dining with others

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, nolatravelgirl said:

I think there is a big difference where in the past you were assigned a table and time where you were stuck with that table for the remainder of the cruise. I have cruised on some of the luxury lines where they will ask if you want to sit with others. That didn't mean you were stuck with that group for the whole cruise nor was it always huge tables. I have been seated with just one other couple or maybe a 6 top. It was interesting to meet other people and learn about their travels. These were also on longer cruises and it was fun to mix it up a bit. 

Yes, I agree. With the various anytime dining plans other cruise lines have instituted, there is less fear of having terrible tablemates. If you do, it is just one meal, not the entire cruise. I find it interesting to hear what others have done in the ports and to share what we have seen and done.

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, HuliHuli said:

It's entirely anecdotal @ontheweb, but on our first Windstar cruise (small yachts/ships) in July the vibe was quite different toward people eating together.  You may be on to something regarding ship size or prevailing culture of a given line.

We have never been on any ship as small as a Windstar ship. The smallest ship we were on was the former Ocean Princess with a capacity of under 700 (British Isles cruise). And it was an incredibly friendly ship as anyone you met was sociable. I even at one point when there was an ice sculpture demonstration saw an entertainer sitting at a table. I went over and said how much we enjoyed his performance and how long had he and his partner been together. He waved me over to sit by him, and we spoke for a bit. That was what the ship was like.

[luckyinpa]

in my part of the world locally ive never been asked to dine with strangers, not even when i visit NYC was i asked this so im not surprised ive never been asked to dine with strangers on any of my cruises. it would be bizarre. is there any part of the USA that does eat with strangers. i'm curious. 

 

teppanyaki is as social as i get and thats  concerted choice to do so. and yes we have places like that at home so it would be expected. 

 

it's actually bad enough when you are on a 2 top that you are less than a butt cheek away from your neighbors. who wants to see that when you slide in the back? i find that not very social at all. 

Edited November 13, 2021 by luckyinpa

[ChiefMateJRK]

11 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

is there any part of the USA that does eat with strangers

Diner on Amtrak.

[xenagurl]

Whether solo, with my husband or with friends I/we always eat alone. That's the largest reason why we tried NCL in the first place. I only do so when I'm on another line and have no choice but to dine with others.

 

I've no desire to eat with random strangers. If they were people we met on the ship and liked, that would be a different situation. However in this instance, you don't even know their names...too random for me.

 

In the time Covid-19, it's an even bigger "no-no" in my book.

Edited November 13, 2021 by xenagurl

[Altamira]

Wow. My eyes are like this emoji’s:😳right now. My husband and I have met amazing people from all over the world in our 42 cruises, in 8 different cruise lines. We’ve kept in touch with several, even visiting with a few of them over the years. Now we’re getting ready to cruise once again, post Covid. Reading here sounds like Norwegian, our 9th cruise line, might have a very different culture. 

 

It isn’t that my husband and I don’t enjoy each other’s company, but you know, we eat with each other all the rest of the time when we’re not cruising, for 50 years now! 😅We think of a cruise like a party at sea, unlike when we travel not cruising. To date we haven’t had any experiences sharing a dining table with obnoxious people.  
 

There are many, many seafaring traditions to be experienced and hopefully enjoyed while traveling by ship. With all due respect, comparing dining with other passengers on a ship to dining in town with strangers is not applicable.

 

What are you guys trying to say about NCL’s cruisers? 😁

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 minutes ago, Altamira said:

What are you guys trying to say about NCL’s cruisers? 😁

Not a thing.  I'm saying that I prefer to dine with my family.  Is it that hard to understand?

[complawyer]

im with you on this one chiefmatejrk. i dont want to eat with people i dont know

[casofilia]

I don't know if they are still set out that way but we like main dining rooms where there are bench seats round the walls and tables for 2 are set out in front of that.   I sit against the wall and my wife opposite.  Then we can eat with one or two other couples or just pass the time of day and a couple of comments.   Best of both worlds; privacy with the ability to converse.

[psac]

I haven’t seen anyone mention covid at all. Even with all the testing and 100% vax, I would still feel a little leery sitting with strangers for a whole week. We did Teppanyaki on our Breakaway cruise last month, and got there right at opening, and we (there were four of us) were very happy the other group who had the same time no-showed.  Aside from any spread concerns, we would also be worried about getting quarantined if someone else at the table did get symptoms and tested positive. 

 

In a pre-covid world, we liked both.  We met a bunch of nice couples on our many Disney cruises, some we’re still very friendly with. And we had some not so great couples. 😜. But then when we do our NCL sailings we like the different vibe of eating on our own (or just with our in laws if they travel with us) for a whole trip.  
 

Though after a whole week dining with them every night, I think my wife would’ve preferred strangers over her parents.  😁

[casofilia]

@psac

 

I would still feel a little leery sitting with strangers for a whole week.

 

That is the whole point of NCL's "Freestyle Dining", you don't have to.   When you are offered "To Share" it is for one night only.   It will probably be offered each night and you can "take it or leave it".   We sometimes do and sometimes don't.   We have even been known to say: "Yes but NOT with those sitting over there if they are waiting to share!!!"

[Altamira]

44 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Not a thing.  I'm saying that I prefer to dine with my family.  Is it that hard to understand?

😁

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, casofilia said:

@psac

 

I would still feel a little leery sitting with strangers for a whole week.

 

That is the whole point of NCL's "Freestyle Dining", you don't have to.   When you are offered "To Share" it is for one night only.   It will probably be offered each night and you can "take it or leave it".   We sometimes do and sometimes don't.   We have even been known to say: "Yes but NOT with those sitting over there if they are waiting to share!!!"

Other lines do now offer an alternative to fixed dining where you sit with the same people overnight. So with anytime dining you have that same option of sharing for just that meal. I will admit that this only started happening after NCL started freestyle.

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, Altamira said:

Wow. My eyes are like this emoji’s:😳right now. My husband and I have met amazing people from all over the world in our 42 cruises, in 8 different cruise lines. We’ve kept in touch with several, even visiting with a few of them over the years. Now we’re getting ready to cruise once again, post Covid. Reading here sounds like Norwegian, our 9th cruise line, might have a very different culture. 

 

It isn’t that my husband and I don’t enjoy each other’s company, but you know, we eat with each other all the rest of the time when we’re not cruising, for 50 years now! 😅We think of a cruise like a party at sea, unlike when we travel not cruising. To date we haven’t had any experiences sharing a dining table with obnoxious people.  
 

There are many, many seafaring traditions to be experienced and hopefully enjoyed while traveling by ship. With all due respect, comparing dining with other passengers on a ship to dining in town with strangers is not applicable.

 ONE What are you guys trying to say about NCL’s cruisers? 

 

OP here. That was so well said; I only wish that there was an emoji for standing ovation.

 

Let me give another example of why I thought our last NCL cruise which was on the Epic was the most unfriendly cruise we were ever on (and I don't know if this is typical for NCL or even the Epic). There were a lot of passengers who signed up in the cc roll call and said they would show up for a meet and greet that one of the participants set up with NCL, enough that NCL sent some officers. And then only 10 showed up; one of the no shows was even the passenger who set it up! One table of 6 were there because they had set up private tours through the roll call and had to meet to set up where they would meet for their excursions. DW, I, and one other couple had a table together, and the others realizing from my posts that DW was an art teacher quizzed her on what to see in Florence. She was of course glad to discuss art.

[ziggyuk]

10 hours ago, complawyer said:

im with you on this one chiefmatejrk. i dont want to eat with people i dont know

 

That is one of the few benefits of Covid, screens between tables at restaurants, so much better, cosy and more private 😂

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

in my part of the world locally ive never been asked to dine with strangers, not even when i visit NYC was i asked this so im not surprised ive never been asked to dine with strangers on any of my cruises. it would be bizarre. is there any part of the USA that does eat with strangers. i'm curious. 

 

 

Our local firefighters had sit down fund raising breakfasts at the firehouse, and you were seated at large tables with other people. As far as I know, no one ever had a problem with that. (Post Covid, the fundraisers are now drive throughs.)

[suometar]

20 hours ago, ontheweb said:

 

 

20 hours ago, ontheweb said:

 

 

If I may ask, what period of time did your husband grow up in Monticello, as I always have lived here. Just wondering if it is someone I might have known (small town).

My in-laws moved to Monticello when my husband was a baby (he was born in 1950). He went to Monticello High School and then to college. His parents lived on Green Street until 2010 or thereabouts.

[HuliHuli]

12 hours ago, Altamira said:

What are you guys trying to say about NCL’s cruisers? 😁

Like @ChiefMateJRKstated, I don't think I am saying anything pro or con about NCL's culture.  I think that one takeaway from this discussion is that it's YOUR choice on NCL; ditto on Windstar.  My comments were simply observations.

[poohdreaming]

To the OP - It might be that cruise that you sailed where the meet & greet was not done properly. Usually there are a large group and the person (organizer) that wanted to do the meet & greet should have shown up. In past threads, some people mentioned that the person who set it up get some types of benefits like a delivery of strawberry chocolates to their room. On my previously cruises, goodies were delivered for showing up at the meet & greet along with a note from them (a card with a list of phone numbers to contact them).

 

As for eating with strangers - that's what NCL is good for. You can dine by yourself, with your partner, or with your groups or eat with strangers (like joining other solos) from the solo group. For example, you can join the solo group for 1 night having dinner with them. Then you do not need to join them for other nights. If you do meet someone (another solo) that you do not mind having lunch/dinners, then sure you can continue on throughout the cruise. If not, then you can dine alone and it is fine to do so. They do not ask if you want to sit with anyone else.

 

Now with this covid mess, for me personally, if I do get to cruise again - I personally do not want to sit with other strangers.

[billslowsky]

13 hours ago, Altamira said:

What are you guys trying to say about NCL’s cruisers? 😁

 

Worst dining experiences we have had were on Royal.  On one, an older couple was determined to show us how to cheat their way to free drinks.  The husband drank most of his paid-for drink then deliberately snapped the stem, and the waiter replaced the drink for him.

 

On another, my wife travelled with a friend, and the women at the table interrogated them about why they were travelling without their husbands, as if that were immoral.

 

I was on a cruise on Carnival where one of the men at the table overtly hit on two of the women, I just got up and left.

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

This thread seems to confirm the trend away from dinner parties as a form of home entertainment.  Are people becoming more insular? 

[cruisemom42]

35 minutes ago, poohdreaming said:

You can dine by yourself, with your partner, or with your groups or eat with strangers (like joining other solos) from the solo group. For example, you can join the solo group for 1 night having dinner with them. Then you do not need to join them for other nights. If you do meet someone (another solo) that you do not mind having lunch/dinners, then sure you can continue on throughout the cruise. If not, then you can dine alone and it is fine to do so. They do not ask if you want to sit with anyone else.

 

So a solo cruiser is relegated to only dining with other solos?  I cruise solo and I enjoy talking with a wide range of people, solo or otherwise. 

 

Reading the responses here makes me worry a bit about my upcoming NCL cruise this summer. I love the itinerary but am I going to have a miserable time on board as a sociable solo traveler? Eleven nights is a long time to dine by myself!

 

Several people have made the comment that it is "odd" to dine with others -- but it has been traditional on most cruise ships other than NCL since the start of cruising and for many it is an enjoyable part of cruising. And it's one of the things that makes cruising nice for a solo -- I don't have to dine alone every night as I might when traveling by myself on land. 😕

 

I (partially) understand the wish to not get stuck with a tableful of people for the entire duration of a cruise, but most cruise lines offer some version of anytime dining now and most offer a chance to share a table or not. I've cruised on many lines and NCL is really the first one where a majority of people are unwilling to share a table.

 

 

[complawyer]

cruisemom42: isnt what you're stating one of the risks of traveling solo? while i have previously stated i prefer to only dine with people i know, i absolutely hate to dine by myself. if i'm meeting someone, i wont even go into a restaurant to be seated until the person i'm meeting arrives. (i know, its a little paranoia) 

 

probably the only time i might actually talk to someone i dont know, is if we're in a sushi bar, and they ask about what i'm having, or i might ask them what they're having

 

however, i do understand your position. 11 days is a long time to sit by yourself. if we were on this same cruise, i'd invite you to join us.

 

i'm sure that you will find enough other friendly solo's to make your cruise  and your meals enjoyable

[Altamira]

1 hour ago, HuliHuli said:

14 hours ago, Altamira said:

What are you guys trying to say about NCL’s cruisers? 😁

Like @ChiefMateJRKstated, I don't think I am saying anything pro or con about NCL's culture.  I think that one takeaway from this discussion is that it's YOUR choice on NCL; ditto on Windstar.  My comments were simply observations.

 

The question was obviously posed in jest. 😁

 

Between Sept 2008 through Sept 2019 we’ve spent 523 nights at sea, including two 11-nights on Windstar, and a 49-nights and a 78-nights on HAL. As far as I’m aware, in not one of those were guests ever forced to share a table against their preference, nor frankly would that likely even be posible. There have been, and continue to be, optional set times in the main dining restaurants on some cruise lines but there are always choices on table sizes, principally for two, four, six and eight.  Also there invariably are options to eat at other venues besides the main dining room’s set times.

 

On the smallest cruise ships we’ve sailed, of 332 and 100 passengers (Paul Gauguin and Silver Galapagos), the availability of dining options are of course very limited. But even then I would bet that a request for a separate table for one or two would be accommodated.
 

I can only imagine how much fun it would be to have to share a table with people who don’t want to be there but are forced to be. 😅
 

 

[HuliHuli]

3 minutes ago, Altamira said:

The question was obviously posed in jest. 😁

In your opinion...😪