Most Interesting Dinner Companions?

[DoctorFeelgood]

One of the advantages of traditional dining, especially when you share a table, is the chance to mix and mingle with some interesting people.

 

I wanted to ask others who their most interesting dinners companions were.

 

I will start the thread by saying that my most interesting dinner was the welcome-aboard (first night) dinner in which we were assigned to a table for 8. Our companions were a couple from the outskirts of London, England (the husband was one of England's largest poulty producers), and a family of tattooed vegetarians from California who ate with their hands. I think the dinner conversation headed south when the Englishman ordered the largest steak possible, and the Californians felt it necessary to exhibit various tattoos and tell the stories behind them at the table.

 

I still chuckle when I think about it.

[Lois R]

That post gave me a chuckle:D

 

I sail solo and I have to say I have been quite lucky

on almost every cruise with good tablemates:)

There have been Roll Calls I have participated in and have

shared tables with folks I met on them and we still keep in touch.

 

I have quite a few wonderful memories. In March 2005 I sailed

Century for my birthday and my tablemates sent me a dozen

beautiful red roses as a gift. I got to the dinner table and

they were the centerpiece:) What a nice surprise!

And that same cruise a few of the gals from Guest Services

sent me a vase of flowers to my cabin as well!

That was such a nice gesture too!

 

Hopefully my table in October will be a fun one:D

(Next cruise;) )

[Senga]

would have to go to our table for 6. We ended up with a couple from Sweden who spoke no English and an elderly couple from California who bickered constantly. The California woman wore pink foam rollers in her hair throughout the day! The Swedish lady had a little too much to drink one day and kept dropping her napkin on the floor at the California man's feet so she could give him a little "squeeze" under the table. The two ladies ended up in a catfight. My husband was disgusted and wanted to skip dinner but I found the whole thing hilarious and we've enjoyed telling the story for many years now! To cap off the entire week we had the unfortunate luck to have a N.J. man share our breakfast table on the final morning. He wore Mickey Mouse ears to the dining room and both he and his trophy wife were dripping in gold jewellery. His first comment was "You can't be Canadian, Canadians are too poor to travel." He then attacked the California couple with nasty comments about Ronald Reagan, complaining that he was the cause of all the woes of America. He asked for almost everything on the breakfast menu and took one little bite of each thing. He then got annoyed with the waiter for not clearing the plates quick enough and the waiter said, "Sorry sir, I didn't realize you were finished". He yelled "I don't want to EAT the stuff, I just want to taste it". He further showed his total ignorance when he asked us (Torontonians) why we would visit Disney World since Disneyland is so much closer to us!!!!! Thankfully he was only with us that one morning or I too would have wanted to skip the dining room.

[Drew B]

Open seating does lead to some interesting experiences. Of course, I probably make the list for some of the folks I dined with on the 5/7/06 Summit trip. Every meal with open seating, I would be seated with others who would immediately bring up the pod issues and the demonstrations and the meetings. I'm sure that they expected me to be of like mind and interested in that topic. I'm sure they weren't prepared for me to launch back with what a bunch of unreasonable crybabies I found the "angry mob" to be and that I didn't give a ____ if they wanted to ruin their own cruise, but I would appreciate it if they wouldn't ruin mine by obsessing over the negative...

[DoctorFeelgood]

Yeah Drew! I sure would hate to spend dinner with an endless optimist! (Just Kidding) ;)

[DeltaOne]

We had a table for four on one cruise, the wife was a "low talker." Another cruise with a couple from NYC, the man would quiz the maitre d' each evening on the next evening's menu. If there wasn't something to his liking he would ask for something "special."

 

Another cruise at a large table with a couple from Chicago (and their special needs son). The husband would order two or three dinners -- usually taking just a bite or two from the extra dinners and then pushing them aside. He also had the waiter bring a plate of jalapeno peppers each evening, he'd slice them up and eat them as an appetizer. One night the special needs son had frog legs and ate everything -- bones and all. This was a large table, there were two delightful couples -- both from the UK -- we had great fun chatting with them.

[usha]

Hands down, the most interesting tablemate I've ever had was my DH!:D

He feels the same way about me, so we always ask for a table for 2.

[dbh62ark]

We also meeting our fellow passengers so love sharing a table and nearly always have great experiences. However, I don't know what the maitre d' was thinking when he assigned our table mates on a 2005 Constellation sailing. My husband and I are in our mid-40s, and we planned to sit with new CruiseCritic friends who are in their mid-60s. I really don’t care about the age of our fellow passengers—one of my favorites from any of our cruises turned 80 last year—but it is relevant for this table assignment. We were joined at a table for 6 by a man from Miami who was 75 and his 25-year-old bride who did not speak any English! She was very sweet (he wasn't :)) and smiled a lot, but puh-leez. That would not have been so bad if he had translated for her and included her in the conversation, but he ignored her every night. It was very awkward. I very rarely meet people that I just can't warm up to at all, so we toughed it out for three nights (that was my fault, and I’m still apologizing for it—LOL)! We didn’t want to move because there was another CC table next to us with some fun people, but we just couldn’t work it out. So I have to call them my most interesting dinner companions but not my favorite. :)

 

Donna

[caviargal]

Hands down, the most interesting tablemate I've ever had was my DH!:D

He feels the same way about me, so we always ask for a table for 2.

 

usha, we do the same unless travelling with family or friends.:)

[Schplinky]

We had AMAZING table companions on RCL's Mariner of the Seas. There was us, a socially liberal gay couple, another couple who seemed rather conservative and a third couple who were somewhere in between. We had great, crackling conversations that could be serious or silly because everyone at the table was intelligent, courteous and a great talker. Our waiter actually thought we were all travelling together because we were all such great friends from the start.

[Lois R]

We had AMAZING table companions on RCL's Mariner of the Seas. There was us, a socially liberal gay couple, another couple who seemed rather conservative and a third couple who were somewhere in between. We had great, crackling conversations that could be serious or silly because everyone at the table was intelligent, courteous and a great talker. Our waiter actually thought we were all travelling together because we were all such great friends from the start.

 

What a great post:D Glad you had such a great group

of tablemates!!!

[teets]

The funniest thing I remember was years ago. My husband and I were joined by another 20 dental couples from Ohio State University. We were at a table of 12. All of the couples were great except one couple. They ranged in age from 30 - 70. On the first night everyone introduced themselves except for this one couple. The wife never said a word and the husband, a complete jerk announced that he was left-handed and would have to sit in one particular seat at the table each night. He had not even mentioned what his name was. For the next 10 nights, the rest of the couples got together before dinner and decided who would sit in "his seat". It was hysterical!! The topping on the cake was after telling us how he was the most fabulous cruiser, never got sick and knew it all, on the second last night he couldn't get to dinner because he was seasick. All of the other couples at the table talked about this guy for years. I will never forget it. I am looking forward to my cruise in the Baltics in one and a half months.

 

Terry

[beauxdammit]

In over twenty cruises, we have had some great tablemates, and some real bummers, but I think what happened on our Summit Alaska cruise was the most unusual. As we sat down at our table of eight, (we were travelling with DD and husband) the two ladies unknown to us began staring at each other. This was a little un-nerving since we didn't know if hostilities would break out or just what would happen. Finally, as we introduced ourselves, the two women jumped up, gave each other great big hugs and started tearing up as they explained that they had gone to college together twenty years before in San Diego and had not seen or communicated with each other in that time. What a wonderful reunion they had. We still stay in touch with both.

[johninwpa]

Our most interesting tablemates was on HAL in the late 90's. We were at a table for 6, with a couple from Fla. , where the man was a pilot stationed at Peral Harbor on Dec.7 and another couple Where the man was from Belgium and had gone underground during WWII from the ****s since he was of Jewish descent. Since my wife and I were 35 years younger than both, we loved the Dinner conversations and history lessons. They were priceless. Our table was always one of the last to leave because of the conversations. By far this was our most interesting tablemates in our 12 cruises.

[CaliforniaDreamin]

In May 2005 on West Coast/Alaska cruise Summit our table of eight had two Canadian ladies who were traveling together. One had paid for the others total cruise fare. Seemed to be two nice companions.

 

Well, next to last night of cruise, the one who had paid for both cruises won thousands of dollars at Jackpot Bingo.

 

We were shocked when we were told by the Bingo winner that her companion was angry because she had not shared the Jackpot with her.

[mommykim]

I have been generally lucky in table mates but the 2 that stand out in my mind were unfortunately both on longer cruises. The first gentleman basically took over all conversation telling everyone how he was from San Francisco and therefore knew all about wine and took the entire first evening of the cruise explaining how he was THE most popular guy in SF because when he got invited to a party he would bring between 2 and 4 bottles of "the best California wine around" and everyone loved him because of his wine knowledge. 2 hours later it turns out the wonderful wine he was talking about was $2 buck Chuck and all other wineries in California are just the same thing at over inflated prices. We changed tables for the next night.

On the other cruise we were seated with the cruise motivational speaker and he spent a whole 14 day cruise trying to explain to my husband and myself that we were not happy together and that we needed up purchase his services to get the most out of life. We actually spent another 15 day cruise a few years later hiding from him as he really liked us.

[DeepWaterMariner]

On a Princess Panama Canal cruise we were at a table for six. One woman was hard of hearing. Another woman mumbled. Every night at dinner the one woman would mumble something and the hard of hearing woman would yell "WHAT". It was a long cruise. Interestingly, an older guy at the table was an attorney who had worked on the House Unamerican Activities committee with Joe McCarthy. We have enjoyed Princess Personal Choice Dinning ever since.

 

On another cruise at an open sitting lunch we were seated with a teacher from New England. Another couple seated at the table include a union organizer. When he found out there was a teacher present he started into a diatribe about how all the problems with American education were caused by the teachers. We skipped dessert.

[jer_l]

Our most interesting table mates were on our first cruise eight years ago. We were at a table for four with a lady about ten years older than us and her 83 year old father. He had taken care of his invalid wife for 15 years. She had passed away several months before the cruise and his daughter was taking him on a much needed vacation. She was from Vancouver and he was from Ontario. They were both delightful. She encouraged us to switch to late seating and ask for younger tablemates so we would enjoy ourselves more, but quite honestly, we enjoyed them so very much that we wouldn't even consider a table change. The father would go to bed early so we invited the daughter to join us at one of the bars in the evening which she did a few times. She did tell us before the end of the cruise how much her father enjoyed our company--especially my DW.

 

Jerry

[Cruise Gypsy]

Our most interesting table mates were on our first cruise eight years ago. We were at a table for four with a lady about ten years older than us and her 83 year old father. He had taken care of his invalid wife for 15 years. She had passed away several months before the cruise and his daughter was taking him on a much needed vacation. She was from Vancouver and he was from Ontario. They were both delightful. She encouraged us to switch to late seating and ask for younger tablemates so we would enjoy ourselves more, but quite honestly, we enjoyed them so very much that we wouldn't even consider a table change. The father would go to bed early so we invited the daughter to join us at one of the bars in the evening which she did a few times. She did tell us before the end of the cruise how much her father enjoyed our company--especially my DW.

 

Jerry

 

I love your story.

 

It proves our motto - "It's not the age, it's the attitude":)

[Mooneydiva]

This is such a nice topic! Thanks, DrFeelgood for starting it.

I think that all of our dinner companions have been interesting, but I have to say that on our Adventure of the Seas cruise a few years ago, we were lucky enough to share our table with a couple from NJ and the chaplains for the cruise. Those two men are Roman Catholic priests, born in India and living in New York City now. It was interesting to learn why some Indians have western names, why that group is Roman Catholic and not Hindu, and where they live, for the msot part. And, we enjoyed their tales of serving the diocese of NYC and how they ended up there.

Thanks for bringing back the memories!

Chris

[clearbluewater33]

the last cruise we went (8.06) Celebrity got it right in more ways than one. It was a table for 8 with 3 families all with only children all the same age. As we were introducing ourselves the first evening it turned out that one of the families lived in the same town that my Dad grew up in. Further probing found that they live on the SAME STREET that my dad grew up on and knew exactly what house my dad had lived in. Talk about small world!

[Ask4Jay]

I’m with Usha and caviargal. My most interesting dinner companion is my vDW. You’ll recognize us on any cruise: the older couple at a table for two, a bottle of wine on the table and a happy grin on our faces. Interesting and amusing as some of these ‘horror’ stories are in retrospect, at the time though you must have felt differently. The downside for is that we have no stories to tell. We just quietly enjoy each other’s company and appreciate the fact that on our November cruise we can look back on 50 years together. Life is indeed good, nay, it’s wonderful.

[36kruzes]

We had AMAZING table companions on RCL's Mariner of the Seas. There was us, a socially liberal gay couple, another couple who seemed rather conservative and a third couple who were somewhere in between. We had great, crackling conversations that could be serious or silly because everyone at the table was intelligent, courteous and a great talker. Our waiter actually thought we were all travelling together because we were all such great friends from the start.

 

We've had similar experiences -- recall very few bad times with dining mates. Only when we've gotten placed with a tightly-knit family group (we always ask for a large table to liven things up) who pointedly ignored us was there an issue. Once or twice we've asked to be moved but usually we all get along fine -- lots of laughs. I've been in touch with some tablemates for years, decades in fact.

 

People probably miss out on a lot when they continually stick with their own mate/friend/family member(s) -- honeymooners would be the obvious exception.

[Schplinky]

We've had similar experiences -- recall very few bad times with dining mates. Only when we've gotten placed with a tightly-knit family group (we always ask for a large table to liven things up) who pointedly ignored us was there an issue. Once or twice we've asked to be moved but usually we all get along fine -- lots of laughs. I've been in touch with some tablemates for years, decades in fact.

 

People probably miss out on a lot when they continually stick with their own mate/friend/family member(s) -- honeymooners would be the obvious exception.

 

I agree. We're a little shy but we sort of got thrown into sharing a table for the first time on Enchantment (booked late) and got on wildly with a family of 4 (two grown kids) and a couple of women. We're still in touch with the family. From that point on, we've had no fear of mixing. It makes me sad when you see couples at tables for two who don't say a word through the whole meal. Some are clearly enjoying themselves (and each other) but others look like they're just waiting for the dinner to end.

[cruise182]

OOne time I sat at a table where a tablemate had a piece of meat go down the wrong tube....ended up getting sick all over his dinner plate.

 

One time was seated at a table with a minister who felt the need to have all of us bow our heads in prayer before dinner. When everyone bowed their heads one of the other tablemates made it a point to lean way back in his chair and let out a load groan.

 

Oh, I should mention. Story one was my mothers BF

Story 2, was my brother the atheist.