Odd dining room conversations...

[HappyCampers3]

Any one who has ever cruised and has been seated with strangers at breakfast in the main dining room on a port day has been asked this same question: What are your plans for today?

 

On our last cruise, I asked that question of a young couple on their first cruise. Their answer: We're gonna get a taxi and go to Walmart and buy some Tupperware containers...we really don't feel like cookin when we get home.' I was speechless!!

 

The distance they had to travel in a taxi (cost), the cost of the food containers....they could have eaten out all week when they returned home!

[Yvonne]

I seriously doubt that was what they were really going to do.

 

Maybe they were just tired of being asked that question, so came up with something really off the wall.

 

That is one of the main reasons we do not eat breakfast or lunch in the MDR when we travel alone, we don't want to be seated with others and have to make the obligatory "small talk." If I could be guaranteed the other couple we were seated with would just smile and say "good morning" and leave it at that, it would be no problem. :)

[Alliezona09]

LOL that's kinda funny, if it was a joke! And you can always ask for a table for 2 or how many are in your party~ We've done that when we wanted to just sit and chat amongst ourselves~!

[Tbay-eh]

We love to eat in MDR for breakfast and parttake in the small talk - we have learned so much about people who are willing to share. I guess because my husband and I are able to spend time together and talk all year long we do not seek to be by ourselves when cruising. In fact we like cruising because we are social people and enjoy mingling. Maybe that couple were going to go back to the cabin and have some wild sex and had to come up with something off the top of their heads or maybe they were really going to WalMart

[SkyMaster]

The lovely Mrs. Jones (Vita) and I always look forward to speaking to the others at our table. We LOVE the small talk, and getting ideas about where to go, and what to do, both aboard ship, and in the various ports. (Even though we seldom leave the ship anymore.) ;) I can't imagine going through life as an isolationist. :eek:

 

"SKY"

[H82seaUgo]

Any one who has ever cruised and has been seated with strangers at breakfast in the main dining room on a port day has been asked this same question: What are your plans for today?

 

On our last cruise, I asked that question of a young couple on their first cruise. Their answer: We're gonna get a taxi and go to Walmart and buy some Tupperware containers...we really don't feel like cookin when we get home.' I was speechless!!

 

The distance they had to travel in a taxi (cost), the cost of the food containers....they could have eaten out all week when they returned home!

 

we had tablemates on our first cruise, a mother and her two daughters in their 20's, who couldn't wait to get to each port to go to burger king.

[farler05]

we had tablemates on our first cruise, a mother and her two daughters in their 20's, who couldn't wait to get to each port to go to burger king.

 

That's a very sad statement on their culinary tastes.

[gogetter]

Any one who has ever cruised and has been seated with strangers at breakfast in the main dining room on a port day has been asked this same question: What are your plans for today?

 

On our last cruise, I asked that question of a young couple on their first cruise. Their answer: We're gonna get a taxi and go to Walmart and buy some Tupperware containers...we really don't feel like cookin when we get home.' I was speechless!!

 

The distance they had to travel in a taxi (cost), the cost of the food containers....they could have eaten out all week when they returned home!

 

OR they said that to you to get you to quit bothering them! Don't always judge a book by their cover....

[cuyahoga11]

Maybe they were planning to take their favorite foods off the ship at debarkation to enjoy thru the next week

[abitaturbodog]

My youngest son loves Subway sandwiches and every port we go to, he wants a his picture in front of the Subway shop. Now, I don't let him eat there, he just likes to record the places where there are Subway shops. Maybe the Burger King people are the same...

[travelingtriumphess]

Any one who has ever cruised and has been seated with strangers at breakfast in the main dining room on a port day has been asked this same question: What are your plans for today?

 

On our last cruise, I asked that question of a young couple on their first cruise. Their answer: We're gonna get a taxi and go to Walmart and buy some Tupperware containers...we really don't feel like cookin when we get home.' I was speechless!!

 

The distance they had to travel in a taxi (cost), the cost of the food containers....they could have eaten out all week when they returned home!

They were making a joke. The idea is that they are going to get tupperware to fill up at the buffet. Then they won't have to cook for awhile. There is so much food. I'm sure it was a joke. Probably, when they saw your shocked reaction, they should have said, "just joking, we're going to......." ;)

[Yvonne]

The lovely Mrs. Jones (Vita) and I always look forward to speaking to the others at our table. We LOVE the small talk, and getting ideas about where to go, and what to do, both aboard ship, and in the various ports. (Even though we seldom leave the ship anymore.) ;) I can't imagine going through life as an isolationist. :eek:

 

"SKY"

 

Well that's all well and good. For YOU. Why can't you imagine that some cruisers are not social butterflies? You LOVE the small talk, that's great, but some of us don't. It doesn't mean our way is wrong, or that your way is wrong.

 

Reminds me of the time I was sitting on a couch in one of the lounges, it was during the day when nothing much was going on there so I sought out a quiet spot to read. My husband was directly across from me in a chair, also reading. Guy comes in and plops down on the couch right beside me and attempted to make small talk. I answered his questions politely, but didn't expand on them. He finally got a clue and moved to one of the many empty couches/chairs in the room.

 

Some of us don't cruise to make friends. We cruise to enjoy the cruise itself and the company of the person (s) we're cruising with. Why is that so hard to understand?

[tassycatt]

if I dont feel like talking, I just smile politely and say "f$#* off!"

 

works everytime.:D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Im kidding!! lol:p

[kyrisong1]

LOL Tassy, I bet that would work!!!

I am torn on this, I really want to be a social butterfly. I love talking to people and learning about different cultures and areas, but..........and it's a bit BUT.

I am hard of hearing and have a cochlear implant, if we are in the dining room I'm going to learn nothing of what you said and my food is going to get cold by my leaning over and attempting to decipher what you are trying to say. It BITES (figuratively of course) when people try to talk to me in the dining room, I HATE it.

A quiet spot on the ship, talk all you'd like and I'll be happy to carry on my end, but in the dining room, no deal.

Not everyone Sky is an isolative person just because they don't want to talk. And what if you're tablemates are people you don't like?

I've sat with one couple I couldn't stand. He was demanding of the staff, nothing was right, he had the MD over at the table every few minutes demanding different bread, different meat, whatever.

It was annoying and embarrasing to be part of his table. One night he was trying to tell my husband that he was too old to do something (he was 58 at the time mind you) OMG my husband (who is quiet and patient mostly) went BALLISTIC, really told him off.

We enjoyed the other people we were seated with and really liked our servers so we stayed at the table, otherwise we would have been gone like the wind.

BTW my story is from a Celebrity ship. The only table mates we have not enjoyed on the Carnival ships was a couple that were from Russia I believe, and the wife didn't speak english at all , she would only eat soup and then leave and the husband was about 30 years older than her and was flirting like crazy with me, grossed me out!!!!

They only ate with us a few times and then we didn't see them again.

Anyway most of our table mates we've enjoyed immensely and many we've sailed with again. Our favorite people made sure the people rotated nightly so I'd get a chance to converse with everyone, it was fun!!!

 

Cheers, Carole

[mosiegirl]

Any one who has ever cruised and has been seated with strangers at breakfast in the main dining room on a port day has been asked this same question: What are your plans for today?

 

On our last cruise, I asked that question of a young couple on their first cruise. Their answer: We're gonna get a taxi and go to Walmart and buy some Tupperware containers...we really don't feel like cookin when we get home.' I was speechless!!

 

The distance they had to travel in a taxi (cost), the cost of the food containers....they could have eaten out all week when they returned home!

omg..this is tooo funny ! We had one young newlywed couple sitting with us on our last cruise.. and when asked what their plans were on the next port day, and they said to just stay in their room and have the LOUDEST rumpy pumpy ever.. lol !!! Cracked us up !

[island visitor]

That is the reason we love Anytime dining. If it is just my DH and myself, and if we feel like conversation, we will let them know that we don't mind being seated with others. I like to meet other cruisers from different walks of life and enjoy having conversation with them. But on the other hand, if we don't really feel very sociable then we can simply ask to be seated by ourselves. I would hope that others would do the same and not have to be seated with other couples if they don't enjoy that. On our last cruise we enjoyed sharing a table on three nights (5 night cruise) and the conversation was great! There was a funny thing that happened on one of those nights. A couple was directed to our table and when they got there the young lady said she didn't want to sit there. Then when she realized what she had actually said out loud, she said I mean, we don't want to bother you. He then joined in and said, we really don't want to bother you. My DH and I just looked at them because it was obvious that they just didn't want to sit with us. The maitre d' said to them....you should have told us when you checked in. I thought it was very rude but it worked out because they then seated another couple with us and they were very sweet and we enjoyed them very much.

[boltnut55]

There was a funny thing that happened on one of those nights. A couple was directed to our table and when they got there the young lady said she didn't want to sit there. Then when she realized what she had actually said out loud, she said I mean, we don't want to bother you. He then joined in and said, we really don't want to bother you. My DH and I just looked at them because it was obvious that they just didn't want to sit with us. The maitre d' said to them....you should have told us when you checked in. I thought it was very rude but it worked out because they then seated another couple with us and they were very sweet and we enjoyed them very much.

Just to throw in our two stories and hope I don't get flamed... our extended family, which consisted of my 9 year old to her grandfather around 80, couldn't get a table just for us on our first cruise. I was concerned because the grandparents didn't speak English well and were very private (and frankly a little paranoid of strangers), and we spend a lot of time as a family, so there are so many family inside jokes and stories, along w/the fact that the grandparents had to speak another language to the rest of us in order to converse. A group of 3 ladies joined us. We grew quiet. It went okay but definitely awkward. At the end of that seating, I pleaded w/the MD to either move them or us because I totally felt that the other 3 ladies would have a better time elsewhere. Next night, the ladies were seated elsewhere; I'm sure they had a better time.

 

Another year, we also went as a family, and they put a solo traveler with us... I don't understand the logic in that at all. Why would you put 1 person w/a family of 9 traveling together? Wouldn't you put her with two other couples so that the ratio is better?! In that case, it was either that same night or the night after that she got moved.

 

In both cases, I think the other party had more fun without us. I think in both cases, I tried to see the MD ahead of time but was told we had to wait till the evening to sort it out. When we've traveled just the three of us, we've sat w/others and enjoyed it.

[TheCalicoCat]

I seriously doubt that was what they were really going to do.

 

Maybe they were just tired of being asked that question, so came up with something really off the wall.

 

That is one of the main reasons we do not eat breakfast or lunch in the MDR when we travel alone, we don't want to be seated with others and have to make the obligatory "small talk." If I could be guaranteed the other couple we were seated with would just smile and say "good morning" and leave it at that, it would be no problem. :)

 

 

No one forced us into small talk... (I prefer the slower pace & lack of a trough feel in the MDR.)

[vacruizer]

We were seated at dinner on one cruise with a lovely couple. We were close in age and got along well. They did talk some about their church and being Sunday school teachers so we made sure we stayed away from any controversial topics since they seemed a bit more conservative than we are, but we enjoyed dinner every night with them. About 5 or 6 nights into the cruise, they told us how glad they were that they finally took a cruise and how much they enjoyed it. And how their usual vacations were nudist camps. :eek: It was the LAST thing I expected them to say. Nothing against nudists, not my thing personally, but just not what I was expecting to hear from them!

[island visitor]

We were seated at dinner on one cruise with a lovely couple. We were close in age and got along well. They did talk some about their church and being Sunday school teachers so we made sure we stayed away from any controversial topics since they seemed a bit more conservative than we are, but we enjoyed dinner every night with them. About 5 or 6 nights into the cruise, they told us how glad they were that they finally took a cruise and how much they enjoyed it. And how their usual vacations were nudist camps. :eek: It was the LAST thing I expected them to say. Nothing against nudists, not my thing personally, but just not what I was expecting to hear from them!

 

That is hilarious!! It would have been hard not to have laughed :D

[petesweet]

Maybe they were planning to take their favorite foods off the ship at debarkation to enjoy thru the next week

 

Funny - that was my first thought too!:)

 

Kathy

[navybaby1113]

We had a table with other people on our first cruise and have not done so since. It was a table of 3 other couples around our age. 2 of the couples were very sweet. The other one was a bit crazy.

 

The first night, the wife came to dinner drunk and proceeded to tell us (after meeting us 5 minutes before) that they were taking this cruise to get over their dead baby (their words, not mine). She continued talking about this for the remainder of the cruise.

 

Extremely awkward!

 

We do usually have breakfast with others. Dinner is now reserved to just the two of us.

[Sylphy]

Ok, not an odd MDR convo experience... but I swear they do background checks on some people before assigning tables... our uncle that we cruised with is a retired pilot and they sat us with another retired pilot and his son who was an aspiring pilot! Made for great dinner conversations! :)

[IwannaGo Now]

if I dont feel like talking, I just smile politely and say "f$#* off!"

 

works everytime.:D

 

 

Im kidding!! lol:p

 

Hey, I know you....I talked to you in a lot of bars !!;)

[Dog Drool]

J

Another year, we also went as a family, and they put a solo traveler with us... I don't understand the logic in that at all. Why would you put 1 person w/a family of 9 traveling together? Wouldn't you put her with two other couples so that the ratio is better?! In that case, it was either that same night or the night after that she got moved.

 

 

i was the solo on my last carnival cruise i did no understand putting a solo with a family group i moved the next night. for me Hal is better for me going solo carnival is good when traveling with a group