Eating with strangers

[Principal Flutie]

we have always had good experiences withthe dining and met some nicc people. last cruise we invited a single mom and her son to join us. we had a great time. its what you make of it. Just rememebr they are nervous also. just go for it, meet new people from differant places and walks of life.

 

Love this! It's easy to forget that we are all in the same boat...literally.

[tinlizzy]

There are a few booths in the MDR but the word for the seats some posts in this thread are trying to describe is banquette.

 

Banquette seating is not tacky.

 

I cannot add to this thread because the friend I cruise with eats with his mouth open and is most likely someone elses horror story. :(

[babyher]

I couldn't help think about this thread and the types of people who have this table superiority last night at my 30th high school reunion.

 

Everyone had a ball and it was so great to see everyone . We hugged and laughged and cried and "remembered when and it was great .

 

But very early in the evening The IT Group" of the Class of 1980 sequestered thenselves to their self appointed "Cool Table" just like they did in the cafeteria all those years ago.

 

Back then God forbid a mere moratl tried to sit there , they would have been soundly dealt with.

 

There had to be 20 of them crowded around a table for 10, but they didn't even think about breaking up into two tables, because there could only be one cool table .

 

They just stayed put there and didn't bother to mingle with the others .

 

Every one else there thought it was pretty laughable.

 

That kind of behavior at 17 or 18 in high school, although the way it is sometimes, may be envious to others in the class.

 

But at 47 and 48, it was really pretty sad .

 

a really great group of us were sitting at a table nearby laughing and joking all night , at times about the mindless , shallow conversations coming from the "cool table"

 

So folks , if you are ever on a cruise and tablemates make you feel uncomfortable do yourself a big favor and get your table changed . You will end up being seated with much much nicer people.

 

But don't be too severe with the "cool people " In some cases that table might be all they have.

[Katoo]

On our last cruise we were seated with 3 other couples. All of us in our fifties, all of us professionals, seemed like Carnival had worked to seat us all together according to our ages and interest, 2 of the couples had wedding anniversaries on the same night. Should have been great, except...

 

It was one month before the 2008 election and my husband and I are die-hard liberal democrats. All was fine until talk turned to politics. We opted to sit in silence while the others took turns hanging Barack Obama from an imaginary oak tree. When they realized we weren't playing the "what on earth are we going to do if Obama gets elected?" game, one of them point-blank asked us. We quietly told them we were voting for Obama and then nobody at the table would speak to us again.

[beetle9]

we have stayed in touch with a lot of past dinner mates. We even took a couple cruises with a couple we meet on the cruise. The trans atlantic cruise on rccl we were sit with a couple from england and we had a great conversation all 14 nights it was interesting to discuss the differences of or lives and countries. We have exchanged mail with them several times since.:)

[dan40]

On our last cruise we were seated with 3 other couples. All of us in our fifties, all of us professionals, seemed like Carnival had worked to seat us all together according to our ages and interest, 2 of the couples had wedding anniversaries on the same night. Should have been great, except...

 

It was one month before the 2008 election and my husband and I are die-hard liberal democrats. All was fine until talk turned to politics. We opted to sit in silence while the others took turns hanging Barack Obama from an imaginary oak tree. When they realized we weren't playing the "what on earth are we going to do if Obama gets elected?" game, one of them point-blank asked us. We quietly told them we were voting for Obama and then nobody at the table would speak to us again.

 

You're forgiven. Anybody can make a mistake!:D:D:D

[midnightblue]

We have been really lucky. We always worry about our luck running out, but so far we are 5 for 5. We have been on 5 cruises and always have had great table mates. We still keep in touch with 3 of the couples. One couple that we met on our third cruise have become very good friends. After the cruise, we spent the week with them in Aruba. We were a little apprehensive about spending a whole week with total strangers but it worked out fantastic and we have traveled to Ocean City Md. with them several times. We have always managed to dance around the subjects of Politics and Religion. We usually agree as much as possible and turn the conversation to something funny. I am in such a good mood when I am cruising I can just let everything roll of my back like a duck. Lucky for us no one has ever really insisted on pursuing these topics. Usually once they see that your not bitting the subject drops. We always request large tables. The more the merrier.