Anyone had a shared dinner table lately?

[qa4ever]

We shared a dinner table on our DCL cruise and loved it. We have early dining and are hoping there is a chance we will get to sit with a family again. Anyone had this lately?

[BillOh]

We shared a dinner table on our DCL cruise and loved it. We have early dining and are hoping there is a chance we will get to sit with a family again. Anyone had this lately?

 

16 cruises and we have done this each time. Its almost always a good time, no bad times for us so far, but there have been a few funny stories of odd dinner mates.

[cb at sea]

We LOVE having tablemates...makes dinner more fun and more interesting! We have all day, every day to talk to each other...tablemates are a welcome diversion! We've never had "bad" tablemates...not all are as "interesting" as others, but they're always enjoyable. We always do traditional seating and ask to be at a large table to up our chances of having at least another couple each night. (Getting harder and harder with all the "specialties" that folks want to try)....

[qa4ever]

How do you request this? Or by default will you be placed with others?

[bc_redhead]

We have only sailed a few times and have had a table of 6 and a table of 8 on traditional dining, both times were great. The table of 6 was actually just us and one other couple, the 3rd couple always ate at the buffet. I wish they had told the restaurant staff this was what they were doing so that we could have had the 3rd couple seated with us. The table of 8 was awesome, so much fun.

 

 

I am disappointed that we could not get traditional dining on our upcoming cruise, there was not even a wait list option so we are on MTD. I'm hoping we can be seated with others, we enjoy the stories and hearing other peoples experiences and adventures with ports and cruising.

[taglovestocruise]

How do you request this? Or by default will you be placed with others?

When you book you will be asked if you want a small, medium or large table. If you already booked your cruise just call the TA and ask for a large table. We always get a table for 6 or 8, a ten top is to large to converse with everyone. I also ask as we leave the table if everyone wants to keep the seating arrangement or do a nightly round robin. The first stop we make when boarding is to check out our table assignment, easy to change table size and location if you get there early. Have tried MTD twice and changed back to traditional after the first night.

[cruisegoal100]

We always look to share table whether regular dining or MTD. Have always enjoyed interacting with other cruisers during dinner. Only asked to be moved once or twice due to "oral diarrhea" or always right type issues. Usually we avoid politics and religion but always start with the usual "where are you from" or "why did you pick this specific cruise" etc. Always very pleasant and in a couple of cases have become very close friends and cruised together after meeting at dinner. A year ago we met a couple from UK on the QM2 and this fall they're coming to visit and cruise with us on the AOS...they have never been to the Caribbean and wanted to try cruising on a non-British cruise Line!

Enjoy your dinner tablemates!

[kochleffel]

For my upcoming RC booking I requested traditional dining specifically in order to share a table -- I'll be on my own and I don't really want to be seated alone at a two-top every night, and others have reported being told "No one has asked to share." There is a chance that the table will be uncongenial, but it's OK to request a change.

[bobert]

We also love to share a table and listen to the stories that other people tell. We usually ask for a large table and then get table mates, but the last several cruises we have had a number of weeks with no one or almost no one at our table.

[jcc1025]

We have done this a lot, in the old days all the tables were for 8 and so it was the standard and we loved it. Have had some great times with some great people and can not think of any real bad experiences. One of our favorite things about cruising is interacting with people from all over the country and world and making friends wither its at dinner or sitting in a bar or doing an excursion.

[kalliekae]

When we had fixed dining, we always enjoyed a table of 6 or 8. Met some great people and kept in touch with them over the years. The last few cruises have been MTD and hubby prefers a two top table. I would like to go back to the large table. You meet so many interesting people on cruises.

[John&LaLa]

Used to do that. Not so much anymore. Always ended up with half empty table

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Clarea]

Used to do that. Not so much anymore. Always ended up with half empty table

That's been our experience too.

[ubish00]

I cruise solo with my young niece. Disney was fabulous with matching her up with another child her age. We have been on 2 RCI cruises recently and have not been matched with other kids even though I ask for a table of at least 6 people. She's used to eating in fancy restaurants and conversing with adults so it hasn't been a problem and we have been matched with some really nice people who have enjoyed her company.

[cruisinfromtampa]

We have had great luck being placed atr a larger table. We've kept in touch with a few of the people we've sat with, and have gotten together when in eachother's respective cities.

[Grammaann]

16 cruises and we have done this each time. Its almost always a good time, no bad times for us so far, but there have been a few funny stories of odd dinner mates.

 

Most unusual table mate for me. ---- lone lady cruising solo. She had a few too many , fell asleep sitting uprite at the table. Still asleep when we all left.:lips-sealed: :rolleyes:

[Thorben-Hendrik]

We used to do traditional and enjoyed it - but it seems that the vibe and the people doing traditional have changed.....we had a couple of bad experiences in a row :eek:and have since changed to MTD, it seems that is the way to go now....if you do not want to risk being stuck with enoying people or a young family.

[LookingForward2]

Have tried MTD twice and changed back to traditional after the first night.

 

 

 

Curious as to how long ago and what ship you’ve done this on?

I always thought once you had MTD you couldn’t switch back to traditional.

I think there are more spots now for MTD than traditional because my past few cruises I’ve had to take MTD. We prefer traditional for the reasons others state - to dine with others.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[barb65]

Most unusual table mate for me. ---- lone lady cruising solo. She had a few too many , fell asleep sitting uprite at the table. Still asleep when we all left.:lips-sealed: :rolleyes:

 

This is the funniest post I have ever read,:D

[VeniceKev]

My wife and I have only been on 7 cruises and we have always sat at a table of 8 or 10 and we have thoroughly enjoyed meeting our tablemates except on one cruise. We had a couple that could top anything you said. They talked over everyone and treated the waitstaff like slaves. We will continue to dine at the large tables but if we ever encounter another situation of obnoxious people we will ask to be moved to another table. We've paid too much for our cruise and we aren't going to allow anyone to ruin it.

[JamesEM]

Used to do that. Not so much anymore. Always ended up with half empty table

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

You are spot on, in the "old days of sailing" use to look forward to dining with a group of cruisers, over the years cruising has changed, now we opt for a 2 top or the Windjammer.

[travellovers2]

Next month will be our 35th cruise on 9 different cruise lines, so we have had our share of good and bad table mates. We use to love to share, but got tired of the annoying people that dominated the conversation with pushing their political or religious beliefs. On one cruise we got stuck with a lady that was pushing her healing oils. She was giving lectures on the cruise and also at the tables. Another one we had a lady giving away religious propaganda and lectures all night. One couple ate fast and left without eating dessert. :')On another sailing we had a guy that kept hitting the table talking about politics. And it goes on.

 

So now when we make the reservation we ask for a table for 2 or MTD so we can wait for one. And even then, they put them so close that some times it is almost the same as sharing. On one cruise a guy kept leaning over asking questions about politics. It was very annoying. Don't get me wrong, we have had wonderful experiences and made friends that stayed in touch after the cruise and even planned another cruise together, but it was a hit and miss so we prefer not to take a chance.

 

Our vacation time it too precious to us.:D

[powelweb]

We've done MTD on our more recent cruises, and found it fairly easy to be paired up with other cruisers each night. Sometimes the staff would ask if we wanted to share a table and sometimes we would have speak up and say we wanted to share with others, but they were always happy to do so.

 

We also tend to eat on the early side (5:30-6:45) so it was possibly easier to match tables together at that time.

 

One thing to be aware of is that you may be joining a table that has already ordered and may have started their appetizers- just like everyone else is at a different stage throughout the dining room, but you may be at different stages at your table, but the waiters seem to take it in stride.

 

Happy sailings

[BillOh]

We also love to share a table and listen to the stories that other people tell. We usually ask for a large table and then get table mates, but the last several cruises we have had a number of weeks with no one or almost no one at our table.

 

 

Our 2nd cruise was a 3 day on Majesty and we were at a table for 10. We were the only couple to show up! But the table next to us was highly entertaining, but extremely rude to their wait staff. We had the same wait staff, so they loved us. I think what was really funny about that other table, it was 2 parents, 2 kids (around 10-12 years old) and two sets of grandparents. The kids were remarkably well behaved, it was the two grandmothers out of control!

[TEXASMUNK]

Shared table? Love it!

Here are a few of the folks we have met over the many years.....

* The gentlemen (and their wives) who jerry-rigged the oxygen scrubber that saved the Astronauts on Apollo 13.

* Found ourselves sitting with one of my customers (we did not know we were planning the same cruise).

* Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher and his family.

* Gentleman and wife who was a private investment counselor for British royalty.

* A renowned writer who wrote multiple books on the great ships of the early 1900's

So, I say to those who hate sitting with others, you have no idea what you are missing!