Worst table companion you have had

[OCruisers]

In Traditional Dining meeting those at your table that first night is sort of like a "Blind Date" ... don't do it again (get your table changed) if you didn't find their company enjoyable. :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Osnab]

I travel alone and thoroughly enjoy getting to know my table mates. Well my worst experience was when I was seated at a table with a family of seven. When the father of the group found out I was by myself he asked me if I was a lesbian. I had ordered a bloody Mary so that coupled with the fact that I was traveling alone opened up a huge can of worms!

 

When the appetizers came I started to eat but everyone grabbed hands and started to pray out loud . I usually do this in my head so it was a little awkward.

 

But when he started escalating the prayer to a very loud level that included special attention to me the lesbian who was drinking alcohol I felt like that was a little too much!!

 

By the way I'm not a lesbian nor an alcoholic! (And since when did traveling alone make one a lesbian or having a mixed drink an alcoholic?!!)

 

I asked to change tables the next day!!

[Cruzin-K]

I travel alone and thoroughly enjoy getting to know my table mates. Well my worst experience was when I was seated at a table with a family of seven. When the father of the group found out I was by myself he asked me if I was a lesbian. I had ordered a bloody Mary so that coupled with the fact that I was traveling alone opened up a huge can of worms!

 

When the appetizers came I started to eat but everyone grabbed hands and started to pray out loud . I usually do this in my head so it was a little awkward.

 

But when he started escalating the prayer to a very loud level that included special attention to me the lesbian who was drinking alcohol I felt like that was a little too much!!

 

By the way I'm not a lesbian nor an alcoholic! (And since when did traveling alone make one a lesbian or having a mixed drink an alcoholic?!!)

 

I asked to change tables the next day!!

 

OMG! :eek:

[momofmeg]

I travel alone and thoroughly enjoy getting to know my table mates. Well my worst experience was when I was seated at a table with a family of seven. When the father of the group found out I was by myself he asked me if I was a lesbian. I had ordered a bloody Mary so that coupled with the fact that I was traveling alone opened up a huge can of worms!

 

When the appetizers came I started to eat but everyone grabbed hands and started to pray out loud . I usually do this in my head so it was a little awkward.

 

But when he started escalating the prayer to a very loud level that included special attention to me the lesbian who was drinking alcohol I felt like that was a little too much!!

 

By the way I'm not a lesbian nor an alcoholic! (And since when did traveling alone make one a lesbian or having a mixed drink an alcoholic?!!)

 

I asked to change tables the next day!!

 

How awful!

[wwcruisers]

In Traditional Dining meeting those at your table that first night is sort of like a "Blind Date" ... don't do it again (get your table changed) if you didn't find their company enjoyable. :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

Great advice! In nearly 12 years of cruising, we have been so lucky! We have met great folks (some of whom we still cruise with). But, on a Celebrity cruise to Hawaii, our luck finally ran out. We were so excited with our table location -- right next to the Captain's table. We were the first couple to arrive at our eight-top. We were joined by two other couples, who did not know each other. The four of them immediately hit it off, and polite chit-chat quickly turned into a political discussion. Well, neither DH nor I like to discuss politics (or religion, or money) with people we've just met -- but our subtle attempts to steer the conversation in another direction were blatantly ignored. Skipping dessert, we politely excused ourselves from the table and went in search of the Maitre'd, who was able to place us at a nice little 2-top for the rest of the cruise. :cool:

BTW -- on our next cruise we tried again, and ended up sharing a table with a fascinating couple, whose company we totally enjoyed! :D

[WetToes]

I had to read through all of these to make sure we weren't any of the couples someone was reporting about. On our FOS cruise, we were seated at a 4-top for dinner and had a decent enough conversation the first evening with a couple about the same age who were farmers in the Midwest (we're from Michigan and Wisconsin). But we never saw them at dinner for the rest of the cruise. We always wondered what we did to drive them away.

 

You probably didn't do anything. We've been known to only go to the MDR on the first night. It's really not our thing.

They also may have preferred a more relaxed meal at the buffet. We find the MDR can sometimes take way too long.

[Bookish Angel]

of women's torsos and feet. Just the torsos and feet - no faces. My friend and I and the adorable young couple at our table were creeped out by his "hobby." The young guy of the couple had seen the photos , lots of them, as he was looking at some beach photos also on the guys phone.

 

My husband and I now do only My Time Ding at a table for two.

[cindivan]

We usually travel with family so it's been a long time since we have shared a table with random people. But we still laugh and shake our heads over a couple that was in their 20s who were certain that all police were crooked and would cuss frequently about anyone in authority. The last night of the cruise, they proudly showed us the mens' diamond ring they found in their safe that apparently the previous guests had accidentally left behind and now they were taking. We exchanged addresses at the group request but thankfully we never had any future contact with them.

[navybankerteacher]

We always request traditional dining and a large table. We have generally been very fortunate in our table antes, and enjoy having a nucleus every evening to share thoughts about the day and generally share ideas. Only once did we really strike out - we were the first seated at a table for eight, shortly three couples travelling together joined us. They looked annoyed to see us - refused to even reply to,our offered introductions. Two of the men were wearing baseball caps (backwards) , none of the six appeared able to chew with their mouths shut -- and, while they clearly didn't want to speak with us, they didn't seem to enjoy their own company -- the men talked among themselves, ignoring their wives when they tried to contribute, and two of the wives whispered to each other, ignoring the third, who left in tears before the main course was served.

 

We advised the waiter that we did not want dessert, excused ourselves to our table mates and headed towards the maitred's desk to request a change of table for the rest of the cruise. Our waiter beat us to it, and was already suggesting we be moved. No problem -- the next night we were at a table with two couples from St. Petersburg, Russia and one from Chicago we had a great time teaching them conversational English (which they appreciated, as they had a good grasp of precise formal English and wanted to learn the vernacular -- and we learned a great deal about today's Russia.

 

Lesson: request reassignment if necessary, but enjoy getting to know others over the course of a cruise.

[Suitcasefull]

I travel alone and thoroughly enjoy getting to know my table mates. Well my worst experience was when I was seated at a table with a family of seven. When the father of the group found out I was by myself he asked me if I was a lesbian. I had ordered a bloody Mary so that coupled with the fact that I was traveling alone opened up a huge can of worms!

 

But when he started escalating the prayer to a very loud level that included special attention to me the lesbian who was drinking alcohol I felt like that was a little too much!!

 

By the way I'm not a lesbian nor an alcoholic! (And since when did traveling alone make one a lesbian or having a mixed drink an alcoholic?!!)

 

I asked to change tables the next day!!

 

This one made me laugh out loud. Too funny ! You must have wanted to dump a bowl of soup on him but sounds like you handled it well. Aren't some people amazing in their ignorance?

 

And the torso/foot fetish photographer..............Guess no comment since he may have just been an artist.:D:eek::rolleyes:

[Daisyloo]

A few years ago I went on a cruise with my mom. It was a first cruise for both of us so we had no idea of what to expect. First night we are seated at a table for 6 with a married couple and 2 women travelling together. Within a few minutes of being seated, the woman of the married couple proceded to take over the entire conversation. She never shut up the entire meal. She went on and on and on. No one else could get a word in. We felt sorry for her husband as he had to live with her, whilst we only had to listen to her for one meal. My mom and I really wondered what we had gotten ourselves into!

On a more recent cruise we were seated at a table of 8 one evening. The husband of one of the couples was a know-it-all and a snob. If you mentioned something he jumped in and bragged about whatever it was, ie. he did it better, could afford better, he knew more about it etc etc. By the time the meal ended we couldn't wait to get away, so even though I love dessert we did without it that night.

Overall our table companions have been great and we have had some fun meals.

[jwm51]

Most of these stories remind me of one of my favorite movies "The Man Who Came to Dinner".:p

 

There's always a Mr. or Mrs. Know-It-All in the crowd...They seem SO self-absorbed, they don't realize how obnoxious they are OR they just don't care!:D

[elleks]

We usually travel with family so it's been a long time since we have shared a table with random people. But we still laugh and shake our heads over a couple that was in their 20s who were certain that all police were crooked and would cuss frequently about anyone in authority. The last night of the cruise, they proudly showed us the mens' diamond ring they found in their safe that apparently the previous guests had accidentally left behind and now they were taking. We exchanged addresses at the group request but thankfully we never had any future contact with them.

I think I'd have given their address to Guest Services, and let them see if they could get the ring back to it's owner.

[Krazy Kruizers]

For many years were fortunate to have some very nice table mates -- requested tables for 4 and 6.

Then our luck ran out about 10 years ago. Ended up with too many weird-os -- complaining about everything, repeating the same conversation every night (we do fixed seating), etc.

Now we request tables for 2.

[ducklite]

I think the rudest was a couple on our last cruise who we ended up seated with twice (ugh.)

 

I'm not sure that I believe everything they claimed--several estates around the world, nannies for the children and staff, the wife who didn't work claimed she got 2000 e-mails a day and her assistant couldn't keep up with them all. Designer this and expensive that. They described their 28,000 s/f home in California in detail--of course also adding in how much each item cost them. The bragging never ended. We tried to change the subject now and then, but they'd always steer it back to how much money they had.

 

One reason I'm not sure I believe them is that they wore the same four outfits over and over (which were not "designer" although she tossed in some designer accessories--Gucci sunglasses, LV wristlet, and a kate spade necklace--none of which are "wallet breakers") and complained about the uncomfortable plane ride to get to the cruise. It seems to me that anyone with that type of coin would have taken their private jet or at least flown first class. They were extremely rude to the crew, treated them like absolute dirt, and complained about everything from the cost of the Internet on board (well duh--we were in Europe where free WiFi was available in every port for the cost of a glass of house wine or a beer--my husband and I spend 10-60 minutes online on our mobile devices every day, enjoyed interesting wines and beers), the food which ranged from good to exceptional, and the itinerary which we and everyone else we spoke to thought was fantastic.

 

We also had another couple who we were seated with twice who we just didn't hit it off with. He was very arrogant and was angry that we weren't in love with a product that his company makes--we're not talking about widgets but a food based product that is very subjective in nature. He acted as if we were the scum of the earth for not raving about it.

 

Fortunately they got off after our first week and we had much more enjoyable table mates after that, including being asked to dine with the Captain one evening and having many meals with another passenger who has become a close friend.

[leslieart]

of women's torsos and feet. Just the torsos and feet - no faces. My friend and I and the adorable young couple at our table were creeped out by his "hobby." The young guy of the couple had seen the photos , lots of them, as he was looking at some beach photos also on the guys phone.

 

My husband and I now do only My Time Ding at a table for two.

 

It looks like part of this post has been deleted? Still, I get the idea.

[momofmeg]

I think the rudest was a couple on our last cruise who we ended up seated with twice (ugh.)

 

I'm not sure that I believe everything they claimed--several estates around the world, nannies for the children and staff, the wife who didn't work claimed she got 2000 e-mails a day and her assistant couldn't keep up with them all. Designer this and expensive that. They described their 28,000 s/f home in California in detail--of course also adding in how much each item cost them. The bragging never ended. We tried to change the subject now and then, but they'd always steer it back to how much money they had.

 

One reason I'm not sure I believe them is that they wore the same four outfits over and over (which were not "designer" although she tossed in some designer accessories--Gucci sunglasses, LV wristlet, and a kate spade necklace--none of which are "wallet breakers") and complained about the uncomfortable plane ride to get to the cruise. It seems to me that anyone with that type of coin would have taken their private jet or at least flown first class. They were extremely rude to the crew, treated them like absolute dirt, and complained about everything from the cost of the Internet on board (well duh--we were in Europe where free WiFi was available in every port for the cost of a glass of house wine or a beer--my husband and I spend 10-60 minutes online on our mobile devices every day, enjoyed interesting wines and beers), the food which ranged from good to exceptional, and the itinerary which we and everyone else we spoke to thought was fantastic.

 

We also had another couple who we were seated with twice who we just didn't hit it off with. He was very arrogant and was angry that we weren't in love with a product that his company makes--we're not talking about widgets but a food based product that is very subjective in nature. He acted as if we were the scum of the earth for not raving about it.

 

Fortunately they got off after our first week and we had much more enjoyable table mates after that, including being asked to dine with the Captain one evening and having many meals with another passenger who has become a close friend.

 

Lol! they would also rent a yacht I would think.

[momofmeg]

It looks like part of this post has been deleted? Still, I get the idea.

 

Read her title-that is the rest

[leslieart]

Read her title-that is the rest

 

Ahh. The title doesn't display on the iPad app. I'll view it later on my computer.

[OCruisers]

Back when we had Traditional Dining, we were always very lucky to have had good dinner companions.

 

With Anytime Dining we have seldom had strange people ... and we can handle anything for one evening. :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

[momofmeg]

Ahh. The title doesn't display on the iPad app. I'll view it later on my computer.

 

Lol!

[wwcruisers]

We always request traditional dining and a large table. We have generally been very fortunate in our table antes, and enjoy having a nucleus every evening to share thoughts about the day and generally share ideas. Only once did we really strike out - we were the first seated at a table for eight, shortly three couples travelling together joined us. They looked annoyed to see us - refused to even reply to,our offered introductions. Two of the men were wearing baseball caps (backwards) , none of the six appeared able to chew with their mouths shut -- and, while they clearly didn't want to speak with us, they didn't seem to enjoy their own company -- the men talked among themselves, ignoring their wives when they tried to contribute, and two of the wives whispered to each other, ignoring the third, who left in tears before the main course was served.

 

We advised the waiter that we did not want dessert, excused ourselves to our table mates and headed towards the maitred's desk to request a change of table for the rest of the cruise. Our waiter beat us to it, and was already suggesting we be moved. No problem -- the next night we were at a table with two couples from St. Petersburg, Russia and one from Chicago we had a great time teaching them conversational English (which they appreciated, as they had a good grasp of precise formal English and wanted to learn the vernacular -- and we learned a great deal about today's Russia.

 

Lesson: request reassignment if necessary, but enjoy getting to know others over the course of a cruise.

 

Sounds like the three couples traveling together should have requested a 6-top, just for their group. We have a group of friends with whom we occasionally cruise. We always check ahead of time to make sure we have a table just for us. Not that we're anti-social (we all met on cruises), but we don't get to see each other very often. When we do, we're so busy "catching up" that anybody else seated with us would feel like the odd man out.

[clackey]

My first cruise. An attractive young woman at my table was always the center of attention, a bit sloppy at times (spilling food on herself,) definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer, a bit loud, obnoxious, etc.... And this was each and every night.

 

 

 

Sadly she was also sharing my cabin with me...... :)

ROFLAO!!

 

We have had good to great dining companions with no qualms at all. A few have moved because of me, but that was their lose.:rolleyes: We have had a detective, jeweler, retired teachers, Vietnamese, Canadians, even a professional belly-dancer and have enjoyed each and every one. My fav, though, was a makeup artist who airbrushes Playboy Models. I tried to get a job application but she wouldn't give me one.:(

[Onceuponatime]

On our honeymoon cruise in 2011 Carnival placed us with another recently married couple. Only problem was that they didn't speak a word of English! And my husband and I don't speak Spanish. It was a very interesting dinner the first night! Luckily we were able to be moved to a 2 person table (which we had requested since the beginning but were not given). Turned out to be a great cruise!

[Winnigirl]

My story is sort of in reverse. At embarkation everyone noticed this older couple. You couldn't help but notice them! She must have had at least five facelifts and spent a lot of time in tanning booths. Her makeup was just loaded on her face, complete with false eyelashes and her hair was platinum blonde and done up in a topknot on the top of her head, with two chopsticks through it. She was wearing a ton of costume jewellery in vivid colours that clanked when she walked. - she had an off-the-shoulder blouse on and while her face had been lifted - well, the rest hadn't. Her husband had a long white ponytail, an earring and was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts - if anyone saw "Meet the Fockers" he reminded me of an older version of Dustin Hoffman's character. That night at dinner we were seated at a table for 6, but only four of us had arrived. We were introducing ourselves and when we looked up - guess who was approaching our table as the last two! The four of us just sat there wondering what we were in for. They sat down and introduced themselves and right then and there I learned a great lesson - never judge a book by it's cover. They were the most friendly, entertaining, wonderful couple you could ever meet. They had cruised everywhere! Amazing stories, great conversation, super sense of humour. Every night was another party at our table. We were always the last out of the dining room because we couldn't get enough of these two! I was ashamed of myself for my first impression and have tried to remember that! Every cruise I take I find myself looking around, hoping to see them again!