Thread: Newbie questions

Hello world,
I am soon to be cruising for the first time... please forgive me if I ask dopey questions.... I know nothing..

If we fancy a snack between meals , is it available and do we have to pay ??
same question for teas or coffee during the day ??

we are going to be on diamond princess cruising asia..

we have opted for anytime dining, when we go to the restaurant will we be seated as a couple on our own .. or mixed with other people ( new people each night would be nice )

only three weeks to go !!!


Chris

Hey Chris!

We were all first time cruisers at one time! We knew nothing either, so ask away and we will be happy to share with you our cruise experiences.

On Princess there should be food available somewhere on the ship 24/7.
In the Princess Patters that you receive each night detailing the events of the next day, you will find the hours of operation for the food venues as well as the bars. Most food will be no charge, but I believe there is an ice cream parlor that charges and specialty coffees are extra charge.

You will find coffee and tea available 24/7 in a part of the buffet area....at no extra charge.

I don't know how Princess does their anytime dining, so someone else will need to address this question.

Besides the Patters, you should be able to find a book on your desk in your cabin that will have lots of info, including where you can get food. Generally the only food that will cost extra: the specialty dining rooms, ultimate breakfast or ultimate balcony dinner, selected items at the International Cafe... You can get free ice cream (but the sundaes will cost extra). If you get pizza at the outdoor pizzeria it's free, but the room service pizza is $3/slice.

On our last cruise, the only time we paid for any food or drink were a few drinks on hubby's part and a couple of sodas and a hot chocolate the girl got. I've heard Princess know has free hot chocolate (on Alaskan cruises only???) and lemonade. Fancy coffees will cost, but not regular or teas. You should be able to go into the Horizon Court at any time and be able to get a coffee or tea.

A nice thing about Princess is that the Horizon Court is a two-sided buffet. While switching out food items (say from breakfast items to lunch items), one side is closed for the switch, then the other side. I haven't heard that both sides have been closed at the same time.

Krusty:

When you check in with the maitre d' for dinner, tell him that you'd like to sit with others. He may want to know if you want two others, four others or six others.

I was reluctant to adopt the As You Wish system until my daughters and husbands demanded it the year I took them. Now, I love it.

You're not ever stuck with the same people night after night. And, if you are one night, you can keep a close eye and avoid them another night!

Have a great first cruise.

SWR

Chris .... You've been given good and accurate info from Char and Patty.

The 24 Hour Horizon Buffet is ALWAYS open. It was even open the entire time of our B2B turn-around day.

On your Anytime Dining Question: Normally, Anytime is open from 5 PM - 10 PM. That means you have to get to there by 10 PM ... not be finished eating. Just go whenever you please. You can also call ahead for a reservation. Folks who want the same waiter, table for two, or have a larger group of people find doing this convenient. We've never had to wait ... but we are easy to seat because we don't care where or with whom.

Try the Main Dining Room sometimes for breakfast or lunch as well.

Your questions are NOT dopey in the least! Please let us know if you have others.

Don't worry about feeling stupid. I will be a newbie cruiser too when I book one next year! I got this advice from my high school computer/tuping teacher: "No question is stupid; what is stupid is not asking it." I never forgot those words.

Check out a bunch of forums to get answers about a variety of topics. One of them is called First Time Cruisers. Also don't forget the power of Google. You will find plenty of information from other websites.