Obnoxious Table Mates???

[Schplinky]

I know exactly what you mean! I was on a cruise once and the people were so rude! They talked about politics' date=' religion, human behavior, psychology, art, literature, current events, travel, and lots of other stupid stuff like that. I showed them, though. I just yawned in their faces, put my head down on the table and told them to wake me up when they were through talking about stupid stuff.

 

Allen[/quote']

 

I think politics and religion have a far greater potential for alienating folks than the other things you mention...

[holomuku]

Many moons ago- probably 20 years? I took my first cruise with a co-worker/friend on a "just us girls" trip. I was getting serious with my then boyfriend (now husband) and it was chance to enjoy the company of a good single female friend.

 

We were seated at a table for 8, the other six all male/female married couples. The first night at dinner one of the gentlemen broke the silence by saying "hey- we're here together for several nights- let's introduce ourselves". He began with something like my name is John, and this is my wife Mary. It went around the table with my name is Jake, this is my wife Jane, etc etc. It came our turn last and my friend said "my name is Louise and this is my wife Sally." There was absolute silence for what seemed like minutes- and then everyone laughed and we had a great week.

 

I really don't know if they thought we were girlfriends or a couple- but it didn't matter to them and that's what counted. I saw some of the wives on several evenings looking at us somewhat wistfully as we laughed and danced with various folks (all within acceptable limits) and I realized they may not have been having as good a time as we were.

 

My now DH and I will be celebrating 19 years married in May of this year- and for our upcoming 20th I'm planning one heck of a nice cruise!

 

It's all about having a good time- and my DH and I have been on seven cruises in the last four years. Where we've had assigned dining we've only had one time we chose to move and it was because we were at a table for 10 and there was only four to six of us- and we didn't quite hit it off so we moved to smaller table. Overall we've had great fun with our tablemates and consider that part of the cruise experience. As someone else said- we eat the two of us all the time- it's part of the fun to share the experience with new folks.

 

Thanks for reminding me of the memory. And yes, I'm still in touch with my "husband" Louise- now retired and married to John, living in Florida taking lots of cruises!

[TahoeBob]

not a table story but I use to be a deck hand on the Elizebth Louise (steam paddle wheeler 350 people) on the sacramento river, well one day my wife drove me to the boat for a cruise, and when I got out my 13 yo daughter got out and in the front seat. When I got on the top deck another deck started in on how much he wanted my daughter..... 4 other deck hands had to hold me back before he went in to the river. when the capnt found out he fired him on the spot. to this day I still want to put him in the sacramento river.

 

 

Bob P.

[ducklite]

One of the couples at our table on a recent cruise seemed like your typical couple. They referred to many previous happy cruise experiences, they acted affectionate towards one another, etc. It took a LONG time into the conversation before she finally said, in response to someone else's conversation, that they were brother and sister, not husband and wife. No one had said anything that would have embarrassed either themselves or that couple, nor was anyone uncomfortable one way or the other, but it was the sort of information that WOULD have put everyone much more at ease if she had worked it subtly into the conversation at the very beginning. (everyone started looking at each other, straining to remember if we HAD said anything inappropriate)

 

Madelinerose, it's just good manners to want to put others at their social ease.

I agree! My sister-in-laws husbands brother and sister are both middle aged and single, and spend a lot of time together. Because they are actually half siblings, they don't really have much family resemblence, and I coudl see how people could easily confuse the situation. But when meeting new people they always make it clear that they are brother and sister within the first minute or two of conversation to avoid any awkward issues. BTW, if you ever have them as tablemates, you'll be lucky! They are FASCINATING! :)

 

Anne

[AlisonoftheSeas]

 

King dorkwad then began to lay into me about how I'm fat because I ordered 3 appetizers. I ignored him, just another person who was "temporarily out of service". Naren wanted to shout at him, but I felt no one would understand him, so I told him not to say anything. Another lady at the table did speak up. She said that she'd rather eat with fat people than rude people.

 

... he never said anything derogatory again to me that night.

QUOTE]

 

Good for her!

[Alphawave]

Last cruise I was on was with a dear friend who had just gone through a divorce. We had requested a large table but were placed at a table for two. Guess they thought we were a "couple". But at a breakfast in the dining room, it really turned out funny. At the table were 8 people, turns out 6 of us were nurses. After we found that out, well....you can just imagine. The two "husbands" finally left and we all sat and had another pot of coffee, it was really fun. We started talking about what was the funniest thing that had ever happened while on duty. Well we laughed until we cried, the whole dining room thought we were probably tipping back something other than coffee!

[WeBeCruisin']

Allen - IMHO, talk of politics and religion IS rude at dinner (with strangers on vacation) - the other topics are fair game. Am I misunderstanding your sarcasm??

 

Terri, I think politics and religion are only rude if people are using the topics to either browbeat someone else, or to proselytize and convert them to their beliefs. When discussed objectively, open-mindedly and politely, these two topics can be quite interesting, since they are an integral part of the human condition and contribute to almost everything that is good (and evil) in our 21st-century world.

 

Allen

[wolfganghowell]

I think it depends on how you were raised to discuss politics. For instance, about 4 years ago one of our tablemates were from Ohio and had never been to Texas or met any Texans. They asked some interesting questions to us about our take on Pres. Bush. Now political preference aside, they were interested what many Texans thought of him as a governor and a new leader (this was October 2001 as I recall). Of course, I laughed and said I understood every word he mispronounced because Mr Wolf talked the same way and he wasn't stupid! It was an interesting topic for the table and although not everyone agreed politically everyone approached it respectfully. I think that's the key that has been missed in political and religious discussions - treat everyone with respect and don't intend to change someone's mind. We can all learn something from that approach!

[terri23]

Terri' date=' I think politics and religion are only rude if people are using the topics to either browbeat someone else, or to proselytize and convert them to their beliefs. When discussed objectively, open-mindedly and politely, these two topics can be quite interesting, since they are an integral part of the human condition and contribute to almost everything that is good (and evil) in our 21st-century world.

 

Allen[/quote']

 

I don't know whether it's pessimism or risk-aversion, but I think the chances of "using the topics to either browbeat someone else, or to proselytize and convert..." are too great for certain controversial (my perception, anyway) topics. Unfortunately, people tend to get too carried away and forget the "polite, respectful" part. I'd rather talk about my shore excursion! Or literature, pop culture, tomorrow's port of call, etc., etc. Just my preference.

[WeBeCruisin']

Or literature, pop culture, tomorrow's port of call, etc., etc. Just my preference.

 

I agree that those are all "safe" topics and unlikely to offend anyone (or, possibly interest them :D ) although, literature can be a topic which can very quickly alienate people, too. Especially since over 50 per cent of Americans have never read a book once they got out of school. Try discussing Shakespeare or James Joyce with a Danielle Steel or Stephen King fan and watch the sparks fly.:) Most people are uncomfortable discussing anything outside their somewhat narrow spheres of interest, so most conversations sink to the lowest common denominator. Everyone, however, considers themselves to be an expert on politics and religion.:rolleyes:

 

Allen

[stefboyardee]

How often do you find that you get seated with other Cruise critic members? I would really like that since we have been talking and getting to know each other for some time now.

[terri23]

Everyone' date=' however, considers themselves to be an expert on politics and religion.:rolleyes:

 

Allen[/quote']

 

Precisely the problem!!!

 

LOL, you gave me a chuckle envisioning the fisticuffs over a Shakespeare / Steven King debate. Good one!

[geoherb]

... If you meet 2 females or 2 males who are travelling together, do you ask if they are gay or straight or brothers or sisters or friends. No. Besides, what difference does it make? ...

A lot of folks assume my DH and I are brothers. We're the same height and have similar complexions. He's only six years older, but a man who was traveling with his three sons (college age and older) thought we were father and son at lunch one day.

 

We've been fortunate enough to never had any obnoxious tablemates assigned to our table for dinner. We have met some at breakfast and lunch. And we did have a boring couple sit with us on a short cruise on the Nordic Empress. Unfortunately, we were at a table for eight and no one else showed up.

[Host Karen]

Most of our tablemates have not only been wonderful but have become good friends. Two couples we dined with we could have done without for various reasons, but hey, it's the luck of the draw.

 

Our most obnoxious tablemate experience came at breakfast. DH and I were shown to a table where six people were already seated having coffee. When we sat down, the man next to me removed his glasses from in front of my chair but said nothing. The man on DH's side said hello and explained that the six were part of a large church group from Ohio sailing together. He spoke about three more sentences to us and that was it. No one else at the table acknowledged our presence in any way. The queen bee of the table spent at least 20 minutes describing her various conversations with the captain while another woman asked her how she had managed to become a Platinum member (as if there is some special talent to achieve this). I told DH to eat as quickly as possible. After we inhaled our food, we got up to leave and DH made sure he had the table's attention as he said, "Thank you so much for the wonderful conversation." I was SO proud of him as all I would have done was slink silently away.

 

At lunch that day we had the same waitress who explained to us that the group had come into the dining room insisting on a table for six. When they were shown to a table for 8, queen bee started yelling that she was a Platinum member and insisted again on a table for 6. She was informed that there were no tables for 6 available so they sat down. The staff decided to sit us with them because they knew it would drive her crazy. I wish they had let us in on it so that we could have had fun with it. Instead, it was a miserable experience and we didn't eat breakfast in the dining room the rest of the trip. I'd be interested to know what type of Christian fellowship they taught at that church!

 

Karen

[WeBeCruisin']

The man on DH's side said hello and explained that the six were part of a large church group from Ohio sailing together.

Karen

 

Karen, you could have just said that single sentence, and not another word would have been necessary. :D I'm going to be on the Brilliance this summer, too (July 23), and I've been checking your very active roll call from time to time because you guys have so much useful advice. Keep up the good work!

 

Allen

[Alphawave]

I agree with many of you regarding religion and politics discussions. Lately, we have had a couple of people make remarks regarding the war in Iraq, etc. They were very negative. And they kept on. My husband can only keep silent so long. You see, our son is an officer in the army and is on his second tour in Iraq as we speak. So I only pray that the people next to US in the dining room in this upcoming week will NOT bring up a negative perspective on the subject. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but they should keep them to themselves in this dinning room setting.

 

A loving mom

[wolfganghowell]

Alphawave, Godspeed and safety to your son and his comrades.

[DisneyDestroyer]

HECK yes. I was cruising with a family from France. The son turned to me the second night and told me "Whenever I am talking to someone from America I always feel superior, because we have a much better math education system. I was learning Calculus when I was 16, many of you Americans never go past Algebra."

 

No comment...

[johnmik1]

HECK yes. I was cruising with a family from France. The son turned to me the second night and told me "Whenever I am talking to someone from America I always feel superior, because we have a much better math education system. I was learning Calculus when I was 16, many of you Americans never go past Algebra."

 

No comment...

Did you tell him he would be much better at German too, if it hadn't been for someone from America!

[CLapple]

I think politics and religion have a far greater potential for alienating folks than the other things you mention...

 

 

Last summer, in a casual conversation, I was asked about the up coming election. I said my view of election day was it is usually a choice between leprosy and cancer.

 

Guess I should not have said that to a Texan. :-)

[wolfganghowell]

clapple - as a native Texan it would have made me laugh. We do have a sense of humor down here!! That's bipartisan!

[Soxfan05]

Did you tell him he would be much better at German too, if it hadn't been for someone from America!

 

TOUCHE'

[dc-snoopy]

clapple - as a native Texan it would have made me laugh. We do have a sense of humor down here!! That's bipartisan!

 

I'm not so sure...as someone of the minority political view and party as the majority of my state, I'm not positive that those of the "majority political party" have a sense of humor. :)

[Schplinky]

Terri' date=' I think politics and religion are only rude if people are using the topics to either browbeat someone else, or to proselytize and convert them to their beliefs. When discussed objectively, open-mindedly and politely, these two topics can be quite interesting, since they are an integral part of the human condition and contribute to almost everything that is good (and evil) in our 21st-century world.

 

Allen[/quote']

 

I have not seen these topics in the spirit you mention ever. Most often, they are discussed to find out if you are "one of us" or "one of them."

[Schplinky]

Karen' date=' you could have just said that single sentence, and not another word would have been necessary. :D Allen[/quote']

 

Is this the sort of enlightened discussion on religion you were referring to earlier?