Hosted tables

[SLSD]

42 minutes ago, SDuckers said:

Oh sure.  On our first SB cruise, we met up with a group of folks on the first day and ended up joining the group for many dinners, as well as group trivia.  And we were from all over, but enjoyed each other's company.  There was *one* guy in the group who was sort of a pompous ass, but we all just sort of laughed and/or ignored him.  Until the last night when he was drunkenly obnoxious, but even that is a memory DH and I laugh about.  

 

My issue is being at a hosted table where the host doesn't make much if any effort to guide the conversation or get folks talking.  DH and I made our efforts but it didn't seem to work very well.  We had two of those and it makes me reluctant to try another one.

But SDuckers,   while I understand and appreciate what you are saying, we are all grownups---and well educated accomplished grownups at that.  Some of us are probably much more adept at guiding conversation than our hosts might be.  With very few exceptions, I've enjoyed most hosted tables--no matter if the hosts guided the conversation or not.  And, as some have said, at the long rectangular tables with eight or more diners, you can only really talk to those next to you or across from you.  

[Mauzac]

I have been on hosted tables where there's been a couple of characters (that's me being polite!) but for us, it just adds to the rich tapestry of life!

That's just the way it is, and my DH and I have had a good laugh about them and made a point of managing to swerve them for the rest of the cruise, I've been grateful for the heads up!

One guy many years ago wore a slogan T shirt in the MDR, and insisted he was the one to avert the pirate attack on the SB ship many years ago.  It was worth hearing this just to see our felllow diners faces as this story was being related!  

[CabinBoy2020]

I have a question about hosted tables. I think the answer is “no,” but I’ll ask anyway. I’m on my first Seabourn cruise end of April. Is it possible to dine with the real “help” (that’s a joke! Based on a quoted comment above)?  I mean waiters, bartenders, stateroom attendants etc.  These are the crew I find most interesting and sometimes form lasting connections with. Their lives are fascinating and challenging and are typically much different than mine. As a solo cruiser, I feel more of a bond with them as most are sailing without family.  Anyone done this?  Thanks. 
 

Bill

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, CabinBoy2020 said:

I have a question about hosted tables. I think the answer is “no,” but I’ll ask anyway. I’m on my first Seabourn cruise end of April. Is it possible to dine with the real “help” (that’s a joke! Based on a quoted comment above)?  I mean waiters, bartenders, stateroom attendants etc.  These are the crew I find most interesting and sometimes form lasting connections with. Their lives are fascinating and challenging and are typically much different than mine. As a solo cruiser, I feel more of a bond with them as most are sailing without family.  Anyone done this?  Thanks. 
 

Bill

The simple answer is NO!  Those who host tables are limited to officers (generally it will be the more senior officers), entertainment staff, lecturers, the cruise director and his assistants, and a few other staff such as some folks from Guest Relations.   The hosted tables are specifically arranged with assigned staff and passenger invitations.  There can be some strange exceptions.  When we were on the Ovation (in Greece) DW and I walked into the Restaurant for dinner and were being escorted to a regular table for 2 when we passed a hosted table that had a few empty chairs (some of the invited passengers failed to show-up).  Several of the passengers and the host (Assistant Cruise Director) stopped us as we passed and asked us to join them (we knew all these folks).  The host summoned the Maitre'D to get approval which was quickly granted.  Most of our invites come a day or two in advance and are often person to person invitations where the hostess might simply ask us as we are entering one the dining venues.  We have also had the hostess find us while we are sitting on deck to ask if we will join a certain table.

 

As a few of us have mentioned, there is nothing special about those who get invites.  It is simply a matter of letting the staff know (we do this early in the cruise) that you are interested in hosted tables.  With the reduced number of passengers (mostly due to COVID) there does seem to be more opportunity for those who enjoy hosted tables.  When we cruised (last summer) in Greece and in the Fall in the Caribbean, there were quite a few passengers who preferred to maintain more social distancing by avoiding hosted or large tables.  Since DW and I always enjoy hosted tables we found ourselves in demand since they often needed more folks to fill those tables.  We will again be on the Ovation (next month) and are hoping that SB again resumes the Hosted table program.

 

Hank

[CabinBoy2020]

Thanks for the info, Hlitner. That’s a shame it’s limited. I might inquire when onboard anyway. 

[rkacruiser]

On 2/24/2022 at 5:10 PM, SDuckers said:

In both cases the "host" didn't make much effort to guide the conversation and there was little in common for conversation among the guests other than the cruise itself. 

 

Seabourn cruisers are likely to be rather experienced cruisers.  If nothing else, conversations about cruises in the past, whether on Seabourn or some other line, ought to be an interesting focus of discussion.  

 

On 2/24/2022 at 5:19 PM, SLSD said:

We were once at a hosted table (for five--two couples plus the host) where the gentleman of the other couple could only talk about himself--and monopolized the entire conversation for the whole meal.  

 

Maybe it takes more intestinal fortitude than some have in "polite company", but some very sharp retorts can sometime shut up some of these folks who seem to think they put their pants on differently than others.  

[jenidallas]

On 2/25/2022 at 8:36 AM, CabinBoy2020 said:

I’m on my first Seabourn cruise end of April. Is it possible to dine with the real “help” (that’s a joke! Based on a quoted comment above)?  I mean waiters, bartenders, stateroom attendants etc.  These are the crew I find most interesting and sometimes form lasting connections with. Their lives are fascinating and challenging and are typically much different than mine. As a solo cruiser, I feel more of a bond with them as most are sailing without family. 

Not ON the ship, but we have enjoyed the company of some of these folks during port visits - either being quietly invited to join crew out while on a late night in port or being asked to pull up a chair when we’ve bumped into them at a local watering hole. But nothing was arranged or encouraged by the ship, just the result of getting to know many crew members over the years, which has also led to a couple of “night before embarkation” invites from those we stay in touch with.

[EMAW]

I have enjoyed almost all of my many evenings at hosted tables and enjoy meeting  interesting fellow travelers and staff.   Five years ago,  as a solo traveler,  I was invited to a hosted table on the first night of a  cruise on the Quest and was seated next to a lovely Englishwoman.  We have now been very happily married for 3 years. 

[rkacruiser]

23 hours ago, EMAW said:

Five years ago,  as a solo traveler,  I was invited to a hosted table on the first night of a  cruise on the Quest and was seated next to a lovely Englishwoman.  We have now been very happily married for 3 years. 

 

Seabourn Quest:  The Love Boat!  😀

[cruiseej]

Just a quick update: we were on the Odyssey last week, and hosted tables are still not offered at this time. 

[johng75370]

On 2/25/2022 at 9:56 AM, CabinBoy2020 said:

That’s a shame it’s limited. I might inquire when onboard anyway. 

I think it’s worth asking, but some parts of the staff it will be hard to coordinate their schedules with yours.  My partner is Russian, and we’ve often asked Russian-speaking staff to join us for dinner; it seems like with the entertainment staff it can be arranged more easily than other types.  FWIW, don’t hold back on asking, as we’ve found that if it’s possible Seabourn will try to make it happen.

 

Hope your first sailing with Seabourn is a great one!

[Catlover54]

3 hours ago, johng75370 said:

I think it’s worth asking, but some parts of the staff it will be hard to coordinate their schedules with yours.  My partner is Russian, and we’ve often asked Russian-speaking staff to join us for dinner; it seems like with the entertainment staff it can be arranged more easily than other types.  FWIW, don’t hold back on asking, as we’ve found that if it’s possible Seabourn will try to make it happen.

 

Hope your first sailing with Seabourn is a great one!

 

Though it might not be a good idea these days to invite both a Russian and a Ukrainian to the same table 🙁

[rkacruiser]

On 3/8/2022 at 1:25 AM, Catlover54 said:

 

Though it might not be a good idea these days to invite both a Russian and a Ukrainian to the same table 🙁

 

But, the food fight that might result might be epic in cruise history.  

[Bennniee]

As both a first time and solo cruiser on the Seabourn World Cruise 2020, the hosted dinners were a godsend.  I was invited to a hosted dinner nearly every night and accepted 100% for the first few weeks.  I met so many wonderful people.  I will never forget my first hosted dinner with 10 people, a mix of couples and solo travelers with the Asst Cruise Director.  The woman who sat on my right has become one of my dearest friends.  It was there I learned just how special Seabourn truly was and it opened my eyes to how well traveled everyone else was.  I literally was the only person at the table who had not been to Antarctica!   Most had been multiple times to boot.  And they all were amazed that I had never been on a cruise before and somehow had chosen a 5 month luxury cruise as my first.  

Of course, not every hosted dinner was great.  There were definitely some duds but overall the hosted dinners were a very positive experience.

[ImpulsiveTraveler]

On 2/21/2022 at 9:06 AM, fudge said:

We dont mind hosted tables so long as we are first choice. Quite often we will receive a telephone call late in the afternoon asking do we want to share a table?  We always turn the offer down, obviously someone has turned the offer down and they are looking to "fill" a spot.

Just because someone else turned the invitation down doesn't mean you wouldn't have a wonderful time at the table! I have made lifelong friends at hosted tables, as it is an opportunity to meet others that you might not run into otherwise, even on a small ship! I travel solo most of the time as I am single, and I truly enjoy the hosted tables, even if they call me late!

[Wuzzle10]

We were on Seabourn August 2021 for a cruise around Greek islands for 7 days, we were invited to 4 hosted tables and went to everyone, really enjoyed them, a great cruise, we loved it, no one wore masks either on board , apart from the testing during on and off and on board tender you would have thought Covid didn’t exist , it was fabulous 

[cruiseej]

On our September Caribbean cruise, we were invited to hosted tables multiple nights, and accepted a couple of them. Sometime after Omicron hit, they halted hosted tables. On our cruise at the beginning of March, there were still no hosted tables — but the captain said "hopefully soon". 

[Thecat123]

On 2/26/2022 at 5:43 AM, Hlitner said:

The simple answer is NO!  Those who host tables are limited to officers (generally it will be the more senior officers), entertainment staff, lecturers, the cruise director and his assistants, and a few other staff such as some folks from Guest Relations.

 

Hank

We were invited to a hosted table one night and this young officer, who looked so young the lady next to us kept asking in a fun way does he shave yet. I felt sorry for him having to join a table as a host with all these old geriatric passengers. We just asked him what he does work wise and with his off duty time. Everybody just seemed to make the night about him instead of us. He handled himself well It was a good night but I dont think we have ever had a bad night on a Seabourn ship. One of the better hosted diners we have had was with Sophie the Cruise Director, remember her, a fun night  😀

[rkacruiser]

On 3/17/2022 at 5:24 PM, Thecat123 said:

We were invited to a hosted table one night and this young officer, who looked so young the lady next to us kept asking in a fun way does he shave yet. I felt sorry for him having to join a table as a host with all these old geriatric passengers. We just asked him what he does work wise and with his off duty time. Everybody just seemed to make the night about him instead of us.

 

100% inappropriate conversation by those who engaged in such remarks.  Is it any wonder that Officers, if they have a choice, don't want to host a table when there may be such uncouth guests?  

[Thecat123]

56 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

100% inappropriate conversation by those who engaged in such remarks.  Is it any wonder that Officers, if they have a choice, don't want to host a table when there may be such uncouth guests?  

You got it all wrong, you were not there so you dont know how the night went down

Do you honestly think that the young officer heard  that. I did say it was said in a fun way to us

Edited March 19, 2022 by Thecat123

[Thecat123]

23 minutes ago, Thecat123 said:

You got it all wrong, you were not there so you dont know how the night went down

Do you honestly think that the young officer heard  that. I did say it was said in a fun way to us

Also when leaving the group stopped and mentioned to the Hotel Manager how well he did talking to people 3 or 4 times his age

 

[frantic36]

6 hours ago, Thecat123 said:

You got it all wrong, you were not there so you dont know how the night went down

Do you honestly think that the young officer heard  that. I did say it was said in a fun way to us

 

 

Don't worry Cat. I know it would have been gentle banter which the young officer took well. Sometimes that willingness of us Australians and New Zealanders to willingly laugh at ourselves and with others isn't understood by some of our northern neighbours.

 

I think that being a comedian on a cruise ship must be really tough because humour from different areas isn't always understood. 

[Thecat123]

On 3/19/2022 at 8:44 PM, frantic36 said:

 

 

Don't worry Cat. I know it would have been gentle banter which the young officer took well. Sometimes that willingness of us Australians and New Zealanders to willingly laugh at ourselves and with others isn't understood by some of our northern neighbours.

 

I think that being a comedian on a cruise ship must be really tough because humour from different areas isn't always understood. 

 

 

frantic it wasnt even a gentle banter it was just a quiet passing comment  between that lady and us about how young the Officer appeared

I wasnt even going to bother to reply to rkacruisers post but  as I wondered how rkacruiser could read anything else into it to call us  uncouth guests  

Originally I was replying to Hlitners post when there was mention of Senior Officers hosting dinners just to say we had a Junior Officer one night

[rkacruiser]

38 minutes ago, Thecat123 said:

I wasnt even going to bother to reply to rkacruisers post but  as I wondered how rkacruiser could read anything else into it to call us  uncouth guests  

 

I apologize if you considered my post implying that you were an uncouth guest. Your post said that the lady sitting next to you asked the Officer that question.  I don't think in polite company that is appropriate; I don't think it is a "fun" question.  In my opinion, the uncouth guest was the woman who asked such a question.  

 

On 3/18/2022 at 8:56 PM, Thecat123 said:

Do you honestly think that the young officer heard  that.

 

Why would I not think so?  

 

On 3/19/2022 at 3:44 AM, frantic36 said:

I think that being a comedian on a cruise ship must be really tough because humour from different areas isn't always understood. 

 

Well said.  

[Thecat123]

5 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I apologize if you considered my post implying that you were an uncouth guest. Your post said that the lady sitting next to you asked the Officer that question.  I don't think in polite company that is appropriate; I don't think it is a "fun" question.  In my opinion, the uncouth guest was the woman who asked such a question.  

 

 

Why would I not think so?  

 

 

Well said.  

rkacruiser maybe I should have said asking us. I defiantly did not say she or anybody else asked the Officer anything about his age. Why I said in a fun way cause it wasnt asked in any disrespect to the age of the Officer

Also he was sitting miles away from us

I will have to be a bit more careful with the words I use in the future to prevent any confusion 😀