dining with other families

[mackymaddyconnorsmom]

My husband is wondering how they decide what other family you dine with? How many people sit at the same table? What if you dont get along with the other family, what do you do?

 

[DrCavin]

They usually seat 8, but some do have more. We had our own table, which has its pros/cons. We did not request it that way....

I would think that if you are unhappy they would try to seat you elsewhere.

 

[aprilgail2]

You can always request a table for 4 or whatever size your family is....that is what I do since i have no desirre to share my dinner table with people I don't know. I have heard they try to link you with "like" people but going by the table next to us they didn't do it so well for them....it was a honeymoon couple and then this other woman and a old woman in a wheelchair that was ALWAYS late..sometimes the others were well into their meal and the other 2 women just came in....then they would send every part of their meals back...after a few days the waitor just brought out 3 things and let them figure out which they wanted! The two couples never talked to each other and the one night the women didn't come the couple said they were so happy to get a night without them!

 

[KEH]

On our second cruise the 5 of us were alone at a table for 8 at dinner the first night. On the second night we were joined by a family of 3 who had asked to be moved as they had some difficulty with their first tablemates. So if you do have a problem DCL will do their best to accommodate you.

Incidentally we got on with them really well and had a great week. They even looked after my DD one night at dinner when we went to Palo and my 2 DS's wanted to go to an activity at the club and miss dinner. They said she was their "new" daughter for the evening.

 

[jrabbit]

Disney tries to put "like" people together, but they don't give us all a questionaire that cover the "49 areas of compatibility" so sometimes you can end up with mismatched families. Space considerations also come into play.

On all of our cruises we have had a great time with our tablemates and wait staff. Even the one with a language barrier. We have sat with 1, 2 or 4 other families. The time with 5 families, none of us knew each other BEFORE the cruise, and we became good friends during the course of the cruise. We usually hung out together in the evenings (shows). Everyone did their own thing during the day and we all shared what we did during the day. That was a lot of fun.

My family is not the most outgoing people you will ever find (actually downright shy), but getting to know someone else on the ship has been a highlight of all of our cruises.

 

[TootyJane]

We’re booked for back-to-back cruises in August 2006. We’ve always cruised with my Mom and my brother and his family. We all do our own thing during the day so dinner is the time we all get together and talk about the days’ events. While I love eating with them I’m hoping to be seated with another family on these cruises, or at least one of the weeks. We’re a family of 5 and I’m hoping we’ll be seated with another family but it seems that the chances of us getting a table for just the 5 of us are greater than being seated with another family so I think as the cruises approach (and I have a long time to go), I’ll contact DCL and request to be seated with another family.

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

For our 12/20/03 cruise, we got to know a lot of the Dis'ers on our Cruise meet thread, and several of us asked to be put together at the same table. This was by far the best idea we had for the cruise. We all already knew a little bit about each other, and thought that we would all get along. It ended up that another family on our thread was seated next to us, so several nights we ended up with the 7 teenage girls at one table, adults at another table, or women at one table, men at another, etc.. This took the "unknown" factor out of dining with another family.

My DH was not so sure about this trip - meeting the folks from our cruise threat really made the difference for him - he had a great time and we rebooked on board with all of our DIS friends for 12/05!

 

[O'BWV]

I can see both sides of the issue of a family eating alone or eating with others. We've done it both ways and don't have a real preference. Both have their pros and cons. This past 8/28 we celebrated our 20th Anniversary on the cruise. Also, like most families, we have a teen & a tween and don't get much time alone together as a family. Because of this I requested a table for 4. Told the TA, I don't care when I eat, or what rotation, this time I'd really just like a table for 4. Ended up at a table for 8 with a young couple and a baby and the grandmother. They were nice people but I'm sure they were horrified by my 11-year-old DS who hung spoons off his ears and nose, juggled, and figgeted through all the meals and my 14-going-on-25 year old DD whose too cool to be in the presence of mere mortals. Well you get the drift. If we needed to share, I wish we could have been with like-aged kids. Next cruise on 8/19/06, I'm definitely linking with my DIS friends. They know us warts and all!


-Mary Rose

 

[TLHB70]

If you prefer to sit with only your family at the table, when do you request that?
My husband wants to do it that way. However, I think I would prefer to sit with another family.
When do you make your request for a table alone or request a specific family?
Is that something we need to do now?

 

[MomsGoneGoofy]

We had the late seating for our Aug'04 cruise and had requested to have a table to ourselves as we are somewhat a shy family. We were seated with another family of 4, but did not request to be changed because we actually got along very well with the other family. Yes there are pro's and con's to sitting with others and even though we enjoyed this family, we have requested to be seated by ourselves again for our Aug'05 cruise.

 

[TootyJane]

Originally posted by Grumpy's Mom
For our 12/20/03 cruise, we got to know a lot of the Dis'ers on our Cruise meet thread, and several of us asked to be put together at the same table. This was by far the best idea we had for the cruise. .....

Great idea!!

 

[rolyjp]

Seating assignments are a hit and miss kind of thing. Most people we've sat with are nice people and we still keep contact with one couple. You should always try to request as early as you can. However, if you only have 2 people in your group, the chances of you getting alone seats are pretty slim to none. Of course, the more people you have in your party the more likelyhood you will get to sit by yourselves. They will usually try to match couples with couples and families (with kids) with families (with kids). There will always be exception. Of course, you will also have people wo don't come to the dining room EVER. (I don't understand it but we had a couple who never came to our table the entire week. The server said that she was sure that those people never requested to move anywhere else)