dining with others?

[alexspepa]

Hey - my wife and I actually like to meet and dine with other people at dinner. Is it harder to find large tables to share with freestyle dining?

 

thanks

[FireEater]

I find more that want their own family and no one else at tables....so yes, it has been harder and harder to find a large table that want unknowns sitting there in my experience.

[cb at sea]

It's not impossible, but yes...it's harder, since most folks like to eat alone...I don't know why! We LOVE table mates, too! I actually look forward to dinner with table mates! I mean, I love my hubby, but we're together ALL DAY...and it's nice to have others to chat with...it gives us more to talk about when we're alone!

 

I don't know if the advent of texting/cell phones has made people NOT want to TALK to others....I just find the whole "don't want to sit with strangers" thing so odd! Say, "Hi"...and you're no longer strangers! So simple!

Edited February 14, 2015 by cb at sea

[QuilterCindy]

We also enjoy sitting with a large group of people. Recently we went on a cruise and asked for a large table. We were seated at a table for 6 (early seating). Two seats were empty every night, and often, my husband and I dined alone.

[kcfoxy]

If you are planning on taking an NCL Cruise, be sure and sign up for your Roll Call where you can introduce yourselves and chat with like-minded Cruisers before embarkation.

 

Many times members of your RC will agree to a Meet & Greet, where you can put faces to names and have a chance to hear from some of the ship's senior management/officers.

 

By socializing beforehand, and at our M&G you will have ample oppurtunity to arrange some group meals. One we are doing is an Embarkation Luncheon, where a bunch of us will gather in the ship's MDR (Main Dining Room), open on our first day.

 

Others who enjoy the camaraderie and boheme of dining with new friends, will likely want more of these get togethers. This can either be in one of the complimentary venues or a specialty restaurant. I have enclosed one of our CC Roll Call group dinners to give you an idea.

 

 

Free style means no set meal times or table assignments. Mostly a very good thing, but you can always make your requests known...this is one way we've found very useful.

[KeithJenner]

It's not impossible, but yes...it's harder, since most folks like to eat alone...I don't know why! We LOVE table mates, too! I actually look forward to dinner with table mates! I mean, I love my hubby, but we're together ALL DAY...and it's nice to have others to chat with...it gives us more to talk about when we're alone!

 

I don't know if the advent of texting/cell phones has made people NOT want to TALK to others....I just find the whole "don't want to sit with strangers" thing so odd! Say, "Hi"...and you're no longer strangers! So simple!

 

 

I have always wondered why there seems to be an assumption that the only place to meet people on a cruise ship is at dinner.

 

We have eaten with others a few times, but they are people that we got chatting with over a drink, or that we met at meet ups (or at the solos gathering for myself). The advantage of that is that they are people that we chose to dine with, rather than random people who happened to be seated at the same table and we likely have nothing in common with.

 

The last time I ended up being sat together with others by the wait staff, there was a couple who spent the whole time complaining about freestyle and that they couldn't always sit with others. It became quite clear to me that they relied on being seated with other people because nobody would have voluntarily done it. :)

 

After that experience, I would never agree to sit on a shared table. Life is too short.

[ColinIllinois]

It's not impossible, but yes...it's harder, since most folks like to eat alone...I don't know why! We LOVE table mates, too! I actually look forward to dinner with table mates! I mean, I love my hubby, but we're together ALL DAY...and it's nice to have others to chat with...it gives us more to talk about when we're alone!

 

I don't know if the advent of texting/cell phones has made people NOT want to TALK to others....I just find the whole "don't want to sit with strangers" thing so odd! Say, "Hi"...and you're no longer strangers! So simple!

 

 

To each their own but for me no thanks. The last thing I need on vacation is some annoying fellow passenger sitting down who invariably before the main course comes is already every giving me boring, intimate detail of their lives...to include doctors visits.

 

I'll pass. :D

[GeezerCouple]

I have always wondered why there seems to be an assumption that the only place to meet people on a cruise ship is at dinner.

 

We have eaten with others a few times, but they are people that we got chatting with over a drink, or that we met at meet ups (or at the solos gathering for myself). The advantage of that is that they are people that we chose to dine with, rather than random people who happened to be seated at the same table and we likely have nothing in common with.

 

The last time I ended up being sat together with others by the wait staff, there was a couple who spent the whole time complaining about freestyle and that they couldn't always sit with others. It became quite clear to me that they relied on being seated with other people because nobody would have voluntarily done it. :)

 

After that experience, I would never agree to sit on a shared table. Life is too short.

 

^ This is our feeling about "sitting with strangers", especially those who are truly strangers and with whom we've never interacted before at all.

 

It could be complaining, as described, or "just" bragging non-stop about <whatever>, or describing non-stop what we are going to see next (or - not sure if this is better or worse - what we just saw), etc.

 

And sometimes, folks just don't have the right chemistry, and everything feels edgy for some unknown reason.

 

On the other hand, it certainly can be nice to spend time with new/recent "friends/no-longer-total-strangers", regardless where one meets them... getting a drink, in line somewhere, watching sailaway from a public area, etc.

But at least then, there is some initial attraction, some common interest or just personality spark, etc.

(And yes, this is Valentine's Day, but I'm meaning all of this in non-romantic ways, and in our case, most often as a couple, with one other person or another couple.)

 

It's often surprising, and pleasant, to find that there are unexpected common interests or experiences to share, as well as new ideas, etc.

And then there are the completely unexpected "YOU lived in <city>, too!?" or such, and even finding out there is an acquaintance in common. The "small world" phenomenon can be truly startling sometimes, and quite fun!

 

And we also very much enjoy planned traveling with friends.

 

However, we don't have the feeling about "we are together all the time and want time apart" that is often mentioned here.

We find the time together, without phone interruptions or emails or texts 'dinging', etc., to be total pleasure :)

We love dining "just together", and it's been nice that getting a "table for two" isn't tricky on NCL.

 

GeezerCouple

[Kingofwylietx]

I'm fine either way. I'm very chatty and can talk to anyone, no matter their station in life. I am fine with an intimate dinner with me DW, friends, or someone I've never met before sitting down.

 

I like freestyle because it gives you a choice. If you meet others at the pool or a show, you can plan to catch up for dinner.

 

My wife is more reserved, so she wouldn't be as apt to enjoy a table of strangers. However, if she clicked with someone along the way, she would really look forward to more time with them.

[Carnac767]

We've met some very interesting people when seated with strangers, be it at dinner, in the lounges, at the M&G, or on excursions. Two of our very dear friends we met because we happened to be staying at the same B&B in Dover the night before a cruise. Tell the maitre 'd your preference and he or she will try to accommodate you.

[SteveH2508]

We always go for a few pre-prandial drinks in the Martini bar. We may get chatting to others; we may meet up with others to form a trivia team; we get to know others from the cigar bar. Sometimes we go for dinner with people we meet up with - sometimes not. It is Freestyle - we have the choice. The thought of being stuck with several strangers at the same table at the same time each night is abhorrent to us.

 

We have done anytime dining on other lines and met some nice people for dinner but have also been stuck with some real weirdos (It was a lovely rack of lamb but rather spoiled by the old biddy whingeing about the herb crust and no chips:rolleyes:)