Here's how much you can order in a cruise ship main dining room
It is the question Dan and Dennis get asked more than almost any other: how much are you actually allowed to order in the main dining room? The answer changes depending on which cruise line you sail.
TravelHost's Come Cruise With Me Editor in Chief Daniel Kline and his travel agent partner, Postcard Travel Planning's Dennis Post, break down the rules on Celebrity, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean, plus a few insider moves that can get you exactly what you want.
A full transcript follows below.
Subscribe to our Youtube channelfor expert advice on making the most of your cruise vacation.
The dining room question cruisers ask most
Transcript:
Dan Kline: Hey there, cruisers. Dan and Dennis your Travelhosts. We are in the main dining room villa. I don't know what you call it. We're on deck four on Celebrity Beyond. There are two main dining rooms behind us. There are two above us. Some of them are anytime, meaning you don't have a set reservation. You walk up, but sometimes they can seat you right away.
Sometimes, it's a little bit of a wait, but that's for people who don't know what their plans are. Maybe some nights they want to go to shows. There's also set time dining, usually 5:30 to 8:30. Might be 5:00, might be 9:00. It can change by ship. But this is an insider tip. This is something we get asked all the time.
Dennis, what is the big question you get asked about the dining rooms?
Dennis Post: Oh, yeah. How much can you order?
Kline: So this varies based on cruise line. We're on Celebrity. I'll let you cover Celebrity, but I want to cover Carnival. On Carnival, you can order as many appetizers as you want, two entrees, and every additional entree is $5.
The reason they do this is hey, you ordered an entree, you don't like it, you get another one. No problem.
For even more tips and insider secrets? Subscribe to our YouTube channel for expert advice on making the most of your cruise vacation.
Post: Right.
Kline: If you move on to the third, there's a small charge. On Royal Caribbean, endless appetizers, endless entrees, but they will generally only bring you one at a time, so you have to finish what you're eating.
Now, there are some caveats. Let's say you want the chicken, and another entree is the risotto, and you don't want the side dishes with the chicken, but you would like the risotto. They will usually do those kind of things.
Post: They do, yeah.
Kline: Or if it's a dish if it's like lobster night and you're getting a tiny little lobster tail and you also want the steak or you also want the chicken or shrimp or whatever it might be, they will often do that.
But here on Celebrity, there's no surcharges. There's no extra.
Post: Yeah.
Kline: How does it work?
Post: You just go in and order and if you want to get something from somewhere else across the restaurant, if you don't see it, ask. Don't be unrealistic, you can ask. You should get what you deserve and, be respectful on it that they offer a lot of stuff.
Kline: So there's a lot of stuff, and so you might go and say, "Hey, I'm in the main dining room tonight, and I love escargot, and it's not on the menu tonight." Now, they might not have it to make it, but some nights you go, "Oh, hey, can I get the French onion soup?" They'll, "Oh, yeah, give us 10 minutes. We'll make you the French onion soup."
But Dennis, you've traveled with someone who's a little peculiar when it comes to eating. Now, I was on a Carnival Cruise and a let's call it a relative of mine did not like the food. So as some sort of protest, he ordered four sides of macaroni and cheese. You've had a similar experience-
Post: Yeah.
Kline: -but from a place of love.
Post: Yeah, from our family Danielle, we were on Carnival. When we were on Carnival Cruises when the kids were small, younger- They always accommodated. They did a great job. She found that she liked the spring rolls, vegetable spring rolls. They knew so much that she loved them, every time they had them, they would bring three plates, which is six.
And she would sit there and eat that for her dinner. And if she wanted more, they brought more.
Want the latest cruise news and deals? Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter.
Kline: And if you have kids, yes, they can order off the adult menu. Yes, as an adult, you can order off the kids menu. Sometimes on a cruise you've had such rich food for so many nights.
Post: Yeah.
Kline: You look at the kids menu and you're like, "You know what I'd like?
Some mac and cheese and a chicken finger." And they will absolutely do that for you. Friendly. Anything you want. If you want six desserts as your dinner, they will bring you six desserts as your dinner. Dinner can take an hour to an hour and a half, so if you need to go faster than that, you'll want to tell them.
Because if you sit down and say, "Hey, I am trying to see the comedian tonight at 7:30," and I sat down at 6:00, you want to let them know that because they will move it along. Now, if you sit down at 6:59 and you want to be out at 7:30. Yeah … that might be a problem. So-
Post: Go to the buffet.
Kline: Go to the buffet. We are not giant dinner buffet people, but usually the buffet has most of what the main dining room has that night.
Post: Kind of mirrors it, yeah.
Kline: Except for the fanciest things. So Italian night it will be almost exactly available. But on lobster night there's no lobster tails at the buffet. There might be shrimp cocktail sometimes. There might be carving stations at the buffet that they don't have in the main dining room.
So I'm a big fan of take a lap of the buffet. This is from my dad. You take a lap of the buffet and you go, "Okay, I ate dinner at 5:30. Maybe at 8:30 I want to go up to the buffet because they're carving a lamb and I want a little bite of lamb or something." You can eat way too much on a cruise. We have definitely eaten way too much on a cruise.
I am Dan. He is Dennis. Come cruise with us soon.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 5:48 AM.