A Fond Farewell to......

[balf]

Should Cunard just accept there are folks that like to keep memorabilia and just 'request' these items are handed in at the end of a cruise? . :)

 

The cards used to have the passengers photo on them and they were handed back at final disembarkation.

 

This changed when the picture was omitted as now. I don't know the reason why, but there may be a valid reason (security?) why they now retain them.

 

David.

[balf]

Really? You chat about Jimsgirl at the dinner table? That's an interesting conversation starter.

 

I suppose it's more inventive than "So what do you do?" or "Are you married?", but I don't think anyone would know what you're talking about.

 

 

 

.

 

Almost certainly not, that's the attraction of good conversation not knowing where it leads.

 

Are you married?

 

David.

[Whitemarsh]

Almost certainly not, that's the attraction of good conversation not knowing where it leads.

 

True.

 

Are you married?

 

David.

 

Oh I am sorry. But I'm not interested. :D

[Austcruiser84]

That's an interesting conversation starter.

 

I suppose it's more inventive than "So what do you do?" or "Are you married?", but I don't think anyone would know what you're talking about.

 

My table discussion began with general thankfulness that nobody looked like an annoying tablemate.

[Whitemarsh]

My table discussion began with general thankfulness that nobody looked like an annoying tablemate.

 

Did you really? As in "Well none of you look annoying.."

 

If it turned out some of them were annoying you could always be rather clever and start a new conversation about how looks can be deceiving. :cool:

[Austcruiser84]

Did you really? As in "Well none of you look annoying.."

 

If it turned out some of them were annoying you could always be rather clever and start a new conversation about how looks can be deceiving. :cool:

 

Yes, it did :) The stories from several people were hilarious. I've been lucky in my two cruises not to have been sat with anyone painful. Some I sat with we're not as fortunate in the past.

 

But at least they had great stories.

 

Fear not though...everyone did introduce themselves on the first night before appetisers!

[fantasy51]

Letting this conversation flow on, irregardless of the OP's thread ...

 

Whitemarsh and Balf have disagreed as to whether or not ignoring the dress code impacts on the enjoyment of other people. I personally can say that those who wear the dress code superbly (including sequins, bow ties, etc. on formal nights) add to my enjoyment but I tend not to notice the others.

 

This has led me back to a psychology text dealing with personality differences. If we look at the Myers-Briggs personality description, we see that 75% of the general population has a preference for practicality and details (known as Sensation) whereas 25% has a preference for innovation and ideas (known as iNtuition). Both of these approaches to the world are valid; they describe the way we react. I therefore hypothesise that there are many of us (though not the majority) who don't even notice someone wearing jeans to dinner! Some people can be in a room for 5 minutes and tell you the colour of the curtains, what everyone was wearing, etc. Others can be there for 5 hours and not notice any of those details.

 

I accept that following the dress code is important to Whitemarsh and others. I will continue to follow it. However, I will not let my enjoyment be spoilt when others fail to follow it; I just don't notice what they've done!

[MadScientist_01]

Subjects which have no apparent connection? A conversation about leatherette wallets turns naturally to Jimsgirl? A thread entitled 'A Fond Farewell to.....' in which the OP asks "What is your favourite memory of the old days?" is one in which the conversation will "flow naturally" to Jimsgirl?

 

You've managed that one yourself on the odd occasion :p

[MadScientist_01]

Letting this conversation flow on, irregardless of the OP's thread ...

 

Whitemarsh and Balf have disagreed as to whether or not ignoring the dress code impacts on the enjoyment of other people. I personally can say that those who wear the dress code superbly (including sequins, bow ties, etc. on formal nights) add to my enjoyment but I tend not to notice the others.

 

This has led me back to a psychology text dealing with personality differences. If we look at the Myers-Briggs personality description, we see that 75% of the general population has a preference for practicality and details (known as Sensation) whereas 25% has a preference for innovation and ideas (known as iNtuition). Both of these approaches to the world are valid; they describe the way we react. I therefore hypothesise that there are many of us (though not the majority) who don't even notice someone wearing jeans to dinner! Some people can be in a room for 5 minutes and tell you the colour of the curtains, what everyone was wearing, etc. Others can be there for 5 hours and not notice any of those details.

 

I accept that following the dress code is important to Whitemarsh and others. I will continue to follow it. However, I will not let my enjoyment be spoilt when others fail to follow it; I just don't notice what they've done!

 

Agreed - apart from the Myers Briggs bit, it is one of the most invalid pieces of rubbish masquerading as a scientific measure around :eek:

[Whitemarsh]

You've managed that one yourself on the odd occasion :p

 

I think once or twice, but it was in relation to negative reviews, so an understandable connection. :)

 

In any case, I would never have been tactless enough to do it on a thread that was about favourite memories from the old days.

[fantasy51]

Agreed - apart from the Myers Briggs bit, it is one of the most invalid pieces of rubbish masquerading as a scientific measure around :eek:

 

Hopefully we'll meet on a cruise one day and can debate this issue! Not knowing you (yet) I will go with the consensus of four friends, with 8 doctorates between them, who use it skilfully. (My personal suspicion is that its use appeals to certain personality types - iNtuitives - but not to others. I also believe that it is often used in the wrong way, for things for which it was not intended. 'Gifts Differing' states that 'The suffering and tragedies of the war stirred Myers's desire to do something that might help peoples understand each other and avoid destructive conflicts.' It wasn't intended for mass screening.)

[MadScientist_01]

Definitely sounds like a fun debate - think we should book a corner of the Commodore Club and a martini or two for that one :D

[pepperrn]

Hi pepper... The Queen Mary 2 sounds a lovely ship and whilst I have never been aboard her, I just feel she is too big for our style of cruising!! I cannot use a tender and is she limited to the ports she can visit by her size?

Hi glojo,

 

You'll note (:)) that I didn't suggest a cruise on QM2.

 

The two "ports of call" on the voyage I was suggesting to you do not require QM2 to use her tenders.

 

And being limited to these two ports is in no way a handicap for the type of voyage on QM2 that I am strongly suggesting you should book next :D .

 

Everyone, who enjoys Cunard's style and way of doing things, should try, at least once, a certain voyage with only two ports of call, seven nights apart, on Queen Mary 2 :D .

 

There is nothing like it... for me, my first voyage in 2006 (with only two ports of call), was a truly life-changing experience :) .

 

Best wishes and (an early) Bon Voyage! :) :)

[seasidegal]

Whitemarsh:

 

Originally Posted by balf

Are you married?

 

David.

 

Oh I am sorry. But I'm not interested. :D

Whitemarsh

 

 

Whitemarsh,

 

You have caused me considerable embarrassment, as I'm reading this thread in a library and when I read the above, the laugh that erupted from my being was not one that should ever be heard in a place that has signs posted that read: "Quiet Please!" :eek::D

 

Now I'm trying to recover my lost dignity.;)

 

Everyone, who enjoys Cunard's style and way of doing things, should try, at least once, a certain voyage with only two ports of call, seven nights apart, on Queen Mary 2.... pepperrn

 

Pepper: Completely agree...the 'only way to cross' ;)

 

 

 

best regards,

seasidegal

[Louise D]

Agreed - apart from the Myers Briggs bit, it is one of the most invalid pieces of rubbish masquerading as a scientific measure around :eek:

 

I agree with you that MBTI is rubbish in the context of attitude to the dress code. You only need to think back to the era of the great liners to realise that everyone (even the tourist class) dressed up in their best clothes and participated in the sense of occasion that a voyage involved.

 

It would bizarre to suggest that they only did so because they all had the same MBTI categorisation.

[Austcruiser84]

I agree with you that MBTI is rubbish in the context of attitude to the dress code. You only need to think back to the era of the great liners to realise that everyone (even the tourist class) dressed up in their best clothes and participated in the sense of occasion that a voyage involved.

 

It would bizarre to suggest that they only did so because they all had the same MBTI categorisation.

 

Perhaps what some perceive as unsuitable attire is another person's idea of couture.

 

I once worked with someone who felt track suits were appropriate for an office environment, or that thongs (flip flops) were suitable.

 

That reminds me...I commented while in the Caribbean last December that I saw nobody wearing thongs. Its uncommon in summer in Australia not to see thongs.

 

Unfortunately, an American couple chimed in saying how inappropriate it would be to wear a thong on QM2. I laughed and explained I meant thongs as in 'they go on your feet'.

[capnpugwash]

Sadly with advancing age and the consequences thereof, both types of thongs end up on or very near your feet!

[Louise D]

Sadly with advancing age and the consequences thereof, both types of thongs end up on or very near your feet!

 

Sounds like you have personal experience of this awful phenomenon. Next time you are on a Cunard ship, the Fashion Police will be waiting for you.:eek:

[Pushka]

Sadly with advancing age and the consequences thereof, both types of thongs end up on or very near your feet!

 

:eek: I really need to scrub that image from my consciousness.

[fantasy51]

I agree with you that MBTI is rubbish in the context of attitude to the dress code.

 

Sorry Louise but I did not ever mention the MBTI itself but rather the general theory behind it all. I think the long questionnaire that is the MBTI would be a bit of an overkill for the Fashion Police. You have enough to do as it is. :D

 

In terms of general theory, I mentioned Myers-Briggs (for those of you who know, specifically the Sensate-iNtuitive scale) NOT in the context of ATTITUDE to the dress code itself, but rather in terms of people NOTICING what is happening around them (specifically what other people are wearing). This is indeed a valid interpretation of the theory. Some of you notice when people disregard the dress code. I have been on at least 8 cruises now and I can't recall noticing anyone dressed inappropriately. I'm sure there must have been some such people but I don't notice details such as dress unless there is something spectacular that fires my imagination. I have had enough experience with the MBTI to know that this is common for iNtuitives.

 

I don't see this as a reason for iNtuitives to not conform to the dress code - and I am sure it is other factors that make people choose to dress inappropriately. I do, however, see the Sensate-iNtuitive spectrum as part of the background as to why some people notice infractions of the dress code in the first place, and why others of us are totally oblivious of them.

 

My attitude to the dress code is one of appreciation and adherence. My ability (or preference, to use personality theory terminology) to notice those who don't adhere to the dress code is very low.

[Whitemarsh]

I don't believe that people don't notice what others are wearing. I think it's a behaviour that they want to believe in themselves (at the very least) and for others to believe of them (more importantly).

 

When people say "I don't notice what others are wearing" this would have to cover all situations. Unless they are lying, they could, for example, never pay a lady a compliment on her outfit or tell a bride her wedding gown is beautiful. Why? Because they claim to never notice what anyone is wearing. Therefore they can't see the lady's outfit or wedding gown.

 

For those that claim that this is the case for them, do they just see a grey blur from the head down? Or do their fellow human-beings appear as heads bouncing around with nothing underneath?

 

Also confusing is the concept of admitting to seeing what others are wearing but claiming not to notice whether the outfit being observed adheres to the dress code. I don't see how this could be, as the thought process involved would be involuntary. The mind is so quick that I am sure it would have noted and processed the outfit, then decided whether or not it adhered to the dress code in about two seconds flat - all whilst reviewing the menu and half listening to a conversation on the other side of the table.

[fantasy51]

I don't believe that people don't notice what others are wearing. I think it's a behaviour that they want to believe in themselves (at the very least) and for others to believe of them (more importantly).

 

Believe what you like Whitemarsh! And enjoy your beliefs! :D

 

I am very interested in the differences between people. I believe understanding is the first step to accepting those differences. I have read your posts about the dress code and learnt to accept that others have different priorities onboard ship and notice different things.

 

I said I notice things that are spectacularly beautiful. I have an eye for the dramatic in fashion. I also tend to blank out many things around me. In common with people of my temperament, I am often 'away with the fairies'. I think about things that are more important to ME than what others are wearing.

 

I remember being on a course years ago that dealt with this issue. We had been in the room over an hour before someone said 'Aren't those roses beautiful?' The Sensates all chimed in with 'I noticed them the moment I walked in the room' and 'It's rare to see roses of that colour'. The iNtuitives looked around saying 'Roses? What roses?' People are not all the same.

 

It is POSSIBLE (but don't put money on it) that after all the threads I have read lately about the dress code, I will notice aberrations on my next cruise. It might have reached the level of an idea that is interesting to me. I like ideas, and if I remember, I might actively look around to see who is breaking the code, but it will have to be a conscious thing, because basically at this stage, I don't care what people wear. I am more concerned with who they are.

 

I am very happy to believe that the dress code is important to you, and to accept that as part of you. Why are you not happy to believe what I say and to accept me with all my foibles? What a boring world it would be if 'one size fits all'. ;)

[Austcruiser84]

Believe what you like Whitemarsh! And enjoy your beliefs! :D

 

I am very interested in the differences between people. I believe understanding is the first step to accepting those differences. I have read your posts about the dress code and learnt to accept that others have different priorities onboard ship and notice different things.

 

I said I notice things that are spectacularly beautiful. I have an eye for the dramatic in fashion. I also tend to blank out many things around me. In common with people of my temperament, I am often 'away with the fairies'. I think about things that are more important to ME than what others are wearing.

 

I remember being on a course years ago that dealt with this issue. We had been in the room over an hour before someone said 'Aren't those roses beautiful?' The Sensates all chimed in with 'I noticed them the moment I walked in the room' and 'It's rare to see roses of that colour'. The iNtuitives looked around saying 'Roses? What roses?' People are not all the same.

 

It is POSSIBLE (but don't put money on it) that after all the threads I have read lately about the dress code, I will notice aberrations on my next cruise. It might have reached the level of an idea that is interesting to me. I like ideas, and if I remember, I might actively look around to see who is breaking the code, but it will have to be a conscious thing, because basically at this stage, I don't care what people wear. I am more concerned with who they are.

 

I am very happy to believe that the dress code is important to you, and to accept that as part of you. Why are you not happy to believe what I say and to accept me with all my foibles? What a boring world it would be if 'one size fits all'. ;)

 

I concur. I believe we should celebrate difference (aka bad taste). Whitemarsh, consider what would happen without this "difference"! There would be nobody to judge.

 

Nobody to judge means nobody to scorn.

 

Nobody to scorn means no need for the Fashion Police.

 

No Fashion Police and everyone is suddenly unemployed!

 

Not to mention that the number of CC threads would decline by half...leading to a less engaging experience.

 

So, let's celebrate difference!

[fantasy51]

For those that claim that this is the case for them, do they just see a grey blur from the head down? Or do their fellow human-beings appear as heads bouncing around with nothing underneath?

 

I LOVE this picture! The problem is that I'd have to extend it to not seeing the heads either. What colour is the hair of the person I just spoke to? I don't know unless it was so spectacular that it sparked off some association in my thought processes.

 

My mind is too busy dealing with ideas. I'm interested in the 'two birds in the bush, rather than the bird in the hand'. I let my 'mind inform my eyes', whereas you let your 'eyes inform your mind'. I tend to see things with memory and associations. I see patterns and meanings and assess possibilities. If something my mind sees, chimes with my ideas or associations, then it goes into conscious recognition. If not, then my mind does not focus on it. Ask me about the details around me and I'd have to consciously look at them in order to answer your question.

 

Is this a problem for me? Not at all! You might think I miss out on the richness of colour and sound and scent and texture around me. I no doubt do. I might think you miss out on the richness of ideas and associations in the world around you. That's my privilege to think what I will - as long as I don't criticise you for it. That, after all, is like criticising someone for having a specific colour of hair.

[Whitemarsh]

Believe what you like Whitemarsh! And enjoy your beliefs! :D

 

Thanks. To be honest, I don't remember asking for your permission, but it's nice to have it all the same. :)

 

I am very interested in the differences between people. I believe understanding is the first step to accepting those differences. I have read your posts about the dress code and learnt to accept that others have different priorities onboard ship and notice different things.

 

I said I notice things that are spectacularly beautiful. I have an eye for the dramatic in fashion. I also tend to blank out many things around me. In common with people of my temperament, I am often 'away with the fairies'. I think about things that are more important to ME than what others are wearing.

 

That's all well and good. But, you're still going to notice what others are wearing. Just like you'll notice what colour the sky is or whether it's night or day.

 

When someone says "I never notice what others are wearing" it sounds as silly as saying " I never notice age" or "I never notice gender". These are just things that we observe in others - involuntarily. Just as we do with whatever they are wearing.

 

It is POSSIBLE (but don't put money on it) that after all the threads I have read lately about the dress code, I will notice aberrations on my next cruise. It might have reached the level of an idea that is interesting to me. I like ideas, and if I remember, I might actively look around to see who is breaking the code

 

Do not actively look for people who are not adhering to the dress code. There's no pleasure in that, you won't find anything beautiful to admire. Only a sadist would want to seek out those that want to walk about in their tracksuits and jeans on a formal night.

 

Those who ignore the dress code will intrude on the loveliness that is a formal night on Cunard, whether you like it or not. There's no effort involved in seeing them, unfortunately. :(

 

but it will have to be a conscious thing, because basically at this stage, I don't care what people wear. I am more concerned with who they are.

 

How enlightened you are. ;)

 

It is, of course, entirely possible to notice/care what others are wearing (situation dependent) and be concerned with who they are.

 

I don't care what people wear in the dog park or down at the shops; I still notice, but I don't care. Having said that, what people choose to wear gives us an insight into their personality. I don't believe anyone could be genuinely interested in someone if they deliberately choose to ignore one facet of their being.

 

I am very happy to believe that the dress code is important to you, and to accept that as part of you. Why are you not happy to believe what I say and to accept me with all my foibles? What a boring world it would be if 'one size fits all'. ;)

 

I simply do not believe that people do not notice what others are wearing. As I said before, it's like saying that they don't notice gender, race or age. These are things that we just observe involuntarily and process as we go about our business.

 

Now, if someone was to claim that they don't care what others are wearing, this would be a different statement altogether. It would also be a believable one. If you state that you don't care what others are wearing then I believe you - but it doesn't make you a nicer person or more caring and sharing than someone that does care.

 

I have to say that I do think the whole "I don't care what others are wearing" thing has boundaries that could be pushed. If, for example, your child was getting married would it really be okay if some of the guests turned up in football gear or tracksuits? What if you (sadly) had to attend a funeral of a dear friend, would you not think it was disrespectful if some of the attendees turned up in gardening clothes or soiled casual gear?