Seating times

[Deafcruise]

Hi,

 

We are very confused with seating timing. It’s 5:30 or 8pm or flexible. 

 

Hot it sure which is best for us?

 

we prefer table for two as I don’t want my husband having to interpret the conversation as it’s our time. It can be quite difficult seating with strangers if we cannot communicate. Don’t want any awkward moments. 

 

Suggestions would be very welcomed. 

 

Many thanks. 

 

Jeff 

[GUT2407]

We have never had an issue getting a table for two. We have found early dining harder to get booked but that may vary cruise to cruise. we have pretty much converted to MTD but ask for the same waiters area, and probably get it 99% of the time, in fact over 35 nights one cruise we only had two different wait teams, in adjacent areas so they talked about our preferences and we were well taken care of

[Clarea]

2 hours ago, Deafcruise said:

Hi,

 

We are very confused with seating timing. It’s 5:30 or 8pm or flexible. 

 

Hot it sure which is best for us?

 

we prefer table for two as I don’t want my husband having to interpret the conversation as it’s our time. It can be quite difficult seating with strangers if we cannot communicate. Don’t want any awkward moments. 

 

Suggestions would be very welcomed. 

 

Many thanks. 

 

Jeff 

 

If you opt for My Time (flexible), you will get a table for two.

[Balsam12]

3 hours ago, Deafcruise said:

 It can be quite difficult seating with strangers if we cannot communicate. Don’t want any awkward moments. 

We are pretty sociable when on holidays... we like talking to other people about their experiences and finding out how their trip is going.

 

Having said that, we were a bit apprehensive about being stuck at a dinner table for two hours with people who were not as sociable.

 

For our first cruise, we actually had friends on the same cruise (not booked with us, just randomly happened to be on the same cruise) so we dined with them most of the time. We all had MTD. On one night, our friends did their own thing, so we reserved a dining time, and were asked if we were happy to share a table. We decided that for one night, we would be happy to share.

 

It turned out to be a wonderful dinner with some lovely people.

 

Discussing it later, we worked it out... we were worried about being seated with unsociable people. We then realised that unsociable people would have requested a table for two, not a shared table.

 

From this, we have decided that on our next cruise, we will request a shared table if we are dining in the MDR. We may not have such a good time, but it is only for one night with those dinner companions, so not a huge issue. The next night, we will probably be with a completely different set of dinner companions, and the conversation will be completely new. We purchase the three night dining package, so have at least three nights on our own, and if shared tables get too much, can request a table for two with MTD.

 

The upshot of my post is that if you are on holiday to meet people as well as see sights, go for a shared table. If you prefer to dine with only your partner, ask for a table for two. Just be aware that a table for two might have only two inches separation from the next "table for two".

[Deafcruise]

3 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

If you opt for My Time (flexible), you will get a table for two.

Useful thanks useful thanks 

[Deafcruise]

3 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

If you opt for My Time (flexible), you will get a table for two.

Great thanks 🙂

[awestover89]

3 hours ago, Balsam12 said:

Discussing it later, we worked it out... we were worried about being seated with unsociable people. We then realised that unsociable people would have requested a table for two, not a shared table.

 

The only caveat to that is if they don't know they can make such requests, especially first time cruisers. My husband and I generally prefer shared tables, but out first cruise we were seated at a 6 top with a family of 4 who didn't speak the best English. They were just constantly yelling at us and the waitstaff "Not our family" "Not together" "Not with us", etc. The head waiter ended up moving us to a different table and we had great conversations with them.

 

There was only one other cruise where we had bad table mates, and that was just because one couple insisted on talking about nothing but politics, and their opinions were generally insane, to the point that they started yelling at the waiter because he didn't have or wouldn't express an opinion on American politics (the waiter who's nametag clearly showed he was from Asia)

 

All of our other cruises we really enjoyed our table mates and the conversations we had