Tablemates-who have you sat with?

[Maryr1]

Quite a few years ago we met a lovely elderly couple from London on a cruise out of Florida. They were doing a B2B and it was the second leg. We were in our 30's and they were in thier early 80's. Kind of like a wonderful set of parents/grandparents. They were newlyweds as he had lost his wife, she had never been married before. They married after a brief courtship (as they said-they had no time to waste! ) They were the nicest, most intersesting couple and we adored them. We kept in touch and the next year they were going to be in the US again after a cruise and decided to come spend a week with us. We introduced them to breakfast at a diner, chicken wings, brunch and all kinds of new adventures! We were invited to a black tie party at a friends house and brought them with us. She had forgotten his tux trousers so HE was wearing HER dress slacks with his jacket! We all were laughing so hard we were crying. Our friends house is kind of castle-ish and they were just undone. We partied and danced until dawn. They were the most popular people at the party. They said it was the week of a lifetime and the party was like going to the queens house-except nicer! They have both passed away now and we talk about them often. We have a picture of them with all our family pictures and really consider them family. God Bless you Molly and Les-we miss you!

[jean95404]

On the last four cruises we have chosen anytime dining. We have enjoyed meeting people from around the world (England, Scotland, Italy, Philippines, China, India immediately come to mind). We have learned many things from them, shared many a laugh and meeting them enriched our cruises immensely. We found that there were lots of things we had in common, some things we were not in agreement with, but it was nearly always great dining experiences. Of course there have been the occasional table mate that was less than enjoyable, but as it was only for one meal, we focused on the other table mates. Perhaps some folks found us to not be to their liking. It's one of the great things about cruising, seeing new places and meeting different people.

[dfields1814]

It is simply amazing who you can end up with as a table mate. I taught history before I retired. We were on a cruise out of Sydney with all kinds of young Aussies. Naturally they put me at a table with this very very elderly American. I was really disappointed. I wanted to meet Aussies. It turns out this old man was at Omaha Beach during D Day. He was in the navy driving one of those landing crafts. Then he got transferred to the Pacific and was at Okinawa during the Kamikazi attacks. He was one of the most memorable person I have met on a cruise. On another cruise I met an elderly lady from London was survived the bombing in WWII. On the last cruise I met a man from Dallas. I asked him if he was there when Kennedy was killed. He told me he actual met Jack Ruby. My only regret is that I wish I had known these elderly people while I was still teaching.

[We_like_to_cruise]

We always choose late seating TD and have been lucky so far.

 

Last year they tried to put us at a table for two. We met with the maitre d' and explained - "We have been married over 30 years and have nothing left to say to each other!"

 

The maitre d' looked at his list and told us, "Well here's a big table with one couple in their 80's, another a little older..." Please, we requested, get us a table with people in their 40's and 50's like us, which he was able to do.

 

When we told our story at dinner the next night, one of our new tablemate friends, the honeymoon couple in their 20's said "Great, now we're sitting at the table with the old people!" We had so much fun with that table we barely made it to the shows on time.

 

Happy cruising.:)

[kruisey]

I travel solo and have to have TD due to the fact I have a special meal.

Prefer to sit at a table of 8 with persons of mixed nationalities.On all my cruises but one I have been lucky to have great dinner companions with plenty of laughter involved.:D

[cruiseryyc]

In fifteen cruises have always had traditional dining and have never been disappointed in our dinner companions. Some of them we spent time with during the day and still keep in touch with; some we just enjoyed dinner with and never heard from again - but never have we been disappointed. On one cruise my friend and I were sat at a table with three other ladies and a widower from Scotland. We had the most fun and we five ladies were the envy of all the other women onboard on formal nights when he showed up in his kilt.

[BosoxI]

Certainly a mixed bag for us. We've had delightful tablemates at times, not so delightful at other times. Personally, I am tired of seeing people, usually middle aged or older men, who do not know how to hold a knife and fork properly. OTH we met a delightful English couple years ago on a Celebrity ship. We've met up with them or visited each other many times in the ensuing years. Now we prefer not to gamble, so we like a table for two in ATD, even if it means waiting a while.

[Rejeana]

In 2003 we were at a table for 8 with my DS and BIL, and a couple from Washington and one from Ohio. They were family also, and it was a fantastic group. Our one bad experience was at breakfast one morning. We went to the dining room and were seated at a table where 6 people already were. They were all talking and when we were seated, they immediately hushed and just looked at each other. We introduced ourselves and were met with half-smiles, so we got up and went to the buffet. Our other experiences have been fine. It's fun to meet people from all backgrounds.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Not enough hours in the day to tell you all our storries of tablemates,

 

some have become life long friends and I thank Princess for that,

 

others well thats what the Crown Grill is great for. Saying sorry we are

 

not going to be here tomorrow night.

 

 

However one that stands out,

 

Was a man who on seeing something on your plate, would ask if it was

 

nice then without saying anything would help himself to your meal, thats

 

right you are eating and the next thing you see is his fingers picking your

 

food, of your plate.

 

yours Shogun

[Off2China]

 

However one that stands out,

 

Was a man who on seeing something on your plate, would ask if it was

 

nice then without saying anything would help himself to your meal, thats

 

right you are eating and the next thing you see is his fingers picking your

 

food, of your plate.

 

yours Shogun

 

Eeewww . . . that's disgusting! I would have been tempted to stab his hand with my fork! What are some people thinking when they do something like that :confused:

[gertz]

We only do early seating always. Changed tables once 1993 Regal Princess and can't remember why. But table mates are just like cruises some better than others but never a bad one.

Did have lunch with a real WW2 hero once. A merchant marine that sailed Victory Ships darning that war and survived a real hero in my book we swapped lots of sea stories. Incidentally the ship that is now a museum tied up next to the Princess pier at the port of LA is a victory ship. Some of them actually broke up in rough weather.

[homeinboca]

For us, one of the great joys of traveling is meeting new and interesting people. When we used to do TD, we had some very interesting tablemates - one trip was a ranching family from Texas that ate steak every night. On another trip we had people from Brazil who spoke a little English, and told us amazing stories of their country. They were lots of fun and always insisting on buying all the wine. It is a place I want to visit. One cruise, we were seated with a family from Alabama. They were nice, but I had the hardest time understanding their very thick accent.

 

Since we have switched to ATD, we sometimes sit alone, and sometimes put together a group of people we meet standing in line. One time we had a very mixed table of young and old and we all talked about our cruise experiences.

 

I always enjoy breaking bread with strangers, it makes for interesting conversations.

[kazzaspal]

lol...we are two girls cruising without our husbands, can we have the football team table please...lol ( only joking ) !

[kazzaspal]

lol...that made me giggle. Hope no one does that to me, i will stab them !!

[ppsmom]

We have always chosen early traditional dining and a large table. We wouldnt do it any other way. We have met the most wonderful people and are still in touch with them after 25 years. Hi Lola, Alona, Gladys,Eddie, Ian amd Raiji. We are cruising again January 2012 and will be chosing Traditional Early dining and a large table.

[Wormy53]

Quite a few years ago we met a lovely elderly couple from London on a cruise out of Florida. They were doing a B2B and it was the second leg. We were in our 30's and they were in thier early 80's. Kind of like a wonderful set of parents/grandparents. They were newlyweds as he had lost his wife, she had never been married before. They married after a brief courtship (as they said-they had no time to waste! ) They were the nicest, most intersesting couple and we adored them. We kept in touch and the next year they were going to be in the US again after a cruise and decided to come spend a week with us. We introduced them to breakfast at a diner, chicken wings, brunch and all kinds of new adventures! We were invited to a black tie party at a friends house and brought them with us. She had forgotten his tux trousers so HE was wearing HER dress slacks with his jacket! We all were laughing so hard we were crying. Our friends house is kind of castle-ish and they were just undone. We partied and danced until dawn. They were the most popular people at the party. They said it was the week of a lifetime and the party was like going to the queens house-except nicer! They have both passed away now and we talk about them often. We have a picture of them with all our family pictures and really consider them family. God Bless you Molly and Les-we miss you!

 

Very touching post. They sound wonderful.

 

We usually do 2-tops but have had some interesting neighbors! One table for 8 was really getting into it the first night. 2 single lady friends were starting to sound like a loud talk-radio show. Another person at the table stated "there will be no politics spoken at this table - we apparently have different views". I was amazed at the difference! They seemed to have an enjoyable time after that!!

 

Another time we were beside a table of 10. All were women with 2 very young children. They would let the kids run around & were very loud!! Every 2nd night "daddy" would come (1/2 hr late) and do his command performance.They all treated him like a king. All conversation and running around stopped. Never could quite figure that one out!!:rolleyes:

[gacruisergal]

Years ago on our first Princess cruise, Sea Princess from Tokyo to Vancouver, May '89, we were seated with the most fantastic table mates. The Cruise Director, a young American gal, who we had met before embarking in Koyoto as she was looking for a Japanese Mc Donalds to get a bit of American food, a ex-pat Brit black sheep of the family who was returning to Uk from Hong Kong after making his fortune, a single, extremely wealthy Australian woman who had traveled the world, and an older couple from Canada.

 

We had the most marvelous time listening to all of the happenings of everyone and the Brit from Hong Kong would bring fantastic artifacts to the table each night to exhibit them..........

 

The CD even arranged to have a full Mexican lunch spread as we lived in California at the time and loved Mexican food as did she. Where they got the avocados, tortillas, beans etc. was amazing to us as this ship was the last to visit Bejing just before the fall of Tieneman Square. And hadn't added new supplies after leaving Australia.

 

This is when we fell in love with Princess and at the end of the cruise when we all were in the ballroom holding hands and singing on the last night of the cruise before docking in Vancouver, was just the most amazing feeling...........What an introduction to Princess!

[cowprintrabbit]

I think my favorite experience was an Aussie senior couple traveling with two adult children and their spouses. My husband and I and a pair of college roomates rounded out the table. The college boys has sold everything they owned to come on the cruise as a graduation present to themselves - I mean everything! They showed up on formal night in thrift-store jackets and ties with creases pressed into their jeans; I had to give them points for trying!

 

It probably sounds like a mismatch - but every night you could find our table because we were the ones laughing so hard we cried...

[RickEk]

Very touching post. They sound wonderful.

 

We usually do 2-tops but have had some interesting neighbors! One table for 8 was really getting into it the first night. 2 single lady friends were starting to sound like a loud talk-radio show. Another person at the table stated "there will be no politics spoken at this table - we apparently have different views". I was amazed at the difference! They seemed to have an enjoyable time after that!!

 

Another time we were beside a table of 10. All were women with 2 very young children. They would let the kids run around & were very loud!! Every 2nd night "daddy" would come (1/2 hr late) and do his command performance.They all treated him like a king. All conversation and running around stopped. Never could quite figure that one out!!:rolleyes:

 

We've also had some interesting neighbors. A couple of cruises ago, there was an elderly lady in a wheelchair (it turned out she was the most traveled passenger) and her daughter. The daughter had the most distinctive laugh... very loud (ha, hahaha, ha). We ended up talking with her later on in the voyage and she was quite a fun person.

 

On another cruise, there was a family that was a bit odd. They would be late every night. The young boy was in a stroller watching a portable DVD player.

The father was so finicky that he drove his waiter to tears. She finally got an extra assistant waiter to help assist her with that table. It turned into something of a floor show for the tables around them... what would they do tonight?? :rolleyes:

[jrobe]

If restaurants worked like cruise ships (shared tables with strangers), we would never eat out. We would never cruise again if they didn't have Anytime Dining and tables for two. That is just us though.

[NUGal]

We have had some great experiences with tablemates and only one bad one.

 

On our second cruise, we were seated at a table for six. On the first night, four of us were already seated when the last couple arrived. They introduced themselves, and I immediately said, "Your son took our daughter to the junior prom!" They lived in our hometown, and they knew our daughter, we knew their son, but we parents had never met before. Small world!

 

We have also had other tablemates that we saw several times afterward and still keep in touch with by e-mail, and others that we still see and have cruised with afterward.

 

The one bad experience was one I had when I traveled with a lady friend instead of my husband. The first night was lovely. We were seated at a table for six with a young honeymoon couple and had a great time, chatting and laughing. The next night, the maitre'd brought a couple to our table and seated them at the two empty places. It turned out that after the first night, the two couples who had originally been seated with our new tablemates had asked to be reassigned. We were stuck with them for the rest of the cruise and quickly found out why their original tablemates had left them. They were really obnoxious!

[kdooley]

My (much) older sister (mid-40's), my 19 year old son and I were on a 4 day Spring Break CCL cruise out of Tampa. We were seated with 3 lovely young women (in their late 20's), who were on a girls cruise, along with some other interesting people.

 

After we were seated, we asked where they were from. They ended up being from the same town as us and even graduated from the same high school as my son! They knew one of my neighbors and one of the girls grew up across the street from where our house is now located. So much for getting away from home!!

[ibfern]

We have met so many different kinds of people that we never would have met if we hadn't been seated together by Princess. One time we were seated for a 14 day cruise with some boat people from Vietnam and we enjoyed them immensely although we did not share anything in common. Another time we were seated with a 5 star general who was so gracious and interesting we could understand following him into battle.

 

Last year there was that pushy lady who insisted the whole table not eat anything but vegies and meat or fish (or get fat), and she had a cow when they left the bread basket on the dinner table, thus tempting her to eat it (which she did). For this she reamed the wait staff nightly, much to our table's horror. After weeks of enduring this (on a 28 day cruise) we finally got her to leave the table when we all refused to acknowledge her existence, we completely ignored her. The minute she left, the vibe of the table became happy and joyful, we ate to our hearts content and had gained a new respect for our waitstaff and yummy food!

 

Now I always figure that whomever is at my table is there for a reason and I try to just be flexible and easy going, just in case there is a lesson there for me I don't want to miss it!

[Taxguy77]

Unless you are in the same waitstaff's area, you will not be able to switch who is seated at each table. If the tables are in different sections, you will be respectfully asked to go to your assigned table. It has to do with the not just the tipping but more importantly, the comment cards and post-cruise survey. We were on a 15-day cruise and had two tablemates who choose to eat in the buffet most nights (they were strict vegans and felt they had more food options there); two ladies were at the table next to ours but had different waitstaff and their tablemates didn't show up either. We asked if they'd like to join us since they were alone but they weren't allowed.

 

That sucks!! If I pay X$M for a cruise, I expect some leeway in the MDR!

[Taxguy77]

It is simply amazing who you can end up with as a table mate. I taught history before I retired. We were on a cruise out of Sydney with all kinds of young Aussies. Naturally they put me at a table with this very very elderly American. I was really disappointed. I wanted to meet Aussies. It turns out this old man was at Omaha Beach during D Day. He was in the navy driving one of those landing crafts. Then he got transferred to the Pacific and was at Okinawa during the Kamikazi attacks. He was one of the most memorable person I have met on a cruise. On another cruise I met an elderly lady from London was survived the bombing in WWII. On the last cruise I met a man from Dallas. I asked him if he was there when Kennedy was killed. He told me he actual met Jack Ruby. My only regret is that I wish I had known these elderly people while I was still teaching.

 

In High School (50+ yaers ago) my History teacher was the son of a history prof., and a Col. in the USAF. He managed to have a "malfunction" over areas he wanted to see, and gave us eyewitness accounts of riding camels to the pyrimids, etc.

Unfortunately, the school decided the next year to combine English and history into one long period with only one teacher. My English teacher retired and went to teach at a private school which had been recruiting her for years, and my history teacher tried to find another job.