Equator

[readingfast]

We will be crossing the equator for the first time in November on the Diamond Princess.

Does the ship put on any kind of celebration for Newbies like us?

[Mommypig]

Yup. There is a wacky skit put on by crew, and newbies get to "kiss the fish". And of course the photographer is there to capture the moment

 

 

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[paul929207]

It is usually mid afternoon 2 or 3 PM. It is fun to watch or even sign up for if this is your first crossing

[CruisingJs]

Plus you get a certificate saying you crossed the equator. The whole show is fun to watch but don't volunteer for anything. Kissing a big dead fish was just part of what those people went through.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes they do, its pretty hilarious.

[vickie_bernie]

yes they do. they ask for volunteers that want to be part of the ceremony to put their name in a draw. I was one of the pollywogs two years ago on the Star Princess in South America.

 

I have written about our Crossing the Equator Ceremonies in my blog with pictures if you are interested

[beg3yrs]

Three times with mouthwash and three times with shampoo and you'll be as good as new.

[cdngrl]

thankfully I'm more of an observer than a participant. this is done pool-side and after the folks are covered in chocolate pudding, baked beans, spaghetti, jello, whipped cream and all kinds of other stuff, they jump in the pool.

 

on my south America trip, it was particularly fun as it was the first time the cruise director had crossed. he was shown no mercy!

[vickie_bernie]

Three times with mouthwash and three times with shampoo and you'll be as good as new.

 

ha ha ha so true.

 

An hour after the ceremony i had a vow renewal ceremony to go to! The clothes I wore ended up getting thrown out. I could never really get the smell out.

 

Thankfully I wore old stuff.

 

It was fun. But I much prefer watching the last two ceremonies :D

[beg3yrs]

 

It was fun. But I much prefer watching the last two ceremonies :D

 

Much better to be a Trusty Shellback than a Worthless Pollywog.

[EdmPair]

Do ships also do something significant for crossing the International Date Line? I find it fun to see the day listing for Pacific cruises as "Sea Day, Sea Day, Sea Day, Crossing International Date Line, Sea Day, Sea Day". It is as if the crossing of the date line is not a day at sea.

[chengkp75]

Do ships also do something significant for crossing the International Date Line? I find it fun to see the day listing for Pacific cruises as "Sea Day, Sea Day, Sea Day, Crossing International Date Line, Sea Day, Sea Day". It is as if the crossing of the date line is not a day at sea.

 

That's because it's not a sea day. If you are going westbound, you lose 24 hours crossing the date line, so that day "doesn't exist". However, going eastbound, you will have the same day twice.

[paul929207]

Do ships also do something significant for crossing the International Date Line? I find it fun to see the day listing for Pacific cruises as "Sea Day, Sea Day, Sea Day, Crossing International Date Line, Sea Day, Sea Day". It is as if the crossing of the date line is not a day at sea.

I was wondering the same thing. We have never sailed over the Date line, but we will about a year from now.

[EdmPair]

That's because it's not a sea day. If you are going westbound, you lose 24 hours crossing the date line, so that day "doesn't exist". However, going eastbound, you will have the same day twice.

 

 

Gosh, never thought of that. If I should ever book such a cruise I would go eastbound. Same day twice bonus.

M

[beg3yrs]

Do ships also do something significant for crossing the International Date Line? I find it fun to see the day listing for Pacific cruises as "Sea Day, Sea Day, Sea Day, Crossing International Date Line, Sea Day, Sea Day". It is as if the crossing of the date line is not a day at sea.

 

You do get a certificate.

[satxdiver]

thankfully I'm more of an observer than a participant. this is done pool-side and after the folks are covered in chocolate pudding, baked beans, spaghetti, jello, whipped cream and all kinds of other stuff, they jump in the pool.

 

on my south America trip, it was particularly fun as it was the first time the cruise director had crossed. he was shown no mercy!

 

OMG the pool! :eek:

 

I have crossed the equator several times in an airplane and there was no ceremony. :( I guess I will have to do it on a ship but will not be getting the traditional shellback turtle tattoo. :eek:

[satxdiver]

Really interesting webpage about the US Navy traditions for crossing the equator for the first time: http://www.veteransunited.com/network/the-navys-line-crossing-ceremony-revealed/

[Gibby]

Did it on the Star Princess last March / April. Got to be in the ceremony, and it is a once in a lifetime thing to do (you only get to do it once). The trick to getting selected, email the cruise director ahead of time (or write him a nice note onboard).

 

We also crossed the date line as well (new thing that year as they moved the date line). Nothing special, but we did not get a Tuesday April 9, we did get 2 Wed April 10 though.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

Call me a party pooper but I found the ceremony pretty disgusting. It was just gross watching everything get dumped on people. And the quality of the performance was pretty sad. I would not attend again.

 

But go see it! Have fun. Be less uptight than I was and enjoy it.

 

(Having the internet and videos to see what it's about will probably make all the difference.)

 

If you are a pollywog then go and have fun. This shellback will skip it from now on.

[Thrak]

thankfully I'm more of an observer than a participant. this is done pool-side and after the folks are covered in chocolate pudding, baked beans, spaghetti, jello, whipped cream and all kinds of other stuff, they jump in the pool.

on my south America trip, it was particularly fun as it was the first time the cruise director had crossed. he was shown no mercy!

 

Really? I guess they must have to close the pool and do a complete cleaning afterward? Doesn't this ruin your clothes? Does one pack "disposable clothing" for a cruise that crosses the equator?

[Potstech]

Really interesting webpage about the US Navy traditions for crossing the equator for the first time: http://www.veteransunited.com/network/the-navys-line-crossing-ceremony-revealed/

 

Good article but leaches much out. Recently the tradition and ceremony of the Navy has been tamed down. Nowhere near what it was like when I participated in it back in the 70's. Cruise ship have to keep it real tame also.

[Cabunit]

If it is even 10% of what the Navy was like, you'll definitely want to pack throw away clothes.

 

IMHO only, if you don't go through the ceremony you aren't a shellback.

 

For those who care:

Equator = Shellback

Dateline = Golden Dragon

Equator & Dateline at same time = Golden Shellback

Equator & Prime Meridian at same time = Emerald Shellback

Arctic Circle = Bluenose

And there are more.

 

A trusty shellback since 1973...

[Mr_Astro]

OMG the pool! :eek:

 

The pool is (or was for me the last time) drained, deep cleansed and refilled. It took the remainder of the day/night and was ready to go the next day. The deck crew do it often enough to know the drill.

[beg3yrs]

If it is even 10% of what the Navy was like, you'll definitely want to pack throw away clothes.

 

IMHO only, if you don't go through the ceremony you aren't a shellback.

 

For those who care:

Equator = Shellback

Dateline = Golden Dragon

Equator & Dateline at same time = Golden Shellback

Equator & Prime Meridian at same time = Emerald Shellback

Arctic Circle = Bluenose

And there are more.

 

A trusty shellback since 1973...

 

Way cool Cabunit. That's fodder for Princess Trivia. Gonna have to memorize those.

 

On our initiation cruise, so many passengers wanted to be in the event they had to interview folk and make a selection of just a few. Afterwards everyone was invited for a fish kiss (they said no tongue), a quick gunging and dip in the festering pool which is what we had to do.

 

I agree, if you don't participate in the ceremony, you're just a "could have been." That said, since not everyone can always be accommodated, attending and wildly cheering and clapping should count as participation.

 

A fraternity brother of mine became a trusty shellback around 1980 on a USN destroyer. Based on his stories, which involve kitchen grease, used bearing lube, mop water from the head and so on, I don't think the cruise line ceremony is even 1% as nasty as the military one.

Edited September 11, 2014 by beg3yrs

[PescadoAmarillo]

We've crossed the date line twice, once in each direction. The first time was east to west, so we simply lost a day (though friends traveling on the ship had a grandchild born that day, so the CD announced on the morning show that they had lost a day and gained a grandchild :)). The second time was west to east so we had the same day twice. It worked out perfectly because we were in Fiji on the first April 25th, and had a sea day the second April 25th, which is ANZAC day, so one of our fellow cruisers arranged a sunrise service on an open deck which was very moving.

 

As for the equator, the last time we crossed it was at about 7:15pm. We thought we were being clever and so finished dinner early and ran to the front of Deck 8 so as to be the first on the ship to cross it, only to find the lead male singer and his parents out there too. The five of us leaned over and stretched out as far as we could, and it was fun to find others who thought outside the box when it came to these things.