Dining tables for two.

Hey Princess what makes you think that when people ask for a table for two they want one less than 6 inches away from another table for two? There were several combinations of these meanwhile there was plenty of room on either side to sepatate them. This was on the coral.

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Hey Princess what makes you think that when people ask for a table for two they want one less than 6 inches away from another table for two? There were several combinations of these meanwhile there was plenty of room on either side to sepatate them. This was on the coral.

 

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Ask for another table.

They were most all like that.

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Princess has tables for two but you are not going to be alone. That is how they are set up. We have had a table for two occasionally, but most of the time we share.

As to why they do it like that, my guess is space planning. Tables for two ae best fitted by lining them up in tight rows.

Just remember, when you ask for a table for two, you are not going to get one in the wide open spaces.

There was several feet on both sides of both tables. There was plenty of room. They could have even angled them a bit. Its just dumb, then they act like they are doing you a favor for giving you a table that is suppose to seat 4.

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We ask for a 4 top table set for 2.

They have been away from other tables.

We did it many times on the Coral.

It's very helpful to make friends with your maitre'd. We like to eat latish and have discovered that there is usually one dining room that is reserved for people with traditional dining for the early seating and then available for anytime. Showing up around 7:30 will usually get you a pretty good table for two. Last fall we did an LA to Tahiti cruise and the maitre'd seemed to delight in finding us interesting tables for two.

I'm intrigued to find out what makes a table for two interesting...

I'm intrigued to find out what makes a table for two interesting...

Me too! I can eat alone or with the same group about 49-50 wks of the year! We seem to always meet some interesting and nice people @ a random table, preferably no larger than 6. If nothing else it's interesting to me anyway to hear about different areas of the country I have never been to. And of course to have it reinforced why I don't want to cruise CCL again, nor try Celebrity or HAL!! 😝

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I'm intrigued to find out what makes a table for two interesting...

The person opposite you???

The person opposite you???

But I assume that's not what the maitre'd is finding for him...

Just to be clear, the past before me made the reference. I'm not calling for large tables at meals... Can't stand them... I eat with my wife and nobody else...

There was several feet on both sides of both tables. There was plenty of room. They could have even angled them a bit. Its just dumb, then they act like they are doing you a favor for giving you a table that is suppose to seat 4.

 

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They are doing you a favour by seating two of you at a table for four. That's two seats wasted and two people who potentially are now having to wait.

I've been on the Coral and I recall seeing more than a few two-tops that were not cheek-by-jowl with other tables. But I think that if you dine out on land frequently, you'd find the same space limitations for two-tops in most fine dining establishments.

We don't mind the close tables for two. Some evenings we do no more than give those at the next table a nod and a "good evening". Sometimes we hit it off so much that we have the same setup for the entire cruise and then again for the next two years. I like having the option. While some evenings I'm so tired I barely have two words for DH, most of the time it's not that we're resistant to socialization, it's that we don't want to sit and wait while someone else orders four special request courses to our two standard ones.

I have found that asking for a "private" table for 2 helps and if it doesn't, talk to the maitre d'.

Hey Princess what makes you think that when people ask for a table for two they want one less than 6 inches away from another table for two?

There are some that are worse.

On Emerald -- in the stations all the way in the back of the mid

ship dining rooms. There are tables for two that are alone.

They are next to the wall, right at the door to the galley.

most of the time it's not that we're resistant to socialization, it's that we don't want to sit and wait while someone else orders four special request courses to our two standard ones.

That mirrors our sentiments exactly.

Ask for a table in the middle of the room. Those tend to be less crowded. DW and I prefer a table for two. We have been fortunate with all of our Princess cruises that the Maitre D's have been Italian, which we are, and by conversing in their own language, we get lots of our special requests.

This is my main gripe with Anytime Dining. I agree with you about the Coral. It was the worst. Every time we ate in the dining room we had a "table for two" like this one. My wife and I prefer a quiet, private conversation at dinner, and it's just impossible in this set up.

Coral Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

On the other hand, we just returned from a cruise on the Star Princess, and they know how to do tables for two right. They were all clustered in a few sections of the dining room, but they were spaced so they were private. I wish the other some of the other Princess ships would arrange their tables for two in this manner. Here's a few photos to demonstrate:

Star Princess - Hawaii Cruise by Jasperdo, on Flickr

Star Princess - Hawaii Cruise by Jasperdo, on Flickr

Star Princess - Hawaii Cruise by Jasperdo, on Flickr

They are doing you a favour by seating two of you at a table for four. That's two seats wasted and two people who potentially are now having to wait.

 

I've been on the Coral and I recall seeing more than a few two-tops that were not cheek-by-jowl with other tables. But I think that if you dine out on land frequently, you'd find the same space limitations for two-tops in most fine dining establishments.

On the Coral a number of the 2 tops are lined up in a row along a long bench seat with one chair at the other side of the table. These are not 4 tops set for two, but are actually 2 top tables. There are about 10 of them in a row with about 12-15 inches between them. So you are at a table for 2, but the space between you and your neighbor is not much different then if you were sitting at a table for 6. Some of the other Princess ships also have the same configuration. I know the Emerald does. The last few times we have requested a table for two in early traditional dining we have gotten those tables.

We don't mind the close tables for two. Some evenings we do no more than give those at the next table a nod and a "good evening". Sometimes we hit it off. I like having the option. Most of the time it's not that we're resistant to socialization, it's that we don't want to sit and wait while someone else orders.

This is exactly how we felt on our first Princess cruise last month. After 5 cruises on HAL with a Traditional dining table for 2, we decided to try Anytime on Princess. We found we still preferred a table for 2 (unless we ate with friends that we met onboard - another GREAT option with Anytime Dining! :cool:).

At first I thought those very tight tables were awful, but we actually liked being able to strike up conversations when we wanted to as opposed to feeling obligated. ;)

Hey Princess what makes you think that when people ask for a table for two they want one less than 6 inches away from another table for two? There were several combinations of these meanwhile there was plenty of room on either side to sepatate them. This was on the coral.

 

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Ruby was the same way. This was our main reason for us not returning to the MDR after 2 tries. Both times we asked for a table for 2. Both times the Hostess asked if we would prefer sitting at a larger table with others. Both times I told her no we would like a table for 2. Both times she literally rolled her eyes at me before seeing what she could do. Both times they led us to a long bench with 8 tables for 2 just inches apart. The first time we took it. It was very uncomfortable for us. We did not enjoy being so close to those next to us and having to listen to their conversations and have them listen to ours. The second time when they led us to the same table we requested one of the other tables for 2 that were empty and not part of a group of tables. They acted like we were asking for the moon but eventually "found" one for us. Not wanting to be subjected to this again we stayed away from the MDR. For a cruise line that promotes itself as a "love" boat they sure don't cater to couples who want to dine by themselves.

Ruby was the same way. This was our main reason for us not returning to the MDR after 2 tries. Both times we asked for a table for 2. Both times the Hostess asked if we would prefer sitting at a larger table with others. Both times I told her no we would like a table for 2. Both times she literally rolled her eyes at me before seeing what she could do. Both times they led us to a long bench with 8 tables for 2 just inches apart. The first time we took it. It was very uncomfortable for us. We did not enjoy being so close to those next to us and having to listen to their conversations and have them listen to ours. The second time when they led us to the same table we requested one of the other tables for 2 that were empty and not part of a group of tables. They acted like we were asking for the moon but eventually "found" one for us. Not wanting to be subjected to this again we stayed away from the MDR. For a cruise line that promotes itself as a "love" boat they sure don't cater to couples who want to dine by themselves.

We had that exact same experience in January on the Emerald - she actually rolled her eyes when we insisted on a table for two - as you said, like she was doing us a favor. I do not understand that, it made us very uncomfortable and to feel like we were imposing.

We actually don't mind the close proximity of the tables for two. You say a polite hello to the people seated next to you, but you are not obligated to maintain conversation. We don't expect or need intimacy or true privacy, just an understanding that on that particulart night we're not up for an ongoing back and forth with our neighbours.

I expect that the reason for the layout stems from tables for two being a bit of an afterthought, not part of the original dining room design. We haven't yet cruised on the Royal, so I would be interested: Has Princess done a better job of integrating tables for two in the new ships?

It's not just Princess. We've sailed on the Solstice twice, first time was traditional dining with a 2-top that was right next to other ones. They have to accommodate a certain number of diners within the given space, no matter what the ship or line.

On the Diamond Princess last year we had a table for 2 which was a long bench type lounge along the wall and a row of little tables with a single chair on the other side. There was very little separation between the tables so it was like sharing a table for about 8 when we all sat down. Conversations were never private :)