bryresangel Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 After reading through another post, I have discovered that this is a common thing. My question is what IS this, and who is this Bill W to have so many friends on so many ships? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmar02 Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 William Wilson founded Alcoholics Anonymous. Friends of Bill W are AA meetings held on the ship. Vancity Cruiser, bryresangel, Heymarco and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 I’m guessing they can’t call it an AA meeting if it’s not officially sanctioned, so they do it this way. Kinda like when we were onboard Mariner during the Super Bowl and they had to call it “The Big Game”. bryresangel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 Friends of Bill relate to all recovery oriented 12 step style meetings, not just AA. melmar02, KristiZ, ellcee and 6 others 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattG Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 1 hour ago, teddy said: I’m guessing they can’t call it an AA meeting if it’s not officially sanctioned, so they do it this way. I also think it's for a bit of obscurity - people who don't know its affiliation will just skip over it. Neesa, teddy, bryresangel and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PG Cruiser Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 6 hours ago, teddy said: I’m guessing they can’t call it an AA meeting if it’s not officially sanctioned, so they do it this way. Kinda like when we were onboard Mariner during the Super Bowl and they had to call it “The Big Game”. At the 70s Disco Inferno Party, they have stopped introducing the men as the "Village People", they now call the "The Macho Men" bryresangel and teddy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 38 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said: At the 70s Disco Inferno Party, they have stopped introducing the men as the "Village People", they now call the "The Macho Men" Thats probably a copyright thing! Theres a lawsuit in Germany right now where the real tina turner is suing a tina turner tribute act because she looks like her ( no joke ) I would like to know which one is simply the best? BrianB, Neesa, mom2mybugs and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 Has nothing to do with sanctioned or not. It is merely a means to maintain attendees’ privacy. This “name” has been around almost from the inception of the program. teddy, Fox Forlenza, ellcee and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryresangel Posted November 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 Thanks everyone. First time I have seen that and thought it was just some really popular guy who was having some party or something on board. COMPLETELY different than the actual meaning! teddy and AspiringCruisePlanner 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PG Cruiser Posted November 30, 2021 Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 8 minutes ago, bryresangel said: Thanks everyone. First time I have seen that and thought it was just some really popular guy who was having some party or something on board. COMPLETELY different than the actual meaning! I've always seen it on the Cruise Compass, now I too know what it means. teddy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Davis Posted November 30, 2021 Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 This is actually very common across the community. I've heard it announced in Airports, etc. My mom is in recovery and it's helpful to know that when a craving comes through, as they do at the most random times, she can request support. Pooch, Pattycruise, KLA and 4 others 3 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryresangel Posted December 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2021 16 hours ago, Beth Davis said: This is actually very common across the community. I've heard it announced in Airports, etc. My mom is in recovery and it's helpful to know that when a craving comes through, as they do at the most random times, she can request support. I love this and am so happy that this type of support is available. It cannot be easy to deal with, especially on a cruise where it's everywhere. Vancity Cruiser, Beth Davis and WAAAYTOOO 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 1, 2021 Report Share Posted December 1, 2021 17 minutes ago, bryresangel said: I love this and am so happy that this type of support is available. It cannot be easy to deal with, especially on a cruise where it's everywhere. My SIL is recovering and he still cannot be in a situation with that much alcohol. Maybe one day they will be able to cruise but not right now. KLA, Beth Davis and Kathleen 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Davis Posted December 30, 2021 Report Share Posted December 30, 2021 On 12/1/2021 at 9:22 AM, WAAAYTOOO said: My SIL is recovering and he still cannot be in a situation with that much alcohol. Maybe one day they will be able to cruise but not right now. My mom says that it doesn’t bother her to be around it, however, I don’t drink around her whatsoever because she’s still very early in recovery and I don’t want to put her in that situation. I hope that I can take her on a cruise one day, and not be concerned. I will say that she used to not be able to fly without some liquid courage and she has now done that numerous times without. Good luck to your SIL, it is a tough process and thank goodness for your support and understanding! Pattycruise, USCG Teacher and WAAAYTOOO 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda R Posted December 30, 2021 Report Share Posted December 30, 2021 On 11/30/2021 at 7:04 AM, bryresangel said: Thanks everyone. First time I have seen that and thought it was just some really popular guy who was having some party or something on board. COMPLETELY different than the actual meaning! Years ago I did not know what Friends of Bill W was either. I figured it was a travel agent with lots of customers on the ship! WAAAYTOOO and bryresangel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWDW1204 Posted December 31, 2021 Report Share Posted December 31, 2021 Didn't know what this was either. Have been on multiple cruises but just saw it on the Cruise Planner (multiple events) for the first time this past Thanksgiving cruise on Symphony. Thought it was a memorial cruise gathering for some guy named Bill, celebrating him and he must have been really loved. Not till seeing it here did we know what it really meant. Good luck to all "Friends of Bill W"! And their family and friends too! PRebecca, bryresangel, WAAAYTOOO and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey V. Posted January 7, 2022 Report Share Posted January 7, 2022 I think the term Friends of Bill W. is used on all cruises. My DH has been sober for about 15 years, and usually after a meeting or two, we meet similar couples where one maintains sobriety. Pattycruise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babsy47 Posted January 20, 2022 Report Share Posted January 20, 2022 I find it fascinating that folks do not know. My spouse quit drinking 20 years ago. He still finds cruises a bit of a challenge even though none of our large family group drink at all on cruises with him in solidarity. The friends of Bill meetings definitely help. I don’t know that he would cruise without them. We often have Star Class — I let the genie know and usually everything goes very well!! Pattycruise, Geektastic, bryresangel and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffmw Posted January 20, 2022 Report Share Posted January 20, 2022 I luckily have never had to deal with any type of addiction, nor has anyone close to me. But it seems it's a great program. You hear of people going to meetings for years and years almost every day even after their addictions subside because it helps them so much. And because it's totally 'anonymous', people can't talk about the other people they see. In Elton John's book, he talks about how obsessed he became with going to meetings everywhere he went and how many random people over the years were probably stunned to see Elton John in their AA meeting. Elton is also Eminem's sponsor, which I always thought was a fun fact. Pattycruise, bryresangel, VirtKitty and 2 others 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Forlenza Posted January 20, 2022 Report Share Posted January 20, 2022 It's a really nice thing to have on board, although I find the meeting times inconvenient. But when I need a meeting it's there. You can also meet others who you can reach out to on board if the meeting time isn't available and you need someone to talk to. We so enjoyed the last cruise I didn't go to a meeting, but there were times I was happy it was so large and we could leave the situation. I am a bartender as well as in recovery, so I thought I would be ok on board the ship. With our upcoming May cruise, it's 8 nights, so we shall see how that goes. Pattycruise and WesKinetic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonR Posted March 9, 2022 Report Share Posted March 9, 2022 I went to the Friends of Bill W on Liberty on the Dec 19th Christmas Sailing. It was a great life line to have as my sobriety date is December 6th just 2 weeks prior. The family Holiday cruise had been shifted from 2020 and many plans were in place already so I went for it and survived without drinking even though I still had a DBP (we got a bundle and it was simpler to leave it than to try to shuffle) It's definitely easier to keep sane when there is support on hand. With Voom I was able to text or facetime my sponsor back home every day. We had Chef's Table the first night and I was served fruit smoothies and selected non alcoholic beverages instead of the wine. Our Waiters in the MDR once told were conscientious to make sure I knew which dishes might be prepared with wine sauces and would check if it wasn't listed without me asking. Over all I was treated with quiet respect and it was handled as smoothly and professionally as something like an allergy to nuts. We did get some confused looks when other passengers wandered through to see the chapel where we met. Still knowing some was else was on board I could reach out to meant a lot to me. Looking forward now to Grandeur leaving Galveston on June 6th. Another one that got shifted from 2021. I will be celebrating my 50th Bday on my 51st! WAAAYTOOO, USCG Teacher and Pattycruise 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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