ma_in_ak Posted November 13, 2006 #26 Share Posted November 13, 2006 the same stuuupid question from some fat, dumb, american with a hillbilly accent came up "Heeeyy, who's driving the boat (not ship).. Glad to hear you have such a great opinion of Americans. Having an accent doesn't make a person stupid or a hillbilly. I'd bet most of the people asking that question thought they were being funny, just like the people who call me at work from Florida or California like to inform me of their current temperature compared to ours. I work for a tour company and get asked a lot of the same questions multiple times a day. That doeesn't mean the people are stupid. You can't expect people from big cities to understand the Alaska bush, nor everyone to understand how cruise ships operate. That doesn't make them stupid. Working with (or for) the public means patience and caring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbean dreams Posted November 13, 2006 #27 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Glad to hear you have such a great opinion of Americans. Having an accent doesn't make a person stupid or a hillbilly. I'd bet most of the people asking that question thought they were being funny, just like the people who call me at work from Florida or California like to inform me of their current temperature compared to ours. I work for a tour company and get asked a lot of the same questions multiple times a day. That doeesn't mean the people are stupid. You can't expect people from big cities to understand the Alaska bush, nor everyone to understand how cruise ships operate. That doesn't make them stupid. Working with (or for) the public means patience and caring. I was waiting for someone respond to that very emportant point!! I'm from Juneau, just moved to California a few years ago so i know exactly what you mean about the "same questions multiple times a day" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMate Posted November 14, 2006 #28 Share Posted November 14, 2006 I apologize if my attitude towards americans seems somewhat hostile. I guess that is influenced by years of dealing with them on different cruise ships. I guess if I had been working out of Europe or Australia the situation has been the same there. However, the point you commented is only one of my experiences with passengers, and my opinion is that a great deal of cruise passengers are quite ignorant. Of course guests and passengers should be treated with care and respect, but it must be allowed to have a laugh behind the scenes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma_in_ak Posted November 14, 2006 #29 Share Posted November 14, 2006 No harm. I don't have an issue with laughing at some of the questions people ask, just the way it was presented - the fat dumb American part was not appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr81 Posted November 14, 2006 #30 Share Posted November 14, 2006 When we officers walked around the ship, the same stuuupid question from some fat, dumb, american with a hillbilly accent came up "Heeeyy, who's driving the boat (not ship).. And the appropriate answer would be.... "It's on cruise control". Every culture/country/state/city/(fill in the blank) has their share of people that dont think before speaking. We dumb fat americans just seem to be the ones that get noticed more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMate Posted November 15, 2006 #31 Share Posted November 15, 2006 No harm. I don't have an issue with laughing at some of the questions people ask, just the way it was presented - the fat dumb American part was not appreciated. Well - in this case it was a big fat dumb american:) But on the other hand - the folks over there are not exactly known for their great self irony;) From a foreign point of view you have a great deal to learn from your neighbours in the north - the great people of Canada - in that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr81 Posted November 16, 2006 #32 Share Posted November 16, 2006 Why oh why do I feel the need to reply.:eek: But on the other hand - the folks over there are not exactly known for their great self irony;) Isn't it ironic...oh wait, thats a song by a Canadian.:rolleyes: From a foreign point of view you have a great deal to learn from your neighbours in the north - the great people of Canada - in that matter. If your responding to ma_in_ak then it would be neighours to the east.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMate Posted November 20, 2006 #33 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Sorry, didn't notice Alaska there..my mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooKeef Posted November 24, 2006 #34 Share Posted November 24, 2006 However, the point you commented is only one of my experiences with passengers, and my opinion is that a great deal of cruise passengers are quite ignorant. Of course guests and passengers should be treated with care and respect, but it must be allowed to have a laugh behind the scenes. We are all ignorant until we learn from our experiences...that is what makes us human, our ability to learn from experiences and reason out problems. Good for these people for reaching out and taking what they considered an adventurous step...my family is from the Blue Ridge of VA and probably would have laughed at your comment too. so don't worry about it. However know that we should try not to be "burnt out" and view everything in a sour way. Every culture has "different" people with different senses of humor. It makes life so interesting:) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud9 Bob Posted November 25, 2006 #35 Share Posted November 25, 2006 One of my Mom's friends knew my cruise would include Key West as a port of call. He said, "Oh...when in Key West, make sure you go to see that nice area where the cruise ships dock" :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kakalina Posted December 7, 2006 #36 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Perhaps the funniest was on our recent Zaandam cruise to Hawaii. A lady was just staring at the pool with a quizzical look on her face. I asked her if anything was wrong. She actually said " I'm trying to figure out where the wave machine is" She really thought a maching was making the cool waves in the pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliciajayn Posted December 22, 2006 #37 Share Posted December 22, 2006 We are all ignorant until we learn from our experiences...that is what makes us human, our ability to learn from experiences and reason out problems. Good for these people for reaching out and taking what they considered an adventurous step...my family is from the Blue Ridge of VA and probably would have laughed at your comment too. so don't worry about it. However know that we should try not to be "burnt out" and view everything in a sour way. Every culture has "different" people with different senses of humor. It makes life so interesting:) . hey wookeef...im a senior at jmu and from northern va...haha i understand the obvious snottiness of northern virginians to our valley/blue ridge neighbors....i suppose the "cultures" of the two are just meant to clash! have fun on your first cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compucruiser Posted February 5, 2007 #38 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Here's a few I've had to answer from friends/family: Do the value of the casino chips change when we go to a foreign country? Why doesn't my cell phone work when we're in the middle of the ocean? (Old one, since many cruise lines are now offering service) Can we drink the water from the ship when we're in Mexico? Is the water in the toilet fresh or salt water? And the question I always ask - Where did the cabin steward put my huge suitcase? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolfansam Posted April 22, 2007 #39 Share Posted April 22, 2007 There's the ever popular, How high above sea level are we? Uh, what deck are you on? Then there was the lady that called the desk to say she couldn't ge out of her cabin becase there was a do not disturb sign on the door. Seems like every CD has the same jokes. When we were on the Magica, I took to reading the signs. My favorite was on the back of the toilet that said Do Not Flush Whilst Seated. Don't you know somewhere along the way some schmuck actually tried it and broke his arm? :) Even though we hear the same jokes from the CD on every cruise they are still quite funny. We still laugh everytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packercruising Posted April 22, 2007 #40 Share Posted April 22, 2007 You mean like What time is the midnight buffet? What do they do with the ice sculptures when they melt? Is there an elevator that goes to the front of the ship? You would think there would be some new ones out there. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanky Lad Posted April 23, 2007 #41 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Four days into a transatlantic on QE2 last year, a lady at afternoon tea asked me if they made their own cakes on the ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retcwby Posted April 27, 2007 #42 Share Posted April 27, 2007 I've wondered about the cakes myself, some of them taste like the sara lee frozen thaw and serve stuff..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanniC Posted April 28, 2007 #43 Share Posted April 28, 2007 I was paying off my cruise at the TA office and there was a couple thier arguing with the TA about why she kept saying they didn't need a passport to go to Hawaii. The TA said to me, "Danielle you lived there tell them Hawaii is part of the US". I told them but not sure if they believed me. They said they would get one just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeljohn Posted April 28, 2007 #44 Share Posted April 28, 2007 A group of several of us cigar aficionados were in the cigar lounge smoking one night, and upon entering a lady asked her husband: " Why is this place so smokey?" "Probably a fire someplace" he quipped " I hope NOT!" she replied. "The closet fire station is back on shore!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeLoveCruiseShips Posted May 3, 2007 #45 Share Posted May 3, 2007 We were on the P&O Ship Oriana and overheard a chap talking to his wife early one morning. 'Oh my Jane' he said, 'look at the ice on these railings!' It was 21 degrees and climbing! Not exactly 'salt' of the earth was he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monalisa67 Posted May 4, 2007 #46 Share Posted May 4, 2007 My mom who was lost all the time :confused: kept asking: "Are we in the front or the back of the ship?" Do you rely? :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deban42 Posted May 4, 2007 #47 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I worked at a very well known restaurant in Alaska and we had many cruise ship passengers stop by for lunch, the most common question from them was......Do you live here? I would smile and say "no i fly in everyday to serve lunch" it always would cause a laugh. This is as bad as someone asking for an egg omelet:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIANDTE Posted June 4, 2007 #48 Share Posted June 4, 2007 While cruising to Hawaii on the radiance of the Seas last Sept I over heard a elderly lady ask her daughter "How many times has this ship sunk" there was no reply.:eek: :mad: :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Dad Posted June 7, 2007 #49 Share Posted June 7, 2007 We were on the P&O Ship Oriana and overheard a chap talking to his wife early one morning. 'Oh my Jane' he said, 'look at the ice on these railings!' It was 21 degrees and climbing! Not exactly 'salt' of the earth was he? It took me a minute to realize that you meant 21 degrees CELSIUS! Makes more sense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisekrazy63 Posted June 8, 2007 #50 Share Posted June 8, 2007 I had a coworker who asked me, "Doesn't it freak you out to have people walk past your room when you get a balcony?" Duh, that would freak me out if they were walking on water! I guess they didn't understand the concept of "at sea". pretty funny though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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