Sharing tables

It drives me crazy that the hostesses at the MDR do not ask people if theyd like to share tables.

i can understand if cruisers wish to eat with their party only, but why not just ask? Ive even said to the hostesses Id like to share a table, and their reply was always that people do not want to share.

I bring this up because Princess Cruises always asks anytime diners if they like to share. Id say about 75% of the diners shared tables.

It drives me crazy that the hostesses at the MDR do not ask people if theyd like to share tables.

i can understand if cruisers wish to eat with their party only, but why not just ask? Ive even said to the hostesses Id like to share a table, and their reply was always that people do not want to share.

I bring this up because Princess Cruises always asks anytime diners if they like to share. Id say about 75% of the diners shared tables.

And with me every time I go into the MDR they always say would you like to share a table? So we are always asked. We usually don't mind sharing a table for breakfast and or lunch, however for dinner we preferre to eat on our own in order to get out in time for the shows.

Harriet

We did Anytime on Carnival & were always asked if we wanted to share - I think it is because the tables are bigger. NCL tables are mostly set for smaller groups so I feel like they would rather put parties of 2 at 3 separate tables than use up a table that fits 6 when a party of 6 could be next in line.

If you want to share, don't do Anytime Dining...do traditional seating! We LOVE tablemates and always ask for a large table at traditional seating!

It drives me crazy that the hostesses at the MDR do not ask people if theyd like to share tables.

i can understand if cruisers wish to eat with their party only, but why not just ask? Ive even said to the hostesses Id like to share a table, and their reply was always that people do not want to share.

I bring this up because Princess Cruises always asks anytime diners if they like to share. Id say about 75% of the diners shared tables.

A downside to cruising nowadays and the whole freestyle concept- IMO

We met another honeymoon couple at our table 25 years ago and are still great friends with them today -- along with another 1/2 dozen couples on subsequent cruises.

Also like hpecorari, I do not want to have dinner with strangers when traveling with friends or family. Breakfast & lunch are one thing but dinner can sometimes go on for 2-3 hours depending on how slow people eat. I love meeting people all over the ship & my last cruise pretty much spent the whole week in lounges talking to everyone I met but when showing up at dinner you are going to get stuck with whoever is right there. They may seem like nice folks but then they start discussing religion or politics or other topics that should be left away from the dining table....or they have terrible manners or talk with their mouths full. No thank you.

One of the reasons my family likes Norwegian is that we have no desire to eat with strangers, and frankly would be a bit put off if we got asked every time. It would be nice if they could make a note in your file if you made such a request, though. We requested a certain waiter in the Tropicana the first night (had had her for lunch and she told us to ask for her there) and several days later they sat us with her when we ate there again. So they must have some way of noting at least certain requests regarding seating in their dining room system.

That's why I sail with NCL. I don't want "traditional" dining sitting with Biff and Muffy pulling out their iPad and showing me pictures of their pointy headed kids or telling me all about their recent operations.

If you want to share, don't do Anytime Dining...do traditional seating! We LOVE tablemates and always ask for a large table at traditional seating!

This is the Norwegian Cruise Line forum. There is no traditional dining, only Freestyle (anytime) dining.

We have made some very good friends on more traditional cruising. Anytime doesn't bother me, and we usually sit by ourselves, but the appearance of many people bothers me, in that they just came in from working in the yard. I think the freestyle has gone a bit too far in terms of looking nice. Just because you are on vacation doesn't mean you should leave a baseball hat on while eating. I did watch the hostess at Cagneys tell cruisers to remove their hats.

I don't want to share a table. That is why I cruise NCL. If you want to share, cruise some other cruise line.

It drives me crazy that the hostesses at the MDR do not ask people if theyd like to share tables.

i can understand if cruisers wish to eat with their party only, but why not just ask? Ive even said to the hostesses Id like to share a table, and their reply was always that people do not want to share.

I bring this up because Princess Cruises always asks anytime diners if they like to share. Id say about 75% of the diners shared tables.

We started cruising NCL specifically because we could eat with just our party. I think that's NCL's "thing", which is probably why they don't ask.

As new cruisers a couple years ago we were asked if we wanted to sit with anyone else, and I'm sure we looked at the hostess like she had 3 heads. We were horrified at the suggestion.

Now I understand why she was asking, but at the time I thought it was because they were out of tables.

On our 2017 Carnival cruise we are going to try sitting with others just because some people love it it so much, I'd like to see for myself.

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For us, a cruise is always the great escape. Just the two of us. Us... Nothing personal...but no...I don't want to sit at dinner with you! I want to just spend time with my sweetie of 48 years.

For us, a cruise is always the great escape. Just the two of us. Us... Nothing personal...but no...I don't want to sit at dinner with you! I want to just spend time with my sweetie of 48 years.

Definitely agree.

However, we occasionally meet another couple or two, and then we might enjoy meals together a few times.

But that's totally different from sharing a table with complete strangers.

It drives me crazy that the hostesses at the MDR do not ask people if theyd like to share tables.

i can understand if cruisers wish to eat with their party only, but why not just ask? Ive even said to the hostesses Id like to share a table, and their reply was always that people do not want to share.

I bring this up because Princess Cruises always asks anytime diners if they like to share. Id say about 75% of the diners shared tables.

Even when I cruise solo I don't want to share a table. If I want to eat with someone, I arrive at the dining room with him or her or them.

Where does the 75% statistic come from? I can't imagine that's accurate. Given the option, the majority of people will choose to eat with only their own party; that's just human nature. When we've sailed Princess or Carnival and had Anytime or Your Time Dining, we've always opted to eat with just our family.

I've never been asked, and I don't want to be asked. They handle dining like regular land restaurants. I'm not asked at those, so why would I be on the ship?

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Definitely agree.

 

However, we occasionally meet another couple or two, and then we might enjoy meals together a few times.

 

But that's totally different from sharing a table with complete strangers.

Yes, we have done that with new friends we made on the cruise as well.

A downside to cruising nowadays and the whole freestyle concept- IMO

 

We met another honeymoon couple at our table 25 years ago and are still great friends with them today -- along with another 1/2 dozen couples on subsequent cruises.

When i first started cruising 15 years ago, i only experienced traditional dining. But once I had to cruise as a solo, I became an NCL devotee because of the studio cabins. Ive "graduated," no longer needing the company of other solos, but most recently, took two Princess cruises cuz I had to go out of FLL.

For anytime dining with Princess, they ask you if you wish to share. Breakfast and lunch they didnt even ask. My experience on these two, recent cruises looked like most people shared (perhaps cuz they got seated faster), but it was not a scientific survey, just my impression.

No, I dont wish to go to another cruise line, cuz NCL (again IMHO) has the best solo friendly prices. As I stated, Id never want to eat with those who prefer to dine with traveling companions. I just enjoyed eating eith, and meeting fellow passengers.

That's why I sail with NCL. I don't want "traditional" dining sitting with Biff and Muffy pulling out their iPad and showing me pictures of their pointy headed kids or telling me all about their recent operations.

You met them too. I think their last name is Conehead. As I recall they were from France. ;)

The reason we sail NCL is so we do not have to share a table. Sharing is a gamble, we might meet great people and become friends forever or we might meet people we don't take to and spend the rest of our cruise running away when we seem them.

No objection to being asked but the answer is always going to be no, table for 2 please.

Unless I am solo I would never do shared seating again, I was on a Carnival cruise seated with 8 people from Germany who did not speak a word of English. I had dinner exactly once in the MDR that cruise. Never again.

2010/2012 I have been asked at NCL's MDR but after that it stopped. I like it the way they do it now much better because it often sounded like being an annoyance wanting to have a table by myself.

It seems the attitude against sharing tables is a major element in being an NCL fan. On our recent Gem cruise we regularly asked to share in the MDR. Only once did we share - which strikes me as unfortunate, as cruising can be more than just hanging out on your own; and on all of our other cruises (usually assigned dining) we have had interesting table mates.

Sharing a table is not the be-all and end-all of cruising, but the reluctance of the majority of fellow cruisers to interact is something of a turn-off ----- while also unnecessarily prolonging the wait for tables in the MDR.

It seems the attitude against sharing tables is a major element in being an NCL fan. On our recent Gem cruise we regularly asked to share in the MDR. Only once did we share - which strikes me as unfortunate, as cruising can be more than just hanging out on your own; and on all of our other cruises (usually assigned dining) we have had interesting table mates.

 

Sharing a table is not the be-all and end-all of cruising, but the reluctance of the majority of fellow cruisers to interact is something of a turn-off ----- while also unnecessarily prolonging the wait for tables in the MDR.

That is a wrong assumption. Preferring to at least have a couple of minutes of conversation at a bar or the pool area before opting to spend two hours or more with someone for dinner is not anti-social.