What are your thoughts on discussing politics in the MDR?

[JRG]

9 minutes ago, clo said:

Hold on. I don't confess this to many but I've never seen a single Star Trek!!!! I keep meaning. And I'm old as dirt 🙂

 

For those who might vaguely remember, Its the TV show that came on before the Geritol commercial and was followed by the Lawrence Welk show.

 

Who could ever forget Concha and Laura.

[clo]

5 minutes ago, JRG said:

 

For those who might vaguely remember, Its the TV show that came on before the Geritol commercial and was followed by the Lawrence Welk show.

 

Who could ever forget Concha and Laura.

Oh hell, I never saw Star WARS.

 

[clo]

6 minutes ago, JRG said:

followed by the Lawrence Welk show.

Which my parents never missed.

[ilikeanswers]

2 hours ago, mom says said:

And, for all that you hold dear, NEVER mention Star Wars in a Star Trek conversation. ☄️

 

Now if you really want to throw the cat amongst the pigeon just say "I really enjoyed Star Wars episode 8 and 9"😱

[cruisemom42]

After reviewing all of the potential topics that are off-limits, I have finally formulated a dining room conversational strategy that I think will work well.

 

After introductions are made, I will immediately launch into a monologue on parallels between the late Roman republican era and the modern-day US with special reference to .....oh wait, that's skating close to politics. 

 

Well, I can launch into a monologue on the foibles and personality quirks of the Roman emperors and ..... but wait, will that offend those who don't want to hear gossip about royalty and celebrities?

 

Shoot, I'll just bring my Kindle and read through dinner..... oops, no, that will be quickly spotted by the eagle-eyed among us as a humblebrag.

 

Hmmm, room service is looking good.

 

🤣🤣🤣🤷‍♀️

[ilikeanswers]

I think my strategy will be go so niche it will be unlikely anyone will have strong opinions on the subject. So who wants to join me in a conversation about the history of cement? Or perhaps we could talk about the properties of black holes? Maybe the intricacies of the Kula Ring of the Trobriand Islands😂. 

[CDNPolar]

...and I don't think that this has been mentioned yet, but if you do decide to talk about your past cruises and travels, it can quickly become a situation where you must "one up" their last travel story, because they just "one up'd" your last travel story.  This is almost like sharing your air travel nightmares.

[d9704011]

20 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

...and I don't think that this has been mentioned yet, but if you do decide to talk about your past cruises and travels, it can quickly become a situation where you must "one up" their last travel story, because they just "one up'd" your last travel story.  This is almost like sharing your air travel nightmares.

And before you know it, people are just making things up.

[CDNPolar]

52 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

And before you know it, people are just making things up.

 

No, really?  Come on... Now that I have completed my 100th cruise and 5 world cruises, I find that hard to believe!

[Elaine5715]

8 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

I think my strategy will be go so niche it will be unlikely anyone will have strong opinions on the subject. So who wants to join me in a conversation about the history of cement? Or perhaps we could talk about the properties of black holes? Maybe the intricacies of the Kula Ring of the Trobriand Islands😂. 

Cement? That sounds like a solid conversation.

[Elaine5715]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

...and I don't think that this has been mentioned yet, but if you do decide to talk about your past cruises and travels, it can quickly become a situation where you must "one up" their last travel story, because they just "one up'd" your last travel story.  This is almost like sharing your air travel nightmares.

Did I mentioned how the Captain asked me to dock the ship at Mahogany Bay after he saw me back into a parking spot in the garage?

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

...and I don't think that this has been mentioned yet, but if you do decide to talk about your past cruises and travels, it can quickly become a situation where you must "one up" their last travel story, because they just "one up'd" your last travel story.  This is almost like sharing your air travel nightmares.

Certainly a double edged sword.  But we have learned much (about travel) from others and it has served us well in more than 50 years of extensive (and often independent) travel.  Just asking well traveled folks to tell us about their favorite cruise/trip has paid many dividends.  Many of our travel decisions have been influenced by what we learned from others, while on cruises and driving trips.  

 

It is fascinating what you can learn from folks.  On a recent HAL cruise, we were surprised to find ourselves sharing a table (DW, me, and Tony) for 3 with a true travel expert.  He was Tony Wheeler, who is an Aussie who happened to be the founder (along with his DW) of the Lonely Planet Guides.  What a treat (I guess he enjoyed our company because he joined us for a 2nd dinner).  DW asked the inevitable question which was "what is your favorite place to visit."  Tony thought a long time and finally said "Chad!"  I would have expected him to say "India" but he made it clear that his favorites did evolve with the present and he did not live in the distant past.  We have yet to visit Chad, but who knows :).  One thing for sure is that nobody will visit Chat as part of a cruise.

 

Hank

[clo]

39 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

in more than 50 years of extensive (and often independent) travel.

Maybe substitute "after many years of all sorts of travel including cruises." ?

[navybankerteacher]

5 hours ago, d9704011 said:

And before you know it, people are just making things up.

Which is going to fairly likely.

[cruisemom42]

51 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

But we have learned much (about travel) from others and it has served us well in more than 50 years of extensive (and often independent) travel.  Just asking well traveled folks to tell us about their favorite cruise/trip has paid many dividends. 

 

Like Hank I love hearing the travel experiences of others and am not sure why some regard this as bragging or one-upmanship.

 

My long-held desire to visit Libya was ignited by a well-traveled Australian I met on a land-trip in Provence geared toward the Roman sites in the region.

 

And I'm still in awe of the 90-year old woman I met on a Voyages to Antiquity cruise (traveling alone and undaunted by several strenuous ports) who regaled us with stories of her adventures along the silk road six decades earlier on her own.

 

Edited February 4 by cruisemom42

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Like Hank I love hearing the travel experiences of others and am not sure why some regard this as bragging or one-upmanship.

 

My long-held desire to visit Libya was ignited by a well-traveled Australian I met on a land-trip in Provence geared toward the Roman sites in the region. And I'm still in awe of the 90-year old woman I met on a Voyages to Antiquity cruise (traveling alone and undaunted by several strenuous ports) who regaled us with stories of her adventures along the silk road six decades earlier on her own.

 

And after reading my last post I bet you are thinking about Chad!  ROFL.  I should also mention that on one Prinsendam cruise, we met one of the HAL dance hosts who told us his favorite trip was to Myanmar and along the Idywadee River.  When I asked him about the the danger of traveling in that part of the world, he insisted it was really not that much of an issue.  Hmmm

 

Hank

[JRG]

12 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Like Hank I love hearing the travel experiences of others and am not sure why some regard this as bragging or one-upmanship.

 

I thoroughly enjoy the travel writings of CC's best authors and never consider it bragging or one-upmanship when they share their experiences.    It may sound like Travels with Charley to some readers but they never make it sound like the Paul Harvey Show.  And when it comes down to one-upmanship,  I'm ranked #144 in California so I know what I am talking about.  (and I am always on the hunt-down for #143).

 

The danger for those who have written more copy than Tolstoy is in the area of FAQ's.   There can be a tendency to sound like Rush Limbaugh on opioids on certain subjects like "Do I need to Bring a Passport when I Cruise".      I'm not throwing anybody under the bus here or asking them  to fall on the double-edge sword, but there is no need to write the same Novella each time this question is asked, but that may be a function of not having a clearly published FAQ section for newer posters, and I understand that they just trying to be helpful.

 

I think our best travel writers our outstanding,  and that friends, is the rest of the story.

 

 

 

 

[clo]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

bragging or one-upmanship

Not I. Just repetitive.

[DarrenM]

On 1/28/2024 at 3:07 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

And conversely -- as an American who takes cruises on some lines with a high percentage of English-speaking non-Americans -- I have no interest in being asked about the American political situation. I'm on vacation; I'm not there to be your "token American with the answers".

 

I took the token amreican to a while new level on my last cruise.

 

Two American ladies sat near us and got talking to us when they spotted our Engliah accents.

 

I asked where tjey were from and when one said Fargo, I asked her how she managed to escape what with all the murders there.

 

She didn't get it.

[cruiseaholic777]

Never it always causes a fight.

[Korimako]

23 hours ago, JRG said:

 

I sometimes break the ice with a good Star Trek joke,....

 

....What Did Mr. Spock find in Captain Kirks restroom?

 

 

What on earth does this mean???

[GeezerCouple]

23 hours ago, JRG said:

 

I sometimes break the ice with a good Star Trek joke,....

 

....What Did Mr. Spock find in Captain Kirks restroom?

 

Is THAT where all the Charmin went back in 2020??

 

GC

[JRG]

10 minutes ago, Korimako said:

What on earth does this mean???

 

"Breaking the Ice" is a figure of speech meaning that somebody has to get the conversation started and it might as well be with humor, as opposed to a starting a political debate.

 

 

[Aquahound]

1 hour ago, DarrenM said:

Is it possible  to have a respectful conversation with someone admitting they are going to vote for a sociopath?

 

Probably not.  Then again, some people just can't admit that Southpark, season 8, episode 8, hit the nail right on the head.  

[Korimako]

1 hour ago, JRG said:

 

"Breaking the Ice" is a figure of speech meaning that somebody has to get the conversation started and it might as well be with humor, as opposed to a starting a political debate.

 

 

I am fully aware of what 'breaking the ice' means.

This is what I found to be totally incomprehensible. 

"What Did Mr. Spock find in Captain Kirks restroom?"