Other fictitious “passengers” you might think are having parties on board every cruise you go on include ” Friends of Jimmy K” – referring to James Kinnon the founder of Narcotics Anonymous and also “Friends of Dorothy” which was originally just for gay men but is now much more widely opened up and on some ships just listed as the GLBT group. I must admit – in my extreme naivety – that I still did not understand what GLBT stood for either until discussing with a member of bar staff. This is a group meeting for fellow Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual & Transgender passengers to get together… But who is Dorothy.? This dates back many years and was a way of discussing this without others knowing. One possible explanation was that it referred to Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz – for her accepting of the lion who was different – owing to his line in the movie stating ” We’re friends of Dorothy”, another claim is that it is directly related to the Dorothy actress herself, Judy Garland, who was not only a huge gay icon but was a massive gay rights advocate.
Our website Guides section – gives some sample daily planners so you can see the idea of activities scheduled by different cruise lines. Here is one for the Queen Elizabeth that features a “Friends of Bill W” & ” Friends of Dorothy” meeting..
Friends Meetings on Daily Planner
So hopefully this little insight will help some of you next time you are reading your daily schedule on board your next cruise, just so that you don’t crash the wrong party, thinking that Bill W is having a free drinks reception.. !!
