what surprised you the most

[ozarkmama]

We were on the Summit last November and I was really surprised that they closed the pool so early in the evening. Do they close the T-pool at the same time. I have to admit I never checked. An evening swim is something I enjoy.

 

What did you find to be unexpected?

[Project_gal]

Embarkation!

 

We were so naïve before our first cruise. We had images in our heads from old films. We expected to park our car in a large car park, next to the ship, and a porter come out to collect our luggage on a trolley and lead us onto the ship!

 

In reality, the car park at Dover WAS next to the ship - which seemed ENORMOUS [Constellation!] - but we had to drive to the luggage drop-off point first .... Well you all know the rest.

[GUT2407]

If you mean on my very first cruise the absolute level of service. My first Celebrity cruise really not a lot as I had been with lines with very similar service and demographics before, probably the only thing that really stood out was a somewhat greater age range on Celebrity.

[DYKWIA]

How little veg you get in the MDR (I know you can ask for more) - I always thought veg was cheap!

[monicajay]

How many really fluffy people there are. They don't show this in the brochures or the commercials and we don't see this where I live so it was really quite a shock.

[TinaPerth_Australia]

How many really fluffy people there are. They don't show this in the brochures or the commercials and we don't see this where I live so it was really quite a shock.

 

What are "fluffy people"? Not something I have heard before. :confused:

Cheers

[cruzeluver]

What are "fluffy people"? Not something I have heard before.

Cheers

 

Fairly certain "fluffy" is being used as a euphemism for "fat" or "obese".

[middlehaitch]

The very first thing on my very first cruise-

the furniture on the Solstice (2009) I ran around with my welcome bubble in my hand sitting in all the different chairs.

 

They were so beautiful.

 

I was ecstatic.

 

The whole cruise just got better and better from there, yup I am one of those happy cruising people.

 

Cheers, h.

 

 

Sent from the nether world using magic

[BourbonNBluesLuvr]

We were on the Summit last November and I was really surprised that they closed the pool so early in the evening. Do they close the T-pool at the same time. I have to admit I never checked. An evening swim is something I enjoy.

 

What did you find to be unexpected?

 

Hello,

 

The pool hours issue was something that was brought up with the previous CEO (Bayley) when he did a Q&A here on CC…He agreed that the pool closing hours were too early, but I'm not sure if they were ever adjusted/changed?

 

The "unexpected" thing I discovered…primarily on the S Class ships, and especially on sea days, is that I never wanted to stay "still"…I was always wandering about, everywhere, chatting to staff and passengers, discovering every nook and cranny, people watching, playing on the sports court, watching the Hot Glass Shows, drinking many lattes at Cafe al Bacio, gym twice a day, checking in on various activities. I have taken books and books on my iPad, and have never read more than a few pages !…and still…that was total relaxation and enjoyment, no matter how "busy" I seemed to be ! Ahhhh, the joys of cruising !

 

BBL

[DavidYYC]

I guess first of all, how big the ship was (Equinox) we boarded in Civitavecchia, at ground level as opposed to a walkway, and she just towered over us.

 

Then the logistics of it all - so many people, so much food and drink, all so well organised.

 

How much I liked cruising. I had been sort of ambivalent about it, but fell in love with everything.

[vulcan1971]

Fairly certain "fluffy" is being used as a euphemism for "fat" or "obese".

 

Funny... I thought "fluffy" was referring to people lacking in substance, or otherwise known as "shallow".

[lola2013]

No lily pads in the pool!!!

Having been a huge fan of the "Love Boat", I remember lily pads in the pool as guests lounged in the evening. On my first cruise (the Cunard Countess), not only were there no lily pads in the pool, the entire pool was covered with huge netting. According to the crew, the pool was covered to keep those guests who may have been "overserved" from falling in! :eek:

[vulcan1971]

My very first cruise is only a few years ago (2006) and it was a whole ship charter. I'm fairly certain my first thoughts about the ship (at that time) was that I didn't think you could put 2000 gay and lesbian people on a ship at one time and survive to talk about it. However, I did survive..... and I also met my partner that I have been with for almost 9 years. After that, I suppose all else is just "water under the bridge".

 

Probably what I am most surprised by today, after having completed 8 or 9 cruises, is that when I board a cruise ship I continue to discover new and different things I didn't know about the ship, the cruise line, or cruise passengers... and my cruise experience is made better by it (most of the time). :D

[wwcruisers]

As a former RC cruiser, one of the things that continues to surprise me is the presence and approachability of the ships' officers on X. They are at every Captain's Club function, as well as the CC Connections Party. You can frequently see them in public areas of the ship -- and everyone from the Captain down is more than willing to stop and chat with the passengers. :cool:

In our 10 years of cruising RC, we rarely saw the Captain (or his officers) except onstage at pre-scheduled events. If you did happen to see them around the ship, they always seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere. :rolleyes:

Edited January 9, 2015 by wwcruisers

[Lois R]

How many really fluffy people there are. They don't show this in the brochures or the commercials and we don't see this where I live so it was really quite a shock.

 

Huh?:eek:...seriously? You have never seen overweight, fat, or what you

call "fluffy" people? Cruising is a small % of life......you are on a ship

that carries between 2,000 and 3,000 people........there are going to

be people of all shapes and sizes, colors, ethnic backgrounds, rural

areas, urban areas, gay folks, straight folks, you name it.

 

Cruisers are just a small % of life......and many of us love to cruise.

Edited January 10, 2015 by Lois R

[Lois R]

Huh?:eek:...seriously? You have never seen overweight, fat, or what you

call "fluffy" people? Cruising is a small % of life......you are on a ship

that carries between 2,000 and 3,000 people........there are going to

be people of all shapes and sizes, colors, ethnic backgrounds, rural

areas, urban areas, gay folks, straight folks, you name it.

 

I meant to say oveweight people love to cruise...just like any other

group.......but the time on the edit button ran out.......

[fortinweb]

Huh?:eek:...seriously? You have never seen overweight, fat, or what you

call "fluffy" people? Cruising is a small % of life......you are on a ship

that carries between 2,000 and 3,000 people........there are going to

be people of all shapes and sizes, colors, ethnic backgrounds, rural

areas, urban areas, gay folks, straight folks, you name it.

 

Cruisers are just a small % of life......and many of us love to cruise.

 

The poster is from Canada. It is so cold there that people burn off excess fat trying to avoid freezing to death. :D

 

I am from Canada so I speak from experience. It's cold there!!! I immigrated to sunny southern California when I was six, bringing my parents with me as chaperones. Too cold up there!

Edited January 10, 2015 by fortinweb

[junetraveler2014]

Funny... I thought "fluffy" was referring to people lacking in substance, or otherwise known as "shallow".

Thank you!;)

[junetraveler2014]

What surprised me the most was: You can get on the ship on Sunday, be out and about for all seven days then disembark on Sunday seven days later and not make a single future friend. People are becoming more and more introverted. My steward said it is a society of " what you can do for me and not what I can do for you." I was beginning to think that it was because I was over 65 and I might drool on them.:rolleyes:

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

What surprised me the most was: You can get on the ship on Sunday, be out and about for all seven days then disembark on Sunday seven days later and not make a single future friend. People are becoming more and more introverted. My steward said it is a society of " what you can do for me and not what I can do for you." I was beginning to think that it was because I was over 65 and I might drool on them.:rolleyes:

 

Interesting. I've had the opposite experience. Did you participate in your roll call? I just got off a cruise and we all had such a great time together that we've booked another one. Some of the people I knew from previous cruises, but most I met on the roll call.

 

[Adidas4fun]

What surprised me the most?

 

Well my first cruise was a river cruise, and after some initial teething troubles with respect to my major food allergy were sorted. A generous tip to the matre'd may have had some influence.

 

My second cruise was a two star cruise but an allergy card in croatian saw my food issues well catered for with others on the boat jealous of how well I was looked after.

 

Since then some cruise lines have done exceedingly well and other have disappointed. Celebrity started off badly and then improved from there. Having the Michaels Club concierge going in to bat for you may help as well.

[Adidas4fun]

Oh, and PS all my cruises have been wonderful for the people I have met and the friends I have made. My only Celebrity was truly especial because of the friends I made in Michaels Club.

[junetraveler2014]

Interesting. I've had the opposite experience. Did you participate in your roll call? I just got off a cruise and we all had such a great time together that we've booked another one. Some of the people I knew from previous cruises, but most I met on the roll call.

 

Yup, captains table, trivia, shows, different tours of the ship, Michael's club. What was really ironic were the people in the cabin next to us. They said the same thing, but alas did not take the conversation much further than that, and throughout the cruise it was a wave hi and a turn around. Both of us were in the RS. I just found it very peculiar. We still have friends we met on our first Chandris cruise. On a serious note, it was not as if the people were unfriendly or rude, they just were not friendly and out going. IMHO people more or less kept to themselves.:confused:

[Allhans Ondeck]

Our first cruise was for our Honeymoon 18 years ago. Our first night at dinner we got introduced to our assistant waiter, waiter and the head waiter of the dining room. The head waiter checked on us once or twice during dinner. The next morning we skipped breakfast in the main dining room (no assigned seating). Then for lunch we were eating in the dining room in a complete different section, actually a different floor as well. He came up to us and said "where were you this morning we missed you". That blew me away and I've been hooked on cruising ever since!

[CathyCruises]

Our first cruise was for our Honeymoon 18 years ago. Our first night at dinner we got introduced to our assistant waiter, waiter and the head waiter of the dining room. The head waiter checked on us once or twice during dinner. The next morning we skipped breakfast in the main dining room (no assigned seating). Then for lunch we were eating in the dining room in a complete different section, actually a different floor as well. He came up to us and said "where were you this morning we missed you". That blew me away and I've been hooked on cruising ever since!

 

I love this story!!!