When on board a cruise ship, what is there to do? Watch the water flow by; perhaps notice some dolphin romping in the ship’s wake. Play shuffleboard, swim in the pool, even go rock climbing. After enjoying these activities, you can go to the cruise restaurant and consume a sumptuous meal.

These ships are well known for the restaurant on board each of them. The cruise restaurant is the focal point of the cruise ship and cruise-lines offer a variety of different dining experiences for the vacationer.

There is the standard cruise restaurant, free of charge as the cost is factored into the cost of the cruise. Also on board a cruise ship are “alternative” restaurants. The alternative restaurant caters to specialty tastes and often has more flexible hours than the standard cruise restaurant.

Holland America won an award in 2009 for the best Alternative Restaurant for its Pinnacle Grill. This alternative cruise restaurant offers various lobster dishes or filet mignon. Other cruise-lines generally offer at least one alternative restaurant.

The Disney Cruise Line offers a hybrid of the normal cruise restaurant and the alternative cruise restaurant. Their ships provide three different restaurants with three different themes. You do not have the option of choosing dining time, that is assigned, but you do eat at a different ship’s restaurant each night.

Royal Caribbean International runs two of the ten largest cruise vessels in the world. Both of these ships have a “boulevard of restaurants”. Included among these restaurants are an Italian cuisine restaurant and a steakhouse.

Princess Cruise Line offers traditional dining in its cruise restaurant, traditional in the sense that you eat at a set time with a set group of other travelers. Alternatively, they offer “anytime dining” at a selection of specialty restaurants. Anytime dining can occur between 5:30 PM and 10:00 PM.

Carnival Cruise line offers a cruise restaurant for many varied tastes, even including special children’s menu items. They offer an early dinner at 6:00 PM, a late dinner at 8:15 PM, and “anytime dining” from 5:45 PM until 9:30 PM.

Not looking to take an overnight, three day, or seven day intercontinental voyage, but still want to experience dining on the water? Most cities near a body of water offer short evening time cruises. Chicago, San Diego, Tampa Bay, even Duluth, MN, to name a few, all offer some type of dinner cruise.

Vista Fleet, in Duluth, offers both lunch and dinner cruises on Lake Superior. In Chicago, one can taste the cuisine offered by at least three cruise ships, each providing unique meals through its restaurant.

These ships sail on Lake Michigan.

The Tampa Bay area, San Diego, and other coastal communities all boast dinner cruise ships to take you on a short dinner excursion in local waters. Whether you plan to go on a three day, seven day, or longer ocean going cruise or take a leisurely three hour dinner tour, the cruise restaurant on your ship will provide you with a meal to remember.