Friends of Bill W.

[sparrow_of_tortuga]

What is Friends of Bill W?

 

[staceymerrill]

Alcoholics Anonymous.....

 

[cruisenewbie2004]

Alcoholics anonymous was co-founded by William Griffith Wilson (Bill W.)

 

[Catnip0113]

I just find it funny that the person with the rum saying might find Friends of Bill W...

 

[Aisling]

I just find it funny that the person with the rum saying might find Friends of Bill W...

That IS pretty funny!

 

[minniemoms]

on our West coast cruise, I didn't know what Friends of Bill W. was, so I took my daughters and we went down there, no one was there yet, and so I asked one of the waiters(it was in animators palette) who was Bill W? He didn't know, but pointed to the book of what they were giving out, and said, it would be starting soon. I picked up the book and saw that it said AA at the front, and I just said, OPPS, I think I am in the wrong class. I don't even drink any alcohol at ALL. NONE, so we quickly got up and left before anyone else came in the room. Wrong place for me to be. and my poor daughters would have been mortified. They are almost legal age to drink, but NONE of us drink at all. Oops.

 

[crisi]

on our West coast cruise, I didn't know what Friends of Bill W. was, so I took my daughters and we went down there, no one was there yet, and so I asked one of the waiters(it was in animators palette) who was Bill W? He didn't know, but pointed to the book of what they were giving out, and said, it would be starting soon. I picked up the book and saw that it said AA at the front, and I just said, OPPS, I think I am in the wrong class. I don't even drink any alcohol at ALL. NONE, so we quickly got up and left before anyone else came in the room. Wrong place for me to be. and my poor daughters would have been mortified. They are almost legal age to drink, but NONE of us drink at all. Oops.

Neither do Bill's friends.

This comes up a lot, and I'm always surprised that people don't know what "Friends of Bill W." is. I must have had a strange high school, as in health class we learend about drugs and drug addiction, including learning about the history of AA and who Bill W was. Until I started reading this board, I assumed everyone knew this.

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

We learned about drug addiction, etc in high school too, and who Bill W. was; but since I'm not an alcoholic, nor do I know anyone who is, that info was filed away in the "ok, stick that in cold storage" part of my brain to make room for more relevant info.

I tend to think most people don't really guess that there would be a structured AA meeting onboard a Disney Cruise ship without specifically stating such in the Navigators.

When people are on vacation, especially a Disney vacation, I think the average person would automatically assume "Friends of Bill W." would be some sort of Disney guy (unless they or someone they know was in AA). Least that's what I thought when I saw it.

 

[mmouse37]

Actually it is very relevant to have an AA meeting onboard....think about it....alcohol is very prevalent on ANY vacation and most, if not all cruise ships (not just Disney) have Friends of Bill W. meetings. I have also seen a sign for Friends of Bill W. meetings at different resorts/hotels we have stayed in.

It makes sense to have a support group for folks who need it....no matter where they may be.

 

[Aisling]

I tend to think most people don't really guess that there would be a structured AA meeting onboard a Disney Cruise ship without specifically stating such in the Navigators.

I think it's a very considerate and much appreciated thing for DCL to have on board. I've been involved in an Al-Anon support group, so I know that when alcoholics want to be alcohol-free, they need all the support they can get. Imagine how reassuring it must be for them.

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

Actually it is very relevant to have an AA meeting onboard....think about it....alcohol is very prevalent on ANY vacation and most, if not all cruise ships (not just Disney) have Friends of Bill W. meetings. I have also seen a sign for Friends of Bill W. meetings at different resorts/hotels we have stayed in.

It makes sense to have a support group for folks who need it....no matter where they may be.

By "make room for more relevant info" I meant that it was not relevant to ME therefor I don't keep AA information or "who Bill W." is in my head at all times.

I can certainly understand having a need for it for those that are in AA and making the time available while on a cruise/vacation of any kind. All I was saying was that for the "average person" which I count myself as, my first thought when seeing "Friends of Bill W." on the Disney Navigators wasn't an AA meeting but something more Disney related.

 

[logan1_2000]

Yes, this thread topic comes up every few months. No, I do not think MOST people know who "Bill W." is/was,but there is nothing wrong with that--if they don't know, then hopefully it means that alcoholism has not touched too closely to their own lives. I said hopefully. A less fortunate possilbity would be if people needed to get help from AA, or had a family member who needed the help but didnt know. One responding poster said he may have had a weird high school. Maybe. At least in terms of course curriculum and being a-typical.

Before our first 7 nighter, I printed up copies navigator's at Dave's site for the then-most recent 7 night itinerary that we were going on. Noticed this guy Bill W., figured some guy named bill w. with a lot of friends was on-board, Then saw him listed again again when we were on board. Too much of a coincidence, and we asked at guest services and the CM at the counbter let us in on the "secret"

 

[crisi]

I didn't mean there was anything wrong with not knowing, it was just something I sort of assumed it was common knowledge - between health class and the media, as well as seeing it on places like Navigators and asking - I'D had enough exposure to the term that I thought everyone did. I don't have alcoholic friends or family either (at least, not close enough to count). Then again, I have little idea what American Idol and didn't recognize Brittney Spears on the cover of some magazine - and I think that is fairly common knowledge.

(By the way, don't go to a Friends of Dorothy meeting unless you know what that is either).

 

[ivanova]

I think there are "Friends of Bill W" meetings on most major cruise ships....

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Friends of Bill W. is pretty tame to me...we accidentally stumbled on a meeting of the "Friends of Dorothy" on a cruise. Imagine our surprise when we discovered it was a gay/lesbian mingling group!

Boy, was my face red! The actual attendees were very gracious and we went on our embarrassed way.

It's great that people can get together and enjoy themselves on a cruise, and receive whatever support or encouragement they might need to make friends and have the time of their lives!

 

[mmouse37]

By "make room for more relevant info" I meant that it was not relevant to ME therefor I don't keep AA information or "who Bill W." is in my head at all times.

I can certainly understand having a need for it for those that are in AA and making the time available while on a cruise/vacation of any kind. All I was saying was that for the "average person" which I count myself as, my first thought when seeing "Friends of Bill W." on the Disney Navigators wasn't an AA meeting but something more Disney related.

Hope you did not take offense...my reply was not really specifically directed at you and obviously not everyone will have that "relavent info" in the forefront of their brain.....I am not in AA nor do I know anybody who is but I guess I have just heard that term several times in various places and I guess I just assumed more people knew what Friends of Bill W was seeing I consider myself to be "average" as well...again, hope I didn't offend...not my intention!!!

What's that commercial....knowing is half the battle!!

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

Hope you did not take offense...my reply was not really specifically directed at you and obviously not everyone will have that "relavent info" in the forefront of their brain.....I am not in AA nor do I know anybody who is but I guess I have just heard that term several times in various places and I guess I just assumed more people knew what Friends of Bill W was seeing I consider myself to be "average" as well...again, hope I didn't offend...not my intention!!!

What's that commercial....knowing is half the battle!!

No offense was taken. I was just trying to explain why I didn't know what it was when it seemed others were saying that everyone SHOULD know what it is already. Someone in this thread even said they went not realizing what it was with their kids!

I was just trying to say that I thought that even if the "average person" knows who Bill W. is, that might not be their first thought when seeing a "friends of Bill W." "activity" on a Disney Cruise Navigator. I've actually never seen an AA meeting called "Friends of Bill W." before ever, so that wasn't my first thought.

Certainly asking a CM will answer the question for you, but since everything on a DCL cruise is "safe" in most people's minds, I'm not surprised that people just go and check it out without knowing what it is.

 

[TeaforWendy]

I assure you, a Friends of Bill W. meeting is "safe".

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

I assure you, a Friends of Bill W. meeting is "safe".

I wasn't implying that it's not "safe", it was meant as a generic term meaning that if it's in the DCL Navigator, it's most likely something Disney-ish. (Again, see my earlier posts saying that this is what I thought when I first saw it there. Other's mileage may vary.)

Certainly it's "safe", but not something I, nor my children, are going to attend.

I wasn't aware I was going to need to be on the defensive so much for trying to explain why some people weren't aware what "Friends of Bill W." was.

 

[jeannief]

Ghostly, I'm with you. My first thought was "what movie was Bill W. in?"- my kids didn't know either and we kept forgetting to ask a CM. My next thought was that he must be on board with a large group and the cruiseline was organizing events. It wasn't until after we cruised that I found the answer on this board.