First CCruise Where Sharing A Table With Strangers

[Nightrythm]

We've generally traveled with a group and therefore have had built-in table mates. The two times we traveled by ourselves, we ended up at tables with couples around the same age as us.

 

On our honeymoon cruise, we thought we had a nice enough dinner conversation, but our table mates ended up eating else-where for the rest of their cruise. On a longer cruise we were seated at an eight top. We generally had a good time, talking about our days and gossiping about what we thought the table of beautiful youngsters and their flirting servers were up to. Two of the couples clearly became life long friends. The rest of us, just have good memories.

 

I would definitely be happy to be seated with strangers again.

[dmdiver]

We've been seated with strangers on occasion. In most cases, we chatted about what we had all done that day, where everyone was from, etc. - just small talk.

 

Our last cruise, we were seated with another couple. We enjoyed each others company & while we may not be best friends, we are friends on a social site.

 

I think it's fun to meet new people. We tend to have lots of conversations with strangers in the hot tubs, too! Met a couple from Venezuela that we enjoyed talking with once.

[lprime60]

Dining with strangers is not something were interested in.

We dont do it in land based restaurants, so why do it on a ship.

We always request a private table ahead of time. :)

 

Hi Vitamin, Just wondering how you go about requesting a table for 2 ahead of time. Do you have to call carnival before the cruise? Thanks

[Vitamin_Sea]

Hi Vitamin, Just wondering how you go about requesting a table for 2 ahead of time. Do you have to call carnival before the cruise? Thanks

 

I email the maitre D of the ship, 2-3 weeks before sailing and request it.

 

I dont know all the emails for all the Maitre D's.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Vitamin_Sea

[emmak8]

We request a table for two for dinner time in the main dining room. Breakfast and lunch we request a table to share and always enjoy meeting new people. To spend an entire cruise with the same tablemates is not for us.

[Seago2]

We like big tables. It's fun to meet new people, especially when it's just the two of us. If I'm cruising with my son, Carnival tends to seat other teenagers at the same table, usually also only cruising with one parent. At the very least it gives us something to talk about after ;)

[GiftieEtcetera]

We are about to go on our third cruise. Our first, 20 years ago, was at a table for 8. We met two nice couples and one couple that were clearly on the cruise cheating on their spouses. It was interesting. :rolleyes:

 

But then we did YTD and sat alone.

 

This cruise, we booked too late for YTD. I was okay with a big table, but got terrified reading this thread. I was reading some of the horror stories to my husband and he responded, "I'm pretty sure anyone that obnoxious sitting at our table would request to move once you got through with him."

 

I'm pretty sure my husband *meant* that I'm feisty ;), but it sounds like I might be the obnoxious one!

[skiorcruise]

We have had experiences all over the map. Tables for 2 or 4 for our group. Tables for 10 when it was just the 2 of us. Tables where no one else showed up. Moved from (assigned) ATD to Early (which was requested). ATD for the 4 of us to ATD with 4 others.

 

While some of our tablemates were quiet, none have been obnoxious. Some we enjoyed talking with, some were a pain to listen to (the complainers). I always enjoy listening to other peoples port stories, giving me ideas on what to try or avoid next cruise. It is kind of like getting on an airplane. You don't know who your seatmate will be, but you know it will not be for long.

 

I really believe that your own attitude and willingness to get along with others is more important to your enjoyment of a cruise than your tablemates. And as several others have pointed out, if you can't stand the person at your table you can always ask to be moved.

[KCMiller]

On our first cruise, we sat at a table for 10 (different line) and met some very nice folks - no one we kept in touch with, but pleasant table mates. We've not sat with strangers since, because we've mostly cruised with friends and family. But on our last trip with our (grown) children, the table next to ours was an 8 top, and the first night, 6 people came. After that, it was just one lonely couple. The server always had them wait a bit, to see if anyone else would show up - they looked very awkward and lonely sitting at that huge table just the two of them. After a few nights, we offered to have them join us (we were 5 at an 8 top), but they said no, they'd wait to see if their table mates would show up. They never did. We did chat with them each evening, but I remember thinking how odd it was that the maitre 'd didn't try to seat anyone else with them.

 

KC

[Maleeni]

Heading on our first cruise where we will be travelling without a group. Dinner in the MDR has always been the highlight of our day. When booking we selected a table for 6 which means we will be with 4 strangers and are a bit apprehensive about this. Just wondering what experiences others may have had in a similar situation. Thanks

 

All life long friends. We wouldn't have it any other way.

[BellaSweet]

I'm very quiet..I keep to myself. I don't mind meeting new people..I just am shy. My BF makes up for my quietness with his "lets talk to everyone" attitude. He's a barber and EMT so his life is talking to strangers :)

 

So on our upcoming cruise, we'll try sitting with others but we also want to have a few nights just to ourselves.

 

I must say that I'd never judge any of our tablemates by their appearances though.. I'm surely judged by my quietness which is often mistaken for rudeness.

[lizzyplague]

Had one that was pretty cramped with 9 of us. (3 being us, and two other parties of 3). I don't think one of our table-mates wanted to be on the cruise at all. Started complaining about everything the second night (didn't show up the first night because they were mad about embarkation delays) and pretty much just glared at everyone the whole time and never said a kind word. Didn't even get their names. Oh well. :D

 

They moved to a booth by themselves the last two nights so that freed up space for the 6 of us that stayed. :cool:

[summersigh]

I've experienced this quite a few times and they have all been a great experience. I have met great people and I have actually kept in touch with some of them.

 

We've experienced the same. We also look at it as these may or not be folks that we'd be BFF with at home but can always find some common ground to talk about.

 

We're empty nesters so we have dinner at a "table for 2" every night ,..,, thus we especially enjoy dining with others.:)

[gold1953]

We like a table for 6 or 8 as they are round. Table for 10 is oval and hard to mix.

If you don't like the table mates the first night then asked to be switched

[DenaInWyo]

After 120 or so cruises, we can only think of one time when we asked to be moved, and that was because the table for 10 had a BIG family,,,,and us. More often than not, we've had fantastic dinner partners.

One time recently, we had a gentleman who identified himself as a retired Navy man, and I, having served in the Marine Corps, just HAD to give him all the Navy/Marine Corps jokes I could think of. Found out the last evening that he was a retired ADMIRAL! :eek: We still communicate occasionally. ;)

 

"SKY"

 

As a fellow Navy vet, this made me laugh :D Glad he was a good sport.

[kc5grw]

I have always liked meeting new people on a cruise. My very first cruise, my first wife and I was on my honeymoon on NCL with my first wife in 1992. We were seated with a very charming, much older couple from England for dinner. It was a great experience. We were in our early thirties and they were in their 60s with considerable cruising experience. We loved listening to their stories. On our cruises since we have only been seated with other people twice. Once on Carnival when we were without the kids and then once on DCL with another family of 4. All other times our family has been seated at a 4 top. Alas, our upcoming cruise in Aug 2017 we will not be seated with others since our group of family and friends numbers 10.

Edited August 27, 2016 by kc5grw

[code_d]

Most of our experiences have been such that we always ask for a large table. Love the experience. Sure we don't do this in the states in restaurants but it is different on a ship and people are different when in this type of atmosphere. Our cruise in Jan 15 we met the most awesome couple from Canada and they are actually coming to our home for a couple days before we all drive down to the port for a cruise together in Oct! When we met them it was like we had always known them. Why spend our time in life not experiencing it? And I have not been a very outgoing social person ever. But my wife has helped me see more in life!

[blessedwith12]

I really think it depends on who you are traveling with and your personal preferences and personality. My cruises are 1 of 2 types. Either with my daughters and/or sister (a girl's cruise) or with my husband. On a girls' cruise, we have such a great time together. We never run out of things to laugh about and there's usually some kind of ongoing joke happening. There are usually 4-5 of us and we are sort of our own party. One cruise, we did sit at a table for 10. It greatly hampered our fun. There were 3 separate groups at this table with us and one of the other groups pretty content to converse among ourselves. The other group had a man who tried so hard to get us to all interact. It was awkward and almost painful. I don't do small talk very well and really don't have a need to try to impress others or answer their prying questions while on vacation at dinner. The long rectangular table also made conversation difficult and all around, it just distracted from our fun. If my husband and I are traveling, we prefer to be by ourselves. With our large family, dinners alone are rather rare. So, either way, I end up asking to have our own table. I am happy to interact with others around the pool or on an excursion, but at dinner I prefer to be with my own group.

[ray98]

No way. Too many bad experiences in the past. I would rather enjoy the company of my wife than making small talk with random strangers.

[Cuervosar]

The experience of meeting new couples while dining is one of the reasons we book a cruise instead of just flying around and using hotels. We have always had amazing experiences.

 

You will most likely be seated with those who have booked similar cabins to yours. Our Celebrity experience has been that if we book Concierge, we get seated with Concierge.

 

Our preference is a table for 6, which ends up being 3 couples. Inevitably on some night, one of the couples will be away at a specialty event, and inevitably, they've notified us beforehand so we don't wait. Usually if that is the case, we look for nearby singles or duo's to take their place.

 

If after 2 nights your table just sucks, you can always move it or make other arrangements, but we have never had a bad experience. Limiting dining to people I already know would be too much of a lost opportunity to meet new people.

[jgskes]

Heading on our first cruise where we will be travelling without a group. Dinner in the MDR has always been the highlight of our day. When booking we selected a table for 6 which means we will be with 4 strangers and are a bit apprehensive about this. Just wondering what experiences others may have had in a similar situation. Thanks

 

 

I was nervous the first time this happened. It has worked out great so far. I remember a few cruises ago we were sitting at a table with two other mothers with their 18-20 year old daughters. The first night, my daughter walked away asking that we be moved...I asked her to give it one more night and now we are great friends with one of the mother/daughter team. Love them and we could not have had as much fun on the cruise as we did with them. Don't always trust your first impressions. Another cruise..it was 5 of us..we were seated at a table with a couple in their 80's with one son that was mentally disabled and another son with his wife. We were worried because we had an "interesting group" to say the lease. Something that 80 year olds would not understand....and they were the best table mates as well. We looked forward to dinner every night. Now..when I book...I always ask that we do not have a table with just my party. It is a great experience to meet others. Sorry this is so long...just want you to see the great sides of sharing a table with strangers :)

[Rh2458]

Strangers are friends we haven't met yet.

Edited August 27, 2016 by Rh2458

[VASOXFANN]

I guess we've just been fortunate to not get any coo-coo-ca-chus. DH is very gregarious, and he LOVES meeting new people at dinner. My ex was just the opposite, and we did ATD when it became available. I could go either way. I'm fine meeting and talking with new people, it's just that they always seem to ask me questions when I take a bite of food :o

[VASOXFANN]

Our first cruise we, a family of four, were seated with a couple who were taking a second honeymoon and left their children with grandparents. The mom cried her way through the first dinner and kept saying how much she missed her children. Her husband was just annoyed by her crying and kept ordering drinks. We didn't see them again. Otherwise our experience with dinner has been great! We did encounter an odd family that couldn't stop insulting each other once at tea. The daughter's name was Princess. She showed her driver's license to everyone to prove it. Her mom called her a liar. The conversation just went downhill from there.

 

Sorry you had to endure them, but we are the types who would find this type of encounter hilarious, and we'd still be laughing about to this day. :D. We chatted with an older single guy at one of sit with others at a table breakfasts in the MDR once, and he kept talking about his "lady friend." Later, when we were looking for our pics at the photo place, we saw several pics of him, each showing him up close and personal with a different woman. He had several "lady friends" on that ship! LOL!

[VASOXFANN]

Was this answer even relevant to this thread??? The topic is sharing a table, not why you do YTD. :confused: I really wonder why people see the need to answer with off topic info, maybe to see their words in print??:confused: YTD doesn't mean you won't see Bubba in his tank top, flip flops and ball cap, chewin' bacco and spitting in his glass at the table next to you!!! And now back to our topic....:)

 

Actually, our other 6 table mates (not the bore, he was too busy talking to himself about something, maybe YTD) and the entire back half of the dining room ENJOYED the spoon thing. They must have had some boring table mates as well...:D And yes the servers brought them separate spoons (and cold glasses of water) to play with.....:)

 

BRAVO!

 

I like cruisers who have a sense of humor! :D