Breakfast or lunch conversation

[lenquixote66]

You are on a cruise and seated with a group of strangers for breakfast or inch. The routine questions that people ask are where do you live,what is or was your job ?

 

Are you likely to tell them or do you give a variation ?

 

Inquiring minds want to know.

[DarrenM]

My job is very boring I'm an office clerk.

 

Hardly a decent conversation topic.

 

So I would lie And tell them I am a gigalo 

Edited October 10, 2019 by DarrenM

[DarrenM]

And say I am from a land far far away

 

[mom says]

Well, if it's breakfast,  they are unlikely to get an answer. Anybody who knows me knows better than to talk to me before I've had my breakfast and had time to properly wake up. 

 

Any other time- sure I'll answer them. And why would I lie? The answer may be boring, but it's not my purpose in life to provide  entertainment.

[NLH Arizona]

I've got no issues answering their questions honestly.

[ducklite]

We don't sit with strangers at breakfast, we get a table for two unless we run into people we know who invite us to join them.

 

At lunch it depends, but usually it's the same as breakfast--sometimes alone, sometimes with people we know.

 

At dinner most nights we ask for a larger table, although usually we have a couple of nights we just want to be alone to enjoy each others company.  We give general information--we live in the Orlando area, he's in I/T and I'm in sales.  We typically don't elaborate much and prefer to talk about things like what we did that day or what our plans are for the following day.  

 

 

[GUT2407]

Steer the topic towards what you have in common, the cruise, plans for the day, what you did yesterday.

 

 

but I have no idea why some people don’t want to say where they live or what they do for a job.

 

If it bothers you that much don’t eat with others 

[spookwife]

We get asked where are from and what our plans are for the day.  Anything more intimate  happens in the Lounge during cocktail hour

[DarrenM]

41 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

And say I am from a land far far away

 

Far away in time

[Cruiser_1977]

There was a thread not long ago about someone who was afraid they would suffer backlash for answering mundane questions. 

 

I haven't lied, yet. However, if someone wouldn't take a hint, was being unnecessarily intrusive, etc. I might fabricate some stuff to get them to go away LOL

[GUT2407]

My sister was a tax collector we told people she was an ax murder so they wouldn’t think badly of us.

[LHT28]

we eat alone at breakfast

not  a morning person ..so steer clear 😉

[XBGuy]

Some of the above responses are quite interesting.  I don't think I have ever been asked an embarrassing or inappropriate question.  Maybe I don't get out enough.

 

On the first full day of a recent cruise, I walked to the dining room for breakfast alone while my wife slept in.  I was escorted to an eight-top table at which seven people were already seated.  As I was seating myself, I announced to the table, "I'll bet that at least five of you are neighbors of mine."

 

The couple to first respond announced that they were from Phoenix, AZ.  "OK, across a state line, you're not a neighbor."

 

The other five people all lived within a one hour drive of where I live.

 

My prediction was not, really, that bold.  The ship sailed out of San Pedro.  Cruises out of San Pedro draw a lot of Southern Californians,

 

So, not only am I perfectly happy to respond to the "Where are you from?" question.  More often than not, I am the one asking it.

 

Similarly, I am happy to respond to the "What do you do?" question.  When I respond that I am retired, I am happy to respond to the "What did you do?" question that follows.  It's pretty boring, and, generally, does not stimulate more conversation.  So, we then, generally, move on to the "How are you enjoying the cruise?" and "What are you doing at the next port?" questions.

[cb at sea]

Fairly innocuous questions....it's called "chit-chat".  Sure, we answer, then ask them the same thing!  Then, we ask how they're enjoying their vacation...do they cruise often, and if so, where have you sailed....stuff like that.  We let the conversation take us where it will!

 

[Floridiana]

31 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Steer the topic towards what you have in common, the cruise, plans for the day, what you did yesterday.

 

Not at breakfast!

These are good questions for a first encounter. I usually ask where they are from, which land excursions and ship activities they enjoyed, whether they like the ship etc. I think it is awkward to ask about jobs right away. 

[Bizmark'sMom]

In the morning I just can't handle small talk. The caffeine hasn't gotten to all of the brain cells yet.  

[DarrenM]

Tell them you are a stow away. And illegal immigrant. An alien. A legal alien.

 

Oh the fun we can all have with outrageous responses to innocuous questions.

[George C]

I like conversations with meals enjoy meeting people , wife really prefers table for two. Like talking about previous cruises etc . 

[DarrenM]

All joking apart so do I.

 

I also like to hear about other peoples lifes. They are usually way more interesting than mine.

[leaveitallbehind]

We typically are by ourselves or with other cruising friends at meals so those conversations don't usually occur.  But if they do we engage in honest conversations with no pretense.  No point to that.

 

Also agree with spookwife in that our more engaging conversations happen in the loyalty or concierge lounges over cocktails.  Typically we meet people who are there each night who we get to know fairly well be the end of the cruise.

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, cb at sea said:

Fairly innocuous questions....it's called "chit-chat".  Sure, we answer, then ask them the same thing!  Then, we ask how they're enjoying their vacation...do they cruise often, and if so, where have you sailed....stuff like that.  We let the conversation take us where it will!

 

 

That's what I do as well.  Why would I want to make-up "stuff"?  I am proud of my career and I am pleased with what I have done since I retired.  I am most concerned about not being viewed by a "stranger" as a braggart.  It takes a direct question from someone as to "how many cruises have you been on" before I will actually state the number.  And, then, I try to qualify it by saying that these cruises have been spread out since 1970.

[DarrenM]

Of course it's a little Russian roulette to ask what someone does or did in their career, as they may well have loved their job but to many would seem the most boring job ever.

 

And as you asked...........your getting a potted history.

 

Better not to ask........maybe.

[thinfool]

1 hour ago, DarrenM said:

Tell them you are a stow away. And illegal immigrant. An alien. A legal alien.

 

Oh the fun we can all have with outrageous responses to innocuous questions.

 

Hi, my name is Bob Vila...let's put up some track lighting...!

[clo]

3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

we eat alone at breakfast

not  a morning person ..so steer clear 😉

When we're doing group travel, we have a cup of coffee even in the dining room, not just our room, before having breakfast.  I'm not ready to eat immediately.

[clo]

26 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

It takes a direct question from someone as to "how many cruises have you been on" before I will actually state the number. 

We were turned off to cruising after doing a few (HAL and the like) cause it seemed like all people wanted to talk about was how many cruises they'd been on.  Who cares?