As much as I would like china, I know how difficult that would be for klutzy me. Plastic also has the advantage of being much, much lighter which was always an issue with us. To make our stuff slip-proof, I'd run a bead of silicone caulk on the bottom as symmetrically as possible (when the plate has a bottom rim, I'd place the caulk on the inside of this, in two or four short beads), then place it onto a sheet of waxed paper. The silicone wouldn't stick to the wax paper, and it would set up flat so the plates wouldn't rock.

The other advantage for us is that, since our boat's name is Watermelon, our dishes are watermelon slices. West Marine can't provide something like that. I'm not enamored of the anchor and rope decor of most ship chandler dinnerware.