Sharing a table with "Other People"? Ew!

[Guest]

We don't like sharing a table either. (family of 4 with teens)
We always submit a request for this and have always been granted this request sofar except for our last cruise with MSC. They are not good in handling such request as they have a lots of big tables for 8 people.
They put us with another family and we all hated it. We felt very uncomfortable and was forced to socialize with strangers. I am not saying those people were not nice but we just value our family time together. This had a big impact on our cruise experience and the main reason we didn't like this cruise as much as others.
At some point, we even considered to just eat in the buffet restaurant !

[CarolynU]

On my first cruise with my daughter we were on a diverse table as far as interests and ages were concerned, but we had an absolute blast. We are still in touch with one couple on FB and another family from Calgary Canada who we recently met up with again.
When I cruise with my son and his wife they like to dine on a table for just us, so that's been lovely, although when they cruised as a couple they were paired with another couple who they also keep in touch with and meet up up with fairly frequently.
This next cruise the WBPC I'm cruising solo, so I'm guaranteed to be on a multiple table.
In the summer I'll be cruising with my daughter and baby granddaughter and I think that my daughter would be happier this time for it to just be us, as she worries that the baby will disturb others, and I know that this will put her on edge. I'm not bothered either way.

[Guest]

Doesn't bother me one bit if I have to share. Always makes me laugh in cafes when they are busy and people float around trying to find an exclusive table. Sit down for heaven's sake. I'm not going to bite. On the cruise we booked Remy and Palo so two nights we weren't even in the ordinary dining rooms. The nights we did share we had a very interesting couple and had a darn good laugh with them and in fact we did brunch with them one afternoon.

[jas72]

I'm looking forward to table sharing but we are going for 14 nights and will probably not sit for a meal each night for one I'm sure my son will avail of anything that's "free" during the day and he will soon have friends that will show him how to use his seapass to full effect

second my wife likes to see the food before choosing so the buffet will suit her better.

However i'm hoping to get them into the main dining hall a few times so that we can meet other people and share our cruise experience and tips.

[Sandra & co]

My brother went on a crusie and met a couple the first night, had drinks and a meal with them. That was it couldnt do anything without them, they met them every night until my sil got sea sickness or food poisoning! Then they were in the room and put them off that way!

[Rding]

Im undecided yet about our up and coming cruise my eldest son is a typical moody teen and also has Asperger's so finds some aspects of social mixing quite difficult. So its a toss up as to if sharing a table will be good for him or make it an uncomfortable experience not only for him but for the people we are sat with.

[langside]

Considering the amount of times I've booked a 'private' table at a restaurant and the gap between the table next to us has been smaller than a drinks coaster -shared tables doesn't bother/ worry me - we'll probably have more space between us too!

[Guest]

We've been very lucky on DCL, met some fabulous peole. My dd has penpals around the globe from table mates and is going to Canadian summer camp with one of our former dinner buddies as a result this year.

I know it can be daunting but it's not all bad.

[phoebe23]

When we first started cruising a friend said choose a large table as you've got a good choice of people to chat to and will hit it off with someone. OMG - a table for 10 was exhausting - nice enough mix of passengers but by the end of the meal it's hard to even remember what you've eaten. We stuck with it but then there's the logistics of always sitting in the same seats or moving up if a couples missing, then they come in late! When Celebrity Select came in years ago we chose a table for 2 but often chat to diners closeby and meet up for drinks etc but it's the freedom we value most. After 20+ cruises we'd never go back to fixed dining - we like the best of both worlds☺

[Guest]

what do other s decide whats a good match or a poor match ,i am sure most people are nervous about it all ..
i am going with my 12 year old daughter ,i would share as i have decent social skills and i like to chat ,but i would not want others to take pity on me just because i am a single dad with his kid or make others uncomfortable due to being a single guy , as at the end of the day if my daughter is happy then so am i ...