Snobs and whatnot....

[newmexicoNita]

From time to time I notice words that creep into some threads that are used to describe X clientel...I've decided to take them as compliments :D .

 

Dull...people who read, converse quietly, find enjoyment in their partners company and don't have to yell, scream and over-drink to find a cruise (or any other activity) enjoyable.

 

Snob...one who has found joy in good food, knows good wine from bad and dresses as requested for events such as dinner. A person who has manners, and uses them.

 

Boring...people who are simply not demonstrative in their actions. I'm a guest on this cruise, not the entertainment. I really don't think people around me want to see me making an a$$ of myself....only Jill sees that ;) .

 

Old....I'm 46, am I old?? I started cruising X at 31, was I old then??

 

In conclusion, I am an OLD, BORING, DULL, SNOB....and I couldn't be happier with my life. Enjoy what this line offers and let them know that it's what we want, if it disappears we'll miss it A LOT!!!

you can consider all these words compliments but they go a little deeper: a snob is more than someone who enjoys good food, wine and dresses as requested; it is someone who puts others down and flaunts what they consider class. BTW, they are usually quite boring and boring is a bit different to some than what you have discribed. Old is not 46 or 64, but a frame of mind. And as for dull; you have that all wrong. I do not consider myself dull, but love spending time with my DH of 48 years, read constantly, especially on planes and cruises and do not have to have the place jumping to enjoy myself. Dull and boring often fit together. I doubt you are any of the above. NMnita

[Schplinky]

Dan,

 

I turn 40 in a couple of months. Would that make me old or just coming into my prime?

 

As someone who writes for part of my paycheck, I find words like classy, refined, superior, etc., to be rather loaded terms on these boards.

 

I like your take on BODS. It's the only way I'll ever be noticed for my bod[y].

[2ladies]

Yup - Hyacinth still around - actually we met her probable sister on the Infinity - say no more, my lips are sealed!!! Ghastly!!!

 

I know the scenario so well, that I laugh before things happen - just knowing what is coming makes it even funnier!!!! Brilliant series!! Trust us Brits!!!

 

Are you watching Idol? Actually, I think that a few are quite talented - however, the question mark is over how amateur they really are!!

 

Glad to hear your weather is improving - today has been very hot and humid here - too bad, so sad!!! Ft.L is busy still and we are grateful to be able to enjoy the weather.

 

I had a small problem with Princess which they have now sorted out. They sent me a really charming, apologetic letter - I am surprised - pleasantly surprised. Remnants of their British past possibly!!! Three cheers for Princess!!

 

Now I come to think of it, I think we Brits INVENTED snobbery!! The funny thing is that the really wealthy or well-bred are never snobby - only the wannabees!!!

 

Keep in touch Arlene and love to all.

 

Roz

[Schplinky]

Dan, I just turned 48 this past Saturday....I must be in the

"OLD" range now.

 

 

Happy Birthday, Lois! I hope you got to have a chocolate martini or two!

[Lois R]

Schplinky, thank you:)

 

Actually, I had something called A "Flirtini"....with fresh

raspberries.:)

And I had a creme brulee for dessert:D

[newmexicoNita]

Schplinky, thank you:)

 

Actually, I had something called A "Flirtini"....with fresh

raspberries.:)

And I had a creme brulee for dessert:D

Lois, the creme brulee sounds yummy, the Flirtini well? I am still a true puritan: a basic dry Martini is what I want. You can add a couple extra olives and maybe a little olive juise but forget the apple flavor, etc. NMnita

[PaulMedik]

From time to time I notice words that creep into some threads that are used to describe X clientel...I've decided to take them as compliments :D .

 

Dull...people who read, converse quietly, find enjoyment in their partners company and don't have to yell, scream and over-drink to find a cruise (or any other activity) enjoyable.

 

Snob...one who has found joy in good food, knows good wine from bad and dresses as requested for events such as dinner. A person who has manners, and uses them.

 

Boring...people who are simply not demonstrative in their actions. I'm a guest on this cruise, not the entertainment. I really don't think people around me want to see me making an a$$ of myself....only Jill sees that ;) .

 

Old....I'm 46, am I old?? I started cruising X at 31, was I old then??

 

In conclusion, I am an OLD, BORING, DULL, SNOB....and I couldn't be happier with my life. Enjoy what this line offers and let them know that it's what we want, if it disappears we'll miss it A LOT!!!

 

 

 

Danno,

 

 

I'm not old either (40), but I do fit the profile you mentioned. I haven't cruised X yet and don't know that I will because I do like to see others having fun and know that I can join in if I so choose. :) I don't drink wine though and wouldn't know good wine from rancid grape juice; is there a difference?

 

If I were the exact type that people indicate should be cruising X, I'd still cruise Carnival. What good would it be to be a stuck up snob and not have fun loving folks to look down on? :D

[Schplinky]

Schplinky, thank you:)

 

Actually, I had something called A "Flirtini"....with fresh

raspberries.:)

And I had a creme brulee for dessert:D

 

I love creme brulee and I had a martini on Constellation called a flirtini but it tasted more like pixie stix than rasberries! :)

 

We're going on Freedom of the Seas in September to Celebrate my 40th. The actual birthday is in May but going in September meant we could go on Freedom (which doesn't launch until June) and afford our first balcony. I'll be looking forward to creme brulee for lunch each day and silly drinks every evening. Birthdays are great!

[suncoastgirl]

I guess you could call me a snob or BODS as you are referring to it in this thread. I love to read, have money, dress appropriate when required (although prefer shorts and t-shirts), behave in a respectable manner and do know quality wine from bad. I have impeccable manners due to my deep south upbringing (LA).

 

But, I still prefer to cruise the "other" line. Why? I like to have fun. I don't drink, talk loudly, etc. I just like to have fun. After all I am not dead, yet. I am only 44. Why not have fun? Notice I said fun not to be the entertainment. Not all Carnival cruisers are like that. Unfortunately, they give us all a bad name.

 

Differences are what make the world an interesting place. Let's all learn from them and respect each others differences. I hope you all enjoy your next X cruise and I will enjoy mine on Carnival.

[Bob & Sandy]

Looking forward to Constellation in June! Now, is there

some pretentious book I should be packing along to read

on deck ... ? (Snaps fingers) Another drink, please!:D

[caribbean dreams]

Great! thanks for letting me know that i am a boring smob.

[jakvek]

Lois - cheers to many more birthdays!

 

Vickie and John

[usha]

Happy belated birthday, Lois!:)

[PaulMedik]

............ (Snaps fingers) Another drink, please!:D

 

 

Bob & Sandy,

 

No finger snaping needed on Carnival; I had to tell the Lido deck bar fellow that I'd let him know if I needed another drink. Keeping your drink full is something Carnival does real well. ;)

 

I really haven't seen any of the so called 'Carnival' behavior on Carnival either though it is amusing to read of the stereotypes. :)

[Offtune Angel]

BODS... the picture that word conjures up reflects nothing that I see in my mirror, much as I may wish it so. My 'BOD' disappeared with my first child.;)

 

The Bard claimed:"A Rose, by any other name is still a Rose..." In reality, I fear I'm "Our Daisy", though my heart craves all "Hyacinth's" goals.

 

I think that I must be a BODS-SNOB:

• I Bore my kids (oh, that's ambiguous!!!);
  
• I'm Older than both Danno and Lois and went on my first cruise (5 days) at the age of 23 -- on Lake Winnipeg, believe it or not;
  
• My store-bought (wow, I am old :rolleyes: ) teeth are sometimes Dull;
  
• I was a proud, virtual card carrying X- SNOB last year (and will gladly pay (in fact, double) my membership fee for this year's card) who has cruised on a number of different cruiselines, but prefers being spoiled famously by Celebrity

Danno, I though we were X-SNOBs!:D

 

Happy belated Birthday Lois. :) I'm an older X-SNOB than you, I turned 54 last Friday.

 

Terry

[Lois R]

Hi John and Vickie..is that ya'll? From Century last year? Thanks

for the birthday wishes:)

Usha, thank you as well! And Terry too! Belated Happy birthday

back at you:)

[Danno]

Danno, I though we were X-SNOBs!:D

 

Terry

 

We are nothing if not diverse....;)

[babyher]

Very interesting therad with many many good opinions and points of view.

 

After reading this I truly have no idea where I fit in *LOL*

 

I am 43 years old and have my times when I love to sit and read and just relax . Enjoy a quiet dinner and nice conversation with old or new found friends. I love all types of music, from Jazz and big band to SOME of the stuff the kids are listening too today. I enjoy fine dining and an elegent atmosphere.

 

And then I have times when I love to party!!!!!! And when I mean party I do not mean an drunken , fall down, throw up on myself frenzy. i mean having a few drinks, having some fun and a few laughs with people, yea getting silly and goofy but not to the annoyance of others.

 

I can equally enjoy myself sitting alone reading a good book or watching a documentary on TV, watching an old movie on TV , listening to a big band or jazz group, or watching Room Raiders on MTV with my teens, or cutting up with a bunch of good friends and having a few drinks. I enjoy Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra , and Ray Charles. and yet I also like Coldplay, Lifehouse , and Savage Garden :) Go figure *LOL*

 

I enjoy fine dining and good wine , but every once in a while good old fashioned artery clogging junk is pretty good too. *LOL*

 

Usually our gang is the one people will start gravatating too because we sound like we are having a ball. And we are.

 

I agree with the post that thinks snobs are people who believe they are better than others because of social status, or financial status, where you are from, who you are and all that.

 

I was brought up by middle class folks who worked hard to send me to very good private schools. Yes I am blessed to have gotten a very good education, but also got to see what real snobs and bores are.

 

To this day, nothing "Bores " me more than lines like "Do you know who my father/husband/brother/cousin/whatever is?" It has been my experience that people with real class are some of the nicest ,welcoming and accepting people I know. And that has nothing to do with what they do for a living or what they have in the bank.

 

For the record , I think Hyacinth Bucket is hysterical as a character on a TV show, I love her:) As a neighbor in real life I'd kill her *LOL*

[herb]

I think Hyacinth Bucket is hysterical as a character on a TV show, I love her:) As a neighbor in real life I'd kill her *LOL*

 

pronounced "Bouquet" :D

[2ladies]

Only if you are French - moi, I am English - true blue through and through!! Ha ha!!!

 

Anyone know any American Hyacinths? We recently met one on our last cruise!

[babyher]

pronounced "Bouquet" :D

 

Hey Pal ,

 

How are ya? haven't seen you around in a while

 

Oh yes Bouquet , bouquet *LOL*

[babyher]

Only if you are French - moi, I am English - true blue through and through!! Ha ha!!!

 

Anyone know any American Hyacinths? We recently met one on our last cruise!

 

 

As a matter of fact I do know one.

 

Basically a very nice lady, but she loves rubbing elbows with the upper crust and having everything just so, and all the name dropping.

 

She is a minor player in local politics around here , so she gets invited to all these fund raisers and cocktail parties with the whos who, and who thinks they are who *LOL* in our city. She does know a lot of people but not as many or as intimately as she would have you think.

 

She will talk about this one and that one like they are old friends and first naming everyone. "Oh I was talking to Fred and Ethel last night (The Mayor and his wife to everyone else *LOL*), and Ethel wants me to come for dinner one night to ask for decorating tips because she just loved the way I did my living room.

 

The funny thing is that when people who really do know these hoi polloi people ask about this women, either they have no idea who she is , or they know her by name or sight, but are hardly best buddies like she describes.

 

Like I said a sweet lady, but she does locve travelling with the upper crust, even if it is on their coat tails *LOL*

[meaty_petey]

These boards have been an interesting study in contrasts for me. My only cruising experience was a Cunard transatlantic crossing (loved it) and I never had any interest in "booze cruises". Consequently, when my parents announced they were taking the whole family on a Carnival cruise this year I just about had a heart attack. I discovered these boards in my attempt to seek guidance from other Carnival travelers with sophisticated tastes similar to mine because I earnestly wanted to make the most of the vacation.

 

My time spent on the Carnival boards have revealed some very interesting differences in types of passengers. First, a minority of Carnival fans absolutely refuse to recognize that "fun" is a subjective term and don't hesitate to label anyone who doesn't enjoy hairy chest contests and singing waiters to be a "snob". These people's defenses of Carnival often end up being the worst possible PR. To wit: recently some fans criticized Crystal's high level of customer service as "buttkissing" and mocked the idea of ordering canapés on board by referring to salmon mouse as "whipped fish". (The frequent posts about how to smuggle booze on board doesn’t help Carnival’s image much either!)

 

But the most interesting insight comes from the more refined passengers that still genuinely prefer Carnival over the more sophisticated lines. (You can see evidence of such people in some of the posts in this very thread.) They would often cite Carnival's itineraries or costs as being the deciding factors but I was baffled at why they wouldn't pay more or chose a less than perfect itinerary in order to avoid the less sophisticated elements of a Carnival cruise. I eventually noticed a trend: repeated advice to ignore distasteful aspects of any given cruise.

 

Time and again people would say "I just ignore" mediocre food, inattentive staff, underdressed diners, long lineups, drunken passengers, gaudy decor, etc., etc., etc. Instead, they would focus solely on the positive. This was very illuminating as I realized once again how different people are. I didn't realize that some people have the ability to shut these things out! While I admire this very practical trait, I could not force myself to do this no matter how much I might wish to. The flip side of this realization is that I now see that these types of people genuinely don’t believe this is a genetic ability but rather as a simple matter of choice. So you end up with two groups people with identical tastes casting completely different social judgments on each other – those without the “choice” chromosome consider the others “classless” while the second group calls the first “snobs”!

 

Now I understand why I generally feel so much more at home with Cunard or Crystal passengers (and why I was so baffled with people who would pay thousands of dollars for a vacation only to spend so much of their time “ignoring” its inherent drawbacks). It’s not solely a matter of having more sophisticated standards (even most Carnival cruisers will admit to that fact), but in many cases it’s about lacking the ability to set aside those standards. I’ve come to realize it’s not really a matter of being right or wrong, it’s just a fact of life.

 

(For the record, the advice I received from similar Carnival cruisers – other than “just ignore it” - was invaluable and I’m genuinely excited about my upcoming vacation!)

[Schplinky]

Very interesting perspective, Petey. One thing I've noticed, too, is that even when standards change, folks have a fierce loyalty to a line when they've historically had good sailings. I've seen folks ripped to shreds on most of the boards for criticising something that disappointed them. They are told that their expectations were too high, that all lines do whatever the offending practise was or that they are trouble-makers.

 

I don't think this is out of a particular meanness on the part of posters (at least for the most part). Rather, I think people have key memories from their lives that are centred around their holidays and when others say that a particular line is not as good as its fans think, mayhem ensues.

 

I also think that it is phenomenal how many people disparage experiences they have never had. Granted, themes develop when reading the different cruise line boards on cruise critic and elsewhere, but it amazes me how mean-spirited some people can be about suggesting that someone who does not enjoy an aspect of line's policy go off where they 'belong.' Invariably, Carnival is the place where all who have lower/different standards seems to belong in these threads.

 

As the ownership of cruise lines becomes more and more concentrated within four companies, I do think that the differences between lines are blurring. We heard daily bingo announcements on Constellation and we felt the experience was much like our experience on RCL, which is not surprisingly owned by the same company. I'm not saying that Crystal and Carnival will ever offer identical experiences but I do see the lines between brands (yes, they are just brands) owned by the same companies to be blurring.

[House_Atreides]

Although when sailing Carnival, I never saw fights breaking out at the pools and obnoxious behavior (except a few loud drunks, who cares, you ignore them and go about your business).

We had this huge family onboard in the Royal Suites (2 of them) who threw chairs into the pools, threw things overboards, started fist fights, oh they were awful, Celebrity was going to get them to disembark at Grand Cayman and they never disembarked till the end of the cruise!!

Mind you this didn't disrupt my cruise!! There isn't much that will disrupt my cruise except having to get off the ship at the end of the cruise!!!

But there are exceptions to every rule. Unfortunatly some people behave like animals, no matter what cruise line you're on.

Me, I'm a X girl and NCL. Now go figure ;) I guess I like variety!!!!

Mary