HOw does the formal dining/dinners work as far as seating with others on the Dream?

[Jenleephoto]

We set sail on our first cruise in just 10 days. (4 night Bahama cruise on Dream)
Never having been on a Disney Cruise before, I am curious how the dining situation works each evening? (for the formal dinners/shows). I heard that they seat you with another family? Is this correct , how do they match you up ? (if at all) And do you sit with that same family for the entire duration of the dinners for each night in similar fashion that you have the same wait staff ? In that case, I guess you just have to hope you like them and don't mind small talk/chatting with them, huh? LOL Any info is appreciated. Curious how it works!

 

[Zandy595]

We set sail on our first cruise in just 10 days. (4 night Bahama cruise on Dream)
Never having been on a Disney Cruise before, I am curious how the dining situation works each evening? (for the formal dinners/shows). I heard that they seat you with another family? Is this correct , how do they match you up ? (if at all) And do you sit with that same family for the entire duration of the dinners for each night in similar fashion that you have the same wait staff ? In that case, I guess you just have to hope you like them and don't mind small talk/chatting with them, huh? LOL Any info is appreciated. Curious how it works!

You are assigned to a numbered table and will sit at that table (in each restaurant) with the same tablemates for the duration of the cruise. If you're a large family 6+ you might have a table to yourself. If you're a small family you could sit with more than one other family. Also, if you would really like to sit with just your family members, you can call DCL or your TA and request that.

They usually match you up using the ages of your children. If you don't have kids, they will most likely put you with other adults without kids.

 

[Princess Row]

Is this new? On all of our past cruises we have never sat with table mates.....there is four of us. We have always commented on how DCL is the only cruise line that doesnt do this. None of the families around us had table mates either so now I am confused. Our next cruise we will be traveling as a group of five so this may be different?

 

[Zandy595]

Is this new? On all of our past cruises we have never sat with table mates.....there is four of us. We have always commented on how DCL is the only cruise line that doesnt do this. None of the families around us had table mates either so now I am confused. Our next cruise we will be traveling as a group of five so this may be different?

No, it's not new. I guess you were either lucky or unlucky, depending on how you look at it.

 

[kennancat]

In that case, I guess you just have to hope you like them and don't mind small talk/chatting with them, huh?

If you end up with somebody you don't click with, you can always talk to the head server and ask to be moved, so don't worry that you'll be trapped with someone you can't stand for your vacation

 

[Zandy595]

If you end up with somebody you don't click with, you can always talk to the head server and ask to be moved, so don't worry that you'll be trapped with someone you can't stand for your vacation

I would feel so awkward doing that. Then I'd be nervous I'd run into them and they'd ask why we weren't sitting with them anymore.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is this new? On all of our past cruises we have never sat with table mates.....there is four of us. We have always commented on how DCL is the only cruise line that doesnt do this. None of the families around us had table mates either so now I am confused. Our next cruise we will be traveling as a group of five so this may be different?

On our first cruise (DH & I) we were seated at a table for 8 with 3 other couples (more or less in our age range). Cruise #2 - just DH & I again, table for 8 with 3 other couples. Cruise #3 - we (DH & I) were linked with one of the couples from cruise #1 and requested a 6-top. We were assigned a six top (we two couples and a single man and a single woman). The gentleman ate all his meals in the buffet, we never saw him. The lady changed from early to late dining after the first night, so wound up with just the 2 of us couples. Cruise #4 - we were 5 (DH, me, DS23, DD24 & DDsBF), we had a 6-top to ourselves. Cruise #5 - this time we were 3 (DD & I, and DS18), we were seated at an 8-top with a party of 5, a mom, her 3 kids (daughter 15, son 16, and daugher 22 and her son 2 years old).

The only time we requested specific seating was the 3rd cruise. DCL assigns seating based on who that have, if there are any specific requests, and (generally) puts similarly composed groups together.

Each serving group (server and asst server) has an 8-top, a 6-top, and a 4-top that they serve. So, there's really no telling if (as a party of 4) you will be seated at a 4, 6, or 8 top unless you make a request. In most cases requests are honored, but not always.

 

[generaltso23]

There are a lot of 4 top tables, so if you're a party of 4 you have a fairly good chance of getting your own table. If you're a party of 2,3, or 5 I would guess that you'll have a higher chance of being seated with someone else.

 

[Jenleephoto]

OK thanks all. Yes we are a family of four (me, DH and our little girls ages 2 and 5)

 

[PixieMom712]

And just since no one answered it specifically, you mentioned shows in your original post. There is no assigned seating for the shows, you pick your seat when you get there.

 

[kcashner]

The standard table sizes are 4, 6, and 8. Tables can be placed together for larger parties.

Unless you make a request, there is no way to predict whether you will be seated as "just us" or joined with one or more other families.

With 2 of us, we have been seated alone, with a family of 3, with 3 other families of 2, with 2 couples + a single for a total of 7, etc. All sorts of combinations are possible and there is NO way to predict. If you have a request, call DCL and have the add it to your reservation (if you used a TA, they need to do this). DCL will give you the "this is only a request and cannot be guaranteed" speech--just politely ask them to note it.

If you are seated with a group and it isn't working, let the head server know after the first night--they will move you.

 

[mmouse37]

Is this new? On all of our past cruises we have never sat with table mates.....there is four of us. We have always commented on how DCL is the only cruise line that doesnt do this. None of the families around us had table mates either so now I am confused. Our next cruise we will be traveling as a group of five so this may be different?

Certainly not new....been that way since Day 1. We were on the MV of the Magic back in 1998 and were a party of 7...were seated at a table for 8 with another individual who was a nut job....but that is another story!!

We asked for him to be moved after the first night.

All our other cruises we have been with either our own large group that took up a few tables or when we have been seated with other people we always had great tablemates.

That first time was a bummer, though!!!

MJ

 

[kennancat]

I would feel so awkward doing that. Then I'd be nervous I'd run into them and they'd ask why we weren't sitting with them anymore.

Yeah, I didn't do this on the one cruise where we got a real dud tablemate because I felt bad about it. The person wasn't a bad person, just clearly socially unaware of how uncomfortable they were making everyone. One of the other couples at our table did bolt after the first night. If I had it to do over again, I would move. I'd just be sure to have some ready excuse like had to move Palo reservations and didn't want to miss one of the other restaurants or something.

 

[lostatdisney]

DD16 and I were on the Dream in March, and we were seated with another mom and daughter around the same age and then another family with a daughter the same age and a younger son. I enjoyed talking with the other adults, and DD was glad to visit with some girls her age. They were all great, and the girls invited my daughter to join them in the teen club. I was impressed that Disney took the time to match us with similar families!

 

[BethC1952]

On our first DCL cruise, we were seated with three young honeymoon couples. I guess we were supposed to be the chaperones ? Next time we had my FIL in with us, and we were seated with a couple about our age and their daughter who turned 16 on the cruise. The parents were lovely, the daughter, not quite so much. The next cruise we had a table for 10 with nine of us, we were all family. We were seated on our next cruise with a lovely couple from London just a bit older than we are, and a mother and son traveling by themselves. The mother and son never showed up after the first night. I guess we scared them away! On our cruise last November, we were seated alone at a six-top. Our servers decided that, since we had so much table space they would bring us enough food for six people! On all of our other cruises we've been seated with fellow DIS'ers with whom we linked our dining and had a wonderful time.

Beth

 

[Ikaikalani]

I would feel so awkward doing that. Then I'd be nervous I'd run into them and they'd ask why we weren't sitting with them anymore.

To avoid this situation you could always move to the other dining time (early seating to late seating or vice versa), then you'd be able to tell your ex-table mates that you moved to the other seating time and avoid the unplesantness of explaining that you moved because of them!!!!

 

[Nette]

6 cruises and we have only once been disappointed in our table mates...

First Cruise -- DH, DD and me -- We were seated with a family of 5 who we really enjoyed talking to and hanging out with. Their youngest daughter was the same age as our daughter and they would both race through their food and ask to go to the club *together*.

2nd Cruise -- 3 of us again, and it was the DVC members cruise, we were seated with a family of four who was nice enough and pleasant to have dinner with, but not really memorable.

3rd Cruise -- 3 of us again, We were seated with another family of 3, but their child was a baby and ours was 5yo. They were super nice and we saw them around the ship a lot.

4th Cruise -- again, all 3 of us, This had to be one of the most fun groups. We were seated with a couple, the husbands parents and the couple's baby boy. Baby boy spent almost every dinner in the nursery (it was late seating and after his bedtime). They were from Liverpool and they were hilarious. And they adored DD said she had "such a dry British sense of humor" Only problem with them was sometimes it was really hard to understand the older gentleman, but he was really great about repeating himself when we looked confused.

5th Cruise -- DH and me only. This is the one where our tablemates were pretty much duds, at least the ones we met. We were seated with 3 other couples, 2 of them on their honeymoons and one fairly established. One of the couples never showed up for dinner... One of the couples was very shy and I don't think spoke much english as they never really talked to anyone at the table and sort of huddled together at one end every night, and the 3rd couple was totally socially inept. One of the partners could NOT SHUT UP and had an opinion about everything. The other one was super picky and never talked.

6th Cruise -- All three of us again. We got sat with another family of 3 from Canada with a DD the same age as ours. Those two girls were two peas in a pod. We even cancelled our PALO ressie so that the girls could have every dinner together. They still email and send each other care packages 2+ years later.

So the moral of the story is that I think probably most of the time tablemates are just awesome... and perhaps having a kid or two in your party helps with getting good ones.

 

[littlebitsmom]

We just got back from a 5 night Dream. It was me, DH and DS who is 7. We were grouped with a party of 5 at an 8 person table. The 5 other people at our table were together (2 grandparents, 2 parents and a daughter who was the same age as our son). My DH and I felt kind of awkward b/c they were talking amongst themselves and not really to us. I think it would have been better if we had another mom, dad and child(ren) seated with us. The only connection I could make is their DD was our DS's age. They were nice and all, but preferred to have their own conversation that didn't include us. We felt a little out of place, but never asked to be moved. Looking back though, I probably should have requested a change.