dining with strangers or alone

[don24]

i am going on second cruise in march, on this coming and last cruise i am sitting with the couple i cruise with and dw (i hope thi means devoted wife and not dumb wife:rolleyes:). am i short changing my self and not sitting with others .whats your opinion.

[bluegirlum]

I think it's really a matter of personal opinion. It seems that a lot of people on here really enjoy sitting at large tables so they can get to know other people. As I just posted on another thread, my bf and I had a really bad experience on our first cruise sitting with a couple we did not know, and now we get a table for two. Also, we don't get to see each other that much, so a cruise is "our time" and we like to be alone. I think it just depends on how you feel. Some people feel that eating with others really makes or breaks their experience, and they have a lot of fun at the larger tables.

[ORD1166]

DW and I have always enjoyed being at large table when we have cruised. We have meet a lot of different people from all the world this way and have always enjoyed it. Maybe we have been lucky and always meet a great group of people.:rolleyes:

[RoofingPrincess]

i am going on second cruise in march, on this coming and last cruise i am sitting with the couple i cruise with and dw (i hope thi means devoted wife and not dumb wife:rolleyes:). am i short changing my self and not sitting with others .whats your opinion.

As others have posted, it's a matter of personal preference.

A number of my cruises have been with groups, and we've found dinner to be the time to all get back together and share the events of the day.

However, my first two cruises were just with my son, and we were seated with others, and had a great time getting to know people from other places.

It's also one of the reasons I've enjoyed eating breakfast and lunch in the Formal Dining Room - it gives me a chance to meet new people. There was at least one person/couple per trip that I'd keep running into for the rest of the cruise and chatting with.

[ejr1960]

it is great too sit with others .Its Like MEET and Mingle.Thanks for standing up for people with disabilities. Your a great person!

[BillOh]

DW and I have always enjoyed being at large table when we have cruised. We have meet a lot of different people from all the world this way and have always enjoyed it. Maybe we have been lucky and always meet a great group of people.:rolleyes:

 

 

3 cruises and we have had 2 great experiences with others at our table. This comnig up cruise our reservation is tied with my sister and her husband, I hope we get put at a table for 8.

 

Our ony less that great experience was being at a table for 10 on Majesty on a 3 day. We were the only ones at the table. I guess a lot of people skipped the dining room on that cruise.

[PSCruiser]

You might still have the option to change to My Time dining. It is very well done, just means you don't have the same table every night, but same food. That way, it could be table for 4 some nights, and on other nights you can ask that the 4 of you share a big table with others. Only thing you will miss is really getting to know your waiters and tablemates.

[Tatka]

We are very outgoing and friendly people, so I usually make many friends during our cruises, but we always try to dine alone, and most of the time we succeed. It's our time. :)

[cb at sea]

Dinner is our favorite time! We can't WAIT to talk to our tablemates---we hear about their day, we tell them about ours....

I mean, I love hubby, but we have been together for 33 years---we know all ( and I mean ALL) of our own "stories"! It's NICE to have other's to talk to! We have plenty of "alone" time on the cruise (and everywhere else, for that matter!), so having conversation with others is lovely!

[ken_nyc]

We have gone with large groups and gone ourselves and dined at a large table with strangers, we enjoy both. We had a great time dinning with strangers also!

[cassieroll]

We've always dined with others! Wonderful way to meet new and interesting people. We've never had a table mate horror story.

[tomko2]

It has generally been a pleasure dining with others. We feel that it enhances our cruise experience to spend some time with people who more often than not share our passion for cruising.

Kathy:)

[camella]

We always ask for our own table and it's just the three of us. We first started doing this when we had our daughter because people usually love kids or hate them and if you get stuck with someone who hates kids and you have to sit with them the entire time it can be very uncomfortable. She is 12 now and that's no longer an issue but we still dine alone because if you get rude tablemates it can ruin your cruise. If you meet people that you want to get to know better, you can always meet them for breakfast or lunch or even meet in one of the specialty restaurants.

[wraithe]

We've had very good experiences dining with large groups. That's our personal preference.

[nellydean]

On the QM2 we cruised with family, so that was not a problem - except that they gave our table away to another party and we had to squash 10 people onto a table for 8 :mad:

 

On our first ever cruise 10 years ago (the Sunbird), me, husband, daughter and son were put on a big table with two much older couples. As our son was only 5, I was a bit concerned, but he behaved impeccably and was made a real fuss of by them and the wait staff. The two couples couldn't have been nicer and we were fine, although it was a bit wearying having to make conversation all the time, rather than just concentrate on eating and drinking, especially having to supervise the young one.

 

Our first RCI cruise on the Liberty, we were put on a table for 8, which I wasn't happy with but, in the end, one couple didn't show any night, one man on his own was only there the first evening because he was waiting to be seated with the rest of his family, leaving us 3 and a couple of rich old dears from San Diego and Israel. It was a bit difficult, as we had absolutely nothing in common with these ladies and they were both in their late 80s, but we persevered and it wasn't long before we were conversing well with each other. They took a shine to our son - especially as he and his dad used to stand up for them when they arrived, works every time :) - and they regaled us with tales of their escape from the ****s during the war, which was interesting, and their rich deceased husbands. So it worked out OK in the end, although it would have been nice to have had diners of our own age.

 

We got that on the Navigator last year, when we were seated with another couple and their (very pretty) teenage daughter, and she and our son hung around together afterwards.

 

However, when we booked the Brilliance for this summer we requested a table for 4, and this will be of even more use now, as our daughter is joining us.

 

It's not because we've had a bad experience, but because for once we look forward to enjoying just our own company at dinner, which will be less stressful and hopefully more relaxing

[dacsmom]

We like sitting with others. I like the large table and have not met people I didn't get along with.

[TEXASMUNK]

Over a ton of cruises...we have sat with...

 

Former Major League ball players

 

Several folks from NASA very involved in the Apollo 13 rescue

 

Authors of wonderful cruise books

 

Wealthy yacht owners who were fun the entire cruise

 

Financial genius who mezmerized us for a week

 

to name but a few....etc,etc,etc,

 

Never pass up the chance to meet new folks

[Hobiecat01]

With most of our cruises we have always sat a large tables and have met some of the most wonderful folks in the world (and a very small few we would not want to see again...). The pluses FAR outweigh the negatives. The one time we did have a small table was when our son went with us and we sat at a table for three. Honestly it was just not the same. While I dearly loved being with my DW and DS, the DW and I missed the nightly discussions with tablemates, their histories, their cruises, their hopes and their dreams. We are both "people" persons that will talk to anyone at the drop of a hat. Maybe that has a lot to do with it but we always prefer a large table. If you get a bad crowd, asked to be moved or try other dining venues throughout the ship. Remember... you are on vacation!

 

--------------------------------

Sea ya!

Ron and Lee

Canton, Ga

RCCL Platinum Member

Previous Cruises

Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982

Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999

Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2001

RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005

RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006

RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/08

Planned Cruises

Something in 2009 - just have not decided yet

RCCL Oasis of the Seas - April 17, 2010

The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day - 2011

[nellydean]

 

Never pass up the chance to meet new folks

 

I think it depends who you are travelling with, as an older couple, on your own or with older children, it's fine, but if you've got youngsters then you have to put them first when dining and choose accordingly

 

We passed up the chance to dine with the captain on our first cruise because our son was young and fidgety and I wouldn't have been comfortable, but it was no big deal.

[lizbug]

some of our fondest cruise memories are from the dining table, we always choose to dine on a large table.

[Pepperwood]

We believe that strangers are simply friends we haven't met yet, and have met many very nice people at the dinner table. Perhaps we have been lucky, but we have not had obnoxious tablemates. However, we also abide by my grandmother's golden rule: no conversation about religion, sex or politics at the table.:)

 

If we ever do happen to be seated with someone we absolutely cannot abide, we can always ask to be moved to another table.

 

Our only bad experience was on our last cruise was at a very long table for ten in a noisy part of the MDR--we never did get to know the 4 people at the far end of the table simply because we couldn't hear them.:(

[JSnow789]

I'm cruising solo next week and will be at a large table. I'm hoping to meet all of you (ok, well nice people like all of you!)

 

:)

[RetireeWannabee]

First of all, I do not consider it "dining with strangers", I consider it "fine dining with fellow cruisers".

 

I like expanding beyond my travel group. this may sound not so nice, but, after spending SO MUCH TIME with my travel group, I NEED outside people!

 

And sometimes, I find really cool things to do at the next port that I had not considered.

[jeepfella]

Hit and Miss on dining with others. Sometimes is great and we end up hanging with some of our table mates, other times you just don't have anything in common with the people you are with, and it can be uncomfortable.

[linda_22003]

We've never opted to dine by ourselves; we're seated with different people every night and enjoy it greatly. Our private time is before dinner, on our balcony with a drink as we get ready.