The Dining Room Situation gives me a headache

[laidbackin LA]

Regretfully, I will not go to Princess again. I get a headache sitting at tables with total strangers.

 

In dining rooms in the evening on Sapphire Princess couples get the shaft, having no elbow room or personal space from other adjacent couples. Why do I have more or less to keep my mouth shut dining with my spouse and having to overhear the conversation, mundane OR intimate, of the other couples inches away.

 

Celebrity and HAL give a bit of room for our own intimacy of conversation.

 

Then there is breakfast, lunch and tea rubbing elbows with strangers. Like I said, it gives a headache.

[chrysalis]

...ahhhhh...sounds like it is only an ice cream head ache.....

[Ethel5]

Maybe you're not as laid back as you think!

[Toto2Kansas]

Regretfully, I will not go to Princess again. I get a headache sitting at tables with total strangers.

 

In dining rooms in the evening on Sapphire Princess couples get the shaft, having no elbow room or personal space from other adjacent couples. Why do I have more or less to keep my mouth shut dining with my spouse and having to overhear the conversation, mundane OR intimate, of the other couples inches away.

 

Celebrity and HAL give a bit of room for our own intimacy of conversation.

 

Then there is breakfast, lunch and tea rubbing elbows with strangers. Like I said, it gives a headache.

OK, I am a bit confused here. Did you not realize you would be cruising with a couple of thousand strangers on this cruise? Are you saying that you have a private diningroom on Celebrity and HAL?

If dining with others gives you a headache, why did you not opt for a table for two?

[A Sixth?]

Maybe you're not as laid back as you think!

 

When I went to School in LA everyone told me how laid back they were.

 

Most were some of the most uptight stressed people I had ever met.

 

IMHO Laid back / easy going are titles other give you, not that you give to yourself.

 

FWIW I loved dining freestyle on Princess. When we asked for a table for two, we never waited more than a few minutes to be seated, and that's after 60 + sea days and counting.

 

The worst dining experience I've had was a week on a RCL cruise a year ago where I sat with the same odd ball strangers for diner every night. :(

[Chesie]

Call me crazy but we actually ENJOY sitting with others and starting a conversation. UBD would have given you all the privacy you wanted.

[laidbackin LA]

Ha, ha, I am enjoying these comments.

 

Strangers give me a headache because it is a tragedy that I don't care what they are saying or who they are. They feel the same about me. This is the tragic consequence of there being 35 million people in the state of California and being overwhelmed by all that.

[PaddleAddict]

Why in the world would you cruise on a mass-market cruiseline if you don't like being around or talking to other people? You'd be happier on one of the smaller, more exclusive lines. Sheesh.

[coolcat12]

I think I understand you. The twosie tables on those ships are a bit weird. Never bothered me, but they are way too close together to be considered "private" yet are separated just enough so that you are not actually sharing a table. More often than not couples end up having a conversation over the 6 inch gap.

Hopefully most people have enough social skills and will leave you alone if you seem as if you are enjoying an intimate dining experience with your mate. If the nearby diners don't get the hint I have a feeling you have a really good "snub" expression in your repitiore!;)

[Seal]

Why in the world would you cruise on a mass-market cruiseline if you don't like being around or talking to other people? You'd be happier on one of the smaller, more exclusive lines. Sheesh.

 

 

We like anytime dining and ask for a table of 8--we like to meet others for dinner--and you have a pretty good chance of some decent/good conversation out of the largest table

 

I love Anytime Dining--guess I'm one of the few

 

Nancy:D

[jfv379]

Why in the world would you cruise on a mass-market cruiseline if you don't like being around or talking to other people? You'd be happier on one of the smaller, more exclusive lines. Sheesh.

 

Maybe a row boat:D

[Bruin Steve]

Okay, first I am also from the LA area...and...suppose most folks would find me to be considerally "laid back"...I cruise for fun, don't mind being around people and adapt to whatever is going on around me...

 

Of course, there are ALL types of people in ALL parts of the world...LA's got enough people to have every type imaginable--we're certainly not all the same...

 

Now, I have cruised on seven different cruise lines...I've had traditional dining...and I've had "open seating"...I've been assigned to tables for 2, for 4 and for up to 12...And when cruising with open seating, I've dined with others and we've had "Tables for 2"--which, by the way, on Oceania, are only inches apart from the next table for two as well...

 

I don't think ANY cruise line gives you great privacy in their main dining rooms...because, basically, they've got to make room for, typically, a couple of thousand people to eat dinner...and they have generally limited space...Why else do you think your sleeping quarters--on ANY ship, on ANY line--only about 120-195 square feet? ...and your shower not big enough to turn around in?

 

Sorry, sounds like cruising's not for you...

 

Of course, there is a way...I know, because my brother and sister-in-law did it on their one and only cruise--(Celebrity Summit to Alaska)--The booked one of the larger suites--with a dining table and butler service--and had dinner brought to their cabin virtually EVERY night...All the privacy you could want...Not to mention their own jacuzzi out on the deck, so they could sunbathe and soak without a lot of folks inches away on the next lounge...

 

But, for most of us, we choose to cruise, in part, due to the social experience...

 

I think most of us are social animals--we like to meet and talk to people, to share experiences with others, to have pleasant conversations at breakfast, lunch and dinner...

 

Frankly, when I got assigned to a "two-top" traditional dining one cruise (the particular line had no "anytime", was overbooked and no change in tables was forthcoming), I was quite disappointed...I hate to say it, but I can eat with my wife the other 350 days a year...

[SFParrtHd]

Have you tried Imitex for your headaches:D

 

Seriously, when DH and I cruise alone, we get a table for 2. Never had had a problem with the surrounding tables. If you don't want to engage in conversations, a simple nod and good evening should do it. Then go on with your own conversation or just look "lovenly" into each others eyes :) If you are still bothered by people, maybe this isn't the right vacation for you. BTW, on our Crystal cruise we had a table for 2 which was closer to a table for 6 than any of the tables on Princess have been.

[A Sixth?]

Call me crazy but we actually ENJOY sitting with others and starting a conversation. UBD would have given you all the privacy you wanted.

 

Why in the world would you cruise on a mass-market cruiseline if you don't like being around or talking to other people? You'd be happier on one of the smaller, more exclusive lines. Sheesh.

 

Didn't mean to imply that we don't like dining with others, we do. I'd say most of the time aboard cruise ships we have diner with others. It's sure nice to not be tied to people who we may not enjoy as much as others. And now and then, after being around 350 college students at meal time every day, I like a quiet dinner for two.

 

The dining room on the Princess ships we've been on have exceeded our expectations. The OP didn't sound impressed.... different strokes I guess.

 

Nuf said

[Philip217]

Suggestions for new screen name:

 

2muchcaffeineinLA

 

Wheresmyvalium?

 

Gottaswitchtodecaf

 

CavesRus

 

Hermits rule

 

Bahhumbug

[bubbadog]

Dont cruise then!!,go sit outside then,or go to your room:mad:

[lel5344]

We got off the Star Princess last week. We were able to reserve a specific table for 2 (actually a 4 top) in the Capri Dining Room for 6PM each nite. We did this after we discovered how much we enjoyed our waiter and assistant waiter at our first dinner. We just asked the head waiter and it was done.

[cusyl]

Ha, ha, I am enjoying these comments.

 

Strangers give me a headache because it is a tragedy that I don't care what they are saying or who they are. They feel the same about me. This is the tragic consequence of there being 35 million people in the state of California and being overwhelmed by all that.

Just tell your travel agent and the maitre'd that you want a table for two.

Princess does not require that you sit with strangers. :cool:

[Kimmer727]

Ha, ha, I am enjoying these comments.

 

Strangers give me a headache because it is a tragedy that I don't care what they are saying or who they are.

 

 

Oh - I'm sorry - did you say something? I wasn't listening.;)

[GoFSU]

Ha, ha, I am enjoying these comments.

 

Strangers give me a headache because it is a tragedy that I don't care what they are saying or who they are. They feel the same about me. This is the tragic consequence of there being 35 million people in the state of California and being overwhelmed by all that.

 

I think everyone should convince this individual to sail on the other cruise lines. Who would want them on a Princess ship?????

[WCAB]

I can understand this. My Dad is the quiet type and would not like being at a table with strangers. He does like being with family. It works out well because there is always five or six of us and we take up most of a table. Last year there were five of us and we often sat at a table for ten. We just made sure that we put Dad at the end and then surrounded him with the rest of the family. None of the other table mates realized what we were doing and Dad felt comfortable, this way.

[bob c]

Have you tried Imitex for your headaches:D

 

Seriously, when DH and I cruise alone, we get a table for 2. Never had had a problem with the surrounding tables. If you don't want to engage in conversations, a simple nod and good evening should do it. Then go on with your own conversation or just look "lovenly" into each others eyes :) If you are still bothered by people, maybe this isn't the right vacation for you. BTW, on our Crystal cruise we had a table for 2 which was closer to a table for 6 than any of the tables on Princess have been.

 

I was on the Diamond Princess had anytime dining,and always had a problem getting a table for two. It seemed like they always tried to talk me out of it saying" Well, it will be a very long wait"

[regnig]

Since it appears from laidbackin LA's comments on other posts LA is a "she" and about 60 years old. I'm guessing that along with what has come across as a p_ss poor attitude she is having hot flashes too. :eek: That might be the cause of her "Departure weight: 168" and "Return weight: 177" situation. Water retention big time! We know she didn't partake in the "SCAM" and eat ice cream and to quoto her "I walked up and down about 10,000 stairs and didn't eat midnight meals." Must be somekind of meds out there she can take to make her a much happier person that she comes across to be. Maybe LA needs to get a part-time job and stay off her PC.

 

LA I apologize in advance for picking on you but life is just too darn short to get as up in arms about the mundane things that you have. Count your blessings that you and your DH (even in his dreary shirts) are healthy and well off enough to take cruises.

[sailorgirl]

I don't see anything wrong with with loving to cruise but not going on one to meet new people. We have been married many years and still find things to talk about to each other when we cruise and dine. We prefer to be alone rather than have to make small talk with others. When the tables are a bit close, we find a little conversational exchange with the neighbors now and then, but we are still able to have our privacy and conversation. The only time a group dinner might have given me a headache was on the very luxurious Crystal when we were seated at a table for 8 and the conversation was so strained and difficult. And one Spanish countess could barely be understood. That cruise was when we decided dinner for two was the way to go. A nice tip up front to the Maitre'D has always assured us a good table on any line ever since.

[sultan_sfo]

Just book a full suite and eat "all" meals in your cabin. But you like the Princess Cruise Prices and want all the "extra" comforts without paying any more -- don't you?