Ever have awful Table mates?

[c-boy]

sarcasm no doubt 

[RocketMan275]

On 6/25/2019 at 5:42 PM, VennDiagram said:

 

I have witnessed similar.  And heard other stories from people I consider reliable sources of similar.  Either "status" or cabin category.

There was a wonderful thread on the Celebrity board about egregious behavior from passengers demanding special treatment because of their high status.

 

Very much like the posts that begin:  "We're Captains Club Super Elite Status and ..."

[MicCanberra]

11 hours ago, c-boy said:

 Life is like a box of chocolates .....

yep, some are fruity and others are nuts.😁

[MicCanberra]

7 hours ago, EatonDoolittle said:

 

Boring, as well.

How many times can you read "we met the most wonderful people, have kept in touch, lifelong friends, cruise with them every year, blah, blah."

 

Where's the fun in reading that over and over? I see the poster has started such a thread.

I'll stick to reading this one about crazies, thanks. 

Unless there is a twist to the tale.

[Luckiestmanonearth]

We’ve met both wonderful people and strange people and they both have something in common.  We have not remained in contact with either after the cruise.  

 

As Rush sings in Limelight “I cant pretend this stranger is a long awaited friend”

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

We’ve met both wonderful people and strange people and they both have something in common.  We have not remained in contact with either after the cruise.  

 

As Rush sings in Limelight “I cant pretend this stranger is a long awaited friend”

 

Same here.  Met very nice people but drift away afterwards. 

[julie3fan]

On 6/25/2019 at 7:50 PM, clo said:

Love that.  AND totally off-topic, love your screen name.  We live in Reno and my husband's stepfather was from Tonapah.

 

OK, I have to be off topic here a moment!  I read Tonopah's thread about good table mates before I found this thread.  I had to ask the significance of the screen name Tonopah, as I live in Tonopah!  I haven't had enough time yet to finish reading this thread to go back to that one to see if there's been a responce.  I wonder if DH or myself might know your family?  I've lived there almost 40 years, and DH has since 1964.  What a small world we live in!

[julie3fan]

Phew!  I read all 281 posts and didn't recognize myself in any of the stories!

 

We haven't had any bad tablemates, except perhaps the couple who requested to be moved after the first night.  We were the last of 3 couples to arrive at our 6 top on the first night (we weren't late, the others were just early) and found the 2 couples firmly engrossed in their conversation.  We initially felt a bit left out. 

 

As the evening progressed we realized one of the gents was a blow hard, and he was saying some really odd things.  The oddest was him saying that on cruise ships, there are 2 guys that work on the ship and all they do is sort thru the garbage and take out the recyclables, which they get to keep and sell, and that is how they're paid!  Since I had never read this on Cruise Critic, I knew it couldn't possibly be true!

 

Anyways, he's the one that said they had asked to be moved to a window table, and at the end of the meal they were told their new table number starting the next night.  What was interesting is that we were at late seating, in November, and it was pitch dark outside, so having a window table was pointless!

 

The other couple that was left at the table with us were super nice folks, and we enjoyed the rest of the 10 day cruise with them.

[Tonopah]

2 hours ago, julie3fan said:

 

OK, I have to be off topic here a moment!  I read Tonopah's thread about good table mates before I found this thread.  I had to ask the significance of the screen name Tonopah, as I live in Tonopah!  I haven't had enough time yet to finish reading this thread to go back to that one to see if there's been a responce.  I wonder if DH or myself might know your family?  I've lived there almost 40 years, and DH has since 1964.  What a small world we live in!

Alas, I am not from Tonopah, nor have I ever lived there. I used to live in Vegas {shudder}. We drove through Tonopah one time and it was lovely. That was decades ago but I never forgot. 

[XBGuy]

2 hours ago, julie3fan said:

Since I had never read this on Cruise Critic, I knew it couldn't possibly be true!

 

 

 

🤣🤣🤣

 

Good one, Julie.

[julie3fan]

35 minutes ago, Tonopah said:

Alas, I am not from Tonopah, nor have I ever lived there. I used to live in Vegas {shudder}. We drove through Tonopah one time and it was lovely. That was decades ago but I never forgot. 

 

It is still lovely!

 

Here's an excerpt from Wiki about the meaning of the word "Tonopah".

 

"According to local history, the name is said to mean "hidden spring".

Linguistically the name derives from either Shoshone to-nuv (greasewood), or Northern Paiute to-nav (greasewood), and pa, meaning water in both dialects."

[Sherri914]

On 6/26/2019 at 2:30 PM, zitsky said:

 

I didn't like escargot until I had it in a soup at a restaurant.

 

I turned my nose up at calamari until I had it (without knowing what it was) on a cruise ship years ago.  Now it's a favorite!

[MicCanberra]

I will try just about anything once, but especially when served on a cruise ship, you know that there must be a bit of a market.

[gooch47]

In regards to wonderful tablemates, we shared a table every night on a Viking Cruise with a wonderful couple.  Friendly, polite, interesting.  Everything you'd want in a new friend.

 

They gave us their home phone number and their email address.  Even invited us to contact them and spent some time at their home.

 

Both the phone number and email address were fake.

Edited June 28, 2019 by gooch47

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, gooch47 said:

In regards to wonderful tablemates, we shared a table every night on a Viking Cruise with a wonderful couple.  Friendly, polite, interesting.  Everything you'd want in a new friend.

 

They gave us their home phone number and their email address.  Even invited us to contact them and spent some time at their home.

 

Both the phone number and email address were fake.

Sounds like they were giving you a message 🙂

 

Hank

[gooch47]

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

Sounds like they were giving you a message 🙂

 

Hank

Agree.  But why even offer the contact numbers?

[Hlitner]

1 minute ago, gooch47 said:

Agree.  But why even offer the contact numbers?

At the moment we are on vacation with some old friends and I read them part of the thread.  We all had a good laugh and then I said to DW that we should print up cards (name, address, phone, e-mail) for some upcoming cruises.  Our friend suggested we print up two different cards, 1 with the correct info and another with completely fake info.  Why?  If anyone asks for info or suggests exchanging info it is easier to give them a fake card then say no.

 

Over the years we have maintained a few terrific friendships with folks we have met at dinner tables on cruises.  These are friends around the world that we have visited and they have also visited us.  On a few occasions we have actually run into old cruise friends on other cruises.....which has always turned into a lot of fun.

 

Somebody asked us (on CC) how they can find out about great cruise agencies that offer big discounts and/or large OBCs.  We pointed out that a lot of the best info we have learned about cruise agents came from conversations at large dinner tables.  Those at 2 tops are doomed to pay more for their cruises :).

 

Hank

[kochleffel]

8 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

a lot of the best info we have learned about cruise agents came from conversations at large dinner tables.  Those at 2 tops are doomed to pay more for their cruises :).

 

Probably so. On the other hand, the category of "awful table mates" includes people who carry on about how you paid way too much and could have gotten a better stateroom for less money if you had used their travel agent (in another country, sometimes). Or if you had waited until the last minute to book -- which I generally can't do, because of work that has to be planned far in advance.

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

 

Probably so. On the other hand, the category of "awful table mates" includes people who carry on about how you paid way too much and could have gotten a better stateroom for less money if you had used their travel agent (in another country, sometimes). Or if you had waited until the last minute to book -- which I generally can't do, because of work that has to be planned far in advance.

One thing we have surmised from this and similar topics on CC (over a few years) is that most folks who prefer 2 tops would likely make lousy tablemates at large tables.  It is an attitude thing.  Part of socialization is knowing how to tactfully steer table conversations to interesting topics that do not usually cause folks to get upset.  The old saying about not talking about politics and religion are good examples.  Not everyone is good at face to face socializing and there are some folks who do not enjoy meeting strangers.  I think it has become a bigger problem for the younger generations as much of face to face has been replaced by social media (no need to talk to anyone...just send them a text).   For those who cruised forty years ago (which includes us) it was a time when 2 tops did not even exist!  Everyone shared larger tables (always Fixed Dining) and it was an important part of the cruise experience.  When my parents would return from a long cruise our first questions (and comments) were about their tablemates (many of whom became good friends).

 

As to the person that tells us we paid "way to much"   we certainly listen.  Sometimes they are right and we learn :).  it is the same with those that have tips about getting better cabins for less or the same money.  We cruise a lot (sometimes over 100 days a year) and soak up that kind of information.  Over the years we have found some great cruise agencies by listening to others.  And we have also learned about agencies to avoid.  The same person who "does not want to hear it" is the one to later ask, "how can we get a good deal" or "how do you get those big OBCs?"   We do have some local friends "who do not want to hear it" because they (or at least) knows best.  They continue to pay very high prices for all their cruises (and trips).  His wife privately tells DW that she knows they are missing out on good deals, but her husband "does not want to hear it."  So be it.

 

Hank

[Cruzaholic41]

12 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

One thing we have surmised from this and similar topics on CC (over a few years) is that most folks who prefer 2 tops would likely make lousy tablemates at large tables.  It is an attitude thing.  Part of socialization is knowing how to tactfully steer table conversations to interesting topics that do not usually cause folks to get upset.  The old saying about not talking about politics and religion are good examples.  Not everyone is good at face to face socializing and there are some folks who do not enjoy meeting strangers.  

 

You make an awful lot of assumptions in this thread about folks at 2 tops. DH and I prefer to eat at 2 tops because we committed that time to one another.  We spend all day socializing whether it’s during trivia, sitting poolside or in the evening bars. Our phones stay locked in the safe all cruise so we’re not part of the generation that can’t exist without them. Dinner is just that one part of the cruise we prefer to be alone. You shouldn’t be so quick to judge folks who don’t think exactly like you. 

[XBGuy]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

One thing we have surmised from this and similar topics on CC (over a few years) is that most folks who prefer 2 tops would likely make lousy tablemates at large tables.  It is an attitude thing. 

 

When I first read this I was pretty offended.  However, you may be right.  I do tend to pontificate.  Also, I have great difficulty feigning interest in grandchildren or medical histories.

 

 

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 

For those who cruised forty years ago (which includes us) it was a time when 2 tops did not even exist!  Everyone shared larger tables (always Fixed Dining) and it was an important part of the cruise experience. 

 

That is absolutely not true.  My wife and I sat at two-tops in the dining rooms on the NCL Southward in 1976 on the Costa Riviera in 1984 and the Regent Sea in 1992. 

 

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 

As to the person that tells us we paid "way to much"   we certainly listen.  Sometimes they are right and we learn :).  it is the same with those that have tips about getting better cabins for less or the same money.  We cruise a lot (sometimes over 100 days a year) and soak up that kind of information.  Over the years we have found some great cruise agencies by listening to others.  And we have also learned about agencies to avoid.  The same person who "does not want to hear it" is the one to later ask, "how can we get a good deal" or "how do you get those big OBCs?"   We do have some local friends "who do not want to hear it" because they (or at least) knows best.  They continue to pay very high prices for all their cruises (and trips).  His wife privately tells DW that she knows they are missing out on good deals, but her husband "does not want to hear it."  So be it.

 

Hank

 

How do these people learn about your fantastic deal or your "big OBC?"  While I do cruise more often now that I am retired, I do not cruise 100 days per year, but I have never been asked, "How much did you pay for this cruise," or "How much OBC did you get?"  I have two friends who are avid cruisers--my coffee shop buddy and my brother.  We have never compared fares or OBC.  If I was asked, I would deflect.  It's none of your business.  If somebody volunteered the information, I would smile and say something like, "Wow, that's a good deal," and, then, probably, redirect the conversation.

 

Hank, I apologize for being critical.  I normally enjoy your informative posts.  However, I do not enjoy reading that I am a social pariah or that I am not cruising correctly.

[MicCanberra]

6 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

 

You make an awful lot of assumptions in this thread about folks at 2 tops. DH and I prefer to eat at 2 tops because we committed that time to one another.  We spend all day socializing whether it’s during trivia, sitting poolside or in the evening bars. Our phones stay locked in the safe all cruise so we’re not part of the generation that can’t exist without them. Dinner is just that one part of the cruise we prefer to be alone. You shouldn’t be so quick to judge folks who don’t think exactly like you. 

Agreed, we sometimes want a two top because we want to get in and out fast and get to the show often leaving before dessert. I find it rude to leave a larger table if we planned to do that and of course a larger table often takes longer due to more people and more nearly always more courses.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

When I first read this I was pretty offended.  However, you may be right.  I do tend to pontificate.  Also, I have great difficulty feigning interest in grandchildren or medical histories.

 

 

 

That is absolutely not true.  My wife and I sat at two-tops in the dining rooms on the NCL Southward in 1976 on the Costa Riviera in 1984 and the Regent Sea in 1992. 

 

 

How do these people learn about your fantastic deal or your "big OBC?"  While I do cruise more often now that I am retired, I do not cruise 100 days per year, but I have never been asked, "How much did you pay for this cruise," or "How much OBC did you get?"  I have two friends who are avid cruisers--my coffee shop buddy and my brother.  We have never compared fares or OBC.  If I was asked, I would deflect.  It's none of your business.  If somebody volunteered the information, I would smile and say something like, "Wow, that's a good deal," and, then, probably, redirect the conversation.

 

Hank, I apologize for being critical.  I normally enjoy your informative posts.  However, I do not enjoy reading that I am a social pariah or that I am not cruising correctly.

There are many tables where booking strategies and pricing are never discussed.  Some folks do not want to get into those subjects and its just good manners to avoid topics that are not agreeable to an entire table.  But we have also been at many tables (and cocktail tables) where folks will start talking about their favorite cruise agents, how to get the best cabins, most OBCs, etc.  When we hear folks recommend agencies we will generally follow-up with our due diligence.  Sometimes the info turns out to be a very good tip and other times we find that the new agencies are not as competitive as our own favored places.  Knowing that many folks do not want to discuss pricing it is a subject I seldom to never raise.  But I might ask folks something like "who do you use to book your cruises" and see where the conversation goes.

 

On our recent Celebrity Summit cruise (10 days to Bermuda and NE) the subject was raised by another person at a table of 8.  Remarkably it turned out that all 4 couples had booked that cruise within the 4 weeks prior to embarkation!  We all laughed and thought that was pretty unusual and somebody else joked that "great minds think alike."  Nobody mentioned pricing other then to agree that the last minute deals were amazing.

 

Hank

[MicCanberra]

I agree you can have conversations about booking cruises without mentioning prices, however, sooner rather than later, it will inevitably end up there as how can you say I got $X OBC for a X cabin with drinks and gratuities, without having a total price for comparison.

[Husky61]

11 hours ago, gooch47 said:

Agree.  But why even offer the contact numbers?

So you could post it on Cruise Critic.😲