Has anyone been "kicked out" of their dining table?

[NYDee]

While the incident was embarrassing, think how you would have felt if you had not been moved and these people didn't want you there. I would have wandered by on purpose and in my most "sugary" voice talked with them about what wonderful new tablemates you found.

[tequilamockingbird]

Jeez! Who do some people think they are! :mad: I would have definetely approached them and asked them (nicely;) ) what their problem was......... OK that's not true. :o I HATE being the center of attention and it would have been really hard for me to walk into that dining room again. :( How awful for you.

 

Glad you ended up at a "better" table! :)

[wrp96]

Jeez! Who do some people think they are! :mad: I would have definetely approached them and asked them (nicely;) ) what their problem was......... OK that's not true. :o I HATE being the center of attention and it would have been really hard for me to walk into that dining room again. :( How awful for you.

 

Glad you ended up at a "better" table! :)

 

Off topic, but I like your CC name.

[tequilamockingbird]

Off topic, but I like your CC name.

 

Why thank you!!! :D

[Nliedel]

I would have asked them but not been too nice about it. I have no reason to think the OP is lying in any way. Things get bungled when you have that many people on board. For RCI to tell the passenger the others had them removed in this humilitating way is just a mess. On the other hand I have cruised RCI many times and do not feel that they treat people badly overall.

 

I hope the OP recieves an explaination and an apology.

[cincicruisers]

Wow.. that is a sad story. I would have felt the same as you.. Not so much the move of tables, but the way it was handled sounds just horrid and embarrasing. Sorry this happened on your cruise and hope you get the answers you are looking for.

[Fritz265]

You have every right to be angry and upset. I'm not one to take that type of thing lying down. I wouldn't make a scene but I would have sat my hungry ass down at my assigned table, politely, of course, and would have waited for my meal.

 

They handled it poorly to say the least. I would be interested in hearing RCI's comments on this. I know you're listening RCI.........let's hear it....

[lrovnan]

Gee you think after so many years people would grow up and get out of the High School mentality. So sorry you had to deal with that. And shame on RCCL for not handling it in a better way.

[divawife]

I certainly feel for you and your DH! No matter what you should have been told ahead of time not on the dining room floor!!!!

Now-what happens if the dining room has "open seating"? This is supposed to happen on 8/30 EOS cruise since it is chartered by a travel agency (although open to everyone through a bunch of web pages).

My mom and friend are on it and they were really looking foward to meeting new people. They had signed up for early seating, large table. NOW the TA tells us it is open seating!

They are nice and friendly but I am afraid they will end up by themselves at a small table or worse yet-at a large table where they are the only ones!!! Has anyone out there been to open seating? What happens? How can they avoid being lonesome or excluded????

Thanks

Best-

Diva

[NYDee]

This happened at our table on Celebrity. First night, when we arrived at our table for 6 there was an elderly gentleman there in torn and soiled clothing. He tells us he had booked the cruise with his wife who died just before leaving and he was on a back to back. Then the waiter came to the table and told him he was at the wrong table, that he had this one on the first leg, but had been assigned to another. He didn't want to go, then someone else came and they politely told him he could not sit there, etc. So he finally went with them. Another couple then sat down. Then the third couple. Near the beginning of the dinner, the wife of the last couple told me, in a whisper, that they were going to the specialty restaurant the next night to celebrate their anniversary and probably would eat the rest of their meals at the buffet or room service since they liked privacy. So the second night, formal night, another couple joined us. On the third night, the couple celebrating their anniversary returned to the table to find another couple sitting there. They were not happy because they had not told anyone, except me and I didn't say anything, that they wouldn't be back. They offered them another table which they refused stating that they liked the people at that table, they wanted to sit with them (us) and they had not given it up. So graciously the other couple were reassigned again.

[CruisinDawn]

We arrived at our large table to find bottles of wine but no people. The waiter quickly came over and told us he was moving us to another table. We were kinda shocked but went with the flow over to the new table where 4 people were waiting. He introduced us to everyone at the table aand explained that the party that stayed at the table couldn't speak a word of english and didn't want us to feel unconfortable. Think they handled it well.

BonVoyage

Dawna

[BonnieNYTX]

All the head waiter had to do was call or send a note to our cabin BEFORE the public humiliation happened, and we wold have happily arrived at the other table arranged for us, no one the wiser (or humiliated). But she did not. And then she told lies to her superiors,

Just curious what lies "she" told?

To the OP: This never should have happened. At best you should have gotten a formal apology. I'm a bit confused at something. You stated the table was empty when you got there. Did it remain empty for the duration of the cruise? You then said your empty places were never filled. I have been at tables with people I would prefer not to sit with but I cannot imagine that RCCL would ask them to sit elsewhere just because I didn't want them at my table. If there was another couple they wanted to sit with, then where were they? Do you think this was a rude way of getting rid of you? If it is.. pfffttt to those tablemates! We are a couple in our 50s with an 18 yr old daughter. On our last cruise our tablemates were a delightful couple in their late 70s Absolutely charming. My daughter loved chatting with them and looked forward to dinnertime. We all did. Hope your future cruises will be more pleasant.

[Happy ks]

I certainly would have wondered what happened, it would be nice to hear the other side of the story. But, I would not have been humiliated. I go through this with my very shy and not very confidant (of herself) daughter all the time. We go to a mall, library, grocery store, anywhere in public, she always says that everyone is staring at her. I've tried my best to say, yes, people do glance at you, but most do not stare.

 

My point is, probably no one was paying all that much attention to the plight of the OP when it happened. The tables around them may have glance up and wondered what was happening, but not given it much thought beyond that. We're all too busy with our own selves to be staring at other people and concerning ourselves with the circumstances of their lives. There is also the issue of language barriers and the managers may not have spoken English as their first language and interpretation can get lost in translation. Plus, you move on down the line to new people, the truth gets away, the situation becomes more horrendous with each telling. The OP stewed over this a little too long.

 

An embarassing moment does not warrant special treatment for the rest of the cruise. I should know, I've embarrased myself in front of others plenty of times, I just brush myself off and get on with it.

[bcc99]

Wow. I'd be mortified and enraged if I arrived in the dining room one evening, ready to enjoy a nice dinner, and the staff informed me that I had been exiled from my assigned table. It doesn't sound like RCI handled it all that well...but in their defense, this also sounds like a highly irregular event that (thankfully) doesn't happen often enough that they'd know how to deal with it.

[Grayce]

That would be embarrassing to be told that our tablemates didn't want to sit with us. I am the type that I would be worried about what I could possibly said or done to offend them but I wonder if the 3 other couples at the table had initially requested a table just for themselves and were surprised to find themselves at a table for 8 instead of 6. They might have asked that they be moved but it was easier for maitre d' to move just 2 of you then all 6 of them. A language barrier could account for the way that the maitre d' explained it. Even if they had requested that you be removed from the table the maitre d' shouldn't have said that. Also you should have been notified ahead of time so you could have went to your new table straight away on the second night.

[OceanCruise]

While RCI could have handled the situation better, I do think you overreacted. Maybe people were staring at you because you were crying. As a seasoned cruiser, I wouldn't think anything of it if people around me were standing or switching tables. That often happens the first night or two because people get confused. However, if I saw someone crying and carrying on, that would certainly grab my attention. What exactly did the waiter say? Did he say "they don't want you" at this table or "they prefer to dine alone" or "we need to give you another table." Maybe you misinterpreted the intent. I do agree it would have been better to know before you arrived but this isn't a major issue IMHO. You said you got an apology, you liked your new table, so what is the big deal as it got worked out?

[Hydrographic Traffic]

HappyWanderer - thank you for your post. I think we can all learn much from this incident. Some of the replies here have asked you further questions to which you have not, as of yet, responded. I urge you to take the time, to the benefit of all of us, to offer up a response. I ask this not because you need to defend your position but rather so as to paint a clearer picture of this unfortunate event.

 

We had this happen on one of our cruises, but we were the ones who asked to have people removed from our table. We had a very good reason for doing this. We were able to get this accomplished because we were the majority rule. While many of you have never seen or heard of this before, our wait staff assured us that this is done all the time. Dining room employees are usually a bit more diplomatic however. I'm very sorry you went through this. Any time people find that they have been moved to another table and they did not request it - then your removal has likely been requested by the others that were at the table.

 

This entire episode smacks of age discrimination to me (based only on the info you have provided thus far)and I certainly would not sit back and allow it to go unaddressed. I'm glad to know you have written a letter to RCI. It is clear to me that those 20-30 somethings that were at the table the night before knew they were in the wrong, otherwise they would have been there the night that you tried to take your expected seat. They clearly were afraid of the confrontation that might ensue.

 

Did they ever use the table again for dinner or did it remain empty the entire week?

 

Based upon my own cruise aboard MOS, am I correct in assuming that this happened on a formal night?

 

Was or could there have been a language barrier with your wait staff, enough so that when this event was explained to you by them, it came out a bit more crude than they intended it to? Perhaps they may not have fully understood that what they said and how they said it was rude.

 

We did watch the wide swath these other folks carved through the cruise, chuckling when we overheard snippets of gossip about these high visibility people.

I'm very curious about this comment you made, can you elaborate further? We had some karaoke divas aboard our ship as well - I'm curious as to what's up with these folks?

[cruisingagentone]

What happened to you in the dining room was completely unacceptable. It should have been handled before hand as other people have already stated. Now I hope I don't ruffle any feathers here but the cruise lines are bent on building bigger ships to outdo each other and I'm afraid they are not getting the same quality in staffing as once was. It's not just the dining room its especially bad at guest relations. There is no way to find enough good staff with enough experience to fill these ships. So alot of it I'm afraid has become on the job training but the head waiters should know better.

[hermang]

:( :( :(

 

Has this happened to anyone else? We were first-timers on the Mariner on the July 17 sailing. We have cruised multiple times on multiple lines, but first time with RCCL. We were seated druing the late seating at a table for 8. There were three other couples, 20's and 30's, at the table. DH and I love sitting at large tables, enjoying sharing our days with new companions. We haven't always wanted to be best friends with our table mates, but understand that having pleasant dinner conversation is a most pleasant part of cruising. We are both well-bred, polite, not overly opinioated and certainly know how to conduct ourselves in public.

 

So we were suprised on the seond night at the talbe to find NO ONE at the table, and we were 10 minutes late, not our usual pattern by any means. When we tried to sit down our waiter hurried over and hung his head and stage whispered that we could not sit down, and that a head waiter needed to speak to us. So here we are, standing around in the middle of the dining room, on display for all to see, not allowed to sit down, waiting for the waiter. She arrived and told us that we had been removed from that table at the others' request, and she didn't have it worked out yet just where we wold be assigned. We were COMPLETELY humiliated by this time....everyone staring at us. Big tears were running down my cheeks by this time, and I just wanted the floor to open up and swallow us. After a great deal of time we were shown to another large table on a different floor of the dining room, and those folks there were happy for new table mates, I must say.

 

But no one would offer us any explanation as to why someone, or HOW, could have sother diners kicked out of thaier table. We had just as much right to be there as anyone, and NO ONE should be publically humiliated!!!! The head of beverage and dining was too busy to speak to us after we registered our complaint. The head of hotel services was too busy too. They both sent their assistants to tell us that they were too busy. When the head maitre'd had been on the phone with us he begged us to tell him what could be done to lessen the sting of the incident. By that time, all I wanted to do was not EVER to step back into the dining room again, and I told him so. I asked that we be allowed to eat at Portofino and Chops, if we could get reservations, with the surcharge being taken care of by beverage and dining. We asked the same for Johnny Rockets. It certainly did not seem too much to ask to make up for their obvious error, and the fact that the head waiter had told different stories to us and to two of her superiors when questioned as to why in the world she would have allowed something like this to happen. She basically lied, and no one knows what the true story was. The asst. head of hotel told us later that she felt that Karoake Queen Tatum and her posse had paid off the head waiter somehow....I guess money talks here.

 

But the head of food and beverage said that it would not be possible in any way shape or form to waive the charges at the alternate dining venues. So the whole thing was swept under the dirty little table. The head of guest relations told us that she was so embarrassed at the whole thing, and that she was not allowed the "tools" to try to fix it. She gave us a RCCL document folio and the ever-present key chain, but knew she had done a miserable job.

 

Since we never did achieve resolution or any kind of explanation, we cancelled the trip we had re-booked with the loyalty ambassador.

I would write a very nicely worded letter to Richard Fain - CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruise lines, explaining everything you did here. Giving the ship, cruise dates, original table number and as many names as possible. What you were told, what you asked for as compensation and what you were given.

Let him know that you were first time cruisers on RCCL and probably last time as well because off the humiliation and that the people who could have made it right were "too busy" to be of service.

 

I would also cc your travel agency.

 

Frankly - I would have sat down and said kiss my fatt arse but then again I have never been known for being suave and debonair when being insulted.

 

Seriously - a well written letter to Richard Fain may get you some very serious

comps to say nothing of some serious butt chewing of some RCCL personnel.

We have written to Richard on several occassions and have been pleasantly surprised. It just takes time and you might have to follow up but it will be worth it.

[Travelgrrl]

Sometimes, how we think we are presenting ourselves to others is not how they perceive us. People can be very intelligent, but soft spoken and seem dim. People can be nicely dressed, but have some hygeine issues others find offensive. People can be well bred but boring as toast. On our last cruise, we were at a large table and though the people were all nice, they were all soooooo boring! No one ever had an original thing to say (or anything to say, really!) And it was 5 separate couples, not a large group that we descended upon. We started dreading dinner, though they were all

 

Who knows why the others bounced you from the table? It could be something you or your spouse did or said or didn't say or didn't do, or it could be nothing at all.

 

I would review my own self, to see if I was obnoxious/political/smelly/had spinach in my teeth/overly religious/a late arriver/a picky eater/mean to the waiters, etc - and when I was certain that it wasn't me (or my spouse) I would forget it. Who cares what those people think! :cool:

[NYDee]

I would just be happy that it happened and that I didn't have to endure them for dinner. And not worry about why.

[terri23]

I would review my own self, to see if I was obnoxious/political/smelly/had spinach in my teeth/overly religious/a late arriver/a picky eater/mean to the waiters, etc - and when I was certain that it wasn't me (or my spouse) I would forget it. Who cares what those people think! :cool:

 

LOL, I think you covered most of the bases!! :D except maybe drunk and/or arrogant??

[love2vacation]

Well, there is NEVER an excuse for rudeness. Those younger couples were certainly rude to you. If they wanted to hook up with new found friends they should have moved to a different table, eaten at in the windjammer or the specialty restaurant. They certainly were only thinking of themselves and thier own gratification.

 

Most of the time you can't change the way someone treats you or acts toward you, but you can change your reaction to this behavior.

 

Don't let the experience get you down.

[heatherb1958]

The first night on our springbreak Voyager cruise March 2000 was horrendous.We had not been issued with a table assignment on boarding so had to wait in line for a while at the entrance. We got talking with the couple in front of us and got on really well. THey got their assignment and were taken into the dining room. We then got ours and were pleased to find out it was the same as the couple.Any way , on walking through the room they were coming back !!! the table was already full !!!

the guy from the couple told the Maitre 'd he didn't care where we sat so long as it was with us. We got the worst table right by the galley entrance. We didn't mind as we were having a great time with them. The next day we got a written message, followed by a phone call, to say our assignment had been changed.All day we wondered if it was us.Didn't they like us ? When we got down to dinner that night , the table was for 10, right by the window and our new found friends were already sat there, plus 3 other couples who we had a great time with. David had complained to the MAitre 'd about the location of the previous night's table, the farcical organisation and requested that we all be moved together. We had great evenings after that and to top it all off, RCI gave all the table champagne that night as a way of apology.

[Blazerboy]

Happy Wanderer, hope you get some measure of satisfaction, even an apology. This was BADLY handled by the staff.

 

And to Hydrographic Traffic,

 

I typed some strongly worded reponses to your post, deleted them, and thought it best simply to say that I believe that those making the request that someone be moved should themselves be the ones to move, no matter what the situation. If the "offending couple" was clearly drunk or overtly rude, it is up to the staff to take care of this, not a vote by mob rule.