Sit w/Same People Ea Meal? or Random?

[catjammies]

Do you sit with the same people ea night (assigned table) or is it totally random each night?????


If assigned, what "categories" of folks do they try to assign you to?

If assigned, are there particular tables to request?

 

[tstobb]

You do sit with the same table companions each evening. There must be some "formula" DCL uses to group people but we saw tables with mixed size groups, some with & some with out kids, etc. You do not request a table, it is assigned to you with your dining rotation.

 

[ruvidu]

Yes, you will be assigned people to sit with each night. We have been lucky in our 4 cruises to have met and dinned with the neatest people. We are a mid 50s couple who travel with no children and have always had late dinninge. Our dinning compainions have ranged from mid 30s to our age on each trip. We have never had any children assigned to our table. On the first cruise we sat with 3 other couples, on the second cruise one couple, the third cruise two couples and on this last one we started with three couples and another was added mid week. We had a ball.

 

[inkkognito]

We too have had always had some great tablemates...pretty fortunate, considering that we've been on 26 Disney cruises! Most of the time we are with other adults, but on kid0heavy cruises we have had youngsters and/or teens at the table. Those meals have been just as enjoyable (and sometimes even more!) than the times when we are seated with all adults.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Otisp]

Our family (of 4) actually got our own table, but by the end of the cruise we were making friends with the families at all of the tables around us (as we traveled from chow hall to chow hall). It was one of the best parts of the trip!

 

[madcoco]

Does anyone have any tablemates from h*ll stories?That could make for some interesting reading.

 

[ruvidu]

the couple who joined us mid week had a very bad experiance. The people they were sitting with complained for 2 nights about the food, the weather, the ship and their health. They were miserable so the server moved them from early seating to late seating and sit them with us. They hugged each of us on the last night and thanked us for letting them sit at our table.

Russ

 

[atigeg]

We've never had really horrible tablemates, but we did have a strange one on one trip. We were at a large table, and I think there were three other parties. I know there were two for sure, as one was a mom and adult daughter and the others were two women who appeared to be a couple. Everyone was chatty every night and having a blast, with the exception of the mom. We tried to draw her into the conversation a few times, but it was like pulling teeth. I don't know if she was disturbed by having a female couple at the table or if she just wasn't the friendly sort. Her daughter was very sociable, so after a few tries, we gave up on mom and the rest of us just chatted without her.
We DID have an awful experience on Voyager...they put us at a huge table at which everybody else was part of a huge family sailing together. There were supposed to be two more members of the family at the table, but we were put there instead. Talk about uncomfortable! Even though it was RCCL's screw-up, the diningroom manager was really rude to us. Eventually, by the next meal we were moved to another table. The people there were two couples travelling together, but at least they didn't resent us for taking the place of others in their party!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[mickeymom629]

I have been in a dilema about this since reading these boards. After reading something about someone's horrible experience, I called DCL and asked for my family of 6 to be seated alone. Then I was reading about the fun in sitting with other people and I decided to call DCL and cancel my request to be seated alone. THEN I was reading another thread about families saying long prayers before dinner and I decided to call DCL and re-request to be seated alone, finally deciding that we would meet others leisurely around the cruise at other times rather than at dinner.

 

[SC Minnie]

We have only cruised once (jan'02) and we a little nervous about the tablemates situation but were looking forward to meeting new people. We were seated at a table for 8 with a Mom and DD. There are only 3 of us so the other chairs were empty the rest of the cruise. Well, the first night we started talking a little and then found out that the mom was a DISer! That really broke the ice because we had both been responding to the 'roll call' thread for our cruise but we didn't make it to the first meet. Our kids got a long great and have shared letters and e-mails since. We are going on the same cruise next week and have our ressies linked so we can be tablemates again! Another DISer asked if she and her friend could join us and we said the more the merrier.

Not all tablemate stories are horror stories but those seem to be the ones that everyone remembers. Go into it with an open mind but if you really want to dine as a family request a table alone.

 

[prymsu]

I agree with SC Minnie, and you should give it a chance to meet new folks. If you are totally uncomfortable, you can always discuss with the head waiter...

 

[FOJMO]

On our 1st Magic Cruise, we were three (DH, DD & myself) and were seated with another threesome family with a daughter about the age of our daughter. They were pleasant enough, but they were constantly talking about all of the other cruises they had been on (he was a doctor and she was a nurse) and they complained about the Disney Cruise in comparison to the other numerous cruiselines they had been on. It seemed like it was always "one upmanship" with their comments -- you know the type -- "oh, if you think that's something, wait to you hear THIS!"

On our 2nd Magic Cruise, we brought along a friend for our daughter. Not only was this the best thing we ever did (bringing a friend along), but I think because we were a party of 4, we had our own table and we LOVED it! We met plenty of people throughout the cruise at other activities, but when it came to dinner, this was the time when we got together with our family and shared our day's experiences. The girls (teens) went their way during the day and we went ours, except for port days. Dinner time was very special and we enjoyed being just US.