Electronic Gadgets in MDR

[jpg1747]

Once again Bob, we are in agreement. :D

 

Using any kind of electronic device at dinner anywhere is so very rude IMO. Cruisers, and I think most here would agree, are social people who want to meet others.

 

I am not anti-electronic, but there are limits and one of those limits should be the dinner table, be it at home, a restaurant or on board a cruise ship.

 

 

 

I am a social person and like to sit with others in the MDR. I tried anytime dining once to see if I would like it. I asked each night to sit with others. It was not encouraged but I managed to do it every night but one. I was told that those who chose anytime dining do not want to sit with strangers, so not everyone on a cruise always wants to meet others during a meal. I was not about to sit at a table by myself staring into space or watching others eat and converse. And no one at nearby tables invited me to join them when they saw that I was alone. So on that one night, my dinner companion was my Nook. Please explain to me how that was rude. Should I have slunk away and eaten in my room or at the buffet? I think not.

[Stevesan]

I agree. I often go to lunch or dinner by myself at a nearby restaurant and bring my Kindle. There are frequently single ladies sitting at other tables doing the same thing. At a shared table at dinner, whether at home or on a ship, it's just plain rude.

 

I don't really have a problem with kids at dinner with electronic gadgets, as long as the device doesn't make noise. However, as an old fogie who is obviously way behind the times, why does a kid feel the need to be visually stimulated at dinner instead of listening or contributing to the conversation? Don't they talk to each other at home? I'm trying to understand.

 

If at home, both daughter and I would be kindleing.:p

[Pam in CA]

Aside from maybe an important phone call who's really bothered by anyone playing around with an electronic device? They don't bother anyone. If it's just the sight of someone doing something you wouldn't do yourself that upsets you, it's easy to just ignore it. I often sit there & review/delete photo's while waiting for the next course to arrive. Is that worse than reading a Kindle or i pad.

The main issue in this thread as I see it is people doing it while seated at the same table. It's none of my business what you do at your own table. If someone were shouting into a cell phone or playing a pow! pow! pow! type of video game without muting the sound, then it becomes my business.

[Stevesan]

I am a social person and like to sit with others in the MDR. I tried anytime dining once to see if I would like it. I asked each night to sit with others. It was not encouraged but I managed to do it every night but one. I was told that those who chose anytime dining do not want to sit with strangers, so not everyone on a cruise always wants to meet others during a meal. I was not about to sit at a table by myself staring into space or watching others eat and converse. And no one at nearby tables invited me to join them when they saw that I was alone. So on that one night, my dinner companion was my Nook. Please explain to me how that was rude. Should I have slunk away and eaten in my room or at the buffet? I think not.

 

 

Who, in the name of all that's holy, told you that? That was definitely a one off.

Every Anytime Dining head waiter I've encountered prefer it when asked for a "share".

 

No one has remotely suggested reading while seated alone is rude.

[cornish1]

I agree with many of you regarding electronic devices at mealtimes. O.K some of the conversation at the table may be boring for young people but when we were growing up it did us no harm. We respected our peers and in this way we learned our table manners. A recent survey showed that there are many households now without a dining table, preferring to sit in front of the t.v. Where is the conversation? Many children(and some adults) don't even know how to use the cutlery on the table. Surely this is more important than learning how to use an electronic device. When my family sit around the table from my twenty month old granddaughter in her high chair, to my 101 old mother-in-law, the conversation is vibrant for everyone.

[PugsRuleATL]

On our last Princess cruise we took an iPad to dinner EVERY night in the MDR, or the buffet. It was how we shared the pics from the day with each other. Everyone uploaded the pics from their excursion/s or daily activities and we could all share and talk about what a great time we had had. That was the easy and fun way for a group of 6 to share.

 

I would just not want you to assume anything about why they had the device along before you jump to any conclusions.

[PescadoAmarillo]

The main issue in this thread as I see it is people doing it while seated at the same table. It's none of my business what you do at your own table. If someone were shouting into a cell phone or playing a pow! pow! pow! type of video game without muting the sound, then it becomes my business.

I agree. Although, still, I've never heard a phone conversation or a loud game being played at another table.

 

And there is a code of etiquette even among electronics users, I think. In the dining room, I may be reviewing my photos, DH may be reviewing his, we may share them with each other and talk about our day, or I may read and he may read something different. But I would NEVER pop in ear buds while sitting with anyone, DH included. That's exclusionary, while sharing photos or news is not. And at dinner, we mostly limit it to sharing photos. But, again, the definitive "electronics in the dining room are rude" statement attempts to force your values on others. If they're not at your table, who cares? If you don't like the way kids are entertained at the table, be glad they're not your kids. Another bonus of Anytime Dining.

[Scotoco]

Once again Bob, we are in agreement. :D

 

Using any kind of electronic device at dinner anywhere is so very rude IMO. Cruisers, and I think most here would agree, are social people who want to meet others.

 

I am not anti-electronic, but there are limits and one of those limits should be the dinner table, be it at home, a restaurant or on board a cruise ship.

 

 

 

So I guess you do not bring your digital camera to dinner to take photos (unless you still use disposable cameras). I also don't go cruising to meet other people. I go to relax, eat great food and enjoy seeing new places which I think most cruisers would agree.

[RickEk]

On our last Princess cruise we took an iPad to dinner EVERY night in the MDR, or the buffet. It was how we shared the pics from the day with each other. Everyone uploaded the pics from their excursion/s or daily activities and we could all share and talk about what a great time we had had. That was the easy and fun way for a group of 6 to share.

 

I would just not want you to assume anything about why they had the device along before you jump to any conclusions.

 

I agree. Although, still, I've never heard a phone conversation or a loud game being played at another table.

 

 

Using an electronic device such as an iPad to share photos of the day is an entirely appropriate use of the device. Even at the dinner table (but if you're sharing a table, do include your tablemates).

 

As an aside, we were enjoying a quiet drink in the Wheelhouse Bar last cruise and a group of 20-somethings came in and started playing a game on their iPad which involved them banging on the screen all the while the game played the same obnoxious music over and over again... not cool.

 

So I guess you do not bring your digital camera to dinner to take photos (unless you still use disposable cameras). I also don't go cruising to meet other people. I go to relax, eat great food and enjoy seeing new places which I think most cruisers would agree.

 

As evidenced by my photostream on Flickr, I take a camera to most meals. I didn't use to do this, but I have a photographer friend who is also a foodie and he convinced me to take photos of the food so that he could participate in our cruise vicariously...

[Scotoco]

Using an electronic device such as an iPad to share photos of the day is an entirely appropriate use of the device. Even at the dinner table (but if you're sharing a table, do include your tablemates).

 

As an aside, we were enjoying a quiet drink in the Wheelhouse Bar last cruise and a group of 20-somethings came in and started playing a game on their iPad which involved them banging on the screen all the while the game played the same obnoxious music over and over again... not cool.

 

 

 

As evidenced by my photostream on Flickr, I take a camera to most meals. I didn't use to do this, but I have a photographer friend who is also a foodie and he convinced me to take photos of the food so that he could participate in our cruise vicariously...

 

That was directed towards anubi

[chipmaster]

What bothered you?

 

Life has changed in this ever connected world, some for good some for bad.

 

In my case I'm expected to be online and address anything and everything 7x24.

 

One of the nice things on certain vacations you can go offline.

 

As for kids and even adults, the ability to go down is getting harder and harder, and believe if or not our brains need/want it even if we don't believe it and seem bored.

 

One thing I like about cruising is connection is ridiculously expensive and work ain't paying for it, I'm not going to so :D

 

But when my children were younger they'd bring their gameboy, these days its their iPad, I see manytimes parents with smaller children bringing their DVD player, I'm all for them keeping to themselves if they don't feel they can keep themselves occupied.

 

What I find most funny is those groups/couples that all sit there and stare around with no converstation between them. ROFL, I'd rather see them each stare at their electronic gizmo ;)

 

Just back off a wonderful cruise on Star Princess, one of our best cruises to date.

 

One thing we did find a little annoying was the number of people taking electronic gadgets into the dining room (mobile phones, i pads, e-books etc). Not a massive issue but enough to make us think some people were rather rude playing with their gadgets at shared tables.

 

Not aware of the official Princess policy on such matters?

[ActiveTraveler]

So...you would be opposed to a couple at a table for 2 reviewing their photos of the day over coffee and dessert? Or a solo traveler sitting alone at a table reading the newspaper they just downloaded over breakfast? Or a family at a table for 4 reviewing the information they've downloaded about the next day's port? Because, frankly, that's what your post implies.

 

I really don't see why what people at one table consensually and quietly use their phone or e-reader for should so irritate people at another table. If your table erupts in raucous laughter or celebrates with an off-key singing of Happy Birthday I would smile or sing along and then politely applaud at the end even though those actions are far more disruptive than anything you've suggested should be banned.

 

You are forgetting three things here:

1. At theaters, hospitals, and other public places, people are told to turn off cell phones instead of put them on vibrate and use text messaging.

2. At land restaurants people do not use e-readers, iPads, or other gadgets when they are seated. Why should cruise ship dining rooms be any different?

3. Cruisers can use gadgets in their cabins at the Sanctuary, and on pool decks, What reasons is there to believe they need to use them in the MDR of all places?

Also I cannot imagine a couple would want a table for two so they can compare photos taken in port because they usually are holding silverware, napkins, or drinking glasses, not cameras. Thye want an intimate meal alone for other reasons.

[chipmaster]

Clothing police

 

Gadget police

 

whats next :D

 

The complaints here gave me an idea: Princess should ban all electronic gadgets at all restaurants and dining rooms except medical devices.

 

Have any cruise lines done that yet?

[Loonbeam]

I use my e-reader at our local restaurant all the time. Or my phone as a web access point, especially if dining alone. Did it last night. And we've done it when dining together (the wife and I) if we have interesting things to read.

 

And quite frankly I like going over pictures with my wife and sometimes dinner is a good time to do it especially if I have evening plans.

 

The MDR is not a super sanctum where everyone has to conform to a single set of ideals. There are minimum standards, but as I said above, if the fact that I choose to sit alone and read or my wife and I want to look at something bothers a person at another table? That's their issue, not mine. No one should limit their dining options on the off chance someone may be offended at their choice.

 

I will say that I would never do either at a shared table...at least not without the consent of my tablemates. But that's courtesy, which is different than a rule.

 

No disrespected to ActiveTraveler, but it really does frost me when people assume everyone on a cruise has the same outlook they do.. (I refer specifically to the last point)

 

 

 

 

You are forgetting three things here:

 

1. At theaters, hospitals, and other public places, people are told to turn off cell phones instead of put them on vibrate and use text messaging.

2. At land restaurants people do not use e-readers, iPads, or other gadgets when they are seated. Why should cruise ship dining rooms be any different?

3. Cruisers can use gadgets in their cabins at the Sanctuary, and on pool decks, What reasons is there to believe they need to use them in the MDR of all places?

 

Also I cannot imagine a couple would want a table for two so they can compare photos taken in port because they usually are holding silverware, napkins, or drinking glasses, not cameras. Thye want an intimate meal alone for other reasons.

[jpg1747]

Who, in the name of all that's holy, told you that? That was definitely a one off.

Every Anytime Dining head waiter I've encountered prefer it when asked for a "share".

 

No one has remotely suggested reading while seated alone is rude.

 

It's a pretty widely held opinion here on CC among those who prefer anytime dining that they don't want to eat with strangers. However, the person in question who made the statement to me was the Maitre'd of the anytime dining room on the Carnival Destiny. It was on the last night of the cruise, the only night he was at the podium. All the other nights, the hostesses managed to find me seating at larger tables. This one night, he overruled them. They were very embarassed and came over to my little table during dinner to apologize.

 

As for the statement about reading my Nook in the MDR being rude, it was made by Anubi, whose comment I quoted in my response. Not the reading per se, but the device I was using to read. I suppose reading a paper book would not be rude, for whatever reason.

[Tinini]

Let me get this straight. Bringing an Ipad or Kindle to dinner is rude. Throwing someone's personal property overboard or dumping water on them is not. Hmm.

[1 HappyCruiser]

 

Also I cannot imagine a couple would want a table for two so they can compare photos taken in port because they usually are holding silverware, napkins, or drinking glasses, not cameras. Thye want an intimate meal alone for other reasons.

 

Not when it takes 15 minutes between courses & the whole meal takes over 1 1/2 hours. I can't seem to get the camera out of my wife's hands sometimes. ;)

[pms4104]

What is the difference between taking a magazine, newspaper, or book verses a Kindle or a Nook in the MDR?

Not much difference at all ... print versus electronic media.

[Pam in CA]

It's a pretty widely held opinion here on CC among those who prefer anytime dining that they don't want to eat with strangers. However, the person in question who made the statement to me was the Maitre'd of the anytime dining room on the Carnival Destiny. It was on the last night of the cruise, the only night he was at the podium. All the other nights, the hostesses managed to find me seating at larger tables. This one night, he overruled them. They were very embarassed and came over to my little table during dinner to apologize.

It's a shame this happened to you but I've never heard of it happening on Princess, even when I've cruised as a solo. Often, experiences on other cruiselines aren't applicable to Princess and vice versa.

[Loonbeam]

That's not true for us at least. We choose AD primarily for time flexibility but also because it gives us the choice of dining with different people each night (great way to meet people) or eating alone (which we do on our anniv night). Usually we just go first available seats and let the chips fall where they may.

 

It's a pretty widely held opinion here on CC among those who prefer anytime dining that they don't want to eat with strangers. However, the person in question who made the statement to me was the Maitre'd of the anytime dining room on the Carnival Destiny. It was on the last night of the cruise, the only night he was at the podium. All the other nights, the hostesses managed to find me seating at larger tables. This one night, he overruled them. They were very embarassed and came over to my little table during dinner to apologize.

 

As for the statement about reading my Nook in the MDR being rude, it was made by Anubi, whose comment I quoted in my response. Not the reading per se, but the device I was using to read. I suppose reading a paper book would not be rude, for whatever reason.

[PescadoAmarillo]

You are forgetting three things here:

1. At theaters, hospitals, and other public places, people are told to turn off cell phones instead of put them on vibrate and use text messaging.

Because they then don't make noise. I don't think anyone is condoning noisy electronics in the dining room...quite the contrary.

2. At land restaurants people do not use e-readers, iPads, or other gadgets when they are seated. Why should cruise ship dining rooms be any different?

Of course they do, you just don't notice them because it is a silent and unobtrusive practive.

3. Cruisers can use gadgets in their cabins at the Sanctuary, and on pool decks, What reasons is there to believe they need to use them in the MDR of all places?

Ummm...because we want to?

Also I cannot imagine a couple would want a table for two so they can compare photos taken in port because they usually are holding silverware, napkins, or drinking glasses, not cameras. Thye want an intimate meal alone for other reasons.

It is obvious that your reality is not the same as mine. That's fine; it doesn't make me right and you wrong or vice versa. What does make you wrong is your inclination to try to impose your values on others when their behavior isn't affecting you.

[Woobstr112G]

Because they then don't make noise. I don't think anyone is condoning noisy electronics in the dining room...quite the contrary.

Of course they do, you just don't notice them because it is a silent and unobtrusive practive.

Ummm...because we want to?

 

It is obvious that your reality is not the same as mine. That's fine; it doesn't make me right and you wrong or vice versa. What does make you wrong is your inclination to try to impose your values on others when their behavior isn't affecting you.

 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, albeit a little extreme.......:)

 

Bob

[Woobstr112G]

The complaints here gave me an idea: Princess should ban all electronic gadgets at all restaurants and dining rooms except medical devices.

Have any cruise lines done that yet?

 

That is a little extreme.....

 

Bob

[dee66]

I debated quite a bit before deciding to comment on this topic. I just completed my first cruise ever with our family to Alaska. We were on the Coral Princess and are in our early 40's with a 5 year old. I enjoyed the cruise, but I think there is a generational gap between the long time cruisers and first/young cruisers. I spoke with many long time cruisers on our cruise and most lament for the "good old days" of cruising. I did enjoy hearing stories about the good old days, especially about the food quality and entertainment.

 

Those days just like for airlines are gone. The times and attitudes of travelers have changed. Younger people use technology in every aspect of life. My wife and I do not go anywhere without our smartphones, ipads, laptops, etc. In fact we had one small carryon that we call the technology bag. Our lives demand it. We do not always like it, but we accept it as the price we pay for working and living in today's global world.

 

We observed many "younger" cruisers sharing pictures taken in port on ipads, iphones, cameras, etc during all the meals including the MDR. Also, reviewing the trip planning documents stored on ipads. This was not just at one or two tables, but 5-7 tables. Some were even sharing the pictures with the staff.

 

Overall, I enjoyed the cruise, but I think the rules police concerning formal attire, technology, etc. should probably recognize that they are sailing on a mass market ship and not the love boat of the 1980's.

 

Not intended as a rant, but just an observation from a first time cruiser, who looks forward to doing another cruise.

[Pam in CA]

Dee, the key word in your post is "sharing." I don't think anyone has a problem with people sharing photos, information, etc. That's part of today's world. What people are objecting to is the "tune out" use of technology when at a table with others, not if you are at a table by yourselves. If you've booked Traditional dining, you've chosen to sit at a table with strangers. If you go to Anytime, you have the choice of sitting by yourselves or with strangers. In other words, whichever dining, you chose to be at a table with others. Tuning them out with a cell phone (making/receiving a call) or video game is considered rude no matter which age group you are in.