The table from Hell!

[u4ea]

I was curious about what ya’ll think about the importance of your table companions. If you get a group that you don’t relate with. Say they my be stoic or insipid (fancy words for boring, I don’t want to come off as judgmental, just telling it like it is sometimes) or perhaps too roughly or obnoxious. Or if you get a group that you have extra fun with, befriending, laughing, stimulating etc. Can it make or break a cruise? Or should I say, can it make it MORE memorable, and to what degree?

Last year on the Rotterdam, someone told me he was sitting at “the table from Hell”. I invited him to my table (8 or 10) when it wasn’t full, but it was always full because we were having such a good time. And this was a diverse group (for being on a cruise I mean), ages 19 to 89. Had other great experiences also, befriending and traveling with tablemates during and even post cruise. On the other hand, my last cruise (2 weeks on the Veendam), my large table had only two others, and we didn’t really relate on any meaningful level. I supposed I could have asked to change tables, but would have felt bad leaving, (the 3 of us were solo travelers) and it wasn’t a big deal to me. (I’m somewhat introverted anyway) And I would have not called it a table from hell. The thing is, especially for the solo cruiser, your dinner table seems to be the starting and main arena for social interaction during the cruise.

What if I do get the table from Hell on my next cruise? Any thoughts?

Mark….

[bepsf]

Mark--

 

I always organize my own tables for dinner

(Oh, the poor Maitre'ds who have had to put up with me moving people around and requesting my favorite table!)

 

...because Yes, having a great group of interesting characters at dinner absolutely makes the cruise for me.

[ekerr19]

What if I do get the table from Hell on my next cruise? Any thoughts?

 

Request to be moved. We did it on the Volendam - the table next to us had the loudest, most "uninformed" cruisers we've encountered in a long while.

 

After the third or fourth comment on how "the food has improved since Celebrity took over", and how "Celebrity has really turned things around on HAL", I found I just couldn't take it anymore...:eek:

[kryos]

What if I do get the table from Hell on my next cruise? Any thoughts?

Ask for a reassignment. I wouldn't hesitate to do it and in fact did just that on my last cruise. I was stuck at a table with people far, far older than me. Now this in and of itself is not a problem. I love being around older folks. But this group was different ... a couple who barely said a word during the entire meal, and another elderly gentleman who was nice enough, but also not much of a conversationalist. Needless to say, dinner time conversation was very strained and I could see that this just wasn't gonna work out ... not for 30 days. Additionally, I originally booked early seating and I could see that wasn't gonna work out either. A fellow cruise critic invited me to sit at her table during second seating, and I asked the person on the cruise director's staff who was overseeing our singles gatherings each day how I go about making that change happen. She hooked me right up with the matri 'd who basically said "consider it done." I had great dinners for the rest of the cruise.

 

Dinner is an important part of a cruise ... especially for a solo. I would never hesitate to ask for a dining change if I felt in the slightest bit uncomfortable with my table companions. If you felt bad to leave the other two singles, I would have just invited them, too, to join in your request for seating at a table with more diners. At least then, if the conversation with those two was difficult, you'd have lots of others at the table to chat with.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[lougee1043]

we have always been very lucky about table mates except once---usually request a table for 6 - have been put at a table for 8 and it too worked out fine-----------------have travelled with another couple and we usually request a table for 6 --always willing and anxious to meet new people----------------------the once was on our alaskan cruise with our friends at a table for 6 and that is where we met the bear lady -- after the first meal we went to the maitre d and requested a table change and that was that

 

unhappy ??? not moving will only make it worse --you will start to dread dinner

[cruisegirl]

I think asking for a change is always the best policy. Why suffer through an unenjoyable dinner even if it's only for 7 days! Having said that, we did get stuck at a table on a cruise that was less than enjoyable. (The table, not the cruise!) We had already made one change when we ended up at our final table. Hated to make another change but should have. There was one woman there who was an absolute grouch and complained about everything. Nothing made her happy. I finally made my hubby sit by her as he can generally make anyone happier. It helped some. Of course I felt a little sorry for him. (Right, I said a "little.")

[u4ea]

Thanks, that’s good advice on going about changing, I wasn’t miserable or anything. I could have decaying corpses sitting at my table, and still be half euphoric because I love to cruise and love to eat.:cool:

Mark

[DesertDiva]

It now seems "appropriate" to tell about my "experience" on the Oosterdam New Year's cruise. It was my first cruise sailing alone, and I was somewhat nervous. I have no problem being on my own during the day (or even in ports) but I did want a nice experience at dinner.

 

I had met a person on a Cruise Critic roll call who was "rounding up a group" compiled of her friends, and the "friends of friends." It was a group of eight and included two single women in my age bracket. They graciously "adopted me," and I joined them for dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. I was able to change my seating to their table since we all were the second seating. It was a long table by the window and an extra chair was put at the end of the table to accomodate me. However, we "switched seats" every evening to get to know each other better. It was nice for me and I felt fortunate to have met the group.

 

One evening near the end of the cruise, I arrived 5-10 minutes after 8:00 p.m. since I was in the casino. Much to my surprise, the "boyfriend" of one of the passengers had apparently asked the waiter to remove the extra chair. Standing by the table and waiting for the chair to be replaced, the "boyfriend" told me I was "dismissed from the table." At first I thought he was joking, but he was actually serious. Needless to say, I was horrified. Everyone at the table almost "jumped out of their seats" telling me not to leave, etc... With that, the "boyfriend" (he's in his 60's) left the dining room and didn't return.

 

I burst into tears not understanding what was going on. The girlfriend apologized for his behavior, stating that he was an "a**hole." Later, after dinner I gleaned from one of the other table members that the "boyfriend" was apparently angry with her over a comment, and his anger was directed toward me instead. She also added that the girlfriend had lost several friends over the behavior of her "boyfriend."

 

The next evening there were no apologies, and the "boyfriend" acted as nothing had happened. I'm sure that the "boyfriend" had some sort of personality disorder. Even though I understand what took place and why, it was still a hurtful experience.

 

I was curious about what ya’ll think about the importance of your table companions. If you get a group that you don’t relate with. Say they my be stoic or insipid (fancy words for boring, I don’t want to come off as judgmental, just telling it like it is sometimes) or perhaps too roughly or obnoxious. Or if you get a group that you have extra fun with, befriending, laughing, stimulating etc. Can it make or break a cruise? Or should I say, can it make it MORE memorable, and to what degree?

What if I do get the table from Hell on my next cruise? Any thoughts?

[ekerr19]

There was one woman there who was an absolute grouch and complained about everything. Nothing made her happy. I finally made my hubby sit by her as he can generally make anyone happier. It helped some. Of course I felt a little sorry for him. (Right, I said a "little.")

 

cruisegirl - Thanks so much for making me laugh out loud!!! I did that to my hubby, he gets along with just about everyone, but cannot stand chronic, constant complaining about every little thing - though he tolerates it better than I - even he was at his wits end!!!

 

Glad to know I'm not the only one who does it though! ;)

[Britters]

As weird as this might sound, my fiance and I are hoping to be placed at a large table with others when we are on our honeymoon cruise! We want to meet new people, and I'm hoping we don't get sat alone...everyone thinks we're weird (at least here at home) when we mention this, but we'll spend all day together, and as much as we love one another, we are the type of people who like to surround ourselves with people who laugh and chat.

[Randyk47]

Only once have we been at a table that had even a minor problem and even that "solved itself" as the one couple who felt uncomfortable at the table removed themselves to the earlier sitting. We've made some great friends at our tables over the years and are still in contact with a number of them. In fact, a couple we met in 2004 cruised with us in 2005 and are trying to hook up again with us in 2007. In the meantime we'll probably visit them this coming summer and spend some time at their lake cabin in Canada. I also should mention that we've met people from CC and subsequently cruised with them....in Lougee's case twice and maybe more to come.

[Karen112999]

Desert Diva - OMG - I would have just left he had made that comment to me and then cried back in my cabin...

 

I too cruise solo and have been quite fortunate with my tablemates - sometimes at the solo table which is nice, other times with couples.

 

I did, on my 3/15 cruise, ask to be relocated. My original tablemates were nice, but I had absolutely nothing in common with them and the conversation even on the first night dragged. When I met a friend and they said they had two extra seats - I checked and found I could have the seats for the entire cruise. Great move. The rest of the cruise was wonderful and every evening centered around dinner instead of just getting through it.

 

Karen

[grandsix]

Karen, although we almost always dine at a table for 2, we would be honored to sit at your table. Having compatible table mates definitely can make for a great cruise. As we all know however, table assignments are mostly hit or miss.

[Wini18]

DH and I are so fortunate. We have never had a problem table - we are still in touch with many of our past mates. I certainly wouldn't have a problem with asking to be moved if the situation required it. :D

[tomc]

I feel very fortunate in never feeling I had to move. At least, not so far...

 

Couple of years ago, I was seated with a woman who was of the complaining type and we happened to have the last waiter out of the kitchen. Nothing bad; someone had to have the last one out and this was our turn. I took her whining for two evenings and, on the second night, said, "Do you realize that, right now, we are living and eating better than, perhaps, 99 percent of the people in the world? Very few of those billions have it as good as we do for these ten days."

 

End of complaining.

 

What would make me (a solo) request a change?

 

(a) Constant complaining by at least two people, or nasty complaining by one.

(b) Being cut out of the conversation by a majority of the table.

© One, just one, instance of a racial slur or any kind of slur about the Third World crew on the ship. If it happened before our order was taken, I would ask for an immediate change on those grounds.

(d) People who are not as good looking as me. :eek:

[Britters]

(d) People who are not as good looking as me. :eek:

 

I love it! That's hilarious! I too would have to consider moving if they weren't as beautiful as me!:D

[DesertDiva]

Not much catches me by surprise, but the aformentioned man wins the award for "rude." However, I'm sure that he had some sort of personality disorder.

 

On my recent 03/18/06 cruise on the Oosterdam, I met the nicest couple from Australia at dinner. They were very witty and regaled the other passengers dining at our table with stories from previous cruises, etc...

 

One story was regarding a woman who was told to wait to go from ship to tender on one of their previous cruises. However, she disregarded the attending crew members and put one foot on the tender while the other was on the ship. She "fell between" the tender and ship during an ocean swell and broke her leg. Every time she saw the passengers from Australia, she would furiously wheel her wheelchair in their direction in order to attempt to persuade them to act as witnesses for a potential lawsuit. (They refused!)

 

Desert Diva - OMG - I would have just left he had made that comment to me and then cried back in my cabin...

 

I too cruise solo and have been quite fortunate with my tablemates - sometimes at the solo table which is nice, other times with couples.

 

I did, on my 3/15 cruise, ask to be relocated. My original tablemates were nice, but I had absolutely nothing in common with them and the conversation even on the first night dragged. When I met a friend and they said they had two extra seats - I checked and found I could have the seats for the entire cruise. Great move. The rest of the cruise was wonderful and every evening centered around dinner instead of just getting through it.

[Atomica]

I have been fortunate in that all the times I have cruised solo, I have had great dinner companions.

 

However, on the Oosterdam there was one couple at our table on the first evening who arrived almost 30 minutes into the meal, and really didn't speak to anyone, and when they did, it was usually about how dissatisfied they were with the cruise (it was only the first night!), and how 'NCL is better'. The situation worked itself out when they didn't show up the next night for dinner. Interestingly, I saw them on and off throughout the cruise, stewing in their own bad karma.;)

[Copper10-8]

I burst into tears not understanding what was going on. The girlfriend apologized for his behavior, stating that he was an "a**hole." Later, after dinner I gleaned from one of the other table members that the "boyfriend" was apparently angry with her over a comment, and his anger was directed toward me instead. She also added that the girlfriend had lost several friends over the behavior of her "boyfriend."

 

The next evening there were no apologies, and the "boyfriend" acted as nothing had happened. I'm sure that the "boyfriend" had some sort of personality disorder. Even though I understand what took place and why, it was still a hurtful experience.

 

I agree 100% with that assessment and would have no trouble reminding Mr. "boyfriend" of that after such a "performance"!

[RedmondCruiser]

In 35 cruises we have had some great tables. Only on two occasions did we have a bac table. One had a man who was irrate about everything and made all of us uncomfortable (he thankfully left and ate in the Lido) The second was a woman who was constantly coughing. Got to the point that no one wanted to sit by her and that made going to dinner a dreaded event. We, of course, stayed, being too darn polite but in the future I would request another table as soon as possible. Its not worth ruining your vacation over it.

[Orlandocruiser]

Good table companions can certainly make a cruise. On our previous cruises we have had wonderful tablemates but our last was not so great. We had a table next to a serving station so it was a noisy location. One couple was very nice but really hard to understand and the other were your typical grouches who cruise all the time yet like to complain about every little thing. Conversation seemed a chore rather than fun. It wasn't terrible but just not that fun. I guess that is why the dinner service seemed so slow. On our other cruises we wouldn't have cared how long it took to serve since we were having a great time.:) Our next cruise is a 14 day and I don't think we would hestitate to request a change if the same circumstances arose.

[jhannah]

Cheryl, I've seen some boorish behavior before ... but this takes the cake. I can only imagine how it made you feel!

 

We, too, have been very fortunate. We've met some wonderful people whom we have enjoyed very much. Some more than others, but none who were not pleasant and engaging dinner companions.

 

We're keeping our fingers crossed!

[Songhee]

We had an experience in a Med cruise where our table companions were ok, but we had absolutely nothing in common with either of the other couples and found dinner just "ok". Unfortunately, it was a cruise with very few English speaking people so the opportunity to change tables was not great and it was difficult to meet other English speakers around the boat because so many other languages were spoken. This cruise was not sold in North America and I think we were the only Canadians aboard. I know you travel to have a "different" experience, but this one was just lonely.

We are booked on the Zuiderdam in October for a Panama Cruise and sure hope that we have a better experience this time. It's taken me 12 years to get my DH to try cruising again.

I appreciate the tips I have found in CC and am planning to make this cruise VERY successful.

[Captain Crunch]

We made the mistake, as a couple, of requesting a table for 4 and were seated with a couple with whom we had nothing in common. Worse, it seems they had nothing in common with each other. They barely said a word to each other, let alone initiate a conversation with us.

 

After 2 nights we asked the mater'd to move us to another table at another time. He wasn't friendly, cooperative or even empathetic. He sent a note to the cabin saying our request was denied.

 

So much for customer service.

[RuthC]

If you find yourself at "the table from hell" don't hesitate to move. Dinner is just too big an event---and the cruise too short---to waste time.

For the most part I've had marvelous table companions over the years. But a few years ago I endured 19 nights at a table with a nice-enough couple, two pleasant but very quiet ladies, and THE HAT LADY :eek: . Strange isn't the word.

Eventually longtimecruiser rescued me by asking me to join her.

Then last summer I found myself with a most unpleasant group. I may be slow, but I do catch on eventually. I wasn't going to put up with them for five weeks; I moved from that table after three nights, and never regretted it. Had a lovely time for the remaining dinners.