Solo Dining placement

[mgg42]

I'm heading out on my first solo cruise next month. 7 nights on RCI's Freedom of The Seas.

 

What have solo cruisers usually found for their dining arrangements? I'm pretty laid back and get along with a broad range of people. Do you usually find there are other solo cruisers at your table? Do you usually find you're at a large table? Is it totally variable?

[Luckysll]

On my cruises, I've always been at a table for 6 or 8, usually either other solos or friends travelling together.

[RI-Sailor]

I was placed at a table for six with two couples also on their first cruise (the men were discussing recent birthdays so I found out they were about 10 years older than I) - the last person never showed.

[JerseyJaguar]

On HAL I was put at a table with two couples and one of the couples' adult daughter, who was about my age. I had nothing in common with any of them, but dinner was always enjoyable.

 

On Carnival I was put at a table with other solos close to my age. They brought over some 20something girls the first night who I think they were going to also put at our table, but they weren't interested in old fogies and never even sat down.

 

It's funny, the table of other solos was more akward at first but I actually exchanged addresses with those folks.

 

I really believe a pleasurable dining experience is all about the wait staff. On both cruises I had a wonderful waiter with a good assistant.

[rav4lady]

My solo cruise was Carnival to Alaska and I was put at a large table with other solo travelers. It was fun to hear how they came to be cruising solo and how they liked it. One had stories about his assigned roommate, horror stories! So I decided it was worth it to have the cabin to myself rather than chance an unknown cabin mate. Dinner was always fun and we ended up palling around most of the onboard time.

[bobbisailsolo]

On my HAL cruise, my agent requested they place me at a table with other solo cruisers. I ended up at a table for six, with 3 other singles. It was very nice. If you have an option for open seating, I think it is preferable. You get to meet different people every night, or when you want quiet, you can dine alone.

[espritkennels]

I went on my first solo cruise(my first cruise period) last Sept. I had a table for 6 and there were two young couples and one single lady. It was great!! I am a bit shy and was really worried about that but I loved it and looked forward to dinner every night. We talked about what we did that day, where we were going the next day and things like that.

 

Remember if you want to do dinner in the dinning room and don't like your dinnermates, ask to be moved to a different table.

Cindy

[cruisinryan]

All my cruises have been solo.

 

Assigned dining is my favorite, and RCI is my favorite line, but unfortunately they do not make any effort to seat people intelligently before the cruise ...on my last RCI cruise I was assigned to a 4-top -- a couple and me!? :eek:

 

(Carnival does seat solos together ...on my Elation cruise everyone at the table was a solo -- but the food was horrible, TV dinner quality).

 

My advice is to go to your assigned dining room and ask to see the maitre'd the first day, after you board and before your dining time (they are there during the first day to field questions and concerns), and ask where you are seated. I did on my last RCI cruise, and had them switch me from the 4-top to a 10-top. Doing it early also avoided any embarrassment later, of going to the 4-top first, and then changing.

 

As a solo, I have found it is best to sit at a large table, 8 or 10; that way you get a mix of couples, maybe some kids (young or older), and maybe some other solos. You don't stand out so much, and besides, dining is more fun when you have a mix of several people to talk to (in my opinion).

 

Even though RCI will not have put any thought into your seating assignment, the maitre'd WILL try to work with you. Ask for a large table, and ask to see the names of the diners. They will have a computer screen right there with a list of all the diners, with their names. If a lot of the last names are the same, it's probably a family group and I'd avoid it; if the names are a mix, that's a good sign.

 

I'm not sure, but I think they also show if the diners are solo.

 

And here's a tip: On my last cruise on the first night I politely and humorously suggested, towards the end of the dinner, "now let's not all sit in the same seat every night, let's move around a bit so we can talk to everyone"; then on the second night, I made sure to get there early and I took a different seat, thus "forcing" the others to go along. It worked great and we all sat in different seats every night.

 

Be flexible, and realize it's not going to be perfect wherever you sit, but if you really think the group at your table is not right for you, don't be afraid to ask to be changed. It happens all the time.

 

Most of all, ENJOY YOUR CRUISE ! :)

[FrozenOne]

I was on a Carnival Mexican cruise last Spring -when I was so "bushed" I just had to get out to civilization.

Could only get late sitting- a nice bunch of solo cruisers at that table. But as I am an early riser and we didn't get to eat supper until at least 9pm I asked to move to early sitting. MISTAKE!!

I was put at a table for 10 - 8 women who were traveling as "singles" BUT all together -they were all decorators or something. Person number 10 was a very nice Spanish man. These women were SO RUDE.:mad: Especially to this man. They were talking about him in a derogatory manner,in loud voices, right in front of him!:eek: He never showed up for supper again. And I only showed up for the Lobster night because the maitre'd personally called me to find out the problem. I ate and left with barely a word to any of them.

[RI-Sailor]

Unfortunately, sometimes all you can do is ask for a large table and hope for the best!:) Cruising has become popular with groups, but based on my research, the groups often get 'pushed' into first seating otherwise they miss group activities. I'm an early riser too, so I did go with second seating to make the best of my shore days. I found a big breakfast and a later than usual lunch (or a snack) helped me make it to late seating without be overly hungry!

[adaymerced]

I'm heading out on my first solo cruise next month. 7 nights on RCI's Freedom of The Seas.

 

What have solo cruisers usually found for their dining arrangements? I'm pretty laid back and get along with a broad range of people. Do you usually find there are other solo cruisers at your table? Do you usually find you're at a large table? Is it totally variable?

 

I've usually requested a large table (8-10) and gotten placed at a small table. The small table has worked out fine for me, most of the time, but I always figured it would be a little better at a big table as a single as you're less obviously alone.

 

On my most recent cruise it was me and another single guy and a couple. We all enjoyed each others company and had a good time. I met a large group of people at another table who asked me to join them midway through the cruise, but I was really enjoying the people I sat with.

 

I would really like to see about getting at a table with a few other solo travelers. I think it would be a blast!

[Roz]

I've done 6 solo cruises, and have found dining assignments to be a mixed bag. It's the roll of the dice.

 

Roz

[jpg1747]

Just got back from a 3 night RCCL cruise to the Bahamas. I had late seating and was assigned to a table for six. The first night 3 others showed up - two brothers and one's wife. The other 2 didn't show up. The problem was that only one of the 3 spoke English. He was very friendly but his brother and sister-in-law didn't say one word the entire time.

 

Second (formal) night, no one showed up. A nearby table for 10 had 9 ladies at it, obviously a group. After waiting alone at my table for 15 minutes, the head waiter asked this group of ladies if I could join them and they welcomed me wholeheartedly. They even asked me to join them at some evening activities and to come back and eat with them the last night.

 

When I ate in the dining room for breakfast and lunch and asked to be seated with others I never had a problem making conversation during the meals. When I wanted to eat alone and read, I did that too.

[pcl_cruiser]

I just booked my first solo cruise, so I hope thing will go well. I too am a little concerned about the dining arrangments, but I figure it will be a good experience either way. I wish my husband could go but he has to work and I am a teacher and have plenty of time in the summer!

[pcruz4ever]

I went on a solo cruise once about 15 years ago - my travel companion pulled out at the last minute and I didn't feel like cancelling my vacation so I went anyway. It was on Carnival, don't remember which ship. They put me at a table for 4, and I was the only one there the first night - and I think I met every busboy and waiter in the place!! It was kind of amusing. However, I had met a group of three women travelling together at the airport, and met a couple of others right after I got on board, and seemed to meet any number of people all in the first day - by lunch the next day I had 4 offers of dining companions, and got to choose the group I wanted to eat with! It worked out great. I think I met more people on that cruise than I met on any cruise before or after that (I'm booked on my 13th cruise in May on Norwegian). All of my other cruises I've travelled with other people, and I have enjoyed every single one. So cruising alone or in a group is great. If you're traveling alone, you have plenty of options. You can either make arrangements before you go, when you first get on board, or just see how things work out!