Dining arrangements

[disneymom]

I have some questions but never having been on a cruise youll have to excuse me for asking some silly ones

do families sit together or with strangers? this does worry me a lot
is all the food included Iknow alcohol wont be
I see talk of other restaurants, how does that work then given youve already paid for a meal if its included. you just lose whats included and pay for one in another restaurant if you want to?
how does the tipping work? is it after each meal or at the end

[Slowhand]

I have some questions but never having been on a cruise youll have to excuse me for asking some silly ones

The only silly question is the one that is never asked!

do families sit together or with strangers? this does worry me a lot

Families will definitely not be split up that`s for sure.
You may be lucky and be assigned a table for 4, but the chances are that you will be sharing a table with others.
To be honest, my DW and I were very concerned about sharing a table on our first cruise but so far [we are soon to go on our 6th DCL cruise], our table companions have been great every time. In fact we have kept in touch with many of them and already we have planned to cruise again next year when some of these folks are on the same cruise so that we can again be reunited.

is all the food included Iknow alcohol wont be

Yes all food [and soft drinks] are included, and yes alcoholic drinks are charged to your room account.

I see talk of other restaurants, how does that work then given youve already paid for a meal if its included. you just lose whats included and pay for one in another restaurant if you want to?

The only restaurant where you pay a supplement is Palo`s. This is an adults only restaurant and it is essential to make a reservation here as the places are limited. It costs is an additional "fee" of $15 per person but it is well worth paying the extra for the experience of dining there IMHO

how does the tipping work? is it after each meal or at the end

Towards the end of your cruise you will find 4 small envelopes in your stateroom. These are for the Stateroom Host, The Head Server, Your Server and The Server`s Assistant, and you insert your tips in here and give them to the respective CM on the last night of your cruise.
See this thread for more detailed information.

There is a 15% service charge added to the checks at the bars etc. If you feel like any extra is justified, you can also add a bit more onto your check before you sign it.

Please ask away if you have any further queries or concerns.

[lisaw]

Just to say we are a family of 4 and were on first (main) seating. We were seated on a table of four very close to other famillies on tables of four also (all with the same servers) it was perfect because we were close enough to chat while we were waiting for the food and talk about our days etc but not to close that you felt you needed to wait for others on your table to begin eating or leave. The perfect scenario for us.

[uscwest]

I'm really trying to remember, but I believe at dinner it was just the 4 of us seated together. Since you can eat breakfast anywhere practically a couple of times we met some very nice strangers over breakfast.