Experiences in Dining part 2

[Ephraim]

Our first cruise was a 3 night job out of Los Angeles on Carnival. I never want to experience that again. The first night we arrived at dinner and we were seating with a couple and four single "on the prowl" women. It was quite uncomfortable as the women appeared to think we were prey. The couple never showed back after the first night. On the last night, the "ladies" were inebriated and one of them meant to give me a friendly slap on the back, but it was much harder than she (or I) anticipated. I hated the experience so much and we didn't realize that we could have asked them to change our table. We stopped cruising for years because of this.

 

We were enticed back to cruising only by the open seating at NCL. And then the open seating at Princess. We like sharing and have shared with some nice people. Only three bad experiences. Once where they put us at a table with non-English speakers and a deathly pall fell over the table. Once where they seated us at a table for 10 and no one joined (the maitre d' was besides himself with apologies) and once where we were seated with two "posh" British couples on a formal night (all I can remember is that the women was a nurse.) They were deriding the waiter because the water wasn't cold enough and he couldn't understand their muddled requests. I just called the waiter over and asked him to bring a bowl of ice with a soup spoon. We got through the rest of the evening with no other problems.

 

The only other time that we have ever had "set" dining was on the Regal Princess. We had met two guys on the Gay Roll Call on here and invited them to join us at our table. It worked out quite well. We also had two British couples and a single gentleman from Texas. We made introductions all around and the table became quite friendly. We still correspond with many of the people from that table. We even spent afternoons and evenings together at times.

 

I like meeting a lot of new and interesting people at dinner or lunch. Sometimes it leaves us with our best stories. Like the lady who wouldn't eat anything with fat despite the fact that she looked like a skeleton with skin. And the British couples we sat with one night where one of the women boldly asked about sexual positions.

 

For the most part, we are just like any other couple, regardless of sexual orientation. Frankly, we don't have any Gay couple friends, almost all our friends are straight couples, who treat us no differently than any other couple. Maybe that's Montreal, maybe that's reality.

 

If someone has a problem with who I am, that's their problem, not mine. Let them change table. I hope they are happy in their narrow world.

[sjbdtz]

Strangely, Malcolm, what you said describes me in most situations as it would be more like us to do a table for two and shut out the rest of the world. However..............I tend to not be like myself on a cruise and actually have booked tables larger for the sake of seeing an odd collection of people and finding out where everyone is from. I figure we tend to do our own thing during shore excursions and onboard during days and evenings so the meal is the only chance we get to socialize. Granted it can turn into a horror story but I think that, despite the one tablemate from the hot place, most people are interesting and accepting. Call me naive!

 

David

 

That's an interesting perspective (Oh...btw, op...hi from Toronto, too! (with no attitude!)).

 

We tend to eat alone, together...but we're very outgoing in CC meetings, at the casino, in the trivia contests, etc.

 

We have an easy time making new friends, and typically end up eating with friends by the end of each of our cruises.

 

That said, I'd hate to be forced into eating with someone I didn't know.

[sexyaznboy]

That's an interesting perspective (Oh...btw, op...hi from Toronto, too! (with no attitude!)).

 

We tend to eat alone, together...but we're very outgoing in CC meetings, at the casino, in the trivia contests, etc.

 

We have an easy time making new friends, and typically end up eating with friends by the end of each of our cruises.

 

That said, I'd hate to be forced into eating with someone I didn't know.

 

Howdy! Its SO nice to meet a cruiser from my own city! Don't all Torontians have attitude? LOL...Its funny, there are two camps with dinner arrangements, those who want to be alone and those who love to sit at a big table...

 

I would love to meet some nice people on our cruise, we did on our first one, didn't manage to keep in touch but it takes a lot of effort eh?

[txflyer]

I'd like to restart this ON TOPIC thread about good and bad dining experiences you've had with others at your table and if you've had derogatory homophobic comments made at you, your friends or your partner, and how you dealt with the situation.

Most of the posts I've read have been quite positive. I'd be interested in hearing about your dining experiences, good, bad and indifferent.;)

 

Weve experienced Traditional and Anytime dining and have never had a problem with either one. I guess the chances are greater when sharing a table in a Traditional dining room but weve always been lucky to get good waitstaff and fun tablemates.

 

There was one cruise we were seated at a table for 8. The group consisted of the two of us, two women (friends only) from Canada, two college-age girls (cousins) from Florida, a soon to be married couple and two guys. Strangely, there was only one night where all 8 of us were present for dinner. It was normal that at least two or four would be missing.

 

Our gaydar maxed out on overload with the two guys at the table. They didnt say much and only showed up for dinner once during the whole cruise, so we never got an opportunity to talk further.

 

Their one and only time at the dinner table, they frequently griped about the food and service. Honestly, it almost became painful to have to listen to it constantly throughout dinner. One of them said he was surprised they served food from Tupperware.... a reference to the domes placed on the plate to help hold the food temperature. I wasnt sure what to make of all this and thought that perhaps they felt their pallets were entitled to better. ...of course, that thought quickly escaped me when we saw them come out of Burger King in one of the ports.

 

The two girls from Florida were serious partiers so the conversation typically focused on their escapades in port.... in fact, their names were announced as missing persons when it was time to leave one of the ports.

 

Weve met a few gay waiters and have gotten a wink and a cute smile from a few others. Its a bonus to feel that special connection. We even met a gay maitre'd on one of the ships. He was from europe and had a true passion for his work and really the ONLY maitre'd Ive ever seen that made it a habit to visit a number of tables during dinner. We were travelling with another couple and by mid week this maitre'd and us all realized we were all "speaking the same language" and he sent a bottle of red wine to the table.

 

By the end of the week we were good friends with him. Giving us a demo of the software used to assign seating he showed us all the details in the guest database.... age, marital status, cabin-type, booking date, home city, etc. He then filtered the list to include ONLY single males..and pointed to "Zach, age 21" and said, "See, thats a cute name...and a table I need to be sure to visit!". We all laughed and appreciated his sense of humor.

 

 

I think there are certainly benefits to being open while being oneself. Lets face it...we are looking for others like us...and the crews are looking for the same thing.

[Mikew0805]

That puzzles me - what do you do with your evening if you don't spend it eating? (I'm not being funny, I just can't understand why anyone would want to eat at 6-15) If we're ever in a restaurant that has two seatings then we wouldn't want the early seating - you've to get ready early, eat early and then spend the rest of your evening thinking "What do I do?". When we're in a restaurant with open seating we'll be going to eat at about 8-30 at the earliest - the meal then forms your evenings entertainment.

 

Well I need room for the midnight buffet or room service! :eek: :eek: :eek: Just kidding.. We like it because we can go to an early show, then spend time outside at night just gazing and enjoying the sea air/sound. We usually grab some kind of coffee or cappuccino as well. Then, off to the late night show, followed by a trip back to the cabin :D, where we watch a little t.v. before retiring between 12:30 and 1:30ish! I don't think I have ever really said to myself "What do I do?".

 

-Mike

[Schplinky]

 

Their one and only time at the dinner table, they frequently griped about the food and service. Honestly, it almost became painful to have to listen to it constantly throughout dinner. One of them said he was surprised they served food from Tupperware.... a reference to the domes placed on the plate to help hold the food temperature. I wasnt sure what to make of all this and thought that perhaps they felt their pallets were entitled to better. ...of course, that thought quickly escaped me when we saw them come out of Burger King in one of the ports.

 

 

 

That reminds me of a story I read in a review once about almost exactly the same thing. I wonder if it was written by them? In this review, the person groused and bitched (can I say that?) about everything and said the only decent meal they got was in port at a BK or a Subway or something like that. They got so flamed they looked char-broiled.

[sexyaznboy]

Its funny what kind of standards people have about food. I was on a Carnival cruise (my first) three years ago and was giddy about how good the food was. From the posts I've read, Carnival food isn't supposed to be so great, so I was scratching my head. This time going on Celebrity and the food is supposed to be much better, so probably this time the food is going to be awful! :eek:

 

I wonder if its just the clientele who sail on the different cruiselines. Are people pickier on so called upper end cruiselines? Or they are just used to such high service and food quality that nothing will make them happy?

 

I think it might go along with the general attitude of people at the table. It'll be interesting to compare Carnival to Celebrity (two supposed opposite ends of the spectrum where the types of cruisers are concerned!). Hopefully not much attitude from dining mates if we somehow don't get the table for 2 we requested.

 

Then again, I'm ok with junk food most times so don't go by me! LOL

[txflyer]

Its funny what kind of standards people have about food. I was on a Carnival cruise (my first) three years ago and was giddy about how good the food was. From the posts I've read, Carnival food isn't supposed to be so great, so I was scratching my head. This time going on Celebrity and the food is supposed to be much better, so probably this time the food is going to be awful! :eek:

LOL

 

Ive scratched my head with you on this one... If we are talking about the Dining Room food, I cant say Ive seen much to distinguish any of the 4 lines weve been on. All of them excellent, and all pretty much the same in quality and variety. (buffets are another story)

 

The big surprise came on Celebrity with their Baked Alaska parade at dinner. That kind of dining room festivity is a trademark on Carnival...and here it was on Celebrity? (Plus, the Baked Alaska was made wrong...and it was half melted when they served it)

[Schplinky]

The big surprise came on Celebrity with their Baked Alaska parade at dinner. That kind of dining room festivity is a trademark on Carnival...and here it was on Celebrity? (Plus, the Baked Alaska was made wrong...and it was half melted when they served it)

 

I agree. We had people at the next table raving about Celebrity's table service and how they don't have singing waiters the way those 'other" lines do and then two days later, these same people were twirling their napkins in the air and singing for their dessert.

[pnhmrk]

We had people at the next table raving about Celebrity's table service and how they don't have singing waiters the way those 'other" lines do and then two days later, these same people were twirling their napkins in the air and singing for their dessert.

 

Are you talking about dinner on a cruise ship here:eek: Another good reason never to share a table with anyone who's not in your party:)

[Schplinky]

Are you talking about dinner on a cruise ship here:eek: Another good reason never to share a table with anyone who's not in your party:)

 

 

Yes, Celebrity is a cruise line over here.

 

I would not hesitate to share a table. We have never had any of the rough experiences folks seem to want to insulate themselves from.

[txflyer]

Are you talking about dinner on a cruise ship here:eek: Another good reason never to share a table with anyone who's not in your party:)

 

It can be a good experience to dine with others...It seems Ive read more positive experiences than negative. We enjoy meeting new people...its a good time and good conversation. Weve even enjoyed some of the others so much that we would meet for drinks at other times on the ship.

 

I have to admit I was at first thrown off by the parading waitstaff routine because it seems contradictory to the "traditional" dining experience....but when I decided to lighten up, I had a good time with it. Its fun! ..>>jack

[pnhmrk]

It seems I've read more positive experiences than negative.

 

There are far more positive comments than negative ones, but there are still a fair number of those negative comments. Unless I could be guaranteed that my dinner companions and my party would get on I'd not want to run the risk of sharing a table for the entire cruise. On the other hand not having a set table (and therefore no set dinner companions) could be an interesting experience:)

[bdjam]

There are far more positive comments than negative ones, but there are still a fair number of those negative comments. Unless I could be guaranteed that my dinner companions and my party would get on I'd not want to run the risk of sharing a table for the entire cruise. On the other hand not having a set table (and therefore no set dinner companions) could be an interesting experience:)

I've been very lucky and when either traveling with my (now ex) spouse or solo, have found agreeable tablemates. But, if one has a problem with their table mates, they just need to give the Matre'd one night to get a feel for the room and then ask for a table change. If the Matre'd is worth his salt, the change will not be obvious to those at the table (other than wondering where you went) and he will more than likely find you a more agreeable table. Part of his job is to make sure the passenger is happy and he will take care of you (and a little tip never hurts either).

[txflyer]

On the other hand not having a set table (and therefore no set dinner companions) could be an interesting experience:)

 

I simply would not enjoy eating all by myself on a cruise. ..>>jack

[Schplinky]

There are far more positive comments than negative ones, but there are still a fair number of those negative comments. Unless I could be guaranteed that my dinner companions and my party would get on I'd not want to run the risk of sharing a table for the entire cruise. On the other hand not having a set table (and therefore no set dinner companions) could be an interesting experience:)

 

I think straight people face this dilemna, too. Everyone fears being seated with a bore. In the end, it usually works out and, as bdjam says, you can always switch. We have really enjoyed getting to know new people on cruises.

[Schplinky]

I simply would not enjoy eating all by myself on a cruise. ..>>jack

 

 

I'm sure Aaron would eat with you...

 

I agree. Mike and I are still very happy together after years of dating but we really look forward to meeting new people when we cruise.

[Nobbi]

My partner/husband (Vancouver, BC 2003) and I just got back from our very first cruise together. We took the Disney Magic on a Western Caribbean Itinerary. We had the greatst time. Our table for eight had three other couples, all straight. One was from Oregon, one from Michigan both older, and the third was a newlywed couple from Puerto Rico, who happened to be 7th Day Adventists--we knew that since they had special dietary requirements. We got along famously with every couple and conversed most with the puertoriquenos. They were so sweet and so in love.

 

We were outwardly open, even told everyone about our Canadian marriage, that we'd been together 13 years now. All around the ship people commented positively on our tails and top hats with Micky Ears for formal night. We had a lot of formal pics taken which were then displayed for sale for all to see, and we had people come up to us to tell us how great the pictures looked.

 

We made friends with some crew members who were gay, some were straight, and some we never figured it out and really didn't care.

 

This is a limited experience, but was a great one. It was Disney, after all! :D

[sexyaznboy]

My partner/husband (Vancouver, BC 2003) and I just got back from our very first cruise together. We took the Disney Magic on a Western Caribbean Itinerary. We had the greatst time. Our table for eight had three other couples, all straight. One was from Oregon, one from Michigan both older, and the third was a newlywed couple from Puerto Rico, who happened to be 7th Day Adventists--we knew that since they had special dietary requirements. We got along famously with every couple and conversed most with the puertoriquenos. They were so sweet and so in love.

 

We were outwardly open, even told everyone about our Canadian marriage, that we'd been together 13 years now. All around the ship people commented positively on our tails and top hats with Micky Ears for formal night. We had a lot of formal pics taken which were then displayed for sale for all to see, and we had people come up to us to tell us how great the pictures looked.

 

We made friends with some crew members who were gay, some were straight, and some we never figured it out and really didn't care.

 

This is a limited experience, but was a great one. It was Disney, after all! :D

 

That is certainly an interesting story! Thanks for sharing Nobbi! Disney is supposed to be the ultimate family oriented cruiseline, are there a lot of gay couples interested in Disney cruises? Seems like there would theoretically be potential for disaster at dinner time with some very conservative families, but that would be a major guess on my part. I've heard of these families who don't want to "expose" their kids to gays, as if gays would be "contagious"...its almost funny if it weren't sad and pathetic! :mad:

[Blazerboy]

I wonder if its just the clientele who sail on the different cruiselines. Are people pickier on so called upper end cruiselines? Or they are just used to such high service and food quality that nothing will make them happy?

I'd say no...that you get some of every type on every line. There were people who sailed on Crystal with me who thought the ship was shabby, and the food pedestrian, and there were people who said it was the most elegant ship afloat. And I've been on Cunard, Celebrity, Princess, and even some rat-trap Greek ship that was probably launched in 1903 and heard EXACTLY the same kinds of complaints and praise.:rolleyes: I see those comments over on RCCL and Carnival, too, so, sadly, I think there are just some unhappy humans at every level/stratum of the cruise industry. Fortunately, there are also nice ones on every trip too. Ya' have to learn how to avoid the first type though. It can be sort of like a parlor game!;)

 

Back to the topic....always had large tables, never had a problem*, always enjoyed ourselves. For us, too, it's part of the cruise experience. Lately, we've been enjoying cruises with friends that we met at previous cruises, so we know all our tablemates in advance, and that is wonderful. Very nice, but I still feel a little nostalgia for those first few nights of a cruise....makes me sometimes go to lunch by myself to see who I meet when they place me at a table...sort of a roulette...hmmm, maybe I'm a "social risk-taker thrill junkie!":D

 

Andrew

 

* We did have one couple at a table of ten leave after the first night with almost that identical wording of "we've met friends, etc., etc." and we never knew whether it was because we were gay, because there was a elderly single woman at the table, and they didn't want try so hard to converse with her, or whether they didn't like the very well behaved 11 year old, or his boisterously fun mother, aunt (who eventually came out to us) and grandparents from the South...doesn't matter. The couple used good manners to exit the table for whatever reason, and we got a nice couple from Connecticut to replace them!

[shepp]

Please lets not let this degenerate into another judgemental thread about the social and political ramifications of being out of the closet. You know who you are! You can do another thread for that....

 

 

Yeah, I know who I am (!)...but I never did get to ask you the (thoroughly on topic) question that I wanted to. Have you ever run into people making homophobic comments? And how did you deal with that?

 

I promise not to make any judgmental comments about being in the closet. (Not on this thread, anyhoo.) It's just that inquiring minds want to know...

 

Oh, and to answer the question. My bf and I just spent 11 nights on the Dawn Princess...held hands on the promenade deck, slow-danced in the atrium, learned the cha-cha together, celebrated our anniversary at Formal Night, never had a problem. Nobody said anything, and if they had, it would have been their problem, not ours.

 

I just ran across this quote from Eric Alterman, writing in the new issue of The Nation (about, as it happens, the late historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr.): "But who wants to live his life so as to avoid attack?"

[MattInFLL]

I do, too, shepp. This week the Pope declared a holy war on us and the head of the U.S. military called us immoral. But none of that, now.. we have serious business.

 

I have been blessed with excellent luck with all of my table mates. No one has ever switched tables. I have had one cruise photographer give my partner and I an odd look at a formal portrait, but my stern look right back seemed to get him back to his professional stance. On every "straight" cruise I have been on - even the Monarch - there have been nothing but wonderful, warm people who really didn't give a hoot. Bless them.

[pnhmrk]

Have you ever run into people making homophobic comments? And how did you deal with that?

 

We wouldn't share a table if at all possible and so haven't had table companions make homophobic comments although we have heard the odd comment made about the ship. I think that I'd class them as unthinking rather than deliberately homophobic though.

 

We have met people who weren't homophobic - just plain unpleasant - once we've met someone like that we normally manage to avoid then for the rest of the trip!

[Blazerboy]

We have met people who weren't homophobic - just plain unpleasant - once we've met someone like that we normally manage to avoid then for the rest of the trip!

Amen to THAT, sister!

 

I think sometimes we are too quick to assume that someone's unpleasantness is directly related to us, and sometimes, that's just not the case!:D There are just folks you'd rather not be around no matter how much they love us!;)

 

Andrew

[shaq]

We wanted to let you all know about the experinces me and my partner have had on our cruises.

 

We were on Holland America (Noordam), and met a ton of very friendly people. HAL held two FOD lunches on the 2nd & the next-to-last days of the cruise. We had a group of 20+ and I don't think that anyone had a single unpleasant or uncomfortable moment. The FOD lead person was Randall who also hosted all the activities, singing, music, etc. in the Piano Bar.

 

On Celebrity (Infinity) we had a mixed table, 5 gay & 2 straight. We had the greatest time ever! In fact, we became the table that everyone wanted to hear about and be with. We were very surprised at the reception we got. We were 5 happy guys. I think once people got to know us as people, instead of gay people, there are never any issues.

 

On another Celebrity cruise (Millennium), we traveled alone and met many people at the FOD meeting. Here too there was only a sense of being welcomed.

 

Our first cruise was on the Star Princess and we had a great time. We felt completely at home.

 

We are going on a cruise in January 2008 on the new Royal Princess and look forward to meeting and enjoying traveling with our fellow cruisers. There have been nothing but good experiences for us on every cruise we have been on!