Conversation Starters

[jaspersmycat]

In the same vein as POA's "Awful ideas for a Meet and Greet". I'd like to hear some awful conversation starters. These can be in a bar, in the MDR or just anywhere unfamiliar people meet on the ship. They can be real or made up.

 

My favorite and (true) was being asked at first night dinner how much my house in California was worth.

 

I overheard someone else saying at the Mariners embarkation lunch, "I hope we don't have any ignorant hillbillys on this cruise." There was complete silence from the table mates.

 

Proof some things you just can't make up.

[albingirl]

I can't stand it when

I'm asked how many cruises we've been on. Seems intrusive and actually I've lost count.

 

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[Koshlong]

Who did you vote for in 2012? I was asked this several times on HAL cruises...........and after I'd told them I was from Ontario!

[jtl513]

Several times I've had people make disparaging remarks about one politician or another, but so far as I can recall I've never heard any bring up the other "big taboo", religion.

[OCruisers]

Conversation starters aren't that difficult ... sort of like things you'd say to people you've just met at a cocktail party. :)

LuLu

[durangoscots]

Not on a cruise, but I got asked once "how did you vote in the last election?" My answer was "by secret ballot".

 

Susan

[TheEmerson]

"Have you seen my sharp? I left it on that chair." "Just a word of warning, the Dr said I have Noro, but I cannot miss happy hour." "Why on earth did you wear that, you look like some department store reject." "&)&@:$3? Me! This %#]!@& cruise @%]<\ line is £%]% great. Hey waiter, %#]!@& pour me a %#]!@& vodka, %#]!@& triple %#]!@& shot. And one for my new %#]!@& friend." "I have misplaced my room card, can you pay for my drink?" "So, is your marriage an open one?"

[POA1]

Good topic, jaspersmycat!

[PathfinderEss]

Do you smoke............:eek:

[sppunk]

I was once asked at the first night's dinner if I was ashamed of America for slavery. That was a head scratcher.

[thetexasaggiecruiser]

At the sports bar (Noordam, true story)

 

Mr x: who're you pulling for?

Me and DH: team y

Mr x: loud, long drunken diatribe on shortcomings of team y's players coaches, you name it, punctuated by regular exhortations for us to agree.

Edited July 25, 2014 by thetexasaggiecruiser

[thetexasaggiecruiser]

I was once asked at the first night's dinner if I was ashamed of America for slavery. That was a head scratcher.

 

 

Oh my! That's a winner.

[Crew News]

Overheard in the Smoking Area on the aft lido, Caribbean, Nieuw Amsterdam, 2012:

 

When occupations were being declared by those in the area, one individual, seated at the next table, announced that he was a lawyer.

 

Passenger A: "I've never met an honest lawyer. Are you my first?"

Lawyer: "I must be honest since I live in a double-wide in Tennessee."

Others in the area that heard the conversation in unison: "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir."

[POA1]

I was seated next to a very nice gentleman at the lido pool bar. During the course of our conversation, he told me that he was 77. A little while later, he commented on the number of "older folks" on this particular cruise. Without missing a beat, I replied that I was happy to see people out, vacationing, and enjoying themselves.

 

He said, "When I get old, I hope that I can still travel like this."

 

"Me, too." said I, returning to my drink.

[KroozFoolz]

"How much did you pay for this cruise?"

[erewhon]

One occasion when we were asked "where are you from", our reply, New Zealand, was met with silence and a very puzzled look, the person then asked, "which part of America is that?" Followed by amazement to learn that we would fly so far to go on an Alaskan cruise, they then moaned that they had to fly 4 hours to get home again.

[Cruzin Terri]

"How much did you pay for this cruise?"

 

I've been asked that as well.

[RMLincoln]

One occasion when we were asked "where are you from", our reply, New Zealand, was met with silence and a very puzzled look, the person then asked, "which part of America is that?" Followed by amazement to learn that we would fly so far to go on an Alaskan cruise, they then moaned that they had to fly 4 hours to get home again.

 

Greetings J! The US does have a LOT of diversity. And that means a lot more fall into the 'not always the brightest' end of the spectrum....:rolleyes: Maybe someday they will get to travel further see the magnificence of New Zealand, as we were blessed to be able to do, and the lovely folks there as well. There's hope! m--

[Hlitner]

One occasion when we were asked "where are you from", our reply, New Zealand, was met with silence and a very puzzled look, the person then asked, "which part of America is that?" Followed by amazement to learn that we would fly so far to go on an Alaskan cruise, they then moaned that they had to fly 4 hours to get home again.

 

LOL! Not at all surprised. Many of our residents are geographically challenged. You should have looked that person in the eyes and said "are you excited about your first cruise to Russia?"

 

Hank

[jenp123]

One of the worst cruises for conversation s was around the time Obama care was first being talked about...every night at dinner I would sit down and the question of "where are you from" was asked and as soon as I said I was Canadian, I got to listen to my table tell me how bad the Canadian health care system is and how bad Obama care is going to be. This happened every night for the first 5/6 nights and with different tables every time. I started getting a table for 2 and eating alone..

 

Ps....this comment was not meant to start a debate on health care but just commenting on how uncomfortable it was to listen to people cut down a system in another country that they have no idea about and haven't used or experienced... .

[ellieanne]

Before my first cruise, I overheard a lady asking passengers just off the previous cruise "How are the rolls? Are they hard?" She really wanted a daily run down of the freshness and variety of the rolls available in the Main Dining Room at dinner. It was one of the strangest things I've heard. Since then, it's been a finally joke before we get on cruise, we have to ask (usually each other) "How are the rolls?"

[Krazy Kruizers]

Before we started asking for tables for 2, we used to have tables for 4.

Each evening the other couple would start with the same conversation "the food here is way more than what we get at the nursing home where we live". Then he would fall asleep between courses.

[Seago2]

For some reason, probably because we are at sea, I get the "why didn't

the shark eat the lawyer? Professional courtesy" joke almost every cruise. That goes along with general "I hate lawyers" comments. They really don't bother me- the worst of the worst is when I say I'm a matrimonial lawyer and I hear all about their divorce (a lot of times we've been at tables with a noncustodial parent taking his/her kids on a cruise). Extra points if the subject veers into child support with the kids sitting right there. Most people don't ask what jobs everyone has- no one wants to talk about home on a cruise. But eventually, after a few nights of sitting there waiting for entrees, the subject comes up.

[northernphoenix]

One of the worst cruises for conversation s was around the time Obama care was first being talked about...every night at dinner I would sit down and the question of "where are you from" was asked and as soon as I said I was Canadian, I got to listen to my table tell me how bad the Canadian health care system is and how bad Obama care is going to be. This happened every night for the first 5/6 nights and with different tables every time. I started getting a table for 2 and eating alone..

 

 

 

Ps....this comment was not meant to start a debate on health care but just commenting on how uncomfortable it was to listen to people cut down a system in another country that they have no idea about and haven't used or experienced... .

 

 

Were you on the NE/Canada cruise last fall? After three attempts at joining different dinner companions, my cousin and I ate a table for two for the balance of the cruise ! I have always enjoyed sharing and receiving information from fellow pax. This was unfortunately one of my takeaways from this cruise.

Marilyn

 

 

 

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[sapper1]

One of the worst cruises for conversation s was around the time Obama care was first being talked about...every night at dinner I would sit down and the question of "where are you from" was asked and as soon as I said I was Canadian, I got to listen to my table tell me how bad the Canadian health care system is and how bad Obama care is going to be. This happened every night for the first 5/6 nights and with different tables every time. I started getting a table for 2 and eating alone..

 

Ps....this comment was not meant to start a debate on health care but just commenting on how uncomfortable it was to listen to people cut down a system in another country that they have no idea about and haven't used or experienced... .

 

We were held captive for seven nights at a four top by a couple who were so fixated on their hatred of the president that no attempt to change the subject was successful. They were hoping for an assassination and we left the cruise wondering if we should call the FBI. I will never allow that situation to happen again. The subject will be dropped or we will eat in the Lido. People need to leave politics at home and enjoy their cruise.