Choosing your first cruise is generally the most difficult. Once you have the hang of it, the choices get much easier. The variables that you will need to deal with are the length of the cruise, your budget for the cruise, the itinerary and the cruise line.

You will find a wide variety of dining experiences on board a modern cruise liner, both in menu and preparation. You will also find that there will be a good bit of variation in quality and menu choices among the different lines. You may want to discuss the dining issue with your booking agent prior to the cruise, or you might want to ask people who have cruised with a particular line about their experiences. The quantity of the food will probably be everything you expect (and more) but sometimes the quality and the preparation will not live up to expectations that were just too high in the first place. Expect an experience equal to dining at a good restaurant, but not at the finest and most exclusive bistro in town.

Larger ships will generally have 2 seatings for dinner (around 6 or 6:30 and around 8 or 8:30). You will need to make your dining time choice at the time you make your cruise booking. An advantage of choosing the early seating is the fact that you can finish dinner, attend an evening show or visit the casino, and still retire at a decent hour. An advantage of late seating is that you will be able to spend a longer time in port, participating in an afternoon activity, or just simply relaxing.

3 and 4 day cruises will generally have a single formal night (evening wear and tuxedos or dark suits) and 7 day or longer cruises will usually have at least 2 formal nights. More and more newer cruise ships--and a few older ones--are offering alternative dining choices so that it isn't necessary to dine every evening in the main dining room.