Making new friends????

[LUV THE SEA]

I have read opinions about anytime dining and traditional which you prefer, wait times etc. But I have a different question, I think...I am trying to decide which is best to meet new "friends"...If you are acouple travelling alone ...which do you think it is better way to get to know others on board ship...to be with the same table mates every night, to get to know others one on one. Or is anytime better to meet others or does it get too repetitive of where you are from, number of children etc.

Anyone's thoughts that has travelled alone and has done both???

[rdsqrl]

I've traveled alone-alone, not alone-as-a-couple, and done both. I vote unhesitatingly for Traditional. As I've said on other threads, I really find that in Anytime you're just repeating the same basic stuff every night: where you're from, have you cruised before, what do you do, and never really get beyond that level of conversation. Especially if there's no immediate "wow, I'm a clog-dancing taxidermist, too!" moment, it seems like each couple then tends to chat only with one another as the meal progresses. Others have said that they love meeting different people and have met shipboard friends in Anytime, so it's certainly not impossible, but in my opinion, Traditional is a better bet for that.

[hughdm]

This is one of the two main reasons we prefer traditional dining. We meet lots of folks that we enjoy at single meals, but when we sit with the same folks night after night, a relationship develops. We always end up meeting folks that we have drinks with, go to shows with, and communicate with after the cruise is over. I'm just not quick enough at making friends to accomplish this at a single seating. The othe reason is having the same dinner waitstaff.

[dbdave]

Statistically, anytime dining offers far better odds of finding new friends because of many more new people that you will meet. If you find someone that you would like to dine with again, just ask them to meet for dinner or a show or for whatever. Join the roll call for your cruise and attend the meet'n'greet to get to know some of your sailing mates. Meeting people on cruises is one of the reasons we love them.:)

[-Lew-]

If you request a large table in either traditional or anytime dining you’ll have an opportunity to meet new friends. In anytime, you’ll have an opportunity to meet many more people than in traditional.

 

We enjoy striking up a conversation with just about anyone, anywhere on the ship. You can meet people at one of the pools, before a show in Princess Theater or in one of the clubs. The opportunities are limitless.

 

Join the Roll Call for your cruise here on CC. You’ll meet people online who are going on the same cruise as you. Often, a meet is arranged so members of the Roll Call can get together once onboard.

 

Lew

[Islandvirgin]

:D Ditto, to what Lew said. Find your Roll Call, and chat it up with the people that are going to be on the same cruise. We don't sail until late November, and we have been talking for months. Some of us act like old friends. Can't wait to meet them in person!!!

Good luck!!!

Kristen:cool:

[mii]

I am another major fan of roll Calls. Once in awhile you will find some people on your roll call that you and them just click. That is what happen to us in 2004 on the Sapphire. After that cruise we have done things outside of cruisng. What helps is that most of us live in N. Calif. so we can do other things outside of cruising. We have since been on cruises together and in oct. a bunch of us will be together again. Join that roll call. You might just make some new friends.

 

marilyn

[katisdale]

I agree with the tip about joining the Roll Call for your trip. In addition, I think it helps to attend activities you enjoy. We like to play trivia and have met people there and have made friends (and it doesn't matter if we win or not). We like the comedy shows but not so much the music and dance reviews. We have always met several people we call friends by the end of the cruise.

[caribill]

As others have said, traditional dining gives you the opportunity to meet some new people and get to know them past a couple of casual conversations.

 

But, there are many other opportunities to meet new poeple and possibly make new friends. Some are:

 

Breakfast and lunch in the dining room function the same as dinner in anytime. You get to be seated with different people each time.

 

Participate in team activities that interest you such as trivia contests.

 

If you go to the evening showroom early, strike up a conversation with those seated near you before the show.

 

And, as others have suggested, join the online roll call for your trip and attend the Meet and Greet with the group that will usually be held early in the cruise.

[caber]

Definately take part in the meet and greet conversations and go to the meeting.

I think traditional dining lets you get to know people better. If you are on a big table then there is at least 6 more people to bump into around the ship that you will know.

I play shuffle board, without my husband. You get to know the usual croud that always turn up. It`s the same with the quizes.

Don`t be scared to talk to people. I find it is usually the ladies who chat more.

Have a great cruise.

:D

[luv2swim]

I prefer traditional dining to really get to know people.

 

But my favorite place to meet people has always been afternoon tea. It's one of the reasons I like Princess--they have tea every day. Not every cruise line does.

[pokey's mom]

My vote is for traditional, we have friends that we met 6 years ago on a ship we have traveled together every year since then and we live on opposite coasts.:)

[willysgrandma]

We've done it both ways but we have found on our last few cruises that when we had traditional dining, half of the table never showed up for dinner. When we've opted for Anytime, we have had much better luck meeting people who we had things in common with and when we've found people we liked a lot, we would arrange to meet at Anytime and were able to enjoy dinner together.

 

And we've kept in touch with them too.

[LUV THE SEA]

I have signed up or the roll call...but or date of 9/21 on CB seems to be a quiet board that is why I was wondering if there was a general consensus on the boards about dining ...we have booked our cruise last minute and our #50 for the 2nd seating on CB ...so I think we will be in Anytime...

 

I thought if I asked for 2nd seating we might get in...but we just booked and we at this point will eat in the kitchen and make frineds there I guess.

 

We have never done anytime dining only traditional dining so I just was needing some input from the experts.

[Kimmer727]

Join your roll call - and do traditional dining. We love the traditional dining and have met friends on cruises that we still keep in contact with year later. Hoping to somedoy hook up again! And also agree about the waiters, you have the same ones every night and that can also be quite fun.

[NthernLgts]

I have read opinions about anytime dining and traditional which you prefer, wait times etc. But I have a different question, I think...I am trying to decide which is best to meet new "friends"...If you are acouple travelling alone ...which do you think it is better way to get to know others on board ship...to be with the same table mates every night, to get to know others one on one. Or is anytime better to meet others or does it get too repetitive of where you are from, number of children etc.

Anyone's thoughts that has travelled alone and has done both???

 

I have done both and agree that traditional allows for more time over the course of a cruise to get to know people and potentially strike up a friendship. Of course, the more you get to know them the less you may want to be around them, but that can be fixed by the Maitre'D.

[cruiserjanet]

I agree with others have said above about Traditional so I won't repeat it all. One poster did briefly mention about breakfast and lunch in the dining room. We really enjoy going to breakfast in the dining room because they seat you with other people and you can have interesting conversations. We've often hit it off with one or more couples and have met later on the ship to talk some more. Now, if there is a morning where you want to sit by yourself, you can tell the wait staff at the entrance and you will be seated at a table for two or you can go on up to the buffet.