Table Sharing: Yes or No?

[cruisehopeful]

First cruise, we were seated with a family that hated everything about Disney and the cruise ship. They complained about everything the whole time. The last night of the 3 night cruise, we didn't even go to dinner.

Second cruise, seated with a family that although nice, the kids talked to us non stop for the entire 2 hours each night.

Third and Fourth cruise, didn't go to MDRs at all.

Fifth cruise coming up, I am asking for a private table and won't go to dinner if we don't get a private table.

 

[Angeejoe]

On our 1st cruise we were blessed with 3 other couples that were great 2 of the couples we still keep in contact with. The woman in one of the groups was originally from our city & I've met up with her when she's been in town & boyfriend went to the same university as I did. The other couple were great friends with now, I text with the wife almost daily. We went to Wisconsin last year to visit them & this year the 4 of us cruised together & we spent the night before at the same resort & went to Ohana & we drove them to the cruise the next day. On this cruise we were curious if they'd put us with other couples, but they did not- it was just the 4 of us.

 

[southerngirl528]

For those in this thread that have had unsatisfactory table mates you do NOT "have to endure" or "have your memories filled" with them. If you're placed with folks you don't like, ask politely to be moved right away. It's possible your table mates were thinking the same thing. I actually ask for a large table, as it makes for more conviviality and even if there are those that are a little less than "fun", I have others to talk to. We have met some fascinating folks on our many cruises and for us, I cannot imagine not having this experience. Dining is not our main focus so it's not my main set of memories. Okay, other than the adult dining options, but there we ARE at our own table and not sharing.

Funniest grump I ever met on a Disney cruise was on the 2012 Hawaii 14 night sailing. I got onto an elevator one evening with an older gentleman. It was a Hawaiian cruise and there was mostly Hawaiian music playing on the speakers throughout the cruise. I wasn't really paying attention that the music was playing in the elevator until the man proclaimed vehemently, "I HATE Hawaiian music!"!!! My head snapped around toward him to see if he was just pulling my leg but nope. He was dead serious. I stifled a big laugh, smiled sweetly and said, "Sir, you do realize you are on a HAWAIIAN cruise, yes?". I don't recall all the tidbits of the gibberish he spouted but I left that elevator laughing. Bless his heart, he was either having a miserable day or maybe just a miserable person. (don't get me wrong, I don't love every single genre of music, but if you go on a themed cruise ya better be set to hear lots of music from that "theme"! LOL)

 

[ImDMous]

We've done 4 cruises and had a fine time with our tablemates on all of them. We haven't become lifelong friends with any, but that's fine. I'm a very introverted person and sometimes I come off as a bit of a b*#$% because of it, but I do my best and DH is more than outgoing enough to pick up the slack. Our 15 night Panama was the most fun just because we had more time to get to know everyone.

 

[2prettygirl]

We were hesitant on doing this our first Disney cruise but we did it and we will definitely do it again! Disney does a fantastic job at setting families together that can relate per say. We have 2 girls and Disney had us at a table with a family that had 2 girls as well, same ages! It worked out so great! The girls got to know one another throughout the week, spent time doing the Aqua Duck and at the kids club together. It has been 2 years since that cruise and they are still pen pals with one another. The family is from Australia so it is beyond cool to stay in touch!

 

[dcassetta]

I have always enjoyed the new people I've met. I agree that Disney does a good job of matching people.

 

[tinay]

My family tends to go in a large group of around 8-10 people, so we always had our own table. There has been times when we have gone on the cruise with 4-6 people and have been sat with other people. Most of the time, it has been a good experience...except for the last experience:

We had 6 people including my nephew, who at the time was just over a year, so they sat us with another couple that had baby less than 4 months old. When we spoke, they told us the only reason they were doing a disney cruise was because it was the only cruise line that allowed for a baby their age to cruise... They didn't seem to like Disney as much as my family did and they would complain about little things like all of the children on the boat or no adult things to do...it was not even the first day yet. My family tends to order a lot of food too, which caused the service to definitely slow down for our table because we would take our time eating. Plus my nephew ate at a slower speed than us. We could tell that the couple was annoyed with us for taking our time. So, needless to say I went and asked for a separate table that night.

 

[Mousesmom]

While I like being seated with others, it's easier for me to not have tablemates for two reasons. First, I'm a big introvert and hate making small talk with people. DH is similar in that regard, but not as introverted as I am. Second, and more importantly, I'm hearing impaired which makes hearing ANYone in the MDR a challenge.

 

[Twilight Terror]

So, do you HAVE to have a shared table? Or can you request to be on a 'single' table with just your travel party? Does this apply to just parties of 2, or larger parties also? We are a party of 3, and in a way, we would much rather be it just us for dinner?

 

[Shanti]

Nope. Our kids have autism and mealtime is some times stressful, full of drama, etc. Don't want to subject others to that.

I know what you mean. My son is autistic & while happy at mealtimes, he's shy with strangers & doesn't have great conversational skills. I requested a private table so he wouldn't have to feel social stress at meals while on vacation. He's had so many other struggles in life- I don't want vacation to be hard for him, too.

 

[Shanti]

So, do you HAVE to have a shared table? Or can you request to be on a 'single' table with just your travel party? Does this apply to just parties of 2, or larger parties also? We are a party of 3, and in a way, we would much rather be it just us for dinner?

You'll be assigned to share a table, but can request a private table. Your request will be just that: a request that they might or might not honor. I requested in advance a private table for my son and I (he's autistic). Upon boarding, I checked at guest services to see if they'd granted our request, but nope, they'd put us at a large table. I then had to make an in-person request to the head of dining (or whatever his title was). He granted my request grudgingly, letting me know it was difficult, but he did grant it. If we'd been among the later arrivals on the ship, there might not have been space, so nothing is guaranteed.

Disney should find a way to make this an ensurable option (maybe charging a fee) for those of us who find sharing a table with strangers a real drawback of cruising.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So, do you HAVE to have a shared table? Or can you request to be on a 'single' table with just your travel party? Does this apply to just parties of 2, or larger parties also? We are a party of 3, and in a way, we would much rather be it just us for dinner?

Any size group may request to be seated alone. Just call DCL and have the request placed on your reservation. Most of the time such requests are granted. Sometimes not.

 

[Twilight Terror]

Okay, thanks for that. I may just try doing that. I am hoping that since we are on the August/September sailing that it will be relatively quiet compared to other cruises and that it might be an option. I know it's only a request, but if you don't ask, you definitely don't get!

 

[Funky Chicken]

For the most part we have had positive experiences with table mates on DCL and other lines. Last trip on the Fantasy the 3 of us were seated at a 4 top and I was honestly a little disappointed. We still exchange Christmas cards with people from all over the place that we cruised with decades ago.

 

[Dug720]

I voted neutral, because I love the concept. On my first cruise (SS Emerald Seas back when I was in 6th grade - so around 1982 or so) we were seated with another family who had a daughter between my and my sister's age and we had a blast. Dinner was never awkward or anything beyond initial shyness the first night. Probably because we had been well prepared by a travel agent in the church my dad worked at (I think he helped my parents book everything, but I'm not sure) that dining while cruising was different from dining in a restaurant on land - the multiple courses, the doting by the servers (though none of us would have dreamed of asking to have our food cut up - not even my six-year old sister), that we would be seated with at least one other family, that there was a dress code, etc.

I've been on group cruises where we had several tables and rotated among them, so you were usually with someone you hadn't had a meal with yet, though sometimes there were repeats. It only got awkward one time when I was at a table with people in our group but who I had not met at all yet. Those people steered the conversation in a direction I was not comfortable with - and it was all people I had not had the chance to interact with and did not want to disclose exactly WHY I didn't appreciate the turn of the conversation so I opted to remain silent and leave the table ASAP.

When we went on a family cruise to celebrate our parents 45th anniversary, we were on the Dream and Daddy opted to get a concierge cabin since we were all staying together. As concierge we were put at our own table, though we didn't realize that would happen. Not a huge thing, though we missed meeting new people. Of course the father at the table thisclose to ours at Royal whichever one it is on the Dream decided we might as well have been sitting together. THAT was awkward because it wasn't like we were going to be right there with them again.

I've done two solo cruises - both on Disney. The first time, I was on the ship where my sister was based while she was onboard. She had gotten permission to eat with me, and the dining room manager changed my table location so that we had a table to ourselves mainly for HER as she had to wear her whites every night and he didn't want her to be put in the position of having to answer tons of questions or of us not being able to have "real" conversation.

The second was on the ship she was based on, but while she was on vacation so I was truly solo. Because of the awkward thing with the group cruise, I admit I had requested my own table, but I didn't make a big deal about it by running to dining changes to verify my request was met. I figured que sera sera. Well, I WAS put at a table with others. Two guys each cruising solo - and I swear they just threw the three solos together regardless of anything. But yet the magic worked for the guys as they immediately bonded over real estate, conservative politics, and a couple of other things that I don't remember because I had already tuned out of their conversation and desperately wished I'd taken my nook. Escaped as soon as I could that first night. I didn't have to worry about the second night as I was doing Palo (usually my first night tradition, but given that the first night was Valentine's Day I opted to spare myself the sight of couples all over). But the third night, I thought I would go to Cabanas - only to discover that it was like they put the menu together by saying "What are Beth's least favorite things on each menu?" and putting them on there. So I went to the MDR I was scheduled to go to while first seating was happening and spoke with the Dining Room Manager who said it would not be a problem to put me at my own table, so I had my own table the rest of the cruise and life was grand.

So... Generally if I'm with someone, I like the shared aspect of it because even if the tablemates are duds, I've got someone to talk with. As a solo, I'd honestly rather be by myself because there are now two experiences I've had being solo and getting stuck at a table with people who I not only have nothing in common with but who actively make me uncomfortable by their conversation direction and/or views. (Put it this way - would you want to have to spend a week dining with people who don't think you should be allowed to exist because of who you were created to be?)

 

[DLgal]

I know what you mean. My son is autistic & while happy at mealtimes, he's shy with strangers & doesn't have great conversational skills. I requested a private table so he wouldn't have to feel social stress at meals while on vacation. He's had so many other struggles in life- I don't want vacation to be hard for him, too.

Yeah, we have that issue too. One of our sons actually gets VERY upset when anyone talks to him when he is eating. Even us. It literally ruins his meal. And we have the standard meltdowns when the food has something not right about it (like cheese on a hamburger) or if there are vegetables on the plate (heaven forbid!). Our youngest is almost 10 but is still unpredictable at restaurants. Just two weeks ago DH had to bail out with him during a meal and go back home because his placemat got wet when the waiter put his drink down on it. Clearly, end of the world type issues. But you know once those meltdowns take hold they can be VERY hard to recover from.

 

[Shanti]

Yeah, we have that issue too. One of our sons actually gets VERY upset when anyone talks to him when he is eating. Even us. It literally ruins his meal. And we have the standard meltdowns when the food has something not right about it (like cheese on a hamburger) or if there are vegetables on the plate (heaven forbid!). Our youngest is almost 10 but is still unpredictable at restaurants. Just two weeks ago DH had to bail out with him during a meal and go back home because his placemat got wet when the waiter put his drink down on it. Clearly, end of the world type issues. But you know once those meltdowns take hold they can be VERY hard to recover from.

 

[bwvBound]

I've done two solo cruises - both on Disney. The first time, I was on the ship where my sister was based while she was onboard. She had gotten permission to eat with me, and the dining room manager changed my table location so that we had a table to ourselves mainly for HER as she had to wear her whites every night and he didn't want her to be put in the position of having to answer tons of questions or of us not being able to have "real" conversation.

How marvelous!!

 

[Dug720]

How marvelous!!

It really was nice. The only slightly sad thing was when I got my tip sheet I saw who my originally assigned servers were (for whatever reason I was never officially switched - and I had no issues leaving those tips and then tipping the servers I actually had (plus some) as it was not the fault of the originally assigned servers that I sat elsewhere, and I didn't want them to be "punished" even though my sister said it was perfectly fine to have them switched or cancelled) I saw that one (can't remember his name right now) was a server who was HIGHLY recommended on here.

The team we had was awesome though. (Again, cannot remember their names - this was two years ago and I've had two non-DCL cruises and one DCL cruise since then.)

 

[Kimberly9701]

Im very glad to read all of the posts here! I'm hoping Disney matches us up well on our cruise. I travel alone with my son, and I've never felt an issue.. But a cruise is so many (2)parent families traveling together, as well as couples.. This is the first time I've felt a bit awkward. Hopefully we get matched up with others who are traveling alone with children!