Truth time...have you ever?

[Cruise Lovin' Gal]

Never intimidated -- just had some awkward moments. The "worst" (and it really was not bad) was when we were placed at a table for 8 with a family of 5 and my husband and I during 2nd seating. ??? The family of 5 consisted of a husband, wife, and their 3 children that were all under the age of 8.

Each night it felt like we were "intruding" on their family dinner. The family was very nice, but it was just an awkward arrangement for everyone involved.

Not sure why we were placed that way, but we just made the best of it.

[eddiesgal]

On the whole, DH and I have been blessed with exceptional tablemates.

I guess my original post should have been worded as to leave out the word intimidation. We've really never been intimidated, so to speak, just on very rare occasions been seated with some real stinkers that gave us a run for our money:p

[cruisemom42]

I've had some "interesting" experiences over the years. One time DS and I were seated with 4 older and very proper British cruisers. One of the women, in particular, seemed to regard it as ridiculous that children should be allowed to eat in the dining room at all, and everytime my (well-mannered) son would speak up at all, she would just glare at him. I can't remember how old he was, but I'd guess somewhere between 8-10, so he wasn't doing anything that would annoy.......that was a real trial!

 

On my most recent cruise, I was dining solo one evening and opted to join a large table. Two of the women at the table got into a heated argument over religion and it was NOT a comfortable dining experience for the rest of us, who just tried to stay out of the line of fire....

 

On the other hand, we've also met some quite interesting and very nice people over the years, some of which still keep in touch.

[BermudaMom]

I find I get a bit embarrassed when our table mates ask where we're from. As soon as we say Bermuda, some seem to get this look like "oo you must think you're special". We don't. Most though are very nice and friendly but we find we say little about where we're from or what we do unless we're specifically asked questions. Most of our table mates have been lovely people and I enjoy meeting them and finding out about where they live, what they do, their children etc.

 

One awkward table sitting two years ago when one of our stops was in Guernsey. One of the people at our table of 10 was a lone traveler, a gentleman from Germany. That evening after the tour, some were discussing their tours from the day and the info from the tour guide on the german occupation during the war. The German man looked truly uncomfortable and I felt very sorry for him. Two others at the table were quite vocal about the occupation and even though this person was younger and obviously was likely not even born at that time, it was kind of like "the sins of the father" being passed on to the son. Eventually the topic changed but he was obviously affected and did not join the table the last few nights after that.

[Sea Hag]

... I thought it would be funny to dress up and wear a huge souvenir sombrero I got in port.

 

 

I'd love to sit at the same table as people wearing huge souvenir sombreros! Aren't vacations supposed to be fun? :D

[Alamogirl]

Bored, YES, Intimidated, NO! Now, my DH has a hearing problem from too many years around airplanes. He tends to be quiet and not being able to hear everything, some folks have said at first they thought he was rude, bored or both. Folks need to smile and be polite and if your table mates get to bad, then either ask to be moved or worse case DECK EM;)!

[mr green]

We have found that cruising usually brings out the best in people, we have been lucky with our table mates, and have never wished to be at a different table. If the subject in question at the table is not to our liking, one of us changes the conversation, or the odd time might say, 'Lets talk about something more cheerful'.

I believe that the secret is to try not to offend anyone.

 

john

[retiredonthesea]

As most have commented not intimidated, but a little akward. We where on an Alaskan cruise, upgraded to an O/S and had received an invitation to dine at the "Captains Table". This was on NCL Wind where they have a special entrance to walk downstairs with the Captain to his table. Well talk about all eyes on us, everyone in the dining room looks up at you coming down that special stairway---all I could think of was not to trip on my evening gown (had to dress formal to dine with the captain). After the dinner we had so many people come up to us and start conversations telling us about their jobs, people they knew BLAH,BLAH,BLAH--you get the picture. Anyway to make a long story a little shorter this one couple must of thought we where "important" and wanted us to have after dinner drinks with them---well when we got to the part of where we are from and what we do things changed. After mentioning we where from North Dakota and had a ranch/farm they decided they had forgotten about another so called "appointment". They actually said "people actually live in N.D.":eek:

 

After that little episode we kept running into others who sat at the table with us and enjoyed their company immensely---A stock broker from NY, a medical professional, a lawyer, and us. We found that they where very intrigued about our ranching operation---the other couple who knows, never saw them again, but we still had a few more invites by the captain to have cocktails with him and a tour of the bridge. Wonderful time!

[hal lover]

Never! Perhaps its a matter of "self-confidence" on your part, if others intimidate you

 

my self confidence is not the issue....some people make you feel inadequate because of their own insecurities, feeling that they're just "better" than whatever. With that. let me rephrase the question so as to not be confrontational....have you ever been seated with someone that has made you uncomfortable, whatever the reason?

 

I was only uncomfortable one time in all of my year's of cruising. The wife of our table mates belittled her husband forever and a day. She of course was an authority on everything and well as drunk. If my spouse had ever talked to me that way, I would have tossed the salad at him. I felt sorry for that nice man.

[UlvaZell]

No, but I have been thoroughly embarassed by our tablemates. It was on our Alaska trip. They were the rudest people I have ever had the displeasure of dining with. The treated the staff horribly. I was so embarrased by their behavior I felt compelled to apologize to our servers and told them what a great job they were doing...

[Ephraim]

Oh, I'd have returned to that table and not given up my seat. They would not have the satisfaction that they could get their way. :rolleyes:

 

I'm worse. On finding out that they didn't want me at the table, I would have upped the ante and made their next night miserable. I certainly know how to talk up the subjects that most people hate to talk about at dinner... politics, morality and sexuality. Just waiting for them to say something and to quip back that if they didn't enjoy our company they can change tables or pay me to change tables. I'm not going to be chased from a table.

 

That being said, we have had some of the nicest table mates over the years. Especially the British and other Canadians.

 

As my friends know. I can be the nicest guy around and I will bend over backwards for my friends... but when pushed, I push back and hard. Don't take me wrong, I don't want to be treated better than others, I just want me and ever other customer to be treated equally well.

[linda_22003]

I'm worse. On finding out that they didn't want me at the table, I would have upped the ante and made their next night miserable. I certainly know how to talk up the subjects that most people hate to talk about at dinner... politics, morality and sexuality. Just waiting for them to say something and to quip back that if they didn't enjoy our company they can change tables or pay me to change tables. I'm not going to be chased from a table.

 

That certainly sounds like a nice, relaxing way to vacation. :rolleyes:

[RetireeWannabee]

Not at all. I'm comfortable with my station in life and find it interesting to talk to others. I believe that no one is better than me, and I'm not better than anyone.

 

I have been turned off by those who believe that I am beneath them.

 

I don't waste time on them. I spend my time talking to those that believe as I do: we are all created equal, no matter your title or bank account.

[RetireeWannabee]

Seriously, Fredr sounds like my kind of cruiser.

I have long thought that myself!

[RetireeWannabee]

On one cruise, though, it turned out **I** was the designated fork selector :D which was quite uncomfortable -- everyone at the table waiting to see which cutlery I used, and how I approached some of the dishes.

 

I'm guessing you didn't introduce yourself as Cow Princess at that particular event?

 

Sorry, but when I saw "your handle" it just popped into my head that people would be following the lead of Cow Princess (I'm seeing a cow wearing a tiara), as I'm thinking that most cows do not have good manners and that even the most royal of them would not be the ones I'd take ettiquette lessons from!

 

mean no offense, it just tickled me. I live in Indiana, surrounded by working dairies, one cousin is a (struggling) dairy farmer. I dig cows, grabbed up some of the stuffed ones when Chik-fil-a finally came to IN.

[cruisemates2]

We have had some great tablemates, and some not so great! On the Sovereign Of The Seas, we had a table for ten, and had a wonderful time all week, and kept in touch for several years with all of them. Then we started having problems. Once we were seated with two newly wed couples that were cruising together, and we were a couple in our fifties at the time. We felt completely out of place because they did not seem to enjoy our company at all! We just felt like we were intruding. Then, on another cruise we were seated with two gentlemen that we had nothing in common with at all, and then on another cruise, we were squeezed into a booth with two other couples that we did not know, and we were miserable all week. We tried to move but, there wasn't any tables left for early seating. So, now if possible, we get a table for two and absolutely love it. If we cannot have our own table in the future, I will ask for seating at a very large table.

 

Janet

[RetireeWannabee]

Bored, YES, Intimidated, NO! Now, my DH has a hearing problem from too many years around airplanes. He tends to be quiet and not being able to hear everything, some folks have said at first they thought he was rude, bored or both. Folks need to smile and be polite and if your table mates get to bad, then either ask to be moved or worse case DECK EM;)!

When I travelled with my mother to Alaska, we told the tablemates at teh start that Mom was deaf in one ear. I sat on that side of her and would alert her if someone was speaking to her.

[CowPrincess]

I'm guessing you didn't introduce yourself as Cow Princess at that particular event?

 

Sorry, but when I saw "your handle" it just popped into my head that people would be following the lead of Cow Princess (I'm seeing a cow wearing a tiara),

 

:D :D :D Glad I could make you smile -- no offense taken at all :D

 

black and white -- it's a classic look that goes well with a tiara :D

[Ephraim]

That certainly sounds like a nice, relaxing way to vacation. :rolleyes:

 

So it's better to be chased from a table by people who are rude? I don't think being exiled from a table is a nice relaxing way to enjoy my vacation either. I know some people enjoy a table for two, we don't. We think of dinner as a social affair. That's why we invite friends over to our place for meals.

 

Honestly, I have never had the problem. In fact we have had people request to share the table with us. That's one of the reasons we like open dining, so we can dine with different people on different nights if we so wish. I like meeting new people.

[heatherandfred]

been intimadated by other tablemates?? What I mean is their occupations or job descriptions being different or slightly better than yours?

 

I have never been intimidated by anyone on a cruise. I do not give a damn what they do. I am on vacation to have fun and not be around a bunch of bores, who have nothing better to do than brag abou their careers. I find people like that very annoying. Especially when you have people who ask "where did you matriculate?" I consider myself well educated and have a job that pays well and allows me to take several vacations a year, but I'll be damned if I brag about it.

[Fredr]

I have long thought that myself!

 

Hello,

 

This thread is fun! Retireewannabee, if you are ever in southern California a tour of this area is on me. I don't hear very well so your mother and I will get along fine. I'll bring my wife in order to keep order.

 

And speaking of farmers, we are just back from a cruise of the Far East (Hong Kong to Tianjin (port for Beijing) and there was a farmer from England and his friend. Super nice guy with a great sense of humor. I offered to go work for him and he replied that I did not look that I knew which end of a pitchfork to use...my reply was..what's a pitchfork?

 

Fred

 

Sadly though many people who through hard work, luck, timing, and so on, forget where they came from and on cruise ships, forget their good manners.

[Michiganmom25]

This April will be the first cruise for my husband and I. We are a little afraid of what might happen. Any advice if we get seated with snobs?... Drunks?... Couples with no kids? We have 5 children. (NOT a blended family, they are all ours together and proud of it!) Yes, we are Catholic. Thanks! Anyway, we really want to enjoy ourselves as we have never been away from our children for even one night. Our oldest is 15. We will be celebrating our 20th anniversary next year. (Aug. 2010) We are not fancy people. We don't consider ourselves to above anyone else. However, we are aware that some people do. The best kind of advice that I'm looking for I guess, is the kind that would provide insight as to how to respond to those people that feel the need to take every second of silence and fill it with all of their accomplishments, how much $ they make, etc. Do you think a "look" followed by a long silence will do? Just a thought. Please advise. Thanks so much!

[dibbitz]

We've always had good tablemates but there was one very awkward time when we sat with 2 couples from Canada. One couple spoke English fairly well but the other only spoke French. Luckily, they were all very friendly and the English speaking couple didn't seem to mind translating.

 

DH and I have always had a fantasy to be "someone else" on a cruise but we've never had the nerve.

 

I've always wanted to pretend to be an architect :D:D LOL

[dibbitz]

This April will be the first cruise for my husband and I. We are a little afraid of what might happen. Any advice if we get seated with snobs?... Drunks?... Couples with no kids? We have 5 children. (NOT a blended family, they are all ours together and proud of it!) Yes, we are Catholic. Thanks! Anyway, we really want to enjoy ourselves as we have never been away from our children for even one night. Our oldest is 15. We will be celebrating our 20th anniversary next year. (Aug. 2010) We are not fancy people. We don't consider ourselves to above anyone else. However, we are aware that some people do. The best kind of advice that I'm looking for I guess, is the kind that would provide insight as to how to respond to those people that feel the need to take every second of silence and fill it with all of their accomplishments, how much $ they make, etc. Do you think a "look" followed by a long silence will do? Just a thought. Please advise. Thanks so much!

 

Well, I certainly hope that you don't find yourself with people who will make you feel uncomfortable. We have been fortunate to go on several cruises and to have done a lot of traveling. True, we are older and our children are grown but I think most of the folks I meet on the ship and on these sites seem to be just ordinary folks. They are working hard, planning and saving for these great trips, just like us and just like you. If you go to the sites here at cc, esp. if you check out the fashion threads, you will find all kinds of questions and suggestions for making the most of a limited budget for formal night, what is appropriate, etc. It's just a lot of gals, chit chatting..:) Just because you dress for dinner, doesn't mean you are fancy people. One of my friends said to me, " Lizzie, you're just like me. We're plain." I took it as a compliment. I view it as being comfortable and I am sure you will be too. Good luck and have a grand time.......me

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

I know, I know you are very very tired of posts from me on this thread or any other thread. However, Michiganmom is going on her first cruise and since I am from Michigan originally I had to respond...I want this very nice lady to truly have a wonderful cruise.

 

Generally you will meet very nice people on a cruise so please do not waste any time worrying about this. If however you do meet people at the first dinner (in the dining room) whom you do not like, see the Dining Room Manager (or Maitre D) the next morning and ask for another table. It is part of their job to see to it that passengers are happy with the dining arrangements.

 

Do not just assume that no one can help you, that you are stuck in a bad situation, and must have every dinner in the buffet. Take action promptly and do have dinner in the dining room each evening.

 

Keep in mind that all kinds of people go on cruises. And there are a fairly high percentage of persons who have managed their lives and careers at least reasonably well to be able to afford the time and money to go on cruises. Some like to talk about their lives but this in itself does not make them poor dinner companions, unless they get carried away. Even after 27 cruises the old rules apply...stay away from religion, politics, and money. Unless...your dinner companions are really fun to be with, respect you and your DH, and an exchange of ideas/ knowledge will be stimulating and informative.

 

My last, I promise.

 

Fred