What if we don't like tablemates?

[royalcruz]

On our last X cruise we requested a table for 10 and only 2 other couples showed up and neither felt like a good match for us. We asked to switch to MTD but it was full...instead, they found us a table for 2 on our dining time.

We've decided to just book tables for 2 in the future, as it was great.

[big al]

I've been on a couple cruises where we were seated with tablemates that we got along with and enjoyed dinner with them. I've also been on cruises where the tablemates were ...um... rude....late...you name it. And it made dinner something we didn't look forward to. My question is......if we are seated with tablemates that are difficult, do we have the option of switching to MTD?

 

Now you know why my wife & I choose MTD...we always ask for a table for 2...it's a preference thing..we don't cruise to meet waiters...we don't cruise to sit at a table with people we have nothing in common with...I don't like being told when to eat, at what table to eat, at what time to eat, what to wear, and even what to eat...go to Guest Services and see if you can be changed to MTD- explain your situation, and tell them "you don't want to spend your cruise vacation dining with unpleasant people"..BTW, you always have the option of dining in alternative venues ( which you should try, if you haven't already), or the Windjammer, OR even room service ( sad as that sounds, nevertheless, an option..)...if we want to dine with other people, we will cruise with friends or family...just MHO, but I don't like DRB's ( dining room bullies)...you should NEVER have to dine with people you dislike ON YOUR VACATION!

 

Big Al

[big al]

So far, we've never had tablemates that we couldn't get along with....not sure why others seem so upset by other people!

 

Sure, some were better/nicer/more fun, than others...but we've yet to find folks that we had to "get away" from! Maybe we're just easy to get along with!

 

You are missing the point big time...what makes you think some people WANT to dine with strangers? Do you go into a restaurant and dine with strangers? What's wrong with PREFERRING to dine with just your spouse/ SO? We both spend our days working with other people & talking all the time..I don't want to spend my vacation time doing the same..we enjoy a nice, quiet table for 2 on all our cruises..lately we have cruised with family and on our upcoming cruise on the Oasis in Oct., we have 6 others joining us for my wife's BD...I'm not anti-social- in fact, I have the opposite problem..I tend to sit in or around the hot tubs on board and talk about all kinds of things including cruising & other ships, or in a bar/ lounge...my wife is amazed I can chat with anyone..BUT, at dinner, I'd like 60 -90 minutes to dine alone in peace...just MHO...

 

Big Al

[GradySRQ]

Why not just request to be at your own table?

 

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[galavant3]

Only once did we have this issue. We were 3 couples (none of us knew each other) and one couple was clearly unhappy with their table mates (us). They never returned after the first night. We had a great week and really enjoyed the company of the one other couple.

 

The unhappy couple did mention during our one dinner together that they "hated" kids. I was traveling with my daughter who was about 22 at the time so maybe it was she that drove them away.

[babyher]

So hows THIS one sound to ya? Next Saturday, we leave on Explorer. My partner's son is planning on proposing to his girlfriend while on board .... with a secret group of family members invited along to be in attendance. His girlfriend has no idea that all this family is gonna be there as a surprise. she only thinks its the 4 of us going.

 

Here's where it gets interesting .. his Mom (my partner's ex-wife) is coming along too ! :eek: And she despises me still 19 years later. Oh and she's crazy too !

 

And we're all together at dinner. So ... I'm thinking the same question as the OP ... how can I get outta THIS!? LOL!

 

 

God Bless You my friend. *LOL*

 

My Ex and her current husband , and myself and my current DW can take eachother in small doses . Usually for the sake of the kids. And since they are grown now , we don't have to do that too much anymore.

 

Every night at dinner on a cruise ship would be pushing it . :)

[temple1]

So hows THIS one sound to ya? Next Saturday, we leave on Explorer. My partner's son is planning on proposing to his girlfriend while on board .... with a secret group of family members invited along to be in attendance. His girlfriend has no idea that all this family is gonna be there as a surprise. she only thinks its the 4 of us going.

Here's where it gets interesting .. his Mom (my partner's ex-wife) is coming along too ! :eek: And she despises me still 19 years later. Oh and she's crazy too !

And we're all together at dinner. So ... I'm thinking the same question as the OP ... how can I get outta THIS!? LOL!

 

See if you can switch to my time dining before the cruise. Arrange for the big family table the night of the proposal but request a table for 4 the rest of the cruise. Best of luck to you. :D

 

An alternative is to have the big celebration in one of the specialty restaurants.

[nbsjcruiser]

I guess we've been lucky. When we've done traditional dining we've never had bad tablemates. Even when we did MTD we ended up with the same people every night and had a great time talking and conversing.

 

As others have said, just talk to the Maitre'D if this happens, no big deal.

[Kellie Poodle]

We did traditional dining for years because there was no MTD. Most of the time we've had nice table mates but many times we have had some who made me uncomfortable.

 

On one 14 day cruise we were stuck at a 4 top with a very nice, but incredibly boring couple. We were dying to change tables, but it would have been so rude to leave them alone, so we stuck it out.

 

I've been stuck with people who brag on their loyalty status and number of cruises they've taken until I want to push a sourdough roll down their throats. IMO, dinner conversation should NEVER include an announcement of your loyalty status. NEVER!

 

I was once at a table with a woman who commented on my "boobs" one formal night and on my clothes every night, in a rather crude way. Needless to say she made me very uncomfortable.

 

We now do MTD and we are so much happier. We get out of the dining room faster, eat on our own schedule and, if we are happy with a service team, we request their table every night.

 

I agree that you can get lovely, interesting table mates, but it's a crap-shoot and I'm not about to mar my cruise by taking chances.

[cruisingsince94]

So hows THIS one sound to ya? Next Saturday, we leave on Explorer. My partner's son is planning on proposing to his girlfriend while on board .... with a secret group of family members invited along to be in attendance. His girlfriend has no idea that all this family is gonna be there as a surprise. she only thinks its the 4 of us going.

Here's where it gets interesting .. his Mom (my partner's ex-wife) is coming along too ! :eek: And she despises me still 19 years later. Oh and she's crazy too !

And we're all together at dinner. So ... I'm thinking the same question as the OP ... how can I get outta THIS!? LOL!

 

WOW!!! Dining room entertainment. I sure hope that the proposal goes off without any drama and somehow everyone can have a good time. Everyone needs to go into this cruise with the mindset that its not about themselves, or the past. Its about the couple making a life changing decision together.

[Great 2 B at Sea]

We've only had one instance where we were not happy with our table mates, and it wasn't even their fault. We are only English speaking people, and we were seated at a table with four women, all of whom spoke Spanish. One of the women spoke very, very little English, so that helped a tiny bit, however, it was still quite awkward. It was extremely frustrating for us trying to have a conversation with them. We couldn't understand what they were saying, nor could they understand us. We felt badly wanting to move, because we didn't want them to be offended, but we also wanted to enjoy or dining experience. We went to the Head Waiter and explained our dilemma, and he very cordially gave us another table number to go to for the rest of the cruise. We were rather apprehensive when we arrived for dinner the next night, wondering if the people would speak English or not. We were extremely pleased to be seated with four people who were all related and who did speak English. Imagine our surprise when we found out they lived only about an hour from us in Michigan! That gave us so much in common, and along with them being so nice and lots of fun, we had the best times at dinner with them! We were so happy we decided to change tables. I would encourage anyone out there who isn't happy with whom they area seated with, to take action and asked to be moved. I'm sure your results will be as fortunate as ours! BTW, we kept running into the women we sat with on the first night, and they always smiled and waved to us....this told me there were no hard feelings.

[Brigbound]

So hows THIS one sound to ya? Next Saturday, we leave on Explorer. My partner's son is planning on proposing to his girlfriend while on board .... with a secret group of family members invited along to be in attendance. His girlfriend has no idea that all this family is gonna be there as a surprise. she only thinks its the 4 of us going.

Here's where it gets interesting .. his Mom (my partner's ex-wife) is coming along too ! :eek: And she despises me still 19 years later. Oh and she's crazy too !

And we're all together at dinner. So ... I'm thinking the same question as the OP ... how can I get outta THIS!? LOL!

 

Quick! Purchase the rights to this story and sell it to the National Lampoon movie franchise! I'd watch this over 'O' solo mio' any day! :D

[lhanson38]

We have almost always enjoyed meeting new people at dinner.

There was 1 cruise that my DH & I went on where we missed the first night in the dining room. I was cold and didn't want to change out of my jeans and sweater so we went to the WJ. So on night 2 it was formal night off we go to the dining room. Our table was a 8 top but only one couple were there. It was the longest almost painful night. They were nice enough. But they just didnt have anything to say. It was so stressful trying to keep any talking going on.

So the next night my DH said want to just eat in the WJ tonight. We found this great little table outside we were always the only people there. We loved it spent the rest of the cruise having dinner there. :)

[babyher]

Quick! Purchase the rights to this story and sell it to the National Lampoon movie franchise! I'd watch this over 'O' solo mio' any day! :D

 

 

There is a movie with Bette Midler and Dennis Farina about a long feuding divorced couple who come together for their daughters wedding . Funny picture with some great one liners.

[Susie51]

We haven't requested a table change, but have had others at our table on the first night and then never see them again.

[trev71]

Maybe when booking you should just ask for a table of 2. or however many is in your party. I wouldn't worry about the what ifs

[PennStateFan123]

Drop a "one cheek sneak" as soon as you realize you don't like them...that'll keep them away

 

 

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[Karma5]

I think in the early days I always had a table for 6- or 8 , and met some interesting people. Lately, I'm not sure if "my time dinning " has set in but it's been different.

The last 7 day cruise I was on my husband and I got moved from a table of 8 because the group we were siting with were some sort of " club", and then we were moved to another table for 8, but it was only 6. In any event, one person only talk about one thing all night and his wife looked angry, she did not speak pleasantly with anyone .

That was our last night in the main dining room……we ate else where……..

 

I don't know how much " my time dining" has to do with a change in dining mates, but perhaps it does.

[F27TW]

Quick! Purchase the rights to this story and sell it to the National Lampoon movie franchise! I'd watch this over 'O' solo mio' any day! :D

 

 

Brig: I'll be happy just keeping off CNN !! LOL

[ehfl]

So hows THIS one sound to ya? Next Saturday, we leave on Explorer. My partner's son is planning on proposing to his girlfriend while on board .... with a secret group of family members invited along to be in attendance. His girlfriend has no idea that all this family is gonna be there as a surprise. she only thinks its the 4 of us going.

 

Here's where it gets interesting .. his Mom (my partner's ex-wife) is coming along too ! :eek: And she despises me still 19 years later. Oh and she's crazy too !

 

And we're all together at dinner. So ... I'm thinking the same question as the OP ... how can I get outta THIS!? LOL!

 

It sounds like an interesting cruise! :) Congrats to your partner's son and girlfriend! I hope it all works out.

[temple1]

I think in the early days I always had a table for 6- or 8 , and met some interesting people. Lately, I'm not sure if "my time dinning " has set in but it's been different.

The last 7 day cruise I was on my husband and I got moved from a table of 8 because the group we were siting with were some sort of " club", and then we were moved to another table for 8, but it was only 6. In any event, one person only talk about one thing all night and his wife looked angry, she did not speak pleasantly with anyone .

That was our last night in the main dining room……we ate else where……..

 

I don't know how much " my time dining" has to do with a change in dining mates, but perhaps it does.

 

On our December cruise we had a similar experience. When the head waiter figured out where our table was it was already full and everyone seemed to be from a group. :confused: At this point I was just a little annoyed and they found us a table for 2. The couple at the 2 top next to us were very nice and we had a great week with them as our "table mates".

 

On our May cruise we were going to switch to MTD but waited too late to do it on line and it was fully booked when I checked on board. We had very pleasant table mates though so we were quite happy with the outcome.

[jerseygirl74]

We've had some very good & some horrid experiences. We really prefer to dine alone since we spend the rest of the year talking to our guests (travel industry), so we cherish our time alone. When we have requested a table for 2, either it doesn't happen or the table is only 3 inches away from the next table, it is awkward. MTD was a disorganized mess & wait staff was so slammed they were not able to give good service. But nothing is worse than sitting with a jerk...I work too hard all year to have my meals spoiled. We always check the location of the table but you can't pre-screen your table- mates😫! Last cruise, we had a table for 6...one couple showed up only twice...good thing...the guy was a red-necked bigot & treated the wait staff like they were morons. I found myself spending the entire meal fuming & overcompensating with the staff. We always dine at all the specialty restaurants, but on the last cruise, The Explorer only had Portofino. Hope ships get refitted with more tables for 2.

 

 

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[CRUISEFAN0001]

Dining on a cruise is what you make of it - some want private tables and/or speciality restaurant dining, while others seize the opportunity to meet new people and enjoy that experience. Both options are available.

 

We've done both My Time Dining and the conventional reserved tables in the Main Dining Room.

 

While MRD was OK overall (did it with a linked reservation to 2 friends cruising with us)...we prefer the conventional larger tables with fellow cruisers.

 

Our 2013 and 2012 cruises were so enjoyable in terms of the fellow cruisers at our table, that we actually ended up cancelling one of our specialty dinners on each cruise just to return to the company of our "new friends" in the Main Dining Room.

 

While we had little in common with those passengers in terms of age or where we live...we found their company interesting, entertaining, fun, and pleasant dinner conversation.

[RCI Cruisers 004]

We always ask for a table for two. It seems the tables are so close to each other, it's easy to talk to your neighbors if you get lonely for company !

[BillOh]

.............. I found myself spending the entire meal fuming & overcompensating with the staff. ............ Hope ships get refitted with more tables for 2.

 

 

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I know what you mean about overcompensating for idiots. I've done that with a good wait team that was being abused by a couple of hags. I did note in first review of Allure it did seem to have more tables for 2 than any other dining room I've seen.