When it to comes offering fun to vacationers, while also educating them on how to be polite at the same time, the cruise lines have the market cornered. For example, they tell you when to tip, how much to tip, and will strongly suggest what they consider to be appropriate attire.
About the only thing on the ships not explained are the confusing table settings. But, in all fairness, the cruise ships, in an effort to accommodate the many nationalities and customs of their employees and guests, have had to come up with unique ways of serving foods, clearing dishes and utensils, and keeping thousands of people happy.
Not an easy trick. The last cruise I took was on a ship booked to capacity. Over 1,800 people were on board. The meals, routinely scheduled with an “early” and “late” seating for breakfast, lunch and dinner, were served to over 900 guests in the dining rooms, with every guest fully expecting his or her dish to be served at the proper temperature and tasting fabulous.
Our head waiter was from Italy, our waiter from India, and our assistant waiter was from Jamaica. Each was responsible for several tables.
I noticed how often they were asked questions, and I even quizzed them myself for more clarification after the meals were finished.
The following is what you should know about cruise ship dining:
“In this business, hospitality is essential.” was the word from our waiter. “On the ships we have to sometimes compromise between the cultures.
“Where in the United States foods are served from the left and plates are removed from the right, and the opposite holds for the European countries, we have found it easier and more efficient to serve and remove from the right... Everything.”
Our assistant waiter was constantly removing unused utensils from the place settings that should, or could, have been used to that point in the meal. Always polite, he answered the same question over and over again as to why he did this. “Because you will not need these any longer,” he would say with a huge grin, not wanting to: (1) point out that the diner had used the wrong fork for a particular course (which is exactly what I had done), or (2) get into lengthy table setting instructions unless the diner asked for them (which I also did!)
The table settings can be confusing! While according to the dining room director of Norwegian Cruise Lines their table settings are more traditional European than other cruise ships, they still attempt to fit the needs of their guests
“We only have two knives at the setting on the right of the plate. We deal with a lot of Europeans who tend to use more knives than Americans. We will replace them as needed throughout the meal.”
With regard to typical place settings, the dessert fork and spoon are placed above the plate Both Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean, however, put two spoons above the plate and one fork The extra spoon is for coffee, and the Royal Caribbean fork is for the appetizer.
This came as quite a shock to me. With three dinner-size forks to the left of the plate and one smallish fork (in between the size of a salad fork and a cocktail fork) above the plate, I figured the setting complemented the menu rather well.
Some of the appetizers were quite large, and I don't oppose to eating salads with a larger fork than I am accustomed to. European flatware is generally larger than its American counterparts.
“If you remove other silver from the table that I've not ordered the course for, why haven't you ever removed the fork from above the plate if its intended purpose is the appetizer?” I asked after being told I didn't know the setting as well as I had thought. I had never seen the appetizer or cocktail fork placed there and assumed it was for dessert.
Prior to the dessert course, if I'd only ordered the entree and used one fork to the left of the plate, the other two beside it were whisked away.
The only answer that seemed to make sense was given to me by the dining room manager, who said: “We make it your choice. If you use it for an appetizer, that's fine. If you save it for dessert, that's okay also. We leave it up to the guests and don't say anything unless they ask.”
As previously stated, Norwegian Cruise Lines ships are more traditional and set from the far left of the plate a cocktail fork, a salad fork and a dinner fork; from the far right a soup spoon, and moving toward the plate is a knife that is sized so that it can be used for a salad or an appetizer, then replaced if needed for another course, and then the dinner knife.
The bread plate and butter spreader are also placed differently on Royal Caribbean. Theirs is placed to the left of the forks, with the blade of the spreader facing the diner to the left of the setting, in an "aggressive" manner while Norwegian's plates are above the forks with the blade facing the diner it is intended for in a “nonaggressive” manner. But, in all fairness, every time I dine out I see confusion as to whose bread is whose, so this may be Royal Caribbean’s way of leaving it up to the diners as to who eats from where.
It became obvious on the cruises I have taken that the majority of passengers take cruises simply for the food. The midnight buffets are extraordinary, and the menus are even now offering lighter fare for the diet and fitness conscious. If you’ve got a cruise booked in your future, I wish you a bon voyage. — By Maura J. Graber, for Inland Empire Magazine, July 1994
🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia