Reply To: Dining question
Last cruise I would wander around looking forlornly at tables, in the hopes that a Sea Monkey would smile and invite me to join them. This was terrifying at first, but got considerably easier as the week wore on and I knew more people by name.
I agree with @villicious that signal objects won’t be universally understood or carried, but it seems like a good system to implement anyway. If some people do it, others will catch on quickly enough. I think the implicit signaling is why many people wore their badges all the time last year, even though it was never officially mandated.
Some people will have the confidence to approach a friendly-looking table without an explicit “welcome” signal, others never will. Even having a reserved section of the Lido buffet wouldn’t fix the dining problem, because anyone too shy to walk up to a table of Sea Monkeys isn’t going to find it much easier if they’re all in one place. I think having a few of us be openly welcoming to strangers will do the most to set the right tone. Smile and say hello to people you haven’t met yet! Invite them to sit with you, because maybe they want to ask but are worried about imposing. Put some kind of “Sea Monkeys Welcome!” sign on the end of the table if that’s your thing.
That’s what I plan to do.