Dining question how are "table buddies" matched up?

[bram59]

It is fun to get to know people and make new good friends on the dinning table. In my case, we've been lucky and the majority of times that's the norm.

 

Last time time though, we had a lady on board that begun explaining step by step how at work, she would prepare the corpses before burial, just when dinner plates where being served. Her detailed account was a bit too much

 

.....and we requested a change of tables the following night.

 

( Sorry If you reading this post lady, I didn't have the guts to say anything at the time....and probably should've have..).

 

But that's my only table-mate tale that did not go so well. The rest have been fantastic.

[Fargo55]

On a Tahiti cruise no one at the table had a common language, guess it was the leftover table

[pomgo]

Agree we try the first night and then sort it out!!Have to say have had great people but other times No No.Matre de always helpful

[Host Kewlguy]

Maybe at one time in the past an effort was made to match up people according to age, residency, etc. From what we've noticed the past couple of years this is no longer the case. As far as we're concerned they pick the names out of a hat. We've been matched up with people who didn't speak a word of English. People who were 40 years older than us. People who we had absolutely nothing in common with. It's one of the reason's we now have a table for two on all of our cruises. We're all for socializing in the right setting but NOT at dinner.

[CALMOM]

My DH and our 3 grown kids were assigned to a table for 8 by ourselves. We noticed the table next to us was an elderly couple that were also at a table for 8 by themselves. The second evening I asked the elderly couple if they would like to join us and they said they would love to, as they felt funny sitting at a big table by themselves. It turned out that the couple was celebrating their 70th Wedding Anniversary and so my family try to make it extra special for them and ordered a nice bottle of Champagne to toast to, a very rare 70th Wedding Anniversary. This was 4 years ago and we still keep in touch and my kids call them Grandpa & Grandma. I'm so glad that I asked them, otherwise, we would of missed out on meeting an incredible and enjoyable couple.