Traveling with 14 family members - suggestions please

[workermom]

Sailing on the Coral - south bound from Whittier with 14 family members (12 adults 2 kids). Need suggestions on how to handle our ATD - can we make reservations for a large group? We have the free specialty dinning offer - my TA Says I have to wait until we board to reserve our specialt dining - will it be an issue reserving one restaurant for all 14 of us? Any other suggestions from any of you that have traveled with a large family group would be greatly appreciated! 10 of the 14 have never cruised before. Thanks in advance!

Linda

[Cruiser411]

Sailing on the Coral - south bound from Whittier with 14 family members (12 adults 2 kids). Need suggestions on how to handle our ATD - can we make reservations for a large group? We have the free specialty dinning offer - my TA Says I have to wait until we board to reserve our specialt dining - will it be an issue reserving one restaurant for all 14 of us? Any other suggestions from any of you that have traveled with a large family group would be greatly appreciated! 10 of the 14 have never cruised before. Thanks in advance!

Linda

 

They don't have tables that large, so you'll have to get two close together. Rotate each night and you'll be able to sit with everyone throughout the cruise.

 

For that large of party, book the specialty restaurant early (first day early!). The biggest table I've seen in a specialty restaurant is for 8.

[Pam in CA]

My suggestion is to see the Maitre d' after boarding. He'll be taking dining requests/changes which aren't unusual. Explain that you have the large group and ask for his assistance. He may be able to arrange for 2-3 tables near each other at the same time every night. Make sure all your bookings are cross-referenced.

 

Trying to seat everyone every night if you don't have it pre-arranged could be very difficult. Service is usually very slow with tables for eight plus it's difficult for everyone to chat with each other. You are far better off having 2-3 tables and switching around.

[RNGALNG]

Sailing on the Coral - south bound from Whittier with 14 family members (12 adults 2 kids). Need suggestions on how to handle our ATD - can we make reservations for a large group? We have the free specialty dinning offer - my TA Says I have to wait until we board to reserve our specialt dining - will it be an issue reserving one restaurant for all 14 of us? Any other suggestions from any of you that have traveled with a large family group would be greatly appreciated! 10 of the 14 have never cruised before. Thanks in advance!

Linda

 

For your every day dining, I think they only have table tops large enough to take 10. You might have to sit at two tables close by each other. Also you might check with the maitre de to see what accommodations can be made for your large group. Do this as soon as you board.

 

For your specialty dinging event, get to the restaurant of your choice as soon as you board to reserve so there is room for all of you. They may be able to accommodate a large party if they know in advance.

 

Again, all this must be done as soon as you get onboard. Knowing what time and day you wish to dine and where will also be helpful. For your special night, have a couple choices so you have back up instead of having to gather everyone together again to pick a second date.

 

Happy cruising!

[workermom]

Thank you!

[NavyVeteran]

With a group of 14, I would strongly recommend trying to change to traditional fixed dining. If it's too late to be confirmed, get on the wait list and try to switch when you're onboard.

 

I traveled with a family group of 13 on an Alaska cruise with traditional early dining. They assigned us two tables (8 and 6) next to each other with the same waiter. We switched between the two tables each night. It worked great.

 

The waiters treated the one child in our group like royalty.

 

The evening meal was the one time each day when our entire group was together. During the day - on the ship or on shore - we were divided into various subgroups.

[workermom]

Appreciate your information!

[eandj]

With a group of 14, I would strongly recommend trying to change to traditional fixed dining. If it's too late to be confirmed, get on the wait list and try to switch when you're onboard.

 

I traveled with a family group of 13 on an Alaska cruise with traditional early dining. They assigned us two tables (8 and 6) next to each other with the same waiter. We switched between the two tables each night. It worked great.

 

The waiters treated the one child in our group like royalty.

 

The evening meal was the one time each day when our entire group was together. During the day - on the ship or on shore - we were divided into various subgroups.

 

There were 16 in our two family cruises. Three generations. We did the same. We had wonderful servers who really catered to our needs and we had just the best time during dinners. I can't see it being as memorable without the familiarity of the same staff greeting us every night "traditionally."

[Thrak]

My suggestion is to see the Maitre d' after boarding. He'll be taking dining requests/changes which aren't unusual. Explain that you have the large group and ask for his assistance. He may be able to arrange for 2-3 tables near each other at the same time every night. Make sure all your bookings are cross-referenced.

 

Trying to seat everyone every night if you don't have it pre-arranged could be very difficult. Service is usually very slow with tables for eight plus it's difficult for everyone to chat with each other. You are far better off having 2-3 tables and switching around.

 

Please do as Pam suggests above. It can make getting things done as a group so very much easier.

[RMM34667]

Not dining related, but I would recommend downloading the princess app before you go. It is great to communicate while onboard. It is great to know where people are hanging out instead of walking all over the ship.

[XBGuy]

The only time I've been involved with something like this was before the days of "Anytime Dining,"--"Traditional Dining" was the only way anybody dined on a cruise ship. We were a party of ten with threee generations. On embarkation day we made a beeline to the dining room and explained the situation to the Maitre d'. He was very gracious and arranged for tables to be moved together to accommodate the ten of us for our dinner seating.

 

The other thing we did, and maybe this is obvious, was to agree that we were all on our own until dinner time. At dinner we would exchange stories of what we did all day.

 

Good luck. Have a great cruise.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The only time I've been involved with something like this was before the days of "Anytime Dining,"--"Traditional Dining" was the only way anybody dined on a cruise ship. We were a party of ten with threee generations. On embarkation day we made a beeline to the dining room and explained the situation to the Maitre d'. He was very gracious and arranged for tables to be moved together to accommodate the ten of us for our dinner seating.

 

The other thing we did, and maybe this is obvious, was to agree that we were all on our own until dinner time. At dinner we would exchange stories of what we did all day.

 

Good luck. Have a great cruise.

 

The not-joined-at-the-hip approach is usually a good idea. It's good if this is discussed before the cruise. There could be a couple that wants to have a quiet private dinner or some people who want a specific excursion in a port that others just want to sightsee in. Just for our family of three, on our last cruise we were often doing our own thing (hubby might go to the gym and work out while I'm at a hula class and our teen was hanging out with her peers. My hubby and I would eat dinner together (and sometimes our daughter would join us...we had traditional so she knew when and where we're eating) and the three of us would be together off the ship (but we did have a family meeting before the cruise to decide what we're doing in the ports).

[cowgrrl]

Not dining related, but I'd highly recommend getting some whiteboards for your cabin doors & give everyone a whiteboard marker. Makes it so much easier when you can jot down 'Headed to the port talk. Back about 5' on the door instead of trying to track people down or tape notes. We used them on our last cruise & it was really handy.

 

Dollar Tree normally has cute ones shaped like animals. We have some bluebird ones.

[caribill]

Not dining related, but I would recommend downloading the princess app before you go. It is great to communicate while onboard. It is great to know where people are hanging out instead of walking all over the ship.

 

No app is needed to use Princess@sea Intranet features such as messaging.