How long do you wait for tablemates?

[skittl1321]

There is a thread on the RCCL boards about being accountable to tablemates- do you tell them if you aren't going to be there. The answers seem to be split- some tell them if they know ahead of time, others make a point to tell dining room waiters the day of if plans change, other's don't mention it at all. (I lean towards saying something if I know ahead of time, but not going out of my way to make it known if my plans change last minute)

 

But most people are saying that they tell their tablemates if they aren't there within 15 minutes of the seating beginning they won't be coming.

 

How long do waiters wait for the table to be sat? Fifteen minutes seems like a long time to even think about starting the dinner service. Five seems more reasonable to me. Or does it usually take that fifteen minutes to get everyone into the dining room, so it won't seem like a wait? While waiting for the rest of your table, will the waiter bring drinks?

 

I'd love if someone will clear this up for me!

[Charming01]

This is something I never thought of. Good question! I will look forward to people's responses as well.

[NCTribeFan]

I don't recall our waiters ever NOT going ahead and getting those present started on their meals.

 

On the Fantasy in 2004, we were at a round table for 9. After the 1st night, the rest of the folks (3 couples) never showed again. So there we were, me and 2 high-school grads.

 

The past two cruises, we were at tables for 6. We'd always end up talking about our plans for the next day, but I don't think any of us ever missed a meal in the dining room!

 

This time, we'll have a supper club and I plan to eat there one night. I'll definitely tell our tablemates and wait staff know which night we'll be in the supper club so we don't hold up anyone else's dinner.

 

Great suggestion! Glad you started this thread!

[LHP]

The few times that we have had tablemates, we have waited 5 minutes.... which gave us time to look over the menus, introduce ourselves to the waiters etc....

 

Then we go ahead and order.....

[luckycruzer]

waits about 5 minutes after all are seated..thatz fair!..I'm ready to get it on with my knife n fork!

[SilverDewdrops]

Most of our cruises have been with tablemates that we know. So we haven't really worried about if they show up or not. We were with them so we know one way or the other. On the cruises we have taken with tablemates we were not travelling with; if we were sociable after the first night then we might wait on them for a few minutes. One cruise no other couple at our table was sociable...though I tried...so I didn't really care if I waited for them or not. It was as if we were all having our separate dinners at the same table anyway so why wait?

[trock]

The few times that we have had tablemates, we have waited 5 minutes.... which gave us time to look over the menus, introduce ourselves to the waiters etc....

 

Then we go ahead and order.....

 

Us either.. The one time we sat with people we didnt know.. they were not very friendly... our waiter always began with whomever was there first

[TheDINGOateMyBaybay!]

I hope this isn't considered rude, but we have never waited for tablemates. If we happen to know the day before that we weren't going to be there for some reason then of course we'd mention it. But if it is spur of the moment, I wouldn't make a trip to the dining roon just to let them know. If we had really hit it of in the beginning, I am sure that we would call their rooms and invite them to whatever we were doing ourselves....

[caribbean dreams]

Thank goodness we have never had tablemates that constantly showed up late. Everyone has always been on time.

We always let our tablemates know if we will not be dining the next evening so they will not we waiting for no shows.

[LetsSailAway]

I've always had waiters who have started taking care of us when we arrive, without waiting for tablemates to arrive. If they do arrive late, the waiter somehow gets them caught up to whatever course we might be on, if they're late enough to be that far behind!

 

I had some very rude tablemates last year on the Imagination though. I was traveling alone and got stuck with the early sitting. The first night there were 5 of us at a table for 8. Three of the people were traveling together and they told us and the waiter that they were switching to the late sitting starting the next day. Then on the last night of the cruise they decided they wanted to eat early and party the rest of the night, so they came in and sat at our table since there were still empty chairs there. Talk about rude! I could tell the waiter wanted to kick them out but I'm sure he didn't want to jeopardize any tips so he just welcomed them and served them.

[nanfromatlanta]

I think that waiting 15 minutes should be the maximum time to wait for others to be seated before ordering. As a common courtesy, we always let our tablemates and wait staff know if we will not be using the dining room, so that they do not wait for us.

[bostonlager]

There is a thread on the RCCL boards about being accountable to tablemates- do you tell them if you aren't going to be there. The answers seem to be split- some tell them if they know ahead of time, others make a point to tell dining room waiters the day of if plans change, other's don't mention it at all. (I lean towards saying something if I know ahead of time, but not going out of my way to make it known if my plans change last minute)

 

But most people are saying that they tell their tablemates if they aren't there within 15 minutes of the seating beginning they won't be coming.

 

How long do waiters wait for the table to be sat? Fifteen minutes seems like a long time to even think about starting the dinner service. Five seems more reasonable to me. Or does it usually take that fifteen minutes to get everyone into the dining room, so it won't seem like a wait? While waiting for the rest of your table, will the waiter bring drinks?

 

I'd love if someone will clear this up for me!

 

We will usually tell the staff and tablemates if we plan to skip the dinner the next night, but sometimes stuff just happens and you don't show up.

 

I think that if your tablemates are late, there is no reason to wait more than a few minutes- odds are, they just decided to skip eating in the dining room.

[sportsterjohn]

I mention it in advance if I am planning on not being there. I don't however go out of my way to nofiy anyone if I decide to miss dinner on a spur of the moment thing. As far as waiting for table mates. If I am at a smaller table (4-6 people) I will wait about 15 min to see if the others are going to show.

[mom&me_cruising]

For our last cruise we were at a table for 4 and our table mates only showed up twice. They showed up first night right on time but the husband was feeling sea sick and left, while DH and I missed them because I was a little confused as to the dinner time and we showed up about 5 - 10 minutes late. :o The second night we all showed up on time, had a wonderful time chatting with them, and at the end I told them that we have reservations to go to super club on the third night, so not to expect us. Well, we obviously were not good company because they told us they would not want to dress up to come to the dining room for the rest of the cruise. :( Our head waitress kind of knew also that the other couple were not going to show up, so she would just serve us when we sat down.

[jetskier]

5-10 minutes is the general rule of thumb. If they are not seated by the time water/tea and rolls are passed out, the waiters will go ahead and start taking orders. I always let my waiter know if I am not coming to dinner the next night. Usually I will have a tablemate tell me that they are not coming to dinner so I can pass it on to the waiter.

 

I have had people show up as late as when the salad is being served. You can tell the waiter was annoyed by it as it throws their routine out of whack.

 

Dave

[Max Circus]

On prior cruises, I would let the waiter know if I planned to go to one of the speciality restaurants on certain nights.

 

Things always can happen and you may have an unplanned abscence from the main dining room. When I had tablemates who didn't show up initially, I found the waiter took the lead by asking for our orders within a few minutes. I didn't find it rude to do that.

[snorkelman]

I take my cue from the waiter. If he hands me the menu, I look at it. When he comes to take my order, I order.

[Pegs222]

I have never heard of waiting for everyone to get there. The waiter just comes over and starts taking our orders. We did tell our waiter that we would not be there on the last night, we went to a Luau. I think there is a time limit on just how long they can wait especially if it is an early dinner. They need to get us out so they can re-set the table for the next dinners.

[Virgin_cruiser2007]

first cruise here..

So do you absolutly have to have table mates. i have heard some stories on having rude table mates and w/me and my b/f we are (him more than me) but we are anal about our resturant experiences. So my question do you have to have tablemates or is there possibility of having just a table for 2, or if we travel as a grp I know we will all sit together but just in case it turns out to be just us.. just wondering. I love meeting new people, but just not like that. :o

[cmsmuse]

I'm a new cruiser and was not aware of any of this other than the fact that I thought I read in the Capers for June that they would not let anyone enter the dining room 30 minutes after the start of dining time. Didn't know you had to be there exactly or close to the start...I am extremely punctual, but my family has the "late" gene. We probably have late dining, so I'll be sure to let them know that etiquette suggests they be there close to their dining time :)

[niffer03878]

We sat at a table of 8.. the first night only 1 couple showed up.. they got there about 3 mins or so after we did.. I think our waiter took our order a few mins after they sat down. The 2nd night we had the entire table to ourselves (it was quite nice). the 3rd night, everyone showed up, though it took about 15 mins for the final couple to show up and by that time most of us had finished our appitizers and were working on our salads.

 

The final night there were 6 of us and we all showed up within 5 minutes of each other and we all ate at our own speed. It was nice and our waiter, Jesus didn't rush any of us. By the last night I think he had figured out what we wanted (at least he knew what appitizers, salad and dessert my DH and I wanted :D )

[richkinkade]

I think it's reasonable to wait 10 or 15 minutes for tablemates who you're expecting to arrive, and I would never go to a specialty restaurant without mentioning to my tablemates the night before that I'd be absent. On our last cruise, we were seated at a table for 4 and the other couple assigned to the table never appeared. Even on the last night, however, the waiter wanted to wait a few minutes before taking our orders, to allow the other couple time to arrive.

[Gordonzoo]

How does the seating work? There will be The three of us sailing on the Legend this Feb. Wife, daughter(16yrs old) and Myself. Would we be seated by ourselves, at a larger table or is it our choice?