Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

drunk? or dead?

kathyemma

By kathyemma,
in Royal Caribbean International

Recommended Posts

kathyemma

kathyemma

Posted
Posted

My parents told me this story the other night. My Aunt loved to cruise - she probably spent 9 months out of every year on a ship. She almost passed away on a cruise near France (which was her dream) but they sent her to a hospital. Anyways, she passed away 20 years ago - so I am thinking this happened maybe 40 years ago - maybe even longer. She was cruising with a group of friends and they were in Russia (my parents THINK she was in Russia - pretty sure but not 100%). While they were in town one of her friends passed away. They were so scared that if they told anyone the country would not release the body. So, they poured a bunch of alcohol on him and they put each of his arms around someone and they walked him back to the ship - as if he were dead drunk. They got stopped but once the person smelled all the booze they were told to go on their way. They got him back on the ship. That is were the story ended. Wish my Aunt was still alive so I could hear all her crazy cruise stories.

 

Kathy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kathyemma

kathyemma

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Once again, YEARS ago she was on a cruise that made a stop in Turkey. She was off the ship, by herself shopping. A local man approached her and asked if she wanted to buy an emerald. It was huge. It was a little bit larger/thicker than the bottle of a coke bottle. She was in the middle of nowhere and noone was around so she said yes. She said she didn't have that much in cash on her but if he went back to the ship with her she would give him a check. So, they went back to the ship and she gave him a check for 2,000. The man gave her the huge piece of green glass and left. My Aunt figured she was either just taken for a ride or just got a great deal on an emerald - but either way she was alive. Well, a few months later she got home and checked her bank account - the guy never cashed the check. She took the rock to her jeweler. He told her it was the most perfect emerald he had ever seen. She had it made into a huge ring, necklace and earings. My mother wears them now - but I have seen the will...someday (hopefully not soon!) I will wear them on a cruise.

 

Kathy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kathyemma

kathyemma

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Pouring the booze on him! Was that the start of booze smuggling? Get onboard, wring out the clothes....

 

Any more stories, keep them coming!

 

I am having dinner with my folks this weekend - I will ask if they remember anymore stories. She was a wonderful, beautiful lady. She passed away on my 21st birthday. I wish she held on a little longer so I could sail with her. I am sure that would have been the only way I would get into one of the suites!

 

Kathy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sbtagent

sbtagent

Posted
Posted

I worked on a cruise ship about 40 years ago, on a world around cruise, from New York to New York, in 93 days. During this cruise some of the passengers passed away. We had 6 coffins on board and used all of them. The coffins were sent ashore in the next port, and sent back to US by plane. Those who had relatives not willing to pay the return costs, received a funeral at sea, about 06 am, in a canvas sack, draped in the US flag ( which did not go into the sea). Some passengers were sent ashore to hospitals, as just a few cases could be treathed on board. the ship did not have blood, therefore no operations. I doubt the person being brought on board dead, would remain on board for long. They did not keep bodies in the deep freeze rooms for long, - these rooms were of course used for food and such. In those days, a notice on a board near the pursers office, notified other passengers when somebody had passed away. The last person who passed away, died the day before we came back to NY, and was transferred to a US coast guard vessel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alaskandad

Alaskandad

Posted
Posted
Once again, YEARS ago she was on a cruise that made a stop in Turkey. She was off the ship, by herself shopping. A local man approached her and asked if she wanted to buy an emerald. It was huge. It was a little bit larger/thicker than the bottle of a coke bottle. She was in the middle of nowhere and noone was around so she said yes. She said she didn't have that much in cash on her but if he went back to the ship with her she would give him a check. So, they went back to the ship and she gave him a check for 2,000. The man gave her the huge piece of green glass and left. My Aunt figured she was either just taken for a ride or just got a great deal on an emerald - but either way she was alive. Well, a few months later she got home and checked her bank account - the guy never cashed the check. She took the rock to her jeweler. He told her it was the most perfect emerald he had ever seen. She had it made into a huge ring, necklace and earings. My mother wears them now - but I have seen the will...someday (hopefully not soon!) I will wear them on a cruise.

 

Kathy

 

I wrote a check to a merchant in Turkey for a leather jacket in 1991. In 1994(three years later) the bank called me and said they had received the check and asked it was valid and if I wanted to honor it since it was old. I did honor it. I can only guess the tailor had held the check live a savings bond and cashed it when he thought the exchange rate was best. Who knows, maybe your grandmothers check will pop up and it will be worth a lot more to the person that cashed it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cruzin-K

Cruzin-K

Posted
Posted
Wow times have changed!! Back then you could store a dead drunk guy in your cabin, and now, today you cant even have a dead deaf starfish in the shower.

 

Maybe if the starfish was drunk then it would be okay.

 

 

Hmmmmm

 

Hee hee! Thanks for the laugh.

 

I wish more people had stories like this - I love the "crazy story threads"

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kathyemma

kathyemma

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Great stories, she should of written a book.....it would be great reading while at sea. ;)

 

***

 

Oh how I would love to read her life story. She was amazing. She was always dressed very nice, hair and nails always done, she was lady, she was really beautiful - inside and out. One of my favorite stories was when she was working at a bank as a teller. One day the bank got held up - the gunman showed off his gun and told everyone to get down on the floor. She just stood there. The gunman went up to her and yelled at her to get on the floor. She looked him in the eye (he had a ski mask on - so she could only see his eye) and said, "Like Hell I will, this is a new dress, you will get me a chair and I will sit in it like a lady". He got her a chair. She quit that day. She said she was so scared she couldn't have gotten on the floor even if she wanted.

 

Kathy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BigJimMcBob

BigJimMcBob

Posted
Posted

I call shenanigans.

 

Really pouring booze over a dead body to fake out ships security? Really? I don't care if its 20, 40, or 100 years ago, no one is stupid enough to think someone is passed out due to alcohol vs being dead! I guess if you are < 21 and liked Weekend at Bernie's you'd believe this. (See the latest SNL skit on this topic if you care to see how you'd view that movie grown up :))

Oh and green glass... sound like your Auntie was a jewel smuggler to me...

 

I like crazy stories as much as the next guy, but come on.

 

And kathyemma if you aren't a troll, oh boy, your parents are having a blast with this!

 

However this is a chilling similarity to my own "true" family story...

 

My great grandma, she was from a Western Europe, and was involved with a influential family and was bethrowed to a man from this family. When on her voyage to the new world, she met a young vibrant soul that swept her off her feet. He stole her heart and had a brief romance during the voyage.

Long story short the ship stuck and iceburg and sank, she survived, but she always remembered her small Atlantic fling, I think she said his name was Jack. BTW she had a huge blue diamond necklass on when she died and she just before passing mentioned a remote trip to Russia where she hunted the most challenging sport of all time: "man", and a story that she concealed her "trophy" by pouring alcohol on him with the help of friends aboard a Russian cruise liner.

 

Perhaps we are related?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kathyemma

kathyemma

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Sorry but I know for a fact the emerald and bank stories are true.

 

The dead body story - I believe. They didn't try to pull him off as drunk for the rest of the cruise - just til they got the body back to the ship. They were afraid the country they were in would not let them transport the body home. They got the body back to the ship and then once out to sea informed the authorities. At this point, the story ends but I am sure they made arrangements to get the body home.

 

 

Kathy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...