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Dining on a World Cruise


LarryL
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DW and I were discussing some of the options for our planned world cruise in 3-4 years. The subject of dining came up and we started wondering how that would work. We're not sure we would want to sit for 112 days with our own family members much less people we don't know. And maybe others would not want to dine with us, constantly, for that long. ;)That said, for you experienced world cruisers, can you rotate or request to change seating by segment? I am specifically curious how Princess does this. Thanks

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Larry, that is a great question.

 

If you are on a World Cruise with assigned dining you can easily have the Maitre d' have you sit with each people at each succeeding segment. Over the years we have found that many people do exactly that. Once in a while a table really clicks with one another and everyone stays together the entire time but that is a rarity. Also our experience when we used to sit with others is that we would be placed at tables with some people doing the full world cruise and others who were not.

 

My recommendation is during the first segment of the world cruise that you speak with the Maitre d' about what you would like for the next segment.

 

Keith

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DW and I were discussing some of the options for our planned world cruise in 3-4 years. The subject of dining came up and we started wondering how that would work. We're not sure we would want to sit for 112 days with our own family members much less people we don't know. And maybe others would not want to dine with us, constantly, for that long. ;)That said, for you experienced world cruisers, can you rotate or request to change seating by segment? I am specifically curious how Princess does this. Thanks

 

On our Oceania RTW, it wasn’t an issue as all of the dining venues were open seating. We chose time and place (with or without rez) and whether we wanted to dine with others or alone.

 

Does Princess not do anytime dining where you can choose to sit alone or with others whenever you show up? That’s definitely what I would choose for such a long voyage. Also, bear in mind that most cruises are sold as full RTW and segments as well, so there would be new pax coming aboard along the way. Unless you have your rez linked with the others in your party, the chances are you’d get some new companions. Booking alternative dining venues for some nights and using the buffet on other nights would also add variety. Keith’s suggestion to speak with the maitre’d is a good one, too.

 

That said, check out this blog (http://roundtheworldwriter.blogspot.com/). The writer is currently on a RTW on Princess. You could leave a comment and ask the question. She might do a post about dining, or she would respond to your question in a comment so make sure you keep the link to the post on which you ask the question so you can check back a few times for her response. She’s really good about responding, but she is on a cruise, and internet will determine when she can do so.

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Larry, that is a great question.

 

If you are on a World Cruise with assigned dining you can easily have the Maitre d' have you sit with each people at each succeeding segment. Over the years we have found that many people do exactly that. Once in a while a table really clicks with one another and everyone stays together the entire time but that is a rarity. Also our experience when we used to sit with others is that we would be placed at tables with some people doing the full world cruise and others who were not.

 

My recommendation is during the first segment of the world cruise that you speak with the Maitre d' about what you would like for the next segment.

 

Keith

 

 

 

Thanks, Keith, for your response and suggestion. We will make note of this on

our “ to do” list.

 

 

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On our Oceania RTW, it wasn’t an issue as all of the dining venues were open seating. We chose time and place (with or without rez) and whether we wanted to dine with others or alone.

 

 

 

Does Princess not do anytime dining where you can choose to sit alone or with others whenever you show up? That’s definitely what I would choose for such a long voyage. Also, bear in mind that most cruises are sold as full RTW and segments as well, so there would be new pax coming aboard along the way. Unless you have your rez linked with the others in your party, the chances are you’d get some new companions. Booking alternative dining venues for some nights and using the buffet on other nights would also add variety. Keith’s suggestion to speak with the maitre’d is a good one, too.

 

 

 

That said, check out this blog (http://roundtheworldwriter.blogspot.com/). The writer is currently on a RTW on Princess. You could leave a comment and ask the question. She might do a post about dining, or she would respond to your question in a comment so make sure you keep the link to the post on which you ask the question so you can check back a few times for her response. She’s really good about responding, but she is on a cruise, and internet will determine when she can do so.

 

 

 

So far, Princess has traditional seating only in the MDR. Oceana is one we are, also, looking very seriously at. 180 days [emoji39] WOW. Thanks so much for the link. We are both excited to read the blog.

 

 

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So far, Princess has traditional seating only in the MDR. Oceana is one we are, also, looking very seriously at. 180 days [emoji39] WOW. Thanks so much for the link. We are both excited to read the blog.

 

 

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If you are looking at Oceania and want to see my blog, the link is in the signature below this post (in case you didn't see it). The blog is mostly done ... catching up on the last bits now. The 180 days is a terrific experience. So much so that we are putting a deposit down on 2020 as soon as bookings open tomorrow or the next day.

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If you are looking at Oceania and want to see my blog, the link is in the signature below this post (in case you didn't see it). The blog is mostly done ... catching up on the last bits now. The 180 days is a terrific experience. So much so that we are putting a deposit down on 2020 as soon as bookings open tomorrow or the next day.

 

Thanks once again. I am looking forward to reading your blog.

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It would depend on who you are sailing with.

 

But for us it will be Princess and we will choose Any Time Dining.

 

I thought that Princess only has Fixed Seating on its World Cruises. I don't know for sure but I read it somewhere.

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It would depend on who you are sailing with.

 

But for us it will be Princess and we will choose Any Time Dining.

Princess has both traditional dining and Anytime dining on most of their ships, but I've read that Pacific Princess (which does the world cruise) only has traditional dining.

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I thought that Princess only has Fixed Seating on its World Cruises. I don't know for sure but I read it somewhere.

Probably those leaving America on Pacific Princess that’d be right.

 

But out of Australia they use Sea, and as far as I can determine still offers ATD, I’ll do a mock booking to double check.

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If you have or choose Fixed Dining and are seated with table mates that are not to your liking for whatever reason, do not be reluctant to ask the Maitre d' for a change of tables whether it is before a segment ends or not. I failed to do so on my one full world cruise experience. Such an experience still has an impact upon me as to whether I would book another world cruise, a segment or more.

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Larry, that is a great question.

 

If you are on a World Cruise with assigned dining you can easily have the Maitre d' have you sit with each people at each succeeding segment. Over the years we have found that many people do exactly that. Once in a while a table really clicks with one another and everyone stays together the entire time but that is a rarity. Also our experience when we used to sit with others is that we would be placed at tables with some people doing the full world cruise and others who were not.

 

My recommendation is during the first segment of the world cruise that you speak with the Maitre d' about what you would like for the next segment.

 

Keith

 

 

 

We are on the current Viking WC for 141 days and meals are no problem here . You can have the whole family dine together or you can let everyone eat wherever they want . Eating is not a problem but waistline’s are . Get ready to gain a few pounds!

 

 

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We are on the current Viking WC for 141 days and meals are no problem here . You can have the whole family dine together or you can let everyone eat wherever they want . Eating is not a problem but waistline’s are . Get ready to gain a few pounds!

 

 

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Yes, that is a challenge.

 

My wife and I have an approach that we take on World Cruises. In fact, on the first one we each lost weight and that has happened a couple of other times.

 

Our goal is to leave the ship at the same weight we boarded.

 

We know people who bring three sets of clothing with them and switch as they gain weight. Then after they leave the ship they take the weight off and then do it again the following year.

 

Keith

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Yes, that is a challenge.

 

 

 

My wife and I have an approach that we take on World Cruises. In fact, on the first one we each lost weight and that has happened a couple of other times.

 

 

 

Our goal is to leave the ship at the same weight we boarded.

 

 

 

We know people who bring three sets of clothing with them and switch as they gain weight. Then after they leave the ship they take the weight off and then do it again the following year.

 

 

 

Keith

 

 

 

I still can fit into my original clothing but it’s getting a little tight ! I think we will be ok - we are about 90 days out of 141. We are signed up for next year’s WC and it has a bunch of sea days - not good but fun so I need to go to the gym prior to leaving !

 

 

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I've found that the longer the cruise, the less likely I am to gain weight. And I actually lost a few pounds on my world cruise. I always take a pair of unforgiving slacks, and try to wear them at least once a week. This helps me monitor, since the scales on the ship tend not to work when at sail, and even often when in port since the ship still has some movement.

 

I think that there are two main factors at play here. One, the longer I'm on the ship, the less I feel the compulsion to eat the goodies, since they will still be available for quite a while. Two, on all prior such cruises, I've been on a break from a desk job (or for the world cruise, had only just retired from said desk job), and thus am going from exercise (or even just movement) being something I must seek out to something that is a natural part of the day.

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  • 1 month later...
DW and I were discussing some of the options for our planned world cruise in 3-4 years. The subject of dining came up and we started wondering how that would work. We're not sure we would want to sit for 112 days with our own family members much less people we don't know. And maybe others would not want to dine with us, constantly, for that long. ;)That said, for you experienced world cruisers, can you rotate or request to change seating by segment? I am specifically curious how Princess does this. Thanks

 

We completed a 104 night WC on Sun Princess in 2015.The main restaurant options for dinner were Traditional in one restaurant and Anytime in the other. We always opt for Traditional and the WC was no different.With a table for 8, we had 3 couples doing the entire voyage and 1 couple doing 1/2. In London, we invited another couple doing the entire cruise to join us (arrange through M'D). We all dined together for the entire 104 nights, going together as a group to the buffet or specialty restaurants. Three years later, we are still in contact.

 

Breakfast & Lunches in the restaurant are open seating and we always requested sharing. We tend to have breakfast/lunch at consistent times and frequently were assigned to tables with others on a similar schedule. While the breakfast/lunch tables always change, we probably sat with some people at least a dozen times during the cruise.

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We completed a 104 night WC on Sun Princess in 2015.The main restaurant options for dinner were Traditional in one restaurant and Anytime in the other. We always opt for Traditional and the WC was no different.With a table for 8, we had 3 couples doing the entire voyage and 1 couple doing 1/2. In London, we invited another couple doing the entire cruise to join us (arrange through M'D). We all dined together for the entire 104 nights, going together as a group to the buffet or specialty restaurants. Three years later, we are still in contact.

 

 

 

Breakfast & Lunches in the restaurant are open seating and we always requested sharing. We tend to have breakfast/lunch at consistent times and frequently were assigned to tables with others on a similar schedule. While the breakfast/lunch tables always change, we probably sat with some people at least a dozen times during the cruise.

 

 

 

Why don’t you try a cruise line that offers open seating ! We just came back from a 141 day WC and the cruise line only offers open seating and except in their specially restaurants . This way you get to meet others and then plan on meeting them at your convenience and theirs . We liked it so much we are now doing a 127 day cruise in 2019 .

 

 

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Why don’t you try a cruise line that offers open seating ! We just came back from a 141 day WC and the cruise line only offers open seating and except in their specially restaurants . This way you get to meet others and then plan on meeting them at your convenience and theirs . We liked it so much we are now doing a 127 day cruise in 2019 .

 

 

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While we prefer the traditional fixed seating at dinner with open seating at lunch/breakfast, our next World Cruise will be different. Many pax have experienced challenging table mates at fixed seating, but in over 40 years of cruising we haven't experienced issues.

 

However, our next World Cruise is open seating and I suspect we are doing the 2nd half of your 127 day, as we join Viking Sun in LA for the 119 night LA to London.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We prefer open seating, had fixed seating only three times. Two were good, one was not good. In open seating we shared tables with people we got to know during the cruise if they had the same schedule and we were compatible. It's easier for us to share with Australians, Canadians, and Europeans. Conversation can be difficult with fellow Americans who don't steer away from politics.

 

On our next long cruise, we decided to ask for a fixed table for two. We never did that before, but we have gravitated to the same tables and waiters in open seating arrangements.

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Why don’t you try a cruise line that offers open seating ! We just came back from a 141 day WC and the cruise line only offers open seating and except in their specially restaurants . This way you get to meet others and then plan on meeting them at your convenience and theirs . We liked it so much we are now doing a 127 day cruise in 2019 .

 

 

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We have actually signed up for the Viking 2020 WC, which is virtually identical to your 2018 WC, except we start in LA.

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  • 5 weeks later...
We have actually signed up for the Viking 2020 WC, which is virtually identical to your 2018 WC, except we start in LA.

 

 

 

We did the 2017/17 (141 day) Viking WC and will be doing the first part of the 2019 Viking WC World Treasures. We loved their crew , staff and itinerary . We actually received back over 1500 dollars back due to so much of the add ons where included in their fair . Go and enjoy Viking’s WC .

 

 

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We did the 2017/17 (141 day) Viking WC and will be doing the first part of the 2019 Viking WC World Treasures. We loved their crew , staff and itinerary . We actually received back over 1500 dollars back due to so much of the add ons where included in their fair . Go and enjoy Viking’s WC .

 

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Thanks, definitely looking forward to the cruise.

 

Sounds like you disembark in LA the same day we board the vessel. If they offer the World Treasures again around 2025, we would definitely be interested.

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