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Specialty Restaurants: Table for one?

Oh2B@C

By Oh2B@C,
in Solo Cruisers

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Oh2B@C

Oh2B@C

Posted
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Hi there,

 

I've done about 12 solo cruises, all on Princess. I stayed away from Crown Grill and Sabatini's mainly because I didn't think I should shell out more $$$ for food I can get for free elsewhere on the ship. I've actually tried each one once, and each time it was at the urging of people I met on the ship playing trivia, not going there on my own.

 

On my next cruise I intend to treat myself to a milestone birthday dinner in the CG, but of course I am not sure if I will meet people with whom I can go as a group. So my question (after all THAT...) is: has anyone ever done a specialty restaurant "table for one?" Is this even possible? I guess if they have two-tops, they might be willing to sit a single at one of them. But I hate eating dinner alone. Love cruising solo, but dinner has always been a social affair for me.

 

I imagine it wouldn't be great form to ask to be seated with another party... the way it happens in the MDR...:rolleyes:[/size]

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bottomfeeder

bottomfeeder

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Posted
Hi there,

 

I've done about 12 solo cruises, all on Princess. I stayed away from Crown Grill and Sabatini's mainly because I didn't think I should shell out more $$$ for food I can get for free elsewhere on the ship. I've actually tried each one once, and each time it was at the urging of people I met on the ship playing trivia, not going there on my own.

 

On my next cruise I intend to treat myself to a milestone birthday dinner in the CG, but of course I am not sure if I will meet people with whom I can go as a group. So my question (after all THAT...) is: has anyone ever done a specialty restaurant "table for one?" Is this even possible? I guess if they have two-tops, they might be willing to sit a single at one of them. But I hate eating dinner alone. Love cruising solo, but dinner has always been a social affair for me.

 

I imagine it wouldn't be great form to ask to be seated with another party... the way it happens in the MDR...:rolleyes:[/size]

 

I can't say for sure about Princess, but definitely with HAL and Celebrity and NCL it is no problem so I expect Princess will be fine with a solo diner as well. I always just bring my Kindle--less to read than to keep the waitstaff from feeling like they need to talk to me a lot since I'm on my own. :)

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Lois R "Live from...." Rare

Lois R

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I have done it too....no big deal. The Maitr'd and waiters are always

friendly and accommodating. I always enjoy my meals when I dine

in the Specialty Restaurants.:)

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Oh2B@C

Oh2B@C

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I do it all the time. It's amazing how much more you will enjoy the flavor of your food. You won't be distracted with holding up your end of a conversation! ;)

 

Enjoy.

 

Heh heh, I like that :)

 

But having a few people at my table helps me eat slower.

 

Anyway, good to know the option is there if I don't meet anyone interested in sharing the experience.

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Oh2B@C

Oh2B@C

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Thanks for asking about this. I'm prepping for my first solo cruise and I love dining at the Crown Grill. I was wondering about solo tables myself. Glad to hear that it won't be an issue.

 

You'll be able to report back before I will, you cruise before I do!:mad:;)

 

You will enjoy going solo on Princess. The passenger make-up is very friendly, but you won't get bothered when you want to have some alone-time.

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Scrapnana "Live from...." Rare

Scrapnana

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No problem doing so on Cunard. For the most part the specialty restaurants are not full so they could hardly reject a solo diner. I have gotten two free specialty dinner vouchers for my next cruise and plan to eat by myself unless I find some new friends on board. Either way, I am sure I will enjoy it.

Edited by Scrapnana
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mtwingcpa

mtwingcpa

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While dining solo, do you seat yourself facing others or is your back to them? :confused:

 

I sit with what feels most comfortable to me and with what optimizes the view if near windows. I really don't care how other people are seated so long as they are not too close. I prefer NOT to be seated facing a wall.

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mrobstad

mrobstad

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I apologize for posting this on the wrong thread, but I'm a NCL cruiser who eats solo in the specialities and now I have 2 a Princess cruises booked. After reading this thread, I want to try the speciality restaurant on the a Emerald Princess. Is the price one set price or a la carte? How much can I expect to spend?

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Croptop

Croptop

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I apologize for posting this on the wrong thread, but I'm a NCL cruiser who eats solo in the specialities and now I have 2 a Princess cruises booked. After reading this thread, I want to try the speciality restaurant on the a Emerald Princess. Is the price one set price or a la carte? How much can I expect to spend?

 

The Emerald has The Crown Grill, Sabatini's, and the new Curtis Stone SHARE specialty restaurants. The Crown Grill and Sabatini's each are $25 per person. (Bias alert: I love the Crown Grill and make sure to dine there on every cruise).

 

SHARE has a cover charge of $39 per person. It's new so there isn't a wealth of information about it yet. Here is one thread that gives a great overview of the entire menu (it was on the Ruby Princess but I would expect the Emerald to be the same): http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2289388

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Quilting_Cruiser

Quilting_Cruiser

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I did my first solo cruise last year on NCL Jade. The main reason I chose to sail NCL was because of the variety of specialty restaurants. I purchased the dining plan and ate at a different specialty restaurant each evening. I was usually seated at a table for two or four and I was always given the option of which seat I wanted. They were kind enough to seat me near a window at most of the restaurants, so I typically seated myself facing the window as I enjoy watching the ocean. The exception was the Teppanyaki restaurant and I was seated with two families with children. That actually made it uncomfortable since the children kept staring at me and the parents just engaged each other in conversation. I'm fine being by myself, but it was a bit uncomfortable the way the children kept staring at me! LOL. I noticed the other table was all adults. Seems NCL could have matched all of us better and put me at "the adult table." But, it was still an enjoyable evening (just could have been better!).

 

I'm going on my second solo cruise in March and will eat at specialties for six evenings and MDR or buffet the other evenings (it's a 10-night cruise). This one's on the NCL Epic, and I'm staying in a studio cabin so planning to play it by ear and see what the solo experience is like when there's a crew member dedicated to the solos. I may join them for some dinners or I may go on my own. I won't know until I get there and see if I make any connections--I don't cruise to make new friends, but I've found it often works out that way!

 

If you want to try a specialty restaurant just go for it! It's up to you whether it's uncomfortable. I usually take a book as I enjoy reading and as someone else said, it keeps the staff from being overly concerned about me. :o

 

Enjoy!

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Virtopia

Virtopia

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I've had solo dinners in a specialty restaurant and it was great. The staff was very attentive and I got great seats near the window. If I had more in my cruise budget, I'd visit the specialty restaurants more often during my sailings. The service was just that great.

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Clodia

Clodia

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I always eat at least once in a speciality restaurant onboard, as a change from the MDR. usually get a good table and always either sit by a window or face into the restaurant not towards a wall!

I have always enjoyed my meals in speciality venues.

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vespertino

vespertino

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I love specialty dining, good to know that solo cruisers are welcome and accommodated. I've always gone with a companion but hope to do a solo soon, I like the MDR but I find the specialty dining I'd experienced on Celeb in the past to be well worth the up-charge. I just wish I could eat more at one sitting, I found the potions to be too big.

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