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Dining - for me the most difficult part of soloing


Winchester Ranger
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I have had really good luck creating a table through roll calls. We call it the solo and friends table. On my first cruise it was a solo table but others that were not solos joined in. After that it became 'solo and friends'. We have had couples, adult families and solos join us. On my last cruise it was only solos. We have a great time and enjoy each other's company throughout the cruise. If someone only wants to join for dinner then that is fine; if they want to interact more it is nice to know a friendly face.

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  • 1 month later...
Ask to be seated alone and read a book. I got tired of strange tablemates, it's such a crap shoot.

 

I finally did it. 5th cruise, day 1, first time in the MDR. Your time dining. I get there right when they open and ask to be seated alone. They seat me alone at a table for two but this table was maybe 6 inches from another table with a couple at it. It was very awkward. I didn't go back.

Edited by Saint Greg
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I was on my first solo cruise(s) last year. I opted for the My Time or whatever Royal calls it. Wanted to be at table with other cruisers. I asked, and was told all the people in the dining room were either families or couples. I ate alone, and it wasn't the experience I wanted (some do, and cherish time alone) They very kindly transferred me to a table of 10 at the late seating for the rest of my cruises. For me this was wonderful, each week, I met nice interesting people. Some would meet before dinner in the Centrum, and we would enjoy a drink and watch the entertainment. The TA, someone had organized a solo and friends table, and that was even better. Still friends with most of them. We toured a few ports together and did other things on the ship. This year, I have a friend with me, but I organized a table for roll call members and have 8 spots filled at a table for 10. I know I will get the 2 more, and the C&A rep said they would fill in the 2 seats if we didn't find the rest.

 

I also asked to be seated at large tables anytime I had breakfast or lunch in the MDR. Very nice experience. Since you may not see some of these same folks again, the friendships don't develop as at dinner. But just saying hello starts a conversation, and I can't believe how interesting some were. Don't have to always eat alone at the buffet if dining room is open.

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So let me start by saying I have only done one solo cruise - transatlantic on QM2 for 8 amazing days and I feel a need to share some of my experiences about what, for me, is the trickiest part of solo cruising - dining.

 

So I went into the buffet area only once and ran into an elderly Irish gentleman who was sailing solo - his experience of the cruise was very bad, he referred to the Queen Mary as a "glorified ferry" and I actually felt sorry for him because I think that one of the reasons he wasn't enjoying himself was because he was eating all his meals in the unpleasant rattle and clatter of the buffet area. As for me, I took all of my evening meals in the MDR which is the Brittania Restaurant on QM2, and this being Cunard the dress code was either formal or ultra formal which definitely changes your experience for the better (in my opinion). I opted for an 8 seater table and can clearly recall sitting there anxiously on the first night waiting for my tablemates (as I had arrived first). First up was Barbara, a blonde 69 year old retired flight attendant, Barbara was quite frankly stunning - and at 69 !! She was also marvellous company, next up was David a very quiet, shy entrepeneur and farmer - another super guy to dine with. From there however things began to take a turn for the worse - there was an English guy who rolled up halfway drunk and very loud with a martini in hand, a Scottish couple complete with a wife who felt it her business to ask the most personal questions and then offer unsolicited life advice - this may not sound too terrible until I add that she figured out that the loud English guy was in fact gay, and offered to provide him with certain services of an intimate nature that would "cure him" - all this with her husband sat listening in bemused silence - I suspect that this was not his first rodeo as the saying goes. Then there was a shady character from Germany who claimed to be writing a book about entrepreneurs and a very loud party girl who loved to shout out obscenties much to the consternation of our fellow diners at other tables. I became firm friends with Barbara and David, but reached the point on cruise day 3 that I was dreading dinner even as I sat munching on breakfast and realized that I had to act, so I saw the Maitre d' and switched tables - and my new tablemates were all wonderful company even though I was the only solo at their table apart from one of the guest speakers - the famous Maureen Ryan.

 

I say all this because I had considered doing what the elderly Irish gentleman had done - dining alone in the buffet, but I pushed myself into the company of others even though I am by nature quite reserved - and quite honestly the experience completely made the cruise for me because I still find myself thinking of the people I met all these months later.

 

One other small story that I add for no other reason than the fact that it comes to mind as I type. While I did take afternoon tea with the aforementioned Barbara on at least one occasion, I did also choose to take it alone in the crowded Queens Room on at least one other. I took a book along with me for company and sat there quite contented as I gulped down gallons of tea and half a dozen cucumber and egg sandwiches. I noticed a lady sat at the table next to me and the poor thing had a terribly disfigured face. She seemed to be looking around trying to catch someone's attention for company - as a fellow solo my heart went out to her and I invited her to sit with me which she did without saying a word. It turned out that the person behind that face was so wonderfully kind and polite, and I choked up a little when she thanked me so profusely for sitting with her. I think of her often.

 

So for my summary of solo dining - well, as Thomas Edison so famously said - opportunity is missed by most people because it arrives in overalls and looks like work. Well solo dining is a little bit like that - yes there is the possibility that you could end up sat at a table of unpleasant characters, but if you are willing to work at it you can, and will, find some great company onboard, and the absolute worst thing you can do is hide away from view. If you want to be assured of solo company the transatlantic voyages are a sure thing, as they are used by many as a means of traveling, not cruising.

 

Hope you enjoyed my ramble, I think it's some type of therapy because I'm ready for another cruise.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, I wish I could write in English as well as you do.

I'll be travelling solo for the first time in June on the NCL Escape, I hope I have chosen the right one. I was in doubt between Celebrity Equinox and the Escape. I read the Celebrity crowd is much more older than the NCL, and so I went for Escape. Not that I'm young, lol I'm 42, female, from Brazil and I really enjoyed the way you described your experience. Lots of times looks can be deceiving. You did great inviting that lady to have tee with you.

Maybe I'll have the same luck as her, who knows some nice gentleman would take pity on me? You may say I can do the same as you and invite someone to join my table but most of times it can be misunderstood...

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  • 5 months later...

What an awesome post I had a lot of fear about dining alone during my cruise but It might just turn out that I make a new friend and have a really positive experience. I feel much better about this now, thank you OP ! I guess at he end of the day we're all there to have a good time.

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I was on Queen Mary 2 and I requested and sat at a table for two and dined solo. I had my kindle and games. People get used to seeing you in the dining room. I also had the same arrangement on Princess. Sometimes I just want to be waited on in the dining room. I also had the specialty dining package and had no real problem dining alone.

 

 

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Lots of the posts in this thread have been about the difficulties or successes of joining a table in the MDR.

 

There was one post that mentioned the issue that I have when dining alone. (I've not been on a solo cruise yet, but I travel alone on land at times and, even on a cruise with my husband, sometimes eat breakfast or lunch alone.) Perhaps some of you have strategies for dealing with it.

 

Sometimes when dining, I leave the table briefly to visit the buffet again or to use the facilities. I then return to the table to find that the helpful and efficient waitstaff have cleared my place, perhaps even removing the breakfast tea that was perfectly brewed and ready to drink or food that I wasn't done with. Sometimes letting a waiter know that I plan to return works, but sometimes it doesn't. I guess one could leave a book behind, but I'm more likely to be reading from my tablet and don't necessarily want to leave that.

 

What do you do?

Edited by new_cruiser
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Perhaps I should also post that I've got my first solo cruise coming up next spring.

 

Years ago, I was going to go on a Windstar cruise solo, because my husband wasn't interested in doing a Caribbean cruise again. When I mentioned it to a friend, she wanted to come too so we ended up sharing a cabin instead of going solo. It turned out that there was a gay couple in the cabin next door to ours. We hit it off and ended up sharing a table for 4 every night. (Windstar has only open dining in the MDR.) So we had built in tablemates.

 

The cruise (actually a 13-day and a 14-day b2b) coming up will be on Windstar. When my husband and I were on Windstar earlier this year, the maitre d would ask each night whether we wanted to dine alone or share a table. We would be seated at a table for 4 or 6 and before long another couple or two would also be seated. It was nice as we would then see the other couples around the ship and chat with them. I wonder if that will still work when I'm traveling on my own.

 

The ship I'll be on has a capacity of around 200 passengers so there may not be many other solos. One of the cruises is an ocean crossing so perhaps it won't even be near capacity (though they have it priced pretty low).

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I'm there with you. I've never eaten in the MDR. This time I signed up for your time dining and I may get there right when they open and see if I can get a table for one. But I'm not going to a table for 10 with 9 people I don't know. I'll be in the buffet if that's my only option.

 

 

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I get a table for 2 usually by the window in the mdr, it hasn't been a problem.

 

 

 

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I try to make it obvious - leaving an book - open face down on the table with reading glasses - a drink or something else that makes it look like the table is still occupied - but I agree that it is pain to have to do this just to get a drink/coffee refill or a forgotten little something?

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It's always an adventure! That's the fun of cruising! I discovered long ago that cruising as a single person is MUCH easier than any land trip I have ever done. Dining is one of the areas that make the difference. There are always choices.

 

On my latest cruise I requested a table for 6 in the MDR. This is what works best for me. I am hearing impaired, so big, round tables make it difficult for me to understand conversations. I have also found that a table for 6 is usually a mix of couples and singles. That cruise, we started with a married couple and 4 singles, "lost one" the second night (wanted early dining), and on the fourth night when we added one and lost another. All in all, it was a delightful time and I looked forward to seeing my four table mates and chatting each night about anything from the happenings of the day to (gasp) politics!

 

That said, I have also shared a table (for 6) with an obviously mentally ill woman who nightly loudly spoke of "The G-- D--- Germans shooting bullets into me!" I spoke with the maître d' saying, "Either move her or move me."

 

 

With SO many options for dining now, I don't see it as an issue. If I choose to be alone, I can do so, but more often than not, I enjoy being with people. The things memories are made of!

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Oh! And the leaving the spot for a "minute" thing...I usually ask someone close by if they can watch things for me.

I become really ticked with people who leave possessions/notes/whatever at 14:00 to save their spot so they have a seat with a view for double bubble at 16:00!

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I try to make it obvious - leaving an book - open face down on the table with reading glasses - a drink or something else that makes it look like the table is still occupied - but I agree that it is pain to have to do this just to get a drink/coffee refill or a forgotten little something?

 

 

My family once had the experience where they cleared our possessions away from the table, for crying out loud, not dishes. One of us had put down their ship tote bag, and the buffet line was so disastrously long that when we finally came back, it was gone. The waiter said he thought someone had accidentally left it behind. Sigh.

 

 

I've only been on one solo cruise, on the Escape. I didn't end up eating with the solo group very often, partly because I had reservations for the specialty restaurants (with the dining package) and partly because I wasn't really a fan of the MDR. On the last night, I went to Food Republic because I thought hell, I'd rather eat in there for the fifth time than see all these nice people I've met, which I guess makes me a b*tch. :-) I did actually "befriend" a few people, so it wasn't really them. I liked FR and didn't like the MDR. Eh. Anyway, I didn't get anyone's contact information as a result because that's when they did that thing. :-p Life.

 

 

I liked the solo group approach in theory, even if I didn't end up seeing them that often and then felt guilty and socially inept because of it. :-) We'd pass each other and chat almost like we'd known each other when we boarded. But I also ate alone more often than not, I'd say. I can kind of go either way on that. I guess in the end, I'd rather have good food than mediocre company, if that makes sense, and I worry that dining with someone I don't know well will distract me from my meal, which might be the sort of meal you really want to savor and fawn over on your own, in your own little overindulgent shame spiral. :-)

 

 

I've eaten at large tables when traveling with other people, though, like 3 of us at a table of 8 or 10, and it's actually been pretty cool. You meet interesting people. Sometimes bad people, but largely at least acceptable people.

 

 

My next cruise is on the Jade, and I imagine that means I'll be on my own throughout unless I meet someone, and I doubt I'll manage to do that. Oh well.

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