Carnival MDR tables too close!!

[SadieN]

Holland America and Oceania had tables for two in the main dining room that were along a railing overlooking another part of the main dining room. They were not close to each other. Not all tables for two are arranged that way!

 

 

So does the Carnival Spirit Class. But those aren't next to a window.

 

Don't understand the need to sit at a window. I always seem to get the sun setting in my eyes (sigh). Other times it's dark and there's either nothing to see or become a 'fish in a fishbowl' if there's a promenade outside the MDR.

Edited March 16, 2016 by SadieN

[GUT2407]

Some of us don't pay thousands. Sometimes a single thousand and change will cover it. Sometimes less. :p

 

Back on the main subject, I'd like to thank everyone for commenting that the tables for two in the MDRs of many of the major cruise lines are tightly bunched together. That was something I had wondered about.

 

It's not just the two tops that are close together either, pretty much all tables are.

 

Space on a cruise ship is precious.

[whataboutport]

Holland America and Oceania had tables for two in the main dining room that were along a railing overlooking another part of the main dining room. They were not close to each other. Not all tables for two are arranged that way!

 

Yes, actually our two top on Allure (table 666) was on the second story by the railing overlooking the lower level of the dining room. Railing to one side of us, and walkway on the other side. The next tables were behind us on each side. It was actually the PERFECT layout for us, and we dined in the MDR every night but one. That was the only cruise we did that.

[lady_cruiser]

Hi,

 

I just took a cruise and had a lot of fun but had bad experiences in the Main Dining Room. I'm now taking the Inagural cruise on May 1st on the Vista. The issue we had was in the MDR the tables were extremely close together. Every night I had a table for two with a friend near the window and I could literally reach out and touch the table for two next to me. They were less than a foot away from us every time. We sat in different areas of the MDR near the window and it was the same thing. On several occasions we had to make awkward small talk with people next to us looking to engage us in conversation. On another evening, the people next to us were very loud and rude and commented on our food and ordering two desserts, etc. We had several dining experiences in the MDR that were uncomfortable.

 

How can we get a table for two next to the window with privacy? I'm paying thousands of dollars for this cruise and I don't want repeat bad MDR experiences. Should we talk to the maitre d on the first day of the cruise before dining? We had YTD on the last cruise and will on this Inaugural one as well. I read somewhere that we should request a table for two along the half walls? I'm not sure what this means. Helpful advice appreciated.

 

I've only cruised on three lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian) so all I can give advice is on these three lines. All their tables are close together. Except for the limited room service menu or getting food in the buffet and bringing to a table outside near the pools I can't see any other option.

[Aquahound]

Yes, actually our two top on Allure (table 666) was on the second story by the railing overlooking the lower level of the dining room. Railing to one side of us, and walkway on the other side. The next tables were behind us on each side. It was actually the PERFECT layout for us, and we dined in the MDR every night but one. That was the only cruise we did that.

 

I've also sat at those tables on Allure and they were great.

 

One thing I'll dispute is some of the claims on this thread that all tables are close together. It's not true. While it's common nowadays, all ships I've been on also had tables like described here....tables along a railing or something similar that don't have other tables next to them.

[cbr663]

 

How can we get a table for two next to the window with privacy? I'm paying thousands of dollars for this cruise and I don't want repeat bad MDR experiences. Should we talk to the maitre d on the first day of the cruise before dining? We had YTD on the last cruise and will on this Inaugural one as well. I read somewhere that we should request a table for two along the half walls? I'm not sure what this means. Helpful advice appreciated.

 

You won't get privacy at a table near the windows. That is prime real estate and everyone wants to be there, so they squeeze as many tables as possible into the space.

 

If you want privacy, you should select the tables along the half wall in the centre of the dining room. Check the deck plans and you will see 2-tops along the wall with enough space on the open side for a walk way. The upside is that this will provide you with some privacy. The downside is that your view is of the dining room only.

[paul929207]

We just got off the Royal Princess. The distance between tables can change from day to day. We had a table one night with about 2 feet to the next table, which was two tables pushed together to make a table for 4. The next night they were not pushed together so there was only a foot or so between the tables.

[AZ Ocean Lover]

I will also suggest eating a little later. My husband and I typically eat around 8 and we are generally shown to a table for 4 for just the two of us. If we are shown to one of the two tops that are inches apart, and don't feel like sitting that close to our neighbors, we just politely ask for a different table and have always been accommodated. Frankly, my behind is too big to squeeze between those tables without taking the table cloth and everything on the table with it. I feel when you have to not only pull out a chair to let a dining partner out but pull out the whole table as well, it's time to request something more suitable.

[ScottsSweetie]

It's not just the two tops that are close together either, pretty much all tables are.

 

Space on a cruise ship is precious.

 

This is true. Often times, even at a large round table, it can be difficult to maneuver around the table because of a server stand or another table very close by.

 

The tables for two are the worst - I find myself trying very hard not to listen to others conversations, and trying to keep my voice very low so as not to disturb them or have them listen to my conversation.

 

DH & I recently were in a hotel that featured a Ruth's Chris Steak House - as we left the hotel at dinnertime we noticed that their two-tops were all set up just as close as we've experienced on cruises.

[Nic6318]

Hi Someguy

 

Yes. Speak to the maître d on embarkation day. See what they can do for you.

 

If you are doing the your time dining, then I would suggest that you find a table that you would like and ask for it. They wont reserve it for you, so if it is occupied then you would have to wait. That would be up to you. They can give you a pager. There are usually some tables for 2 that were apart from others but that isn't the norm and not necessarily near a window. As some have said if you eat later there will be fewer people generally.

 

By all means go to the Carnival threads and ask what others have done. Maybe you will find some better ideas.

 

have a great cruise

[NoobCruise]

FYI most of the people sitting around you also paid thousands for their vacation. :rolleyes: If you want privacy, eat in a specialty restaurant or order room service.

[notentirelynormal]

FYI most of the people sitting around you also paid thousands for their vacation. :rolleyes: If you want privacy, eat in a specialty restaurant or order room service.

 

That was my point on the "paid thousands of dollars". Cruising is not cheap and while I'm sure that some paid less then you, without a doubt, many more paid more then you. Also, there is of course the length of the cruise, the destination, the number in the cabin. So, yes, of course it varies.

 

Honolulu Blue, I'm sure when you made your comment you took a nano second to realize that, of course, a 1 day cruise cost less then a 120 day cruise. An inside costs less then a full suite. The variables are obvious. Since here on CC we could never discuss every single scenario going by a generalization is a given.

 

 

So I stand by my comment. There are people that paid less and more then you and that you should each be given the same priority. I don't happen to think the guy in the inside crappy location should get any better or worse treatment then me because I book a mini suite. The OP is insinuating that he spent thousands of dollars on his cruise and, therefore, should be entitled to better treatment then others because of what he paid.

 

 

To me it is obvious. Each and every person on board should be treated equally. Person A in an inside cabin asks for a table for 2 at the window. Person B in a balcony cabin asks for a table for 2 at the window. Person C is in a full suite and asks for a cabin for 2 at the window. There is one table left. Who should get it? The FIRST guy there. That's who. Apparently the OP feels he should get better treatment because he has paid so much. OP should get over himself.

 

 

 

If you believe he is right in how much money you paid is the treatment you should get.... Ummm, aren't you asking for yourself to have a worse experience? You said, "...some of us paid less..." Do you even realize your comment. You pay less so you feel you should get less service. Ya, okay, sure.

 

 

In all my years of cruising with family and without it has never ever occurred to me to ask the guy next to me what he paid so I could decide which one of us gets the better bread roll. I just assumed first come, first serve.

[ScottsSweetie]

FYI most of the people sitting around you also paid thousands for their vacation. :rolleyes: If you want privacy, eat in a specialty restaurant or order room service.

 

We've dined in the steakhouse twice on Carnival - their two-tops are not as close to each other as the MDR, but not a whole lot better, either.

[calliopecruiser]

......Apparently the OP feels he should get better treatment because he has paid so much......If you believe he is right in how much money you paid is the treatment you should get....

 

 

if that's the case, such a situation exists. But not on Carnival. That's similar to the situation on some ships like Cunard's, where there are different "classes" of passenger fares, and they have different dining rooms.

[Cruzaholic41]

Ruby Princess had tables just inches apart.

 

While this happens on every line, I think Princess is the worst. Ruby and her sister ships have a row of 2-tops along a long bench seat that are only inches apart. They're so close, you have to move the table to get to the bench seat. You can actually bump elbows with the person next to you.

[notentirelynormal]

FYI most of the people sitting around you also paid thousands for their vacation. :rolleyes: If you want privacy, eat in a specialty restaurant or order room service.

 

Sorry NoobCruise. I was agreeing with you and it look like I was calling you out. Not at all.

[NIATPAC29]

Not entirely - - - harsh!

[exbiologist]

I like the 8-10 person tables. Sometimes there are multiple conversations going on, pick the couples you'd prefer to talk to. It's also not difficult to carry on a private conversation if your tablemates talk loudly or excitedly enough. But, dinner on a cruise ship is a social thing for me. It's not a time to stuff my gullet before hiding in my cabin. I meet people I want to go to the bars with, continue conversation with, pick the brains of, or go gamble with later.

So, like someone mentioned earlier, if you want privacy, go to a specialty restaurant or reconsider cruising altogether. 2 person tables in the MDR kind of defeat some of the purpose in my opinion.

Edited March 18, 2016 by exbiologist

[dsrdsrdsr]

On P&O at least, there is an unwritten convention that two adjacent tables are disctinctly separate tables and conversation isn't necessarily expected. It isn't, in my experience, considered rude to treat the people on the next table as if they were a few feet away; or to say little more than hello and goodbye. Though of course if all parties want to converse, they can do so easily.

 

That's a British line, of course, with (on the ships I use) an older passenger demographic. It will not necessarily apply elsewhere.

[whataboutport]

On P&O at least, there is an unwritten convention that two adjacent tables are disctinctly separate tables and conversation isn't necessarily expected. It isn't, in my experience, considered rude to treat the people on the next table as if they were a few feet away; or to say little more than hello and goodbye. Though of course if all parties want to converse, they can do so easily.

 

That's a British line, of course, with (on the ships I use) an older passenger demographic. It will not necessarily apply elsewhere.

 

I agree with you that you aren't expected to converse with people at the next table, even if it is a mere few inches away. However, how do the waiters treat the tables? Many waiters on the major lines treat these tables as one, talking the orders together. That I have always found weird. I understand it's easier for the waiter, but if it were me, I would start and completely finish one table before going to the next, even if I don't move my feet two inches.

 

That reminds me. When I was a kid, we went to a diner or family restaurant and was sat in a large rounded booth. It had two tables. My family sat at one table, and another family sat at another. The waitress treated us as one table. We had to say we were separate parties. She obviously thought so bc we were all Asian, and at that time and where we were, there weren't many Asians, let alone two separate families, and they seated us at the same booth! LOL

Edited March 19, 2016 by whataboutport

[Warm Breezes]

I like the 8-10 person tables. Sometimes there are multiple conversations going on, pick the couples you'd prefer to talk to. It's also not difficult to carry on a private conversation if your tablemates talk loudly or excitedly enough. But, dinner on a cruise ship is a social thing for me. It's not a time to stuff my gullet before hiding in my cabin. I meet people I want to go to the bars with, continue conversation with, pick the brains of, or go gamble with later.

So, like someone mentioned earlier, if you want privacy, go to a specialty restaurant or reconsider cruising altogether. 2 person tables in the MDR kind of defeat some of the purpose in my opinion.

 

I respectfully disagree with you. Dinner on a cruise ship may be a social thing for YOU but it is not a social thing for everyone. When my husband and I sail with just the 2 of us it is a time for us to reconnect, relax and enjoy each others company, not the company of complete strangers. We don't enjoy having a table inches from our own being treated by the waiter as if it is one table. We don't enjoy one of us having to squeeze between the tables to get to our seat. We don't enjoy overhearing everyone around us entire conversations. We don't enjoy having to whisper to avoid them overhearing us....and we don't enjoy being forced to make small talk or looking rude by not doing so.

 

There are private tables in the MDR and we would be willing to wait for one if they were all busy rather than being squeezed in next to other couples. If we wanted to dine with others like that we would ask to be seated at a larger table....which we don't. I refuse to give up cruising just because I may have to wait for a private table for 2 in the MDR...which is not defeating any purpose in our cruise vacation. Nor will I pay extra for a special dining room to enjoy a meal with just my husband...I shouldn't have to. 2 person tables in the MDR do serve a purpose for those of us who do not cruise to socialize with strangers...and many cruisers fit that bill even if you don't.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Warm Breezes

[calliopecruiser]

I respectfully disagree with you.

 

Actually, you don't disagree with him (her?).....you agree that it is a social event for him. You just don't share his viewpoint.

 

(Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine when people say they disagree with someone's statement of a personal preference. You can't disagree that I like something, only say you don't share my view.)

[Aquahound]

On P&O at least, there is an unwritten convention that two adjacent tables are disctinctly separate tables and conversation isn't necessarily expected.

 

I don't get it. :confused: If it's unwritten, how do P&O passengers specifically know not to talk to each other?

[Floridiana]

I don't get it. :confused: If it's unwritten, how do P&O passengers specifically know not to talk to each other?

 

No eye contact after a brief 'good evening'. Body language ... stiff upper lip ;).

[Warm Breezes]

I like the 8-10 person tables. Sometimes there are multiple conversations going on, pick the couples you'd prefer to talk to. It's also not difficult to carry on a private conversation if your tablemates talk loudly or excitedly enough. But, dinner on a cruise ship is a social thing for me. It's not a time to stuff my gullet before hiding in my cabin. I meet people I want to go to the bars with, continue conversation with, pick the brains of, or go gamble with later.

So, like someone mentioned earlier, if you want privacy, go to a specialty restaurant or reconsider cruising altogether. 2 person tables in the MDR kind of defeat some of the purpose in my opinion.

 

Actually, you don't disagree with him (her?).....you agree that it is a social event for him. You just don't share his viewpoint.

 

(Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine when people say they disagree with someone's statement of a personal preference. You can't disagree that I like something, only say you don't share my view.)

 

No actually I was disagreeing with what he/she said that is highlighted because my opinion is different than his. He was stating that because we prefer a private 2 top table, that the MDR and even cruising might not be for us...because in his opinion 2 person tables defeat the purpose of a MDR. That statement was not about personal preference on how we dine...it was a statement that my preference was not what the MDR was supposed to about (in his opinion) so I should choose to either eat somewhere else or choose another type of vacation. I disagree with that statement. I have no problem with people who cruise to socialize but that is not the only reason people choose to cruise.