Bad tablemates...I just cannot do it again!

[!MSteacher]

I’ve never heard of Norwegian Cruise line seating anybody with anybody that wasn’t a member of their group. I actually would love to meet new people at dinners but like I said Norwegian never seats people who are not and member of the group with that group. It’s the one negative about going on a cruise Solo. I hate to eat alone!

 

 

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It is not that we don't "enjoy meeting new people". We have enjoyed meeting people on our past cruises. In fact, during our Disney cruises, we really enjoyed the friendships we made with the people at the table next to us. On our Princess cruise we ended up exchanging addresses, and we still send Christmas cards to our tablemates from that cruise. However, on the last cruise, it was a disaster. No, it was beyond disaster! There really is no way to put into words just how bad it was. It was a family of 3 (Mom, Dad, Teen Son). The parents had separated about 6 months prior to the cruise (we didn't find this out until later in the cruise, but it was pretty obvious). They were taking the vacation together for the "sake of the child". Every night at dinner they were either cold and hateful to each other or at each other's throats with insults. It was so awkward and obviously miserable for the teenage son. We tried very hard to engage the couple in light conversation about the activities of the day, a show from the previous night, or an excursion. Needless to say, it was exhausting! It made dinner miserable. Yes, we should have asked to change tables, but I really thought it would get better. And I didn't want to come off as "difficult to please".

[!MSteacher]

Cruising is not a popularity contest. Some people will get along, some won't. Everyone has a different style.

 

 

It is not that we don't "enjoy meeting new people". We have enjoyed meeting people on our past cruises. In fact, during our Disney cruises, we really enjoyed the friendships we made with the people at the table next to us. On our Princess cruise we ended up exchanging addresses, and we still send Christmas cards to our tablemates from that cruise. However, on the last cruise, it was a disaster. No, it was beyond disaster! There really is no way to put into words just how bad it was. It was a family of 3 (Mom, Dad, Teen Son). The parents had separated about 6 months prior to the cruise (we didn't find this out until later in the cruise, but it was pretty obvious). They were taking the vacation together for the "sake of the child". Every night at dinner they were either cold and hateful to each other or at each other's throats with insults. It was so awkward and obviously miserable for the teenage son. We tried very hard to engage the couple in light conversation about the activities of the day, a show from the previous night, or an excursion. Needless to say, it was exhausting! It made dinner miserable. Yes, we should have asked to change tables, but I really thought it would get better. And I didn't want to come off as "difficult to please".

[wwwfla]

It is not that we don't "enjoy meeting new people". We have enjoyed meeting people on our past cruises. In fact, during our Disney cruises, we really enjoyed the friendships we made with the people at the table next to us. On our Princess cruise we ended up exchanging addresses, and we still send Christmas cards to our tablemates from that cruise. However, on the last cruise, it was a disaster. No, it was beyond disaster! There really is no way to put into words just how bad it was. It was a family of 3 (Mom, Dad, Teen Son). The parents had separated about 6 months prior to the cruise (we didn't find this out until later in the cruise, but it was pretty obvious). They were taking the vacation together for the "sake of the child". Every night at dinner they were either cold and hateful to each other or at each other's throats with insults. It was so awkward and obviously miserable for the teenage son. We tried very hard to engage the couple in light conversation about the activities of the day, a show from the previous night, or an excursion. Needless to say, it was exhausting! It made dinner miserable. Yes, we should have asked to change tables, but I really thought it would get better. And I didn't want to come off as "difficult to please".

Try the buffet.

[sverigecruiser]

Try the buffet.

 

Not necessary on NCL since they don't force their customers to share tables with strangers.

[Toofarfromthesea]

It is not that we don't "enjoy meeting new people". We have enjoyed meeting people on our past cruises. In fact, during our Disney cruises, we really enjoyed the friendships we made with the people at the table next to us. On our Princess cruise we ended up exchanging addresses, and we still send Christmas cards to our tablemates from that cruise. However, on the last cruise, it was a disaster. No, it was beyond disaster! There really is no way to put into words just how bad it was. It was a family of 3 (Mom, Dad, Teen Son). The parents had separated about 6 months prior to the cruise (we didn't find this out until later in the cruise, but it was pretty obvious). They were taking the vacation together for the "sake of the child". Every night at dinner they were either cold and hateful to each other or at each other's throats with insults. It was so awkward and obviously miserable for the teenage son. We tried very hard to engage the couple in light conversation about the activities of the day, a show from the previous night, or an excursion. Needless to say, it was exhausting! It made dinner miserable. Yes, we should have asked to change tables, but I really thought it would get better. And I didn't want to come off as "difficult to please".

 

Did you really have to post this 5 times?

[newmexicoNita]

No that’s not what I meant. I mean, usually it’s considered rude to speak to someone in one language where there are people you know don’t speak the language sitting with you. It seemed rude for us to converse in English in front of them knowing they didn’t speak the language. Since we were all sitting at the same table it was super awkward to basically ignore our table mates and converse over them. Kind of like if we just whispered to each other in front of them.

 

 

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so what do you suggest? We were once on a cruise where at our table there were 6 of us. 4 spoke English, the other 2 Japanese. Yes, I guess we were rude because they spoke no English so we conversed with the 2 people who did.

Edited August 15, 2018 by newmexicoNita

[newmexicoNita]

Some of the posts in this thread make it sound as though all other cruise lines force guests to eat with strangers. Not so. NCL was definitely the pioneer in letting people eat whenever and with whomever, and that is a huge plus about cruising with NCL. But the concept is so popular that most cruise lines have had to follow suit with their version of freestyle dining, which other cruise lines call "anytime dining," "my time dining," etc. A major difference is that those other cruise lines also have traditional dining -- two fixed seatings (early and late).

 

I think you will find that, on other cruise lines, if you choose "anytime dining" you will be able to eat whenever you want and will be seated by yourselves if you desire. This is certainly true as to Celebrity. The problem may occur on other cruise lines when you have "traditional" dining. In those circumstances, while you may be able to request, say, a two-top, the cruise line may not be able to guarantee you'll be assigned one. It's a major reason why my wife and I, when on non-NCL cruises, opt for "anytime dining."

this was not the case on Princess. Yes, they had anytime dining but the number of tables for 2 were extremely limited so it almost forced us to eat at tables with others. The saving grace was, we didn't have the same people every night.

[big al]

I need help! We are a family of 3 (mom, dad, teen daughter) Given that most MDR's do not have 3-top tables, it is understandable (and expected) that we would be seated in the MDR with strangers. This was not something that bothered us because it was an opportunity to make friends and get to know new and possibly interesting people. However, on the past 2 cruises, we have had THE WORST tablemates! It literally ruined some meals. We found ourselves dreading going to dinner! How can we avoid this issue on our next cruise: NCL Western Meditteranean?

 

This is soooo unacceptable by NCL...I have cruised 36X, and my wife & I always ask for a table for 2 , and sometimes we get sat at a table for 4...a few times we had an extra passenger with us, and again, we sat at a table for 4...on your next cruise, GO to the dining room early on your first day ( like as soon as you board) and tell the maitre D' that you need a table for 3, and that you have had NIGHTMARE table mates that ruined your cruise, and ask him/ her, "don't you think we deserve to dine in peace and be happy?"..most maitre D's will take care of you..another thing you can do: if NCL has an option for the 3 specialty dining dinners for free, TAKE IT!! There you are SURE to get a table for 3, and much better food as well..in the beginning of our cruise career, there were no tables for 2 ( mid 90's..), and we also had idiots for tablemates- people arguing all the time, complaining about stupid things on the cruise, about the food, etc...but the last 15 years or so, cruise lines have gotten better with this and SHOULD accommadate you all...good luck... :cool:

 

Big Al

[kirsty_r]

I cruise solo and have never had to share if I didn't want to. Sometimes it did mean waiting for a table, but it was never more than 10-15 minutes. I'm sure NCL will be able to accommodate your wishes.

[CrossBluePerchance]

Well, isn’t that ironic.

 

You noticed that too, eh? ;)

[zitsky]

Did you really have to post this 5 times?

 

Mods will clean it up. Just a mistake.

[Aprille]

Did you really have to post this 5 times?

 

Mods will clean it up. Just a mistake.

 

I don't think it was a mistake. She quoted a different post each time before the reply she repeated over and over and over and over and over. :loudcry: Apparently she doesn't know how to multi-quote. ;p

[sverigecruiser]

This is soooo unacceptable by NCL...I have cruised 36X, and my wife & I always ask for a table for 2 , and sometimes we get sat at a table for 4...a few times we had an extra passenger with us, and again, we sat at a table for 4...on your next cruise, GO to the dining room early on your first day ( like as soon as you board) and tell the maitre D' that you need a table for 3, and that you have had NIGHTMARE table mates that ruined your cruise, and ask him/ her, "don't you think we deserve to dine in peace and be happy?"..most maitre D's will take care of you..another thing you can do: if NCL has an option for the 3 specialty dining dinners for free, TAKE IT!! There you are SURE to get a table for 3, and much better food as well..in the beginning of our cruise career, there were no tables for 2 ( mid 90's..), and we also had idiots for tablemates- people arguing all the time, complaining about stupid things on the cruise, about the food, etc...but the last 15 years or so, cruise lines have gotten better with this and SHOULD accommadate you all...good luck... :cool:

 

Big Al

 

It is NOT a problem. NCL will not make them share if they don't want to.

 

No need to talk to anyone about it.