Genuinely curious about wanting a private table

[PrincessShmoo]

Unfortunately, if a family is that rude and not respecting boundaries to that extent, the likelihood of them all of a sudden respecting boundaries at dinner for the rest of the cruise is slim to none.

At which point I'd be talking to my head server about being moved to a different table.

 

[Dug720]

Unfortunately, if a family is that rude and not respecting boundaries to that extent, the likelihood of them all of a sudden respecting boundaries at dinner for the rest of the cruise is slim to none.

Right. The strongly worded statements and the harsh judgmental calls on their parenting styles would make the rest of the dinners with the tablemates such a joy. Better make sure you can be moved before insulting people's parenting decisions.

I'm sorry, but if I am not your child's teacher, it is NOT my job to teach your child. It IS your job as a parent to see that your child receives an education - and if you're not able to do the homework for them (or enforce them doing it), you shouldn't be asking teachers ON VACATION to do your job of making sure the kid is getting educated. If you're going to be rude enough to ask me to help your child with his/her homework, I'm going to be rude enough to tell you what I think about taking kids out of school.

Fortunately since I DON'T have kids (thank goodness) and travel solo (and love late seating), the odds of me getting stuck at a table with children under Disney's system is slim to none.

 

[mom2tcdx2]

I kind of like a table just for us. My husband and I work a lot and truly just getting some alone time is good. I don't overly care to share a large table, and I am a bit uncomfortable in some social situations. Last Disney cruise we were seated at a table for 8, and only one other couple who only showed up about half the nights of our cruise. It was really weird being at a large table, I kind of would have preferred a table for us.

Is that something we could possibly put into our cruise request ahead of time? Or something we could possibly change once onboard? We will be doing the WBTA in September.

 

[Dug720]

I kind of like a table just for us. My husband and I work a lot and truly just getting some alone time is good. I don't overly care to share a large table, and I am a bit uncomfortable in some social situations. Last Disney cruise we were seated at a table for 8, and only one other couple who only showed up about half the nights of our cruise. It was really weird being at a large table, I kind of would have preferred a table for us.

Is that something we could possibly put into our cruise request ahead of time? Or something we could possibly change once onboard? We will be doing the WBTA in September.

You can have the request noted. They will never guarantee it though.

You can also attempt to change once on board, but again, there is no guarantee it can happen.

 

[Chirple]

Today's population is in information overload.

This was my exact thought as I was reading through this thread. Sometimes I feel like I can't shut my mind off.

I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't believe it's as black and white as extrovert/introvert. I work from home. My husband works from home. We work for the same company but in different divisions. We talk about work all of the time. He likes to talk about sports; I don't. This is why I like to sit with other people, but I tend to sit back and observe at least the first evening until I can find a commonality. I'll participate in the pleasant exchanges and introductions the first meal. I've made some really nice friends sitting with other couples in the MDR. Last cruise we had a table to ourselves, not by request. Same daily conversations we have at home. Thankfully, we had requested our server from cruises past so we had someone else to break up our work/sports talk.

 

[Staceycs]

For Us, it falls in that I'm a rather strong introvert, and I absolutely dislike, what I perceive as, forced social interaction. I can deal with it if necessary, but its not my cup of tea and I can get stressed/anxious in those situations. SInce I'm on vacation I rather keep those times to a minimum

You've explained things exactly how I see them.

While I know there's a good chance we'll be sharing a table on our next cruise, in my ideal dream cruising world there could be tables set aside for introverts where everyone has a mutual agreement that it's 100% ok to NOT make conversation and we can happily ignore each other all night without the stress of conversation hanging over our heads. I can dream....

 

[markryanmc]

I'm sorry that happened, but that's actually kind of funny. Not for you of course, especially at the time, but for me, I got a good chuckle of out it. On the bright side, look at the good story you have.

Looking back, it is quite funny. We generally take the stance that most of the unusual things and/or people that we experience become great stories later on. This instance was from our third Disney cruise and we are set to go on our fifth at the end of October. Rarely do we allow others to truly affect our enjoyment of life.

 

[undertheradar]

Let's keep in mind that the distance between tables is roughly 10 inches, unless there is an aisle.

 

[lorenni]

I see so many on here that are very concerned about getting their own table. I understand this for those with certain food allergies, but for everyone else I am curious as to why?

We honestly have found that Disney does a great job at matching people and have made some life long friends with some of our table mates. So that leaves me wondering why so many are so insistent, even at lunch and character breakfasts.

Not putting anyone down in anyway for their preference, we all have likes and dislikes, just honestly curious.

I have aspergers and making small talk with strangers is not something I enjoy (to put it mildly). If you were at my table, you would NEVER know, and if I told you you would say "Oh, but we had such a nice chat."

That nice chat is EXHAUSTING for me. I will have spent 80% of my dinner trying to figure out what I should say next, worrying that what I did say was not "right" and absolutely not enjoying my meal or my own family.

My professional adult life is like this all day every day. My time alone with my family is when I get to stop trying and just BE.

So, if I can manage a table for just us, win!

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I frankly just don't have much of a desire to hang out with strangers during my meal time. My job involves a LOT of networking and schmooze events, and I really enjoy a quiet meal with just my husband. When I am not at work, I hate trying to make conversation. I just don't like it. If conversation doesn't just flow elsewhere, I'll just leave, but I can't do that at a meal. I don't like forcing conversations. Sometimes I just don't want to hang out with people, period.

Don't get me wrong, we have met some great people when cruising, but I like our meal time to just talk and have one on one time.

 

[Shanti]

The cruise that changed our minds was the one that the other couple brought their child's homework so that my wife could review it and provide guidance...

I'm a teacher, and would have "guided" those homework papers overboard...

 

[2Bnºoºt2B]

One of the reasons we love cruising is all the people we have met as we usually have requested seating at large tables ... the past few cruises we have gone to tables of two for a more relaxed pace ... but we always end up chatting and making friends with the tables next to us. We had an occasion or two where after the first night, a couple has not returned, which is perfectly fine. On one cruise, our table of eight had two empty seats ... we noticed this pair of young ladies nearby who were sitting with much older couples ... almost no conversation and "sad" faces ... we extended an invitation to them on behalf of our table to join us if they so choose ... they did and we all had a wonderful time for the remainder of the cruise. We have been fortunate to never have encountered any rude/uncomfortable dining companions ... we fondly remember the many occasions we've had over the years where our "table" would "close" out the first seating as time just flew by ...

 

[RedSox68]

I'm a teacher, and would have "guided" those homework papers overboard...

 

[Dug720]

I'm a teacher, and would have "guided" those homework papers overboard...

Or at the very least "accidentally" spilled a drink all over the papers. No risk of a fine that way.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Should have asked what they did for a living... oh, you're an accountant? It just so happens I have my taxes here. Can you take a look while I check your daughter's homework?

 

[smiths02]

You've explained things exactly how I see them.

While I know there's a good chance we'll be sharing a table on our next cruise, in my ideal dream cruising world there could be tables set aside for introverts where everyone has a mutual agreement that it's 100% ok to NOT make conversation and we can happily ignore each other all night without the stress of conversation hanging over our heads. I can dream....

For me as an introvert, I actually enjoy people who are really extroverted. If they just talk about themselves and entertain me during my meal, that is fine with me. It's the people that are in-between that make me awkward...they take a turn, they expect me to take a turn.

 

[princess_jamie]

It's been interesting reading this thread. I'm going on my first every DCL trip in January with my boyfriend have been debating this. We are both fairly social, but are a bit more on the introverted side when we are in unfamiliar social situations. We tend to hang by ourselves. I like the idea of meeting new friends but am nervous about getting stuck with people we aren't happy with. Plus, we will be celebrating his birthday, our anniversary, and some big accomplishments (he doesn't know yet because the cruise is his birthday/Christmas gift) so I really like the idea of us just having us time at dinner. He loves going out for nice meals, but we don't do it very often because we are trying to save money, so for us to have 4 nights of nice meals together with multiple courses sounds like something I’d like to share with just him. I also don’t know how comfortable I’d feel eating in front of others, because we’re definitely the ones that will at least try something from every course and maybe a few extra desserts (after all, we’re going after WDW marathon weekend!). It’s nice to know you that if you really hate your arrangement after the first day that there may be hope to get your own table. But I also don’t want to pass up the opportunity to meet some amazing people, since we aren’t really good at doing that on our own. Torn.

 

[Terrena]

We tried a couple of times sharing a table. The first time we had an obnoxious woman who seemed to be offended a lot. The second time they placed a child my daughters age and her family with us. The child was so rude, unbelievably rude to my daughter (her parent did not correct her at all) that we did not go back to the table after the first night. We ate at plutos, goofys and room service. So, now we get our own table and we are happy campers.

 

[2Bnºoºt2B]

It's been interesting reading this thread. I'm going on my first every DCL trip in January with my boyfriend have been debating this. We are both fairly social, but are a bit more on the introverted side when we are in unfamiliar social situations. We tend to hang by ourselves. I like the idea of meeting new friends but am nervous about getting stuck with people we aren't happy with. Plus, we will be celebrating his birthday, our anniversary, and some big accomplishments (he doesn't know yet because the cruise is his birthday/Christmas gift) so I really like the idea of us just having us time at dinner. He loves going out for nice meals, but we don't do it very often because we are trying to save money, so for us to have 4 nights of nice meals together with multiple courses sounds like something I’d like to share with just him. I also don’t know how comfortable I’d feel eating in front of others, because we’re definitely the ones that will at least try something from every course and maybe a few extra desserts (after all, we’re going after WDW marathon weekend!). It’s nice to know you that if you really hate your arrangement after the first day that there may be hope to get your own table. But I also don’t want to pass up the opportunity to meet some amazing people, since we aren’t really good at doing that on our own. Torn.

Congrats on your very first upcoming DCL trip ... you'll have a great time. A table of 6 or 8 gives more leeway than a table of 4 ... but even with a table for two, you have plenty of opportunity to chat it up with the tables around you (on one cruise our table of two became four when we "joined" our tables with our neighbors after hitting it off). It can be quite a bit of fun celebrating events with others at your table ... but we've certainly had a great time on cruises where we had requested a table for two. And it is certainly fine (and very enjoyable) ordering multiple items off the menu ... you can certainly try everything off the menu by sharing ... no problem with that whatsoever. It's funny how one person can get it started ... on one cruise I ordered two entrees ... let's say that afterwards it became a regular thing to do for all the "men" at the table - lol.

There are other opportunities to make new friends on a cruise ... check your DISboard Cruise Meet for your cruise about the opportunities etc ...

Just go with what you feel comfortable with and you'll be fine ... hope this helps ...

 

[princess_jamie]

Congrats on your very first upcoming DCL trip ... you'll have a great time. A table of 6 or 8 gives more leeway than a table of 4 ... but even with a table for two, you have plenty of opportunity to chat it up with the tables around you (on one cruise our table of two became four when we "joined" our tables with our neighbors after hitting it off). It can be quite a bit of fun celebrating events with others at your table ... but we've certainly had a great time on cruises where we had requested a table for two. And it is certainly fine (and very enjoyable) ordering multiple items off the menu ... you can certainly try everything off the menu by sharing ... no problem with that whatsoever. It's funny how one person can get it started ... on one cruise I ordered two entrees ... let's say that afterwards it became a regular thing to do for all the "men" at the table - lol.

There are other opportunities to make new friends on a cruise ... check your DISboard Cruise Meet for your cruise about the opportunities etc ...

Just go with what you feel comfortable with and you'll be fine ... hope this helps ...

Thanks - I am very excited!! Maybe I should just put my trust in Disney to do what they do..