Sitting with strangers in the MDR

[MNCruizer1]

Have you been to your Roll Call? This is where everyone on the same cruise can email each other. You can ask if anyone else has a 12 year old- or 11 or 13, and a 19 year old. You can plan doing the same thing ashore too.

A dinner would be for the 12 year old age group - not all are 12. They are younger and older but I don't know the ages of each group. There are all sorts of activities for 12 year olds! Your 19 year old will find friends and may eat with them too.

You can tell your waiter when he comes to take orders that your 12 year old, and maybe 19 year old, won't be with you for dinner. Waiters like to get orders when everyone is at the table.

The email for the maître'd should be trmaitred@carnival.com. Haven't been on the Triumph for a while but they have long tables by the windows and round tables in the middle of the dining room. We like the long tables because it's easier to talk to each other there. Email the maître'd and tell him what you'd like. Also ask him to email you back so you know he's gotten your email.

 

Yep..I posted on the roll call. Nobody yet but hopefully someone else will post there.

[holly 44]

 

Does anyone else have a problem with that? Every time we walk on a cruise ship the first thing my husband and I do is hunt down the maître D and request a table for 2. I have noticed throughout the cruise the tables near me begin to have missing people and I have often wondered if they didn't like their tablemates and began eating up on the Lido deck.

 

What happens if you don't like your tablemates and request another table? Then you have to hope you don't bump into them on the ship because that would be awkward.

 

This is one thing about cruising I think needs to be changed. Am I the only one who feels this way?

I have had large table 16 times meet one person did not care for they left no need to change system holly 44

[josiemalecha@gmail.com]

I'm hoping we have some interesting table mates first time cruising without a big group of people and would be interesting to share stories over dinner with new people. Is group seating the norm on carnival?

 

 

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[Shmoo here]

I'm hoping we have some interesting table mates first time cruising without a big group of people and would be interesting to share stories over dinner with new people. Is group seating the norm on carnival?

 

 

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With my limited Carnival experience (1 cruise) I'm going to say "yes".

 

At least we (2 of us) were seated with another couple on our cruise.

[navybankerteacher]

I'm hoping we have some interesting table mates first time cruising without a big group of people and would be interesting to share stories over dinner with new people. Is group seating the norm on carnival?

 

 

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It depends upon whether you have requested anytime dining - then each evening would be a new event - perhaps getting a table for two, perhaps being seated with six others. If you have requested "traditional dining" you will be at an assigned table with the same group each evening, giving you a chance to get to know a nucleus of fellow cruisers.

[JimAOk1945]

Even though this thread was started in 2014, it still contains useful information. My wife and I prefer a table for two and I firmly but respectfully ask for one not too close to other tables. It works every time.

 

Happy cruising everyone.

Edited April 2, 2016 by JimAOk1945

[NMLady]

 

 

 

We cruise mostly on NCL which has no assigned dining but we always ask for a shared table since we enjoy meeting others and hearing their travel stories.

 

Since it's not assigned dining though we do not have the same people the next night unless we make arrangements to eat together.

Edited April 2, 2016 by NMLady

[GottaKnowWhen]

 

Does anyone else have a problem with that? Every time we walk on a cruise ship the first thing my husband and I do is hunt down the maître D and request a table for 2. I have noticed throughout the cruise the tables near me begin to have missing people and I have often wondered if they didn't like their tablemates and began eating up on the Lido deck.

 

What happens if you don't like your tablemates and request another table? Then you have to hope you don't bump into them on the ship because that would be awkward.

 

This is one thing about cruising I think needs to be changed. Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

No problem. Pretty much everybody in my life, including my wife, were strangers before I met them. I just don't see the big fear of sitting with other people. On the other hand, when we are not cruising, I hardly ever get to sit and talk with anybody except my wife, my mother-in-law (99 years old with alzheimeirs) and my mother-in-laws other caregivers. Onboard, I am more than ready for adult conversation with someone new! Last thing I want is a two-top with my wife.

[Winnie Witch]

I have no idea why this should be an issue in general. As the wife of a diabetic who injects fast acting insulin injecting directly before eating (as in food in front of them) or directly after is the only way to avoid sugar problems either way.Most modern insulin would cause problems being injected 1 hour before as it would cause someone to go low and 1 hour after would cause a spike in blood sugars which is harmful. Pens now look like marker felt tip pens and have very small needles indeed so it just looks like someone is pushing a pen into their thigh.Anyone who had a problem with hubby doing it (he does it very discreetly) would get harsh words from me.

 

We have anytime dining and mostly ate alone but would share tables with friends we met and others. We often get the compliments about our accents and US/UK comparisons at the dinner table which are always amusing. We would never do traditional dining as we are impulsive and would worry about being seated with people we did not get on with.

 

I have no objection AT ALL to anyone injecting with insulin ..but when it is done INDESCRETLY then it is objectionable, Said woman in question gets the apparatus out on the table and then proceeds to put hand on hip and inject into the deltoid while sat there at the table. My niece is a diabetic and injects just before eating but it goes unnoticed because she is discreet . I am a nurse so I understand about blood sugars etc, Its the need to draw attention to oneself that irritates me. Same lady also held up dinner each night while discussing how the next nights menu would affect her allergies,

[Bound4Bermuda]

We'll be doing My Time Dining, but I hope we'll be seated with other people. I don't have enough topics of conversation to cover two weeks straight with my husband.

 

 

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[Floridiana]

 

What happens if you don't like your tablemates and request another table?

 

We prefer ships that don't do the traditional dining where you are with the same table mates throughout the cruise. Many lines now offer open dining. They call it 'anytime', 'freestyle', 'your time' or something like that. You walk up to the dining room entrance, the maître d' asks whether you would like to share or not and leads you to a table. We like the random grouping at tables of 6.

[donaldsc]

We have had some mixed experiences when dining on an 8 , including a Scotsman who wanted to re-organise the seating arrangement's each evening Someone who produced a laptop at the table and a diabetic woman who chose to inject insulin at the table, and not discreetly either.

 

I agree that putting all your injection paraphernalia on the table might be offsetting especially as your injections can be done discretely. However, I would not have a major issue w that. BTW - how would you have handled it if a woman at the table chose to nurse her child - discretely. My wife who is now 70+ nursed our children in public if necessary and both of our kids did the same - also discretely. Even back in the day when my wife did it and nursing was less common, nobody objected.

 

The last time we sailed with RCI we were sat with a huge American woman who declared each night that she wasn't hungry and then proceeded to order several starters as well as the main courses,,,dinner was a loooong event , We chose to dine elsewhere after 3 nights of this.

 

You could have requested a table change to avoid this woman if you had wanted to stay in fixed dining.

 

DON

[lahlah57]

I dine with my husband every night of the week and we both wish to dine with many others on a cruise!!

I just don't get why people would want to do the same old thing as they do at home!

We have met some pretty interesting people in many different and interesting ways! Whether they were quirky...odd...shy...boisterous. ...drunk...or sticks in the mud.....they are the people that brought color to our cruises and our memories. For that,I am grateful for all of them:o

[Raxter54]

I dine with my husband every night of the week and we both wish to dine with many others on a cruise!!

 

I just don't get why people would want to do the same old thing as they do at home!

 

We have met some pretty interesting people in many different and interesting ways! Whether they were quirky...odd...shy...boisterous. ...drunk...or sticks in the mud.....they are the people that brought color to our cruises and our memories. For that,I am grateful for all of them:o

 

 

Because I love my wife and look forward to talking with her over dinner?

 

 

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[Warm Breezes]

I dine with my husband every night of the week and we both wish to dine with many others on a cruise!!

I just don't get why people would want to do the same old thing as they do at home!

We have met some pretty interesting people in many different and interesting ways! Whether they were quirky...odd...shy...boisterous. ...drunk...or sticks in the mud.....they are the people that brought color to our cruises and our memories. For that,I am grateful for all of them:o

 

Our vacations are a chance to unplug from the rest of the world and reconnect with each other....not to connect with strangers sailing with us. one of the reasons we choose anytime. To each his own.

[navybankerteacher]

I dine with my husband every night of the week and we both wish to dine with many others on a cruise!!

I just don't get why people would want to do the same old thing as they do at home!

We have met some pretty interesting people in many different and interesting ways! Whether they were quirky...odd...shy...boisterous. ...drunk...or sticks in the mud.....they are the people that brought color to our cruises and our memories. For that,I am grateful for all of them:o

 

Seconded -- my wife and I dine together every night - we love it, but one of the purposes of cruising is to do something different. That is why we request assigned dining at a large table - only once in over a dozen times did we strike out with table mates: and got the maitre d' to reassign us ---- to an enjoyable group.

[clackey]

We usually request a table for at least 6. Ginger D and I have spent 45 years together not counting courting time. Over those years we have covered every conceivable subject in conversation and I don't like to repeat myself. We relish meeting new and interesting people.

 

Our cruises have introduced us to a very diverse crowd. We shared tables with Vietnamese refugees, a detective from Detroit, a professional belly dancer, train engineers, a jeweler and several teachers. On one cruise we had two couples from nearby Branson Missouri of which one looked very familiar. She and her husband were retired and had the kettle corn concession at Silver Dollar City, an amusement park near Branson. She had served us popcorn that very summer. On our first cruise we met a man who had his closest friend, (read Best Man),living in our hometown and I knew knew him. The world is getting smaller everyday.

 

Nope, no table for 2 for this couple. The more, the merrier.

[pris993]

 

Does anyone else have a problem with that? Every time we walk on a cruise ship the first thing my husband and I do is hunt down the maître D and request a table for 2. I have noticed throughout the cruise the tables near me begin to have missing people and I have often wondered if they didn't like their tablemates and began eating up on the Lido deck.

 

What happens if you don't like your tablemates and request another table? Then you have to hope you don't bump into them on the ship because that would be awkward.

 

This is one thing about cruising I think needs to be changed. Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

We do as you do, get a table for 2, have done so for past 20 years, prior to that we shared tables, it was okay not really our cup of tea. Partly because we like to special order off menu. This is harder to do when at a big table. We found folks sometimes would question us why we wanted something different (not their business) or wanted what we were ordering, causing problems. At a table for 2 we avoid all of this.

 

We too notice empty tables, in traditional late dining, suspect folks don't care to dress, get hungry earlier and go elsewhere on board. Does not bother us if tables are empty... makes for a more quiet mdr which we like.

[NLH Arizona]

All I could think of was how the same scenario could play out in a cruise ship buffet--and that was a good reason to avoid any ship that doesn't have someone to take guests to tables from the door at buffet style restaurants or offer more than enough tables to go around.. I also thought that a few people on these boards would find the two ladies behavior completely appropriate as I hadn't taken a seat yet, even though I was in the restaurant. :rolleyes:

From my experience (I've been on over 40 cruises), I've never had anyone just sit down at my table at the buffet. There have been times, when it was very crowded, when folks would ask if the seats were taken and when I said no, they asked if they could join me. I don't have an issue with folks joining me at my buffet table, but they should be polite and ask, since they don't know if someone is waiting for others to join them.

 

For the evening, I do love to share tables on Celebrity, where I always get fixed dining, but on NCL, I'll not share a table, except with someone who I've already met.

Edited April 3, 2016 by NLH Arizona

[lahlah57]

we usually request a table for at least 6. Ginger d and i have spent 45 years together not counting courting time. Over those years we have covered every conceivable subject in conversation and i don't like to repeat myself. We relish meeting new and interesting people.

 

Our cruises have introduced us to a very diverse crowd. We shared tables with vietnamese refugees, a detective from detroit, a professional belly dancer, train engineers, a jeweler and several teachers. On one cruise we had two couples from nearby branson missouri of which one looked very familiar. She and her husband were retired and had the kettle corn concession at silver dollar city, an amusement park near branson. She had served us popcorn that very summer. On our first cruise we met a man who had his closest friend, (read best man),living in our hometown and i knew knew him. The world is getting smaller everyday.

 

Nope, no table for 2 for this couple. The more, the merrier.

 

.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,amen!!!:d

[Bankshot]

We've only had one occasion with impolite people and fortunately it was a one time experience at lunch. We were seated at a table already occupied by two other couples. We introduced ourselves and they continued their conversation never acknowledging we had arrived. After lunch I told them, "Its been a pleasure NOT meeting you"!

[lahlah57]

We've only had one occasion with impolite people and fortunately it was a one time experience at lunch. We were seated at a table already occupied by two other couples. We introduced ourselves and they continued their conversation never acknowledging we had arrived. After lunch I told them, "Its been a pleasure NOT meeting you"!

 

I would have loved to have seen that and left with you guys......just what makes for great conversation. I can imagine how uncomfortable they would have been running into you on the ship or not even making eye contact!

No cure for rude......lol...:D

[k9x8]

Seconded -- my wife and I dine together every night - we love it, but one of the purposes of cruising is to do something different..

 

For us, having a quiet dinner together isdoing something different.

We own a boarding kennel, and everyday we have to make conversation, mostly one sided, about our customers' fabulous trip, or how Fluffy is the only dog on earth.

 

For two weeks, we can retreat as a couple. No customers, no dogs (barking, poop, hair), no in-laws. Doesn't mean we don't enjoy meeting other passengers, just not at dinner.

[NLH Arizona]

I would have loved to have seen that and left with you guys......just what makes for great conversation. I can imagine how uncomfortable they would have been running into you on the ship or not even making eye contact!

No cure for rude......lol...:D

They probably didn't catch it nor did they probably care, because if they did care and were polite, they would have included them in their conversation.

[sfaaa]

Mama said never talk to strangers. :)