do we actually dine with these other people for a week or do they just sit with us?

[trishy]

Lisa,
That's great that it worked out for you. Glad you had a good time. Since I'm not Anne either, I can only assume like you did about her intentions. The point of my post, as I wrote, is to give another viewpoint of the "dining companion" situation. Also, to assure future cruisers that DCL is very accomodating in table changes and not to fret about it. Some people are guarded around kids - others may be guarded around adults. Personally, I'm very comfortable around kids and love the "Disney-twinkle" in their eyes. There are those kids who are fidgety at the table, but in my opinion it's due to the pressure put on them to BEHAVE. The relaxed, happy ones are usually terrific. I've also had adult table companions who were either wonderfully interesting or incredibly boring - can go either way in any scenario. I think it's best for any cruiser to give it a chance instead of bailing out based on prejudged opinion. Of course, if there is no way one could tolerate the pitter patter of tapping feet under the table or the occasional drop of the fork, I think it is best to request a new table right away to alleviate undue pressure on the "offending" family. In the case of my precious "cruising time", if you read the post again you will see it's in response to the topic of whether or not one would have to wait until all parties at the table are finished dining. I found the servers to be very efficient at handling each party individually. My personal experience was that my group was free to leave, or stay, if desired - dinner/lunch was not held up because of anyone's delay. Overall, I'm happy with DCL.

 

[Lisa F]

Trishy,

If you read the original poster was worried about wasting valuable (not precious, sorry, but same concept) cruising time waiting for tablemates to finish eating. My point was only that some of our most valuable cruising times were actually spent with our tablemates sitting around the table. I'm sorry if you thought that comment was mocking you in some way, but I didn't actually notice that you used that phrase as well until I just reread your post. You pointed out that servers are aware of valuable cruising time, I pointed out that dinner with your tablemates could be part of that valuable cruising time.

As far as dining with kids, I don't understand why someone who expresses a preference to not dine with small children is told that they are missing out on something wonderful. If I remember from other of ducklite's posts, she has a teen, so I think the posts telling her (or anyone else) to give sitting with kids a try are a little silly because obviously she has been there, done that and knows what it is like. I don't have kids either yet I have travelled extensively with friends who do have little ones and yes, I have been there, done that as well. You're right, sometimes it is charming. Other times I just don't want to deal with kids and as an adult without kids (or an adult with grown up kids), I have the luxury of being able to do that.

I just happen to think that if someone wants to not have to watch the language and content of everything they say that they should not be characterized as someone who is constantly making inappropriate remarks and "expects a laugh after each one." There is a lot of room between being a boor and wanting to relax on vacation in an adult atmosphere without worrying about appropriateness for children.

Lisa

 

[ennazus]

SingingMom ~What a great story!

Don't judge a book by it's cover.

 

[trishy]

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Lisa F
As far as dining with kids, I don't understand why someone who expresses a preference to not dine with small children is told that they are missing out on something wonderful. If I remember from other of ducklite's posts, she has a teen, so I think the posts telling her (or anyone else) to give sitting with kids a try are a little silly because obviously she has been there, done that and knows what it is like. I don't have kids either yet I have travelled extensively with friends who do have little ones and yes, I have been there, done that as well. You're right, sometimes it is charming. Other times I just don't want to deal with kids and as an adult without kids (or an adult with grown up kids), I have the luxury of being able to do that.

I just happen to think that if someone wants to not have to watch the language and content of everything they say that they should not be characterized as someone who is constantly making inappropriate remarks and "expects a laugh after each one." There is a lot of room between being a boor and wanting to relax on vacation in an adult atmosphere without worrying about appropriateness for children.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa! That's EXACTLY what I'm getting at. I don't have a foul mouth. Nor do I tell tasteless or off-color jokes. I hardly tell jokes at all. I don't like discussing politics or religion with strangers. But lets say we are talking about movies. We talk about Tom Hanks, and the topic leads to his movie "Philadelphia". An extremely good movie, which very tastefully handled mature subject matter. Most parents don't want to discuss this type of material around their five year old, but would have no problem talking about it around their fifteen year old. That's what I'm getting at.

I have a sixteen year old who will only be joining us for three, maybe four meals. I have already chosen late seating in order to minimize the possibility of sitting with kids. It seems kind of funny that most of the people trying to convince me I'd like sitting with families with younger kids have younger kids. I'm not meaning to offend anyone. I just don't find younger kids as "wonderful" or "precious" as other adults might. Kids are not my thing. I have a lot of respect for people who do enjoy being around them. I think I deserve the same respect for my feelings.

Anne

 

[SingingMom]

..."It seems kind of funny that most of the people trying to convince me I'd like sitting with families with younger kids have younger kids"....

Anne,
I hope you didn't think I was trying to convince you to sit with younger kids. By all means, try to have your seat changed if that happens. I was just bringing up an experience we had. I had heard so much about "Disney matching 'like with like' families" - yet the only "like" about our seatmates were that they were a family of 3! I didn't try to change it because I wasn't sure how much of a hassle it would be.

I honestly wish we had the option of our own table. Small talk can be difficult to continue for 7 nights - kids or no kids!