Ok who has run into people they know on a cruise?

[CorrieCJ]

A few years ago we were going on Celebrity, and my mom told me that her friend's cousin was going on the same cruise. The guy also happened to have the same first name as my husband. We sat down at dinner the first night and introduced ourselves to our tablemates. Two Howards. Yup, it was them. Bizarre!

 

One Pride cruise, we found out that my husband's doc & his family would be on the same cruise, we ran into them a bunch of times on the ship.

 

Last year on the Pride, my 6 year old fell behind as we were walking on the deck. While we were looking for him frantically, he came walking over with an older woman. As we were thanking her she called my husband by name -- she was on the board of an organization where we used to attend many events and recognized our son.

 

Small world!

[geoherb]

We have cruised with co-workers before. Once we found out on the flight down that one of DH's co-workers was going on the same cruise we were. She heard his voice from a couple of rows behind us on the plane. They worked in different buildings and had not discussed vacation plans.

 

Another time one of my co-workers was on a cruise with us. She and her family had early dining and we had late. We saw them just twice during the week.

[jammen]

Last year I did run into a class mate of 49 years ago, it was kind of nice.

[swedish weave]

Over the years, we have had three incidents of meeting people on cruises we had worked with.

 

That was nice, but the greatest experiences we have had is meeting crew members who know us from other ships and/or cruise lines. Three familiar faces appeared on a Princess cruise, and it took me a few seconds to place them. We knew them from an NCL ship about five years before that.

 

Our first cruise on the NCL Pearl, we met fifteen of the crew we knew from the NCL Star, and when we boarded the Getaway this year, we were greeted by several we knew (also from the Star). It is a wonderful feeling to know that they not only remember the faces, but most remembered our names !!!

Edited June 24, 2014 by swedish weave

[JustinPlusLauren]

On our last cruise, my boyfriend noticed a familiar face - a friend that he went to college with happened to be working as a photographer on board our cruise ship! It was quite a nice surprise and great to see a friendly face every day :) It was also pretty fun to see him dressed up like a pirate for photos the one day :)

[notentirelynormal]

Last year I did run into a class mate of 49 years ago, it was kind of nice.

 

How do you even recognize someone from that long ago?! Seriously. I'm lucky if I can remember the face of someone I met last week. In fairness, I have something called Prosopagnosia or face blindnesswhere the ability to recognize faces is impaired, but 50 years ago.... that person has changed a LOT. I once have a friend who told me that to not recognize your server (at a restaurant) was really rude and condescending.... guess what her job was. I told her no it wasn't. I have to see people many time in the same setting to remember them. But take them out of that setting, while the game is over. I once didn't recognize my brother because we were camping and I didn't expect him to show up. I walked right past him.

[notentirelynormal]

It's happened a few times but my favorite two are: my brother is a teacher in LA. We were on a Caribbean cruise when this kid comes up to him and in a really surprised voice said, Mr. G! Why are YOU on this cruise?

 

The other funny one was an almost. We were going to Mexico for a short 3 dayer. There were probably 10 of us in our group. We got to the port early and were chatting with the others waiting. The party started in the waiting area. People were in the mood! Dancing was happening. So we board and I go immediately down to the restaurant to confirm that we are all at the same table. There is a older gentlemen sitting in a wheelchair. He says "honey, it's been so long since I've seen you!" I know! I sit on his lap, kiss his cheek and we laugh. My friend with me asks who he is. I tell her, I dunno I just met him.

[travelnap]

I was doing a TA out of Southhampton and on the flight over I notice a woman on the plane that looked very familiar to me, but I couldn't place her. When we landed and I went to the gathering area for the cruise transfer, she and her husband were there as well. I went up to them and mentioned that she looked very familiar to me but I could not place where I had met her. She then told me that I looked familiar to her, but she couldn't place me either.

 

We continued to visit a little and they were from a neighboring town in Minnesota and the reason I knew her, was she was an interior decorator who had redone the interior of the bank that I work at, a few years before. I kept running into them throughout the cruise and they were even on the same flights back after the cruise.

[mapsmith]

Mine was my Sister!! (I win!). Yep a couple of years ago we got a great deal on a Princess cruise out of San Juan. ($399 each for a Balcony).

While perusing Cruise Critic, one of the posters described her family. Sounded like my Sister?!. Checking in at San Juan, there she was in the Mini Suite Line.

 

No planning, nothing. (And at the Time, my Sis and I weren't as close as we now are)

 

Just a happy accident.

[srjones1]

April 2013 on the Fascination. Booked a cruise with my family, my boss and his family, and my wife's coworker and family for Spring Break. Day two of the cruise my boss and I were walking around and ran into 2 other people from our job. We spoke and went about our way and only saw them again once.

 

Our Spring Break coincides with a very well known golf tournament and many of us leave town that week so it didn't seem that unusual at the time.

[SteveH2508]

July 2010, on the Crown Princess, sitting in Vines with a wine flight and some sushi chilling out, when I look up and think that I recognise the back of a head. (Being an IT teacher you get to know the backs of students’ heads from when they are working at the computer). Thinks to myself, “No, it couldn’t be”.

 

Fast forward to the first excursion to the Blue Lagoon. We are sitting on the coach waiting to go, when one of my recently graduated students gets on with his parents – they had bought him the cruise as a graduation present before going to university!

[notentirelynormal]

April 2013 on the Fascination. Booked a cruise with my family, my boss and his family, and my wife's coworker and family for Spring Break. Day two of the cruise my boss and I were walking around and ran into 2 other people from our job. We spoke and went about our way and only saw them again once.

 

Our Spring Break coincides with a very well known golf tournament and many of us leave town that week so it didn't seem that unusual at the time.

 

 

Boy, I can just hear the rumors running rampant LOL.

[srjones1]

Boy, I can just hear the rumors running rampant LOL.

 

Lol. Almost everyone knew about it before we left but I still hear about about years later. We were almost on a cruise together again this year but it didn't quite work out.

[Boozebabe]

1) We had table mates once who had been on something like 100 cruises. (they lived in FLL) Next cruise we went on they were on that cruise too.

 

2) Met a guy at a meet & greet who also cruised a lot. Next cruise, there he was again. We joked about stalking each other.

 

3) Sitting in the aft pool chatting with others about where we all were from. Someone nearby heard me mention my town and came over to me. It was one of my customers at my store who lives about a mile from me.

 

Ya just never know when you're going to meet someone you know.

 

I have had numerous encounters with people I know in airports around the country. Actually now that I think about it, its always my customers.

[bean24]

We were on the Dawn and in the theatre waiting for an excursion when a girl came up to me. We went to the same college. Last cruise my mother in law ran into someone who is in the same union and play mahjong together.

 

 

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[lady_cruiser]

I cruise out of either New Orleans or Galveston. So being so close to home I find it unusual when I don't run into someone I know.

[14Terry]

We were on a cruise and stopped in Aruba and were at Baby Beach and saw a couple from our home town. They were vacationing at an all inclusive resort.

 

 

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[gooch47]

We were on the POA. I heard someone calling my name, turned and saw our pastor and his family.

 

What made it really strange was that they knew or at least thought we were on board because all our tour tickets had been mistakenly delivered to their cabin. They figured there most likely wasn't another couple with our names.

 

Quite a coincidence.

 

On one of our first cruises I recognized a local TV news celebrity.

 

And we have seen people we met on other cruises including one obnoxious female card player. Saw her twice.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It happens almost every year ...

[Thom524]

This past January sailing on the Conquest I was in line to get back aboard in Grand Cayman when a guy came up and asked me if I was from Illinois. I answered yes and then he asked if my name was Tom, when I said yes he wanted to know If I recognized him. After a few seconds of scrutiny I dismissed a somewhat scruffy beard and realized he was a guy I had gone to high school with and had not seen for 42 years. His career had taken him many places and he was retired in Atlanta. It was nice to spend some time catching up during the rest of the cruise.

[sail7seas]

My late DH was a professional and we were In Rome at Gucci store buying him a briefcase. I sat down to wait while he looked around and then noticed him speaking with two couples. Both were member of his profession with offices less than a mile from his. No matter where you are in the world, someone is watching. :)

 

 

Another time, we were on Noordam sailing the Caribbean. DH and I heard a familiar voice and saw a businessman from home we both knew and often saw at a local restaurant. :)

 

We have very often run across fellow cruisers on one ship or another that we met on previous cruises. We were on Eurodam when she was a new ship. I was walking down the hallway to our cabin when I heard a voice behind me call my name. I turned to see a couple we met on a cruise about two years prior. We had all dined with the Hotel Manager one formal night and had a great time. It was such a fun night, we had warm memories of that table. Then..... what are the odds but about 6 months later DH and I decided to sail that ship again. I contacted that couple mostly joking and asked if they, by chance, were booked/booking that cruise on that date and they were!!!! :) We enjoyed seeing them again.

 

There are a number of other instances of that sort but when you travel a great deal for many years, these coincidences happen and are always fun..

Edited February 15, 2015 by sail7seas

[welove2cruise2014]

Yep - on our honeymoon cruise in Oct 2013! Was walking back to our cabin and ran into a business colleague from home. It's always a funny to me when you see someone you know, but in a different setting than what you're used to seeing them in!

 

And to this day, my husband is convinced that an actress from a TV show we enjoy was on our last cruise too. Lol

Edited February 15, 2015 by welove2cruise2014

[GUT2407]

I can't recall ever having a vacation, land or sea, where I didn't run into someone I knew.

 

Once half way across the Country who do I run into but my uncle and aunty.

[Traveling_Grover]

While enjoying a Baltic cruise in 2013, DH literally ran into someone he used to work with... Passed him on the staircase.. We were docked in St Petersburg..

 

 

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[Talisker92]

The first one was in Venice at Harry's bar (BIG tourist trap). Saw another couple at the table next to us who were American and started to chat with them. After going through the usual routine, it turned out he was a high school classmate from Pittsburgh!

The funniest one was another couple we had seen in Tahiti on the Paul Gauguin. Some years later we saw them on a Rhine river cruise. He was a chemistry professor at some Midwest college, and his students did not think highly of him. His wife would follow him around like a marionette.

We never spoke, but once in a while he would look at us with sort of a quizzical expression trying to figure out where he knew us from!