Tablemate Problems?

[Verandah Man]

CS Minnie,



Thanks for the reply, we did find a family that is traveling on the same cruise that has a DD that is near the same age as our DD. We have exchanged e-mail addresses, and our DD will be e-mailing there DD after school today. I hope the girls hit it off, both seem to be a bit nervous about finding someone to hang around with.

 

[fredms]

I am cruising for the first time with DCL in May, and although I am not worried about myself, however this is the first trip ever for the ppl I am bringing with and they are so nervous as it is, I can't imagine if we get stuck with one of these horrible stories.

I've requested we sit alone - just to keep them more comfortable.

I guess I'll have to wait and see!

 

[ducklite]

I think most people have happy endings. I had requested late seating and no children under 13. We were seated with a very nice couple and their 14 or 15 yo daughter. She had nothing in common with my 16 yo son, but that was fine...both of them just wanted to finish their meals and get back to Common Grounds anyhow. They didn't hit it off, but didn't dislike each other either. I was relived to see that her table manners weren't perfect --my sons tend to be atrocious! So at least I wasn't terribly embarresed LOL! I have a feeling the other mom probably felt some relief there as well

Although we didn't hit it off so well that we are forever friends, etc., the couple were enjoyable to share a table with, and we had some good laughs.

Anne

 

[disneykins]

First cruise we met three 20ish girls from Cinci wanting to party. DW and I had a great time with them and one of them won the talent show (had a great voice).
Then on RCCL 4 day had a young couple from S. Carolina out for a party weekend. Our kids were 10 & 8 but we all got along. He was long haired and jeans every night but still enjoyed their company.
Carnival 7 day met an older couple from Californian a Japanese couple who now lived 100 miles from us and their 2 DDs. They spoke little English but we all sat in different seats every night and got to know each other. My kids were 3 years older than theirs but still got to know each other. Only thing that bothered us was they insisted on ordering off the adult menu for their kids. Salads, appetizers (even escargot) and fancy entrees and the kids hardly touched anything every meal. Then the waiter would have to bring something off the kids menu.

On our 2 DCL cruises we have requested large tables and have been seated at tables for 4 both times. Thats nice too, it gives us time to catch up with the kids (now 16 and 13) because dinner is the only time we insist they join us. LOL.

I dont know which I prefer but I think I'll request a big table for the opportunity to meet other people since we don't do the bar scene on board.

 

[peg2001]

We just got back from our first ever cruise. Myself, DH, DD6 and DD3 were seated with a family of three with a DS4. They were very sociable and their little boy was VERY outgoing and talkative.

During the first dinner, the little boy choked on a watermelon seed and proceeded to vomit all over himself, his chair, and the floor. I was trying to cover DD3 eyes so that she wouldn't repeat the performance. When I glanced back at DD6, her eyes were wide as saucers and she started giggling. Oh my! DCL handled it perfectly, reassuring the family, moving everyone to a new table while the mom took the boy back to the stateroom to clean up.

After this rough beginning, we had a wonderful time with this family. We ran into them frequently around the ship.

Peggy

 

[ZebraStripes]

We are a family of 3 and I have an etiquette question. When seated with a group at a table, where do you physically sit? Does your whole family sit in a line on one side or do you do a couple on one side and the others opposite? I ask because we had a table of 6 the first time and I wanted to be able to speak to my husband without talking through my DD. Me and DD on one side and DH on the other. My DH said we should have all sat on one side.

 

[lsmac]

Ok, I am just hopping on this thread...but we have cruised numerous times and very rarely found compatible tablemates. The worst were on Voyager of the seas with a group that did not speak English and glared at us the entire meal!
Our first Disney cruise: a 4 day Wonder: we sat with a group that we thought would not fit as we had an 11 year old and there were NO kids! Come to find out, they were a delightful bunch that encouraged ds to play trivia with them and pretty soon had our entire section in on it...including the waiters! We were also astonished to find out that the honeymoon couple had the same last name! No "Wonder" they put us together! LOL
On our last Disney (well not last, but most recent) in December, we had requested a small table and were put at a table for 10...seeing the look on my face, dear hubby walked over to Gonzalo, the head waiter, and promptly got that changed! We ended up at a table for four...which became a table for two as dear son (now almost 13) did NOT want to eat with us...he was too busy running off to the Lab to "hang with friends". It turned out quite romantic actually.
Now, AnnMorin...don't count us out yet for the next Dec cruise...we would love to sit with you and the boys...only you don't want me singing Happy Birthday to ya...we'll let Michelle and Alex take that one! LOL

Lisa

 

[kajohn]

Please tell me there are people with good stories of table companions. I thought cruise ships tried to match tablemates with people similar, kids with kids, adult only with adult only, and age as well.

I really enjoy meeting people on a cruise ship, so we asked for a large table (we are a family of 5). Now I'm wondering if that was a good decision. On our last cruise we went to Alaska and I thought the powers that be did an excellent job of trying to put our table together. Here was the makeup of our table.

A couple in their 50's
A couple in their 50's traveling with their single 20 something son
2 single women late 20's early 30's
2 couples in their 30's'

the 50 somethings had each other, the singles had each other and the 30 somethings had each other. I don't think that happened by chance. We all got along wonderfully and I very much looked forward to dinner everynight. We even cancelled reservations at Portofino's (like Palo's) and did lunch instead so that we wouldn't miss a dinner.

If we really have bad tablemates, would I have a chance of getting a table for 6, that is sitting empty? We are sailing on 2/8!

 

[atigeg]

On the subject of where to sit:
Ove rthe course of 28 Disney cruises and 4 on RCCL, we've never noticed a hard and fast rule on this. Sometimes we sit across from each other, sometimes in a line...seems to be whatever everyone at the table prefers.
On the subject of good tablemates...Disney definitely makes an effort to seat you with similar people. Most of the time we are with other childless couples or families with adult children. However, when there is an exceptionally high number of kids on board (e.g. holidays), sometimes that is impossible. We have been at tables with teens and a couple of times with smaller kids. But don't automatically worry, even if that happens to you. Some of our most enjoyable dinners have been at the times we've been sitting with kids. Since hubby and I are big kids at heart, we tend to bond with them...sometimes, we've chatted more with the kids than the parents! And even when we've had younger children at the table, it was lots of fun. We had one little 3-year-old girl who was like a little princess...better table manners than many adults. And we had a little boy (around 5) who kept us in stitches each night with his stories of the day's adventures. Be open minded and you might find that you really enjoy seeing the cruise through the eyes of a child.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[kajohn]

Barb,

I guess I wasn't clear in my post, (especially since I didn't have kids in Alaska), but when I meant five in my family that is myself, DH, and 3 DS's 5, 7 and 9!! I would love to sit with another family that has kids close in age to my own. I'm afraid that if we are sitted with other adults only, they would be bored to death, which means they would irritate each other, and then we would have quite the time, (he's touching me, etc etc!!)

 

[AnnMorin]

If you JUST JOIN US that would be the best birthday song I could ever hear. PLEASE>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

[Lisa F]

to everyone who is getting nervous about potential tablemates...

Don't! I posted one of the "horror" stories but honestly, the most we got out of it was a good story to tell later. You run the risk of running into people you are not compatible with ANYWHERE... they could sit next to you on a plane, they could be in the cabin next to you, they could be next to you during a show and talk the whole time etc etc. If someone is really going to put a damper on your cruise, just talk to your head server and they will handle it gracefully and discreetly. That's what they're there for! It's really nothing to worry about and honestly, on our first cruise and last cruise our tablemates were so awesome that I would endure 10 of the "not so great" tablemates in order to have the opportunity to meet such wonderful people again.

I knew this thread would scare people but honestly, it's just people who now have funny stories to tell sharing their stories.

Lisa

 

[atigeg]

Ah, I see now, Kelli!
I was thinking the opposite, since I'm usually looking at things from the perspective of a childless couple. But of course that works both ways
The odds are very high that Disney will either seat you alone or seat you with another family with a similar make-up. In our experience, that is the norm, and the number of families is always very high onboard.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[lsmac]

Ann...
I'm working on it!

Lisa

 

[CamColt]

Ours didnt bring a watch with them on the trip, so the 2 nights we dined with them, they were late. This in turn made us have to sit around forever until they caught up to where we were.
This is probably my only gripe about DCL...they should offer tables for 2 in the dining rooms. Thank God for Palos.

 

[spotssister]

In October 2001 I was a single cruiser on the Magic. For dinners I was assigned to a table with three married couples. I am quite sure we were all about t he same age -- early 50s. The husband of one couple was a little boorish, but not too bad. All in all, had a wonderful time.

 

[gometros]

I think a lot of what you get out of your tablemates has to do with howmuch you put in. We'e cruised four times (once on Carnival) and had good expereinces on each. On our first cruise, on the fantasy, we got friendly with a young couple, who in every day life we probably would never socialize with - for various reasons. We were just so different. But despite the differences, we had a great time together.

On our first Disney cruise, we were w/o children and sat with two other couples who we spnt time with at the shows at night. Our second cruise was with family, so we had a table to ourselves. Our most recent cruise last year we were once again w/o kids and sat with three other couples of varying ages. I think we were the youngest in our late 40s. One couple especially, was a delight to be with ad we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Funny thing is, we never kept in contact with anyone in any of the cases, which is probably more reflective of geographice and sociopolitical differences. But for the dration of the cruises, we enjoyed each others' company.

The bottom line is we were all there to have a good time and enjoy ourselves, we were all good coversationalists and we were al friendly.

 

[antmaril]

On our last cruise (on Carnival) we (me, DH and DS (age 13 at the time) were seated with a family of six from New York (Grandmother, mother, father, teenage daughter, son and daughter-in-law). When we first boarded the ship, I was really worried that my son was not going to have a good time. He seemed bored right from the beginning and would not go to the teen club. I was starting to think the cruise had been a huge mistake. However, when we went to dinner, we were delighted to sit with this lovely family. Their daughter (who was a little older than our son, but a very nice girl) asked my son if he wanted to explore the ship with her after dinner. To my surprise, he said yes and from that moment on the cruise was saved. They hung out together every night after dinner and I think they both had a very good time. As a result of being seated with these people (just the luck of the draw really), we all had a great trip and fond memories.

 

[AmyM]

We will be cruising as a family of 6 (Grandpa, Grandma, DH, DW, DD10, DS9). Will DCL most likely put us at a table for 6? I really enjoy meeting different people and would really like to sit with another family that had kids. Any predictions?

 

[Jeanny]

Not trying to be rude or sound dumb, but I'm trying to figure out why YOU had to wait for the late people? Why couldn't you order and start your meal? How were you to know if they were even coming to dinner??? Did you have to wait a certain amount of time before ordering and hoped that they showed up??

Sorry for all the questions, but I just couldn't understand why you couldn't eat at your convenience, not their's.

thanks, Jeanny