Club Class dining no longer Shared tables

[getting older slowly]

Hi All,

Just off the Golden, and Club Class has now mainly gone to tables of two, compared to February this year when is was mainly shared table of six.

We ask the  Maître d  and were told that this was because most people wanted to dine alone.

 

As the cruise was in Australian waters, is this only an Australian thing ?

 

Ps the condition of the ship is Ok very similar to it was in Feb except new carpets, new astro turf on upper decks and a new look sabitini's

 

Cheers Don 

  

[Colo Cruiser]

It's been normal on our last 3 cruises. 3 different ships.

No changes.

 

[OCruisers]

If you come into CC with other CC friends, they will certainly seat you together if you wish.  No Problem!  

[Potstech]

This is why even though we have a CC minisuite on our next cruise we will not eat there. We enjoy sharing and meeting other people.

[kenexx]

Love the sound of that. Intensely dislike sharing with people I don’t know.  

[Potstech]

At least there used to be a choice. Now there is not.

[Hlitner]

We are also not fans of CC because of the predominance of 2-tops and problems for those that enjoy sharing large tables with others (it is a great way to make new friends and socialize).  On our recent Regal cruise we also noticed an interesting issue with Club Class.  DW and I normally would go to open sitting dinner around 7:45.  Since the Concerto Dining room is available for open sitting after 7:30, we would simply go into that dining room and never had to wait more then a few seconds (this is helped by wanting to share larger tables).  At that same time we would notice there was often a significant line for those waiting to get into CC (which is also in the Concerto DR).   DW noted that this made little sense since those in CC (pay extra money with the idea that they will have no waiting lines for dinner.   We will happily book CC once they get their own galley, chef, and menu.  For now we just do not see any reason to pay more for basically the same menu.  I do see some advantage to CC for those preferring to dine at earlier times (such as around the 6:30-7 rush) but for late diners there is just not much advantage.

 

Hank

[compozer]

We have done many CC sailings and no one has ever asked if we want to share.   The first night they ask how many and after that, they do not ask.   We are always given a table for 4.

 

[1025cruise]

On 11/21/2018 at 9:40 PM, Potstech said:

This is why even though we have a CC minisuite on our next cruise we will not eat there. We enjoy sharing and meeting other people.

Please excuse my ignorance, but isn't the CC dining area your assigned dining area? If so, if you don't eat there, do you forego the MDR? 

[panoramaofthepast]

We prefer traditional seating for dinner, so even though we are in a CC mini, we are set up for late seating at a large table. Our Princess planner set it up that way, though it did take some coaxing the first time we did it. We use CC dining for breakfasts and lunch - works for us. 

[Colo Cruiser]

2 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

Please excuse my ignorance, but isn't the CC dining area your assigned dining area? If so, if you don't eat there, do you forego the MDR? 

No, anytime is the main/default dining for Club Class diners.

They can go to either.

[Mike45LC]

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 9:46 PM, kenexx said:

Love the sound of that. Intensely dislike sharing with people I don’t know.  

I love being at a table for 8.  Meeting new people, discussing the excursions they were on that day (or planned to be on the next day), the happenings on the ship (activities and shows) that we might not have gone to (or that we did go to and might have different perspectives on), …  

 

But I am glad that we all can get what we want.  Ken, I say potato, you say potato -- doesn't work well when typed!!

 

[geoherb]

When we had CC dining, eating at tables for two was one of the drawbacks. We did meet folks at Sabatini's during breakfast and joined them a couple of nights at the table for six. And a couple of times, we were seated at one of the tables for two that was close enough for us to talk with others we had met at Sabatini's during breakfast. But I'd prefer if they had a couple of large shared tables for those of us who'd like to share. That said, we probably won't be eating in CC dining again. 

[getting older slowly]

 

As Mike said why not both.

 

I can't see why they cannot offer tables of 6, for one is saves floor space.

I did notice since there are more tables for two the area of club class has grown.

 

I well wait and see on our next cruise in Feb 2019, and we like meeting new peoples as well

 

Cheers Don

[cr8tiv1]

I was on the Caribbean Princess (CC) and the window tables were all set for twos.  They were so close it was like sharing (okay with me).

 

 I was ont he Golden Princess (CC) and all of the window tables were set for 4's and 6's.  Occasionally, the larger tables would be used by a couple.

 

I preferred the Caribbean set up.  It allowed me to dine "alone" yet with pleasant neighbors to chat with.  

[nukesubsailor]

We like Club Class dining.  If we are cruising with friends we get a table that will let us dine together.  If we are cruising alone we get a table for two.  We tried dining at a large table with strangers and had bad luck.  One woman was such a social butterfly that she immediately started to interrogate everyone else at the table.  She kept that up and never even looked at her menu. When the waiter came to take our diner order she asked him to come back in a few minutes as she had not yet decided what she wanted. Then she continued to talk rather than look at her menu.  It was that way throughout the entire meal---always delayed because of her. 

 

[CruisingWalter]

On 11/21/2018 at 8:51 PM, getting older slowly said:

Hi All,

Just off the Golden, and Club Class has now mainly gone to tables of two, compared to February this year when is was mainly shared table of six.

We ask the  Maître d  and were told that this was because most people wanted to dine alone.

 

As the cruise was in Australian waters, is this only an Australian thing ?

 

Ps the condition of the ship is Ok very similar to it was in Feb except new carpets, new astro turf on upper decks and a new look sabitini's

 

Cheers Don 

  

 

Sailing Crown Princess now and they have a combination of tables for 2 or shared.  One long row of tables for 2 are along a bench and we all generally end up chatting during dinner.

[PoohUnderstands]

Interesting comments.  On all our CC dining experiences, there were at least 2-3 tables for 4 and at least one table for 6.  Yes, most are for two, but in many cases can be pushed together as a table for 4.  I find that if you want to converse with others, then just get the middle table for two along the wall, and then you can, if you want, speak to the couple on each side of you, and right there you have a table for 6 like in traditional!  Also, if you meet up with a couple you enjoy, you can always coordinate dinner times with them and have a wonderful traditional experience at anytime!  One cruise we did that and our wait staff held "our" table for 4 each night for us!

 

Pooh

[c-boy]

4 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

We like Club Class dining.  If we are cruising with friends we get a table that will let us dine together.  If we are cruising alone we get a table for two.  We tried dining at a large table with strangers and had bad luck.  One woman was such a social butterfly that she immediately started to interrogate everyone else at the table.  She kept that up and never even looked at her menu. When the waiter came to take our diner order she asked him to come back in a few minutes as she had not yet decided what she wanted. Then she continued to talk rather than look at her menu.  It was that way throughout the entire meal---always delayed because of her. 

 

 

Ya but how often does that happen.

[nukesubsailor]

1 hour ago, c-boy said:

 

Ya but how often does that happen.

That happened once.  The pervert who would not take his eyes off my wife's bosom happened once.  Being seated with the Asians who would not or could not speak happened once.  Those irritating or uncomfortable events were 3 strikes so now dining at a table with strangers is out.

[Reader0108598]

21 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

We like Club Class dining.  If we are cruising with friends we get a table that will let us dine together.  If we are cruising alone we get a table for two.  We tried dining at a large table with strangers and had bad luck.  One woman was such a social butterfly that she immediately started to interrogate everyone else at the table.  She kept that up and never even looked at her menu. When the waiter came to take our diner order she asked him to come back in a few minutes as she had not yet decided what she wanted. Then she continued to talk rather than look at her menu.  It was that way throughout the entire meal---always delayed because of her. 

Last time we shared a table had a couple come to the table nightly paw through the bread basket,take as many rolls as they wanted drop the rest back in and just sit there never spoke...the rest of us would just stare at each other in disbelief...lol

21 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

 

 

[antmaril]

My cousin and I will be on the Regal in January.  Our mini suite was reclassified as a CC mini after I booked it, so we received a free upgrade.  I know we will not want to dine at a table for two every night of that seven day cruise.  So, our plan is to do Anytime Dining on those nights we would like to share a table.   Sometimes it is nice to meet people and talk about our day or our plans for the next day.  

[Hlitner]

Oh my!  Reading some of these posts make me think that we should never share a table :).  But here is a contrarian point of view.  We love sharing tables and have been doing it for over 45 years of extensive cruising.  Over the years we have likely shared over 1000 tables on cruise ships and would estimate that maybe 20 were not fun.  Most of the time we meet interesting folks, sometimes make new friends (some have remained friends for over 35 years) and have a lot fun.  I dine with DW every day of the year (for a lot of years) so a table for 2 is certainly familiar and sometimes romantic.  But sharing a table with 2, 4, 6 or more strangers or newly made friends is always an adventure.  Now that most cruise lines offer an Open Sitting option, sharing is even a better bet.  If you get a lousy table it is only for one meal.  And when you find new friends you can arrange to dine with them on other evenings.  In fact, on some of our long cruises (we are talking weeks and months) we often form our own table after a few days..but even that can change as folks decide to dine in alternative restaurants or perhaps join a different group for a day...or even have an occasional 2 top dinner.

 

On our most recent cruise (Regal Princess) we had a fascinating conversation at a table of 8 strangers...about sharing tables.  The topic was about how many younger cruisers (we are talking under 40) do not know how to act at a larger table with strangers.  The theory is that these folks do most of their socializing on social media and are completely uncomfortable when having to deal with strangers on a face-to-face basis.  Socializing is indeed a learned skill which might be lost to many of the younger generations.  Consider that when I was growing up, our family at dinner together nearly every night (as did our friends).  But  today, many families seldom get together for family dinners because everyone is on their own schedule (we see this with our DD and Grandson).  

 

Hank

[jagsfan]

10 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

 

Accidentally hit quote, when I meant to just reply!

I agree with Hank, over the years sharing tables has greatly enhanced our cruises. 

Even when we were a little taken aback by the demographics of the table, we’ve wound up thoroughly enjoying our meals. 

I booked Club Class because of the port intensive nature of our next cruise so that we would neither have to arrive at the MDR at a set time or endure long waits for Anytime Dining. 

I do hope that we will be able to enjoy conversation with our meals as we always have in the past. 

 

Edited November 25, 2018 by jagsfan
Senior moment

[PoohUnderstands]

If you like to be sociable at dinner all you really need is one other couple, two at the most.  You can find this in CC dining.  I found by doing this myself and observing around me, many people at a two table were talking with those around them.  Having CC dining does not mean putting a bubble around yourselves and not interacting with others.  We were on a 14 day cruise and I saw by the 2nd, third, night, several couples sitting at the same two tables and conversing away each night.  Might I also add, since there in CC breakfast and lunch when available, a lot of times you see the same people of course and can even have a nice conversation at these meals too if you and they are so inclined.

 

Pooh