Going on a cruise and wondering if you’ll have to dish out more money for food? This post will discuss the question, do you pay for food on a cruise? It also will go over common included food venues on popular cruise lines.
People commonly search for: what is included in a cruise, cruise dining times, what do you have to pay for on a cruise, what dining options are offered onboard and more.
Wanting to know if you have to pay for food while going on a cruise is one of the first questions new cruisers will ask when thinking of booking a cruise vacation.
Food is a big part of going on a cruise. Many people will try multiple entrees, desserts, eat extra snacks and get late night pizza. It’s the type of vacation you splurge on the calories and indulge in whatever you want.
Some cruise lines have tons of different venues to eat at like Virgin Voyages. Others, have just a select few, especially on the older ships like Royal Caribbean or MSC.
This post is all about if you pay for food on a cruise.
Is food an addtional cost?
The short answer is no! One of the great things about booking a cruise for a vacation is you don’t have to pay for any additional food if you don’t want to.
Cruise lines will have specialty dining options that are an added cost if you would like to upgrade your dining experience but it is not needed.
You are able to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks just on the food that they offer included with the price of your cruise fare.
Some cruise lines offer only a couple of included options like a main dining room and the buffet. Whereas others will give cruisers a few more options completely free!
This is also going to vary based on the ship you go on. It seems common that the smaller and older ships have less included venues on several lines compared to the newer and bigger ships have more to offer without breaking the bank.
Related Content:
A Complete Guide To A Cruise Ship Buffet: Everything You Need To Know
Royal Caribbean Cruise Food: What I Ate On My 5 Night Cruise
MSC Cruise Food: My Honest Review Of Everything I Ate On My 7 Night Cruise
Common included venues on popular cruise lines:
This is going to vary based on which ship you are sailing on so be sure to check before booking a cruise if you want specific included options on your vacation.
This list are included venues across the fleet of ships a cruise line has, not every venue will be on every ship and it will also vary depending on if you’ve booked a suite or not.
Royal Caribbean:
-Main Dining Room
-Windjammer Buffet
-Cafe Promenade
-Sorrento’s Pizza
-Mini Bites
-El Loco Fresh
-Dog House
-Splashaway Cafe
-Solarium Bistro Restaurant
-Noodles Bar
-Coastal Kitchen
-The Cafe @ TWO70
-Park Cafe
-Vitality Cafe
-Surfside Eatery & Surfside Bites
Carnival:
-Dining Room
-Big Chicken
-Guy’s Burger Joint
-Chibang
-Lucky Bowl
-Blue Iguana Cantina
-Street Eats
-Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que
-Lido Marketplace
-Pizza Pirate
-Swirls
-The Carnival Deli
-The Captain’s Pasta Bar
-Mongolian Wok
-Pizzeria Del Capitano
-Masala Tiger
-Sweet Spot
Norwegian:
-Main Dining Room
-Beyond Buffet
-24 Hour Eatery
It is important to note though with Norwegian Cruise Line, they often have free at sea deals where you can get specialty dining included. You’ll just pay a small gratuity fee but it will give you A LOT more options to eat for basically free.
I see this offered more times than not when looking into a Norwegian cruise so if you’re interested in a more all inclusive cruise with upgraded dining, this would be a great option to check out.
MSC:
-Main Dining Room
-Buffets
Princess:
-Main Dining Room
-Buffet
-Soft Serve Ice Cream
-Popcorn for movies
-24-Hour International Cafe
Celebrity:
-Main Restaurant
-Spa Cafe
-Mast Grill
-Oceanview Cafe
Disney:
-3 Restaurants with their rotational dining system
-Cabanas
-Eye Scream Treats
Virgin Voyages:
Virgin Voyages has all of their dining venues included in the price. They don’t do the traditional main dining and buffet like a lot of cruise lines.
They have over 20 restaurants you can choose from such as:
-The Wake
-Razzle Dazzle
-Pink Agave
-Gunbae
-Extra Virgin
-The Test Kitchen
-The Dock
-Lick Me Till… Ice Cream
-The Dock House
-The Pizza Place
-The Social Club
-The Galley
-Noodle Around
Am I going to have to eat the same thing every day if I just go to the complimentary venues?
No!
Cruises do a great job of offering a variety of options, especially in the buffet, giving you the option to try something new every single day.
The main dining room usually has a rotating menu. You will see some options on there every day from most lines but there are also different dishes. If you see something that interests you you should give it a try because it might not be an option the next day!
Menus that will stay the same will be breakfast in the main dining room. Even though the menu is the same you’ll still have a lot to choose from so you don’t have to get the same thing every morning, unless you want to.
The buffet will have the most variety for all meals. You’ll see international cuisine all over. If something looks interesting, give it a try! You might just find a new favorite. They will also always have some classics like burgers and pizza.
Should I upgrade to specialty dining?
This question is a hard one to give a solid yes to no to.
Everyone is different with different standards for the quality of their food. Some people may think the included food is really great, some may say it is good enough for the price they paid for the cruise, and others may think it is unacceptable and they always upgrade.
If you’re looking to upgrade to specialty dining you have a few options. You could pay for the restaurants individually if you just want to eat at those venues a couple times during your cruise and then go to the included venues for the rest.
You also can buy a set number of meals. Cruise lines can offer things like a 3 night dining package if you want to split your time between those and the main dining room.
The last option that is most popular is buying an unlimited dining package. This package lets you eat at the specialty restaurants every night of your cruise and for lunch on certain days.
This plan will give you the best value and save you a lot of money compared to if you booked every single night individually.
Is there a limit on the amount of food you can eat or times you can go to the buffet/other venues?
No! Cruises do not limit you on the majority of their venues!
Restaurants
Restaurants that do have a daily limit would just be the specialty restaurants if you’ve booked the unlimited package. If you had an early dinner at one restaurant, you can’t go back there later that night and use your package again.
If you’re dining at a specialty restaurant that might limit your choices as well to one starter, main and dessert per person. I have seen some people get multiple appetizers or desserts at specialty restaurants but that will vary on if the staff is allowed to give you more or not.
Main Dining
The main dining room is another one that if you’ve eaten dinner at your set dining time, you can’t normally go back later and try to get another table.
Buffets
The buffet however is always available for you to stop in! You could go for breakfast, lunch 2 hours later, a snack the next hour and more. You are not limited to any amount of food in the buffet either.
You could get a few plates at a time if you wanted to to try different food. You can also go to the dessert station and grab 5 different ones if you wanted! A lot of desserts in the buffet will be a smaller portion to not have food waste and to let you try more than one at a time.
Cafes
Other venues like included cafes and pizza do not have a limit as well on how much you can eat and how often you can go there.
For most venues you just need to check the hours of operation. Not everything will be open at the same time but there is usually something always open.
This post was all about if you pay for food on a cruise.
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