Dining arrangements, multiple families

[mark290]

I have a group of five families going on Mariner in December. Currently all five reservations are linked for dining purposes. I now want to make sure that three specific families are seated at one table, 11 total people, and the other two families at the other table, 8 people. How can I try to make this happen ? When are tables normally assigned ?

One reply I commonly see is take care of this as soon as you board. This could be awkward if the other families see what I am doing or if it is not straightened out until the second night.

The three families that want to be seated together all did this cruise last year and the other two families have just joined us.

The three original families would like to keep this new tradition of sailing and dining together.

Thanks,

Mark

[init4fun]

I dont think you can specifically do that until you get on the ship, then go to the Dining Room and see them, they can rearrange your tables at that time.

[gkrebs]

you might consider having the bookings unlinked between the 2 tables your want but you might not be near each other for dinner. Or have you TA or if you did it yourself, call the group co ordinator and say that you wnat to do the table assignments for your group and that you need a table for 11 and one for 8, next to each other. They will let you do this. With this many people, consider registering it as a group next time and you wont have any problems because as the co ordinator, you have alot more control over things.

[Geema]

We have the exact same problem and my TA said she'd try to get us a table for 11 or 12 and another one for 8 or 9. She didn't think they had tables for 12 but I'm almost positive I've seen pictures of them. We have 20 people in our group. Does anyone know if the Navigator has tables for 12?

[miller1975]

We have done groups for years. We always request our seating arrangements through our travel agent. It does make it easier if you all booked together. They can link them but we have had trouble with that in the past. Even if the tables are requested the cruiseline may change them. Usually we are always seated together but the number at the tables may be different than requested. We just got back from the Brilliance and we did have a table for 12. They said that was unusual. The funny part is we did not even request that. After requesting your seating arrangements through your travel agents, check it out when you get on board. If there is a problem let them know as soon as you can and they will try to work it out.

[FionaMG]

Please don't wait till you get on board. It may be impossible at that stage to meet your request. If you booked direct with RCI, contact them and tell them what you want. If you booked through a travel agent, get them to do it. Requests can never be guaranteed but you have a much better chance of getting what you want if you ask in advance. This is personal experience speaking here. I work in a travel agency. One of my jobs is assigning apartments to holidaymakers. If someone has a special request such as a low floor or a pool view or whatever and that request is put on their booking in advance, then I will do everything in my power to make it happen because I want happy customers. However, I am not a mindreader and neither is the person on your ship responsible for table assignments. I have seen people's holidays ruined because they didn't put a special request on their booking before travelling and it was too late to do anything about it after they arrived. I had just such a case a few weeks ago when a family travelling with an elderly lady with mobility problems didn't put a note on their booking to say they needed a room on a low floor. Unfortunately for them, I assigned them a room on an upper floor and the buidling has no lift. There were no other rooms available for them to move to because they were the last ones to arrive that day. If they had requested a low floor room in advance their holiday wouldn't have been spoiled.

Hope this helps and you have a great cruise.

[yogimax]

I have a group of five families going on Mariner in December. Currently all five reservations are linked for dining purposes. I now want to make sure that three specific families are seated at one table, 11 total people, and the other two families at the other table, 8 people. How can I try to make this happen ? When are tables normally assigned ?

 

One reply I commonly see is take care of this as soon as you board. This could be awkward if the other families see what I am doing or if it is not straightened out until the second night.

 

The three families that want to be seated together all did this cruise last year and the other two families have just joined us.

The three original families would like to keep this new tradition of sailing and dining together.

 

Thanks,

 

Mark

 

You have a problem! The dining room assignments will be printed on the SeaPass cards and it is unlikely RCCL will approve a table of eleven.

 

Why not try a unique approach - the TRUTH. Simply tell all those involved what you are trying to accomplish and see what you can do when you board?

[Amicruzer]

Whatever you do don't unlink the reservations. Call your

TA and have the request put in at once. Then, when you get on the ship check quietly to see if this was honored. We have had the same situation several sailings and our TA really saved the day.

[init4fun]

We had a table for 11 last cruise so I know they can fit at least that many. I didnt mean also to wait for the cruise, I meant go check as soon as you get onboard to see where all of you are seated, hopefully there wont be a mixup. We have 3 or 4 couples linked for our upcoming cruise and we are hoping there wont be a problem either, we linked thru our TA and also called Crown and Anchor and linked, hope this helps and we get a table together.

[bargainshopper]

I don't think you should wait till you are on board. Everyone's table assignment is printed on their seapass card, if you switch them on the 1st day, members of your group will know you (or someone) changed the sitting arrangement.

 

We have been on the Exploer and Navigator and I don't recall they have table for 12.

[mark290]

<<<Double post.>>>

[mark290]

You have a problem! The dining room assignments will be printed on the SeaPass cards and it is unlikely RCCL will approve a table of eleven.

 

Why not try a unique approach - the TRUTH. Simply tell all those involved what you are trying to accomplish and see what you can do when you board?

 

I do not have a problem because however the dining arrangements work out will be fine. What I have is a PREFERENCE to start/keep a tradition.

 

I have not and will not lie to anyone. I just do not want to hurt anyone's feelings.

 

I have read of people having a table for twelve many times.

 

Were you trying to offer me some assistance by replying to my post ?

[yogimax]

 

Were you trying to offer me some assistance by replying to my post ?

 

Yes, be up front and tell everyone what you are trying to accomplish! If you share your goals in an honest fashion, people will understand.

[2timecruiser28]

Our TA took care of it for us, but we were a "Group booking". They had a list of who belonged at what table for the early seating and for those at the late seating. No problem, but that was Carnival. It still should be an easy request if you make it ahead of time. I doubt there is a 12 top though--that is a huge table! I would guess that 10 would be the max.

[init4fun]

There are tables for 11 on the Explorer so why wouldnt there be on most of the Voyager ships???

[spotcat]

We did manage to get a group of twelve seated together. We called RCI Guest Services. They have a department devoted to special needs. There were a couple of health issues with our group; guess that's what happens when less than young people travel together! Each ship has a person in charge of dining assigments. We were able to link our group and change to early seating. We did this by phone about three weeks in advance. They were extremely nice about it.

 

Will your newer cruisers be offended by being grouped together? I might feel odd if two of us were excluded from sitting with the original group, but a larger group would be just fine. I guess how you handle this situation would depend on how sensitive your friends are. It's really kind of you to think of their feelings. We should all be lucky enough to have such caring friends!

[estreetbandfan523]

the best thing is to go throught your TA and have them link it, all of my cruises have been with groups and we were always seated together, and had a table of 12 on the Serenade

[jessicarwills]

I was in charge of a large group for my wedding 2 years ago, on the Voyager, and was able to fax a list to RCCL with what people I wanted together and how I wanted them seated. They accepted it, and only had a few people seated incorrectly when we got on board, we were able to correct that when we got on board. I also took the original fax with me onboard, to show the dining staff so they would know it was suppose to of been taken care of, Keep records of everything RCCL says they will do for your group, although we all had a great time, the group dept., is extremely unorganized and did cause us alot of problems. Jessie

[cb at sea]

It seems to me that if you have all parties linked, you will be seated at 2 tables close together. If that is the case, why not just rearrange yourselves at whichever table you want to sit? It won't make a whit of difference to the waitstaff who they are serving, and your party will be happy.

[Geema]

jessicarwills - Who did you fax your information to? Is there a special department to send it to?

[Happy ks]

It seems to me that if you have all parties linked, you will be seated at 2 tables close together. If that is the case, why not just rearrange yourselves at whichever table you want to sit? It won't make a whit of difference to the waitstaff who they are serving, and your party will be happy.

 

This is what I was thinking. Unless there is a specific reason why you don't want to be seated with some at the other table. Then, I would question why you were cruising with them in the first place :p

 

We had a family/friends group of 15 a couple of years ago and had 2 tables of 8 next to each other. We never once sat at the same table, or in the same seat every night. The servers did not mind one bit (remember, they have to adjust weekly) and we had great fun, we all got a chance to sit with each other. Of course, my husband and I don't feel the need to be attached at the hip every night when we are with a group and find it interesting to be able to share later what went on in our individual settings.

 

Personally, I'm not fond of large tables, someone always gets left out of the conversation, especially if it is a dreaded diagonal table. Then, you have to practically shout to be heard by people more than 2 seats down. When we're with a group, we always make sure to meet at least a half hour before dinner for cocktails and conversation.

[Peggy13]

We had a table for 11 on our last Mariner cruise.