Food, Drinks and Packages

In this chapter I want to show you the importance of food and drinks service and its repercussion on the price. This might seem trivial to you, but a good choice of the shipping company in terms of food and drinks services can save you money you can spend in other things. 

First of all you have to consider again the official currency onboard the ship. Today an American citizen will pay more for his cruise if you choose a european flagged ship (€ currency onboard), and an european citizen will pay less if he travels with an US company ($ currency) due to $ vs € exchange rates. Keep in mind that you'll have to pay the excursions, drinks, spa service... in the currency of the ship.

FOOD: Differences between main restaurants are not relevant. Everyone is good with his specialities, Italian risottos and pastas are superb on MSC and Costa, steaks and all meat are delicious in RCCL... Special mention to Celebrity Cruises kitchen, which is the most awarded in the cruise fleet.

But everything changes a lot if we talk about Buffet:

 

 

• OPENING TIMES. US ships buffet remain open more or less all day. The guest can always eat something according the time of day. In Celebrity Cruises the buffet is open from morning until noon for breakfast, from then until mid-afternoon for lunch, at mid afternoon they leave open the area of ​​pizzas, sandwiches, sushi, ice cream... of course it is open in the evening for dinner (for those who don't want to go to the main restaurant) and then the midnight buffet. On the contrary, in European-flagged ships like MSC, the buffet opens only in main meals, so if you're hungry in the afternoon, or if you arrive late from an excursion, your only alternative is to buy something in the bar or wait until the night (although I'm sure your stomach ends up thanking the break...)

• QUALITY. I think the buffet of American companies (Royal or Celebrity) are of better quality and variety than those of European (MSC). The fact of closing at certain times can create some strange situations where 10 minutes before closing time you can't find a waiter to order a drink.

 

 

• SMALL DETAILS. Finally there are small details if you go with children. Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean have most of the day the ice cream buffet area open and its free of charge. Royal Caribbean's Freedom class for example, is equipped with a self-service of free ice cream at the swimming pool.

GALA DINNER

SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS: It's an option for a special dinner. The more modern the ship, the more specialty restaurants it'll have. We can find almost everything: restaurants where you pay a fixed price with a special menu, a typical American burger (Johnny Rockets on Royal), a Mexican (El Sombrero in MSC Fantasia), a Mediterranean grill (Tuscan Grille on Celebrity Solstice) ... The truth is that it might seem absurd to pay more to go to another restaurant when you have the main restaurant included in the price of the cruise, but in some cases it can be the oportunity to try other cuisines such as French (the Celebrity Solstice Murano).

RED VELVET (MSC FANTASIA)

DRINKS: Excepting companies like Happy Cruises or Pulmantur Cruises (all inclusive), carbonated drinks and bottled drinks are not included in the price of the cruise. But still there are differences between the companies. In the US companies, with their  buffets open the whole day, you can drink juices, water, ice tea all the time. In the European ones, when they close the buffet, if you're thirsty, you will not have choice but to go to a bar order something (and pay ...). In addition, the juices in MSC is available only during the morning at breakfast and obviously they do not let you fill containers with liquid in the buffet.

PACKAGES: Beverage packages can be arranged before the cruise, but you can also buy these packages the first day of the cruise. This is also different depending on the company you are travelling wih, because European companies offer service by can in the case of soft drinks, while the US have more profitable packages like Fountain of soda in Royal or Celebrity (they give you a big recipient to take your drink everywhere). It is valid in all ship bars while in European companies like MSC it can only be used in the restaurants or buffet. In the rest of the bars you can not use the beverage packages.
European and US companies also offer all-inclusive packages, but is not worth the money in European companies because you can only use it in the buffet or restaurant