If you are willing to eat late, can you get tables for two that are not close togethe

[Dena]

On Princess, if we are willing to eat after 7:45, we have been able to get a table for 4 just for 2 of us. Otherwise, the tables for two are so close together that I could easily reach over and take food from the other tables. Obviously private conversation is not possible. I would pay more for Blu to avoid this, but those tables are very close together also. I know some people don't mind this, but I would prefer more privacy. Maybe eating in the specialty restaurants would avoid this, but that would get expensive for every dinner.

 

So if we go with select dining, can we expect to be able to get a table for 4 or a quiet table for 2 if we eat late?

[SFCAcruiser]

On Princess, if we are willing to eat after 7:45, we have been able to get a table for 4 just for 2 of us. Otherwise, the tables for two are so close together that I could easily reach over and take food from the other tables. Obviously private conversation is not possible. I would pay more for Blu to avoid this, but those tables are very close together also. I know some people don't mind this, but I would prefer more privacy. Maybe eating in the specialty restaurants would avoid this, but that would get expensive for every dinner.

 

So if we go with select dining, can we expect to be able to get a table for 4 or a quiet table for 2 if we eat late?

In my experience with Select dining, there have been more available tables for late diners. However, I do not consider 7:45 pm to be "late". We rarely dined before 8:15, and usually later than that, and did not see many available larger tables. At 7:45 or so, you may not have much choice. But, by all means, talk to the dining room host/hostess and let that person know what you are seeking. Some small tables are arranged in such a way as to provide distance from adjacent tables, while other tables are, as you described, almost touching.

[Dena]

Thank you for your reply. I agree that 7:45 is not really earlt for dinner, but it seemed early on our recent cruises. For eample, we were on a 14 day Hawaii cruise and people were lining up a little bit past 5 and waiting for the dining rooms to open for dinner, by 9 the rooms were nearly empty. We would have felt very bad for the waiters if we arrived after 9. This probably varies by the cruise length. On this cruise, Princess had sometime called a New Years party at 10:45 pm one night in mid-December, the countdown and balloon drop happened at 11 pm and by 11:15 nearly everyone had gone to bed. On most nights the ship was very quiet by 10 pm. This is OK with us we are not looking for a party ship, but a bit more activity would be OK too.