Ice breakers at dinner

[zantedeschia]

To break the ice I always ask the wife what color panties she has on,

That's it! Next time someone asks me if this is my first cruise, I'll respond: White! With purple flowers!

[wraithe]

Not stupid, I didnt know at frist either;) ...

DW= Dear Wife

DH=Dear Husband (somethimes 'Dear' is substuited for another "D" word:p )

DD=Dear Daughter

DS= Dear Son

you get the picture...MIL= mother in law...etc..

 

Hmmm, I've been divorced twice, hope the third Mrs. Wraithe isn't reading this!

 

As hinted to above, could be:

 

D*mned husband/wife, would depend on subject and my mood

 

although that could probably be better used with MIL as in DMIL (lol) or DXW. Hope the DR (dear reader) is smiling, I am.

 

Quote from one of my best friends, "The one common denominator in all my failed relationships is..... ME!"

[NoVa Mimi]

Prior to last year we had chosen to sit at smaller tables, there are 3 of us DH, DS and myself. Last July aboard the AOS we were seated at a larger table for both weeks of our B2B. The first week was great! We sat with a couple from Boston he was a teacher and she was a buyer for a major chain, and a couple and their son from New York/Jersey area she was a nurse (so am I) and he was in real estate They were a blast! We so looked forward to dinner each evening talking about our days, etc. They were the best group of folks...lots of laughs and fun. We all got along quite well. The following week was another story. We were with a large family and it was uncomfortable. We ended up having several of our meals in the Windjammer just so we wouldn't have to struggle to come up with conversation. This made us miss our previous tablemates all the more! This year we have again chosen to be seated at a larger table.

[SakeDad]

I guess you've never gotten stuck sitting next to the lady who doesn't know how to make conversation while your spouse is animatedly talking to the person to his/her other side??

 

This is when the next night you SLAP your other half into the chair next to the old bitty:eek: who has no conversational skills as you smile:) at them and order a stiff martini!:D

[chorder]

We are on the same cruise. The last cruise we were on I started by making jokes about myself. It disarms people. You may not like everyone at the table, but you will find 1 or 2 couples that you have something in common with. Most people respond well to jokes and compliments.

Maybe you will be sitting with us?

Hey BBM you never know. If so I will buy the 1st round.

[Schplinky]

I would avoid asking people what they do for a living, since some people are not pleased to share this. They may have a job with a negative association or they may not feel proud of their job.

 

I like the idea of asking what you're most looking forward to in the cruise. I like the idea of asking if the people have ever been in the area before. If you have a super cabin like a suite or something, I wouldn't ask if the people like their cabin. It's too close to setting them up to gush at yours.

 

I think that what people respond to negatively are those who try too hard to set the tone the first night. People who think "their" table is going to be fun, loud, quiet, whatever. Everyone paid for their seat at the table and is entitled to their preferences.

 

Maybe don't open with "don't you just hate President Bush" or "Don't you just love President Bush."

 

I think people like positive people who listen. Don't whine about the lines at embarkation or the cost of drinks or whatever and do listen to their answers if you ask a question instead of just waiting for your turn to speak again.

[parrotthead]

Hey BBM you never know. If so I will buy the 1st round.

NOW, you are trying to be a trouble maker;)

I'm taking names ya know...:p

[terri23]

Smalltalk makes me uncomfortable. And it always seems after they've done the obligatory what's your name, where are you from, how many cruises have you been on, oh I see nods, they go back to chatting with whomever they've come with at the table, even if I try to participate in those conversations (it feels like a snub). This has only happened at breakfast/lunch in the dining room, I've had pretty good luck with tablemates otherwise. It makes me only want to eat in the Windjammer for breakfast/lunch.

 

I agree 100%!!!

[Bigbudman]

Hey BBM you never know. If so I will buy the 1st round.

 

Done!

I'll be in green plaid Sanser pants, stained wife beater tee shirt,work boots and carrying a bagged bottle of ripple!

[chorder]

Done!

I'll be in green plaid Sanser pants, stained wife beater tee shirt,work boots and carrying a bagged bottle of ripple!

Hey post that one on a "what do I wear on formal night thread"We be lookin for ya.

[Alphawave]

We lucked out on our last cruise. One of the people at our table asked "who here is still married to their same spouse. Only one couple raised their hands, that really was a good laugh for all and we got to ask the "original couple" how they made it work. We went on tours with these people and had a wonderful time.

[2ladies]

I just sit down and say "Hi - we're your new best friends for a week"!!! Most people laugh as its so true!!

[johnny cruise]

I just sit down and say "Hi - we're your new best friends for a week"!!! Most people laugh as its so true!!

 

 

I'm starting to think i'm going to like this type dinning:D

 

 

JC:D

[wraithe]

I just sit down and say "Hi - we're your new best friends for a week"!!! Most people laugh as its so true!!

 

I think that's the best one I've seen.

[beerbellydancer]

I asked if anyone had any "celebrity sighting" stories they wanted to share. One story was very interesting, the gentleman turned out to be a personal friend of Louis Armstrong. Another mentioned he stood in line with Bob Saget and we wound up getting a lot of laughs from the differant stories.:o

[LBB]

I think I've unfortunately created an ice breaker for myself. I got a black eye playing hockey a few days ago and I'll still have my nice shiner when we leave tomorrow. It'll probably be an interesting conversation starter...as long as they don't think my boyfriend beat me or something.

[logan1_2000]

we've had good luck twice w/ strangers at the table, once on RCI and once on DCL, traveled twice w/ friends, once w/ family, and then once we had "the clampetts" on DCL. That table was where conversations go to die. They had nothing to say, nothing to share, no answer for anything, no conversation among themselves...seemed to be an amalgamation of a divorced single mother, her son, her daughter, ner nephew, and her great aunt--who we surmise was treating and was the only one who wanted to be able to be sociable, but sadly she had some parkinson's and was difficult to understand. It made dinner so uncomfortable that the next cruise we just asked for a table just for the three of us, DW, DS and myself.

 

last time we were seated w/ strangers, we went to portofino's the first night, then swung by at the end of the evening to meet our waiter, tell him we hadn't ditched him, but we missed our tablemates. so we met them on night #2, formal night. they were a few years older than us, later 40's compared to our early 40's, so their children were a bit older, 13, 16, and 18 whereas DS was 9. But since we were all meeting while dressed up, i was severely tempted, after glancing (and struggling to limit it to a glance and not a leer) at the 18 year old daughter dressed in a heck of a dress that displayed her..attributes,to open with the following, "dude, is she gonna put those things away?" We actually only ate with thema few times, between the nights we did portofino and chops and they did chops and one night DS crashed early so we just brought some platters to the suite from the windjammer, but they were good tablemates.

 

but here are some openers:

 

"yeah, we were lookin' for a new start now that i've been paroled so we came on the cruise"

 

"you gonna finish that roll?"

 

"baruch atta adonai...hey, dont be shy, join in..."

 

"i'm a divorce lawyer" (really)

 

"and I love it" (see above--again, really)

 

"oh no, we're not married to EACH OTHER! I'm supposedly at a convention in Las Vegas for all my wife knows..."

[Disneycruisers]

Hi logan, fellow DCL cruiser. (From the DISboards, 'Mickeyhugger.')

[SakeDad]

I think I've unfortunately created an ice breaker for myself. I got a black eye playing hockey a few days ago and I'll still have my nice shiner when we leave tomorrow. It'll probably be an interesting conversation starter...as long as they don't think my boyfriend beat me or something.

 

LOL!:D How about as you sit down at the table something like "Next time why don't YOU tell the room steward he sucks! Hi! We're your table mates!":p

[MGilly]

Sometimes, it's a good thing to just introduce yourselves and then listen. On our first Royal Caribbean cruise, we sat with two older ladies (sisters), the son of one of them, and his girlfriend (both in their late forties). Every night, the older women complained about this son, and his girlfriend joined in and chewed him out for one thing or another. The sisters were upset because they got "stuck" sitting with these two instead of with the favored son at another table - on a different deck of the dining room. For us, it was dinner and a show! My DH and our two kids (then 18 and 21) had the hardest time hiding our giggles. We suggested to them that they try to get changed to a table closer to the rest of their family, and they did ask the matre 'de (sp?) about it. The very next night, the favored son and his wife came upstairs to our table to explain to them just why that would not be a good idea. "Oh, the table they'd put you at would be way back in the corner, it would not have this wonderful view, etc." They are probably the most memorable tablemates we've ever had!

 

logan, I love your responses! You crack me up!

[logan1_2000]

Hi logan, fellow DCL cruiser. (From the DISboards, 'Mickeyhugger.')

 

2-timer referring to cruising on both DCL and RCI, of course.

 

So Mickeyhugger was taken on this board? Or was this board first, and disneycruisers was taken at DIS? either way, thank you for saying hello. I'm the same ID, logan1_2000, at DIS. Keeps it easy to remember, I have had that ID at yahoo since '99.

 

The Wog is another 2-timer, same name on both boards.

[logan1_2000]

 

logan, I love your responses! You crack me up!

 

this is sort of like having an affair, meeting here instead on "our" usual rendezvous thread.:eek: gosh, this must be the thrill my clients feel right before they realize they screwed up and absent-mindedly charged something and their spouse sees the bill...

 

lady, you & me, any thread, any where, you just post it...you do know how to post, don't you? you just put your fingers on the keyboard, and type (apologies to lauren bacall for the awkward paraphrase attempt)

[superjerryw]

Hey out there DW and I cruising on the Voyager on 4-29-06 it will be just the 2 of us .We are going to the main seating in the dining room ,we obviously do not know who we will be dining with.We will be new to dining with strangers any tips on ways to break the ice with tablemates?We are a little nervous

 

How about, "Do you have bedbugs in your cabin too?".......:eek:

[MGilly]

this is sort of like having an affair, meeting here instead on "our" usual rendezvous thread.:eek: gosh, this must be the thrill my clients feel right before they realize they screwed up and absent-mindedly charged something and their spouse sees the bill...

 

lady, you & me, any thread, any where, you just post it...you do know how to post, don't you? you just put your fingers on the keyboard, and type (apologies to lauren bacall for the awkward paraphrase attempt)

Rats! DH was reading over my shoulder! He SAID, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a ^&**%," but perhaps I should quit for now. After all, tomorrow IS another day.

[frogfuzz]

Before our 1st cruise we were panicked over the dinner mates. After the 1st night I told hubs well we have said everything now what do we do the rest of the week. turned out we talked non stop and had a great time, afraid now that spoiled us because it was so pleasant.

 

2nd cruise was a freestyle, we missed the RCI seatings.

 

I personally love to hear about where people are from and about previous cruises. Compare lines and ships. Its interesting.

I am touchy about asking about kids as I know several have lost kids or unable to have so then I feel stumped and sink low.