re:has anyone encountered this problem

[cmatt]

Went on cruise to spend time with family, as we all know the best time to visit with everyone is at the dinner table, well we had company, their are four of us, DW,DS, DD, and my self, instead of a table for four we had a table for six, we had company are whole cruise, a single mom with a DD, we are were very uncomfortable at every dinner, no one had any private dinning time,, we have requested a table for four this next cruise,,not
what we were expecting on our first cruise together as a family,,,
thanks cmatt

 

[atigeg]

I guess we're the opposite...we love having table mates and meeting new people on our cruises. We have sat with other couples and also with families and have had a great time. The worst dining experience we ever had was on a cruise where we were seated at a table alone. That only happened once, when the boat was really sparsely populated.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[cmatt]

maybe you and your spouse dont work 6 days a week 12 to 15 hour days with your careers? thats why I think they call it Q-time do you think!

 

[mmouse37]

cmatt....if you felt that uncomfortable you should have seen the head dining room manager right away. I am sure he would have tried to rearrange your family to a smaller table. You should not let something like that put a damper on your experience. But I can understand if all you wanted was to be with your family and not have to make conversation with others. We all get in that mood sometimes.

Better luck next time.

MJ

 

[CamColt]

I agree. While I can not wait for our next cruise, Im dreading the fact that they dont have tables for 2. Luckily on my honeymoon cruise, the cruise line we went on had tables for 2 so we requested that. Then when we went on DCL we had 10 people in our party, so again, no sitting with strangers. This time DH & I are lucky enough to get a trip away from our kids to actually spend some time together(that doesnt happen much). The last thing I want to do is hang out with strangers. We requested a small table. Im hoping we get another couple with us and they go to Palo one night and we go another, so there will only be one night of dining together.

 

[cmatt]

Your right! and I was'nt trying to be rude to someone thats why we did'nt talk to the head srever, wouldn't that have made everyone more comfortable, now.

I'am with and around people all week,, want time with my family,, the kids run and go to oceans club and teen club and with new found friends thats nice as well we enjoy new found friends,,

but dinner time belongs to us to stay connected, call it old fashion, square what ever that simple request should be honered. by all crusie lines ,, its no different than couples without kids want their private areas,,, my opp. cmatt

 

[cmatt]

I agree with cam colt thanks cmatt

 

[MickeyMagic]

My 9-year-old daughter and I will be on the Magic soon. I know we will be seated with others for dinner, but now I'm concerned we may not be welcome.

Maybe I should request a large table in hopes of being seated with more than one other family. I never considered I'd be intruding on someone else's family time!

I'll just trust it will work out fine, and we will make some new friends and have some wonderful conversation over dinner.

MickeyMagic

 

[cmatt]

I was single until 32 and i would have preferred to been at met other singles vs seating with a family every nite for 7 days??

And yes for many christmas's and thanksgivings I was invited to peoples houses for dinner, yes i went a few times in the beginning but then realizing that they had personal family things to talk about that pertain to their family not a outsider that they had to make small talk with,, got to get back to mine,,

 

[CamColt]

MickeyMagic, Im sorry, please dont take our feelings personally. Im sure you and your DD would be very nice to sit with. It definitely wouldnt be the people themselves I wouldnt want to sit with, its the fact that, 1)Im really looking forward to time alone w/DH on this trip(we probably eat dinner alone together once every 3 months), and 2)Im a very shy, keep to myself kind of person who would rather not deal with other people(even if they are very nice).
Everyone is different (in fact Ive been right out called "weird" on these boards for voicing my opinion about this), and everyone has their own reason for cruising, whether its family time, romance, partying, meeting interesting people & making friends, etc... I think DCL does the best it can to accomodate peoples requests to make everyone feel comfortable. Of course, they could do better if they had tables for 2.
Dont worry, Im sure you will be fine.

 

[cmatt]

Its kinda like a company christmas party, their people who love playing office politics and people that don't, i personally dont like sitting around making small talk to carry a conversation, when i can be talking one on one to my children, its like missing a day of work to take your son or daughter to a major league baseball game to spend some time talking with them when the guy next to you wants to talk sports, and your boy tells you on the way home that he wished he could have had more of your attention that day.

 

[Woods]

We were lucky, on our first cruise we got a table for 4 without asking. Now I know to ask. We don't want to have to make small talk either. I understand some people enjoy this sort of thing, but we just want to be alone with our family too.

One day for Lunch my husband and I thought we would go to lunch alone and let the kids do the "Kids Club" thing. We ended up sitting wtih 2 college girls....very nice people.....BUT we wanted to be alone. So now we know. The only dining we got for just the 2 of us was at Palos.

Debra

 

[wovenwonder]

I understand exactly! This past April I was really looking forward to the Quality Family Time during our meals. We all four seem to go our seperate ways throughout much of the day - but at our evening meals is when we had the chance to connect -- and build so many memories. We requested a table for 4 thru our TA - and after we received our docs, I mailed a letter to DCL requesting a table for 4 - DCL came thru - and we had a wonderful week of Family Meals!

 

[atigeg]

Cmatt, I guess you've forgotten how much we cruise!!!
We actually do work long hours (multiple jobs) just to finance our addiction!!! Quiet time, at least for us, includes enjoying dinnertime chatting with others (we also like to hang out in the adult whirlpools, which are a great spot for conversation). But to each his own, I guess. As someone else suggested, if you prefer not to be with others, let the headwaiter know and try to get a change.
But don't worry, MickeyMagic...I'm sure there are lots of people like hubby & I who would enjoy your company! We are usually seating with other adults, since we are a childless couple, but we have been with families a couple of times and have always enjoyed it. I know that a lot of adults don't want to be seated with youngsters, but personally we have lucked out and been with really nice families each time. For us, meeting new people is part of the overall cruise exerpience.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Karel]

Well, we had table mates for the first night and then never saw them the rest of the week. We have no idea if they tipped because we had dinner at Palo's the last night. I would have liked to have eaten with another family. We are lucky though and eat a lot of family dinners together.

I think eating with strangers is a good opportunity for your children to meet and greet - to learn how to socialize, make conversation, and get to know people. Just because you are eating with others doesn't mean you have to give up Quality time. A crowded dining room with servers hanging around is not necessarily the best place to have family conversation anyway.

Also, think about the single parents. It's nice for them to have other adults to talk to at dinner.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I can see both sides of this. On our honeymoon cruise we were seated with another couple on their honeymoon. DH and I are not adverse to striking up conversations with people and in fact DH is the biggest people person (when he wants to be). I am the shy quiet one. Well we were seated with the couple from H E double hockey sticks. At the first meal we were insulted by them (they asked if we were planning on having any kids. We said no, not at this time and the wife goes, what you hate kids???) They were just totally rude. The next night they showed up hung over and the wife spend most of the dinner being sick in the bathroom. The best night was when they did not show up to dinner.

On the other hand, if we had been seated with a nice couple I think we would have enjoyed the additional conversation.

If you are worried about special together time, try planning it for other things like excursions or family time activities (set up like an hour or two a day when you all get together and do something together).

 

[LisaTxUsa]

I'm a single mom with an 11 yr old son. On last year's Disney Cruise we were seated at a table with another single mom and her son, an older couple (late 50's or 60's) with no children and a young couple with a child. The older couple was visibly annoyed that there were children at the table (even though they were all well behaved)and rarely spoke to us, even when we tried to draw them into the conversation. I felt bad for them since they were so obviously put out at their seating assignment, but I tried not to let that spoil our mealtime.

We have late seating again for this cruise next month - I'm hopeful that we'll get another table that has many people at it. Both me & my son love to meet new people!

 

[Towncrier]

On our one and (so far) only cruise on DCL, the five of us shared a table with a couple from NY and their 15yo son. We could not have asked for nicer dinner companions. I must say that it was an unexpected highlight of our cruise. We had such a good time that they cancelled their reservations at Palo's on the final night of the cruise just so that they could have dinner with us one last time. I guess we were fortunate to have hit it off so well with our dinnermates.

On our January 19th cruise, we are still slated for 2nd seating. I imagine that our party of five will end up seated with another family. We were hoping to get 1st seating so that we could sit with another DIS family (who just happen to also be from Ohio), but I'm not counting on that happening. I just hope that we get along half as well with our dinner companions on this cruise as we did on our first cruise.

I completely understand your point cmatt and hope that you are able to arrange more suitable dining on subsequent cruises. I know how important family time is.

 

[SingingMom]

We are a family of 3 - DH 42, me 38, DD7 at the time of our cruise. We were seated with another family of 3, but their child was a 16 year old boy and they were in their 50's. I've told this story on the boards before, but it fits on this thread, too!

Our tablemates were obviously "well-to-do" and the wife actually raised her eyebrow when we arrived at the table with a 7 year old. We politely introduced ourselves and the server handed out the menus. Our DD7 took one look at the children's menu and said, "Where's the escargot?" Well, that certainly broke the ice! The server couldn't even keep a straight face with that one and said, "I guess madam would prefer the adult menu?"!

The rest of the week was pleasant enough, their son was very sweet and posed for a picture with DD, and the husband kissed DD's hand and said, "It was a pleasure to be in the company of such a lovely young lady this week".

But, I felt a bit strained during each meal and would have possibly prefered a family a little more closely suited to us. Then again, DD is mature beyond her years (all 7 of them!) and maybe we were better off. It just bothered me that our tablemate seemed to be pre-judging just because of DD's age. She seemed to have a problem with so many kids on the cruise, I guess she didn't get the fact that "Disney" usually includes "kids"! I certainly was proud of our "little lady" and how well behaved she was the whole week!

 

[Eric Julie and Hailey]

Cmatt -

For alone family time there is always the option of Topsiders for dinner -- or room service - or Plutos.

We had our own table (3 of us). But, we were sad not to have tablemates. We ended up chatting with the tables around us!