tablemates or not, which do you prefer?

[mickeymom629]

Hi. I've been reading everyone's suggestions for months now and they are great. I remember seeing something about someone's bad experience with tablemates and having to wait for them to arrive at each meal. We are a family of 6, so I called DCL to request that we sit alone, if possible. That way, I figured, we would get private attention from our waiters and wouldn't have to worry about having to sit with people we don't know. But now I am thinking that maybe it would be fun to sit with new people get to know them. I'm figuring that my children (DS 15, DS 13, DD 11, and DS 8) will be eating with us each night (like we do at home), but is it possible that they will make other plans or rush off to be somewhere and my husband and I will wish we were having a nice conversation with some other interesting cruisers? Any thoughts and experiences would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[prymsu]

My family of three always have had good experiences with getting very nice table mates. This has never been an issue for us. It is nice to make new friends...and who knows you may end up with DIS members sitting with you

 

[SusanB]

My daughter and I cruised the 3 day Wonder cruise last year and were supposed to be seated with another single mom and daughter. They never came to dinner, so we always ate alone. We just returned from the 7 day western cruise on the Magic and had the good fortune to be seated with a newlywed couple and a family of three from New Jersey. They were all delightful people and we felt so fortunate to have met them. It was much more enjoyable to have dining guests than eating alone. My suggestion would be to let Disney assign you tablemates. There's always the chance that you won't hit it off, but there's also the chance that you'll meet wonderful people, as we did. We considered that just a part of the magic on this cruise!

 

[leslieh]

We family of four (DD16, DD14, DH and me) on our first cruise they sat us with another family of four. No problem, we chatted a little but that was about it. Last cruise we traveled with another family of four and it was all of us (8) at one table. And we had a great time.

 

[taswira]

Yes, do let DCL assign you tablemates! In MOST cases it will be a fine experience and an opportunity to meet interesting people and make new friends. I think <I>this</I> is the norm. Sure, there is a <I>possibility</I> for a major mismatch. What ruins it for me is if I end up with chronic complainers, those who ask too many personal questions, those with unruly children (the ones who have <I>manners</I> are CUTE!), or people who don't bother cleaning up and dressing for dinner (Doesn't have to be "formal," just clean and neat and fitting DCL's recommendation for the evening). You take your chances by random assignments, but usually it's a pleasant experience.

 

[mickeymom629]

Thanks for your replies. I guess I'll be calling to change my dining request. I guess I read something about one bad experience. But I've been thinking I made a mistake, because it does seem like it's part of the "magic" and we do love to meet new people.

 

[DisneyDuo]

Hi MickeyMom629 - we will be on the same cruise as you (1/25/03). We are celebrating our 25th anniversary - just the two of us. We are rather pleasant and easy-going people - so if you want to request that you be seated with us, we won't mind ;-) We are eating at the early seating, though!

We enjoy meeting new people - so if we don't see you at dinner, maybe we'll get a chance to meet you somewhere else.

Just a thought!

Lin & Andy

 

[disneyholic22]

Just got back from the Magic. We are experienced cruisers (7) and were looking forward to meeting new people to chat with at dinner, as was our experience for all our previous cruises. Imagine our surprise when the four of us wound up looking at each other the first night!! (Why go away on a cruise if it is going to be the same scene with the kids bickering like at home?!!)
So we asked the head waiter, Sam, to move us to a new table, if possible.
We were pleased to be moved to a new table for the duration of the cruise, having the pleasure of meeting a couple from England with a son the same age as ours, and a mother and her two teenage daughters from Mexico. Lovely and lively conversation was had by all the remainder of the week.
My kids now have a better understanding of life in England and Mexico and behved like angles at the table! We will purposefully request table partners from now on when making a reservation.

 

[DisneyCruiseluvr]

We were seated with another family of four from New Jersey on our cruise (July 20th Western) and we ended up becoming really good friends. The children opened up and started talking to eachother after a few days. Towards the end, it seemed like they laughed more than they ate! We exchanged phone numbers, addresses and email addresses at the end of the week and plan on keeping in touch.

 

[castawayfan]

Ok, I will be the odd one out here. We have cruised 4 times. We are a family of 3 and only once did we sit alone. We loved it. Mostly because two of the other three cruises we had terrible tablemates. One family of 5 was just rude and would not speak to us or each other. They were also late everynight and kept us waiting for dinner. The other cruise, the family of four had some hygine problems that we could not stand. However, the one cruise we sat with a great family of 3 and had a wonderful time. I think that it can just be real hit or miss. On this last cruise we had a table to ourselves and it was a nice chance to enjoy some quality time together that was very, very relaxing.

 

[taswira]

I've seen several posts on the DIS about people having to wait for their late-arriving tablemates before bieng served. That was not the case with me. My last cruise (a 4-night Wonder in May) I traveled solo and I believe was at a table for ten. After the first night, our servers knew that I wanted iced tea with no lemon. I would walk in every evening <I>on time</I>, and my drink would be set on the table as they pulled the chair out for me. They also gave me the menu and I made my selections - often before my tablemates came straggling in. When they did, they would take a long time to decide what they wanted, then as the others placed their orders, the previous ones would invariably change their minds. And yes, IF they didn't arrive within five minutes of me being seated, my servers even brought my meal before theirs. That may not be standard DCL policy, but it certainly made me happy and earned them nice tips!

 

[peagreenid]

And we decided to sit with folks we met here on the dis. 2 wonderful couples. We had a wonderful time, and when my husband and I went to Palos one night, my children dined alone with 1 of the couples and had a wonderful time.
It is a great opportunity to put faces on these fellow Disers-

I informed my DH that this time we may be winging it- He is now a little skeptical. He reminded me of the obnoxious family dining at the table next to ours, well it was actually mostly the father figure. Rude, loud mouthed, on formal night he showed up in cutoffs and a ratty tank top. At the character breakfast he grabbed the food items with bare hands and kept taking cuts in front of everyone. He is worried we could end up with folks like that as dinner partners........

So I guess we will be hunting for dinner partners............

smiles Patty

 

[taswira]

Hey peagreenid - Just noticed you are in Idaho! Not too many of us here on the DIS ;-). I spend about half the time here and the other half in FL. I know what you mean about the guy in cut-offs and tank top. Some people like to push the limits. At Triton's my tablemates wore what they'd had on all day and I showed up in a long dress. The next night they improved their appearance a little. You just never know who/what you'll end up with, I guess. But when you're lucky, it works well.

 

[CamColt]

Its all a matter of personal preference. While some people claim to have gone on cruises and become lifelong friends with their tablemates some people have no desire to do that.
On our honeymoon(BRB) we requested and got a table for 2. I was very happy and enjoyed that very much. Thats the kind of person I am. Our first DCL was with my whole family(10 of us) so that wasnt an issue there. Now on our last cruise(Disney again) we requested to be at our own table but we were at a table for 4 with another couple. Being the person that I am, I was uncomfortable and I would have enjoyed my dining experience much more had we been alone. Not only would I have been more at ease, but we could have gone at our pace. Instead our tablemates(who didnt have a watch with them on the trip) were late both nights we dined with them. We would have our order in and then have to wait and wait and wait for them to get their order in and THEN they brought our apps with theirs(after we had ordered like 20 minutes earlier). Or we would have our apps and then have to wait for them to catch up to us before they brought all our entress at once. I saw people eating entrees while we were waiting for our apps 1 night. As a whole they were nice people, and we didnt have a problem(even with the tshirts and sweats they wore in the dining room), but we would have much prefered to be alone.
Palos was wonderful by the way and we were done there in 1 1/2 hours, much quicker than dining with others.
I should add, for me, it wasnt a matter of good vs bad tablemates, my issue was I really wanted to dine alone with DH and not with strangers(good or bad). Again, Im very uncomfortable around people I dont know, and the whole dinner thing did put stress on me. I dont see why DCL doesnt have at least a few tables for 2...other cruise lines do. I have to say this is probably my only complaint about DCL.

 

[Goofy Girl]

I just have to add my two cents. Though I am very outgoing, I am always nervous about meeting new people, but I wouldn't trade those dinners for anything. We still occasionally communicate with some of the folks we met on the 2001 cruise, and actually had dinner in NH with a couple we met in March! Fantastic people that I would never have met, if we hadn't let DCL make our seating arrangements!

 

[inkkognito]

We definitely prefer having tablemates. Our worst dining experience ever was the time we were seated at our own table alone! We love meeting new people, and in 23 cruises we've had excellent luck. Even on the few occasions when we have had children at the table, they have always been very well mannered (and usually very interesting to chat with too...we seem to bond well with kids, maybe because we are kids at heart).
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[peagreenid]

You are right about Idahoans being few and far between. Although I did just get an e-mail about a Dis meet in September, I have yet to be able to attend one as I am always WORKING!

You are after my own heart........I want to move to Florida when we retire, and in fact we will be looking at communities in Florida, pre and post cruise in November.

You obviously come to Idaho when it is cooler. My DH doesn't think I will be able to take the heat in the summer........but the 110 degree heat we have had here this summer can't be any better.

smiles Patty

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

On our upcoming cruise I'm actually hoping we have tablemates unknown to us - perhaps some interesting folks from another country as one mentioned. On our first cruise we were at a table by ourselves (family of 4), and on our second my parents were on the cruise and requested we be seated together.

In both cases it was a good experience for a variety of reasons but this time it could make for an interesting change of pace. Guess we'll see how it goes!

 

[eshannon]

Well, after reading all your comments, I also wanted to add my "two cents worth". We have only been on one previous cruise and that was in February. We being myself. DH, DS age 10 DS age 6 and DD age 13. We were seated at a table with a family of three. They had one daughter who was also six. They were pleasant, however neither spoke. It was very uncomfortable for me. We felt loud when we had normal dinner conversation. They just sat and smiled at us. At first I thought they were foreign and didn't speak our language! I tried to make conversation several times but it was very one sided. The child never spoke one word to us! Her mom said she was shy.
On our 9/28 cruise we have hooked up with two other couples (Hi padisney and the sorcerer 1, if you are out there!) We are looking forward to actually meeting someone who obviously enjoys disney as much as we do. The only concern I have is that we will have only one child with us (the 11 year old) and they have no children. He is equally comfortable with adults and children so I am hoping he won't be too bored!! My husband also is a bit of an introvert but comes alive when talking about planes, cars and computers! I am glad to have had the chance to meet people here. I feel like I kinda know them already!

 

[taswira]

Originally posted by peagreenid
I want to move to Florida when we retire, and in fact we will be looking at communities in Florida, pre and post cruise in November.

Patty, my primary address is Idaho. I married an AF fighter pilot who retired but refuses to leave because now he's a full-time recreationist/sportsman. But about every other month I spend 5 or 6 weeks at a time in Daytona Beach FL. I share a house with my sister there. My Mom has a house there also. She will be 80 in November and I just booked the 11/10 Wonder for us. Figured it's now or never! I wonder what kind of tablemates we'll end up with. My mom is very friendly and likeable, but now that she's older she sometimes says things she shouldn't, you know? And cruise director Rick is <I>wrong</I> when he says not to worry because "You'll never see these people again!" He knows about DISers . . We keep coming back! I'll be in FL from Oct. 15 to Nov. 19, so maybe I'll run into you at the parks!

Shari