Cruise Talk: sunbird, which sitting?

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»	Cruise Talk » Cruise Ships » sunbird, which sitting?

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Topic: sunbird, which sitting?

pmcnulty
Just Boarded
Member # 1148

posted 03-10-2000 02:14 PM

We are cruising on the sunbird in june and we would be grateful if anyone could tell us which sitting is best for dinner and how do we request a particular sitting.

Thank's. Peter

Posts: 3 | Registered: Mar 2000 | IP: Logged

JDCasey
First Class Passenger
Member # 1065

posted 03-10-2000 02:59 PM

Dinner assignments are requested through your travel agent. the choice of which seating depends on you. If your are traveling in a high vacation time First seating will normally have most of the families with children. This seating will also be heavy with Older people who turn into pumpkins at 10 PM. The Second seating offers a more liesurely dinner because the room doesn't have to be reset quite so fast. I wouldn't say it is rushed but it is easier to linger over coffee. It was not uncommon for my wife and I to enjoy the conversation over the dinner table until 10:30. The disavantage is that the evening's entertainment then seems to be crammed together (Dinner, Show, Dancing etc.). So search your soul and make your request.

Posts: 48 | From: New Jersey, USA | Registered: Feb 2000 | IP: Logged

Steve Read (sread)
First Class Passenger
Member # 788

posted 03-12-2000 08:45 PM

JDCasey's right. If you haven't chosen your sitting in advance, you'll find a note in your cabin telling you which one you've been allocated. Then you can rush down to the restaurant lobby and try to change it.
One additional point, though. If you're ashore and on the early sitting you have to rush back to the ship in time to change, and it can be distracting if you are constantly worrying about getting back in time.
Incidentally. most of the Sunbird tables seat eight or ten people and you keep the same dining companions all through the cruise (obviously). I've been on Sunbird twice and both times the people were great fun, but I wonder if any Cruise Talk-ers have any horror stories to tell.....??

Posts: 926 | From: Locksbottom, Kent, England | Registered: Jul 99 | IP: Logged

Steve Read (sread)
First Class Passenger
Member # 788

posted 03-16-2000 01:36 PM

Er, I guess not!

Posts: 926 | From: Locksbottom, Kent, England | Registered: Jul 99 | IP: Logged

Green
First Class Passenger
Member # 171

posted 03-17-2000 12:12 AM

JDCasey - Well said!

How did all that get in there?

All I wanted to say was"Well said" to JDCasey

My Imac seems to have taken on a life of it's own! - a moment ago there was all kinds of blurb - and I'm not celebrating March 17th - I'm not even Irish!.

[This message has been edited by Green (edited 03-17-2000).]

Posts: 2913 | From: Markham, Ontario, Canada | Registered: Jul 99 | IP: Logged

Scottylass
First Class Passenger
Member # 420

posted 03-17-2000 03:16 AM

Green, You certainly are a late bird, you should be in bed by this time.... Ha Ha

Posts: 648 | From: Stirlingshire, Scotland | Registered: Jul 99 | IP: Logged

scorpio
First Class Passenger
Member # 1245

posted 05-08-2000 08:30 AM

Choose a sitting which is best for you, and also request a table which suits your requirements. If you want to chat to others at every meal, then choose a large table, because some people may be hard to hold a conversation with. When we arrived on Sunbird, we did not have a dining allocation, so we joined the line to meet the Maitre D' and asked for a table for two on the early (main) sitting. He tried to fob us off with a table for ten, but we insisted and got what we wanted. We still chatted to the people nearby, but had the privacy to engage in personal talk which would not interest anyone else. Main sitting was at 6:15pm, and late sitting was at 8:30pm. Have a great time, we did!

Posts: 92 | From: UK | Registered: Apr 2000 | IP: Logged

gizmo
First Class Passenger
Member # 972

posted 05-10-2000 07:08 AM

I did the early seating on my first cruise, and late seating on all the others. On port days you are rushed to get ready for dinner (as sread also stated ). Instead of relaxing for a while when you get back on the ship you have to hurry and dress for dinner. I enjoy taking a nap before dinner so I can enjoy the rest of the evening and not be dead tired. On formal nights it can take me up to 2 hours to get dressed. I also like to have a drink before dinner or stop in the casino.

Posts: 686 | From: Kennesaw Ga. (origianlly from Philly) | Registered: Dec 1999 | IP: Logged

KruzinKat
First Class Passenger
Member # 260

posted 05-10-2000 02:11 PM

Now for a word from those who prefer early seating. During our "real life" on shore, we're both up by 5:30 - he to get off to work, me to do a few things around the house before I leave at 7:30. (We're both morning people.) I'm home by 5:30 p.m. at the latest, and he has supper waiting. (I'd be glad to fix supper, but he'd starve waiting for it! He has lunch at 11 a.m.) So when we're cruising, we tend to stick to the same schedule. If we sleep in, it's usually all the way to 8 o'clock. And, because we love to dance, we want to finish our meal early to leave the evening free. We're generally back in our cabin by midnight. Late seating just wouldn't work for us. We've only had a problem once with a table of problem children, and we tend to just ignore that anyway. (We found the constant complaints from one couple at our table more annoying than the kids!) And we've always had a good mix of ages at our table. The only time we noticed more retirees on board was on our last Panama Canal cruise, but that's typical for the longer cruises. And, trust me, most of those "senior citizens" had more energy and personality than us young folk! Probably because they're retired. And the stories they have to share! So my recommendation to you is to pick the seating that will best fit what you want to do during the cruise. I'm sure either one will work just fine.

KruzinKat

Posts: 101 | From: Kingston, MA USA | Registered: Jun 99 | IP: Logged

pmcnulty
Just Boarded
Member # 1148

posted 05-10-2000 06:26 PM

Many thanks to everyone who replied to my posting.

We have been in touch with our booking agent and requested the second sitting, as my wife and I think we would like to put our feet up for an hour when we return from any of the excursions. We also like to have a drink before dinner.

It's now only four weeks until our holiday. It almost makes being fifty worthwhile.

Thanks again

Peter

Posts: 3 | Registered: Mar 2000 | IP: Logged

awagner
Just Boarded
Member # 1299

posted 05-17-2000 06:11 PM

I would recommend the early sitting for the following reasons - my 6:30 you will be hungry, if you take the later one you will be forced to attend the late show and will miss the other activities on board. I was on the Sunbird in Sept & took the early dinner and found it a great choice. There were no kids as they eat dinner on deck most of the time and sunquest puts Canadians together as sittings. Hope this helps

Posts: 8 | From: Canada | Registered: May 2000 | IP: Logged

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