Table mates on cruises

[disneysunshine85]

Anyone ever get table mates that they couldn't stand or super awkward. I'm a little nervous for our upcoming cruise haha

 

[kcashner]

If you have a bad table situation, tell your head server. You will be moved.

 

[BeckyE]

As a follow up, does everyone have table mates? We are a family of 5 and quite private. I'd love to be on our own... What are our chances?

 

[Bear3412]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2960356&page=8&highlight=table+mates

 

[Lisa Lisa]

The first night on our 4-night Dream cruise was awkward -- to the point that we considered going to GS and asking if we could be moved to our own table for the remaining nights. We were not late, but the other family had arrived before us. They did not acknowledge our presence in any way when we walked up to the table. My DH and I stood there for a minute, then looked at each other and sat down. There was almost no conversation among the adults all through dinner. The one saving grace was that my DD hit if off with one of the two boys from the other family. I was pleasantly surprised as I did not have high hopes when I saw that there were two boys at the table, one a couple of years older and one a couple of years younger than my DD.

We decided to give it one more try since DD had enjoyed herself. The next night, the boys' grandmother suggested that we change the seating arrangement so my DH and I were directly across from the other couple. She also insisted on buying wine for the table. After that, things warmed up considerably. By the third night, everyone was 100% comfortable and we all had an enjoyable time.

My advice would be to go out of your way to make the other family feel comfortable. Introduce yourselves and tell them where you're from. If you have kids around the same age, make sure they sit next to each other. Sometimes all that's needed is a little ice breaker to make everyone feel at ease!

 

[wiigirl]

If you have a bad table situation, tell your head server. You will be moved.

Yup...we did that once. Easy and wasn't akward after that.

 

[OKW Lover]

We've always had good table mates. Some that we have kept in touch with over the years, others that have slipped from our minds when we walked off the ship, but none that were bad. We enjoy talking with people of all different backgrounds and opinions. We appreciate different points of view on things.

As others have noted, if you find you are seated with somebody you really can't stand you can ask to be moved to a different table the next night.

 

[luv2sleep]

The first night on our 4-night Dream cruise was awkward -- to the point that we considered going to GS and asking if we could be moved to our own table for the remaining nights. We were not late, but the other family had arrived before us. They did not acknowledge our presence in any way when we walked up to the table. My DH and I stood there for a minute, then looked at each other and sat down. There was almost no conversation among the adults all through dinner. The one saving grace was that my DD hit if off with one of the two boys from the other family. I was pleasantly surprised as I did not have high hopes when I saw that there were two boys at the table, one a couple of years older and one a couple of years younger than my DD.

We decided to give it one more try since DD had enjoyed herself. The next night, the boys' grandmother suggested that we change the seating arrangement so my DH and I were directly across from the other couple. She also insisted on buying wine for the table. After that, things warmed up considerably. By the third night, everyone was 100% comfortable and we all had an enjoyable time.

My advice would be to go out of your way to make the other family feel comfortable. Introduce yourselves and tell them where you're from. If you have kids around the same age, make sure they sit next to each other. Sometimes all that's needed is a little ice breaker to make everyone feel at ease!

Such an odd initial interaction. I wonder how common this is? If was seated with people I didn't know, even though I am shy, I would say, "Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm X and this is my son Y." Seriously, how hard is that? Strange.

 

[darkwing818]

I think we've been lucky, we've sailed 6 times with our 2 DDs and have always had our own table. On the 2 cruises my DW & I have sailed, w/o kids, we were seated at a table for 6 with 2 other couples. As these were only 4 night cruises & we went to either Palo or Remy, on at least one night (the other couples went on different nights) we never got to eat with them that much. The dinners we did get to spend with other couples, were very enjoyable.

 

[holula]

The first night on our 4-night Dream cruise was awkward -- to the point that we considered going to GS and asking if we could be moved to our own table for the remaining nights. We were not late, but the other family had arrived before us. They did not acknowledge our presence in any way when we walked up to the table. My DH and I stood there for a minute, then looked at each other and sat down. There was almost no conversation among the adults all through dinner. The one saving grace was that my DD hit if off with one of the two boys from the other family. I was pleasantly surprised as I did not have high hopes when I saw that there were two boys at the table, one a couple of years older and one a couple of years younger than my DD.

We decided to give it one more try since DD had enjoyed herself. The next night, the boys' grandmother suggested that we change the seating arrangement so my DH and I were directly across from the other couple. She also insisted on buying wine for the table. After that, things warmed up considerably. By the third night, everyone was 100% comfortable and we all had an enjoyable time.

My advice would be to go out of your way to make the other family feel comfortable. Introduce yourselves and tell them where you're from. If you have kids around the same age, make sure they sit next to each other. Sometimes all that's needed is a little ice breaker to make everyone feel at ease!

We had (kind of) the same thing on out 3 day Dream cruise. For two nights it had been me and my BF, and a pair of friends, but at a table for eight. Us and the friends were chatty for the first two nights. On night three, another couple turned up, we said hello to them and NOTHING back. They didn't talk to any of us for the whole evening until right at the end when they asked if dinner always took this long! It was so strange.

 

[disneyfan888]

Only once did we have an awkward experience, nothing we could not handle, but still awkward. Thankfully, it has never been so bad that we need to change tables. However, I have friends and family that have had some very nasty experiences with people who proclaimed the table to be theirs and were very rude. If this were to happen, just asked to be moved. No one should be miserable on their cruise due to the behavior of others.

 

[kcashner]

We've had great situations (some people we are still in touch with and/or have seen on additional cruises), and a couple of really horrible. And many times we've been seated as "just us."

If you have a preference, contact DCL and have it noted on your reservation. There is no promise--it is just a request. After boarding, go to "dining changes" to find out if you got your request and/or if it can be adjusted at that time.

There is no way to predict based on family size unless there are 7 or 8 of you. Table sizes are 4, 6, and 8 with tables being placed together for larger groups. If you are 5, you could be alone at a 6 top or be at an 8 top with another family. As we normally cruise with 2 of us, we have been alone, with another 2-some, at a table for 8 with several different combinations, etc. ANYTHING is possible.

 

[damiel]

On one cruise we had the best experience. We actually have gone to visit our table mates while on vacation. Life is like a box of chocolates, You just never know what your going to get.

 

[Stewy]

We had tablemates on 4 of our 5 cruises. The only awkward time was with a family that did not eat meat due to their religious beliefs. My family usually has meat at every meal. We did not find out until after we ordered dinner and the chef came out to talk to them about what they could have. They said they were fine with us eating meat and did not ask to be moved. We had a great time with them and really enjoyed our dinner conversations.

We did have one trip where the family came to dinner late every night. After the first night, our servers would get our drinks and move on with our dinner since they consistently showed up 15 or 20 minutes late.

 

[Debers17]

We've only been on the 1 cruise, but after meeting some great people on our meet thread and talking with them for months before our trip, we decided to link reservations with 2 other groups. We had a table of 10 and it was the BEST experience ever. The first night we just started chatting it up like we had known each other for ages. I'm afraid the next cruise we take, our table mates won't be as wonderful as these group of people that I may just have to try to book a cruise with them again

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Our very first cruise (DH & I) we were seated at an 8 top with 3 other couples. We couldn't have better tablemates if we had held interviews for the positions! Which was really nice.

Subsequent cruises - #2 DH & I - seated at an 8 top with 2 other couples and a mother/daughter combo. #3 DH & I - linked with one of the couples from our first cruise, requested a 6 top. The other 2 people (unrelated, single woman and single man) were never there, so just 4 of us at a 6 top. #4 Party of 5 seated at a 6 top. #5 Party of 3 seated at an 8 top with a family of 5. #6 Party of 6 at a 6 top.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

I have been wondering about this too. My cruise in April is with my BFF, just a moms' trip without our kiddos. I have been trying to decide if it is a good gamble to wait and see what we get or if I should request a table just for the two of us to sit and yak all night. I am really shy, she is just the opposite. However, I am used to the dinner party small talk since I have to do it for my DH's job from time to time so I can manage. I'm just not sure it will be as much fun. Of course, it could be great! Thanks for the stories. They are giving me more to think about while weighing my decision.

 

[DesertGal]

As a follow up, does everyone have table mates? We are a family of 5 and quite private. I'd love to be on our own... What are our chances?

We are a family of four and were seated alone a few cruises ago. On our most recent cruise, we were a party of 5 and were seated with a party of five (we were traveling with our MIL as were they and our kids were all the same age). It was actually very fun and made our dinners really fun.

 

[Happy100]

We are a family that likes meeting new people. We have only had good experiences with our table mates. One family did take awhile to warm up to us but by night 3 we were all good.

My suggestion is to see what happens the first 2 nights before you request being alone unless the situation is horrible on the first night. It can take lots of people including yourself, a couple nights to warm up to eachother. IF you give it a chance you may meet some new wonderful people. More or less you have nothing to loose.

 

[Silver Queen]

So far I've been on 3 cruises and all of our dinner table mates have been very pleasant. We've had interesting conversations and had the opportunity to share information about our day and excursions. We especially enjoyed being seated with cruisers from other countries.