Is there anytime that we must eat with others?

[cruisingirls]

We just booked our first NCL cruise (3/1 on Gem) and since it is just DH and I on this cruise we are wondering if we will be able to eat at a table for 2 at every restaurant or are there times that we will be seated with others?

 

Thanks!

[Maryfrei]

We just booked our first NCL cruise (3/1 on Gem) and since it is just DH and I on this cruise we are wondering if we will be able to eat at a table for 2 at every restaurant or are there times that we will be seated with others?

 

Thanks!

 

The only time I can think of where you must sit with others is Tepanyaki! Other than that it can be just the two of you!:)

[jamesb478]

There is no set times for you to eat on any of the NCL ships, you may eat anywhere and at any time (when they are open). Checkout http://www.ncl.com/fstyle/

[Toyz711]

other then when we did alaska with family, the only time i have sat with others...in the buffet...a table for 8. only one other couple was sitting there and we shared as they finished. it's a nice way to meet others and to not walk around looking for a table. main dining, tables for 2 whenever we wanted.

[Guest maler]

We requested and received a table for 2 every night without a problem not only in the main dining room but in the steakhouse as well.

[weltek]

We never had to share a table at any restaurant, buffett, etc. We able to get 2 seated quickly everywhere.

[cruisingirls]

Excellent! Thank you for the quick responses! :)

[ktpc2005]

When we were on the Gem, if the restaraunt was busy and they only had tables for 4 open, they would ask if you would like to sit with someone else. We always politely declined and there was no problem with it.

[spooner]

How about getting a table for 2 in the main dining rooms for breakfast and lunch?

[Toyz711]

breakfast, lunch or dinner...you don't have to share a table unless you want to.

[DeltaOne]

We just booked our first NCL cruise (3/1 on Gem) and since it is just DH and I on this cruise we are wondering if we will be able to eat at a table for 2 at every restaurant or are there times that we will be seated with others

The only problem is the tables for two are so close to each other that it's almost like sharing a table. You'll easily be able to hear other conversations.

[newmexicoNita]

We just booked our first NCL cruise (3/1 on Gem) and since it is just DH and I on this cruise we are wondering if we will be able to eat at a table for 2 at every restaurant or are there times that we will be seated with others?

 

Thanks!

In the main dining room you will be asked (sometimes anyway) if you want to share? If you do not, although the wait may be a little longer you can have a table for 2. The only time this may not be true is at breakfast if you choose the dining room. For us, sharing is much more fun, it gives us a chance to meet others and share experiences. For others, just the 2 of us is the way they want things.

 

Of course in any of the specialty dining rooms, sur charge or not you will be eating alone.

Nita

[slotaddict]

We were on the Pearl and asked once in the Summer Palace if we wanted to share a table.

 

There was no problem getting a table for two.

[2boyzmom]

This will be our first 9 night cruise and to be honest- I think conversing only with my husband will get tiresome. I am looking forward to dining with others a few nights...

[WinnieinWA]

The only problem is the tables for two are so close to each other that it's almost like sharing a table. You'll easily be able to hear other conversations.

 

 

Just like at any land based restaurant. It all depends on the dining area. Not all dining areas are close together. For me it sure beats sitting with a bunch of people I have nothing in common with every night and thus being bored to tears.

 

2boyzmom.... you will enjoy the freestyle dining with others. Just tell the hostess you want to share a table. Have fun!

[newmexicoNita]

This will be our first 9 night cruise and to be honest- I think conversing only with my husband will get tiresome. I am looking forward to dining with others a few nights...

I totally agree, but I guess there are some who are just not terribly social thus preferring just to dine alone.

 

Nita

[cruisingirls]

I totally agree, but I guess there are some who are just not terribly social thus preferring just to dine alone.

 

Nita

 

 

Right...thus the joy of freestyle dining!

 

I didn't write this post to start the debate-just looking for an answer. Everyone is different-it's what makes the world go around, folks!

 

Thank you for all the helpful input.

[ute_fan]

This will be our first 9 night cruise and to be honest- I think conversing only with my husband will get tiresome. I am looking forward to dining with others a few nights...

 

That's the way we normally feel, too. In our case, when we've been married for almost 30 years, we tend to run out of things to talk about by the end of the cruise :o . We prefer the choice that freestyle gives us, and will normally eat abouf half the nights alone, and the other half we try to eat with others.

 

If you're interested in meeting other people to dine with, I highly recommend joining your roll-call if you haven't already done so. We've really enjoyed meeting various friends from our roll-call for dinner. Our experience, esecially at dinner, is that if you ask to sit at a shared table you end up eating alone anyway -- just at a bigger table. The shared table concept seems much more popular at breakfast and lunch than it does at dinner. Joining "friends" from the roll-call worked much better for us if we do want dinner companions.

[newmexicoNita]

That's the way we normally feel, too. In our case, when we've been married for almost 30 years, we tend to run out of things to talk about by the end of the cruise :o . We prefer the choice that freestyle gives us, and will normally eat abouf half the nights alone, and the other half we try to eat with others.

 

If you're interested in meeting other people to dine with, I highly recommend joining your roll-call if you haven't already done so. We've really enjoyed meeting various friends from our roll-call for dinner. Our experience, esecially at dinner, is that if you ask to sit at a shared table you end up eating alone anyway -- just at a bigger table. The shared table concept seems much more popular at breakfast and lunch than it does at dinner. Joining "friends" from the roll-call worked much better for us if we do want dinner companions.

Golly I don't run out of things to say, DH says I just keep repeating myself....LOL

[ute_fan]

Golly I don't run out of things to say, DH says I just keep repeating myself....LOL

 

That's what I'm afraid of -- I'll start sounding like my 90 year-old mother if I don't have someone else to talk with! :D

[2boyzmom]

The roll call idea for dinner is nice. Gee whiz- I also can bring my 6 and 8 year old to dinner to liven things up! They actually prefer dining at the kids bufffet and hitting the kids club at 7PM :)

[Toyz711]

27 years together, we haven't run out of stuff to talk about yet...in fact, we IM each other all day, while he is at work. love our dinners together on the ship...i do drive him nuts with all my photos...but he talks more then i do!!

on the spirit, the tables for 2...in the garden main dining...are well positions. close enough to talk to your neighbors, if you want...but not so close you hear everything.

[travelscot]

We had a cruise on the Norwegian Crown and the tables for two were so close to those for four that we did not feel we were alone. We felt we had to talk to the next table and if we did not they talked to us. It would really have been better if it was a table for six. I do not know if this is typical or not.

[ute_fan]

27 years together, we haven't run out of stuff to talk about yet...in fact, we IM each other all day, while he is at work. love our dinners together on the ship...i do drive him nuts with all my photos...but he talks more then i do!!

on the spirit, the tables for 2...in the garden main dining...are well positions. close enough to talk to your neighbors, if you want...but not so close you hear everything.

 

We're both boring accounting types, so neither one of us is a really great conversationalist. Once we've discussed what the kids are up, talked about the Utes and the Jazz, and what's going on at work, we run out of new conversation fairly quickly. I'm a reader, he's a TV watcher and neither one of us particularly enjoy discussing politics, so a lot of the normal topics of discussion are pretty one-sided.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love him dearly -- I just enjoy having someone else to chat with onboard.

[ute_fan]

The roll call idea for dinner is nice. Gee whiz- I also can bring my 6 and 8 year old to dinner to liven things up! They actually prefer dining at the kids bufffet and hitting the kids club at 7PM :)

 

If we ever sail together, feel free to bring your kids! Mine are far too old for the kids club, but I (normally, at least) enjoy kids. If we're traveling together as a family, I don't worry as much if my roll-call isn't very active, but when it's just the two of us, we really enjoy getting together with someone that we've already been "chatting" with on the roll-call.

 

To me, that's one of the biggest benefits about freestyle dining. I wouldn't enjoy being seated with the same strangers for an entire week necessarily, but we do enjoy meeting new people, finding out where they're from, and learning something about them.