To Share or Not To Share? (Dining room table ?)

[poobears]

Sorry to be sickly sweet but DH and I also cruise for the private romance time and want a table for 2. Meeting other people is great but I don't want to socialize over my nightly dinner. Yep can't help it, we are still lovey dovey even after almost 16 years. :p

 

Next year when the kids go we'll request a table for 6 for us and the 4 kids.

[jbroons]

Sorry to be sickly sweet but DH and I also cruise for the private romance time and want a table for 2. Meeting other people is great but I don't want to socialize over my nightly dinner. Yep can't help it, we are still lovey dovey even after almost 16 years. :p

 

Next year when the kids go we'll request a table for 6 for us and the 4 kids.

 

Nice.;)

[TxMaggie]

I think I would feel a little awkward sharing a table with folks I don't know but I am definitely willing to try. There's a first time for everything, right?

[MrPete]

I think I would feel a little awkward sharing a table with folks I don't know but I am definitely willing to try. There's a first time for everything, right?

 

Just remember you only don't know them for a very short period of time.

[TrevyMcShaw]

2 out of 3 times I have been thrilled with all my table mates. On my 2nd cruise, there was one woman at the table who, we decided, had either "seen it, done it, slept with it, or killed it" no matter what the subject. In the end, she became one of my funniest memories of the cruise. So, even with a bad apple now and then, I say the more the merrier. Enjoy your cruise!

[cruisetobeaches]

We're not at all UN-friendly people........but we don't cruise to "make new lifetime friends".....we cruise to ESCAPE from friends, family, and other workers !!

 

In addition, we cruise for ROMANCE.....unless we are with other family members at dinner...we like sharing the 7-8 days with each other...certainly not with strangers !

 

quote]

 

DITTO! When we cruise with friends or other family members, we don't mind sitting with them and others. No problem. However, when we cruise alone, we prefer a table for two. We enjoy each others company and seldom argue about anything and we are NOT newlyweds by any means.

 

In fact, on our recent B2B on the Fantasy, we went to the dining room right after boarding to request a table for two (which we got). Our original assigned table was right next to the table for two. It was a table for eight. we got quite a chuckle when we saw who our table mates would have been! Nice people, but all in their 20s. we are in our 50s. We could overhear what they were talking about and there was a real "generation gap" between them and us!

[Crusin6]

We are a family of 6 and just love to sit with only ourselves. The girls have so much fun just talking with us and with each other that we really do not want anyone else with us at the table. I believe that THEY would feel uncomfortable with us and all of our "inside" jokes and stories. However, in your case I would definitely go for a big table and enjoy the company.

 

As we have 3 teenage daughters as well as an 8yo, may I ask a question? Why do you think that your daughter will bolt on you? Please don't encourage her to do so, thinking that all teens are desperate to get away from the parents on a cruise. While that may be true for some, DH and I have found that a cruise with all 4 of them has really really bonded us even closer. The dining room experience is probably the best thing for that as well.

 

Enjoy your cruise, all 3 of you, and enjoy your tablemates!:)

[TxMaggie]

Just remember you only don't know them for a very short period of time.

 

Good point!! I'm definitely very social, but it's the other people that worry me! haha just kidding :rolleyes:

 

How does the open dining work? Do you basically sit with different people each night???

[jax430]

DH and I are pretty reserved when with new people, but we are choosing to sit with others on our cruise, and I'm hoping that we make some nice friends from it.

[dynozone84]

ive done both, im in my earl 20s and I definately prefer to have our own table. Not that I had any problem sitting with people, we always had good conversation and it was a fun time. I honestly just like being by ourselves because dinner goes much faster, if we run a min late we dont feel dumb or if we skip out early its no big deal. Plus im a waiter and I deal with people dining out enough at home!

[robvan]

On our 25th anniversary cruise we were at a table with 2 other couples celebrating their 25th anniversaries and all Canadians. One couple actually lives not too far away, the other in Vancouver. We had a great time together, all on our first cruise. Now we keep in touch via Facebook. Every morning we eat breakfast in the dining room and met all kinds of different people. A lot more fun as you walk around the ship and say hi to people who have come to know.

[Julz226]

We've done both - sat by ourselves and been at a table for six. I was happy with both.

 

My husband and I are both somewhat introverted but met nice people at our group table.

 

We also did the table for two thing - It was nice but we tended to skip dinner more.

 

Anyone know how they decide if you get a group or a private table? We never requsted either. It was just sort of random.

[drivemecrazy]

Our last 2 cruises have been with large groups and we have missed out on meeting people at dinner. We have dining room friends from our 1st cruise 10 yrs ago that we still keep in touch with. We now have to wait for breakfast or lunch in the dining room to meet all kinds of friendly people.

[deepnite10]

in jan we sailed the Triumph, Western Carib. iteniary..and we met 2 couple s we ll never forget..if you have the time, visit my slide show of that

cruise..and you ll see us having the time of our life..

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=910423

[cosbycreeker]

In January hubby and I went on a Norwegian cruise and liked freestyle. The second night we decided to go to a dining room. The hostess asked if we wanted to share a table and we did. It was great. There were three other couples. The first thing after introducing ourselves, everyone said where they were from. We had moved 800 miles from home 11 years ago so we also said where we originally came from. It turned out that the guy across from us was from my home town and his mother is my cousin, and his aunt is one of my best friends. Guess that'd make him some kind of 2nd cousin! Small world. We keep in touch and maybe will make our next cruise family style.

 

I'd say go for it, you never know who you'll meet.

[SittinUnderAPalmTree]

It's totally a matter of personal preference... and otherwise luck of the draw... To preface this... we are a young, married couple. Both professionals who love to travel, experience new things, and meet people.

On our first cruise, we traveled with another couple and were seated at a table for 6. The other couple never showed. We even had a different couple join [I]us[/I] one evening because they were seated at a table for eight full of people about 40 years their senior with nothing in common.

Our second cruise was open seating so we got to choose with whom to eat. And, on our third cruise we were seated at a table for 10, to which only 4 others showed up. One was a couple from Italy, who barely spoke English, and the other couple was antisocial and gave one word answers to everything. Needless to say we asked for a seating change.

Given our track record, we are trying very hard to get a table for two on our next cruise. Not that we don't [I]love[/I] to socialize, but we also love [I]enjoyable [/I]dinners.