Most awkard moments during dinner

[jean s]

I applaud the writer who took such wonderful care of her mother in a difficult situation. Don't ever worry about people who are irritated by the situation. You did your very best and made sure your mother was cared for.

[jean95404]

On a cruise to Alaska we had tablemates for breakfast that were elderly. The wife started off conversation asking what political affiliation we had. (We discovered in cruising early on not to discuss politics of any country, religion or the economy.) Then she went on to say that Rush Limbaugh kept her sane, that Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin would be her dream team. We didn't respond except in the most non-committal way trying to quickly finish breakfast and she just became more and more agitated in discussing politics. Her husband tried to shush her, but to no avail. When we went in to dinner that night she and her husband were already seated and she stood and waved to us in a beckoning manner to sit with them. It was awkward but we felt we just couldn't sit with them.

[jeph]

Jean, I wish I'd been at that breakfast table to help you out...I'd have jumped right in:

 

"Y'know, it's funny you should say that, because I'm a lifelong Democratic voter, and that's really close to my dream! It would just be a dream come true if Sarah Palin would win the Republican nomination for president and run in 2012...and 2016...and just keep running and running, over and over and over!"

 

I think a lot of Democrats share that dream!:D

[Redbaron67]

Dont have many stories to share but our second cruise started off on the weird side. Carnival somehow though my fiance who was my cruise partner was a man so her paycard read Mr. Then we get to our room and find the beds are separated but that was easily fixed.

 

 

Our table was fine except the fact that it was all non-couples except a girl couple (whom we had a blast with all week at events), and one mother daughter....the week was spent mainly having to listen to the two single women hit on the two guys sitting at the table as well. Would have changed tables but we loved our waiter to much to change.

[Warmer Climes]

Dont have many stories to share but our second cruise started off on the weird side. Carnival somehow though my fiance who was my cruise partner was a man so her paycard read Mr. Then we get to our room and find the beds are separated but that was easily fixed.

 

 

 

My husband had something similar happen. A few years ago he went to his Dad's regimental reunion with him and he was the only male significant other. He had a floral name tag and went with the 70-something ladies on their bus trips. He said they were fantastic and he had a great time and a lot of laughs about his "Ms. Bill" name tag.

[Bill-Squared]

That's awful!! I can't believe they would have acted that way!!

We had a potentially awkward situation from the other side: My partner and I were seated at a table with two conservative Born-Again Christians, but we actually ended up having a great time with both couples, and hung out with them the entire cruise--even doing a couple of excursions with them!!

 

WOW, my partner and I had the opposite response. :( As soon as we introduced ourselves, we got "that" look. The wife even leaned over and whispered something to her husband, and he nodded. They didn't speak to us, and did not return to the table.

[janice2348]

After reading these I think I'll request a table for two:D

[janice2348]

Well, kind of long (and not for the weak stomached to read), but here goes...

 

I had been taking care of my mom with Alzheimer's for years. She knew I loved to cruise and had lived each one with me vicariously. One day she said she wanted her and I to go on a cruise. I thought about the fact that she would go on this cruise and forget she has immediately (as she was that progressed in her dementia), but I asked her "is this something you want to do before you die?" and she said "with all my heart". How could I say "no"??? I knew that this cruise would not be like the others. I knew that I would be spending a lot of time in our cabin as she was quite feeble and would tire easily and it would be like taking an adult toddler on a cruise - not being able to let her out of my sight, but we were going to go on a cruise because I knew I wouldn't have her with me much longer!!

 

Yes, I'm getting to the awkward part, just wait...

On our last day of the cruise (you know, after you've put all of the luggage you're not going to carry off outside your cabin and its through customs and you're not), Mom and I made our way to the Windjammer to eat breakfast. We had to walk an eternity to find a table as everyone was eating to leave. I thought to myself how I should have gotten her a wheelchair but thought, we'll just take our time and eat and make our way off the ship. We had already left our room and at that time of cruising - you didn't go back as the cabin steward's started to clean them for the next cruisers. I got mom's meal and started her eating as I went back to get mine. When I got back she had a weird look on her face. She told me she needed to use the restroom. I got her up and asked someone at an adjoining table if they would watch my carryon bag and tell the busboys to not take our meals. We hurried (best she could) to the restroom. Partway there she announced that she wasn't going to make it (and she didn't). I had quite a mess (number 2) to deal with. I started crying as I knew I didn't have a change of clothes for her in my carryon. I left her in the restroom, went back to our table and told the people that they could let the meals go and took my bags with me. The really awkward part was in the restroom. The stalls weren't big enough for mom and I to be in them, so I had to clean her with the door open. Ladies were coming in to use the restroom as I washed out her clothing the best I could and as I kept apologizing for the stench and what they were witnessing. I went and got a wheelchair and asked for assistance getting through disembarking and customs to get to clean dry clothes on the other side, of which the cruise staff helped immensely in getting us through very quickly without delay. I just felt so bad for anyone witnessing this horrible experience. I thank God that Mom didn't remember THAT part of her cruise, but I'm afraid I'll NEVER forget it as it was quite embarrassing to say the least.

 

I hope I've not grossed you all out by telling this story. But it definitely tops for being the most awkward dining experience for me. Mom has since passed away and I have wonderful memories of our cruise together and try not to think of this one too often - but the question definitely reminded me.

 

I think it's a wonderful thing that you did for your mom, regardless of what happened.

[Robbie101]

Several years ago my husband and I took a spur-of-the-moment cruise on a 3-nighter out of Miami on a lower-market cruise line. We were seated at a 10 seater with a couple from a midwest state and their young daughters and two other couples on the youngish side. The second night was "formal" night (now remember this was what some people call a "booze cruise" so the average passenger couture was somewhat less than Bal Rouge) and I was dressed in a black cocktail dress and my husband was in a navy blazer, grey pants, shirt and tie and I'd say we were in the top 10% of the "dressy" category. Here come our midwest tablemates: mother and daughters dressed in matching black-and-white festooned satin ballgowns with huge hoop skirts, long white gloves, jeweled tiaras and wrist crosages; dad was in formal attire (tails, no less) with a top hat, spats and a black cane. The other two couples were dressed in: a terry-cloth strapless beach dress, a t-shirt dress, a t-shirt printed to look like a tuxedo and a Hawaiian shirt. The third night, NOBODY but us showed up for dinner.

 

I had to bring this post forward again, it's so funny!

[Nebr.cruiser]

did you ever tell the waiter to stop ?

 

We had a waiter do this too, a little mini-massage. And he wasn't just picking out the young and gorgeous, we're in our 60's (we still feel young and gorgeous) and he was very eager to 'help' us out.

 

I was not very fond of it--I don't even like regular massages much, let alone in a dining room.

[Colorado Kat]

It was myself and 2 teen daughters. We requested a "big table" so we could meet people. The first night we were seated at a table for 14, with a family group of 11 who did not want us there. I tried to chat, but nobody would speak to us, even though they chatted between themselves.

 

Got ourselves moved, to a table for 8. The other people never showed up for the whole week, so we never got to meet people. The table of 8 next to us was also empty all week, so we basically had 4 waiters to ourselves. Very quick meals.

[mygreyhound66]

regards your mom, I had a very similar experience in a fast food restaurant that my mum wanted to eat in, late in her cancer experience! it was the other end for her (and I had to retrieve the dentures) and I learned that the special (or not) moments spent with her, are the real treasures in life!! we all do things that we think are over-the-limit, but really it comes down to love of our family! be proud, look back and most importantly, smile! I treasure all my memories, some are spectacular and some like these, are not, but in reality, they are spectacular too! don't judge yourself too hardly, you are a person that i would like to cruise with!

 

we have been on many cruises, and always request a large table so that we can meet people and enhance the cruise experience. One cruise, many years ago) it was a large table, however, one couple, quite elderly, (late seating i should add), had spent time at the bar previously, and therefore were quite sloshed come dinner time! the man would pass out, each course should be placed beneath his head, he would raise his head, announce loudly - 'tell them to go screw" and then pass out til the next course! he never had a meal - each course was presented and then removed! his wife, sadly was quite a beligerent and not very nice woman, would proceed to smoke non-stop throughout the meal (yes, this was years ago!) and not speak nicely of her husband. Needless to say, the other tablemates all promptly changed tables - we stuck it out, and actually convinced the elderly couple that they may prefer the earlier dining seating.... they did take that choice, the man actually ate, the waiters, the maitre'd and us were all relieved! we ended up getting our table mates back, along with complimentary wine from the maitre'd.........we still request large tables, and by and large, totally enjoy the experience and have made friends over the years! so while it was not a really nice experience, it actually makes for a good story!

[rmvst]

It was a wonderful thing that you did with and for your mother. I would have honestly been right there helping to clean her up. Don't even give it another thought about what others may have thought. Stuff happens and sometimes it's in a public place. Been there with my mom.

 

I lost my 91 year old mother 4 months ago. She too had advanced Alzheimer's. I could (but won't) share many many embarrassing stories.

 

Now that she is gone, I don't even think of the "embarrassing" anymore. I just wish she was still here.

 

For those that have elderly parents. ENJOY THEM EVERYDAY. TOMORROW MAY NEVER COME.

 

Rita

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Having 2 drunk people at my table.

[triplett]

My daughter (who was eleven) and I were cruising several years ago, and we kept noticing this man who was at a nearby table. He looked to be in his early to mid fifties, and he was seated with six or seven attractive women who looked to be in their early twenties. This guy showed up at dinner each night in a great mood, talking very loudly and holding a beer. The ladies who were his tablemates did not appear charmed in the least, but he didn't seem to notice. One night my daughter and I were observing his boisterous behavior and he did the oddest thing...... He took the bread off his plate, wiped the food off his mouth then bit the bread....... yes, he used the bread for a napkin!!!!! He continued to do this through the rest of the meal. I was appalled and tickled at the same time.

[catmand]

Fun reading.....

On an Alaska cruise we had two tables full of family members next to us. I dubbed them "The Zekes." Formal night the ladies wore earrings and footwear that had flashing lights.

There were sixteen in the group and almost every night one of the older guys would show up mid way through dinner in shorts and t shirt. He wouldn't sit down but would talk to several of the family and "taste" various food items.

One of the kids was around 15 and even on formal night, nicely dressed, he would eat with his head so low his chin was almost on the table. We never did decide if his spoon was a spoon or some small shoveling device.

But, it was nice to see a large (be it ever so strange) family together, having a great time. They certainly did entertain us for the 12 nights of the cruise.

Then there was the eighty something couple, he had the same dinner order every night. Shrimp cocktail, caesar salad, salmon and ice cream. She ordered escargot one night discovered what it was and pushed it over to me.

Not particularly awkward: first Celebrity cruise an 8 day. Second night my wife remarked how much she liked creme brulee. The next night our waiter brought our dessert order AND a round of creme brulee for the table, and the next night, and the next night......before dinner about night 4 or 5 I begged him not to bring anymore of the stuff.

[TucsonBlonde]

Oh boy, I can't believe I'm gonna write this :o

 

I was on my first cruise with my 15 yr old daughter, my 20 yr old niece, my SIL and finally her mother whom we will call J. J enjoys her drinks and is fond of dirty martinis before dinner. One evening my SIL and I decided to try one too. so J had one with us and another one, and we were feeling no pain as we went to dinner. We had a table to ourselves (not because no one wanted to sit with us, they just placed us at a 6 top from the start) Now the crew on the Oosterdam was wonderful, and spoke english very well. However, their ability to sing in english was another matter, for some reason it did not translate quite as well. We were very amused at the interesting versions of Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary we heard as other cruisers celebrated special occasions. Part way through the meal. the waiters began to sing at a nearby table. J, who was feeling the martinis, had this intent look of concentration on her face and then looked up at the rest of us in complete bafflement and says in a VERY loud voice "Happy What???". To be fair, none of us could figure out what occasion they were celebrating at the table based on the song...but every table around us paused to look at us. Unfortunately, we lost it a little and spent the rest of the dinner unable to suppress the giggles. For the rest of the cruise, none of us missed the opportunity to walk up to J and yell "Happy What?". She took it like a champ. I would have died from embarrassment at the table but for the liquid courage of the martini!

[Senoj84]

A few awkward moments include: (1) Sometimes family members have a way of bringing up not so pleasant things at the dinner table, including everyone's past but they seem to forget about all the not so pleasant things they've done; :( but, you just grin and bare it. ;)

 

(2) One of the waiters flirting with my grandmother and she shamelessly flirts with them back, totally forgets that she's married-lol.

 

(3) The last night when everyone leaves a tip for the waiters and everyone is handing out their envelopes and one member of my family and his girlfriend doesn't hand the waiters anything (they both ate the most food in the MDR on the cruise).

 

Why they just didn't eat dinner somewhere else that night I will never know...most people that want to skip the tip on the last night for whatever reason don't even eat in the MDR but they did.

[IDKaren]

It was a wonderful thing that you did with and for your mother. I would have honestly been right there helping to clean her up. Don't even give it another thought about what others may have thought. Stuff happens and sometimes it's in a public place. Been there with my mom.

 

I lost my 91 year old mother 4 months ago. She too had advanced Alzheimer's. I could (but won't) share many many embarrassing stories.

 

Now that she is gone, I don't even think of the "embarrassing" anymore. I just wish she was still here.

 

For those that have elderly parents. ENJOY THEM EVERYDAY. TOMORROW MAY NEVER COME.

 

 

Just had to pop in on this and say AMEN...LOVE THEM WHILE YOU CAN!!! ok. Back on topic! thanks!

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

It was a wonderful thing that you did with and for your mother. I would have honestly been right there helping to clean her up. Don't even give it another thought about what others may have thought. Stuff happens and sometimes it's in a public place. Been there with my mom.

 

I lost my 91 year old mother 4 months ago. She too had advanced Alzheimer's. I could (but won't) share many many embarrassing stories.

 

Now that she is gone, I don't even think of the "embarrassing" anymore. I just wish she was still here.

 

For those that have elderly parents. ENJOY THEM EVERYDAY. TOMORROW MAY NEVER COME.

 

Rita

 

And not just those with elderly parents...my mom had a form of dementia that strikes people in their 50's. I treasure the time I had with her and am grateful that I was able to help my dad care for her.

 

Bless all the caretakers everywhere, and I pray people will be kind when embarrassing things happen!

[SuiteTraveler]

On our last cruise on Celebrity Eclipse, we had a very elegant and dignified head waiter from India and his assistant was a very nice young man from the Philipinnes. They were just wonderful waiters and we really enjoyed them. We were cruising with a British couple we met on our first cruise oh so many years ago. About every 5 years we meet on a cruise and dine together! So anyway, second to last night of the cruise, the wife of the British couple and I both ordered Chicken Kiev - what a flash from the past! But when it came out via the assistant waiter, we had roasted chicken leg - which wasn't what we were expecting, but it looked good and neither of us were going to object. We're both very easy going. Suddenly our headwaiter came by, looked at our dishes without us saying anything to him and got very alarmed and before we could even begin to eat he grabbed out plates saying "Wrong chicken! Wrong chicken!" and off he went to the kitchen! It was so out of character for our head waiter that it really struck us as funny. My friend and I looked at each other and just broke up laughing. A minute later, the head waiter was back with the "right chicken." So after our waiter went to another table, my friend and I made fun of the situation and asked each other, "How's your right chicken?" "My right chicken is very good. And how is your right chicken?" "Oh, my right chicken is also very good. I'm so glad we got the right chicken and not the wrong chicken." "Yes, the wrong chicken would not have been as good as the right chicken." and on and on we went while our husbands laughed at us.

[Sharon I]

Okay I have nothing against religion. But on our Freedom cruise we sat at a table for ten and the first night we introduced ourselves and found out that we were from New England and everybody else was from the deep south. The very first night two of the couples started talking about their Southern Baptist's beliefs and just kept talking about it. The rest of the table agreed with one couple or the other couple.

After dinner I told my husband I wanted to change our table arrangement and he said "you're just being picky, they won't continue with this behavior". Well every night at dinner the religion conversation kept up and one of the younger couples at the end of the table ordered a bottle of wine and the people on our end of the table almost knocked them dead with the way they looked at them. The couple felt so uncomfortable that they told the waiter to send it to their room and they would have it later.

Well every night after that my husband would say to me "are you ready to go to Church"?

The next to the last night two of the women started a heated argument because one of them said that you have to be saved to be a true Baptist and the other women disagreed and said that the Baptist religion she belongs to does not require you to be saved.

Needless to say the last night my husband and I did not stick around to swap email addresses and regular addresses. I will never forget that cruise as long as I live. Religion is something that should be personal and not a dinner conversation especially if you aren't in agreement.

What a time.

Sharon I

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

Sharon I, what a week you must have had! On behalf of the majority of the "deep South" who keep their religious views to themselves, I apologize for my fellow Southerners:eek: who misrepresented my beloved homeland.

 

I can't believe you stuck it out for the whole cruise! I would have told them what I thought, ordered a stiff drink and changed tables!:D

 

By the way, I'm a Lutheran, born and raised, but I do have Baptist friends who are normal.;)

[johneeo]

Okay I have nothing against religion. But on our Freedom cruise we sat at a table for ten and the first night we introduced ourselves and found out that we were from New England and everybody else was from the deep south. The very first night two of the couples started talking about their Southern Baptist's beliefs and just kept talking about it. The rest of the table agreed with one couple or the other couple.

After dinner I told my husband I wanted to change our table arrangement and he said "you're just being picky, they won't continue with this behavior". Well every night at dinner the religion conversation kept up and one of the younger couples at the end of the table ordered a bottle of wine and the people on our end of the table almost knocked them dead with the way they looked at them. The couple felt so uncomfortable that they told the waiter to send it to their room and they would have it later.

Well every night after that my husband would say to me "are you ready to go to Church"?

The next to the last night two of the women started a heated argument because one of them said that you have to be saved to be a true Baptist and the other women disagreed and said that the Baptist religion she belongs to does not require you to be saved.

Needless to say the last night my husband and I did not stick around to swap email addresses and regular addresses. I will never forget that cruise as long as I live. Religion is something that should be personal and not a dinner conversation especially if you aren't in agreement.

What a time.

Sharon I

 

I would have had a blast at that table.

 

Coors Light saved my soul, of which I need to worship regularly.

 

Having met our Saviour CL, I have come to know that all that do not praise him regularly shall be eternally damned.

 

I would have shown incredible pity for their wayward actions.

[mr green]

People from the south can be a little odd, my wife and I were having a normal conversation with one such gentlman at lunch in the buffet, when an elderly lady, [with whom we had conversed with at length the day before], also from the south, passed by.

I stood up, gave her a 'high five', and we exchanged a couple of words, at which time I resumed my seat to carry on the conversation with our table companion. He had disappeared, leaving his half eaten lunch behind!

 

john