Sharing wine at a large table.

[stanjj111]

We are travelling alone (2 persons) and are sittting at a table for 8. If we order wine with dinner is it impolite not to offer the others at the table some wine or does everyone understand that this is a "personal bottle"?

[ryansmemom]

It's an uncomfortable situation. On the one hand, it would be very uncomfortable for me if I were to order a bottle of wine and not offer to share it with the people I was sharing my dinner time with. I would feel very ungracious and impolite. On the other hand I understand that this is your honeymoon and you want to share special times with each other, only.

My suggestion would be, and this is what I would do, offer share the wine. Being gracious and generious will never be the wrong move. You will have lots of times when you can have private moments for celebration. Why risk the possiblity of having some unplesant feeling during your honeymoon? You have already chosen to share your dinner times with 6 other people, why not include them in all of the celebratory rituals of your marriage that are occuring during the meal. I think this way will feel better in the long run.

Linda

[sail7seas]

Linda's response is very gracious and she expressed it beautifully. I concur with her but the problem then becomes that one bottle of wine will not serve eight people. If everyone at the table accepts your generous offer, you are now into more than one bottle which becomes unfair to you IMO


Perhaps you might try by ordering your wine by getting just a glass for yourselves on the first night and could casually inquire (or observe) what others at the table do in regards to wine. If most do not seem to be wine drinkers then perhaps the next night you might order your bottle and share it with the few who drink wine, if you wish.


On the other hand, if everyone seems to be drinking wine, all the better. You could all take a turn going around the table and each could order and share one night. If you are on a seven night cruise, you might then simply all order for yourselves on the remaining night or two.

[allen.crawford]

I have a different perspective. My perspective is there is no reason to feel uncomfortable consuming anything you have purchased. If someone wants something, they are equally at liberty to buy it for themselves. The people you dine with are not of your chosing, and therefore you should not feel obligated to them except to be gracious in your comments to them.

We have met many people on the cruises we have been on but haven't developed a friendship other than with one couple --- who happened to have been our dining mates on our last cruise. We purchased the wine package for the two weeks and shared only one bottle with them. There were no negative feelings on either side of the table.

It would be only the petty who would object to not being offered wine.

[CLapple]

We have been on many cruises and have never been offered, or have we offered to share wine, when sitting at a large table. I think that is a thing of the past. Every one seems quite confortable buying their own.

[Cindy-Sue]

We travel with anywhere from 2 to 4 couples. One of our rules before leaving is that everyone gets their own wine at dinner. It gets very complicated when one couple drinks white zin at $10 a bottle and the other gets Opus 1 at $300 a bottle. If you want to show your appreciation to another table mate, I would suggest offering to buy a before or after dinner drink. We have never had a problem or felt uncomfortable in any way.
Bon Voyage!

[O2cruise]

We always ask for a large table. On our last three cruises others at the table ordered their own bottles of wine and drank them themselves. We honestly didn't even give a thought to them sharing it with us. Course we didn't ask for bites of their lobster either <grin> Enjoy your wine!!

[Acrusa]

May I make a suggestion.We have always dined at tables for 8.We order our own wine.I always see the wine stewerd before dinner begins.We always seat late seating.I tip him half of what i would tip him at the end of the cruise,and instruct him to have or wine ready for us when we are seated . When we sit down he brings it over.Most of the table mates you sit with will order there own wine .

[Arubalisa]

We have been on many cruises and have never been offered, or have we offered to share wine, when sitting at a large table.
Very well stated. There are way too many different types of wines these days. Even in our own family, some like reds, some like blush, but I like white- the drier the better :)

Even if you were so gracious as to offer I would most likely turn down your offer in that more than likely my tastes in wine are not the same as yours...

[ColoradoJuli]

Thanks for this informative thread. In January we are cruising with a group of friendsm as usual, but in May we will be sailing for the first time by ourselves. I want to be seated with other people so we can make new friends, but I was unsure what to do with the wine situation. You have cleared that up for me. Thanks!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

We are actually Champagne drinkers and have a bottle every single night on our cruise. We have never offered to share our Champagne. I think I offer a sip to some one that wanted to try it once:confused: I have never felt I had to offer, before going on the cruise we have never met these people why would we share wine with them? Even this past cruise we went with friends that we have gone to dinner with many times and the DH does drink champagne. He had a sip of our agreed he liked it, but never offered to buy a bottle so we never offered to share. We figured if he wanted some he would of ordered some, instead they kinda of complained that they thought the prices were too high. To each his own we don't mind paying for something we like. Now if we sat with another couple and they liked our champagne and want to order a bottle then we started sharing we could take turns buying that would be OK. I think if we are buying our own we should not have to offer.

Does any of what I just stated make sense?:confused: I hope so.

[superstein61]

Don't ask and don't tell :D

I would never expect someone at my table to share their wine - and likewise I do not expect to share what I purchase with them. Do not feel obligated to share. if your tablemates want wine, they can order it easily themselves

[peaches from georgia]

Not only are you asking a question about a problem that doesn't exist, if you do offer and your offer is accepted, you are creating a problem for your tablemates. What do they do the next night? Maybe they only like an occasional small glass of wine and were accepting your offer to be polite. Now they might feel obligated to buy you wine the next evening when they never intended to do that and maybe it isn't in their budget.

Unless you and your tablemates know each other before the cruise and have decided beforehand that one couple will be responsible for the entire table's wine each night and that duty will rotate (which we have done traveling w/ relatives), then I would just place my order with the wine steward when he goes around the table and that is the end of it. If the other couples want wine they will order their own. We have sat at many tables with strangers who became friends over the course of the cruise and not offering one's wine to the others has never been a problem or an uncomfortable situation. What would be uncomfortable to the others would be if you did offer.

[dewhit6959]

I didn't know you had to offer them a whole glass.I thought you let them have a sip from your glass and hand it back.

Seriously, I know very little about wine. When the sommellier presents wine that my wife orders for dinner, he should present the cork to her, as they usually will do in finer establishments. ( I have yet to figure out what wine goes well with buffalo wings and I do not know what a good cork should smell like) On business trips I defer to the client and their spouse.
There have been two times when the wine tapper was foolish enough to take the wine order from my wife and offer the cork to me. I cannot repeat what she says, but after dinner the manager got an ear full privately from the madam before we leave, never to return.

[ryansmemom]

In my very humble opinion. The question here is about being polite. Obviously, no one is obligated to do anything. There is no obligation to offer to share one's wine or accept the wine that is offered. There is also no obligation to reciprocate the gesture. We are not discussing obligations here. We are discussing manners and graciousness.

In polite society, good manners serve as grease to help us slide through social situations and make them more comfortable for all involved. If you understand manners you and everyone else enjoy yourselves.

Therefore, when The Prince of Wales was having dinner with a man who used his finger bowl (meant for washing his hands) as a drinking glass, the prince drank out of his finger bowl, too. He used manners to make his guest comfortable.

People are under the misapprehension that manners are for snobs and use reverse snobism to look down on them. Or they personalize things with their own likes and dislikes.

This is not about whether or not you like a certain wine or not. This is about politeness and celebrating this couple's marriage. They are starting their lives together. Why not use every opportunity they have to celebrate with everyone they can? Why not take the gracious generous way?

There are lots of opportunities in life for frugality,for let's make sure no one takes advantage of us type thinking,for worrying about obligations,or for worrying about the expectations of other (a worthless pursuit). I say live your life with grace, openness, joy and share your celebration. Others will join you with open arms. Joy is contagious.

I will now step down from my soap box.

Linda

[dakrewser]

Just as I wouldn't offer a relative stranger the food off my plate, I do not offer the wine from my bottle. It's never been awkward or embarassing.


On a longer cruise, as you get to know your tablemates (and their tastes) much better, then there's also more sharing going on. You might then all decide to order 2 or 3 bottles (mixed red and white, so the fish as well as the meat eaters have their preference) and simply pass them around. But that's not something you need (or should even expect) to do - it simply happens, sometimes, if tablemates hit it off very well.

[bepsf]

Just order glasses of Champagne - it goes with everything and you needn't share...;)

Honestly, if I were seated at your table and you and your new mate ordered a bottle of wine, I wouldn't feel the least bit slighted if you didn't offer to share.

The only time that you might feel obligated to offer to share w/ a tablemate is if one of them happens to order a celebratory gift bottle of wine or Champagne for you.

Enjoy!!!

[TedC]

When we travel with another couple we often agree to share our wine. We buy one night, they the next, even if we're at a tablle with two other couples.

When alone at a larger table we buy our own wine and others at the table do the same. In 18 cruises we've never sensed any awkwardness. No tablemates have appeared to look at us like we should be offering them wine, and the reverse is also true.

If we're celebrating a birthday or anniversary we tell our tablemates that night that as part of our celebrartion we're buying the wine.


BTW, the finger bowl story sounds apocryphal, IMO, but a good story, nonetheless! If we all followed that pattern, however, what happens to the adage "two wrongs don't make a right" ?

[cruzincurt]

Other people at the table order mixed drinks without asking me to share. A bottle of wine is between me and my wife, simple.

[cruzincurt]

Duplicate entry, oops.

[peaches from georgia]

...... This is about politeness and celebrating this couple's marriage. They are starting their lives together. Why not use every opportunity they have to celebrate with everyone they can? .....
Linda
May I ask you where in the original post on this thread, when stanjj asked his question about offering wine to the entire table who at that point would be strangers, is anything at all said about this wine having a thing to do with the celebration of a wedding?

If he intends to toast his wife or their marriage of course it is appropriate to include tablemates and provide their wine or champagne, but nowhere in his post is that stated or intimated. Criticism of other posters' replies to stanjj, when they don't have all the facts, is unfair.

As for your unnecessary lecture on manners to posters you don't know a thing about l will not comment, except to assure you I for one do not need it nor appreciate it.

[Esme]

Where did the original poster say it was his honeymoon, ryansmemom?
He said nothing on this thread, at least I didn't see it.

If we order a bottle of wine or champagne or wine is sent to us by the Captain or our TA, we will sometimes take it to the table and share it, but if others don't want to share their bottle with us, we are not going to care one way or the other and we certainly will not think they are impolite. That's their business. We certainly would not be upset.

[johnnycruise]

Stanjj,

I think you have just about every opinion possible on the subject and should feel comfortable with whatever you decide.

But that raises another question - What do you do if a table mate ASKS for a glass of your wine?:eek:

A. Give him a glass and ponder whether you'll get payback the next evening.
B. Tell him Miss Manners would never ask for wine from strangers.
C. Call the sommelier and tell him that he forgot to take the guy's drink order.
D. Spontaneously begin talking to your spouse in Spanish.
E. Ask the Maitre d' to change your table assignment between the hors d'oeuvres and salad courses.

Once again, the possibilities are limitless!

[mikishel]

On our last cruise a few of the wives had wine with their dinner. We were at a table for 12. We, I was one of them, never offered our tablemates any. I had no idea I was supposed to. No one seemed upset over this. The others never drank wine with their dinner. One couple usually arrived with a glass in hand from a bar, I suppose. On the last night, however, that couple ordered champagne for the table for a farewell toast. I don’t like champagne, but I felt it was impolite to turn it down, so I nursed that glass the whole night.

[kent4489]

Personally, we ALWAYS sit at a table for 2. On our cruise on the Amsterdam earlier this month, the matre'd referred to them as the honeymoon tables when he seated us. But then, after 12 years, we do still feel like newlyweds.

[Lovebirds]

If we were to invite guests to our home for dinner and we were to open a bottle of wine for ourselves but not offer any to our guests that would be an inexcusable display of poor maners. On a cruise, we are merely three, four or five couples that happen to be seated at the same table. There is no obligation to offer to share with others, IMHO, and I fail to see how anyone would view that as a breach of manners.

We usually order wine by the glass. We have had tablemates that ordered by the bottle and none have ever offered to share with the exception that DW and one of our tablemates were discussing wines, the tablemate and her DH had ordered a bottle, she said to DW "this is a wine I think you might like" and poured her a small sip, similar to what the wine steward pours for approval.

I make it a point, on the last night of the cruise, to order a good champagne and have it served to all at the table so that we may properly toast the time we have spent together or anything else that seems appropriate at the time. I do this on the last night so that no one can feel obligated to do the same on another night.

[peaches from georgia]

We like to vary our size table. We will do a 6 or 8 (never a 4) for a cruise or two and then have a table for 2 for a couple of cruises in a row. Variety is the spice of life. It's nice to meet new people and it's nice to be alone sometimes.

Best table we ever had was a table for 6 on the Rotterdam. We all hit it off immediately and had suites next to each other without knowing it. And we had almost requested a table for 2 on that cruise.

What we thought was going to be the worst table ever was an 8 on the Oosterdam for one of our weeks. An extremely varied group to say the least w/out a thing in common. We almost switched after the first night, but didn't, and ended up having a lot of laughs and a good time after all.

I totally agree with you, Lovebirds, we do exactly the same thing.

[want2travelbad]

I have enjoyed reading everyone's perspective on this issue. I would never feel slighted if others at my table ordered a bottle of wine and did not share, however I personally would feel uncomfortable ordering a bottle and not offering to share with others. Obviously, there are a myriad of tastes when it comes to wine. So, if we order a bottle, we usually will tell our tablemates we are considering ordering a bottle of "X", and would any of them be interested in enjoying it with us. We will order more than one bottle, if the interest in our offer warrants it. Like Lovebirds and peaches from georgia, we order champange for the table on the last night of the cruise. If there are children at our table (we have an 11 year old and he often travels with us), we will also order a bottle of sparkling fruit juice, or a round of fruit smoothies for them. We always appreciate the experience of meeting new people on a cruise, and love to partake in a toast on our last night together.

[ryansmemom]

May I ask you where in the original post on this thread, when stanjj asked his question about offering wine to the entire table who at that point would be strangers, is anything at all said about this wine having a thing to do with the celebration of a wedding?

If he intends to toast his wife or their marriage of course it is appropriate to include tablemates and provide their wine or champagne, but nowhere in his post is that stated or intimated. Criticism of other posters' replies to stanjj, when they don't have all the facts, is unfair.

As for your unnecessary lecture on manners to posters you don't know a thing about l will not comment, except to assure you I for one do not need it nor appreciate it.


Peaches, If you check out the OP's signature it clearly states "Honeymoon Cruise" That is where I got my information.

Secondly, I am sorry if you or anyone else chose to take offence at anything I wrote. It was and never has been my intention to lecture anyone on anything including manners. I sometimes feel that there is just too little grace and generosity left in the world in general these days. When I see people focusing on what is expected and what the obligations are I wonder if we all have to be so focused on the bottom line that we all forget what it is like just to be nice to each other .All I can say is if you or anyone else on this board knows themself to be a kind, friendly generous person, I don't see how they could be offended by anything I said. I was merely validating their lifestyle.

If that is what you took from my post, then that is what I meant. If the shoe does not fit your foot, why put it on and be offended in the first place. I obviously was not talking about you.

Linda

[Linda&Vern]

I just read my DH this thread - and his question is (as I knew it would be) "can I just get a beer with my dinner?" (Background: He does not care for wine or mixed drinks, only nurses them to be polite. He would prefer just to have a beer now and then.) Seriously, he wants to know if he can get a beer in the dining room! All this wine talk has him worried! THANKS!

[sail7seas]

Yes, Linda.....He can have all the beer he wants in the dining room. The wine steward will be happy to take his order and deliver his beer to him. No problem.

[Linda&Vern]

Yes, Linda.....He can have all the beer he wants in the dining room. The wine steward will be happy to take his order and deliver his beer to him. No problem.Thanks! I knew that - but he was fussing so, I wanted him to see an experienced cruiser answer him! ;) (Counting down to our Maasdam Holiday Cruise . . . )

[sail7seas]

Hope you love the Maasdam as much as we do. Great place to spend the holidays!!! We were on her for Thanksgiving last year.

[ryansmemom]

Thanks! I knew that - but he was fussing so, I wanted him to see an experienced cruiser answer him! ;) (Counting down to our Maasdam Holiday Cruise . . . )


We enjoyed one cruise with one of our fellow travellers ordering his nightly "Chateau de Bud Light" every night at the dinner table. He had it brought with a cherry tomato floating in it!

All I can add is that a good time was had by all!!!

Linda

[ColoradoJuli]

I love the idea of ordering a bottle of champagne for the final night. We have been on several cruises and they have always been with family and friends. We have never thought of ordering a celebratory drink the last night, but things are about the change. Thanks for the wonderful idea!

[cruzincurt]

Many times I've seen some guys bring their "bucket o'beers" to dinner. Seems it would be easier if they had one of those hats with the two cans afixed and a sipping tube. A black hat of course on formal nights.

[Sue's Mom]

On our first cruise, RCCL, DH and I shared a table with six others and we were never offered any wine by our tablemates. If we had received an offer, we feel that it would have been polite to decline. In that way, the "sharing" does not become one-sided, just my humble opinion.

[dakrewser]

Many times I've seen some guys bring their "bucket o'beers" to dinner.
Not on a HAL ship you haven't.

-dave

[RuthC]

Traditionally it was the common courtesy to order and share wine at the table in turn. If one did not wish to participate one would turn over the wine glass placed at your cover to indicate your desires.

In more recent years the custom has changed to ordering for self while letting tablemates do the same. If someone asks to share your bottle
( :rolleyes: ) one would be hard-pressed to refuse.

The idea today would seem to be that an accepted offer to share must be reciprocated, and that all at the table should be sharing a good time.

[dakrewser]

Traditionally it was the common courtesy to order and share wine at the table in turn. If one did not wish to participate one would turn over the wine glass placed at your cover to indicate your desires.
That was true only when everyone was eating the same thing, and went out when a restaurant-style menu was introduced. There is no single wine which will go well with all of the main plate choices on a typical cruise ship menu.

-dave

[RuthC]

'fraid not, Dave. In the long ago and far away that was the custom. It has gone the way of high button shoes, to be sure, I know. (remember high button shoes?)

I do realize that the custom on this changed quite a while ago, and stopped ordering wine for the table when the doctor cut wa-y-y-y-y down on my liquor limit. If another at the table orders wine I continue the old-fashioned manner of turning my wine glass stem up. So far every wine steward has recognized the signal.

[sail7seas]

There was a more refined, more gracious time in our not so distant past.

The times and customs seemed to have changed. It is questionable IMO if it is for the better or if the manners are improved???

[cruzincurt]

Dakrewser, "Not on a HAL ship you haven't."

You're right, it was on our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess. The guy at the table next to us brought his bucket o'beers every night.

Personally, I felt sorry for him needing 6 beers to get through dinner.

[Cruiseoften]

We are travelling alone (2 persons) and are sittting at a table for 8. If we order wine with dinner is it impolite not to offer the others at the table some wine or does everyone understand that this is a "personal bottle"?

It now seems to be accepted that there is no call to share your wine with others at the table. We found this strange and, the first time, felt somewhat uncomfortable. No longer, it's the thing to do. If there's any left over you may save it for the next night or have it delivered to your cabin with a nice fruit and cheese plate - call it a midnight snack!

If it's your honeymoon (as someone indicated) - CONGRATULATIONS! and many anniversaries to come! :D

[CDRMark]

When I find myself at a community table at an upscale Japanese restaurant, which may seat 10 or more, I do not feel I must share my drinks/wine. Is there a difference?
Thanks
MarkB

[stanjj111]

Nona and I appreciate all your good wishes.

[Tricia724]

When I started cruising (1970), it was common...and even expected...to share wine with the table. We usually received a bottle of wine from our TA, and on the first night the wine steward would stop by and ask which evening we wanted it served. If others at the table also had wine coming, they would usually stagger the nights. When the steward brought the wine to the table, he would ask: "Shall I serve it around?" I suppose we could have said "no" at that point, but we always shared and others shared with us.

That was a nice thing to do, but it also had its disadvantages. I remember one cruise when a lady at our table always accepted a glass of wine but never drank it. I was annoyed because someone else could have enjoyed the wine she left sitting on the table every evening.

I was surprised a few years ago after a fifteen-year break from cruising to discover that now everybody does their own thing, but considering the diversity in passengers, it's probably for the best. At least everyone is free to make their own choices.

[Randyk47]

On our last cruise we were at a table for 8. Two of the couples, in essence half of the table, had ordered wine packages for the cruise. My wife and I were not familar with the wine packages and ordered our wine either by the glass or bottle (I like reds, she likes whites) depending on what main course each of us was having. It was a super table and within a couple of nights we were having a great time together. Within a couple of nights every couple had a bottle of wine delivered to the table, either through their packages or ordered that specific night. We shared and sampled pretty much the rest of the cruise without any problems. In fact it turned out that one couple, with whom we became very good friends (and who are visiting us in our home in January), had ordered mainly reds and the wife sort of preferred whites. This worked out quite well as I prefer reds so we'd order white wines and the two ladies would "share" their wine. I can't say it has always been this cooperative and friendly on all of our cruises but, at the same time, we've never sat at a table where sharing or not sharing wine was an issue or a concern.

[marybeach]

It gets very complicated when one couple drinks white zin at $10 a bottle and the other gets Opus 1 at $300 a bottle. If you want to show your appreciation to another table mate, I would suggest offering to buy a before or after dinner drink.I also feel it could be complicated when everyone doesn't drink. My SO doesn't, even though I do. If I want a glass of wine on a particular night, he orders it for me, or I order it myself;) . He is in sales, and he has bought cocktails before or after dinner for someone he has met and liked, while he orders himself a diet coke. I don't think anyone is obligated to "share", especially if you are placed at a large table of people you don't know.

[VaCruzers]

On our last cruise, we brought a couple bottles of wine from home to enjoy with dinner. We are from Virginia and have several favorite Virginia wines which are not available on any cruise line. At dinner when the first bottle was opened, we mentioned that we had this bottle of VA wine & asked if anyone would like to try it. Everyone declined so we didn't offer when the 2nd was opened. I felt like we had fulfilled our social obligation.

On a different cruise, we had ordered a bottle of wine from the wine list & were seated with 2 other couples at a table for six. WE did not offer to share our bottle with the others (since it was something anyone could have ordered, unlike our VA wine which was not available to them), but the assistant waiter, offered it to them !! Likewise, on a night when one of them had ordered a bottle, he offered some to us. I politely replied that he had mistakenly offered the wine to me as it had been ordered by another couple. I think he was inexperienced and apparantly improperly trained. Luckily, it caused no problems among our table because the diners all politely refused wine they had not ordered.

[dakrewser]

For those recalling sharing the wine around "some years ago", remember that it was also considered "odd" or "progressive" (but earlier, would have been declassee) to dine at a table with strangers. It was assumed that everyone knew each other before the cruise so naturally you would all consult on and share in the wine.

A glass of champagne or an aperitif before the meal could be shared. But, when I'm ordering my wine I also consider the food it will go with. I don't want to drink your "blush" with my beef Wellington. Nor would I wish to force you to try my Pommard or Clos Vougeot with your sole Mueniere.

So if you ask me if I'd like a glass of yours, I can either:
a) accept it and be dissatisfied with my meal
b) decline, order my own and risk offending you
c) claim I don't want wine and both offend you and have an unsatisfactory meal.

The solution is, of course, not to presume that your taste reflects that of the entire table.

-dave

[sail7seas]

Debbie..... Do you suppose it is possible that the person who ordered the wine requested the steward offer it around the table?


MY DH would be prone to say to the wine steward to please pour for any of the others who would like it.

We very rarely sit with folks we do not know well but when we do/used to, we always offered our wine and the steward always poured upon request.

[Randyk47]

Interesting. I'd not be offended if I offered to share wine and it was declined. Nor would I accept wine just to be polite or worry if I didn't I'd offend the person offering the wine. Guess I'm insensitive. :) Maybe I've been really lucky....none of the problems of hurt feelings one way or the other have ever been an issue at any table I've been at. Some shared, some didn't and if somebody took offense one way or the other I didn't notice.

[glrounds]

I guess.

While cruising the GLORY a year ago, I had the incredible fortune of being seated at a table of 6 (singles), in which one of my tablemates ordered 2 bottles of wine for our table every night. AND HE WAS A NON-DRINKER ! ! :confused:

A wonderfully interesting person with 83 cruises under his belt, he was a travel agent that posts frequently on another board and takes a lot of guff for the encyclopaedic advice in his knowledgeable postings.

When asked if he would join all 5 of us on a reunion cruise on the GLORY, he politely declined saying he never cruises the same ship twice ! :D

[geoherb]

In our 10 cruises, we've seldom been offered a chance to share a bottle of wine or offered to share. The two exceptions were on Princess cruises. On one, the couple assigned to our table only ate with us two nights, choosing alternative dining the other nights. We had the table by ourselves the other five nights. They brought a couple of bottles of wine from their home state to share with us the second night.

On the other cruise, we had a table for four without another couple assigned to eat with us. After checking with our waiters, we invited a couple of women to join us for the second formal night. We brought a bottle of wine to share with them and they ordered a bottle of champagne so all of us could make a toast at the end of the meal.

[VaCruzers]

To answer the question to me from sail7seas....In the instance when we had ordered the wine, our tablemates showed up some 35 minutes late to dinner. We were having our entrees. As soon as they were seated, the assistant waiter offered our wine to them & no, we had not asked him to pour for anyone who would like some as we were the only ones there when it was served to us.

When I was offered wine one of the other couples had ordered, I don't think the person who ordered had asked the asst waiter to serve round the table. We already had our own bottle of wine which was sitting between my husband & me and (the part that I had neglected to share earlier) as soon as I politely refused, the person who ordered spoke up to the asst waiter to notify him of the ownership of the bottle.

Of our five cruises, these were probably my least favorite table mates. They were 35 mins late once, failed to show once, & showed up so drunk they could barely sit in the chairs once. This was a six night cruise & the other three nights we had some pleasant conversation and were able to learn about their culture as they were not from the US. All in all, it was not horrible, but they are not folks with whom we stay in touch.....

[sail7seas]

Thanks, Debbie.


IMO, the Assistant Waiter was wrong and should not have done that. He made presumptions about which he should not have. Besides......since when do Assistant Stewards pour the wine? That is the job of Wine Stewards.

[OCruisers]

The solution is, of course, not to presume that your taste reflects that of the entire table.-dave

Dave .... Totally agree! We always sit at large tables and have NEVER found it to be a problem. Others who wish to drink wine with dinner will order what THEY WANT.

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[VaCruzers]

Sail7seas - On RCCL the assistant waiter handles wine service and that is the line we were cruising at the time. You recognized the point I was trying to make - that the asst waiter was either improperly trained or just doing a poor job of service and his actions could have put either us or our table mates in a awkward position.

For anyone who is checking my signature & notes that we have no Holland America experience and questions why I might be posting on this board, please be advised that we are planning an "award travel" cruise on Holland next spring & I have been lurking/observing on this board for a few weeks. We have been faithful RCCL fans, but their new pricing policy is leading me toward trying HAL and Princess as the opportunity arises.

The sharing wine question caught my attention due to my past experiences so I had to read to see what others had to say. Since my situation had not been brought up, I just had to add my two cents worth....