Dining Question:Anyone know how they assign seats for dinner?

[crabcracker]

Since I have been reading the CC boards, I have had some questions about how dining seats are assigned.

 

Does the cruise line try to match you with guests in your age range, similar interests, etc.?

 

Can you request to be assigned to an all adult table if you wish the late dinner seating? (I know this is going to sound awful, but DH has very little patience for the pre-school set, and it would not be enjoyable for him to have to sit at a table with a family who have children this age.Teenagers are O.K.)

 

Is it considered rude, or bad manners to request a seating change if you have dinner companions with whom you really don't "click"?

 

If we arequest late seating, and we are somehow assigned early seating, how difficult is it to get the time changed? Have you ever done this before?

 

If it helps to know which cruise lines I am thinking of going on, it would be Carnival,RCL and possibly NCL.

[Boo's Mom]

Hi Crabcracker....

 

All but one of my cruises have been with my young children....so I can say that they do try to seat families w/ children together. They even try to work the ages.

 

Is it polite to switch tablemates? A tough question.

You are going to spend a lot of time @ your dinner table ....2 hours each evening. If you are going to request a change...do it quickly.

 

We asked for a change one time. It did not come for two nights. The elderly women we were seated with (traveling together) were precious, but we wanted a larger table/family. We did end up seeing our original table mates...several times on the cruise and even spent time with them in a port or two. They were precious.

 

The fact is: You are paying a lot of money for this cruise experience. If you are unhappy with the seating.....you really need to do something about it.

 

One time (Princess) we changed from Traditional to Anytime seating. (separate dining rooms)...we had a table with only my family....right near the kitchen door. It was noisy. The change was easy.

 

There typically is a Maitre'd available right away (upon boarding) to fix any seating issues. (folks traveling together...but not seated together as requested). You can go down there and see what size table you are going to be seated at...location of the table, etc...

 

Often, folks will be waitlisted for a change.

 

Late seating tends to be more popular than early seating.

 

I hope this helps.... :)

[springtxbill]

They tend to seat people with similar cruise history, ages and occupations together. Last cruise 3 of the 4 couples at our table were Diamond members and the fourth couple had made a change the first afternoon due to the location they had I believe. My wife is a teacher and it always seems there is another teacher or retired teacher at the table.:) Kids get grouped with other kids and the smaller ones are set off to one side of the dining room.

[98Charlie]

Our experience has been that we have been seated with a variety of people but never with young children. We are late 50's and have had tables with younger and older cruisers. We have been seated with teachers, business professionals, college professors, college students, farmers and grocers to name a few.

 

If you choose NCL, you will have open seating each evening. Just request "No Children Please" when you go to the dining room to be seated.

 

Charlie

[bostoncruisegal]

If dinner seating/time is very important to you, NCL might be your best bet. With their Freestyle cruising, you can eat at whatever time you want, and with whomever you want. On my last cruise, some nights it was just my friends and I, and another night we met some people and made a reservation for 13 which they handled without a problem. I also saw many tables for just 2 people while I was there, so you can sit by yourselves.

[crabcracker]

Thank you all for your input, your experience has been a big help.I would especially like to thank those of you with children;when I re-read my post I realized how cranky it sounded, and I truly apologize if I have offended anyone.

I should have said that people with small children would probably not have a good time seated next to DH either, and they have a right to enjoy their cruise as much as we do,and I am more worried about them being uncomfortable than DH.

We do not dislike children.DH just gets nervous around the toddlers, and tends to be like a mother hen when they are doing things that could have a bad outcome: for example playing with the steak knife at the dinner table, and he tends to jump in to remedy the situation if the parents are not paying attention.Several years ago he rescued a 2 year old who was about to jump into a swimming pool when his Mother wasn't watching, and when he picked the child up, his mother finally did start paying attention and accused DH of being"some kind of pervert.":eek: When several of the other people around the pool took up for DH, the woman just took her child by the hand and said "I was watching him, next time mind your own business."Ever since that incident, we tend to avoid being in places with little ones and their parents, unless they are friends, or relatives.

Thanks again for the information,it has helped alot.

[wrp96]

If you have a problem with your eating arrangements, just talk to the Maitre D.

 

If you want late seating but are assigned to early, there is usually somebody else who got late but wanted early. On RCCI late seating starts at 8:30.

 

If you don't feel comfortable with your table companions, once again just ask. If there is any way they can make the change they will do it.

 

They usually try to assign people to tables with similar ages, although it isn't always possible. On all my cruises I've been seated with people who were around my age, none of whom were traveling with children.

 

As to being concerned about other people's children, one advantage to RCCI is that they have an adult's only pool area, at least on the larger ships, so that you will have to spend less time biting your tongue over how other people are choosing to raise their children.

[zpooh]

On my first cruise, I don't think they took in consideration anything to match us up with other people at the table ( we were like day and night) but we made the best out of it. This cruise we are taking in June, we have a group of 6 (3 couples) so we requested a table for 6 people and we got it. If it's a couple, they also have tables for 2.

Good Luck!

[Cotton]

Since I didn't see anything specific to Carnival, I'll give you my thoughts.

 

You request early or late dining, and prior to boarding you'll be given your Sail & Sign card. Embossed on there will be your dining room, time, and table number. If you want a different dining time, you can see the Maitre 'd and request a change.

 

When you get to your cabin, there will be a copy of the "Capers", the daily newsletter. In there will be an announcement as to what time and where you can see the Maitre 'd. Go as early as possible. He will most likely be able to honor your request.

 

Years ago, Carnival asked for passenger's occupation...and I assumed this was to seat people of like interest together. However, that question is no longer asked, so I don't know exactly how they group folks for dining.

 

I cruise only in September, when I know most kiddies or all ages are in school. I LOVE kids, but not while I'm on a cruise to relax.....so I understand your DH's feelings on this. (BTW, I can't believe he gets those nasty comments when trying to help! Just a guilt reflex from the moms for not watching their kids.):rolleyes:

 

Seems most families with children choose early dining, so you're probably pretty safe with late dining.

 

About changing your dining if you don't click with your tablemates....I've done this only once, and only because there was a really bad-mannered clod at the table who talked loudly, non-stop, with his mouth full. (Hard to enjoy my meal, and had to keep diverting my eyes.) I mean, it was REALLY bad. His wife never said a word, but shoveled her food in without taking a break, like it was her 'last supper'. I asked the Maitre 'd after dinner to PLEASE change my dining assignment, and he very graciously did so.:)

 

Whichever line you choose, I hope y'all have a fantastic voyage!

[geoherb]

When we used to book cruises with a local TA, she'd always ask what size table we'd prefer and what age range of the other passengers we'd like to be at our table. I guess since there's six years difference between us, at times we'd fall into different categories.

 

On most of our cruises, we've had good tablemates about our ages. We've never had permanent tablemates with young children. On one Royal Caribbean cruise, there was a family with teenagers at our table the first night. They let us know right away that they were trying to switch to the early seating. They had an extended family aboard the ship and were also trying to get everyone at the same table instead of being split up.

 

Our only bad experience was also on Royal Caribbean. Fortunately, it was a 4-night cruise. We were at a table for 8 with a couple in their 70s. Just them and us (in our late 20s/ mid 30s at the time).

 

And on the first night of our southern Caribbean cruise (open seating since the ship sailed from San Juan at night), we were seated at a table with a mother and her young daughter (8 years old or so). My DH later told me that he thought it was inappropriate for the maitre d' to have seated us at the same table. I did not think it was such a big deal.