hey you with anytime dining-do you really care?

O

 

I know a lot of you are going to say, we "want to be alone" but are there people out there who actually like to sit with new people? Meet new people? at their table?

 

Those are the ones I want to hear from!

 

we find plenty of opportunity to dine with others with MTD. often on the spur of the moment when we strike up conversations elsewhere on board. hell once or twice we have been in line waitng to get seated and we end up with a larger table

I think table mates are great! It's the highlight of our day....finding out what our table mates have done all day...talking about the plan for the next day...

Yes...some folks are more fun than others, but we've yet to eat with anyone we couldn't get along with! I'm never sure why others are so reticent or uncomfortable about it!

We like meeting new people at dinner. What we don't like is dining with the same people night after night, which is why we don't do traditional dining. And if we fancy being on our own one night, with Anytime we can just get a table for two.

We like anytime dining so we have choices. We do not like being locked into a set dining time. Sometimes we want to dine with others but sometimes we want to be alone. It all depends. If we meet interesting people during the day, it's nice to be able to sit with them.

We always get fixed time dinner at a large table. The only reason I don't like NCL is that they have only any time dining, and most of the times we end up at a table for two. I can do it at home, on a cruise I love me some company ;)

I rather have a choice if I want to sit at large table or not, so anytime dining is better fit for me. The last time I did fix dining, it was suppose to be a table for 10 solo travelers at late dining and majority of the week only 3-5 people showed up at most with one day, 7 showing up (me included) and it didn't help that no one was talkative or a decent conservationist. I found myself talking the most, which is something because I more of a listener than a talker; the silence was so bad you can hear the ocean outside plus the other tables around the table I was at conversations and most of those people were talking low except for like 2-3 people at different separate tables. To say it was awkward and uncomfortable is grand understatement - the late 2 nights I just didn't bother going, the tetris game on my phone was more interesting entertainment than that.....

I think table mates are great! It's the highlight of our day....finding out what our table mates have done all day...talking about the plan for the next day...

 

Yes...some folks are more fun than others, but we've yet to eat with anyone we couldn't get along with! I'm never sure why others are so reticent or uncomfortable about it!

If you simply read this thread, many posters are revealing why they prefer not to dine with other table mates.

Isn't the real answer that we are all different, that's why the ships offer the choice.

On 5 cruises we had fixed dining on group table; 3 of which we had brilliant table mates, and became friends and are still in contact with 3 of the couples. So fixed can be good, but it is a gamble.

On 2 cruise we just didn't gel with the other people and it was awkward having to eat with them every night.

On another cruise we asked for a fixed time group table but they gave us our own, we really missed the group conversation :(

So then we decided to go down the freedom dining route.

I'm all for having a couple of nights of romantic dining in a speciality restaurant but love to hear the experiences of others on the others too.

On our last cruise we did freedom dining. Only on 1 night did we not gel with out table mates. Every other night we had a ball!

We have booked Freedom dining again on Liberty for January. Hope the people on board that ship are as much fun as on Splendour. Looking at the roll call thread it looks like the youngest cruise we will have ever been on, so fingers crossed we'll have lots in common :D

One of the joys of getting on a cruise ship, to me, is meeting interesting people. They don't have to be rocket scientists, the ability to speak English is enough-they are interesting because I don't know them before the cruise, I may become fast friends with them, or hate them, but to have one meal with someone is not going to make or break my cruise. I usually travel with my DH, and heck, lets face it, while I love him to death, we eat together every darn night on land, so while its soooo romantic:rolleyes: (yeah right) to dine together on the ship-why wouldn't we want to sit with others.

 

I know a lot of you are going to say, we "want to be alone" but are there people out there who actually like to sit with new people? Meet new people? at their table?

 

Those are the ones I want to hear from!

 

Oh, most interesting people I have shared a meal with? A couple who knew each other as children before WWII, both survived concentration camps, met up as adults and got married. What a story! They were the nicest people!

We loved the way Celebrity handled their ATD. We were asked by the hostess if we would like to join others that evening or have a table for two. We ate with others on three occasions I believe. It was great because you were eating with others who chose to eat with new people as well.

I would never chose to let the cruiseline pick who I am going to eat with for a week ever again. One and done is the way to do it!:D

My husband and I prefer ATD to eat alone. I'm an interior designer and spend the vast majority of my work days talking to people, finding out about how they live, and really doing a lot of "chit-chat". My vacation is for relaxing and just focusing on my husband and myself. I am truly an introvert by nature and the time to re-charge is important!

I love that cruise lines offer different options and people can have just what they want. Different strokes for different folks indeed!

To me, the best thing about ATD is that, in addition to giving people the choice of how, when, and with whom they dine, it gives us - as people who enjoy the traditional approach of assigned dining - much better chances of being seated with six or eight other couple who are much more likely to be compatible: the fact that they also opt for traditional makes them better tablemates.

Everyone wins - no point in arguing the better points of one approach or the other - just choose the format you prefer and enjoy your dining - either solo or with a regular group.

To me, the best thing about ATD is that, in addition to giving people the choice of how, when, and with whom they dine, it gives us - as people who enjoy the traditional approach of assigned dining - much better chances of being seated with six or eight other couple who are much more likely to be compatible: the fact that they also opt for traditional makes them better tablemates.

 

Everyone wins - no point in arguing the better points of one approach or the other - just choose the format you prefer and enjoy your dining - either solo or with a regular group.

But then 2/3 of treads would disappear, tipping,dining, formal nights drinks packages all gone.

I just don't understand why people get so upset over what others choose to do, surely it is up to the Cruise Line, t is their business not ours we are there to have a good time not to judge everyone else.

I do what suits me [yes I'm the type of person who tries to follow the guidelines] not what suits you, if you choose to not follow the guidelines, that's up to you, so long as it doesn't negatively effect me.

We love anytime or my time dining depending on which cruise line we happed to be cruising on. We don't care for a set dining time. One night I might feel like eating at 5:30-6:00 PM and another night I might not want to eat until 8:00 PM.

And if we don't feel like eating alone one night we just ask the Maitre'D if there is anyone that night that won't mind sharing a table with us. ATD/MTD is the best of both worlds; eat when we want and either dine alone or dine with someone else.

I know a lot of you are going to say, we "want to be alone" but are there people out there who actually like to sit with new people? Meet new people? at their table?

I am very much NOT a morning person, which is part of why I don't particularly enjoy breakfast in the MDR. I want to get my food quickly and be left alone.

For lunch and dinner, sometimes I'm in the mood to talk and be social, whereas other times I just want to be with my husband or share a quiet lunch with one of my daughters. The option to do one thing for tonight's dinner and something different for tomorrow's dinner is one of the benefits of the flexible dining options.

We always say we like our vacation friends better than our 'real life' friends :D

How about half and half?

 

I am very much NOT a morning person, which is part of why I don't particularly enjoy breakfast in the MDR. I want to get my food quickly and be left alone.

 

For lunch and dinner, sometimes I'm in the mood to talk and be social, whereas other times I just want to be with my husband or share a quiet lunch with one of my daughters. The option to do one thing for tonight's dinner and something different for tomorrow's dinner is one of the benefits of the flexible dining options.

Possible explanation: You're with your real life friends more often, and you have time to learn their negative points (and we all have them). You know that Jane is always late when you meet for lunch, and Tom is a nice guy until he's behind the wheel of a car. However, you're somewhat insulated from seeing these warts and bumps in your vacation friends. You see them only at their best.

ITA with this analysis; friends IRL take work, just like spouses, while fleeting friendships generally experience only good times. Who would't want to dine with happy, carefree friends all the time? That's not reality. I think this is very visible when families cruise, because most children do not have that ability yet to present themselves in only a "perfect" way. What you see is what you get! New table mates could be completely different people off the ship.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

ITA with this analysis; friends IRL take work, just like spouses, while fleeting friendships generally experience only good times. Who would't want to dine with happy, carefree friends all the time? That's not reality. I think this is very visible when families cruise, because most children do not have that ability yet to present themselves in only a "perfect" way. What you see is what you get! New table mates could be completely different people off the ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Exactly

I know people that go on vacation whether to another country or another state and when they come back. The place they went to is paradise and where we live is hell on earth .

"Oh my God in such and such they pay no sales tax, and it is so clean , and everyone gets a free education and health care, and the people are so polite and friendly and this and that and the other , and here it is so expensive and you get nothing and etc etc.

Well of course , you were on vacation, you were waited on hand and foot by waiters, maids, etc. All your info came from tour guides and people depending on your tips . So what the hell are they going to say?

You probably stayed in the touristy area so of course that is nice.

What are the salaries like there , How much are houses, What would the job you do here pay over there , How much are Corn Flakes , Toilet paper and milk at the grocery store?

Being on vacation is great and wonderful to get away , but you are right ....not reality

We do set dining and always go for the later seating. I would prefer a table for two but always get set at a large table. I am very much an introvert and honestly could care less about interacting with attached. I go on vacation to relax, see the sites, be pampered, and to spend time with my husband. My husband likes to"schmooze" so being seated with others is good for him.

Hi,

We are new cruises & our travel agent ( who we will never use again) did not suggest any dining seating or times we would prefer.

So when we eventually went to the dining room, we was met with a party of 8 who had been cruising together in the past.

Well when we sat down they gave us the third degree as to where have we been all this time.

Next mouthfull was now its your turn to buy the wine as we have all had our turn.

We had took the drink package & explained to them that we was not interested.

We went a couple of more times to the dining room at our assigned table, but felt uncomfortable, because they just discussed things amongst them selves, no face contact with us or any thing else.

Very ignorant people.:eek:

So never again.

Cheers eurorivers2

Hi,

We are new cruises & our travel agent ( who we will never use again) did not suggest any dining seating or times we would prefer.

So when we eventually went to the dining room, we was met with a party of 8 who had been cruising together in the past.

Well when we sat down they gave us the third degree as to where have we been all this time.

Next mouthfull was now its your turn to buy the wine as we have all had our turn.

We had took the drink package & explained to them that we was not interested.

We went a couple of more times to the dining room at our assigned table, but felt uncomfortable, because they just discussed things amongst them selves, no face contact with us or any thing else.

Very ignorant people.:eek:

So never again.

Cheers eurorivers2

And I thought my 1st cruise with traditional dining was lousy - My condolences, I know that was just plain wrong what happen to you.

What I'm noticing is - For every 2 posts with happy experiences praising traditional dining, there's a post that tells a horrible or ugly incident about the drawbacks of it. For anyone saying that person who had an awful situation with traditional dining to try again should realized that sometimes the experience was so bad, there is no next time with that dining option to the point some people swear off cruising altogether because of it. I guess what I mean to say is; have some common courtesy of that person(s) choice of not wanting to do traditional seating for whatever reason, it is their choice for not choosing it and that is their personal preference. Just as your choice of preferring traditional seating over anytime dining.

I guess sometimes what i ask gets confused-you have any time dining, are you willing to sit with others, and meet new people so can can be seated and fed? or are you holding out for that table for two? Simple.

Don't like anytime dining much, we are locked into the early sitting on cruises.

Unless I misunderstand what you are saying, how does anytime dining lock you into early seating?

DON

Hi,

We are new cruises & our travel agent ( who we will never use again) did not suggest any dining seating or times we would prefer.

So when we eventually went to the dining room, we was met with a party of 8 who had been cruising together in the past.

Well when we sat down they gave us the third degree as to where have we been all this time.

Next mouthfull was now its your turn to buy the wine as we have all had our turn.

We had took the drink package & explained to them that we was not interested.

We went a couple of more times to the dining room at our assigned table, but felt uncomfortable, because they just discussed things amongst them selves, no face contact with us or any thing else.

Very ignorant people.:eek:

So never again.

Cheers eurorivers2

You could have asked to have your table changed. That would have solved the problem.

DON

You could have asked to have your table changed. That would have solved the problem.

 

DON

But what if 1) they are new to cruising and didn't know they could do that ~or~ 2)maitre couldn't or wouldn't move them because there was no techically free space/table for them because it's assigned seating and don't know who would switch places with them or if the other table occupants would come back.*shrug*

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk

I like the traditional dining better, but that's more a product of execution than concept. I have yet to be on a cruise ship that handles 'anytime' dining well outside of their specialty restaurants. ATD you have to sit and wait for tables rather than just go whenever your time is. If I could book ATD ahead like specialty places, that'd be fine. (I realize as I'm typing this some line do) I also miss the level of service you get with fixed dining. The waiter knowing to bring extra breadsticks, having iced tea waiting for you, etc, etc. ATD it was always seemed like it was understaffed. Things would just get forgotten and I'd have to try and flag a waiter down to get anything.

If they could run service at least as well as a moderately competent restaurant in the US I'd be all over ATD.