Preference on Table size for fixed dining MDR...? Your thoughts.

[shipshape sam]

If you have booked through a TA ask them to put in a request for you if not contact X to request.

 

On boarding your dining table number will be on a card in your room. Go down to the dining room and find your table and check you are happy with it. If not the M'D will be at the entrance to the restaurant (probably with a queue of guests). Ask him to arrange a swap for you...He may not be able to do it for first night but hopefully will manage it for second.

 

Do not assume your request will have gone through and have been honoured. We have had a few anomalies over the years but the M'D has always sorted....

 

It used to be our first stop once onboard to verify our table location/size. Only had a problem once and they fixed it right then.

[VitaminSea53]

Why would we get room service? There are many of us that prefer a nice quite dinner with our spouse/partner...just like going to a restaurant at home. Do you ask the hostess to sit you with strangers at your hometown restaurant? No, of course not. There is no difference. We socialize all day long and prefer having dinner alone. Don't understand why we would have to be cooped up in our cabin with room service just because we wanted to enjoy each others company for a couple of hours. Your statement makes no sense to me whatsoever.

 

 

 

My 'socializing ' comment was ill spoken. Your comparison to eating at a restaurant at home makes the point. There is no reason to expect conversion with adjoining tables.

My frame of reference at the time was responding to the woman who reported she heard talk at the next table about gluten in foods and was annoyed. She should stop listening to the table next to her and focus on her dinner companions.

 

 

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[champagne123]

My 'socializing ' comment was ill spoken. Your comparison to eating at a restaurant at home makes the point. There is no reason to expect conversion with adjoining tables.

My frame of reference at the time was responding to the woman who reported she heard talk at the next table about gluten in foods and was annoyed. She should stop listening to the table next to her and focus on her dinner companions.

 

 

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No problem! Welcome to Cruise Critic BTW!

[cb at sea]

We enjoy tablemates, and always ask for a LARGE table! That way, with all the other eating venues, you should have at least one other couple at your table nightly....

Everyone pretty much arrives within 5 mins. of each other....with traditional seating, you show up at the time your seating is!

[Toofarfromthesea]

I only have one data point, having only taken one cruise, but without making any selection ourselves my wife and I were seated at an 8-top. In our table mates we had a disabled wife who clearly had some form of serious dementia coupled with physical mobility difficulties. We had another wife who had a serious shellfish allergy. Warning signs?

 

Nope. It was an absolutely delightful experience. The disabled woman and her hubby had a traveling attendant who took care of the wife and it was lovely to see the tenderness with which both she and the husband treated her. Our waiter would even cut up her food for her. She couldn't participate in the conversation, but she acknowledged comments made to her with a lovely smile.

 

The shellfish allergy lady didn't make a big deal about it, just huddled with the waiter during desert to scope out the next night's menu. The first couple of nights I thought it was cool that because of her we got to see a preview of the next night's menu . . . until I found out I could see the menus for the whole week on the cabin TV LOL.

 

Far more important was the fact that these were people a little older than us (we are early 60s) who had lived interesting lives of accomplishment. And everyone seemed to come to the table with the attitude Jane Austen describes as 'ready to please and be pleased'. The conversation was excellent.

 

It was a highlight of the cruise.

[VitaminSea53]

What a touching sentiment! Thanks for sharing.

 

 

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[Longboysfan]

I always like 6 - 8.

Diversity.

[miched]

There is no right, wrong or any other answer to this question.

 

It is Cruise Critic that isn't a proper name for the forum because if someone doesn't agree with your opinion it is wrong.

 

The crusie line provides many dining options to satisfy or to try to accommodate everyone.

 

I would advise a first time cruiser to use anytime (select) dining. You can dine when you want and request a table for two or with others. If you found a server that you like or enjoy you can request to be in their area. It gives you more freedom and won't tie you down to a bad choice or experience. The choice is always there to do what you feel like at the time.

 

Something else to consider is that you can always dine in the MDR for breakfast (every day) and lunch (sea days only) and sit with others if you wish. A great way to meet many fascinating and interesting passengers without being committed to being with them during the whole cruise though you may find that you keep running into them at the lounges or bars and may end up joining them to share a table.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞