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Table Mates: The Good, The Bad and the Meh..


BeckinTx
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We have met some very nice people. I remember one of the first nights when my wife and I were seated at a table for six and a couple approached our table took one look at us and spun around and headed for the maitre d. The next couple approached us and I gave them a warning about what the last couple did and they sat down with us anyway and we have been lifelong friends.

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We WISH we had great stories to tell, we have always been so envious of those who say they now have friends for life because of a random table assignment. We are 'younger' retirees, and have always been sat with families with small children. One little one whined almost nonstop, while another time, we had to be entertained by a 6 year old know-it-all, to the delight of his parents. Don't get us wrong, we love kids and travel with our adult children and grandchildren, but parents, please be mindful that not everyone wants their dinner conversation to revolve around the interests of a toddler. As a result, as soon as anytime dining became an option, we jumped on it.

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We have met some very nice people. I remember one of the first nights when my wife and I were seated at a table for six and a couple approached our table took one look at us and spun around and headed for the maitre d. The next couple approached us and I gave them a warning about what the last couple did and they sat down with us anyway and we have been lifelong friends.

 

We had that happen to us about a year ago and was very happy they did leave us.

 

The same cruise we sat with a very nice older Mexican American couple and was great seeing life as they saw it in Texas. Still keep in touch with them via fb.

 

We have cruised again with other people we met at dinner.

 

We always enjoy meeting new people in the DR. Dont always keep in touch but fascinating to meet people from all walks of life.

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Our our last cruise we had 'yuppie' younger vegetarian tablemates, and an older 'legal' stuffy couple. We made the best of it. The older couple only joined us once. The other couple ended up being ok. We actually like being seated with other people. It is hit or miss but we might find ones that make our meals more lively.

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The more the merrier.

 

 

 

Be careful of the uptight people.

 

 

 

If you show your true colors the first night, they will join in or change tables.:p

 

 

Not fair judging us on the first night, usually have trouble finding the table because of the sail away party. Lmfao

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My very first cruise was a Celebrity cruise with a funeral director's trade organization. I was part of the group, so that part didn't creep me out. The first night in the MDR everyone was talking shop, and at the time my now ex-wife and I got little vacation time and wanted to get away from work on the cruise. One of the couples had their daughter with them. I'm 6'4" and she was every bit as tall as me and an attractive girl. For some reason halfway through dinner he asked me how old I thought his daughter was. I responded, I don't know, 25? He told me she was 12, and I literally did spit my drink out. That was the last time I ate in the MDR on that cruise.

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My husband and I ended up at a table for four once and the other random couple had just started the Atkins diet the week before. We loved having the bread basket all to ourselves! They would leave baskets full of bread for four people at that time instead of coming around with a basket and letting you choose a piece or two. Of course, the latter is better for our waists, but we sure enjoyed our carb overload on that cruise!

 

We are carb lovers and can't imagine going on Atkins, but starting the week before a cruise is just unimaginable to us. :p

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We have only done YTD. On Glory (last cruise) the tables for 2 seemed even more close. Every night we chatted with our neighbors, which in reality were table mates. It's really uncomfortable because if I don't feel like chatting it would be rude to ignore them. Wish carnival would figure that out and split the 2 tables a bit more.

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on one cruise the other couple were vegans and each night criticized everything that had ever drawn a breath that was on menu and made disparaging remarks about those who eat such things. I don't eat red meat or pork now, but back then I loved a good steak and it made us very uncomfortable ordering each night. Of course we hoped they wouldn't show up, but they were there faithfully! By the 4th night we opted for the other dining options.

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My very first cruise was a Celebrity cruise with a funeral director's trade organization. I was part of the group, so that part didn't creep me out. The first night in the MDR everyone was talking shop, and at the time my now ex-wife and I got little vacation time and wanted to get away from work on the cruise. One of the couples had their daughter with them. I'm 6'4" and she was every bit as tall as me and an attractive girl. For some reason halfway through dinner he asked me how old I thought his daughter was. I responded, I don't know, 25? He told me she was 12, and I literally did spit my drink out. That was the last time I ate in the MDR on that cruise.

 

 

*LOL*

 

 

Yea God showed what a sense of humor he has by giving me a daughter like that too. At 13 she had her mothers figure at 18. remembering what I used to do with her mother when she was 18 has given this Italian father more than one grey hair *LOL

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We have had a mix of everything. I personally love to meet new folks and always try to make friends with them. I think Carnival usually does a pretty decent job at matching people up. We usually get paired up with couples that are similar in age to us. Our last cruise, we had 3 other couples at the table. One couple, we ended up really liking, hung out with multiple times throughout the rest of the cruise. The other two werent really our type of people, but were very friendly. We hung out sometimes too.

 

I am going to miss when all cruise lines go to YTD...

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We have had all ends of the spectrum. For the most part, they have been good. On our RC cruise my mom and I were seated with a couple of older ladies and they were the BEST we have ever been seated with. They were so much fun.

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On our honeymoon cruise out of Puerto Rico, DH & I were put at a table with a bunch of local couples. It would have been okay except that I don't speak Spanish and they didn't speak any English. DH had to translate but it's awkward when everyone is laughing and I was sitting there waiting to find out what the joke was. 😕

 

I understand why we were set up at that table. We had no flight info b/c we were staying in PR for a week before/after the cruise. My husband is from PR and has a Hispanic last name. And we were all in our late 20s & early 30s. On paper the seating arrangements made sense.

 

We didn't bother to change tables, it wasn't that big of a deal.

Edited by LilMissScareAll
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We have had a mix of everything. I personally love to meet new folks and always try to make friends with them. I think Carnival usually does a pretty decent job at matching people up. We usually get paired up with couples that are similar in age to us. Our last cruise, we had 3 other couples at the table. One couple, we ended up really liking, hung out with multiple times throughout the rest of the cruise. The other two werent really our type of people, but were very friendly. We hung out sometimes too.

 

I am going to miss when all cruise lines go to YTD...

 

Our experience has been much like yours on all the various ships/lines we've sailed. We normally request a table for 8 - we're pretty easy to get along with - so if one couple are "not so compatable" there are others to chat with. :D What we've found is that we've enjoyed our tables for what they were - not everyone might, if at home, end up being long term friends but were good company for dinner.

 

Our very best table ever was on the Queen Mary2 TA. There were 4 couples - 2 American and 2 British. All 4 men were retired and all 4 wives were retired. (Thus our name for the table became the "Workers & the Shirkers". :D Everyone had something in common work-wise with at least one other person at the table. We spent every dinner laughing so much we could barely eat. The wine steward even started hanging out at our table after his duties were complete we had so much fun.

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on one cruise the other couple were vegans and each night criticized everything that had ever drawn a breath that was on menu and made disparaging remarks about those who eat such things. I don't eat red meat or pork now, but back then I loved a good steak and it made us very uncomfortable ordering each night. Of course we hoped they wouldn't show up, but they were there faithfully! By the 4th night we opted for the other dining options.

 

They want to be vegans that is fine for them but why do they need to criticize the choices others make?

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