Most awkard moments during dinner

[WELSH WIZARDS]

My most embarrassing dining moment on a ship happened at a table for 6 which we were taken to.

Seated on it already were a older lady and a gentleman , but they were not sitting together.

We did the usual chatting and introducing, and later on, as it usually does, [ but maybe never should ] , the conversation got around to politics.

It soon became very clear that the two were poles apart in their outlooks, the lady an ardent Democrat and the gentleman a died in the wool Republican.

The conversation became more and more heated , then the old guy shouted .." Well , I think George Bush was the best President we ever had !! " With that the lady jumped up , crossed to in inch in front of his nose, and screamed " You have got to be f....... kidding me "

I sincerely hope the dozens and dozens of heads which spun around did not think it was me. !!:D

[GlendaleCruiser]

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.;)

 

 

Ditto that. I was born and raised in the South, am a Southern Baptist and have many Lutheran and Mormon friends. We never talk religion and would NEVER discuss it on a cruise, for sure...........!!

The Lutherans I all share bottles of wine on the cruise, too.

I don't have much tolerance for ANYONE, whether they are Dem or Rep, Christian or pagan, making the dinner table on a cruise their "platform" .

[Malibubaby]

My husband and I like to have dinner by ourselves and talk about our day. We just don't enjoy having to make small talk with people while we are trying to enjoy our dinner. For our 3rd cruise we went on RC Sovereign of Seas for a 4 night cruise after seeing a NASCAR race in Daytona, we requested like always when we made our reservation for a table for 2, but to our surprise we got to dinner and it was a table for 10. On the ship was a midwestern religious convention of some sort going on. So at our table were 2 very religious couples who gave me the look of death when I ordered a frozen drink or wine with my dinner each night and commented on how they don't drink and they don't reckon they'd know how to order a drink and what it would taste like and how they would act after having a drink and on and on making a huge deal (needless to say I drank way more at dinner than normal just to freak these people out!). Also at the table were a cheap young couple who just had to know how much everything cost and another couple who we swear were making up the stories they told because you name it they did it and did it bigger and better. We were so miserable! After the first night we went to the Maitre D and said Please, please, please you have to give us a table for 2, we will give you $100 (I had it in hand) and he still said no we don't have tables for 2. It was the worst, we dreaded going to dinner each night, which we normally love. We leave in 50 days yeah! on the Carnival Fantasy and have anytime seating which I hear you can request a table for 4 (we're bringing the kids now that they are older) Let's keep our fingers crossed!!

[Nicki61]

DH and I were on the Westerdam a few years ago. Just us two, so we chose to sit at a table of 6 or more. We were seated with an elderly gentlemen and his wife(75ish each).

Small talk started and the wife said that they were retired. So in my inquisitive manner asked, "what did you retire from"?

Answer: WORK Alrighty then.

 

Moving on to the single gentlemen sitting at our table. Started to talk to him. He was looking all over the room, for someone or something. When the subject of his companion came up, he informed us that they had had a fight the night before and she had apparently NOT COME ON THE CRUISE. Uncomfortable...again.

 

Needless to say, we moved tables after that.:(

[Kartgv]

On one of our early cruises we met our tablemates at dinner the first night - a table for 8. We mentioned that the following night was our anniversary. At dessert time the next night, a parade of waiters arrived singing "Happy Anniversary" with a cake our tablemates had ordered for us, with "Happy Anniversary Kathy and Eric" written on top. We had to force ourselves to stop laughing long enough to tell them that we loved the cake and appreciated the thought, but our names are "Kathy and Art". It turned out to be a great table!

[misty57]

There was discussion on another thread about whether it is polite to ask dinnermates what they did for a living, where they live, or whether they have children or grandchildren, and how many cruises they have taken. Well, our lovely tablemates on our recent cruise must have read that thread and decided not to ask any questions. Period. The only thing that they asked was where we were from. It was hard to have a nice dinner conversation. The weather and the destination of the cruise was pretty much all we discussed. BORING! They seemed to be nice people, but there was no exchange of contact information on the last evening! There has to be a happy medium between intrusion and just letting people know who you are.:( ( It also could save one from making a comment that could be offensive. If you know someone's profession it hopefully will keep you from voicing your opinion about that profession!) JMHO.

[notmyccname]

A few years ago on a NCL cruise, my husband, son and I were seated at a table for 8. On the first night we met an older couple that shared our table. When the man sat down he pulled a bunch of twenties out of his pocket and spread them out in front of himself on the table.

 

We had no idea what he was doing, when the waiter came over and was surprised to see the money laying out there. The man promptly informed him that he was the last of the big spenders and that money was what he could earn if he treats the man right.

 

We were so embarassed, we let the waiter know we weren't with him.

 

When the cocktail waitress came over to see if we want anything from the bar, he pulled out his cabin card to give to her but instead of just handing it to her he laid it on top of the money, she wasn't sure what to do, she just picked up the card and walked away.

 

When she brought the drinks back he told her she took too long so he would have to dock her tip. He then took a twnety off the table and put it in his pocket. He told her she could come back at the end of dinner to claim any of her tip that was left and if she wanted any tip she better treat him right.

 

He was really rude to the waiters, and talked down to them. COnstantly throwing his money in their faces.

 

He was a nasty, mean, rude, man. During dinner he only wanted to talk about himself and even though the other table mates wanted to talk about other things, the man always interrupted and turn the conversation back to himself.

 

After dinner we asked to be moved but were told there were no other available tables. The following night it was the same routine, our tablemates were a no show. After the 3rd night we couldn't take it anymore and never returned.

 

We later saw him in the ship's jewerly store, he told the girls that worked there they better cater to him if they wanted him to spend his money in there.

 

I believe I cruised with that same guy. On a HAL cruise one of our table mates placed a row of tens & twenties on the table and told the staff that the amount would be their tip, minus money taken away for infractions. After he took away the first $20 I "accidently" spilled my coffee over the rest of the money. He moved tables by the next night.

 

On another cruise at a table for 10, one couple only ordered dessert. Three and four of every dessert on the menu. As they ate one, they ordered more. At times they pushed our dinner plates out of "their" way so the waiters had more room for their desserts. They never spoke, even to each other, just ordered & ate.

The rest of the table continued to enjoy our meals, remove their plates from our personal area and have a great time laughing & talking. Before our entrees were finished they stood up, piled some of their dessert dishes and walked out of the dining room. We never saw them again, but laughed about them for the rest of the week.

That was one of the most enjoyable cruises I've ever been on.

[GlendaleCruiser]

There was discussion on another thread about whether it is polite to ask dinnermates what they did for a living, where they live, or whether they have children or grandchildren, and how many cruises they have taken. Well, our lovely tablemates on our recent cruise must have read that thread and decided not to ask any questions. Period. The only thing that they asked was where we were from. It was hard to have a nice dinner conversation. The weather and the destination of the cruise was pretty much all we discussed. BORING! They seemed to be nice people, but there was no exchange of contact information on the last evening! There has to be a happy medium between intrusion and just letting people know who you are.:( ( It also could save one from making a comment that could be offensive. If you know someone's profession it hopefully will keep you from voicing your opinion about that profession!) JMHO.

 

 

Wow. That is a shame. I am pretty much an open book to people I meet and have met some very interesting people over the course of my cruises. If they don't want to talk about their careers or past careers, or their interests, fine by me, but that would be boring. On the last cruise on the Magic, I met some great people, even the "anytime" dining couple that sat with us after we returned from Rome (open seating that night). Great stories to tell, interesting lives. I'm still in touch with some of them and hope to meet up with them on a future cruise.

[Happy ks]

The worst we had was on our one and only Carnival cruise, the dining room ha "barracks" style seating, long rectangular tables flush up to the window. We were seated with a family of 5, our kid were with us so we were a party of 4. The family was always there early and sat in a row facing us. It wouldn't have been so bad if they would have spoken to us. About all we got from them was an introduction the first evening.

 

They did hang on every word we said, then would whisper to each other while staring at us. I told them to not worry about leaving us a window seat and sit together, it was dark out at second seating and we could not see anything.

 

I finally just ignored them and just spoke with my family, it was the most awkward week we've ever had on a cruise. The worst part was that after a couple days we found out they had the cabin next door to us! We would peek out to make sure they weren't around before leaving. The husband was a chain smoker and the smoke seemed to permeate through the cabin walls.

 

No wonder we have such bad memories of that cruise, to top it off the waiter and cabin steward were not so great. I think I ran when we finally got to disembark!

[momofmeg]

My husband and I like to have dinner by ourselves and talk about our day. We just don't enjoy having to make small talk with people while we are trying to enjoy our dinner. For our 3rd cruise we went on RC Sovereign of Seas for a 4 night cruise after seeing a NASCAR race in Daytona, we requested like always when we made our reservation for a table for 2, but to our surprise we got to dinner and it was a table for 10. On the ship was a midwestern religious convention of some sort going on. So at our table were 2 very religious couples who gave me the look of death when I ordered a frozen drink or wine with my dinner each night and commented on how they don't drink and they don't reckon they'd know how to order a drink and what it would taste like and how they would act after having a drink and on and on making a huge deal (needless to say I drank way more at dinner than normal just to freak these people out!). Also at the table were a cheap young couple who just had to know how much everything cost and another couple who we swear were making up the stories they told because you name it they did it and did it bigger and better. We were so miserable! After the first night we went to the Maitre D and said Please, please, please you have to give us a table for 2, we will give you $100 (I had it in hand) and he still said no we don't have tables for 2. It was the worst, we dreaded going to dinner each night, which we normally love. We leave in 50 days yeah! on the Carnival Fantasy and have anytime seating which I hear you can request a table for 4 (we're bringing the kids now that they are older) Let's keep our fingers crossed!!

 

I think I already posted it here-but we had two couples on our Mariner of the Seas cruises-who bluntly told us they were "Christians" and did not drink. We were fine with that-and sine my hubby drinks moderately and myself hardly at all because of my diabetes-except occasionally a rum and diet coke. (once or twice the whole week)

 

The night of the ice show my hubby and daughter (then 22) ordered drinks. Our tablemates sat a few rolls behind us and yes we saw them-we even waved.

 

The next night at dinner one of the husbands told us-"we saw you ordered drinks last night." I simply smiled but I thought to myself that I should have said I saw him smoking on deck (I think smoking is more damaging to your body than moderate amounts of alcohol)-which I had seen him-but I figured no-I would act like a "Christan" should be instead of saying I was one.

 

that was our tenth cruse and the first time we had rude tablemates. It happened again to us a couple of cruises later-which is why we like NCL a lot-we can sit only with our family with no problem on NCL.

[momofmeg]

The other cruises we had rude dinner mates we were doing the anytime/my time dinning. Once on Princess, and once on HAL. I wish other lines would have more smaller tables like NCL. They could learn from NCL. NCL will put tables together for large parties the way land restaurants do. Other lines could learn from NCL on how to do the my time/anytime dinning.

 

 

The last time was on HAL-we ate early, 5:30 pm, as we wanted to see the show and also go to listen to music in one of the lounges that started at 9:30 pm. We had an older guy table mate who ordered 2 or 3 of every course and ate very, very, slow. I assume he had ill fitting dentures-why else-we did not get out of the dinning room until 8:20 pm-so we had to choose between the show and the music. My hubby pulled the waiter aside and told him that we thought he should have not waited on that man before serving the next course. The next night we asked for a table for 2 and hubby let the matr'd know why.

[kelmac]

Last winter break my wife and I were on the QM2 for a 15 night cruise in the Caribbean.

 

We were the first to arrive at Todd English, the upscale alternative restaurant and were seated at nice table for two. Soon after, a couple arrived to celebrate their anniversary; the husband was in a motorized wheel chair, and we gathered from their conversation, that he had had a recent stroke. It looked like they had hired two assistants, and paid for their cruise, in order to provide service to this gentleman. They seated this couple next to us at a table for four in order to accommodate the special chair. The two assistants left soon after they were seated, but were "on call" from their special communication device--a walkie-talkie.

 

The maitre' d asked if we would like to move to another table, but we felt that would be rude, as this couple seemed brave to tackle a cruise so soon after this gentleman's misfortune. (huge mistake on our part!)

 

The man and woman (in their 70s--maybe) both had hearing issues, so we were exposed to every word in their conversation. From the start, the man requested special variations of food from the menu--no salt, no fat, fresh made chicken broth. The waiters and kitchen staff tried their best to provide something that would work, but everything was too fatty, or too salty, or too whatever. He complained of not feeling well several times during the meal. We tried our best to enjoy our meal, but their conversations were loud and tedious.

When our dessert arrived, the man said he was going to be sick...he retched loudly several times, tried to move his wheelchair and ran into their table, knocking dishes and glasses everywhere. After several moments of dry heaves, he released the contents of his stomach all over the table. At this point, my wife (who had a clear view of everything--my chair was off to the side, so I was able to keep them out of my field of vision) picked up her dessert (my empathetic wife was in tears at this point--feeling sorry for his inability to remove himself from the situation) and walked away.

The man was eventually removed, and yellow CAUTION tape was put up around their table. Soon after, they brought us the check, and they said they were sorry that the evening hadn't turned out as planned.(this interesting story cost us $100) Needless to say, we cancelled the second reservation that we had placed for Todd English. That restaurant is so dead to us! (Just can't get all those images out of our heads!)

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[mferranti]

The last time was on HAL-we ate early, 5:30 pm, as we wanted to see the show and also go to listen to music in one of the lounges that started at 9:30 pm. We had an older guy table mate who ordered 2 or 3 of every course and ate very, very, slow. I assume he had ill fitting dentures-why else-we did not get out of the dinning room until 8:20 pm-so we had to choose between the show and the music. My hubby pulled the waiter aside and told him that we thought he should have not waited on that man before serving the next course. The next night we asked for a table for 2 and hubby let the matr'd know why.

I would not have waited until after the meal was over. I would have told my dining companion and the waiter that we had plans for after dinner and wanted a quicker meal.

[UB & AS]

We have had several funny incidents on cruises. On our first cruise, the second night, we were joined at a table for four by another couple. The previous evening the lady's husband was the only man at their table. Their tablemates were "hookers" and wanted to "talk shop". The lady couldn't get her husband away from that table fast enough! :D

 

On a recent cruise, our assistant waiter became ill and was replaced with an inexperienced young man who tried so hard but was so nervous that drops of sweat dripped from his chin into the salad dressings! No one wanted salad that evening.

 

On our most recent cruise, I asked our assistant waiter how he kept in shape on the ship. He started doing pushups on the dining room floor beside our table to demonstrate! :eek: As he looked up at my husband, he stopped and after a moment commented on all of his gold teeth!! He actually counted them!

[Happy ks]

The other cruises we had rude dinner mates we were doing the anytime/my time dinning. Once on Princess, and once on HAL. I wish other lines would have more smaller tables like NCL. They could learn from NCL. NCL will put tables together for large parties the way land restaurants do. Other lines could learn from NCL on how to do the my time/anytime dinning.

 

 

.

 

 

The only problem I see here is that then you would have to sail with NCL. We tried them a couple times, their food was lousy, their ships are ill kept. We saw large parties that had to wait forever to get their party seated together on NCL. NCL may have started Freestyle dining, but just about all lines now have choice dining.

 

You can request a private table on other lines, we've never had a problem with getting a table for just us on RCI or Princess. Just as you can have a large party accomodated on other lines.

 

For us, we've tried it both ways and prefer a traditional seating. We know where our table will be, no waiting around. We also prefer a later seating time, haven't been to a cruise ship show in years.

[momofmeg]

The only problem I see here is that then you would have to sail with NCL. We tried them a couple times, their food was lousy, their ships are ill kept. We saw large parties that had to wait forever to get their party seated together on NCL. NCL may have started Freestyle dining, but just about all lines now have choice dining.

 

You can request a private table on other lines, we've never had a problem with getting a table for just us on RCI or Princess. Just as you can have a large party accomodated on other lines.

 

For us, we've tried it both ways and prefer a traditional seating. We know where our table will be, no waiting around. We also prefer a later seating time, haven't been to a cruise ship show in years.

 

We like NCL fairly well. I can't see they are any worse than RCI food wise, and much better than Carnival when it comes to drunks. even on RCI the 3 day we took had a major drunk problem.

 

I did not find the food lousy even in the main dinning room-however we eat in specialty restaurants about half the time. Since the cruise was much more affordable, we could easily do this. NCL has superb specialty restaurants, better than HAL's for sure-but then HAL's food is so good-no need for specialty restaurants. Cagney's, the Brazilian steak house,the french (le Bistro), even the cheaper specialties, the Italian and Mexican are great.

 

Our daughter is an assistant teacher-so when we go with her-it is much more pricy for cruises as a rule- which is why we tried NCL the first time- the great price- and then we found we actually liked NCL. This year we were able to get a RCI cruise fairly affordable-because we got the senior citizen rate. With 3 in a room, we need at least a balcony room-the cheaper rooms are too small for 3 people.

 

Now I will say the beds on NCL Sky were horrible. Thanks goodness that was only a 4 day cruise. The Pearl and the Sun had wonderful beds. I do think since the Sky is their shorter cruises "bargain" cruise ship, that that is why the bedding has not been upgraded on the Sky. The other 2 ships had the same great bedding you find on HAL.

 

When my husband and I cruise the 2 of us, we really like Celebrity and HAL. These lines' food is the best of all the mainstream lines. (we also found their food better than the Disney line food) However, hubby and I are not big on cruising anymore-our daughter loves cruising however-so we usually cruise with her. Nice family time.

[maryann ns]

with all the horror stories here, I would never consider traditional seating. We have cruised Azamara twice and love the open dining. You can drop in any time and get a table for two (or whatever number in your group) or you can ask to be seated with others. We have had some great conversations and made friends that we enjoyed spending time with.

 

If you have a problem with someone, it is only for the one meal and you don't need to sit with them again.

[momofmeg]

with all the horror stories here, I would never consider traditional seating. We have cruised Azamara twice and love the open dining. You can drop in any time and get a table for two (or whatever number in your group) or you can ask to be seated with others. We have had some great conversations and made friends that we enjoyed spending time with.

 

If you have a problem with someone, it is only for the one meal and you don't need to sit with them again.

 

Maryan-I woulld love to try Azamara at least once- but it is a bit pricey for us-and I am afraid I would get hooked on cruising Amazara! LOL!

 

I thought of something else-that guy on HAL-who ordered all those extras and ate so slowly and kept us at dinner fro 3 hours-he probably would not be a problem as a table mate on NCL or RCI since their food is just okay-nothing special.

[fleckle]

I thought of something else-that guy on HAL-who ordered all those extras and ate so slowly and kept us at dinner fro 3 hours-he probably would not be a problem as a table mate on NCL or RCI since their food is just okay-nothing special.

When sitting at a table with others, the meal is typically paced by the slowest eater at the table. So by choosing a large table, we realize that the service will be slower than when we eat at a table by ourselves, irrespective of the quality of the food.

 

Some people are very slow eaters, for any of a number of different reasons. It is much like going out to dinner in a restaurant at home where the meal usually takes longer when you sit with a large group. It is to be expected that some people will order more or fewer dishes than others. Some may skip soups or salads or appetizers while others may order multiples of any category. On a cruise ship, people are more likely to want to try a number of different dishes because there is no extra charge for doing so.

 

Lately we have been choosing open dining on cruise ships for the flexibility. When we are in a hurry, we request a small table. When we have time for a slow, leisurely dinner and want to enjoy the company of others we request a large table, realizing that the meal will most likely take longer that way.

 

Also, open dining makes it easy to change tables if you don't care for your tablemates without needing to request a change or worry about hurting anyone's feelings.

[pjck71]

Reading all of these stories has been great! I can't wait to see what the dining room has in store for us :D

[momofmeg]

When sitting at a table with others, the meal is typically paced by the slowest eater at the table. So by choosing a large table, we realize that the service will be slower than when we eat at a table by ourselves, irrespective of the quality of the food.

 

Some people are very slow eaters, for any of a number of different reasons. It is much like going out to dinner in a restaurant at home where the meal usually takes longer when you sit with a large group. It is to be expected that some people will order more or fewer dishes than others. Some may skip soups or salads or appetizers while others may order multiples of any category. On a cruise ship, people are more likely to want to try a number of different dishes because there is no extra charge for doing so.

 

Lately we have been choosing open dining on cruise ships for the flexibility. When we are in a hurry, we request a small table. When we have time for a slow, leisurely dinner and want to enjoy the company of others we request a large table, realizing that the meal will most likely take longer that way.

 

Also, open dining makes it easy to change tables if you don't care for your tablemates without needing to request a change or worry about hurting anyone's feelings.

 

We did not choose a large table- we were seated there also this was anytime-my time dinning (whatever HAL calls it)-and the table only seated 6-this man, his wife, my husband and I, and one other man-one seat remained empty

 

It was not only that he ate slow- but he also had several choices for each course-main entree was two-the others, 3, and more (4 desserts)-that was the problem.

You see we were left watching him eat his extra courses after we finished ours. Even his poor wife disliked this.

 

And yes I know that is the proper (etiquette) thing to do-but most would agree that there are exceptions to every rule. Why wasn't this man tagged earlier in the cruise (this was a 10 day cruise-this was the next to last night) and seated alone with his wife. I think it could be explained to him that he held up his table mates by ordering multiple entrees. His wife told me he did that every night.(she was not too happy about it either-she was apologizing)

 

I do not mind spending 90 minutes at dinner (or even the occasional 2 hours)-but we spent 3 hours at dinner. If that was not rude of this man-what do you call rude?

 

I will keep your suggestion in mind for next time-if we realize we are with a person who eats multiples of each course- however how inconvenient to ask after appetizers and salad-that may we change tables so we can get to the 7:30 pm show. I guess I can be considered the rude one next time.

[UB & AS]

We did not choose a large table- we were seated there also this was anytime-my time dinning (whatever HAL calls it)-and the table only seated 6-this man, his wife, my husband and I, and one other man-one seat remained empty

 

It was not only that he ate slow- but he also had several choices for each course-main entree was two-the others, 3, and more (4 desserts)-that was the problem.

You see we were left watching him eat his extra courses after we finished ours. Even his poor wife disliked this.

 

And yes I know that is the proper (etiquette) thing to do-but most would agree that there are exceptions to every rule. Why wasn't this man tagged earlier in the cruise (this was a 10 day cruise-this was the next to last night) and seated alone with his wife. I think it could be explained to him that he held up his table mates by ordering multiple entrees. His wife told me he did that every night.(she was not too happy about it either-she was apologizing)

 

I do not mind spending 90 minutes at dinner (or even the occasional 2 hours)-but we spent 3 hours at dinner. If that was not rude of this man-what do you call rude?

 

I will keep your suggestion in mind for next time-if we realize we are with a person who eats multiples of each course- however how inconvenient to ask after appetizers and salad-that may we change tables so we can get to the 7:30 pm show. I guess I can be considered the rude one next time.

I am not very sympathetic as I would have walked when I became aware of the boor at the table. The matre 'd would have found us another table and we could enjoy the remainder of the meal. Why would you put up with this when you have obvious alternatives?

[Donder1]

Last winter break my wife and I were on the QM2 for a 15 night cruise in the Caribbean.

 

We were the first to arrive at Todd English, the upscale alternative restaurant and were seated at nice table for two. Soon after, a couple arrived to celebrate their anniversary; the husband was in a motorized wheel chair, and we gathered from their conversation, that he had had a recent stroke. It looked like they had hired two assistants, and paid for their cruise, in order to provide service to this gentleman. They seated this couple next to us at a table for four in order to accommodate the special chair. The two assistants left soon after they were seated, but were "on call" from their special communication device--a walkie-talkie.

 

The maitre' d asked if we would like to move to another table, but we felt that would be rude, as this couple seemed brave to tackle a cruise so soon after this gentleman's misfortune. (huge mistake on our part!)

 

The man and woman (in their 70s--maybe) both had hearing issues, so we were exposed to every word in their conversation. From the start, the man requested special variations of food from the menu--no salt, no fat, fresh made chicken broth. The waiters and kitchen staff tried their best to provide something that would work, but everything was too fatty, or too salty, or too whatever. He complained of not feeling well several times during the meal. We tried our best to enjoy our meal, but their conversations were loud and tedious.

When our dessert arrived, the man said he was going to be sick...he retched loudly several times, tried to move his wheelchair and ran into their table, knocking dishes and glasses everywhere. After several moments of dry heaves, he released the contents of his stomach all over the table. At this point, my wife (who had a clear view of everything--my chair was off to the side, so I was able to keep them out of my field of vision) picked up her dessert (my empathetic wife was in tears at this point--feeling sorry for his inability to remove himself from the situation) and walked away.

The man was eventually removed, and yellow CAUTION tape was put up around their table. Soon after, they brought us the check, and they said they were sorry that the evening hadn't turned out as planned.(this interesting story cost us $100) Needless to say, we cancelled the second reservation that we had placed for Todd English. That restaurant is so dead to us! (Just can't get all those images out of our heads!)

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

I am sorry for ALL involved, you guys, the couple, and the staff. That said, Todd English should NEVER have handed you the bill. Instead, they should have offered you another evening's meal on them.

[RetiredandLovingit]

What would you suggest I do, ask him to leave? It is up to the dining room management to enforce the dress code not me. I am not going to create a huge scene at my dinner table that will ruin dinner for everyone at our table probably for the rest of the cruise. No we choose to just ignore it as best we could.

 

Kirk

 

Good for you!!:) Whats the old saying! "when life gives you lemons, just make lemonade" or somethink lke that!:p You are the kind of folks I like to cruise with!!!:D

[GlendaleCruiser]

When sitting at a table with others, the meal is typically paced by the slowest eater at the table. So by choosing a large table, we realize that the service will be slower than when we eat at a table by ourselves, irrespective of the quality of the food.

 

Some people are very slow eaters, for any of a number of different reasons. It is much like going out to dinner in a restaurant at home where the meal usually takes longer when you sit with a large group. It is to be expected that some people will order more or fewer dishes than others. Some may skip soups or salads or appetizers while others may order multiples of any category. On a cruise ship, people are more likely to want to try a number of different dishes because there is no extra charge for doing so.

 

Lately we have been choosing open dining on cruise ships for the flexibility. When we are in a hurry, we request a small table. When we have time for a slow, leisurely dinner and want to enjoy the company of others we request a large table, realizing that the meal will most likely take longer that way.

 

Also, open dining makes it easy to change tables if you don't care for your tablemates without needing to request a change or worry about hurting anyone's feelings.

 

On our last cruise there was a couple who always came about 10-15 minutes after everyone else. Our waitstaff was so good. They would just go ahead and serve us and when the couple came they would give them a menu and start serving them. I know it was disruptive. We would be done with dessert and they were just starting theirs, but we said our goodbyes and left, just like they came late and said hello. Many of us tried different dishes and I always had two escargot when they were served, but that didn't cause a delay.