dinner seatings- how many per table, any nightmare tablemates?

[Jennifer Scicchitano]

How many people are sat at the tables in the regular rotations? Has anyone had either nightmare tablemates or a super positive experience with people sitting at your table? We are pretty friendly people and just wondering if anyone has had to ask to move away from the tablemates and how you do this....just in case
thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How many people are sat at the tables in the regular rotations? Has anyone had either nightmare tablemates or a super positive experience with people sitting at your table? We are pretty friendly people and just wondering if anyone has had to ask to move away from the tablemates and how you do this....just in case
thanks!

Each serving team serves a 4 top, a 6 top and an 8 top (18 people). That said, occasionally tables will be placed together to make larger seating options (for larger parties).

We've always had good dinner companions. DCL seems to excel at matching parties for seating together. As a party of 6 & 5 we had our own table. As a party of 3 & 2 we were seated with others.

If you find, after the first night, that you're just not going to "gel" with your dining companions, just talk to your head server about changing tables.

 

[NHDisneyFan]

How many people are sat at the tables in the regular rotations? Has anyone had either nightmare tablemates or a super positive experience with people sitting at your table? We are pretty friendly people and just wondering if anyone has had to ask to move away from the tablemates and how you do this....just in case
thanks!

There is an entire thread somewhere about nightmare table mates.

Tables look too start at 4 and go higher. Maybe there is a table for 2 we missed. Our family of 5 was seated with a family of 3. No issues.

 

[squirk]

We are a family of five, but we often bring my MIL or another in-law with us, so we've only had table mates the one time we didn't bring a sixth person with us. A family of three, couldn't have been nicer.

We don't look to socialize on cruises, and prefer a table to ourselves, but if all of our table-mates could be like that family, sharing a table wouldn't be so bad at all.

 

[Little Doe]

We have been blessed with the most wonderful table mates. In fact we have met life long friends on Disney cruises at meals.

 

[kiford]

We've had some OK tablemates but more often than not had good ones. One cruise we were with two other couples who we got along with just great. The following year, we did a B2B and on the second leg ended up being seated with one of the two couples from the previous year (who lived in Florida and had met with the other couple in the year in between in Florida). On our first Med cruise, we were seated with 4 other couples who we had great times with (closed down the restaurant several times). We still correspond with one of the couples. On our second Med cruise, we were seated with two other couples and two brothers (again closed down the restaurant). We got along so well we ended up cruising with one of the couples and the brothers. We were so excited to see everyone again. That couple also arranged for us to sit with another couple that they met on a previous cruise several years earlier who live in the UK and who they had visited several times. We ended up not doing as much as we had planned to do during sea days because we'd sit on deck and one or the other of our tablemates would come along and we'd end up sitting around chatting for hours. That first couple now lives in Florida and have had the two brothers come visit and we spent part of our December last year with them at WDW. We're trying to find a time to visit with them again soon and we still correspond with the brothers. Thing is - you already have something in common with someone who cruises on DCL. So it's easy to find common ground with them.

 

[DHSbutcher]

We've had some loonies, but it adds excitement. I cruise with just me and my mom usually- so we get really tired of each other. Whether we like our table mates or not, it provides entertainment and at least something for us to talk about later in the room.

 

[Bishoparc]

We have been blessed with the most wonderful table mates. In fact we have met life long friends on Disney cruises at meals.

Ditto! Our last cruise we were seated with 2 wonderful couples and we are now friends with them and are trying to find a date we can cruise with them again. We even spent the day at Castaway with them.

 

[Simba One]

We usually ask for a table of 8 but the last three cruises we have been seated with just ourselves. (Last three we have had at least one adult "child" with us) we noticed on each cruise every family was seated alone with no table mates. Even couples were alone. All have been in the last year. New policy????

 

[TestingH2O]

There is an entire thread somewhere about nightmare table mates.

Tables look too start at 4 and go higher. Maybe there is a table for 2 we missed. Our family of 5 was seated with a family of 3. No issues.

This is the thread. Hilarious.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/craziest-table-mates-you-have-had.3258980/

 

[Bishoparc]

We usually ask for a table of 8 but the last three cruises we have been seated with just ourselves. (Last three we have had at least one adult "child" with us) we noticed on each cruise every family was seated alone with no table mates. Even couples were alone. All have been in the last year. New policy????

Were you guys second seating? I've heard it's pretty common for second seating. We were first seating on our last one and had 2 other couples seated with us. There was a third couple but they showed up for 15 minutes and we never saw them again.

 

[OKW Lover]

We've done 14 DCL cruises and only had one instance where we didn't care for our table mates. I wouldn't go so far as to call them nightmare though. They were just odd to have a conversation with.

 

[californiamomofboys]

last 2 cruises we were just seated with ourselves (family of 4) and several families of four were seated by themselves around us. I was disappointed because we always had enjoyed having tablemates on our previous cruises.

 

[cwbagne]

We have had many of these experiences.

Our most recent on the 5 night Wonder from San Juan to Miami, my husband and I (traveling without children), were sat at a table for 10! We had the greatest time with 4 other couples (who were all traveling with no children). It was so interesting talking to each couple and learning about their Disney Cruise experiences. We shared all of ours and I can say, every one of them had a story and we learned so much. We rotated around the table nightly, sitting by new people. We had second dining and I can tell you that the service was a little slow, as a our servers had a few other tables and it seems we were always last. We were never in a hurry, so it didn't bother us. We saw many of these couples on excursions and around the ship at other events. It was the best experience.

Our experience in Norway, last summer, we travelled with our 2 children and we were sat at a table for 8 with another family, with children around the same age. We also learned that they were from the same area as us - Southern California. It was very positive. Near the end, the kids were all sitting at one end of the table and we were able to talk to the couple face to face. It turned out very well. Our son attends college near them and has an emergency number!

In the Mediterranean, summer '14', we were traveling with our children and got sat at our own table for 4. Our kids made friends with some other children, sitting close to us, and there was swapping going on! Our kids went and sat at their table while the parents ate at Palo one night. We still keep in touch with this family.

We have sat as a party of 5 with another party of 5. Kids loved meeting others and seeing them around the ship.

I can say that Disney is very accommodating. If you ever want to change dining times, or table, you just talk to your head waiter. You can change on the first day when you get on the ship at a central location.

 

[Plaid Princess]

When we travel as a couple, we have always ended up being placed at at 6 top with 2 other couples of similar age. Ironically, we we ended up at a table with another couple we worked with on our Honeymoon Cruise. I've always enjoyed the company Disney pairs us with, and some of our tablemates have become friends. I think DCL tends to attract fairly similar personalities. The "worst" situation we had was a couple who just didn't know what they had booked; a friend had gotten them a discount somehow, and they were completely out of their element. They skipped the MDR after the second night and we never saw them again.

Travelling with friends we've always had our own table (not a request, just linked reservations and the numbers worked out). I will say, that unless I really like the people I'm travelling with, I wouldn't want a table larger than 6 because it just seems to take a much longer time getting through the meal.

 

[polyqueen]

On our first cruise on the Dream, we three were paired with another family of three. The kids were both seniors in high school and I thought, "great, they'll have loads to talk about"...until our son mentioned that he attended a private, Benedictine high school. Quiet at the table. And then, "Oh, you're Catholic"... not another word and did not see them for the rest of the cruise. Very strange and more than a little disconcerting in the 21st century.

 

[Simba One]

Were you guys second seating? I've heard it's pretty common for second seating. We were first seating on our last one and had 2 other couples seated with us. There was a third couple but they showed up for 15 minutes and we never saw them again.

Yes, second seating

 

[cruisnfamily]

When we traveled last year as a couple with no children we were seated at a 6 top with 2 other couples.

This year we are bringing my mother and we will be a party of 3. I hope we are seated with a few other couples! We so enjoy this part of the cruise experience!

 

[Amanda129]

I really think it's just the luck of how they need to fit groups together. The first cruise I went on, my exDH and I were seated with two other couples close to our age, the second we have our own table (family reunion - there were 15 of us!), and the third we had our own table (I think my ex boyfriend and I were supposed to be seated with another couple on that trip, but we never saw them, so it worked out better since he prefers to stick to himself). I'm curious to see how they seat my sister and I on our upcoming cruise in January.