Would you request your own dinner table in this situation?

[grantclaire]

Sorry to hear this. some ppl are just idiots and some of them cruise with DCL unfortunately.
MDR the first night is like the opening scene of forest gump - you never know what you're gonna get.
We always joke and even have alternate plans if we were ever rejected by these types of creatures.

Thanks, we just laughed it off! The Head Server was great, he called our stateroom the next a.m. to tell us he would have a nice table for the 3 of us for the rest of the cruise. I do find the meal service is a lot quicker the fewer people at he table, lots to do on the ship so a quick dinner can be nice!

 

[TeamVazquez17]

I, personally, would request a private table given any situation. While I enjoy meeting others on cruises and other vacations and, perhaps, meeting up to do an activity or one meal, I really don't want to eat with strangers every single evening.

I agree I like to protect my family on vacation unless we know someone else.

 

[darnheather]

I sail with my two children and I like having table mates. It takes the pressure off me to entertain them and while one family was a perfect match for us and another was just ok it has been nice both times.

 

[Numtini]

This raises a related question for us. My daughter is very chatty and social, but she wears a hearing aid. In loud situations, including noisy restaurants, it can be tough for her to follow a conversation. Obviously, we're used to this, but in wondering how loud the dining rooms usually are. If reasonably loud, I'll request a private table, so it's easier for her--fewer people to follow and sitting closer to her. Thoughts?

Based on our experience on the Fantasy, I would say very loud, particularly given the relatively size of the tables. It was hard to really have a real conversation, particularly with people you don't know.

We had requested our own table and didn't get one and have done so again for next month, but we're three, and I think that may be harder to accommodate than an even number. We're a same sex couple with a child and were seated with a nice couple and their daughter which was fine, but I do have the feeling that eventually we're going to "hit the lottery" and have someone freak out.

 

[owensamo]

This raises a related question for us. My daughter is very chatty and social, but she wears a hearing aid. In loud situations, including noisy restaurants, it can be tough for her to follow a conversation. Obviously, we're used to this, but in wondering how loud the dining rooms usually are. If reasonably loud, I'll request a private table, so it's easier for her--fewer people to follow and sitting closer to her. Thoughts?

I have mostly sailed the classic ships, and find the dining rooms can be loud - sometimes loud enough that I have problems hearing the servers or the person next to/across from me. There are a lot of people in a small amount of space, and they're all talking. I don't know that a private table will help that much, as the tables are often very close together with little spacing between them - so while you may only have your party at your table, she could be close to a number of other of people at other tables. You may be better off requesting a quiet table (perhaps with a note as to why) - which may or may not include additional cruisers, depending on the dining room layout that cruise.

Something else I'd recommend in your case would be to go to the dining change location listed on the navigator when you board, and speak with the head waiter. Explain your concern and make sure the table in all the dining rooms will work for your party. They will be best able to know where your table will be located (and we've had corner/edge table numbers in one restaurant be right in the middle of the dining room in others) and be able to move you if necessary to ensure your family has a great dining experience.

 

[Numtini]

Explain your concern and make sure the table in all the dining rooms will work for your party. They will be best able to know where your table will be located (and we've had corner/edge table numbers in one restaurant be right in the middle of the dining room in others) and be able to move you if necessary to ensure your family has a great dining experience.

That is a fantastic idea!!!!

 

[ctc917]

My friend and I have cruised together a few times and on our first cruise we were seated at a table with 2 other couples, one that was older than us by quite a few years and one that was about the same age as my friend and I. We had a great time and we really enjoyed seeing them around the ship and getting to know them on our cruise. So when we booked out second cruise we thought what the heck it worked out so well the last time we will let Disney place us at a table again. On our first night we found our table and it was us and 2 younger women from Japan who spoke no English at all. We decided to stay with our table mates because it was like eating alone anyway because we really couldn't talk with them except for a few words of English that we found out they did know as the week progressed. We are planning a cruise in the near future and I'm not sure what to do, ask to sit alone or try again for table mates, I have found that sometimes its a crap shoot.

 

[MillauFr]

We were a bit apprehensive at first when our family of 3 was seated with a family of 5 on our cruise last May from San Diego to Vancouver. We are from Seattle and they were from Alabama. It ended working out great. They were awesome and we got along great with them. My wife is on Facebook with them all the time and we traded Christmas cards. I wish we could go on another cruise with them.

 

[grantclaire]

Hi, on our cruise on the Fantasy Feb 2018 it was just my Wife and I, we were placed at a table with 2 other couples and it worked out great! We were all around the same age, Gold members and the 3 men were all big hockey fans! It was nice meeting these people!

 

[jenmiller114]

We have had great luck with having table mates. We are a family of 5 and sometimes they have us share, sometimes they don't. On one particular cruise, the family came up, looked at us and must have been surprised they had to share a table. They ended up being seated at another table and never even met us. If I really cared, I might have been offended but I didn't mind having the table to ourselves. I like to think it was their loss.

Our last two cruises, we did not take our kids and we decided to roll the dice. Both times we hit the jackpot. They seated us with two other couples on the first one and three couples on the second one. Someone on FB looked at the photo of all of us and commented that it was like having a quadruple date every night. And it really was. We laughed a lot, hung out at the pool together and went out after dinner to catch the adult shows. We were discussing the fact that Disney has a pretty impressive system for figuring out how to match people up. While it's not perfect, I think it works more often than it doesn't. And the craziest part was my husband and I were talking about being from Las Vegas. One of the other guys at our table said he lived in Las Vegas for several years. It turns out they went to the same middle school and lived just a few miles apart from each other. They even graduated the same year. Tell me that's not crazy?! We continue to be friends with everyone we have been seated with and I would love to catch up with them on another cruise.

Long story short, I am always willing to give it a shot. If you are really uncomfortable with the people they put you with, you can always ask to be moved and they will almost certainly accommodate you. It might be awkward but not any more awkward than spending a week eating with people you don't like. But then gain, it may be awesome and you may make some new friends.

Jennifer

 

[Lardiek]

We were a group of 5 seated at an 8 top and the other family never came until the last night. When they did come, we exchanged introductions and greetings but then mainly kept the conversation among our family, as they did theirs. While I prefer our own table, it certainly wasn’t difficult to enjoy our meal as a family and still be pleasant with them.

 

[smiths02]

This raises a related question for us. My daughter is very chatty and social, but she wears a hearing aid. In loud situations, including noisy restaurants, it can be tough for her to follow a conversation. Obviously, we're used to this, but in wondering how loud the dining rooms usually are. If reasonably loud, I'll request a private table, so it's easier for her--fewer people to follow and sitting closer to her. Thoughts?

My FIL does not wear his hearing aids when he always should. That being said, it was rather loud. It was hard for us to communicate with him...nearly impossible for the serving staff who had pretty thick foreign accents as well as saying culinary words my FIL was probably not used to. (I am saying that to say that strangers with different ways of speaking present even more challenges to understand.)

 

[LynJ]

Thanks so much for this suggestion. I would never have thought to do that, but asking for a quieter table would be a huge help for her. It's a tough balance to make sure she doesn't feel different from anyone else, but has the supports she needs to do well. Thanks for a great idea!

I have mostly sailed the classic ships, and find the dining rooms can be loud - sometimes loud enough that I have problems hearing the servers or the person next to/across from me. There are a lot of people in a small amount of space, and they're all talking. I don't know that a private table will help that much, as the tables are often very close together with little spacing between them - so while you may only have your party at your table, she could be close to a number of other of people at other tables. You may be better off requesting a quiet table (perhaps with a note as to why) - which may or may not include additional cruisers, depending on the dining room layout that cruise.

Something else I'd recommend in your case would be to go to the dining change location listed on the navigator when you board, and speak with the head waiter. Explain your concern and make sure the table in all the dining rooms will work for your party. They will be best able to know where your table will be located (and we've had corner/edge table numbers in one restaurant be right in the middle of the dining room in others) and be able to move you if necessary to ensure your family has a great dining experience.

 

[LynJ]

She wears hers all the time she's awake, but she also has a tough time understanding accents. (Other than Irish and British, because she's an Irish dancer and hears those a lot. Lol!) So we're used to repeating servers for her, etc.

My FIL does not wear his hearing aids when he always should. That being said, it was rather loud. It was hard for us to communicate with him...nearly impossible for the serving staff who had pretty thick foreign accents as well as saying culinary words my FIL was probably not used to. (I am saying that to say that strangers with different ways of speaking present even more challenges to understand.)

 

[goodgirl49]

I see a lot of you requested a table just for yourselves. When do you do this? Who do you ask? We sail on the Fantasy in late Feb. 2020.

 

[Marc D]

I see a lot of you requested a table just for yourselves. When do you do this? Who do you ask? We sail on the Fantasy in late Feb. 2020.

Call the general DCL line and have the CM note it on your reservation. He/she might give you a small shpiel about how they match groups based on composition and how it might be fun, but they’ll note it in your file. It is only a request, not a guarantee.

When you board, head servers will be located in a lounge or a dining room for dining changes. You can go check if your request was honored. If not, they can try to find an alternative. They sometimes do it on the spot. They sometimes take down all the requests and make changes afterward. When that happened to us, we had a message on the phone after we came back from the muster drill saying we had a new table number.

 

[AnnaS]

We have taken many cruises with DCL and I believe three of them were with other table mates. We lucked out each time. Never thought of having our own table - even though we knew we could request one. All of our other cruises have been with friends/family.

It really depends on how comfortable you are with strangers/social settings. How hectic your life is, want more alone time with your SO or family, celebrating a special occasion, etc. etc.

As many have said, you can give it a shot and if you are not happy/comfortable, change it for the rest of your cruise.

 

[teetee830]

I think for our upcoming cruise I will be requesting a private table for my DS and I. Our last cruise our table mates were nice enough, but the oldest child wouldn't let anyone at the table get a word in, he talked the entire time. Made for uncomfortable dinners. One night I was trying to make conversation with his sister (since she'd barely been able to utter a word) and he got mad and pouted to his mom that no one was listening to him. That was a 4 night so tolerable I'm not sure I could do it for seven.

 

[pezgirlroy]

This raises a related question for us. My daughter is very chatty and social, but she wears a hearing aid. In loud situations, including noisy restaurants, it can be tough for her to follow a conversation. Obviously, we're used to this, but in wondering how loud the dining rooms usually are. If reasonably loud, I'll request a private table, so it's easier for her--fewer people to follow and sitting closer to her. Thoughts?

Lynj, I wear hearing aids. I had just started wearing them about three months before my cruise last April. I understand the issue with following a conversation. I was on the Fantasy and I was okay. In one restaurant I was right by the service area so that was louder so I moved chairs and I was fine.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I love hearing the stories of all the new friends made at dinners! - I think I'd give it a shot.