Dining as a single traveler on ACL

[LDVinNC]

I will be on the Cape Codder cruise next month, traveling on my own now.  I see from the deck plans for the Eagle that most tables are for 4.  Do they make any effort to seat people who are traveling alone?  Awkward - or maybe that is just me - to approach a table with a couple already seated and ask to join them.  On the Pearl Mist last fall, the majority of tables were for 6 (or maybe eight) and it seems less intrusive to join a larger group. Thanks.

[BaumD]

Will probably be a lot of other singles. Won’t take long for all of you to figure out who is single, so you can join them for dinner.

[SteelMagnolia9]

I’m a solo with ACL.  A “May I join your table?” 99.99% of the time met with a “yes”. If not a “yes”, they’ll say they are saving the seats for friends. I met and got to know others on board through dining with others. I usually rotate myself around to dine with new people.

[DaveinCharlotte]

11 hours ago, LDVinNC said:

I see from the deck plans for the Eagle that most tables are for 4.  Do they make any effort to seat people who are traveling alone?

Interesting observation and question.

 

First, ACL does not make any effort to seat anyone.  You come in whenever you want, pick whatever table you want, and sit down.

 

Second, the first cruise on these new, smaller ships does not begin until mid August, so we won't know for a while what the actual table configuration will be.  I'm booked on one of the Glory's first trip early January, so I'll find out then.

 

But yes, from the deck plans it really does look like most (almost 80%!) of the tables are for 4.

 

On all our other cruises, most tables were for 6, with only a handful for 4.  When we encountered one of these with a couple already seated, we avoided sitting there, thinking they probably wanted to be alone, otherwise they wouldn't have sat there.  So yes, I can see feeling awkward about sitting at a table for 4...but with so few larger tables, not much else you can do.

 

My recommendation:  Go down to dinner promptly(ish), find an empty table, and take a seat.  Couples who really want to be alone will sit somewhere else.  But most other couples won't hesitate to join you.  And other singles too.    

[LDVinNC]

18 hours ago, BaumD said:

Will probably be a lot of other singles. Won’t take long for all of you to figure out who is single, so you can join them for dinner.

Unlikely, unfortunately.  The ship holds only about 100 people with only 3 single cabins.  But I hope you are right.  Thanks for responding.

[LDVinNC]

11 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

 

 

My recommendation:  Go down to dinner promptly(ish), find an empty table, and take a seat.  Couples who really want to be alone will sit somewhere else.  But most other couples won't hesitate to join you.  And other singles too.    

Thanks, Dave.  Make sense.

[DaveinCharlotte]

14 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

...the first cruise on these new, smaller ships does not begin until mid August, so we won't know for a while what the actual table configuration will be.    

I think I'm wrong on this part.  Although often the actual configuration does not match what is shown in the deck plan, I think for these new small ships the diagram is likely to be correct.  The unusual U-shaped dining room means that two sides are so narrow that tables for 6 won't fit.