dining with large group

[ksmommy5]

There is 28 of us. How do we go about making dining reservations in the main dining room? I assume there are no tables for 28 lol whats the largest table size that can accommodate us? Sailing on Oasis. 

[Clarea]

If you are in traditional (fixed) dining, contact rcldining@rccl.com about 3 weeks before the cruise.

 

If you have My Time dining, you must arrange this onboard.

 

The largest table I've seen is for 12, and there are not many,  For ease of conversation, I'd try to get 2  tables of 8  and 2 tables of 6 near each other.

[Ourusualbeach]

Tables would seat 10 to 12.  I’d recommend two tables of 10 and one for 8.  Switch people around on different nights.

 

is everyone on the same dining time? Have they all been linked together?

Edited August 22, 2019 by Ourusualbeach

[cindivan]

I feel your pain. We travel in packs as well and we do MTD. It’s never easy.   I am in charge of planning it. I usually try to get tables of 10 (didn’t realize they had tables of 12. That was not offered in cruise planner last time I tried to organize). Sometimes I can’t get all the tables at the same time so try to get them as close in time as I can. Either way one of the first things I do when I get onboard is go to MTD with list of room numbers and explain our situation. Sometimes we can be accommodated for the times I reserved in cruise planner. Sometimes they tell me we have to do 5:30 or 8:30 or otherwise inconvenient times for us and not what I had reserved in cruise planner.   If they say this I typically just say we will stick with our times I reserved in cruise planner because it’s usually just 15 minutes apart. Then after a night or two it calms down and they let us arrive together. 

 

Good luck. 

 

 

[Junkhouse]

We had a group of twenty and ended up with three tables which was great.  If you get a table much bigger then 10 it is hard to have any conversations.  We did late sitting which is normally less crowded then early sitting.  I would think it would be almost impossible to do My Time Dining.  You can either call like others suggested or link your cruise reservations together.  I would also have everyone make sure the first day to confirm their assigned tables.

[spookwife]

9 hours ago, ksmommy5 said:

There is 28 of us. How do we go about making dining reservations in the main dining room? I assume there are no tables for 28 lol whats the largest table size that can accommodate us? Sailing on Oasis. 

 you need to have ALL the reservations linked.     it would be  easiest to have traditional dining and probably late seating at that.

 

usually a 12 top is the largest.  as for getting 2-3 tables that large in close proximity, that might be problematic just due to space considerations.  

[cruiseguy1016]

If you have 28 people I suggest getting 4 or 5 tables near each other. We cruise quite often with friends and our group has been as large as 12 at one table. Never again. With that many people at a table, it's hard to have a conversation. Get 4 or 5 tables and switch people up every night so you have the opportunity to dine and chat with different people each night.

[belmontcrew]

On the Navigator our waiter told us they have a table that will sit 16, it’s just not advertised. 

[waterbug123]

2 hours ago, spookwife said:

 you need to have ALL the reservations linked.     it would be  easiest to have traditional dining and probably late seating at that.

 

usually a 12 top is the largest.  as for getting 2-3 tables that large in close proximity, that might be problematic just due to space considerations.  

 

And if it IS a problem and they can't be near each other, don't worry about it.  You'll likely just talk to the people at your own table anyway so just divide up and switch table mates each night.

 

20 minutes ago, belmontcrew said:

On the Navigator our waiter told us they have a table that will sit 16, it’s just not advertised. 

 

I wouldn't even worry about that, as you'd still need multiple tables.  At a table of 16 it's virtually impossible to converse with everyone anyway.

 

As someone said already, I'd just try to get two tables for 8 and two tables for 6.  That's about the largest table where you can converse easily with everyone, so don't worry about getting tables for 10, 12 or 16.

[cindivan]

Since it’s not possible to seat everyone at the same table we always make some agreed-upon arrangements or games where we decide who sits where. For example The first night we usually say it’s couples and families. Then one night we might say it’s girls at one table and guys at  other and as close as you can get to that based on your seating. Another night we might say everyone has to sit with kids other than their own. One night it will be adults and kids. And when we run out of ideas, our teenagers  find a random number generator on the Internet and we decide who sits where based on that. It’s fun to change it up And talk to people that we normally wouldn’t sit next to. I’m not sure if your group is like us, but typically when we travel with such large groups like that it includes a lot of people we don’t see on a regular basis. It’s natural to want to sit next to the people you know better, so For us to have preplanned nights where we know in advance the approximate seating chart it helps everyone branch out to sit near people that aren’t their first instinct. 

[Jimnbigd]

Ideally you should have fixed time dining and several tables that all have the same waiter and assistant waiter. That way you'd all finish about the same time. One reason I recommend fixed time dining for large groups: You can be seated without waiting for others to arrive. BTW: Forget about having everyone meet for breakfast or lunch. I've tried it. There are always some who choose not to come, and don't tell anyone they are not coming -- so everyone else stands around near the entrance and waits for the "no shows". Tip: Ask the waiter to have the cheese & fruit plate (no extra charge) on each table for dinner so those who arrive first have something to munch on while waiting for the stragglers.

Edited October 15, 2019 by Jimnbigd

[MichellePerth]

I've seen people claim that they insist their group of 30 sit at the same table.  They even insist that there is no issue with communication.  I think they just like the spectacle of it.  To hell with the dining room staff having to set up the table and break it down.  To hell with the wait and kitchen staff who have significantly complex logistics to deal with.  To hell with all the other diners around them.   Multiple tables with rotation among the diners makes a significantly more amenable situation. 

[cb at sea]

I would sincerely doubt that all 28 of you will want to do the same thing at the same time.   But, if everyone wants to do the dining room at the same time nightly, you will need about  3 different tables.  If you all have traditional seating, you will be seated close by each other if your LINK all your booking numbers.