Dining table seating

[princessof3boys]

I was wondering if you had your own table or shared with someone else. If ou share do you sit with the same people all cruise. We are going on the 7 day eastern with 3 boys.....Can't imagine ANYONE wanting to sit with us.LOL

 

[DVC@BWV]

We've requested our own table twice, and both times our requests were granted. If you share, you'll sit with the same party for the entire cruise.

 

[rae519]

princessof3boys - one of the most wonderful couples we met had four children under 6 - all very well behaved with excellent table manners.

This is my general observation and opinion, the way children are at home is no indication of how they will be in public - children are generally much better behaved! But if they have no table manners at home, then they will not have them in public.

Don't feel that way about yours - there are probably a lot of people who would enjoy your and their company!

Michael, who will be turning 9 in May, likes to eat with his "buds" at the Club. Since we always have meals together at home, we let him decide if he wants to dine with us or with his friends. After all, it's his vacation too!

Rae

 

[il-gander]

What size are the tables generally? For parties of... (4, 6, ?) When do you request a table to yourself - at time of reservation or at the dining changes area on embarkation day?

Also, one other question. We're a family of four, so I imagine they have tables that would fit just us. We're not big on small talk generally (not unsociable or rude, but just not real comfortable making conversation for extended periods of time). Obviously we could end up with dining partners that don't suit, but we could also end up making friends for life. What would you all advise?

Carla

 

[rae519]

At embarkation, you can go over to Session (generally where this is held) to the Dining Room Changes and make your request.

After having dining mates for several cruises, we were along on one cruise - it was NOT fun and we definitely missed the social part of the meal.

Don't worry about not talking, people generally love to talk about themselves and what they have done that day - but if you are an attentive listener, that's all that's necessary!

Also note, that if you are ever seated with people that you don't like for any reason, you can request to be moved. This would be accomplished by asking your server who in turn would have the head server or dining room manager attend to this. It is not frequently done, but it can be - they do not want you to be uncomfortable or unhappy on your vacation!

Rae

 

[kcashner]

You can make a dining request at the time you make your reservation (or any time up to sailing) by calling DCL or your TA. You can also go to "Dining Changes" in Sessions after boarding to see if you got your request and "re-request" it if needed. We've always had our requests met when we asked in Sessions.

If you are seated with another family, they make a serious effort to match the ages of the children. Tables are arranged for 4 to 18 people in my experience. There are many tables for 4,6, and 8...then they are put together for large parties.

Your dinner assignment will be the same throughout the cruise. Breakfast and lunch are "open seating" which means that when you enter the dining room, they will find you a seat. If you want to be with just your family, let them know at that point. Otherwise, they will attempt to fill up their tables. It's kinda rude to walk over to a table with others, look at them, then ask for a table alone (which we saw done!).

 

[jrabbit]

We're not big on small talk generally (not unsociable or rude, but just not real comfortable making conversation for extended periods of time).

That describes us EXACTLY. That being said, meeting new people on the cruise has been a HIGHLIGHT!!! It is one of the most enjoyable aspects of cruising Disney.

It's different than meeting someone at one of the activities where you chat once and probably never see them again. You are with these folk for most dinners (except for when people go to Palo), so you have a chance of getting to make new friends over several days (that's one reason why 7 night cruises are best). We have sat with families from around the world and across the country. Once we were at a table with 4 other families. That was a lot of fun. We sat next to different families each evening (the table was too big to for the people at the ends to talk to each other, but beside you and across from you were people to visit with.)

Just like cruising is an adventure, so is meeting you tablemates and new friends. I would not discount this part of the trip. They may be the memories you remember the most.

 

[lotsofboys]

Princess, I love your name, I too have three boys 7, 10 & 10 (I usually include DH though and say 4 boys ) On both of our cruises we had a set of grandparents so there were 7 of us and we had our own table. It seems like the most common set up is 6 so I would think you will have your own table.

 

[princessof3boys]

Thanks for all the responses... You guys are great.

Lotsofboys--I see you just returned from the eastern cruise..How was your trip...any tips that we can take with us.
Glad you like the name
Susan

 

[lotsofboys]

Princess, keep reading these boards and you will have more tips than you know what to do with! The best tips I got from here are pick up $.99 lanyards at Wal Mart if you don't already have some for your KTTW card and depending on the ages of your DSs and the amount of "stuff" you have, an over the door shoe holder is a must to keep small things organized. Don't overplan and remember that anything you don't do this trip you can always do on the next one, which reminds me, make sure to rebook while onboard for the $200 per room credit. Only put one of the adults down as going and you only have to put $250 deposit to hold the room. We learned that the hard way and listed everyone and had $1,250 out for 20 months.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to answer them.

 

[westjones]

We have 16 coming on our cruise, and we are all using different TAs. How do you arrange seating if you don't have the same TA? There are 3 in our group that has the same TA, so do you go with the TA that has the 'most' clients? Or do you go through Disney? Or wait until you are on board?

Thanks!
DJ

 

[eagmommy]

Call Disney direct or have your TA do it. We had that same problem last year and we all ended up sitting together at dinner. Disney will link all of your reservations.