Ever have awful Table mates?

[ontheweb]

On 6/17/2019 at 12:00 AM, SantaFeFan said:

We were traveling with a couple we were good friends with and who we have cruised with several times before when we got seated at a table with two other couples who were friends. Before we could order anything, the other four requested that we not order any alcohol with our dinner as their religion forbade them from consuming alcohol of any kind and did not want it on their table. We were shocked at their rude attempt to dictate what we could or could not order with our dinner. Of course, after careful consideration on our part, we increased our consumption by ordering two bottles of wine instead of the usual one. And we proceeded to thoroughly enjoy our wine with our dinners. We enjoyed dinner even more the next night when they apparently asked to be moved to another table, probably to get away from the blasphemous heathens they were stuck with the night before.

 

If they could not deal with people ordering drinks at their table, they should have had the common sense to request a table for four and saved everyone the discomfort of their wholly inappropriate requests. 

The discussion of people wanting to forbid others from drinking at their table reminded me of a wedding we attended a long time ago, the winter of 1977-1978. (I know that it was winter because we had to drive home in an ice storm, and I know the year because the  couple were college friends of my DW and since weddings are romantic this long standing couple had the boyfriend propose  after attending our wedding.)

 

The brides family did not consume alcohol for religious reasons, and therefore there was no alcohol at the reception. The wedding was way upstate in NY. The groom's family was from Brooklyn. And they were Irish Catholics, not meaning to stereotype, but I think it is safe to say they did not believe consuming alcohol was some sort of sin. They all came up by a bus, and knowing that there would be no alcohol at the wedding celebration and they would not have to drive home, they did their alcohol consumption on the way upstate.

 

Needless to say, it was a rather interesting time at that wedding.

[momofmeg]

13 hours ago, gooch47 said:

We avoid shared tables because my husband is quite hard of hearing and can't participate in conversation if there is too much distance between him and whoever is talking.

 

Question:  How do you answer if someone asks you if you cruise much?  We try to reply in a neutral way, but sometimes people ask how many cruises and I feel like we are bragging.  Would you fib about it?

 Just reply. I think we have done 24? not sure lost count but with people  telling me they been on over a 100 I do not see that hardly as bragging, especially if they ask me.

[ducklite]

6 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Many "not ok to talk about" subjects have been mentioned in this thread and I agree with most of them. My question is what do you talk about for at least one hour every night?

What you did that day (shore ex or a DIY tour); what you are doing the next day; interesting TV shoes, movies or documentaries you've watched recently; what you thought of the guest lecturer that evening; if the cookies or scones were better at tea the day before than today; the weather; current events and pop culture that don't involved politics or religion; the list goes on.

 

Even when we were seated with people who we had almost nothing in common with, we still managed some small talk.  

By the way, I personally don't have a problem with people telling me they went to the spa, church, or whatever, as long as it's in response to, "What did you do today?" and not them starting the conversation with "OMG today I went to the spa allll day, I had a massage and it was amaaazing and then a facial and she squeezed out all my blackheads look at how clear my skin looks and then blah blah blah" as they are sitting down.  If I get a massage (which I enjoy doing as a special treat when I am on a cruise) and someone asks me what I did today, I'm not going to tell them I counted all the wooden boards on the deck.  I'll say, "I went to the spa and had a massage--she did a great job getting the knots out of my shoulders."  Unless they ask for more information, that's the end of that response.  If someone finds that offensive, too bad.

 

I also wouldn't be offended if someone said, "We're [insert name of faith] and we had heard about a wonderful [insert name of religious building or congregation] in this port, so we attended a service which we really enjoyed."  I might even ask more about what made that service or building particularly enjoyable to them.  As long as they aren't pushing me to attend with them, I think it's interesting (and smart) to learn about our differences in a casual and respectful manner.

[ducklite]

15 minutes ago, momofmeg said:

 Just reply. I think we have done 24? not sure lost count but with people  telling me they been on over a 100 I do not see that hardly as bragging, especially if they ask me.

 

I agree.  Give an honest answer without embellishment and drop it unless they ask further questions.

 

[Sancho_proudfoot]

We did have one couple at our 8 top table a few years ago. The other 6 (we included) were all in the 50+ age bracket, while this couple were around 28-30.  He obviously thought he needed to impress his table mates, and when describing his work (some kind of mechanical engineering) claimed that he was in the "top 3" in his profession in the US, and 'probably' in the top 5 in the world.

 

He also claimed to have had a great day doing the day's trivia, having won the 11am, 3pm and 5pm games......which was kinda funny as l and my quiz-mates had won two of them!

[Aquahound]

14 hours ago, gooch47 said:

Question:  How do you answer if someone asks you if you cruise much?  We try to reply in a neutral way, but sometimes people ask how many cruises and I feel like we are bragging.  Would you fib about it?

 

If I'm asked, I respond honestly.  But that's if I'm asked.  It's not the sort of info I volunteer unsolicited because then it sounds like bragging.  

[Slugsta]

We've had some tablemates who were just OK, but never anyone we wanted to get away from. Except on one cruise with 'freestyle' (or whatever that particular line calls it) when we were seated with a couple who come from our home town and who spent the whole meal telling us about every perk they got 'because we are elite/gold/whatever'. We were glad that we wouldn't have to share a meal with them again - until the next evening when they were brought to the table we were already seated at. Fortunately, we never ran into them again.

 

On one cruise we had asked for traditional dining at a table for 8. Were given a table for 6 and one couple never turned up. The other couple who did show were older (we were in our 50s) and seemed a bit 'off' - until we found out that the husband was hard of hearing and suffered from other medical conditions that made life difficult for him. They were never going to be our best buddies but we enjoyed getting to know them and sharing Christmas Day with them towards the end of the cruise.

 

We prefer mixing with other people when we are away, we do enough meals for 2 at home these days!

[caffeine_demon]

23 minutes ago, Sancho_proudfoot said:

He also claimed to have had a great day doing the day's trivia, having won the 11am, 3pm and 5pm games......which was kinda funny as l and my quiz-mates had won two of them!

 

Don't think so - I won all 3, (plus the 9am, 1pm, 7pm and 11pm ones) - got second in the 9pm one too!

[K32682]

14 hours ago, gooch47 said:

Question:  How do you answer if someone asks you if you cruise much?  We try to reply in a neutral way, but sometimes people ask how many cruises and I feel like we are bragging.  Would you fib about it?

 

It is the opposite for an infrequent cruiser or first-time cruiser.  There seems to be a certain pecking order related to the number of cruises one has taken.  I learned this on my first cruise when admitting the fact put my wife and I at the lowest point in the table's informal social register even though I had extensive land travel and global business experience. 

 

If you've cruised extensively and don't want to provide the number perhaps, "So many cruises I don't recall the exact number" would shut them up. 

[MicCanberra]

10 minutes ago, caffeine_demon said:

 

Don't think so - I won all 3, (plus the 9am, 1pm, 7pm and 11pm ones) - got second in the 9pm one too!

So you didn't do so great in the noon quiz then.😋

[caffeine_demon]

1 minute ago, MicCanberra said:

So you didn't do so great in the noon quiz then.😋

Gotta give the other guests a chance!

[gooch47]

1 hour ago, K32682 said:

If you've cruised extensively and don't want to provide the number perhaps, "So many cruises I don't recall the exact number" would shut them up. 

 

I like that answer.

[CPT Trips]

 

Its not that I don't want to tell people how many cruises we have been on, it's that I honestly don't know. It just stopped being worthwhile trying to remember each and every cruise we enjoyed. If asked I typically simply say, "I don't know, I lost track." On a few occasions I hear back, "is it more than x?" "Probably" or "I don't think so" seems an adequate answer.

[Hlitner]

Once upon a time I had some bad fish (Sea Bass) and got terribly sick for about 2 days.  Because of that incident I never eat any fish!  

 

Hank

[MicCanberra]

My friend Ella wanted fish once, I talked her out of it purely by saying 'Don't have the Salmon Ella'.

[XBGuy]

13 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

My friend Ella wanted fish once, I talked her out of it purely by saying 'Don't have the Salmon Ella'.

 

🤣🤣🤣

 

👍👍👍

[ldubs]

14 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

 

If you've cruised extensively and don't want to provide the number perhaps, "So many cruises I don't recall the exact number" would shut them up. 

 

Yikes, I must be missing something.  Why would you want to shut them up.  I don't think asking how many cruises is really that bad of a thing.  I sure wouldn't be put off by the question. 

 

Now, what would be really bad and cause potential loss of face is if they ask how many posts I have on CC!  😀😀

[ldubs]

13 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

 

Its not that I don't want to tell people how many cruises we have been on, it's that I honestly don't know. It just stopped being worthwhile trying to remember each and every cruise we enjoyed. If asked I typically simply say, "I don't know, I lost track." On a few occasions I hear back, "is it more than x?" "Probably" or "I don't think so" seems an adequate answer.

 

Aww, I'm glad I'm not alone.  We have honestly lost track of the number of cruises.  We think we must be at about 30, but don't have the energy to fact check anything.   If asked, I now say something like "over 25".  And actually, some nice conversations can ensue about things like favorite ports, etc.  

 

[donaldsc]

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Once upon a time I had some bad fish (Sea Bass) and got terribly sick for about 2 days.  Because of that incident I never eat any fish!  

 

Hank

 

How many years ago was that?   

 

DON

[Hlitner]

7 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

How many years ago was that?   

 

DON

You might have missed my point.  Folks have 1 or two bad experiences with tablemates and then spend the rest of their life at 2 tops.  Although we have had a couple of lousy tables (over more than 40 years of extensive cruising) this pales by comparison to the fun tables and many wonderful friends we have met when sharing tables.  I am convinced that the rise of social media has created a sub-culture of folks who have simply forgotten (or never knew) how to socialize face to face.  

 

Hank

[kochleffel]

4 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I am convinced that the rise of social media has created a sub-culture of folks who have simply forgotten (or never knew) how to socialize face to face.  

 

Now there's an idea: designated tables for people who agree never to speak, only to text.

[Hlitner]

2 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

ng 

Now there's an idea: designated tables for people who agree never to speak, only to text.

We have actually seen it in a good restaurant.  A young couple sitting at a table, both texting away without ever saying a word.  A group of us noticed such as table in Niagara on the Lake and the couple truly never said a word except to their waiter.  At one point one lady in our group wondered aloud if those two were actually texting each other :).   At one point the man was eating his dinner with one hand while texting with the other!  Go figure.

 

Hank

[MicCanberra]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We have actually seen it in a good restaurant.  A young couple sitting at a table, both texting away without ever saying a word.  A group of us noticed such as table in Niagara on the Lake and the couple truly never said a word except to their waiter.  At one point one lady in our group wondered aloud if those two were actually texting each other :).   At one point the man was eating his dinner with one hand while texting with the other!  Go figure.

 

Hank

Must have been soup to eat one handed

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We have actually seen it in a good restaurant.  A young couple sitting at a table, both texting away without ever saying a word.  A group of us noticed such as table in Niagara on the Lake and the couple truly never said a word except to their waiter.  At one point one lady in our group wondered aloud if those two were actually texting each other :).   At one point the man was eating his dinner with one hand while texting with the other!  Go figure.

 

Hank

 

How people socialize is certainly changing.  That is for sure.   

 

Anyway, I can't be too critical of folks staring at screens considering the amount of time I spend on this forum!  😀

[momofmeg]

On 6/20/2019 at 8:17 AM, K32682 said:

 

It is the opposite for an infrequent cruiser or first-time cruiser.  There seems to be a certain pecking order related to the number of cruises one has taken.  I learned this on my first cruise when admitting the fact put my wife and I at the lowest point in the table's informal social register even though I had extensive land travel and global business experience. 

 

If you've cruised extensively and don't want to provide the number perhaps, "So many cruises I don't recall the exact number" would shut them up. 

Really? we had table mates  that she had never cruised and he hadn't since a child. But he had cruised Cunard with his parents. It seemed they  had done it annually. Then we found out in talking with him, (He never volunteered anything so not bragging)  that he had been all over the world on land trips.  Of course we  knew he was probably well off because he wore a very masculine ring with a very real diamond of about  1 carat or so, so good sized but not  gaudy. I only wondered what he was doing on Celebrity. Lol!