Do they put you with similar families ?

[Samsma]

We went on our first cruise in 1997 BC (before children) . We were put at a table with a couple about our age, and two older couples (over sixty or maybe seventy) It was such a hoot being around people from different places, Missouri, Mississippi, and Chicago, and us from So. IL. I'm trying to talk my husband into going this route again, although he's very shy. But he agrees that the first cruise wouldn't have been nearly as fun without these great people!

 

[lsmac]

When we went on the Wonder in 2001, it was myself, dh and our-then-11 yo son. They sat us at a large table and since we had second seating, they were all adults. We were very uncomfortable the first night, but by the end of the four days everyone had loosened up. Imagine our surprise on the last night when chatting with the group, we had all brought up how much we missed our dogs and they asked me what our dogs names were, so I gave them the full AKC name of one which includes our last name. The couple (they were on their honeymoon) looks at me weird and asks why she is named that. I said because that is our last name. The guy whips out his driver's license and lo and hehold, THEY HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME! Not only that, but it is spelled the same (unusual spelling). Guess that's why Dis put us at the same table...they thought we were related! LOL
Anyhow, my point is...if you do get to sit with a group, you may find yourself really enjoying getting to know different types of people...and you may end up with a lot in common! We also spent the night in Animator's Palate playing Dis trivia and had nearly all the waiters/waitresses playing with us! It was a great time.
Lisa

 

[ncligs]

Ismac,

I am glad it worked out for you. But I would rather spend quality vacation time with my wife instead of complete "strangers".

 

[scduckman]

We went on our first cruise in Jan. Being a family of 3 (DH, DW, &DD7) we knew we would be seated at a larger table an we looking forward to meeting new people. I had read horror stories on this board as well as good ones. The first night our tablemates showed up- a mother and dd10. We started talking and after about 30 minutes we found out she was a fellow DISer! Our girls got along great and we kept in touch after the cruise. We are now doing a 3 day in Oct (the $99 cruise) and are on the same cruise. We linked our ressies and are looking forward to it.
By the end of the cruise our servers thought we knew each other before the cruise and were sailing together.

Because of busy schedules we don't have many meals together at home but I know our DD would have been bored after about 15 minutes at dinner and would have wanted to go to the clubs. Since she made a friend she didn't once ask to leave dinner early.

As Girl Scout Leader wrote in another thread 'just go with the flow' if you don't get the private table you want. You never know how it will turn out. I consider it part of the cruising experience.

We made some good friends and are looking forward to seeing them again.

 

["Ginger"]

Last year we were on the Magic, Topsiders was open from 7-9pm for dinner. It was wonderful, just show up between those hours, no sharing of tables and the food was very similar to what is served at Palo. It was very casual, shorts were welcomed. I hope they still offer Topsiders as a dining spot on this years cruise.

 

[ncligs]

"Ginger"
Thanks for the tip. We will definately keep that in mind.

 

[ducklite]

We were seated with another family of three, around our age. They had a 13 yo DD, we have a 16 yo DS. The kids had nothing in common, but the group worked. We didn't become instant best friends, didn't exchange phones numbers or anything, but had a pleasant time nonethelss.

Anne

 

[Chattyaholic]

DH and I were seated at a larger table with a family of 5. I had read in the cruise brochure that generally "families are seated with other families and couples are seated with other couples" but that didn't pertain to our case. Imagine my surprise when we got to our table that first night and I saw a box of crayons at one of the place settings?! I wasn't too thrilled. After all, we were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, without kids!! Since it was our first cruise and we were "greenhorns" we didn't ask to be switched. But we're going again in January and will definitely be asking to switch if they make us sit at a table with kids again. It is too bad they don't have a few tables-for-two in the main dining rooms, but I suppose they would be snapped up very quickly. We plan to do Palo's at least once, hopefully twice, this time (didn't at all last time) and with the option of Topsiders at least we will have some chance of dining "just us" without having to make small talk with strangers.

 

[carone0318]

I am concerned about the tables too. We are doing the 3 night Wonder in May and my dd will be 6.5 yrs old and my ds will be just over 2 yrs old. I know that I will not have any problems, but my concerns are for the people that might end up with us. The concern is mainly my ds. It would be great if they seated us with another family that might have toddler and be experiencing the same things we are. It is not uncommon for my ds to throw his food, do I condone it - no, but does it stop him - no. He dumps his plate on his highchair tray too and a lot of times his fork in thrown on the floor. I am really hoping that he is over these things before our trip, but I am not putting him into child care while we eat. He is a wonderful eater and will eat the entire time we are sitting at the table, but he is still a toddler. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that he is over his tricks and that our dining companions will tolerate us.

 

[disneyholic family]

scduckman...
no...it's not part of the cruising experience....
it's part of the DCL cruising experience...
there are many cruise lines that don't have forced group eating...
for the amount of money we paid for 3 days on the wonder (in a cat 3) i would have been very very very upset had we not had our own table......we were already planning on eating in our room if we were forced to eat at a group table....but it wouldn't have been anywhere as nice as eating in the restaurants (and we totally loved our head waiter, waiter and assistant waiter so we would have missed out on that as well).....
in fact, i'm quite sure our entire attitude towards our cruise would have been different.....we adored the cruise....
but we like being together as a family....
we took a 6 week vacation together this summer......3 weeks in WDW and the disney cruise and then disneyland, las vegas, detroit, NYC.....and we took that long trip together for that reason ....to be together.......we always vacation together (my husband and i have NEVER vacationed without the kids....i don't see the point.....being with my kids is the most enjoyable thing i can possibly imagine.....)....
anyway, you never know what tomorrow may bring so every minute you spend together is important as it could be your last....i don't want those precious together times intruded upon or jeopardized......

fortunately we were a foursome and had our own table.....
by the way, on the first day, at the embarkation lunch in parrot cay, they wanted to seat us at a group table but i asked for a table for 4 and they readily agreed.......

 

[twinmom1292]

We went of a cruise (not Disney) a few years ago & sat with 2 other couples. 2 ladies that left their husbands at home (fun gals) & another couple. Well the husband was a food sniffer. He smelled everything before he put it in his mouth. And he would sometime try to get his wife to smell his food too. It drove my husband & I nuts. On the last night he ordered key lime pie. It was presented very artfully & looked great. They had drizzled lime sauce on the plate. He put his spoon in the sauce, smelled it, had his wife smell it, then said I wonder what this is. My husband couldn't stand it anymore. He said IT'S LIME!!!!!!! YOU ORDERED KEY LIME PIE!!!!!!

It does make for an funny story, but there were some nights were did not want to go to dinner.

This cruise we are a party of 7, so we requested a table just for us.

Beth

 

[disneyholic family]

Beth,
that is hysterical!!!!....
i can imagine how annoying it must have been....
did you ask to be moved?....is it possible to be moved?....

 

[Hwnsun]

So how do they figure out who you're going to be seated with? Do they just draw your name out of a hat or do they do some kind of research as far as compatability goes? I'm looking forward to meeting new people from different places, but I also would like a quiet evening with my other half, so I guess I'll just go to Palo's for one evening.

 

[jellymoon]

This might be a weird question, but. . .

In our family, we always pray once we are seated at the table. Our kids are very insistent about this (for which I am proud), and we enjoy the time to remember God and to give thanks for our food, family and other blessings. This can take a LONG time, as each child gets to say a prayer (we have four kids-- though the 2 and 1 year old do it pretty quick. Amen just about sums it up! But, I think my 4yo daughter clocked in at a good 3 minutes tonight!) I don't want to lose our important family tradition on our trip, particularly as we want our children to be very aware of how fortunate they are to be able to experience this great trip.

How have others handled issues of faith and tradition in group tables? While I don't want to make others uncomfortable, I simply cannot imagine forgoing our time in prayer before the meal.

 

[disneyholic family]

jellymoon..
sounds like a lovely tradition and you definitely shouldn't have to give it up on the cruise....i don't know the answer to your question....however, i think if i were you i'd try for a private table....i don't know if there are tables for 6 or not, but you could call DCL and put in a private table request anyway....
i suppose that some wouldn't mind being seated with you while others might find it annoying (or possibly even offensive)....for example if they like to begin eating the moment the food arrives and feel forced to wait for you to finish your prayers......at the same time, you would be upset if you have the feeling they're upset....etc etc.....of course you might get people who don't mind.....or even who participate.....but there's no guarantee.....
to be perfectly honest, i'm not sure what my reaction would be in that situation (and we're very religious so i haven't a clue what someone who's anti-relgious might do....)...

it's really the luck of the draw.....i met a lovely couple on castaway cay (who were with their 18 year old son).....they were from somewhere in the midwest, i don't recall, and the husband is a minister....,,we had a lovely conversation that afternoon and discovered we are very like-minded......i know i would have very much enjoyed being seated with them and their son.......on the other hand i met lots of people i wouldn't have enjoyed eating with.....so......

 

[jellymoon]

Number one Disney family,

I totally agree with you. That's the thing. Religion and faith is soooo totally personal!!! I definately wouldn't want to offend anyone. But I also know if prayer started at our table I'd be nervous and uncomfortable. I don't want to make anyone else uncomfortable. At the same time, I don't want my kids to think there is anything to be embarrassed about in regards to prayer. We do normally pray in restaurants, but we are seated by ourselves.

I did request a private table. I was thinking, too, if it doesn't work out, we could do our major prayer where all the kids get their time at lunch which would be on our own.

It just got me thinking though that maybe this has come up somewhere before and I wondered how it was handled? PErsonally, I do think it would be kinda cool to end up at a multi-faith table. I'd love to learn more about blessing traditions in other faiths and it could be a great opportunity--- but hard when you don't know people and no one knows how the others feel. Nothing quite like meeting a stranger, and starting out the relationship with: "Hi! I'm Jelly. What is you religious faith, and what's your position on prayer?" LOL

 

[disneyholic family]

jellymoon,
oh..i just edited my post while you were posting yours....
anyway....yes i see what you mean now......and i'm sure there would be people who would enjoy that.....
i suppose you'll have to play it by ear and see how it goes....
perhaps you'll get a private table so it won't be an issue (though i'm sure the waiter/assistant waiter will find it very interesting)......
if you are at a group table i'm sure you'll be able to figure out what the others are comfortable with.....and as you say, it may be an interesting topic of conversation.....

 

[imgoingtodisney]

Im sorry and my mother would kill me for saying this -- but my DH & DS would be bothered waiting to eat so someone could pray. A small prayer would be fine but for 4 kids to get up and each say their own prayer while we waited could not be a good thing. As it is DH & I often get DS his dinner while we are having appetizer/drink. And that would make the server want to wait for everybody. Hopefully the praying family would arrive at dinner early so they can get this done with. Sorry - we were brought up at meal time saying a dinner prayer but it was 1 prayer, not everybody saying something. Hope it works out for you as I do understand your side also.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by jellymoon
This might be a weird question, but. . .

In our family, we always pray once we are seated at the table.

Although I am a practicing Catholic, this would make me very uncomfortable. I am all for your expression of religion, but I would feel like it was being forced down my throat. I would also feel like I needed to be quiet and respectful during your prayers, and the start of a meal is not a time that my family is quiet

While I wouldn't be offended by a very quick bowing of heads and three or four lines of prayer, I would find it rather rude of my table mates to hold basically a mini-revival every night while the food sat there getting cold. I am sure I am not the only person who feels this way. Remember, you might be seated with people of a very different faith who could be quite insulted by your praying.

I'd suggest that if you can't get a table by yourselves, then you conduct your prayer service in your cabin just before you go to dinner.

Anne

 

[imgoingtodisney]

thank you Anne