Move away from seating with 'strangers' in MDR

[LuvBNatC]

If RCI abandons traditional seating and large tables in the MDR, I will move on to a line that still has them, just as I left NCL when it went Freestyle.

 

I've made many good friends at dinner over the years who still keep in touch.

 

When I sail alone, I don't mind doing my own thing during the day, but prefer companionship at dinner, the more the better. It was terrible to be seated alone nights in the middle of the dining room on Norwegian Majesty (or worse, at some ratty little table right in front of the swinging galley door that they seem to reserve for "strays"), getting glances from people in groups at the tables around me. Couldn't tell if they were conveying pity, disgust, or what.

 

If you think talking to strangers is uncomfortable, just trying eating a meal while they silently give you the stink-eye.

 

If the day comes where I can find no adult on a ship who can bring themselves to share some pleasant chit-chat over a meal without feeling totally stressed out and put-upon, I guess it's time to stay home.

[TC1957]

I feel that Royal should move towards having only MTD, given all the specialty restaurants that are also available.

 

 

This may sound cheap, but I DO NOT want MTD in specialty restaurants if there is an up-charge. I pay enough for the cruise and the vast majority of specialty restaurant reviews I have seen say that while the food MAY be a bit better it is still not at the quality you should expect. Face it, when preparing food for that many people each night it is hard to make it top notch. I enjoy a fine dining experience, but you will be hard pressed to get that on a RCI ship, unless your definition of fine dining is different than mine.

 

Besides, I like sitting at the large tables with strangers. Unless you are anti-social they are only strangers the first night.

[Queen of Oakville]

too funny! small world.

 

That was us. I think my husband was chatting with your husband by the carousel on the last night as well. He was talking to my husband about Oakville and the Toronto Blue Jays.

[reallyitsmema]

If RCI abandons traditional seating and large tables in the MDR, I will move on to a line that still has them, just as I left NCL when it went Freestyle.

 

I've made many good friends at dinner over the years who still keep in touch.

 

When I sail alone, I don't mind doing my own thing during the day, but prefer companionship at dinner, the more the better. It was terrible to be seated alone nights in the middle of the dining room on Norwegian Majesty (or worse, at some ratty little table right in front of the swinging galley door that they seem to reserve for "strays"), getting glances from people in groups at the tables around me. Couldn't tell if they were conveying pity, disgust, or what.

 

If you think talking to strangers is uncomfortable, just trying eating a meal while they silently give you the stink-eye.

 

If the day comes where I can find no adult on a ship who can bring themselves to share some pleasant chit-chat over a meal without feeling totally stressed out and put-upon, I guess it's time to stay home.

Wow.:eek:

[Paulette3028]

In 5 weeks we will be cruising on MOS for the 10th time; most of those times it has just been my husband and I, since for us it is an easy drive to the port and no airfare is included. The friends we cruise with have to fly down from NJ and a short weekend getaway isn't always in the cards for them.

 

On all of the cruises that we have gone by ourselves, I go to the dining room after we board the ship and share with them that we 'can eat dinner with each other at home every night....on our cruise we want to meet new people and have some new conversations over dinner'.....and EVERYTIME our request for table mates is met.

 

I fully expect that will happen when we cruise over Thanksgiving Weekend 2013. We have met some wonderful people this way.

[Aunt Sue]

we were at a table for just us 4 for dinner too on FOS last week - we liked it. you can always ask to be seated with others at a larger table and you sit with "strangers" at lunch in the MDR- both are fun!

Edited October 23, 2013 by Aunt Sue

[OCruisers]

We only had dinner in the MDR once on our Oasis cruise because we love having dinner in the specialty restaurants.

We had MTD and requested to be seated at a larger table ... but were told it would be a rather long wait but we could be seated at a table for two immediately so we took the table for two. :rolleyes:

 

LuLu

~~~~

[cruiselvr04]

We really like a big table. Since we always travel just as a couple we enjoy meeting others and conversation over dinner. Coming up on Oasis we booked a large table even though we are prepared to be eating alone at an 8 top. Since there are so many other options to eat at that could happen! Just hope the whole week we are not alone. Dinner does go a lot faster with fewer people. We are okay with it on Oasis since we have special dining 3 out of the 7 nights booked ourselves but hope this is not across the fleet.

[travelplus]

I am all for tables for 2 or 4 etc. Let's put it this way when you go to a restaurant you are never asked to share a table with someone.

 

On a cruise that should be an option too. Lets say a solo traveler only wanted an additional seatmate then sit them at a table for 2.r

A large family can be fit at a table for 4-6 or 12

 

Let's say you were put at a table of Republicans and your a Democrat and there was all this fighting going on and you spoke your mind about the politics and you were bashed. Then no one at that table wanted to talk with you and you felt left out.

 

Or what if there was some pretentious passengers who kept complaining about every little thing thus delaying your meal.

 

What if some people at your table had a cold you don't want to catch that if possible.

 

A table for 2 is great(:

[Paulette3028]

The old expression is "different strokes for different folks" -- and the cruise staff should be able to accommodate them all for a wonderful dinner experience for everyone.

[OCruisers]

It would be interesting to know if it's just this way on Oasis/Allure or if this trend is now fleet wide? :confused:

 

LuLu

~~~~

[murcor]

I prefer to dine with the people I cruise with, my family.

[poncho1973]

If the day comes where I can find no adult on a ship who can bring themselves to share some pleasant chit-chat over a meal without feeling totally stressed out and put-upon, I guess it's time to stay home.

 

As someone on the opposite end of the spectrum, I can only say that I most certainly understand if you sailing alone. However, I'm sailing with my wife and have no real desire to be someone's surrogate. I certainly get it and there are obviously tons of people that love dining the way you do! That's great news for all of us. Everyone wins!

 

I'm not sure if in your travels you've met the lady that talks so much her meal goes on like 10x longer than it reasonably should because she doesn't take time to actually eat her food? The one that just keeps going and going and going? It's not fun. It's an endless game of 20 questions and stories about people you don't know, doing things you have no interest in.

 

I did read an awesome tip in one of these threads if you happen to meet someone like this... offer to introduce them to your Lord and Savior Jesus and see how quickly they stop talking. Depends on your luck, though. You might find someone that LOVES that idea. I haven't pulled that trigger at the dinner table, but it's tempting.

[Irene7]

As someone on the opposite end of the spectrum, I can only say that I most certainly understand if you sailing alone. However, I'm sailing with my wife and have no real desire to be someone's surrogate. I certainly get it and there are obviously tons of people that love dining the way you do! That's great news for all of us. Everyone wins!

 

I'm not sure if in your travels you've met the lady that talks so much her meal goes on like 10x longer than it reasonably should because she doesn't take time to actually eat her food? The one that just keeps going and going and going? It's not fun. It's an endless game of 20 questions and stories about people you don't know, doing things you have no interest in.

 

I did read an awesome tip in one of these threads if you happen to meet someone like this... offer to introduce them to your Lord and Savior Jesus and see how quickly they stop talking. Depends on your luck, though. You might find someone that LOVES that idea. I haven't pulled that trigger at the dinner table, but it's tempting.

 

I prefer not to eat with strangers either, but if someone said that to me, I would say I already know him.

[crisndeefromde]

I would just like to thank all of my great cruising friends that I have met over the years from sitting at the bigger tables our agent put us in. I have loved all of your stories and yes some nites we closed the doors enjoying our coffee but without your wealth of experiences we may not have tried new places, new ships, or perhaps felt comfortable to try new things in strange countries to us on our own.

 

I would miss this....yes it is my vacation and I eat every day of the year with my family..sure is nice having guests at my dinner table with some fascinating stories .

[reallyhooked]

I would just like to thank all of my great cruising friends that I have met over the years from sitting at the bigger tables our agent put us in. I have loved all of your stories and yes some nites we closed the doors enjoying our coffee but without your wealth of experiences we may not have tried new places, new ships, or perhaps felt comfortable to try new things in strange countries to us on our own.

 

I would miss this....yes it is my vacation and I eat every day of the year with my family..sure is nice having guests at my dinner table with some fascinating stories .

 

I like your attitude. We've been blessed on our cruises to share the table with some really wonderful and fun people.:)

[Sumisid]

 

During the reservation process when we have to make our dining selection, why don't they just ask if being seated with strangers is acceptable. Obviously some people love to meet new people so why not give everyone the choice instead of taking it away completely.

 

Just reserved our MTD-Schedule online for our next cruises on Oasis and Allure. They actually DO ask you now if you prefer to dine alone or share the table with other people. So you can choose now! :)

 

As DH and I do most things on vacations together, also breakfast and lunch, we are happy to meet new people during dinner. We've made some great friends on Oasis as well as on Liberty. On Liberty, we cruised with another couple but still decided to share a big table with others. We had a blast! In a whole week, we only had one evening where one couple was a bit weird, all other nights we had nice and friendly people sitting with us.

 

All in all, I would say that if you meet new people at dinner every night for a whole week and think they are all awful, it's probably you! :D

[JasonTehGreat]

When you book a cruise you have an option for selecting a table size. You can always request a large table (or small if that's what you want).

 

I know the TA's can put it in the reservation and I think it is on the consumer site too or you could always call customer service and ask them to do it (if you didn't book with a TA).

[Thetrail]

We were just on Oasis last week and had asked to be seated at a large table in hopes to meet some new people. We ended up at a table for just our family of 4. When I asked the head waiter about moving tables, he said they were moving away from seating people with 'strangers' unless they are solo cruisers, as most couples and individual families are usually asking to be seated separately. He even mentioned that with all the new ships, they are being designed to accommodate more and more tables of 2 and 4, or pushed together for groups of 5 or 6, and the larger tables (8-12 people) are usually only used by people who are cruising as a group of 8-12 people.

 

While I was dissapointed to not have tablemates, I feel that Royal should move towards having only MTD, given all the specialty restaurants that are also available. I know now for my next cruise to book MTD and not hope for tablemates. Or that I should try to find tablemates in my roll call and reserve to be seated with them.

 

Well thanks for that :confused:

[trev71]

that is probably why for the first time our TA has never asked how big of a table do we want to sit at. Last time we said 6 and we got a table for 2. right by the window.. It was werid the first night eating alone but the DW and I sorta enjoyed it. Has a nice feeling too it. I guess it has its ups and downs

[eldolko]

Bad news for us.

We tried MTD and didn't care for it. We enjoyed the company of tablemates on our first cruise. That's why we decided to go back to traditional dining on our upcoming Oasis cruise.

 

If we are to be seated at a table for two we might as well chose MTD.

[Travel R]

Sharing a large table with strangers that are soon to become friends over a nice liesurely meal is all part of the cruising experience - which I happen to enjoy.

 

We had MTD this summer on the Legend and were given a 4 top for myself and my family. It did not kill us, but prefer the larger table experience. However, we did get to know the people at the tables around us (but it was just not the same).

 

There are all kinds of people on a ship, and some are more sociable than others.

[poncho1973]

However, we did get to know the people at the tables around us (but it was just not the same).

 

If people start turning around from their tables to talk to me at my table... that's when I'll probably just start cracking up.

 

"Why hello there stranger at a different table! I'm Betsy from Wis-KAHN-sin. Would you like to check out my beauty of a dog? Her name is Cutie-Pooh. She's just the sweetest darn thing ever!"

 

"LOOK BECKY! IT'S SANTA CLAUS HOLDING A CHEESE LOG!"

 

Whoooooosh... out the door.

[printingchick]

I agree that I've met some GREAT friends thanks to traditional dining. However, MORE often than not, I've ended up at a table where half the people rarely or NEVER show up. It' feels ridiculous to be two or four people, sitting at a huge table meant for 8-10. I agree with the poster who said opting for MyTime dining as the rule makes sense. If you want to sit with others, that's feasible. (Just like when you eat breakfast or lunch in the MDR.) If you'd prefer to be on your own, you can choose that option. And if you want to go to a specialty restaurant one night, you're not inconveniencing anyone.

 

Also, in 2010, my daughter and I were sitting at a table for 2 in MTD on the first night and our table was very close to another table for two...so close, conversing across the small gap was just natural. We hit it off so well, we reserved a table for four for the remainder of the cruise!

Edited October 24, 2013 by printingchick

[ryano]

I have to agree with the OP that said "you are only strangers the first night". The first night can seem rather "odd" but after that everything seems to fall right into place rather quickly in my opinion.

 

I have yet to hear about someones dogs medicine or little Johnny in 3rd grade or any other useless drivel that I really could not care less about. We have met some really great people some of whom we have become friends with and had some good conversations at a large table.

 

Even on my last cruise with MTD at a two top, we quickly found ourselves in conversation with some of those around us and found ourselves at the Schooner bar together after dinner listening to the piano man or going to a show together.