Tell Us About Your Negative Experiences With Table Mates

[PhoneGoddess]

When we cruised on the Triumph, we were seated with three other couples. The first couple were about the same age as us and very nice, but somewhat shy. We think that we would have really hit it off with them, but they never came back after the first night. The other two couples were a little bit older than us.

One couple was nice too, but we had absolutely nothing in common with them. We tried very hard to find things to talk about. The third couple was very snobby and would continually brag about what they had, how much they had…etc. They had a snippy, snooty remark for everything that each of us said during the dinner conversation. It was extremely uncomfortable and I wanted to change tables, but my boyfriend asked me to try to make the best of it and “tough it out”. So I did my best to be pleasant despite their unpleasantness.

On the first formal night, the gown that I was wearing revealed one of my tattoos.:eek: As of that night and for the rest of the cruise, the snobby couple refused to speak to us, look at us, or even acknowledge our presence. My boyfriend didn’t want to ask to change tables because he thought that it would offend the other couples and it would be rude. How funny is that?!

Now I request a table for two.

[rwilymz]

.... I hope you never have the "misfortune" of eating with my husband and myself. We will sometimes order several items off of the menu to sample and try, and will often sample what each other has. To me, this is one of the advantages of cruising...

 

 

I hope we never have the "misfortune" of sitting with you, too, then. For there are gracious ways of being unsocialized, and ungracious ways. You seem ungracious about it. It's your "right" and if I don't like having my place setting scrunched into a corner of the table so as to accomodate yet another plate of your food because you can't seem to make up your mind, then -- as someone else has so conveniently declared -- I'm the one with the problem. I don't think so.

 

Deciding, once in a while, that you'd like to try this appetizer *and* that one, is fine; if it's more than once in a while, that's what they have a buffet for. And the advantage of cruising is that there's supposed to be something there for everybody. Problems come in when people start thinking that the entire experience needs to be cuisinarted into a fine mash and poured out into identical molds so that every aspect of the experience resembles every other aspect of the experience.

 

If you want to "sample" as a general rule, go to the buffet. If you want to dress down, go to the buffet or, if you want to dress in nothing to eat, do room service. If, instead, you want to go to the dining room, don't treat it like the buffet. Treating the dining room like the buffet is kinda rude, it effectively declares "everything should be as *I* want it" and one of the advantages of cruising -- indeed, living in a society with other people who have competing priorities and realities -- is not to demand that the rest of the world revolve around your priorities and realities.

 

In public, we call those people arrogant, bossy and rude. On a cruise, they get the same names.

 

...and I'll never call you arrogant, bossy or rude if you're sitting across from me, pushing my wine glass over into my lap because you just need to have the steamed clams and the lamb medalions and the vichy souise and the stuffed artichokes and the escargot all for the same course. For not being civil when others are being arrogant, bossy and rude is also rude. And I'm not.

 

...in person.

[VentureMan_2000]

Well it turned out the Mother owned a Travel Agency, and was telling us about the wonderful deal she had gotten on this cruise! Then asked us if we minded telling her how much we had paid for our cruise!

 

If someone asks... you should always knock $200 or $300 per person off the price you paid, and tell them that is what you paid. Just tell them it was through some internet site you happened upon... and then ask them, "Do you think we got a good deal?" :D

[truecruiser]

My sympathies at enduring unsocialized twerps, and self-centered dopes.

 

About the worst dinner companions my wife and I had were on the last cruise -- Miracle -- at a table for 4. And they weren't "bad" as such, just a little ... um ... high maintenance. They insisted on ordering, every evening, three or four things off the menu, sampling each, and littering the table with umpteen dinner plates. Sometimes it was half the appetizers they'd try, sometimes it would be half the entrees. They needed a sideboard just for them.

 

I don't think they ever finished one complete course. It was like watching 8 year-old picky eaters at a smorgasbord.

 

that was definitely your servers fault. the only time i have ever seen a server bring out multiple entrees at the same time is when one has ordered "surf n' turf."

 

at all other times, our servers have brought the people who have been w/ us at our tables their second entree choice after the first was finished and cleared.

[MonaCK]

I seem ungracious about it. Ordering an extra appetizer, and perhaps another main course is ungracious. Perhaps on my waistline, but definitely not intentionally to anyone who happens to be sitting at a table with me.

 

If someone actually spilled wine onto you because they were reaching for food, then yes, that's rude. Calling -me- ungracious because I like to eat?

 

I would wholeheartedly suggest that from now you, you eat at a table for just you and your family, so you never have to worry about anyone elses eating/sampling habits ever again. Instead, you can look over your shoulder at others and snicker about them to your hearts content.

 

For the first time since I've started coming to Cruise Critic, I am truly, truly speechless.

 

I hope we never have the "misfortune" of sitting with you, too, then. For there are gracious ways of being unsocialized, and ungracious ways. You seem ungracious about it. It's your "right" and if I don't like having my place setting scrunched into a corner of the table so as to accomodate yet another plate of your food because you can't seem to make up your mind, then -- as someone else has so conveniently declared -- I'm the one with the problem. I don't think so.

 

Deciding, once in a while, that you'd like to try this appetizer *and* that one, is fine; if it's more than once in a while, that's what they have a buffet for. And the advantage of cruising is that there's supposed to be something there for everybody. Problems come in when people start thinking that the entire experience needs to be cuisinarted into a fine mash and poured out into identical molds so that every aspect of the experience resembles every other aspect of the experience.

 

If you want to "sample" as a general rule, go to the buffet. If you want to dress down, go to the buffet or, if you want to dress in nothing to eat, do room service. If, instead, you want to go to the dining room, don't treat it like the buffet. Treating the dining room like the buffet is kinda rude, it effectively declares "everything should be as *I* want it" and one of the advantages of cruising -- indeed, living in a society with other people who have competing priorities and realities -- is not to demand that the rest of the world revolve around your priorities and realities.

 

In public, we call those people arrogant, bossy and rude. On a cruise, they get the same names.

 

...and I'll never call you arrogant, bossy or rude if you're sitting across from me, pushing my wine glass over into my lap because you just need to have the steamed clams and the lamb medalions and the vichy souise and the stuffed artichokes and the escargot all for the same course. For not being civil when others are being arrogant, bossy and rude is also rude. And I'm not.

 

...in person.

[StuartLittle]

I hope we never have the "misfortune" of sitting with you, too, then. For there are gracious ways of being unsocialized, and ungracious ways. You seem ungracious about it. It's your "right" and if I don't like having my place setting scrunched into a corner of the table so as to accomodate yet another plate of your food because you can't seem to make up your mind, then -- as someone else has so conveniently declared -- I'm the one with the problem. I don't think so.

 

Deciding, once in a while, that you'd like to try this appetizer *and* that one, is fine; if it's more than once in a while, that's what they have a buffet for. And the advantage of cruising is that there's supposed to be something there for everybody. Problems come in when people start thinking that the entire experience needs to be cuisinarted into a fine mash and poured out into identical molds so that every aspect of the experience resembles every other aspect of the experience.

 

If you want to "sample" as a general rule, go to the buffet. If you want to dress down, go to the buffet or, if you want to dress in nothing to eat, do room service. If, instead, you want to go to the dining room, don't treat it like the buffet. Treating the dining room like the buffet is kinda rude, it effectively declares "everything should be as *I* want it" and one of the advantages of cruising -- indeed, living in a society with other people who have competing priorities and realities -- is not to demand that the rest of the world revolve around your priorities and realities.

 

In public, we call those people arrogant, bossy and rude. On a cruise, they get the same names.

 

...and I'll never call you arrogant, bossy or rude if you're sitting across from me, pushing my wine glass over into my lap because you just need to have the steamed clams and the lamb medalions and the vichy souise and the stuffed artichokes and the escargot all for the same course. For not being civil when others are being arrogant, bossy and rude is also rude. And I'm not.

 

...in person.

 

If you don't like it, you should move. Nobody is twisiting your arm to stay at a table with people you find to be rude. I would suspect your rude tablemates would appreciate it as well.:rolleyes:

[Vanessa L]

If you want to "sample" as a general rule, go to the buffet. If you want to dress down, go to the buffet or, if you want to dress in nothing to eat, do room service. If, instead, you want to go to the dining room, don't treat it like the buffet. Treating the dining room like the buffet is kinda rude, it effectively declares "everything should be as *I* want it" and one of the advantages of cruising -- indeed, living in a society with other people who have competing priorities and realities -- is not to demand that the rest of the world revolve around your priorities and realities.

 

I'm also one of those that will try several as I desire. If you've ever cruised you will know that what they offer in the dining room is NOT available on the buffet so clearly, that is not an option. Perhaps you and DH would be happier at a table for 2 so you can have as few plates as you want? Me, I'm at the table with the happy people!!! :rolleyes:

[StuartLittle]

I think Ross is a man Vanessa. He claims to have a DW though.

[VentureMan_2000]

I enjoy sampling too. I'm one of those skinny guys who can eat and eat...:D

 

I believe the rule is, if you finish your serving, they will bring you out another if you ask. It's been like this for at least 20 years.

[Criscomia]

Anyone else want to share my popcorn and watch this play out........meow!!!!!!!!!

[Vanessa L]

I think Ross is a man Vanessa. He claims to have a DW though.

 

Oh, LOL, my bad :o

[mikeqube]

After the waiter left, one of the women at the table turns to Mom (mind you, this was the first night of the cruise) and says "Are you a drunk?" Poor Mom was flabbergasted. Says, "Excuse Me?" The woman then says, "You already HAD one glass of wine - clearly if you need a second, you have a problem?"

 

If that happened to me, I would have downed the second glass and then would down the rest of the bottle, right from the bottle.

[terri23]

.... I hope you never have the "misfortune" of eating with my husband and myself. We will sometimes order several items off of the menu to sample and try, and will often sample what each other has. To me, this is one of the advantages of cruising...

 

Well I thought this first reply was a little snarky, bordering on rude. Ordering an extra here and there is fine but invading your tablemates' space with multiple dishes is also rude! We couldn't tell from rwylimz's first post what exactly was going on. No "judgements" should have been made until more info was provided, IMHO.

[MonaCK]

Perhaps you were correct, and I could have worded things differently. But seriously - to jump down my throat like that? It shows true personality. Seriously.

[terri23]

LOL although now I guess rwilymz has taken a firm stance against ordering more than one of anything, and that just won't do. That most recent post was a bit of a rant!!

[mrdood]

I think we are mixing things up, ordering an entire entree, with the intention of just wanting one bite, well that is wasteful, I don't care if you are on a cruise or what, if you just want a taste, ask your server, they may be able to put a sampler together, but waste is bad in any situation.

[StuartLittle]

LOL although now I guess rwilymz has taken a firm stance against ordering more than one of anything, and that just won't do. That most recent post was a bit of a rant!!

 

He's quite good at that. LOL Has a definate opinion on what cruising should be and how everyone is expected to act. I think Carnival should hire him as Chief Of Etiquette. Of course, the number of people wanting to book on his ship may decline drastically, but what was left would be a better class of people in his opinion.

[MGilly]

Wow! It's surprising what seems to get people all riled up!

 

For the most part, we've been fairly lucky with our tablemates. There have been some that ended up providing the entertainment at dinner, and that's how we choose to look at it. If things get really uncomfortable, sure, we'll ask to change tables. But if we can find the humor in the behavior of our tablemates, what's wrong with dinner and a show?

[Mikew0805]

I hope we never have the "misfortune" of sitting with you, too, then. For there are gracious ways of being unsocialized, and ungracious ways. You seem ungracious about it. It's your "right" and if I don't like having my place setting scrunched into a corner of the table so as to accomodate yet another plate of your food because you can't seem to make up your mind, then -- as someone else has so conveniently declared -- I'm the one with the problem. I don't think so.

 

Deciding, once in a while, that you'd like to try this appetizer *and* that one, is fine; if it's more than once in a while, that's what they have a buffet for. And the advantage of cruising is that there's supposed to be something there for everybody. Problems come in when people start thinking that the entire experience needs to be cuisinarted into a fine mash and poured out into identical molds so that every aspect of the experience resembles every other aspect of the experience.

 

If you want to "sample" as a general rule, go to the buffet. If you want to dress down, go to the buffet or, if you want to dress in nothing to eat, do room service. If, instead, you want to go to the dining room, don't treat it like the buffet. Treating the dining room like the buffet is kinda rude, it effectively declares "everything should be as *I* want it" and one of the advantages of cruising -- indeed, living in a society with other people who have competing priorities and realities -- is not to demand that the rest of the world revolve around your priorities and realities.

 

In public, we call those people arrogant, bossy and rude. On a cruise, they get the same names.

 

...and I'll never call you arrogant, bossy or rude if you're sitting across from me, pushing my wine glass over into my lap because you just need to have the steamed clams and the lamb medalions and the vichy souise and the stuffed artichokes and the escargot all for the same course. For not being civil when others are being arrogant, bossy and rude is also rude. And I'm not.

 

...in person.

 

 

I think it is amusing that some people like to throw the whole " it's my cruise" or "it's what *I* want" down others throat, as being wrong.

 

In all actuality, when you sit there and say that *YOU* don't think that other people should sample the menu, and should go to the buffet to please *YOU*, aren't you doing the same thing? :rolleyes: Actually that is a rhetorical question, since I know that you are, and so is anyone else with this mentality.

 

The cruise line allows this practice, and I have personally see them recommend it. No one is saying that you should not have plenty of room to eat your meal, I don't think they would bring out multiple dishes on the same course anyway. I have always seen each dish brought out when the previous was finished.

 

Since the servings are rather small, I enjoy two appetizers on EVERY meal. Not just "every so often" as you would put it. I like to have a soup and some other choice off the menu. If you were sitting at my table, you would NEVER have less room in your meal area, than you would if I didn't have two appetizers.

 

 

 

 

Anyway, to stay on subject.. when we were on the Holiday, there was a woman that talked incessantly about her jewelry. She was not talking to any of us at the table, but rather TO her husband, but obvious enough that she wanted us all to hear it. I don't know if I was more embarrassed for her, of felt sorry for her... As the jewelry that she was bragging about was nothing spectacular.

 

-Mike

[StuartLittle]

Many times I will order 2 appetizers for dinner when I go out to dinner on land. I hope rwilymz doesn't rake exception should he see me doing this, especially since I am paying for it.

[smrn]

The servers often encourage guests to sample more than one dish of each thing. I find it hard to believe that anyone would think this is rude. I find it arrogant, rude, and down right bossy to worry about what other people are eating at my table. I am on a cruise to have a good time, make friends, and yes sample the fare.

To each his own....

[basketlover]

WE have only been on one cruise but we had great tablemates. We are a early 30's couple as was everyone at our table. We even became great friends with one couple and by the end of the week we even did one excusion with them. They were all wonderful we all went to the dancing club after dinner together. and sometimes to the show if we all wanted to see it. As far as the ordering 2 things my husband did it a couple of nights. THe waiter ( who was great and didn't want to preform) was the one who told him to go ahead and get 2. Just out of curiousity did you guys sit in the same seat everynight or did you move around? We always sat in the same seat it is so strange how we are creatures of habit. Our assistant waiter loved the preforming and would try to get us to join in but you could tell our head waiter felt like he was above that. Or at least wanted to be.

[MonaCK]

Many times I will order 2 appetizers for dinner when I go out to dinner on land. I hope rwilymz doesn't rake exception should he see me doing this, especially since I am paying for it.

 

 

StuartLittle, I would cruise with you any time. Wanna share an appetizer? ;)

[truecruiser]

rwilymz always seems to divert every thread he posts on, and starts an argument.

 

Is he a troll? Not kidding. Is he? Or, is he not b/c he sticks around?

 

[typos, sorry]

[flsteelrfan]

As has been stated by several other posters, it is perfectly acceptable to sample several appetizers and even entrees. On the three cruises I've been on, the waiter has often suggested doing just that. I know that while in the dining room, I have the opportunity to try items that I never have at home, and so I take full advantage of that.

 

As for table mates, my wife and I have had the good fortune to be seated with an assortment of interesting characters, and have had great experiences. On our second cruise, we and another couple we were cruising with were seated with four guys ( a couple, and two brothers). We all immediately hit it off, spent the meals sharing stories about our various excursions, and even ended up spending the evenings together, going to shows, and even all singing karaoke together. After the cruise, we all emailed photos to each other, and still keep in touch.

 

As long as you have an open mind and like meeting new people, sharing a table with others can be a great experience. And for Carnival cruisers, no matter how much you may dislike your table mates, just try the Chocolate Melting Cake, and all will be right with the world.