Viking Dining for the Not-So-Social

[seatrial]

I have been on over thirty ocean cruises and I am looking forward to my first river cruise with Viking in a few weeks. To be honest, we are traveling with Viking due to an incredible deal they offered. Viking was not my first choice for one big reason; there are no tables for two in the formal dining room. I can be a social person, however, I work a tremendous amount, and when I do have time off, I enjoy spending time with my partner. I especially enjoy being able to sit and have a nice dinner together. I am envisioning a nightly musical chairs in the dining room, with the less popular cruisers taking the last available seats. Dining with different people each night is exhausting to people like me that really aren't on vacation to socialize. I don't mind a short chit chat at dinner, but I would like to unlimately enjoy my food and converse with the person with whom I'm traveling. How miserable am I going to be with Viking's dining situation? Do any of you have feelings similar to mine? I must say that the dining situation has cast a bit of a shadow on this trip, and we really just feel like we have to survive the meals. I am hopeful that it won't be quite as bad as I am imagining. I do think that Viking needs to examine their dining room seating configuration.

Edited June 4, 2015 by seatrial

[Mark_T]

I do think that Viking needs to examine their dining room seating configuration.

 

Even if they had tables for two they would be so close together that you might as well be on a larger table anyway.

 

I would suggest that you take a proactive decision to find one or more couples that you can tolerate over dinner and try to stick with them so you don't have to deal with new people each evening.

[orchestrapal]

I have been on over thirty ocean cruises and I am looking forward to my first river cruise with Viking in a few weeks. To be honest, we are traveling with Viking due to an incredible deal they offered. Viking was not my first choice for one big reason; there are no tables for two in the formal dining room. I can be a social person, however, I work a tremendous amount, and when I do have time off, I enjoy spending time with my partner. I especially enjoy being able to sit and have a nice dinner together. I am envisioning a nightly musical chairs in the dining room, with the less popular cruisers taking the last available seats. Dining with different people each night is exhausting to people like me that really aren't on vacation to socialize. I don't mind a short chit chat at dinner, but I would like to unlimately enjoy my food and converse with the person with whom I'm traveling. How miserable am I going to be with Viking's dining situation? Do any of you have feelings similar to mine? I must say that the dining situation has cast a bit of a shadow on this trip, and we really just feel like we have to survive the meals. I am hopeful that it won't be quite as bad as I am imagining. I do think that Viking needs to examine their dining room seating configuration.

 

Totally agree , the lack of tables for two as well as the very small cabins have kept us from ever taking a river cruise. Good luck to you and I hope it won't be as bad as you imagine it to be. Please report upon your return.

[dsfischer]

We're on the Viking Odin right now and I understand and sympathize with your situation. We're traveling with another couple and people seem to figure out their dining companions fairly quickly. We have been 4 people at a table for 6 a majority of the nights. On the other nights it has usually been fine to exchange polite conversation. (I'm not nearly as outgoing as my husband. He knows no strangers, but is able to recognize when people don't want to chat!)

[cruiseryyc]

Totally agree , the lack of tables for two as well as the very small cabins have kept us from ever taking a river cruise. Good luck to you and I hope it won't be as bad as you imagine it to be. Please report upon your return.

 

I found the balcony cabin on my river cruise (Scenic) larger than any of the balcony cabins I had taken on Princess.

[Francis M]

Hi Seatrial,,

My wife and I shared your feelings exactly as we approached our Christmas cruise last December. In terms of your thinking, planning, and not worrying about the dining - consider Viking's Aquavit Terrace your friend. This area is at the bow of the ship just outside the lounge. It has plenty of tables for 2 and in nice weather will be open to the outside. On our cruise we ate dinner up there twice and completely enjoyed ourselves in peace and quiet. Now- the menu is limited. For dinner the options were hamburger ( highly recommend) ; a Chicken Caesar Salad; a couple of others I can't remember. We are absolutely planning on doing that again on our upcoming trip as I think the outdoor seating will be spectacular.

Now all that said, we bit the bullet on the first night and tried the restaurant. It was really OK. Our strategy was skip down there 1st and grab a place at one of the larger tables and let other lost souls join us. It worked out fine and I'd have to admit that we were pretty comfortable with whole thing by the end of the cruise. The wine glass is always full so sip slowly and smile a lot - the time will slide on by.

Enjoy yourselves,

FM

[Di Princess]

I found the balcony cabin on my river cruise (Scenic) larger than any of the balcony cabins I had taken on Princess.

 

What does this have to do with the Dining Room ??? :confused:

[ural guy]

Ditto Francis's answer.

 

Limited menu (I think chicken quesadilla was another option), but beautiful views, much less noise. The 'Viking Burger' is very good. Some of the best times were up there.

 

The bartenders are the servers so they can get busy as they have to put away all the chairs from the daily briefing in the lounge that precedes dinner. If you have some patience, they will take very good care of you.

 

I wound up bailing on the Captain's last dinner event between the 1st and 2nd course. It was really hot that day, and the room seemed to get louder and louder. I excused myself, and left my wife and 2 adult daughters w/ 2 nice couples from Scotland.

 

I wound up in the Aquavet, beautiful w/ the river breeze. Peter, the Slovak bartender, was able to rustle me up food quickly, even though you usually can't order there after the main dining room service starts. The wine bottle stayed on my table. When I thanked him, he replied sincerly, that 'you'd do the same for me'. We had talked a few times about our military pasts, so ya, Peter, I would have. Thanks again.

 

Great evening meal spent w/ 2 Canadians (1 originally from Holland), 2 Australians (who ate there 12 nights out of 14), and 2 Floridians. By the time my family made it upstairs the bottle had been swapped out, the tables were scooted a bit closer, and everyone was enjoying the evening and quiet conversation. :)

 

So, for me, the Captains farewell was one of the best meals of the trip.

[Mark_T]

What does this have to do with the Dining Room ??? :confused:

 

A reply to this I would guess...

 

Totally agree , the lack of tables for two as well as the very small cabins have kept us from ever taking a river cruise.

[cruiseryyc]

What does this have to do with the Dining Room ??? :confused:

 

Nothing to do with dining; I was referring to the previous posters comment on rooms being smaller on river cruises. Just thought I'd add my perspective on that.

 

My absolute apologies for interfering with the subject at hand.

[Francis M]

Ditto Francis's answer.

 

I wound up in the Aquavet, beautiful w/ the river breeze. Peter, the Slovak bartender, was able to rustle me up food quickly, even though you usually can't order there after the main dining room service starts. The wine bottle stayed on my table. When I thanked him, he replied sincerly, that 'you'd do the same for me'. We had talked a few times about our military pasts, so ya, Peter, I would have. Thanks again.

 

 

Love it ural guy and I'll second the notion of befriending the bartender early in your trip. Always a good idea. Yes, it's the bar staff that will take care of you in Aquavit. Our guy was Roman from Constantinople. He poured a very healthy Jameson's and earned a very healthy extra gratuity at the end. You really do get to think of some of these guys as pals after a few days,

FM

[Donray]

I have been on over thirty ocean cruises and I am looking forward to my first river cruise with Viking in a few weeks. To be honest, we are traveling with Viking due to an incredible deal they offered. Viking was not my first choice for one big reason; there are no tables for two in the formal dining room. I can be a social person, however, I work a tremendous amount, and when I do have time off, I enjoy spending time with my partner. I especially enjoy being able to sit and have a nice dinner together. I am envisioning a nightly musical chairs in the dining room, with the less popular cruisers taking the last available seats. Dining with different people each night is exhausting to people like me that really aren't on vacation to socialize. I don't mind a short chit chat at dinner, but I would like to unlimately enjoy my food and converse with the person with whom I'm traveling. How miserable am I going to be with Viking's dining situation? Do any of you have feelings similar to mine? I must say that the dining situation has cast a bit of a shadow on this trip, and we really just feel like we have to survive the meals. I am hopeful that it won't be quite as bad as I am imagining. I do think that Viking needs to examine their dining room seating configuration.

 

 

Exact reason we have taken three AMA river cruises. AMA has tables for two.

[Di Princess]

Nothing to do with dining; I was referring to the previous posters comment on rooms being smaller on river cruises. Just thought I'd add my perspective on that. My absolute apologies for interfering with the subject at hand.

 

Oh, I'm so sorry. I missed that about the "small cabins." I am going on my first river cruise on the Viking Var (Rhine) in November. From reading every day on Cruise Critic, and having taken 41 ocean cruises, I am aware of the difference in cabin sizes; therefore, I won't be disappointed. ;)

[sammiedawg]

We spent fourteen days on a Viking River cruise. We were a couple traveling by ourselves. We were not interested in finding new best friends. Everyone eats dinner at the same time. Early on many people formed dinner groups and people were saving seats. It irritated me but overall it was no big deal. As someone else suggested, just sit down at an empty table and other couples will join you. We enjoyed most of our dinners, the free wine is flowing and people were nice. Don't worry about a lack of two top tables. There is not much to do on board and the leisurely dinner was OK.

I would not recommend the Aquavit lounge for dinner, try out the dining room.

[purduemom1]

Exact reason we have taken three AMA river cruises. AMA has tables for two.

 

Our AMA cruise had tables for two but they were so close to the next table that conversation was eadily exchanged back and forth. Actually, we thought that the small number of passengers on a river cruise compared to ocean cruising naturally lends itself to easily started conversations. After a few days you felt like most were friends. We did find some that kept to themselves and others respected that or so it seemed to me.

Edited June 5, 2015 by purduemom1
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[caviargal]

Exact reason we have taken three AMA river cruises. AMA has tables for two.

 

 

AMA is also our line of choice and we opt for a table for 2 when not traveling with friends.

 

AMA also offers a nice lunch in the lounge in addition to the dining room and there we are able to find a quiet corner by ourselves when we prefer.

 

We also work long and hard at our jobs; when DH and I travel alone we generally prefer to enjoy each others company rather than seeking out others to spend time with. While we have, on occasion, made friends whose company we enjoyed while on a river cruise, we don't go for the social aspect of the experience.

[Hoyaheel]

I'm non-social and my husband is far more social (at least when traveling) than I am. I find that large tables are the best for us - allow me to be quiet and eat my food without anyone noticing I'm not participating as much in the conversation, yet allows my husband to be social should he wish. We were on Avalon, which did have some 2-tops, but as noted, they're very very close to other tables, so it's like you're all together anyway, and people will talk to you.

 

Most people are actually pretty decent at picking up social cues, so if you just smile and nod and keep eating, they'll leave you alone and not engage if that appears to be your wish.

[rjscott]

 

Most people are actually pretty decent at picking up social cues, so if you just smile and nod and keep eating, they'll leave you alone and not engage if that appears to be your wish.

 

Agree. We were seated at a table for eight one night. Two couples were quite gregarious, but one couple at the end of the table was, although not unfriendly, did send out a vibe that they wished to converse with each other, and so they were not pressured to do otherwise.

 

Becki

[ellenw]

For the non-social, perhaps you will be lucky enough to sit the people we sat with one night. I am the conversation starter - very social and enjoy meeting new people and yacking away. One night on our recent Rhine cruise, the four of us sat at a table of 8 that already had four people. After we sat down, I asked the woman next to me what they had done that day. She was friendly and told me about their trip to the Alsace region. Her husband who was across from her never acknowledged that we were talking. The couple on the other side also ignored us. After the conversation about the Alsace was over, they completely ignored us. There was body language involved where they turned slightly away from us. My sister was across from me, and the two of almost got the hysterical laughing thing going on. We thought it was just a riot. So, if you are not social, perhaps you can sit with these people!

 

Don't let this make you think that people aren't friendly on these cruises. They absolutely are. I just thought these people were funny. I start to giggle every time I think about it.

[No Spin]

We don't mind sitting with others. My wife usually won't start a conversation (unless she's complimenting some woman on her shoes) but once someone else starts she will keep it going.

 

I always like to say I can talk for 2 hours on any subject, and I can go for 4 hours if I actually know something about it! :D

[pully8]

it is nice to have the choice to chat with strangers or not. we have had tables for 2 on Avalon but as others have said space is limited and we are happy to join others in conversation. many travel in large groups/families/friends so they are often content to keep their own company. singles also like to join others where they can.

we have met some charming and interesting people over the years and some we have kept in contact with.

 

we notice in the common areas/lounge etc some like company others prefer quiet. we find very loud people annoying but understand that can be because they have an impairment and are unaware how loud they are. or culturally they just communicate like that. we are all different in our social requirements I suppose.

[remydiva]

Totally agree , the lack of tables for two as well as the very small cabins have kept us from ever taking a river cruise. Good luck to you and I hope it won't be as bad as you imagine it to be. Please report upon your return.

 

Ok this is completely off the OP's topic but i am curious orchestrapal why you are on a River Cruising forum when you state that the "lack of tables for two plus the small cabins have kept you from Ever taking a river cruise."?

 

Maybe just maybe you could be persuaded to try a river cruise if these issues could be resolved? Never say never ever!:D

[pontac]

We were apprehensive on our first tour as a couple, but no need.

 

Everyone is in the same boat :) and for every person who wants to chat there's one that doesn't.

 

Sit at the largest tables and there's a good chance that you'll have space either side of you as some will be dining off boat and others will be upstairs with the buffet in the lounge.

 

ANd if the table does get full, then they'll be enough people talking that you can be in your own silent comfort zone.

[gardnerna]

"as some will be dining off boat and others will be upstairs with the buffet in the lounge."

 

There is a buffet on these river boats? For dinner?

Every night?

 

Nancy

[xpcdoojk]

When we were on Avalon, go to the tables at the back of the dining room, by where the food is prepared 20 minutes after everyone goes to dinner it wil be wide open.

 

jc