The best sized table?

[MrsKinsey]

This will be our first cruise and I'm very much looking forward to meeting and dining with a few new people.

 

So what is the best size of table to allow for conversation and getting to know your tablemates? Is it true that bigger tables can be more quiet because it is more difficult to talk to everyone?

 

What are your experiences with this?

 

Celeste

[leoandhugh]

Have never found big tables to be quiet period. usually people are yelling or talking loudly to be heard across the table. A table for 6 is my ideal for meeting, socializing and some meaningful conversation; it also helps if one couple is dullsville because chances are the other couple will be ok. Large tables also tend to slow down the service, sometimes because one couple or more will be habitually late and waiters do not like to take orders until all the passengers at that table are seated

[Druke I]

Voted for table for six, but would like to qualify that by saying we like round tables, preferably for six, but for 8 is fine.

 

If rectangular table, no more than six - with eight too hard to carry on conversations with opposite end.

[WooKeef]

I like a table for eight, what we do is rotate so every night we get a chance to visit with everyone. Of course that is if they all agree to do so. It is boring when everyone MUST sit in the same place every night!:cool: I love meeting the new people and making new friends.

Have Fun!:)

[usha]

For the last few years, DH and I have really enjoyed tables for 2. We enjoy meeting people on cruises, but at dinnertime, it's nice to have a more romantic, intimate meal. AND after almost 34 years of marriage, we're still never at a loss for stuff to talk about.:o

[SusieV]

We're with usha, except we've only been married for two years. We like to socialize on cruises, but not at mealtimes. We prefer the intimate atmosphere of a table for two.

[travelbuggie]

We always like a table for 8. If you find that there is one couple that is a problem, you still have 2 couples to enjoy. Plus more people can make the conversation more interesting and varied.

DH and I agree that we had the best group ever on our recent Summit Panama Canal cruise. We soon found that we would meet them before or after dinner for drinks or to enjoy a show. Our tablemates felt the same. Hello and thank you to the Stohs, Thiels and Karen and Betty from Nancy and Bill.:)

[Lois R]

Hi:) , as a solo cruiser I definitely prefer a large table..but

not too large.

In my opinion, an 8 top is the best.

And if everyone meshes its really fun to play musical chairs

as the week goes on....it is a very fun way to get to know each

other.

[kelmac]

For the last few years, DH and I have really enjoyed tables for 2. We enjoy meeting people on cruises, but at dinnertime, it's nice to have a more romantic, intimate meal. AND after almost 34 years of marriage, we're still never at a loss for stuff to talk about.:o

 

usha,

We are with you 100%. We love that time together to focus on the cuisine, talk about our day..., We laugh and carry on so much people often ask us if we are newlyweds.:rolleyes: :)

 

Enjoy!

Kel

[Friendly Cruiser101]

usha,

We are with you 100%. We love that time together to focus on the cuisine, talk about our day..., We laugh and carry on so much people often ask us if we are newlyweds.:rolleyes: :)

 

Enjoy!

Kel

 

:) On our last cruise we asked for a table for 6, but the other 4 people never showed up, not one night. On our 2 cruises before that we had tables for 2. We both like the smaller tables for 2 because you can enjoy each other and on X you can really enjoy the good food. The larger the table the larger the distractions.

About the waiter, waiting for late comers any good waiter will take ever one else's order and when the late comers show they know how to handle them very nicely. I have never had a waiter hold us up for someone else.

 

If you go with the larger table and you do not like the your table mates do not hastitate to ask the matre'd for another table.

 

:mad: Also I cannot believe the guy who said they switch seats each night, so they can sit next to someone different each night. This is a cruise to have fun and relax, not like camp, school or the military, where you have assigned seats. When I get to my table I just sit ware ever there is a seat opened. If I needed a camp director to tell me where to sit, I would go to camp. I do not need more rules in my life. I go on vacation to have less rules, or not more, to have no boss not a new one.

[Karynanne]

We usually cruise with friends, so our tablemates are already pre-determined. One of the great aspects of cruising is the social inter-action with like-minded people....that is people that love cruising, as much as we do! Our next 4 cruises are with friends, that we've met through cruising experiences.

 

Karyn

[Lois R]

:) On our last cruise we asked for a table for 6' date=' but the other 4 people never showed up, not one night. On our 2 cruises before that we had tables for 2. We both like the smaller tables for 2 because you can enjoy each other and on X you can really enjoy the good food. The larger the table the larger the distractions.

About the waiter, waiting for late comers any good waiter will take ever one else's order and when the late comers show they know how to handle them very nicely. I have never had a waiter hold us up for someone else.

 

If you go with the larger table and you do not like the your table mates do not hastitate to ask the matre'd for another table.

 

:mad: Also I cannot believe the guy who said they switch seats each night, so they can sit next to someone different each night. This is a cruise to have fun and relax, not like camp, school or the military, where you have assigned seats. When I get to my table I just sit ware ever there is a seat opened. If I needed a camp director to tell me where to sit, I would go to camp. I do not need more rules in my life. I go on vacation to have less rules, or not more, to have no boss not a new one.[/quote']

 

Hmmm...not sure if that last mad face was for me....:mad:

I have had tablemates where we all thought it was fun

to change seats....a nice way to get to know one another.

I wasn't meaning to get anyone angry:(

my goodness:confused:

[jaynak]

Hmmm...not sure if that last mad face was for me....:mad:

I have had tablemates where we all thought it was fun

to change seats....a nice way to get to know one another.

I wasn't meaning to get anyone angry:(

my goodness:confused:

 

Lois - if the mad face was for you - pay no heed! I agree completely with you and Mr. Mad mis-interpreted what you wrote altogether!!!! Switching seats isn't a matter of bossing anyone around - it is a lovely way to get to know everyone at the table, especially if you are at large table where it is hard to carry on one BIG conversation.

As well, on our last cruise, my parents were with us and my father is 'hard of hearing' - therefore switching seats allowed him enter into the conversation much better as he simply wouldn't have gotten anything out of the dinner conversation had he sat beside the same soft spoken person all cruise.

 

Jayna K

[Lois R]

Hi Jayna, thanks for the reply:)

 

I surely never meant to p**s anyone off.

 

Glad I am not the only one who enjoys chatting with

the tablemates. Your dad sounds a bit like mine...he is

85 and I keep having to remember....slow down and look

at him when we are talking. Of course he would said

that is not true;)

 

You are sailing on Mercury the week after me.

I will keep her in good shape:D

[MiataKath]

Hi, Lois!

 

Nice to talk with you again!!

 

With regard to table size, when we were at a table for 10 on one of our most recent cruises with Celebrity, we always found that at least one couple was totally out of the mainstream of conversation. For us, the perfect size is 8, and we love to "mix it up"......boy girl, boy girl, and laugh about it !

 

Egads, we are on vacation and love to meet other like minded cruisers!

 

Do enjoy the Mercury cruise!

 

Kind regards,

 

Don and Kathie

[Pisces11]

This upcoming cruise will be our fourth and for the first time, we asked for a table for two. It honestly gives me a headache to try to hear what people are saying when you sit at a huge table. The dining room is very noisy from people shouting so that people at the ends of the rectangular tables can hear them. On our last cruise on the Summit, the dining room was in the noisiest part of the ship. On top of the that, we had a young child sitting at the table next to ours who cried every single evening all throughout dinner. We traveled with 5 friends on the Summit and were placed at a round table but the only way we could all talk and hear each other was to switch around our seats every evening. My DH and I will have been married 34 years this year and we are looking forward to our dinners for two.

[Friendly Cruiser101]

Hi::)

 

I apologize, apologize for using the mad face. All I wanted to say is that I want less rules not more on my vacation. Our next in May is 13 nights Trans Atlantic San Juan, PR to Rome is our 10th and when we are sitting at a 6 or more table, when we arrive we just sit down at an available seat and whatever happens next is OK with me. I usually pick my seat by it's view of the dining room, and who sits next to me is fine with me.

 

Actually the open seating meals is where I find we meet and socialize with many, many people and by the end of the cruise, when you are walking thru the ship or on the elevators I am always surprised how many people I know.

 

Any way you cut it, it's all fun.

 

Again I apologize for being so grumpy in the last post.

[Sky Sweet]

When my husband and I cruise by ourselves, I prefer a table for six because they are large enough to meet new people and small enough that everyone at the table can talk to each other. Yet, when we cruise with another couple, I prefer a table for eight where we change seats every night so each person at the table has an opportunity to talk to all their table mates at some point during the cruise. The reason I prefer a table for eight when cruising with another couple is so we don't leave one couple by themselves during the nights when the four of us have dinner at the specialty restaurant.

[Pisces11]

Hi::)

 

 

Actually the open seating meals is where I find we meet and socialize with many, many people and by the end of the cruise, when you are walking thru the ship or on the elevators I am always surprised how many people I know.

 

My DH and I also like the open seating meals in the dining room for breakfast and lunch. We have always met interesting people. My very favorite was the women's prison guard who entertained us all with prison stories. My very worst was when I was seated in the dining room for breakfast and the seas were very rough. The horizon kept going up and down and up and down. I was starting to feel queasy when the waiter brought my tablemates kippers. I took one look at the dead fish and had to run out of the dining room before I got sick. The very nice lady at the table came running after me with toast which she was hoping would settle my stomach.

[newmexicoNita]

We prefer a ship that offers open seating, that way we get to meet more people, if we find someone we really are comfortable with we can choose to dine with them another night. If we end up at a table for one night with another couple that we are not compatible with, we don't have to sit with them again. When we do traditional dining we choose a table for 8. That was we will always have someone to visit with. I have heard of switching seats, but can't imagine doing that. Whether we are at a table for 6 or 8 we like a round one; hate the long tables.

 

As for chossing to dine at a table for 2, again that is where the open dining comes in; if you do want to be alone for 1 night or more you just request a table for 2 when you arrive at the restaurant. ON NCL we have always been asked if we wanted to sit with another couple or just the two of us. NMNita

[CrabbyHarper]

Table for 4 was not one of the options, but I have sat at a table for 4 on the Galaxy. The service cna be quicker, and the conversation is a lot easier.

 

On a recent 14 - day Summit cruise DH and I were at a table for 8. It was impossible for me to converse at all - I am a mite hard of hearing - and the dining room was very noisy. In addition, the service at a larger table is slow - I cannot sit for over two hours in a standard dining room chair. So after the first two nights, we did not eat in the dining room again.

[Lois R]

Hi::)

 

I apologize' date=' apologize for using the mad face. All I wanted to say is that I want less rules not more on my vacation. Our next in May is 13 nights Trans Atlantic San Juan, PR to Rome is our 10th and when we are sitting at a 6 or more table, when we arrive we just sit down at an available seat and whatever happens next is OK with me. I usually pick my seat by it's view of the dining room, and who sits next to me is fine with me.

 

Actually the open seating meals is where I find we meet and socialize with many, many people and by the end of the cruise, when you are walking thru the ship or on the elevators I am always surprised how many people I know.

 

Any way you cut it, it's all fun.

 

Again I apologize for being so grumpy in the last post.[/quote']

 

Thanks for the apology...my post was only a couple before yours

so I was thinking your mad face was directed at me.

 

I only meant to switch seats if everyone is agreeable to it:)

It would not be any fun otherwise;) and rules didn't have

anything to do with it:D ...just fun!

[usha]

Lois, who could possibly post a mad face and direct it at you???:D

[MrsKinsey]

I didn't add table for 4 as an option because I honestly didn't know it was even an option! :o Like I said, I've never cruised before and I have been gleaning all of my information from this site. I don't think I've ever heard of a table for 4 before. Sorry.

 

Celeste

[Mark_from_Plano]

We just got off a cruise and were seated at a table with a total of 11 of us. We found that it was a different experience each night. While it's true that you can't talk to everyone at the same time, we would change up the seating every night. The table will tend to break into 2 or 3 different "conversation groups" each evening, with some people floating between the groups. If the seating arrangement changes, then you have different conversation groups each evening and can have a chance to meet and converse with everyone over the course of a 7 night cruise.

 

That said, I believe that the entire world is divided in half: Big table people (BTP's) and small table people (STP's). You need to find out which you are and don't try to sit at a larger table if you are an STP. We are definitely BTP's. We enjoy meeting and getting to know new people on the cruise. It keeps us from getting old and grouchy.:)

 

As for OP's original question, I've never found a larger table to be quiet. My only guess is that whoever told you that was at a big table populated with STP's.