Cruise Dining...eating with strangers?

[nuts4mickey]

We are going on our first criuse (7-night western). My husband is worried about eating with people we don't know. We are both out-going, but what if we don't get along with our table mates? Can we change tables? How do they make seating assignments? Is it based on age, interests, dvc membership, etc?

 

[nuts4mickey]

Thanks for all of your replies, we are really looking forward to our criuse. My sister bought me a "passporter" guide book on the cruise since my first posting. There are a lot of good tips in the book and I would reccomend it to anyone going on a disney cruise, I am excited to go. The authors give the entire DCL experience glowing reviews, I hope I am not dissapointed!

You can order the book at www.passporter.com

 

[BRER STITCH]

Originally posted by Jedi Osborn
I didn't realize there was a buffet available, that would be good. ...Now, if the trip we happen to go on has formal night on the night we're supposed to go there are we stuck dressing up?

...It just seemed like everyting I've read so far about the cruise has stressed that there's a place for the kids and a place for the adults.

Hi JEDI!!! :wave:

You're going to LOVE the cruise! Nothing at all to worry about!

It's your vacation, so you do what YOU want, WHEN you want to. The only thing that you are "committed" to, if you WANT to, is your dinner reservation time. As there is only 2 seatings of the dinner service in the dining rooms on the ship, you are given one of the two times for your dinner each night when you make your cruise reservations. Either first seating of second seating.

The good news is that you are on a cruise, and there is 24 hour Food and Drink available!!! :slurp: You don't ever have to go to a dining room if you don't want to! 24-hour Rooom Service was designed to be just that! If you have a room with a veranda, room service meals can be one of the best partsof your trip! Also, many snack bars and the buffet are also "come as you are, when you want to" type places when they are open!

There is even the ESPN club high on the top of the ship that serves great food and drinks with an AWESOME view too! None of these things are "formal"!!! There is, however, an opportunity to dress up and attend a "formal" dinner if you want to. Many people consider this a part of THEIR vacation fun.

Usually, we had had so much to eat and drink during the day by the pool or on shore, that when dinner came around we were hardly hungry. The buffet or room service was fine for us to grab a little snack.

Remember, the marketing people know who is paying for the cruise (Mommy and Daddy), so they take a chance and design the marketing campaign around what THEY think the parents want to do on the cruise. Sadly, they apparently believe it means never wanting to see your children for the week! HAHA!

That's not how it really is!!!

HAVE FUN!

:sohappy:

 

[Passport]

I highly recommend a Disney cruise. The ships are clean and very beautiful and not at all tacky like some of the others are.
I went on the gally tour and the guide did say that over half of the passengers are under the age of 12. So, that means they make a lot of french fries and mac n'cheese. This leaves a bunch of money to splurge on the food for the adults. Also, it is nice to go to a movie in the large movie theatre they have on board. I saw several forst run movies there. And no casino means less smoking, drinking and late night noise in the hallways. Disney had the best food out of all of the other cruises I have been on. They are the cleanest, most polite, and really know how to do a great job. I have done them 3 times and will always go back.

 

[Shannon_Yensid]

I've only had great experiences with dining on the disney cruise. the first time we went on it, a big group of us went (9 of us) but the second time, we were just a party of three so we were with two other families, a single mother with two kids and an older couple with no kids. this may seem random but it worked out because i went with my aunt and grandma, so the older couple was there for my grandma, the single mom for my aunt and the kids for me (i was 15 and they were 12 and 14). so anyways, it all worked out and we had a great time.

i loved the cruise and would love to go on it again

~Shannon

 

[Jedi Osborn]

Ha, that's pretty cool, two responses from my area, Brer Stitch from the west and Shannon_Yensid from the East. I'm from a small town about an hour east of Syracuse. Right in between you guys.

Brer Stitch, you're making me feel a lot better about the whole cruise thing. I was really getting turned off, but now I'm thinking it could work. The eating thing was a big hang up for me, but that's been put to rest. And quality family time is of the UTMOST importance, but you're telling me its OK. What kinds of things are there to do exactly. Obviously the pool and the movies, what else?
We won't be going right away, but the Official Cruise Savings Fund has been started.
Horray!

 

[Mr. Tom Morrow]

Strangers are Friends you have not yet met!

We’ve been on both Disney Ships and have had a great time dinning on both trips. We are a couple in our early 30’s with no children. Our first trip, our honeymoon we dinned with a woman and her two daughters (early 20’s and mid teen’s). Our second trip we dinned with another couple who were on their honeymoon.

There is plenty for everyone to do on board a Disney Ship, singles, couples, adults, children and definitely families. Check out my cruise report from this past April, it gives you a good idea of all the activities available and what you can expect on a Disney crusie. In fact, we hope to bring some of our nieces and nephews with us on our next cruise.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23272

 

[Michael72688]

its really not bad, everything is great, and you get to meet a lot of new people, that is even if you sit with someone, each time I have been on disney my family and I sat alone.