Tell Us About Your Negative Experiences With Table Mates

[Minoushka]

on Our last cruise in January on Grand Princess we met the nicest people and they became friends we are still in .touch with The couple from UK taught us about afternoon tea and it was a DELIGHT .We went 3 times .We visited islands together and really had a GOOD time WE hope to travel together again in the future

 

Now to 2 bad experiences .We were sitting with this newly wed couple of a few months ,She was pregnant and had twin girls 6 years old with her/ obviously from a previous marriage .Well her new husband did not care for these girls and was extremely strict with them.....almost mean .Called one the BAD TWIN .He shipped them off to Camp Carnival; all night pyjama party and was VERY clear as to what he wanted to do that night with his new wife ...;( :( :( TOO MUCH INFO!!!

He proceeded to tell us about his anger towards his real mother posing as an older sister because she had gotten pregnant and how his grandmother/mother made him pay for her mistake ..OY OY OY .He apparently was VERY resentful of that situation!!! Also too much INFO

The mother never defended those little girls-he was so rough with them and I felt so bad for them .My kids at the time were 5 and 8 and were very touched by this whole saga and their looks to me spoke VOLUMES .I tried to be extra nice to the little girls .This man had SERIOUS problems ...those poor kids

 

On another trip we sat down with 2 couples who obviously were traveling together .My 2 kids and I came to join them .One of these ladies screamed OH NO when she saw us .My kids are well behaved and this was NOT their first cruise .I WAS LIVID .The same lady kept looking into our plates and commenting on our selections ..really ANNOYED Me .Needless to say we switched tables FAST!!!.I WILL NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO LOOK DOWN ON MY KIDS BECAUSE THEY ARE YOUNG .I taught them how to eat with elegance and they can easily recognize different cutlery and their use .My kids have GREAT table manners better then some adults ... :( :( :(

 

This lady was both ill-mannered and OBNOXIOUS !!!!

[Crusin6]

I run a small research and academic service institute. I'm ABD on a doctorate in cognitive science and religion, so yeah, there's a lot of psych in there. :)

I have a daughter at Cornell who is on her way to eventually being a researcher in behavioral studies and socio/neurobiology, or something thereabouts. Very interesting stuff!

[Crusin6]

OK......here's mine. First night at dinner, me and the kids dressed to the nine's and having a ball when who walks up to the table?....The Beverly Hillbilly's......lol. Now, let me state for the record that I am certainly not judging anyone, but when the male of the trio threw his Marlboro's on the table and shouted, " How ya'll doin'?....", I knew it was going to be interesting to say the least. The other two ladies already seated at the table were sitting there with there jaws dropped and looking at me like ," What in the world ????". Well.......it gets better. One of the ladies in the Hillybilly trio decided on unsweetened tea for her beverage and if I'm lyin' I'm dyin'......after she put her Splenda in the tea she stirred it for a good 10 minutes ( seriously !!! ). She stirred it for so long all the ice melted !! It made so much noise ( the spoon banging on the glass ) that other diners at adjacent tables started turning around to see what the noise was. Well.....we got through that meal with some other memorable comments ( some of them racial and very inappropriately spewed out from the male of the group ) along with mispronunciations of menu items that were hilarious to say the least.

 

The next day, I ran into the male of the trio on deck and he asked me if I was "goin' to dinner tonight ?". I replied "Yes", and he said, "Well we aint because I saw one of them lobsters and they ain't even a whole lobster......it was just the tail !". Thanking the Good Lord that they weren't going to be joining us and busting a gut laughing inside, all I could respond with was, "Well...that's too bad". He also stated that "we didn't even brang any dressy clothes to wear "..........needless to say we didn't have the "pleasure" of dining with them the rest of the trip. The truly bad part of this whole experience was that the two lovely ladies that were dining with us the first night were so shocked from the initial meeting that they changed their dining times. Luckily, I had the chance to speak with them during the cruise and had some lovely conversations and even went with them on a shore excursion. Can't wait until July.....:) ;)

That is just so funny! I have to say that my 4 dd's and dh and I would have actually relished the experience to dine with the folks from Bustussle! I can tell you now that we would be still laughing about it......and my girls would never make fun of anyone on a cruise so they would have actually enjoyed the company. However, I can honestly say that I would have put a stop to it by the 2nd night by requesting a table change!

[topspin1267]

On our last cruise we were at a table with another couple where the husband was a mortgage broker in Florida(this was 2007 so pre mortgage disaster time) and continuosly talked about how much he made. Of course this gets old but he had 1 little quirk, he said "at the end of the day" it seemed like every other sentence. Well he was driving us nuts.

 

Now for the positive. I really wanted a new Movado watch and since we were going to Coz I thought that would be a great place to shop. Well since my "old" watch was only ablout 6 months old my wife didn't agree, so I offered her a wager. If our table mate said "at the end of the day" 25 times at 1 meal I could get the watch, if not I'd peacefully drop it. Needless to say I had won my watch before the entrees were finished :D. I'm sure our annoying table mate was wondering why me and 2 other table mates were barely containing our mirth while my wife seemed just a bit peeved :D.

 

That was our last night at that table. My wife still refers to it as her most expensive meal:p

[RatherBFishin]

*Sigh*

 

Ok, just to round out the discussion a bit, here's one from the other side:

 

Last cruise I was with my 2 tweens at a table for 10. My wife (the kids step-mom) wasn't with me for a couple reasons. She had passport issues, plus honestly she has never gone on a cruise and doesn't think she would like it. So, I figured it would be good to spend some time with the kids. As the non-custodial parent, the full week I have them every summer is always a treat. And I wanted to take one last "great" vacation before they hit the Teens and got "too cool to hang out with Dad".

 

Anyway, one group (4) never showed up the whole week. And the other family of 3 were a couple with 1 kid... An attractive girl the same age as my son (14).

 

Well, I thought we got along pretty well. But the 3rd night they were gone. They had requested to move away from us. Later in the cruise I bumped into the Dad, and mentioned that I hope we hadn't offended them in any way. He was extremely gracious and said we hadn't. He claimed they had just asked for a booth because they enjoyed their "family time" alone. But honestly, I could see it in his body language he was just being polite.

 

Anyway, looking back on the situation, here are my guesses why they might have wanted to move:

 

-> When we introduced ourselves, they seemed really weirded out that my wife wasn't with me. Like it's incomprehensible that anyone would vacation without their spouse. I thought qualifying that it was the kids step-mom would explain it a little, but that just made it worse. There was a vibe that I can't quite put my finger on, like Divorced people are somehow "broken", or that it's contagious.

 

-> I ordered a drink at dinner. Worse yet, it was a real drink (Gin & Tonic), and not a fruity "I'm on a cruise, so this is an exception for me" type of drink.

 

 

-> I ordered "Serf & Turf" without checking the menu carefully. It wasn't actually on the menu so the waiter offered to bring me both the Lobster and a Steak. I agreed, assuming they would put them on a single plate. Instead they brought me two dinner plates simultaneously. It really is a weird feeling having two plates like that.

 

-> I finished both entrees. And I still ordered desert too. That was it though. I didn't think it was overly gluttonous. But still.

 

-> My Son seemed to take an interest in their daughter. Neither of them said very much. But the awkward tweeny silence actually spoke volumes. I don't think my Son was bagged staring at her chest or anything like that. But I admit I wasn't really paying attention.

 

Oh well.

 

In the end we spent most of the dinners with the 3 of us at a table for 10. I felt sorry for the waiters who seemed really bored. They were great though, and made the best of it by doing magic tricks for the kids and teaching my Daughter to fold a napkin like a towel animal.

[ib4cruzn]

Hey we didn't become the fattest country in the world by only ordering one item off the list. Order as many as you like. Just don't infringe on my space at the table with your dishes.

 

I believe this is exactly what rwilymz is/was trying to make clear. Without much luck I'm afraid.

 

I think such a problem could be very easily solved by a couple of well-timed "accidental" spills.

[Love2Cruise - IL]

On our 2nd cruise in May 2007, DH and I were sat with another couple. They were from Michigan. During the conversation, we learned quickly, 1) they don't like sports - especially basketball, 2) they don't like kids and 3) we had absolutely nothing in common.

 

We asked to change tables before the next night because 1) my husband is a college basketball coach and all he ever wants to do is watch sports (doesn't matter what kind of sport it is except soccer) especially in May when the NBA playoffs/finals are on, 2) we have a DS that was 2 at the time but not on the ship with us and 3) we had absolutely nothing in common.

 

We changed tables and met the most wonderful couples you could imagine, we had a lot in common and actually hung out at night for the rest of the cruise and there were a couple of nights we were chased out of the dining room because it was too late.

[Chief 61]

That is just so funny! I have to say that my 4 dd's and dh and I would have actually relished the experience to dine with the folks from Bustussle! I can tell you now that we would be still laughing about it......and my girls would never make fun of anyone on a cruise so they would have actually enjoyed the company. However, I can honestly say that I would have put a stop to it by the 2nd night by requesting a table change!

 

It was quite hilarious to say the least !!. Now, of course we didn't make fun of them ( after all we are from the mountains of North Georgia and people usually get a big "hoot" from listening to me talk anyway...lol ). It was humorous watching my girls watching me during the whole thing and several times we gave each other that "knowing" look...;) Luckily, they only came back one night and me and the kids just operated in our own little world and didn't let it bother us.....matter of fact the "trio" was unusually quiet that night and as soon as the male finished his meal, he left. Who knows? :confused:...............didn't ruin our trip....:D

[Crusin6]

It was quite hilarious to say the least !!. Now, of course we didn't make fun of them ( after all we are from the mountains of North Georgia and people usually get a big "hoot" from listening to me talk anyway...lol ). It was humorous watching my girls watching me during the whole thing and several times we gave each other that "knowing" look...;) Luckily, they only came back one night and me and the kids just operated in our own little world and didn't let it bother us.....matter of fact the "trio" was unusually quiet that night and as soon as the male finished his meal, he left. Who knows? :confused:...............didn't ruin our trip....:D

My girls would be watching me as well for my reaction...and they would know exactly what I was thinking too! On our last cruise I was unable to get the excursion to Verona from Venice and the girls were dissappointed as we are sHAKESPEARE LOVERS! Later on last summer we went to our annual Shakespeare play and there was mention of Verona in one of the comic scenes. Well, to see 4 girls all turn in unison and give me that knowing look! I said OK OK next time! Guess we have to go back to the Med!

[chadinennistx]

sorry wrong thread.

[LemurCat]

I'm probably *that person* you don't want to sit with. Or my family is *that family*. It's not that we're rude, we aren't. It's that not we're unmannered. My mother worked very hard to instill good manners into all of her kids. It's just the politics. My sister is an elected official and we're both very involved with our party and our local political scene. My sister especially has to be reminded regularly that we don't discuss politics with people we aren't familiar with because it can get ... ugly. As in we once got in a three hour drunken shouting match over the TARP program. We try hard, really we do. And we've been lucky to usually be seated with people from our local area on the same cruise and they usually have the same political leanings. But we ended up with a table full of young girls from the opposite end of the spectrum one cruise and I had to physically kick my sister under the table to shut the hell up before she offended someone.

 

Oh yeah, and we tend to drink at dinner. Real drinks. And we're snarky. Some people get it. Some don't. We always refer to the first night as "Our first date with the table", because we're never sure if we want to persue those relationships.

[HesitantCruiser]

From reading the rest of your post, I don't doubt that she was an, um, interesting tablemate, but this particular statement has me scratching my head a little bit. If they weren't there for the first night, how were they to know what seats you had chosen? I just can't imagine how one should be expected to know this, or why/how anything could be said to them. People aren't mind readers. :confused:

 

I want to know how anyone got to choose a seat. We were told - on the first night, before the other tablemates were there - that these particular 4 seats (on a 9 top) were ours and we could definitley not change to the seats on the other side of the same table that were not under the air conditioner. At first we did not think they were serious, but oh yes they were. It was out first cruise on Carnival so we thought that's the way it was.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Seating at a table for 10, one of the guys brought a small little urn with his dad in it.:eek:

 

Looked like a pepper shaker - ewww!:rolleyes:

 

He said his dad loved cruises so he takes him everywhere he goes. I can see putting him in your cabin so he comes on the cruise but to put him on the table, pleeeeze!:rolleyes:

[Warm Breezes]

Seating at a table for 10, one of the guys brought a small little urn with his dad in it.:eek:

 

Looked like a pepper shaker - ewww!:rolleyes:

 

He said his dad loved cruises so he takes him everywhere he goes. I can see putting him in your cabin so he comes on the cruise but to put him on the table, pleeeeze!:rolleyes:

That's just sick.

[LemurCat]

Seating at a table for 10, one of the guys brought a small little urn with his dad in it.:eek:

 

Looked like a pepper shaker - ewww!:rolleyes:

 

He said his dad loved cruises so he takes him everywhere he goes. I can see putting him in your cabin so he comes on the cruise but to put him on the table, pleeeeze!:rolleyes:

 

 

Man, I wish someone would do that with me at the table. That's like hours and hours of comedy gold right there.

 

And no, it's not that I'm disrespectful of the dead, but c'mon! A little urn full of ashes? How do you not turn that into one massive week long running joke? I'd be ordering for Dad ... pretending the state isn't rare enough ... asking that staff escort Dad back to his cabin because he'd had one too many ... pretending to use Dad as an ash tray ...

 

You know ... I just might insist a family member does this for me when I pass on. At least my legacy of highly inappropriate jokes would continue on.

[RatherBFishin]

Man, I wish someone would do that with me at the table. That's like hours and hours of comedy gold right there.

 

And no, it's not that I'm disrespectful of the dead, but c'mon! A little urn full of ashes? How do you not turn that into one massive week long running joke? I'd be ordering for Dad ... pretending the state isn't rare enough ... asking that staff escort Dad back to his cabin because he'd had one too many ... pretending to use Dad as an ash tray ...

 

You know ... I just might insist a family member does this for me when I pass on. At least my legacy of highly inappropriate jokes would continue on.

 

That would be exactly like Janeane Garofalo's character in Mystery Men. She carried around her dead fathers skull embedded inside a clear Lucite bowling ball:

 

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4107442432/tt0132347

 

She talked to it, and frequently got into arguments. Very funny movie!

[babyher]

Man, I wish someone would do that with me at the table. That's like hours and hours of comedy gold right there.

 

And no, it's not that I'm disrespectful of the dead, but c'mon! A little urn full of ashes? How do you not turn that into one massive week long running joke? I'd be ordering for Dad ... pretending the state isn't rare enough ... asking that staff escort Dad back to his cabin because he'd had one too many ... pretending to use Dad as an ash tray ...

 

You know ... I just might insist a family member does this for me when I pass on. At least my legacy of highly inappropriate jokes would continue on.

 

 

*LOL*

 

A few years ago one of the girls i ork with was getting married. She had lost her dad when she was very young.

 

When we got to the wedding , several of my co workers and I , who can be a rather smart ass bunch,:) noticed that she actually had an empty place at the head table with full place setting and a huge framed picture of him.

 

This provided us with ENDLESS one liners as well as good laughs includeing

 

"I wonder if he is having the prime rib or the shrimp"

 

"Man I would have loved to see how he RSVPed"

 

"I hear the couple are gonna get busy making some wallett sized photos after the wedding, because the old man always wanted grandchildren"

 

"I hope the bride doesn't drop him while they are dancing to "Butterfly Kisses" "

[2young2care]

Man, I wish someone would do that with me at the table. That's like hours and hours of comedy gold right there.

 

And no, it's not that I'm disrespectful of the dead, but c'mon! A little urn full of ashes? How do you not turn that into one massive week long running joke? I'd be ordering for Dad ... pretending the state isn't rare enough ... asking that staff escort Dad back to his cabin because he'd had one too many ... pretending to use Dad as an ash tray ...

 

You know ... I just might insist a family member does this for me when I pass on. At least my legacy of highly inappropriate jokes would continue on.

 

 

LOL I think I seriously want to cruise with you. LOL

[Bethwte]

I want to know how anyone got to choose a seat. We were told - on the first night, before the other tablemates were there - that these particular 4 seats (on a 9 top) were ours and we could definitley not change to the seats on the other side of the same table that were not under the air conditioner. At first we did not think they were serious, but oh yes they were. It was out first cruise on Carnival so we thought that's the way it was.

 

Well that's, interesting... I actually haven't been on Carnival in a while, and the last time we got seated at a booth for just the family (even though we requested a large table because we enjoy the company- oh well, it was still nice). Is this the norm for Carnival now? I've never heard of "assigned seating" (well of your seats anyway, obviously the tables are assigned) on Carnival or otherwise.

 

Also, I am still LOLing over your post Lemur! :D (And we needed a post like that after a certain totally off topic tirade earlier I won't mention).

[tef43]

I want to know how anyone got to choose a seat. We were told - on the first night, before the other tablemates were there - that these particular 4 seats (on a 9 top) were ours and we could definitley not change to the seats on the other side of the same table that were not under the air conditioner. At first we did not think they were serious, but oh yes they were. It was out first cruise on Carnival so we thought that's the way it was.

This was on the 4/1 sailing, right?

 

Somebody punk'd you good.

[HesitantCruiser]

This was on the 4/1 sailing, right?

 

Somebody punk'd you good.

 

Nope. They were quite stern about it. Said we'd have to go find the maitre'd and request a change for another night.

 

Now that I know better I'm even more annoyed.

 

Oh well, live and learn. Our tablemates were great, so that was a plus.

[picklebongo]

Nope. They were quite stern about it. Said we'd have to go find the maitre'd and request a change for another night.

 

Now that I know better I'm even more annoyed.

 

Oh well, live and learn. Our tablemates were great, so that was a plus.

 

 

Who gave you this seating information about where not to sit?

[HesitantCruiser]

The person that took us back to the table and our waiter. And it wasn't like we were breaking up the table in some strange way - there was a group of 5 and a group of 4 (us). We were all going to sit in a row. Nope - "THESE are your seats."

 

We just rolled our eyes and went with it.

 

The more I read about dinner service, the more I want to redo my comment card. Like I said, live and learn.

[trock]

Well this was certainly interesting. Even though I like to change seats, I would probably identify myself as an introvert though.

LOL and I am so NOT an introvert, but prefer the same seat each night

So Freud can stuff it LMAO

[GreenZolie]

LOL and I am so NOT an introvert, but prefer the same seat each night

So Freud can stuff it LMAO

 

Yeah, as with anything, it's not all 100% accurate for 100% of the people. In my case the assessment was right on target. I'm somewhat of an introvert, preferring a handful of good friends, and being slow to warm up to strangers, and I am definitely a creature of habit, including gravitating to the same chair where ever I may be. :)