Dining

[glenr]

My wife and I (late 40's) have travelled quite a bit but have never been on a cruise. We are thinking about going on one to the Caribbean, and this site has been very helpful. Since we are not travelling with kids or friends, my only concern is dinner. From what I understand, you are usually placed at a table with other people, depending on the ship. Not that I'm anti-social, but is it not possible to just dine for two on a ship?

[Sheffie]

Yes, it is possible to ask for a table for 2. We usually ask for a large table because we really enjoy the other people that we meet! We have met people from many different places, and it is always fun to talk about what everyone did that day. If you find that you don't like the people with whom you are seated, you can ask the maitre d' to change your table.

 

Have fun planning your cruise! Do one and you will be hooked!

[molly361]

We always request a table for two when cruising- I believe Celebrity is the only line that will, or used to, have not sailed with them for while guarantee it before sailing-all other lines put in your "request" for one

[Keith1010]

You can ask for a table of 2 but there is not always a guarantee that you will get it. My recommendation is two fold. Book a cruise early as the earlier you book the better for requests and also have the TA followup with the cruise line after your booking is made and also after the final payment is made about this.

 

Then when you board the ship the first day, most cruise lines have an area set up where you can meet with the matre d to see your table on a diagram. Double check location and size and if the size is not what you expected ask the matre d to move you. Again, doing this as soon as you can the first day is a good idea.

 

Keith

[trish1c]

You can try a line that has anytime or freestyle dining. You are guarenteed a table for 2 or can request a table to share if you want to meet new people.

 

Some say half the fun of cruising is traditional dining where you are assigned table mates & get to make new friends. When I 1st heard I'd have to "eat with strangers" I was convinced I'd made a mistake booking a cruise. It turned out to be fun.

[Keith1010]

Oh I would highly recommend not going with freestyle or anytime dining. The big plug is that you can dine when you want but the reality is when you show up you can sometimes wait an hour or so. That's not fun in my opinion.

 

Now, someluxury lines (eg., Seabourn, Silversea, etc.) have what's know as open seating meaning there is not an early or late seating and you are not assigned to a table for dinner. You can dine as you please, alone or with others and vary that each night and when you show up you will be seated right away. But, don't confuse that with freestyle dining or anytime dining on the those mass market and premium ships that offer that service because it's really not as good as people think.

 

Keith

[spookwife]

we'll be first timers ourselves soon(is it June yet?!) but we asked to be seated with others. It's my hope that we meet some old pros at cruising who can give us some pointers. plus the whole idea of meeting new friends always interests me. Maybe if this was right after a major deployment to icky places I'd want him all to myself, but seeing as how said deployments are usually on ships with less amenities, I doubt that I could even get him to agree to a cruise so soon after returning...ehheheheh

[Cotton]

Since you haven't cruised before, you may not know that when you request a certain dinner seating, it is only a request, and you won't know until you receive your ship's card just prior to boarding.

 

What you can do at this point is to tell your booking agent that you would like a table for two, and she can request that ahead of time, but you still may be seated at a larger table.

 

See the Maitre d' soon after boarding to request a change if you aren't happy with your seating arrangement.

 

Also - you might really enjoy having others at your table. I always ask for the largest table (8-10). I think the more folks at the table, the livlier the conversation.:)

 

Hope y'all have a fantastic voyage on your first cruise, and I bet it won't be your last!

[Andee]

"Oh I would highly recommend not going with freestyle or anytime dining. The big plug is that you can dine when you want but the reality is when you show up you can sometimes wait an hour or so."

 

That hasn't been our experience. We've been on Princess and Oceania, and we've never waited more than a few minutes to be seated. We like open seating dining so much that we wouldn't go on a cruise where we had to eat at the same time and with the same people every night.

[nudave]

Hi all, I'm planning our honeymoon in the Caribbean and was wondering if there were better cruise lines than others in terms of dining and getting a table for 2, instead of a large group. Which cruise lines do the freestyle type of dining? If I plan through a TA is there a better chance of getting a table for 2 saying its a honeymoon, or are there packages we can get that will give us this all elusive table for 2?

 

Thanks for your response(s)! I'm looking forward to our first cruise and will keep you all updated on our plans.

 

Thanks again.

 

Dave

[cwc]

Guarentee table for two in "cheap" cruiseline: Princess & NCL.

 

Guarentee table for two in "expensive" cruiseline: Oceania, Radisson seven sea, Seabourn, Silversea and Windstar.

 

All other cruise lines seating assignment are "on request" only (we talking about main dining room, if you are eating in the specialty restaurant=extra charge, you can get a table for two there). No honeymoon and anniversay will get you "Guarentee" table for two.

[nudave]

Thanks for the info. May be interesting to sit with a group of people anyhow. If we want to do seperate dining, then the specialty restaurants would be for us. It's our first cruise and would probably enjoy the experience.

 

Dave

[madelinerose]

On our first cruise in 2004, we requested a two-top at the late seating (traditional dining) with our reservation and our requests were honored.

 

If you advise your ta to request a two-top and you are not assigned one, see the maitre d' upon boarding and request one at that time.

 

Our next cruise is in September, we are doing Anytime Dining and will, most likely, request two-tops when we arrive at the diningroom. ;)

[RevSmith]

If the ship is not crowded, there is a posibility that they will seat you at either a table for 2 or a table for 4 (where there is no other couple). But my question is why. If you want to dine alone dine at one of the speciality restaurants on board...you can make reservations for a party of two for every day you cruise if you wish...or have dinner in your room...that's private enough. But why would you miss the chance of meeting some really nice folks. Part of cruising is meeting people and I think it's the best part. Don't pass up this opportunity. You can dine alone anytime...but here on a ship you can share cruising experiences and gain extra knowledge and who knows you might even make a friend of two. By the way, if you end up at a table with people you don't like you can always switch tables, just ask. Have a wonderful cruise.