Princess cruise food MDR dining room menu on my cruise + Is Princess cruise food free? + specialty dining restaurants you pay for

Hi there!

There is free food on Princess cruise ships, and if you want something a little special, then there is also food that you pay extra for.

So, what’s the dining menu like on a Princess cruise?!

I have been on Princess cruise ships in 2023, and I got screenshots of the main dining room menu. This is below!

 

👆 Dinner food in the main dining room can include shrimp cocktail, caesar salad, french onion soup, salmon, and chicken. Your cruise may vary! More food that you might be able to find is below with a day-by-day dinner menu!

 

 

Free food on a Princess cruise ship + extra food to pay for

In general on a Princess cruise, you will get free food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

There is a “juice bar” for extra health and wellness drinks for which there is an added fee.

But there are always free food options for every meal, plus snacks in between meals.

You can get pizza any time, and you can get ice cream any time during the day for free.

There are “premium desserts” on Princess cruise ships for which there is an added fee.

But there are always free dessert options, both in the main dining room and in the buffet.

There are also many other food choices that you can get almost any time throughout the day too.

There is a buffet on all Princess cruise ships for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is free.

You can also go to one of the main dining rooms on all Princess cruise ships for dinner. This is free.

If you see “MDR” that is “main dining room.”

There are some “specialty” items in the dining room as well for which there is a fee, but it’s not necessary to pay for regular dinner food.

You can also go to at least one of the dining rooms for breakfast and lunch. This is free.

Lunch in dining room might only be available on sea days.

You can even get a light breakfast sent directly to your room for free by ordering room service for breakfast the night before.

 

 

Specialty restaurants on Princess cruise ships

There are “specialty restaurants” on Princess cruise ships for which there is an added fee.

The specialty dining options will vary based on the cruise ship you are on.

Some of the specialty restaurants you will find on a Princess cruise ship include the Crown Grill, Sabatini’s (Italian), The Catch by Rudi, Sterling Steakhouse, Kai Sushi, O’Malley’s Irish Pub, Crab Shack, Harmony (Chinese), the Salty Dog Gastropub, and the Bayou Cafe.

Other specialty dining experiences include Chef’s Table and the Ultimate Balcony Dining.

On your cruise ship, there may also be the Gelateria (gelato!) and “afternoon tea.”

 

Learn more about specialty dining

Some of pdf menus.

• Crown Grill + menu
• Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria + dinner menu + beverage menu
• The Catch by Rudi + menu
• Sterling Steakhouse menu
• Chef’s Table
• Kai Sushi menu
• O’Malley’s Irish Pub + menu
• Crab Shack
• Harmony menu (Chinese restaurant)
• The Salty Dog Gastropub menu
• Bayou Cafe menu: Coral Princess / Island Princess
• Ultimate balcony dining
• Royal afternoon tea
• Gelateria: “certified Italian gelato“

You can check for descriptions of each of these specialty dining options in the specialty dining section of princess.com. Some of the specialty restaurants do list what Princess cruise ship they are on, but this is not completely updated. (I see restaurants that were on some of the ships I was on, even though it’s not listed.) So be sure to check individual cruise ships for current specialty dining options!

 

 

Restaurants and food spots on a Princess cruise ship + hours

Once you are on the ship, the Princess app can be one of the best ways to see where you can go to eat… or you can just walk around the ship and see what you find!

Restaurants and food availability will vary by cruise ship!

But just to give you an idea, here is what was listed on the Princess app in the dining section during my cruise. I was on the Majestic Princess.

 

 

Casual dining is free food on a Princess cruise ship.

 

👆 The “World Fresh Marketplace” is the buffet. This is on all cruise ships.

 

Food in the main dining room is free food on a Princess cruise ship.

Although there are some items that do cost extra, most food is free!

 

 

 

Food in specialty dining restaurants costs extra. You can expect the cost of a specialty restaurant on a Princess cruise ship to be around $40 per person.

 

 

 

Dining room hours on a Princess cruise ship (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

Main dining room dinner hours on a Princess cruise ship starts at 5pm and will be open until around 9pm or 9:30pm. Confirm this on your cruise!

All dining rooms will be open for dinner, and one or more may be open for breakfast and/or lunch.

Lunch in the main dining room tends to be on sea days only.

Once you are on the ship, the Princess app is again one of the best ways to know which dining rooms also serve breakfast and lunch in the main dining room.

Just to give you an idea, below are screenshots taken during a Princess cruise of meal time hours in different dining rooms.

 

👆 You can check the dining room hours in the Princess app once you are on the ship. While all dining rooms will be open for dinner, other dining rooms may also be open at different times of the day.

 

The dining room hours are also listed on the back of the Princess Patter aka the Princess cruise entertainment schedule that you will receive every evening.

The buffet hours are also listed there.

 

👆 Sample hours of when you can eat food (and drink!) on a Princess cruise ship on a sea day. Sea day hours may be different from port day hours. You can find the hours of various food spots on the back of the Princess cruise daily activity schedule that you will receive every evening to your stateroom. The buffet is the Horizon Court or World Fresh Marketplace.

 

See below for a day-by-day dinner menu on a Princess cruise ship!

Also below is how to see the dinner menu once you are on your cruise.

 

 

🏔

 

 

 

Dining room dinner food on a Princess cruise ship (menu)

Food on any given Princess cruise ship can vary!

But just to give you an idea, here is the dinner menu from the main dining room dinner on one of my cruises, day by day… well, for the first 3 days!

 

For other meals in the main dining room, see the breakfast menu and the lunch menu.

 

This was an Alaska cruise in May of 2023 on the Majestic Princess.

 

👆 There is vegetarian dinner food on a Princess cruise. Look for this symbol on the menu.

 

👆 When you see this symbol on the menu, this is the general public health advisory for seafood and other food items.

 

When you go to the dining room for dinner and receive the menu, local cuisine is also marked as “local eats flavors” so look for a special symbol for that too!

Below are screenshots from the Princess app.

 

Day 1: Vancouver embarkation day menu

 

 

Day 2: Sea day, formal night menu

Experienced cruisers say that the food in all dining rooms is the same.

I am not sure if the menu just didn’t get properly uploaded in the app for one of the dining rooms or it was a special evening or what, but when I looked at the menu at 2 of the dining rooms, they were different.

Both screenshots were taken around 5:30pm one right after the other.

In any case, this shows you more food choices you may have at dinner when on a Princess cruise ship.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 3: port day menu

The cruise ship was in port from 6:30am to 3pm on this day.

 

 

 

And… those are all the dining room menus I have for you from that cruise! 🤪

I didn’t get any more menus after that.

But if you are curious about the variety, I did get 10 days worth of dinner menus on another cruise: See more dining room menus on an Alaska cruise

 

 

How to see the dinner menu on your Princess cruise

You’ll be able to see the dinner menu once you are on your cruise.

You can use the Princess app to see the menu for that evening.

 

👆 To see the dining room dinner menu once you are on the cruise ship, open up the Princess app and look for “Dine My Way”

 

👆 Next screen: Go to “explore dining options”

 

Under “exploring dining options” you will be able to see the different dining rooms on your cruise ship, the menu for each dining room, and the hours of each dining room.

 

The Princess app is how you will choose your cruise boarding time and look for cruise entertainment.

The Princess app is also how you can make reservations in one of the main dining rooms.

It is not necessary to make reservations for the main dining room, but many people like to do so.

You can make reservations before you get on the cruise ship.

 

👆 You can use the app to make dinner reservations for the main dining room (free food) and a specialty dining restaurant ($)

 

 

If you’re making dining reservations far in advance, you’ll want to check back once it gets closer to your cruise (and once you are on your cruise) to see that your dining time hasn’t changed.

Sometimes they will change it on you, and you won’t be notified about the change.

 

Once you are on the cruise ship, you can also use the TV in your room to see the dinner menu.

 

👆 You can view the dining room dinner menu on your stateroom TV. You will turn on your TV and go to dining > restaurant menus

 

Once you are on your cruise ship, you can also go down to the dining room and see the menu for that evening posted out in front.

 

And that’s to give you an idea of what type of food might be on a Princess cruise ship!

I have been on 4 Princess cruise ships in 2023. Your experience may vary!

 

HAPPY EATING FOOD ON A PRINCESS CRUISE SHIP!