra for a handful of upgraded dishes in the main dining room, filet mignon, lobster, that sort of surf-and-turf combination. Princess sometimes turns a corner of its buffet into a seafood-focused crab shack, also at a price. On the flip side, a few speciality venues are free: Carnival’s BlueIguana Cantina and Guy’s Burger Joint, and Princess’ Alfredo’s Pizzeria, all included in your fare.

Room service follows the same logic. Continental breakfast is still free on most lines, but order outside those hours and you’ll usually see a small charge appear.

Norwegian and Virgin Voyages skip the nuance altogether and apply a flat fee to all in-room dining, any time of day, though suite guests on some lines get it waived. Soft-serve at the buffet or pool deck stays free; a stand-alone ice cream or gelato bar is where they start charging you.

Choosing a seating style: fixed times, anytime dining and My Time Dining

Choosing a seating style on a cruise really means choosing between a fixed table at a fixed time, or something looser that lets you wander in whenever suits. Carnival’s flexible version, Your Time Dining, hands you a pager and buzzes when your table’s ready, like a restaurant on a Saturday night back home.

Its traditional option assigns you an early or late seating, usually 6pm or 8:15pm, confirmed or wait-listed depending on when you book.

Royal Caribbean’s version is called My Time Dining, and it lets you eat in the main dining room any time dinner’s running, though you’re better off booking ahead so staff actually have a table waiting. Turn up and you’ll usually find two queues, one for people with a reservation and one without, and you get seated from whichever one you’re standing in.

Princess runs three traditional seatings, early at 4:45pm, first at 5pm and second at 7:15pm, plus an open option most passengers just call Anytime Dining, which runs roughly 5:30pm to 10pm. The exact times shift a bit by ship and itinerary, so check yours once you’re aboard.

How to book a dining time on Carnival

Booking a dining time on Carnival happens when you book the cruise itself, not something you sort out once you’re onboard.

Cruise dining room late arrivals: what happens if you’re not on time

Cruise dining room late arrivals usually mean you’re turned away from a fixed seating. Several lines have got stricter about this over the years, and turning up after service has started just doesn’t fly anymore. Carnival’s early and late seatings won’t accommodate latecomers at all; staff will point you towards the Lido buffet instead and that’s that.

If you know ahead of time you’ll be cutting it fine, book a flexible option like Your Time Dining or My Time Dining instead of a fixed seating, or just head to the buffet, which doesn’t care what time it is. Dinner isn’t a quick in-and-out either: an early seating runs close to ninety minutes, a regular service is an hour to ninety minutes, and gala or formal nights can stretch towards two hours.

Speciality dining packages: are they worth booking?

Speciality dining packages are worth booking if you already know you’ll eat at several paid restaurants across the cruise, since paying a la carte for each one usually works out dearer overall. Royal Caribbean’s Unlimited Dining Package covers speciality brunch, lunch and dinner every day of the cruise, while its shorter 3-Night Dining Package covers dinner at three speciality restaurants.

There are strings attached to the Unlimited package, though. You can’t book reservations until you’re onboard, one of them has to be used on the first or second night, a la carte restaurants only give you a daily credit rather than covering the whole bill, Izumi Hibachi tacks on its own surcharge regardless, and venues like the Chef’s Table aren’t included at all.

Celebrity does things differently. Instead of an unlimited package, you get a la carte speciality dining or a 3-Night or 4-Night package on select ships, and individual restaurants here tend to cost more than Royal Caribbean’s equivalents.

Since the main dining room and buffet are already free, a package only earns its keep if you know you’ll use it every time; if you’re happy with included dining most nights and one occasional splurge, paying a la carte usually works out better. For a closer look at individual venues, see this guide to speciality restaurant dining.

Dress codes for dinner: smart casual, formal nights and buffet rules

Dress codes for dinner on a cruise ship generally come in three tiers: casual during the day and at the buffet, smart casual most evenings in the main dining room and speciality restaurants, and formal or evening chic for one or two nights on a typical seven-night cruise.

Cunard and Celebrity police this most closely, while Norwegian and Virgin Voyages have done away with formal nights entirely. A few rules show up everywhere, though: tank tops on men get turned away from the main dining room on nearly every major line, baseball caps don’t make it past dinner service, and flip-flops get a raised eyebrow even if smart leather sandals pass without comment.

MSC bans swimwear from its main dining rooms at any time of day but couldn’t care less about jeans.

If you’d rather skip the dressing up on a formal night, you don’t have to skip dinner too. On every line except Cunard, the buffet, pizza window and room service keep going in whatever you’re already wearing, so you can still eat, catch a show or grab a drink without changing out of your shorts.

Gluten-free and allergy-friendly dining onboard

Gluten-free dining onboard is easiest in the main dining room, where you’ll find the strictest gluten-free choices and staff who know what they’re doing. The buffet is trickier, labelling isn’t always clear and cross-contamination between dishes is a real risk when everything’s sitting out together. Most modern ships can cater for coeliac disease with dedicated gluten-free menus, careful preparation and trained dining staff.

If you manage coeliac disease or gluten sensitivity, tell the cruise line before you sail so the kitchen has time to plan around you. Celebrity has a strong reputation for allergy awareness and restaurant teams who pay attention, Princess offers gluten-free meals across its main dining rooms and plenty of casual venues once you’ve flagged it, and families with coeliac children often rate Disney Cruise Line among the better operators for food allergies.

Cruise ship dining FAQs

Is speciality dining included in my cruise fare?

Speciality dining is usually an extra charge rather than something tucked into your fare, though a few casual exceptions slip through free, like Carnival’s BlueIguana Cantina and Guy’s Burger Joint, or Princess’ Alfredo’s Pizzeria.

Do I have to pay for room service on a cruise?

Room service for continental breakfast stays free on most lines, but order at any other time and you’ll usually see a small charge, and Norwegian and Virgin Voyages charge a flat fee for all in-room dining, no matter what time it is.

Can I choose my own dining time instead of a fixed seating?

Choosing your own dining time is possible on most mainstream lines through flexible options like Carnival’s Your Time Dining or Royal Caribbean’s My Time Dining, both of which let you eat anywhere within open hours rather than at one fixed slot.

What happens if I arrive late for a fixed dining seating?

Arriving late for a fixed dining seating can mean you’re turned away on some lines; Carnival, for instance, sends late arrivals straight to the Lido buffet rather than squeezing them in once service is underway.

Is there a dress code for the buffet?

The buffet generally follows the same casual dress code as the rest of the ship by day, with nothing formal required even on evenings when the main dining room wants smart casual or black tie.

Can I get gluten-free meals onboard?

Gluten-free meals are available on most modern ships, particularly in the main dining room, as long as you let the cruise line know about your dietary needs before you sail.

Is a dining package worth buying?

A dining package is worth buying if you already plan to eat at several speciality restaurants across the cruise, since paying a la carte for the same number of visits usually adds up to more.

How long does dinner take in the main dining room?

Dinner in the main dining room usually takes an hour to ninety minutes; early seatings run close to ninety minutes, and formal or gala nights stretch nearer two hours.