dining with others

[melodyesch]

My DH and I find forced social interactions uncomfortable.  And a long meal with people in which you have nothing in common is extremely awkward.  Although we both are very friendly, it’s different striking up a conversation at trivia or in a line for something.  But we really do not want to have to eat with strangers.

[ChiefMateJRK]

46 minutes ago, melodyesch said:

But we really do not want to have to eat with strangers.

Yep.   I believe that you speak for a strong majority here.  The last thing I want is to be forced to sit at dinner with somebody who expects me to become their friend or have a "nice" discussion with them.  Many of us just aren't wired that way.  It's fine on Amtrak, because they have to maximize utilization of diner table utilization.  Fortunately, the NCL ships are designed so that my family can have our own space.

 

BTW: nice cat!

[Yinster]

The only exception where we dined with people we didn't know before is at a show and dinner or teppenkani. The table layout prevents us ducking out but to counterbalance that, the show breaks up any awkwardness.

 

I could probably converse eat happily with strangers. But that's who I am and my upbringing, my personality and what I do for a living all contribute to that. 

 

My partner on the other hand won't want to ever unless she knew the people previously. She's on holiday so why force her to do something that would probably stress her out.

 

It's one of the reasons why we cruise NCL. We dined at our own pace. Sometimes that's less than a hour, other times, it's over two. There may have been things we did before dinner or want to do after dinner. But it's done in own time. Not someone's else. 

 

Like other say, most are comfortable chatting over a drink. You can go when you want but dinner is something entirely.

 

Lastly my partner also says on the flip side, would anyone want to dine with me? Lol

[luckyinpa]

On 11/13/2021 at 9:54 AM, navybankerteacher said:

This thread seems to confirm the trend away from dinner parties as a form of home entertainment.  Are people becoming more insular? 

 

i think if you ask a 21, 31,41,51,61,71,81,91 year old. you will get vastly different answers from each age. ive never seen dinner parties as entertainment. they are always related to and event like bday etc. 

 

i seriously doubt any under 30 thinks of dinner parties as home entertainment, probably sees them as 'work'

 

i def agree the older demographic may seem them as entertainment. assuming you know enough people to ask to your home because, of course. you cannot ask to dine with strangers. 

[luckyinpa]

On 11/14/2021 at 7:19 PM, melodyesch said:

My DH and I find forced social interactions uncomfortable.  And a long meal with people in which you have nothing in common is extremely awkward.  Although we both are very friendly, it’s different striking up a conversation at trivia or in a line for something.  But we really do not want to have to eat with strangers.

 

i just thought of a forced voluntary social interaction. i just did the escape room on oasis of the seas. talk about social interactions. you have to manage personalities of people you literally just met. but with the common goal of winning it actually turned out ok. but we did enter the room knowing we had to 'dine with strangers' to a degree. 

 

with as close as tables are in most MDRs it's dining with others effectively anyway. and id never pay a premium to be in a suite on celebrity. pics and vids of the suite dining rooms show all the tables mere inches from each other. hardly a premium experience! where as the havens ive been in are strategically more 'private' in their table placement. 

[luvtollers]

On 11/16/2021 at 12:59 PM, luckyinpa said:

 

i

 

with as close as tables are in most MDRs it's dining with others effectively anyway. and id never pay a premium to be in a suite on celebrity. pics and vids of the suite dining rooms show all the tables mere inches from each other. hardly a premium experience! where as the havens ive been in are strategically more 'private' in their table placement. 

 

I know this is not a Celebrity dining thread, but want to offer my experience regarding the suite restaurant on Celebrity ships, Luminae, that I believe the poster above was referring to.  The photos you saw may have been misleading.  We've sailed on both Solstice class (many times) and the smaller class (the Summit), and the tables are very nicely spaced.  I never felt I was eating with the other diners at all.  We had much closer tables on both Royal and Princess, albeit in their main dining rooms.  

 

[krittykat]

I am glad I am not the only one who does not like to be "forced" into dining with strangers.  My hubby and I had cruised with just us two and also with our adult daughter. We like a nice meal conversation between us but it gets awkward when there are people we don't know are seated with us. Especially, this day and age where you have to be careful with which subject to avoid/ are controversial or others that might offend.  Our humor is very dark at times, could really disturb someone who doesn't know us - lol.
 

On the other hand, I do like getting to know my server for the duration of the cruise - Seeing the same one for meals is fun.

[CruiseMH]

On 11/15/2021 at 2:05 AM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Yep.   I believe that you speak for a strong majority here.  The last thing I want is to be forced to sit at dinner with somebody who expects me to become their friend or have a "nice" discussion with them.

thats exactly the reason i will never book a cruise with Costa again.

I was on two cruises and the overall experience wasn`t that bad. But you get a fixed table and a fixed time for dinner in the MDR with almost no other option. It can be a blast if you really like the the people at your table. But it can become a nightmare if you don`t like them.

First time we were with the whole family on board(15 people) so we had two whole tables for us. But second time i cruised with a friend and it was not the type of dinner i like.

[complawyer]

my 1st cruise many years ago was (mid 80's) was with assigned tables and dining times. i asked the maitre'd to switch tables and a later time. no problems.

 

since then, and ive been cruising with ncl since 2010, so this problem never came up. we've never been asked if we want to share a table. that being said and the anti-social sob that i am, where is it written that you need to keep a conversation going with the other people at the table. say hello when you sit down, if there are any questions that your table mates ask, you can simply answer in mono syllabic responses, and i assure you, they'll soon get the message.  also. they may never want to sit with you again

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

say hello when you sit down, if there are any questions that your table mates ask, you can simply answer in mono syllabic responses, and i assure you, they'll soon get the message.  also. they may never want to sit with you again

Why would I want to endure even this?

[AK Dreaming]

I personally decided on NCL years ago due to the ability to each with my party.  I do not want to eat with strangers.  It is one of the best things about NCL.  

[complawyer]

chiefmatejrk: i figure like this, (1) i would never intentionally sit at a meal with strangers, (2) with the drink package and enough scotch, i figure anything or any one is tolerable for a few hrs

[ChiefMateJRK]

10 minutes ago, complawyer said:

chiefmatejrk: i figure like this, (1) i would never intentionally sit at a meal with strangers, (2) with the drink package and enough scotch, i figure anything or any one is tolerable for a few hrs

That's the problem.  With the drink package and enough Black Label, I may start to become intolerable, which could lead to "complications." 🤣  Best to just sit with my family who have learned to tolerate me. 😎

[complawyer]

well, you have jack black, and i have chivas. i guess with enough of either we can learn to tolerate anyone/anything. in the alternative, with enough of either,  we probably wont give a d**n

[luckyinpa]

On 11/18/2021 at 12:22 AM, luvtollers said:

 

I know this is not a Celebrity dining thread, but want to offer my experience regarding the suite restaurant on Celebrity ships, Luminae, that I believe the poster above was referring to.  The photos you saw may have been misleading.  We've sailed on both Solstice class (many times) and the smaller class (the Summit), and the tables are very nicely spaced.  I never felt I was eating with the other diners at all.  We had much closer tables on both Royal and Princess, albeit in their main dining rooms.  

 

 

club class regal princess is a great place to sit if you wanna be 6 inches from other butts when they sit down. i'm glad i got it 'free' with an upsell. id never 'pay' for the privileges of sitting closer than other MDR seats. after that i sat with the commoners. much nicer. 

 

on oasis of the seas i was spoiled. got a table literally behind a pillar. it was so private u could have done whatever and the only people that would see you would have been the servers

 

and yes the official pics online of summit were a total turn off for me but that cruise got canceled so i never got on

[TonyB99]

Amazing to see so many really introverted cruisers. I consider myself more introverted than extroverted, but we always enjoy asking for a 6 or 8-top sharing table for dinner on a cruise. It is always interesting to meet a mixture of people, and only rarely have we met a total bore or self-possessed person. I am off on an NCL cruise in a few days (Prima) and hope most of those here are not on the ship!

[ziggyuk]

Only two years late to the party 🤣

[TonyB99]

But the policy is still in place, no sharing tables. They do not make that clear in any of their documentation ("eat any time, anywhere" also misleading given the trouble I had getting reservations weeks ago.), and I feel sorry that I have a 2 week cruise coming up in that environment.

[ziggyuk]

5 minutes ago, TonyB99 said:

But the policy is still in place, no sharing tables. They do not make that clear in any of their documentation ("eat any time, anywhere" also misleading given the trouble I had getting reservations weeks ago.), and I feel sorry that I have a 2 week cruise coming up in that environment.

 

They just do what any restaurant does, you turn up, they ask you how many and you are taken to an appropriate sized table for your party size.
Nothing to make clear, its normal practice when dining.

[ziggyuk]

If you want to dine with others, make up a group on your roll call and dine together as a large party.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by ziggyuk

[TonyB99]

1 minute ago, ziggyuk said:

If you want to dine with others, make up a group on your roll call and dine together as a large party.

 

There is no "policy of no sharing tables" BTW.

 

I do not want to have to try to find dining companions, I want the Maitre'd to do it, as do other cruise lines. Yes, there is a policy of not offering sharing tables when one checks into the dining room. (Or so I have been told by NCL).

[ziggyuk]

7 minutes ago, TonyB99 said:

 

I do not want to have to try to find dining companions, I want the Maitre'd to do it, as do other cruise lines. Yes, there is a policy of not offering sharing tables when one checks into the dining room. (Or so I have been told by NCL).

 

I edited that out as your comment can be read two ways:

No sharing of tables allowed or no sharing tables available and I realise now you meant the latter.

If you are prepared wait the Maitre'd may well be able to find others.

It is still the case NCL are not unusual to offer a table to suite your party size, this is how most restaurants operate the world over. So there is nothing for them to make clear when booking, its normal practice.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by ziggyuk

[Russiamomm]

Definitely an old thread.

 

But I don’t think it’s a “policy” of NCL to not allow sharing tables.  It’s just not the practice, especially at dinner.  If you ask, and there are others willing to share a table, they will accommodate.

 

last year on the Breakaway I was traveling solo.  Didn’t want to brave the buffet  - I wanted a sit down lunch.  Went to Taste and to my surprise the hostess asked if I wanted to share a table.  I gladly did.  Was a large table for six with one couple sitting at it.  They has specifically asked for the large table and said they’d welcome others.  It was a wonderful lunch, with good company.  
 

Moral of the story is that it can happen.  I do wish NCL was more open about the possibility.

[TonyB99]

13 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

It is still the case NCL are not unusual to offer a table to suite your party size, this is how most restaurants operate the world over. So there is nothing for them to make clear when booking, its normal practice.

 

 

 

Cruise ships are not "normal" restaurants, and most actively cater to those of us who prefer to dine with a group of like-minded more adventurous diners. So be it, my mistake booking NCL.

[Russiamomm]

1 minute ago, TonyB99 said:

 

Cruise ships are not "normal" restaurants, and most actively cater to those of us who prefer to dine with a group of like-minded more adventurous diners. So be it, my mistake booking NCL.

It is an option, just not the norm.  I wish it was.  Don’t write off NCL so quickly.  They have a lot to offer.  I’ve travelled many different lines.  Sometimes with my husband, sometimes with a friend, and several times solo.  NCL is still my favorable lime.  (Taking Virgin out of the equation.  I love them, but it’s really not fair to compare them to anyone else.)