Tell Us About Your Negative Experiences With Table Mates

[Collcoll]

We went on our first cruise during spring break. My wife and I sat at a table for six with four lovely college girls on spring break!!

Oops, i'm sorry you said negative experience.

 

 

Depends on perspecive. Bet your wife found it to be a tad negative. :rolleyes:

[Collcoll]

the most annoying thing i've ever had happen at my table is having service interrupted by the singing and dancing by the staff :mad:

 

 

Never been on a cruise.... but I already know how much I'm going to hate this part. I'll just grin and bear it.... sheesh... There are shows after dinner, don't know why they feel the need to sing and dance while your trying to relax over a meal with friends.... :mad:

[mudpievelour]

My sister and I were on a B2B on the Glory spanning Labor day last year. The 1st night we went to the DR and were directed to follow a waiter to our table.

 

As we got to within 2 feet of the table and it was obvious that we were going to be seated there, a woman jumped up, snapped her fingers in the air and yelled "OH NO, I DON'T THINK SO"

 

:eek: I had to think about this for a while, but it occured to me that maybe these people thought you were lesbians (not that I condone this reaction at all!) Were you holding hands or something? I would have walked right up to her and asked "And just what kind of problem do you have with me and my sister?" I bet she would have turned six shades of red.:eek:

[okgirl]

:eek: I had to think about this for a while, but it occured to me that maybe these people thought you were lesbians (not that I condone this reaction at all!) Were you holding hands or something? I would have walked right up to her and asked "And just what kind of problem do you have with me and my sister?" I bet she would have turned six shades of red.:eek:

 

I thought that as well, it's a rare cruise that we don't have to "explain" our relationship at some point along the way. We are a year and ten days apart, and most people think we look alike, but when they find out that we've never married and don't have children......I guess they start wondering of we're just not out.

 

A funny anecdote, on the Glory cruise but Labor Day 2007 we went to the martini bar one evening.......Well, unbeknownst to us they were having a Friends of Dorothy gathering (teach me not to read my capers :rolleyes:).

 

After a couple of drinks sister turns to me and said, "I think everyone here is gay" So I look around and sure enough there were quite a few couples being comfortably affectionate.

 

The 2 guys sitting next to us were Larry and his partner Jeff. Larry caught on right away and said "You're not here for the friends of Dorothy are you". I said no but I really like this bar so I'm staying anyway.....

 

We'll we had a really great time visiting with the guys, and socialized with them several times over the next few days....

 

The 4 of us happened to meet up at the Lobby bar prior to going ashore, where I remembered the guys were going shopping for matching bands.

 

Well Jeff had I guess had too many Mimosa's for breakfast and kept making references to how long had me and Donna been together, did we have an RDP....etc....and Larry kept trying to tell him under his breath that we weren't lesbians..........

 

Finally, just as there was an ackward lull in the overall noise level in the lobby, Larry yells; "JEFF, THEY'RE NOT LESBIANS THEY ARE SPINSTERS, I MEAN SISTER'S"......:p

 

I literally spit my drink through my nose and had tears streaming down my face I was laughing so hard..........Poor Jeff, was in tears "Well you don't have to yell!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

I tell ya........I love cruising, you just run into all types. If you can roll with it, you'll have a blast.

 

As it turned out Larry and Jeff were the 1st people we ran into on the Glory the next Labor Day 2008 when the bad DR experience happened....We had another great week together.

[LemurCat]

I thought that as well, it's a rare cruise that we don't have to "explain" our relationship at some point along the way. We are a year and ten days apart, and most people think we look alike, but when they find out that we've never married and don't have children......I guess they start wondering of we're just not out.

 

Yeah, I can relate to that one. My sister and I own a home together, hang out a lot together, and travel together. But because my sister is divorced she doesn't have the same surname as I do. The section of town we used to live in is very, very gay-friendly and a lot of our friends are gay. So my sister runs for township committee against a particularly closed minded guy. I would go with her to the debates, events, etc. The guy she was running against and my sister get into a shouting match after some event right after she got nominated and basically ascerted that she I were lovers. Now, we may be almost ten years apart, but we look a lot alike. Like really a lot alike. Everyone was so dumb-founded by this guy's statement. I just looked at him, shook my head, and said "We're sisters, you ignorant (insert a string of explatives here)." It's since turned into a running joke and we often refer to each other as sister-wives. Which leads to a whole other line of questioning as to involvement in one of those crazy polygamist sects ...

[cruisefan42]

After 33 cruises I have only had one bad experience that turned out quite funny. We (my mom and I) were sitting at a table for 8. The first night an older couple came VERY late to the table VERY drunk. I was seated next to the man's wife. She was constantly spitting in my food while tring to talk, and eating food off my plate. It was disgusting. The one couple left after day 2. After 3 days no one could deal with it, we spoke with the maitre'd who assured us he would move us. To our surprise, and horror they moved us to the next table over in full view of our previous table. Trying to justify our actions we told our VERY drunk table mates we married the 2 guys at our table ( a gay couple) and we were celebrating our honeymoon privately. They did not show up for dinner after that.

 

Lisa

[babyher]

I thought that as well, it's a rare cruise that we don't have to "explain" our relationship at some point along the way. We are a year and ten days apart, and most people think we look alike, but when they find out that we've never married and don't have children......I guess they start wondering of we're just not out.

 

A funny anecdote, on the Glory cruise but Labor Day 2007 we went to the martini bar one evening.......Well, unbeknownst to us they were having a Friends of Dorothy gathering (teach me not to read my capers :rolleyes:).

 

After a couple of drinks sister turns to me and said, "I think everyone here is gay" So I look around and sure enough there were quite a few couples being comfortably affectionate.

 

The 2 guys sitting next to us were Larry and his partner Jeff. Larry caught on right away and said "You're not here for the friends of Dorothy are you". I said no but I really like this bar so I'm staying anyway.....

 

We'll we had a really great time visiting with the guys, and socialized with them several times over the next few days....

 

The 4 of us happened to meet up at the Lobby bar prior to going ashore, where I remembered the guys were going shopping for matching bands.

 

Well Jeff had I guess had too many Mimosa's for breakfast and kept making references to how long had me and Donna been together, did we have an RDP....etc....and Larry kept trying to tell him under his breath that we weren't lesbians..........

 

Finally, just as there was an ackward lull in the overall noise level in the lobby, Larry yells; "JEFF, THEY'RE NOT LESBIANS THEY ARE SPINSTERS, I MEAN SISTER'S"......:p

 

I literally spit my drink through my nose and had tears streaming down my face I was laughing so hard..........Poor Jeff, was in tears "Well you don't have to yell!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

I tell ya........I love cruising, you just run into all types. If you can roll with it, you'll have a blast.

 

As it turned out Larry and Jeff were the 1st people we ran into on the Glory the next Labor Day 2008 when the bad DR experience happened....We had another great week together.

 

*LOL*

 

Reminds me of a story many years ago.

 

My buddy Bob is my closest friend in the world . We have been friends since 1st grade (we are 46 now) we have been through thick and thin, and he is truly the brother I never had.

 

Having said this let me mention that sometimes he can be dumber than a box of hammers *LOL*

 

One night we were in a club in NYC and we met two young ladies and started chatting and danceing and then we decided to sit at a table and have a drink.

 

Bob goes to the bar to get our drinks and I was sitting at the tables with the girls. They mentioned that they were both students at the Actor's Studio . Being a huge movie buff we had a really great conversation.

 

When Bob gets back to the table he joins in the conversation. he asks the girls if they are sisters or what.

 

One of the girls says "Nope , we are just fellow thespians."

 

Bob's eyes get as big as saucers , and gets a big goofy smile. Knowing him way too well I lean over and whisper "She said THESPIANS, it means actors"

 

His expression immediately turns to dissappointment, and he says "Oh , I though they meant that they ......'

 

I said "I know what you thought, now shut up " *LOL*

[tlbuckingham]

I like that you get to sit with other guest but I had a couple one time start to get to personal with me. It started off my where my wife and I were from but then lead to questions like How much money I make and how do I afford cruises and then the dreadful politics questions. They did not come to dinner one night and we were relieved.

[dkb363]

We've been on six cruises and taken our son with us. Weve always requested a table with other kids - and most times were lucky. At one time, the table mates we ate with became great friends - we even planned another cruise with them and their daughter. Other times, the chemistry wasn't perfect, but my DH and DS and I just take things as they come and have a great time. We're not big complainers. But on one cruise we were seated with 4 adults. The three women were really nice to talk to, but the guy they were with showed up late EVERY NIGHT for dinner. Then he had to order two or three of the main dishes. He was behind the rest of us. Ive never heard someone complain so much - this wasn't cooked right, I don't like this, etc. I was embarrassed by him and I didn't even know him. I guess we always go on vacation and go with the flow. Everything is not perfect at all times - but nothing in life is. Just about everyone we have met and hung with and around on Carnival has been great - there's always a few people who want to play "Lord of the Manor" - not my cup of tea.

[Pattakins]

I have had the best time reading this thread. I have laughed so hard at some of the posts.....I have only had two problems with cruise dining. I love meeting people and always request a large table even though it's only been DH and I. On one cruise in the 90's on the Viking Serenade, we were assigned to a table for 8 or 10..I can't remember which. Anyway, the problem with the other diners was that there were no diners at all! Every night, we were the only ones at this big table. It was sooooooo sad. I kept wondering if we had B.O. or something. Of course, if that happened now, I would ask to be moved. The only other time was on the Sea Princess. We went to the dining room for lunch one day and were seated with 8 others. Everyone was fantastic except for this one man. He was extremely rude to the waitstaff and the rest of us at the table. Acted like he thought he was a King and that the staff had to pamper him because this was his cruise. After his meal, he demanded 7 scoops of ice cream and told the waiter which flavors each one had to be. When the waiter said they didn't have one of the flavors, this man screamed at him that he had better f***ing find it, and insisted they did have it. The rest of us at the table were so embarrassed. Later, I found the waiter and let him know what the rest of our table thought of this man and I apologized. I just felt so bad for this waiter. He thanked me for letting him know how we felt. Other than that, we have had great companions when dining.

[velotaco]

Don't recall being "worried". The subject was "bad experiences with table mates" and this was mine. Am I not allowed to have this experience? or simply not allowed to think it's "bad" because it's something you yourself do?

 

You are in a place that has a MENU, and you are trying to justify using it as a smorgasbord. That is inappropriate if used to the degree I observed it being used -- every meal with multiple appetizers and multiple entrees. And it's inappropriate for a number of reasons.

 

First, it imposes on other tablemates, who have to cede their portion of the table to the grazers. Second, while "allowed", it abuses the allowance in the same way that going to a wedding reception and claiming "well, they're handing out glasses of champagne -- so that must mean I can take a bottle for myself" abuses the privilege complimentary champagne. ...or going to the Captain's Ball and snagging a whole tray of complimentary drinks abuses that privilege.

 

Will they kick you out? Almost certainly not, but it's rude.

 

 

 

Ahem: I. Don't. Make. Scenes. Didn't I say that? [answer: yes I did.]

 

Looking around and snickering at the hoi-polloi is one of those things that is not appropriate in polite company.

 

 

 

I'll try it again with slightly different words this time:

 

Once in a while is fine; every meal...? multiples of every course...? That's a buffet.

 

 

 

Aye. Politeness, decorum, basic socialization skills, and following rules.

 

Yeah. I'm the bad guy. I see that very very clearly.

 

There's nothing wrong with eating buffet style. That's what they have a buffet for. They don't have dining room options on Lido deck? That's the trade-off. It's not a lot to ask, frankly.

 

Doing something "allowable" might still fall outside of "polite". But if you were raised by wolves, how would you know that? ...except to have a mean old bully like me tell you, of course.

 

 

 

Never got off the subject, Mike. But isn't it ironic that you and I both think self-centered, impolite, me-firsters belong as topics in the "bad experiences with table mates" topic? I find it ironic.

 

I find it ironic because what *I* consider self-centered and impolite is what you yourself do.

 

Yet, you have the temerity to sit in condescending judgment of a woman with cheap jewelry bragging loudly about it.

 

 

 

I'm worried about what these people were eating? Where ever did you get that from? Must be a lot of thin air in Georgia, there. Nay; ain't what they were eating that was the issue, but the ever-expanding territory they claimed while eating it.

 

 

 

What is the "diversion? The subject is "bad experiences with table mates", isn't it? Am I not allowed to have any bad experiences? Or are my bad experiences only allowed to coincide with yours? When I am denounced for suggesting that maybe, perhaps, just possibly grazing off the menu is -- like chewing with your mouth open -- not something that's specifically prohibited, but more along the lines of "merely rude", am I supposed to take my tail between my legs, and walk away properly chagrined for suggesting that maybe, perhaps, just possibly people might wish to think about how others view them in very public social settings?

 

Or does that make me a troll?

 

I'm getting the picture that others denouncing me make me the cause of arguments. Boy howdy! Isn't my face red!

 

you amuse me........:rolleyes:

[yakdaddy42]

O Boy look like it is time to get the popcorn going.

[Attack Dog]

Let's not get out the popcorn. I don't want to this thread to get yanked.

 

I just got back from sailing on the Carnvial Freedom. I did have a minor bad experience. During breakfast my wife and I were seated in the Lido deck. There was a woman sitting at the table next to us. Anyway, she kept talking to both of us, but she mumbled so much that neither one of us could understand what she was saying. As she got up to leave she picked up her purse thus putting her buttocks near my face. She smelled like a broken sewer line, and I nearly got sick. :eek::eek::eek::eek:

[dahkota]

Interestingly enough, this correlates with introversion/extraversion, which is an inborn personality correlate. Introverts prefer to sit in the same place in classroom, in a lecture hall, in a cafeteria, in the MDR, etc. And yes, they may feel intruded upon if someone purposefully or accidentally sits in 'their' seat. as introverts, they will be reticent to cause a confrontation over it, though they *will* often look for a way to reclaim their seat if they can do so, such as by arriving early...

 

...Sitting in the same place over and over reduces new stimuli. The view of the room is the same, the people around them are the same, the visual distances are the same. For the introvert, this is comfort-producing and conducive to things like concentration, learning and enjoyment.

 

For me, it has nothing to do with introvert/extrovert. I am left handed and usually the only one at the table. I prefer to sit at either end so that my left hand is to the open side. This keeps me and another table mate from bumping elbows constantly during dinner.

 

I also always try to sit near a door when in a crowded situation like a classroom. Not that I want the same seat every time, just that I want to be near a door. I have asthma and often, near the door, there is a fresher flow of air and I have to worry less about someone's perfume setting off an attack. Try running across a crowded room with desks and chairs while unable to breathe! Near the door allows for a quick exit also.

 

I am far from an introvert. I just adjust my behavior (seating) to best accommodate myself and to respect others in the room.

[GreenZolie]

See people like this get away with this crap, because they manage to pick on people who are too nice and are way better mannered then they are and they just back off and let them have their way.

 

What they need is for someone to back them into a corner and ask them "What the hell is your major malfunction?"

 

OMG, I LOVE that! I just now caught up on this thread so I am responding to a week old post, but I just had to say I LOVE that phrase! There are two people at work I would sooooo love to say that to. :D Alas, I never will, because I don't like confrontation. It's scary! <shiver> ;)

[mistyinca]

Now for the positive. I really wanted a new Movado watch and since we were going to Coz I thought that would be a great place to shop. Well since my "old" watch was only ablout 6 months old my wife didn't agree, so I offered her a wager. If our table mate said "at the end of the day" 25 times at 1 meal I could get the watch,

 

LOL! This sounds like something my husband and I would do. We like to tally over-used phrases with a "ding!" each time! :p There's a cooking show on Food Network, and the chef continually refers to the food as "that bad boy" so we now "ding!" "that bad boy" every time we hear it!

[T2C]

Our group of 4 always gets our own table now.

 

On Victory we sat with a family the first night that wore flip flops and muscle shirts to dinner. One of the kids was cupping the breast of the mermaid sconse by the table. The mother was yelling "I paid for the F@#% cruise so you kids blah blah blah. Needless to say we switched immediatley after dinner.

 

On another cruise a well off gentlemen talked AD NAUSEUM about the mailbox he put at the end of his driveway and how the city wouldn't allow it - started talking in depth about city by-laws. There was an elderly lady sitting at table also and I'm sure her eyes started to roll back into her head about 20 minutes into it. The lady beside us said she was going to scream if he talked anymore about the mailbox.

 

So instead of the social experiment at dinnertime, we socialize in whirlpool and club and not risk spoiling the quality time we desire with family at dinner.

Always have had good ones, even the ones that came to formal night in shorts and t-shirts were good conversation.

[Blueresp5]

Me and my 20-something girlfriends were seated at a table with 2 "older" gentlemen which was fine except for one of them made several sexist comments on the first night and several sexist AND racist comments the second night!!! Needless to say we asked to be changed and it was changed without a problem!

[mistyinca]

OK, so here's the story of my last cruise on the 5/11 Paradise.

 

I traveled with a friend from my bunko group, and this was her first cruise. We were seated at a table for 10 with 6 other women--3 other "couples": 2 mother and daughter pairs, me and my friend, and then there was this very oddly paired couple that we later decided must have been an older woman with a paid traveling companion.

 

This older woman was having a fit when we got there. She was complaining loudly at a couple of waiters that she wanted to be able to take her dinner to her stateroom. The waitstaff informed her that she could not take the dining room meal to her room, but she could get something from the Lido or from room service if she'd like to eat in her room. She carried on about how 16 cruises and this was the worst one.

 

So after that episode died down, she periodically brought up her irritation at being treated so terribly:rolleyes:. Finally, dinner was served. She'd ordered the baby back ribs, and stood up and screamed about it having barbecue sauce on them (what a shock! :eek:). So she took her cloth napkin, and proceeded to dramatically and forcefully wipe all the sauce off her ribs, bitching and complaining the whole time about such an atrocity. She tossed her sauce-coated napkin into the center of the table and then proceeded to use the tablecloth to finish wiping the sauce off her ribs. Then she picked all the meat off the bones and put the meat into her companion's napkin and instructed her to put the meat into her purse. After that, she nicely (really!) told us all good night and she and her companion left.

 

So after the rest of us had a good laugh over it, we asked for the maitre d and we told him the story of how she carried on and how she was giving the waiters such trouble, and could he please seat them elsewhere, as the rest of us at our table were so happy to have such a great group!

 

I don't know what the Maitre d said to them, but they did not sit with us for the rest of the cruise.

 

So we occasionally had other guests seated with us at the table. My friend had discovered that a couple of her neighbors were on the same cruise (small world) and they joined us one night, and then a couple of guys from the wedding party at the table next to us joined us. The rest of us women were fully engaged in girl talk, and the one younger gentleman was having a grand ol' time being the "fly on the wall". So we made him an honorary woman for the cruise and told him the next night was his turn to give us the "guy talk" though we never did get that one!

 

But it was a great time! We all even ended up going to shows and karaoke together for the rest of the cruise!

[BonnieSte]

I can relate to stereo typing an area. I get tired of dealing with people who:

1. Don't realize that New Mexico is a state (since 1912) and you don't need a passport to travel here.

2. Think there is nothing but primitive small towns, dirt roads, and hot dry dessert.

3. Assume I know Spanish.

4. Compliments me on how good my English is.

 

When I was in high school I made a trip to Missouri. My aunt invited a friend of hers for dinner one night. The woman asked me if I go to a country 1 room school house?:rolleyes:

 

LOL Being from Maine I get some doozies too! Are all your roads dirt? Do you have indoor plumbing???? :eek: WHAT??! It always amazes me.

[retnuh281]

I am so sorry you had to go through that. The MD sounds like he was a real sweetheart.

 

Just who the hell do these freakin people think they are ? Getting up snapping fingers and say "OH NO, I don't think so" and that old bag clearing her throat and frowning because you were offered a bottle of wine. The MD wasn't even talking to her and she didn't even know you from Adam. But her dissapproval made you not have a bottle of wine. I would be damned.

 

See people like this get away with this crap, because they manage to pick on people who are too nice and are way better mannered then they are and they just back off and let them have their way.

 

What they need is for someone to back them into a corner and ask them "What the hell is your major malfunction?" then you see them shrink like violets. Trust me I have seen it happen.

 

These people are like any other bully.

 

I have had nothing but fabulous tablemates in the past.

After reading this post I want to be seated at your table, we would have a blast!!

[Attack Dog]

LOL Being from Maine I get some doozies too! Are all your roads dirt? Do you have indoor plumbing???? :eek: WHAT??! It always amazes me.

 

Darn, I thought everyone in Main lived in either haunted light houses or old haunted mansions by a rocky sea shore.:rolleyes:;)

 

At least I know that everyone from Texas is a cowboy. Everyone in California is either rich, a gangster, or a surfer. And, everyone in Montana is a member of an extremist militia. I once had table mates from all these states so that's how I know.:D

 

(It would be funny if we all walked into a bar together.)

[eggplant]

Myself plus 5 of my family sailed on the very last Carnival sailing of the Celebration last year. We have one guy at dinner who never talked, or made eye contact with anyone else at the table. He never looked at the wait staff and always had the exact same meal everynight.

[TamLaiSang]

Myself plus 5 of my family sailed on the very last Carnival sailing of the Celebration last year. We have one guy at dinner who never talked, or made eye contact with anyone else at the table. He never looked at the wait staff and always had the exact same meal everynight.

 

Sounds like he may have had Asperger's Disorder...

[afrayedknot]

Like many of you, I've had many great tablemates who made the cruise delightful. Some I still email. I've also had the other kind-

- A woman from New Zealand whose 2 week cruise to the Amazon had just been canceled (cruiseline went belly-up) and had been placed on a 4 day out of LA. She was SO angry and disgusted with everything about the food, the ship, that the rest of us were made really miserable with her complaining. She threw her napkin down, said she couldn't eat this slop and marched off. The funny thing is, she kept coming back to the table for dinner and by the end we were all friends. (great table of 10 singles)

- These two women from San Francisco were seated at a booth with my friend and I, on another 3 day out of LA. They were extremely critical about everything, too, really knocking the Southern Californians on board, it was boring and uncomfortable. We went to the maitre d and asked to be moved to another table. They saw us at another table and made a remark to us later. Then my friend and I were dancing on the deck to the band and this REALLY big, nice-looking guy comes over to us and says he wants to talk to us. I was THRILLED, we eagerly followed him and then he turns around and starts chewing us out for changing tables to get away from those women, who we saw smiling and standing nearby. I was kind of scared- he was BIG. But then I thought, this is ridiculous, what is this, jr. high???

- My daughter's then-boyfriend who showed up to our dinner table on the cruise wearing overalls. He'd been on a cruise before and knew better. She was younger than he and he thought, I think, that he looked cool in them. (No, just really stupid!!)

I've only read 1/2 of this thread but will read the rest, sure I'm on someone's *list!!