Dining Room Etiquette on Cruise Ships

If you're heading off on a fancy cruise, and you haven't been to a lot of formal dining occasions or upscale restaurants, you might be wondering if you'll make an embarrassing goof at the dining room table. Well, here's a short list of tips for proper dining room etiquette on a cruise ship:

• Make sure to arrive on time (the formal sit-down restaurants on board will have posted meal hours).
• If you order wine, offer to share it with others at the table (on many cruise lines, you'll dine with the same folks each night, and they'll probably return the favor).
• Don't start eating until everyone at your table has been served (this, of course, is a display of good manners no matter where you're dining).
• Use the correct silverware (if you start to feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, just remember to work your way from the outside in--use the first fork on the left for your first course).
• Dress appropriately for the evening (most cruise ships send around daily bulletins, which should let you know the evening's dress code)
• Don't smoke at the dinner table (most ships these days have non-smoking dining rooms, but if yours doesn't specify, be considerate to those around you).