Favourite Cruise Story

[callmedeb]

Let's combat negativity and boredom ;) Tell me your favourite cruise story! The one you tell your friends and family to convince them to go on a cruise... Funny, heartfelt, things that make you shake your head...

 

I'll start...

 

It happened on another line, but I met the person I want to be when I grow up.

 

She lives on a cruise-ship 50 weeks out of the year. Visits family over Xmas, then right back to her adopted family. We had hours of conversation about her family and life in general. It was wonderful.

 

Now you.

[geocruiser]

I have also met a very nice lady like the person that you met. It was on HAL and her name was Mama Lou.

[rp23g7]

here are two stories that happened to us......

 

Last yrs cruise....... long.....

 

We were on the Grand for the Sept 25 Mexican Riviera 10 day cruise.

 

We did not have trip insurance on this cruise, Ah we don't need it for this cruise...........Ooops.

 

We have Passports and Passport Cards, but our Passports had expired a month before and we didn't notice until a week before, OOOPS,

 

We were in Puerto Vallarta on the 29th of September, on our own. We have branched out and have discovered all sorts of cool places on our own, There is a awesome little Cantina in the middle of the jungle outside of Puerta Vallarta by the way.

 

My wife was shopping for t shirts in the city when she stumbled on a step, tried catching herself and dislocated her shoulder. This was about 3 or so, plenty of time to meet the 8:00 departure time.

 

We discussed what to do with our cab driver, we decided to go back to the ship first. Medical was awesome, but the x ray machine was not working.

 

So they took us to Amerimed, a few blocks from the ship.

 

Amerimed took our health insurance but the translations etc, took so long that we were not able to get the procedure done in time since she would need to be sedated and watched for a hr.

 

So about 730 Fidel the port rep called me,said he would need to have me come back disembark and we would need to stay the night in Mexico.

 

Princess again ROCKS, and so does Amerimed, the hospital driver took me back, Princess had packed my room and the Hospital guy took me back to the hospital, they had preformed the relocation and Carly was ok.

 

Fidel the port rep booked us a room in the Holiday In Express next door, and we discussed what to do, either take a bus to Manzinillo the next day or go home. But the Dr. did not speak English, and the nurse that did, didn't translate what the dr said correctly, so we decided to go home.

 

We decided to go home, so I booked a flight for Saturday.

 

Princess customer care also called me directly from California to ask if everything was ok and if they could do anything, even though they had no responsibility for anything really.

 

So, remember I said we had Passport Cards? Well I just happened to remember that they were only good for land/sea travel and not flying. OH OH. This was about 5 on Saturday.

 

I called the Customs office and united and they said there would be no issue, umm ok. I called Fidel the port rep and he said there would probably be no issue, but call him again when at the airport if there were problems.

 

Soooo. we got to the airport Saturday, up to the counter, Need passports, don't have passports, cant travel, and its not "HAHA, we may not let you go home" or "HAHA you cant leave" Its looking you dead in the eye and saying" YOU CANT TRAVEL WITHOUT A PASSPORT, YOUR NOT GOING ANYWHERE"!!!! OH, OH, got in touch with head customs and immigrations guy at airport, 45 minute wait, big hand slap, got everything taken care of.

 

I had called Fidel again during this, and he said the answer is always No, at the counter but customs usually takes care of it, but to call again if they wouldn't do it and he would come to the airport. It is pretty scary though facing the possibility of being stuck in a different country.

 

Soooo......we got on the plane to San Francisco, made it to San Francisco, and the fun was just beginning.

 

3rd degree from US Customs after standing in line and WINNER we get to go to secondary customs, the land of strip searches and the Spanish Inquisition, I bet a lot of sweating goes on in that room, waiting for your fate. I overheard a Asian lady getting a "second chance" and getting her fine waived for something.

 

Actually they guy was nice and just needed to verify our addresses and stuff. only took about 15 min.

 

Made it home Saturday night and booked our 2017 Caribbean cruise and our 2018 Panama Canal cruise with trip insurance and renewed Passports. YIPPPEEEEE

 

Very first Cruise........

 

Oct 2005, we had booked our first cruise together. 2005 is when Katrina, Rita and Wilma happened.

we had booked our cruise around Jan, and first Katrina happened, then I think Wilma a few months later, it was late Sept and we were glad that nothing else was going on, then Wilma formed, DANG.....

 

We watched and it stayed around Grand Cayman for a bit, then it headed to Cozumel. It was time to go to Florida, it was Thursday Night. On the news and stuff for yrs when there was a hurricane in Florida, the news in Seattle made it sound like Florida is deserted, no one is there, everyone left, we got there Thursday afternoon and it seemed like a regular day to me.

 

Friday was a nice day, nobody looked like they cared, except when you go to the store and all the water etc is gone, I asked someone about it, and he said they wait till a few hrs before it hits to decide it they want to leave......okay.

 

So Saturday was a pretty ugly day, cloudy, drizzly, looked like a storm coming, we went to Miami, South Beach to Fox Café and happened to meet Ludicris, the rapper.

 

We got back to Ft Lauderdale and the hotel says Princess had called and to call the rep when we get back.

 

Call them and they said due to the storm, that Caribbean Princess will probably get in early, off load and embark people early to miss the storm and to get to the port as early as you can in the morning, OK.

 

Sooooooo. we get up and get to the port at about 4am, Caribbean Princess had just arrived it turns out, and nobody was there, not even the dock workers, some employees came around 5 and asked what we were doing there, told them Princess called and said to be there early, because the ship was going to leave early.

 

They knew nothing about it

 

The ship disembarked around 10, and we finally got onboard about 11, needless to say we were first in line. We left about 5, partly cloudy sky, 85 degrees, wouldn't have known there was a huge storm a few hundred miles away. Saw the aftermath when we got back though.

[Cruise Raider]

I surprised my DH with a cruise for his 60th birthday about 4 years ago. Everything was a surprise...he thought I was attending a work seminar in Orlando. I packed his bag and we stayed with friends that live in the FLL area. They didn't let on ... but I think he figured it out that it wasn't going to be a run of the mill work trip when I booked first class air on the way to Florida.

So, I did all this booking right in front of him but he was oblivious. Our friends dropped us off at the cruise port ... surprise!! Ok ... so now he is on to me ...but I still had some surprises in store for him. I booked an extra special cabin and got the drink package ... every time he turned around, something else special just knocked his socks off.

So, we are sitting at the martini bar on the day of boarding and we met a couple of sisters that always cruise together. We were telling them of all the surprises that I pulled off ... unbeknownst to my DH until we got in our cabin. The bartender was also engages as part of our conversation and he asked when my DH's actual birthday was. It was a 10 night cruise and his birthday was 6 days in ... so we still had awhile.

Well, we loved the martini bar where the bartenders were so attentive and learned our names and what we liked to drink. Always ON it!! So, you can imagine our surprise when we went to the martini bar early, sat at one end of the bar and no bartender was paying any attention to us. Just busy, I guessed. Our favorite guy, the one we met on the first day onboard, was down at the other end of the bar fiddling with something rather intricate ... so we can be patient. Well, when he finished, he put a large empty martini glass in front of my DH and proceeded to pour a chocolate martini in the glass. On the inside of the glass, he had used chocolate sauce to intricately write, 'Happy Birthday xxxxx" on the inside of the glass. How did he even remember the actual date of his birthday and his name? WOW!! This is why I love cruising!! The crew / staff that make you feel so special.

[lilfish7]

I surprised my DH with a cruise for his 60th birthday about 4 years ago. Everything was a surprise...he thought I was attending a work seminar in Orlando. I packed his bag and we stayed with friends that live in the FLL area. They didn't let on ... but I think he figured it out that it wasn't going to be a run of the mill work trip when I booked first class air on the way to Florida.

So, I did all this booking right in front of him but he was oblivious. Our friends dropped us off at the cruise port ... surprise!! Ok ... so now he is on to me ...but I still had some surprises in store for him. I booked an extra special cabin and got the drink package ... every time he turned around, something else special just knocked his socks off.

So, we are sitting at the martini bar on the day of boarding and we met a couple of sisters that always cruise together. We were telling them of all the surprises that I pulled off ... unbeknownst to my DH until we got in our cabin. The bartender was also engages as part of our conversation and he asked when my DH's actual birthday was. It was a 10 night cruise and his birthday was 6 days in ... so we still had awhile.

Well, we loved the martini bar where the bartenders were so attentive and learned our names and what we liked to drink. Always ON it!! So, you can imagine our surprise when we went to the martini bar early, sat at one end of the bar and no bartender was paying any attention to us. Just busy, I guessed. Our favorite guy, the one we met on the first day onboard, was down at the other end of the bar fiddling with something rather intricate ... so we can be patient. Well, when he finished, he put a large empty martini glass in front of my DH and proceeded to pour a chocolate martini in the glass. On the inside of the glass, he had used chocolate sauce to intricately write, 'Happy Birthday xxxxx" on the inside of the glass. How did he even remember the actual date of his birthday and his name? WOW!! This is why I love cruising!! The crew / staff that make you feel so special.

 

That is wonderful!!

[lilfish7]

My first cruise was on a now-defunct line. I was young (13ish), so it was all SO overwhelmingly exciting. Growing up my brother played travel baseball, so our vacations consisted of whatever town the tournament was held. So, needless to say, getting an actual vacation, without having to watch ball games all day, everyday was a thrill all it's own.

 

I don't remember everything about the ship or cruise itself, unfortunately (will have to look back at a photo album to refresh my memory). BUT, I do remember the room service! I wore that out because it was the greatest thing ever!! I ordered the cheesecake at least once a day, if not multiple times (oh to be young with a metabolism!) per day. The last full day I called and the room service man joked "ma'am, we're out of cheesecake....you've eaten all the cheesecake!" I laughed so hard.

 

I also remember the extravagant "Baked Alaska Parade/Song" they did on the last night, and the elaborate midnight buffets were mind blowing for my 13 year old self. So neat!

 

I was hooked after this cruise. Sadly, we learned after we got home that it was one of the last sailings that ship did before the line went out of business.

[leck57]

I'm not even going to try and beat Cruise Raiders story. Wonderful.

No story in particular but I just love cruising, unpacking once, being at the aft bar as you sail out of Singapore or Kotor or..., sitting on the balcony having a quiet afternoon drink and just staring into nothingness, sitting in the dining room being waited on as you meet people from all countries and all walks of life, sitting at the pool bar watching the afternoon concert on the big screen, just doing nothing, walking off the ship into wonderful ports like Mykonos, Rhodes....

[EastBay Cruisers]

he lives on a cruise-ship 50 weeks out of the year. Visits family over Xmas, then right back to her adopted family. We had hours of conversation about her family and life in general. It was wonderful.

This is a great story ! There's a You Tube video about an 88 year old lady who lives on board a Celebrity ship. She goes dancing every afternoon with the officers and is having the time of her life. She's spending her retirement funds this way. When the ship goes into drydock, the escort her off the ship and right onto another one. Sure does beat sitting on the porch of a nursing home, and the food and activities are a whole lot better. ( I probably don't have the funds, but this would be my dream retirement).:) EBC

[Lucky TGO]

This happened this year on the Royal Princess. We were watching the Super Bowl on the big screen they call Movies Under The Stars. The Patriots were getting killed by the Falcons 28 to 3 when I got up and said

“ That’s it we got them right we’re we want them”. A guy behind me said sit down are you nuts?

Well you know the rest of the story.:):):)

Go Patriots!!!!!!

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

[floridalover5623]

Sure does beat sitting on the porch of a nursing home, and the food and activities are a whole lot better. ( I probably don't have the funds, but this would be my dream retirement).:) EBC

Not the "nursing homes" I'm familiar with. They're usually lucky if they can sit up in bed & watch TV or even feed themselves.

[Jenna2407]

Ive only ever cruised once!

The first day I hated it!! I was like omg what have we done? Wevw wastes all our money to be trapped in a ship for 7 days.

 

Check in was a nightmare, took us 1 hr stuck on a bus in traffic and then around 2 hrs ti get on the ship (ncl epic). Once on board we just didn't know what to do? Everywhere was packed busy, couldn't get near the bar.

Our sail away was delayed due to someone taking very ill (no fault of the cruiseline) but all i was thinking was I could be on dry land in disneyworld right now 🙈.

 

The first night i was so sick... couldn't eat dinner. I just wanted to get off.

 

I woke the next morning and thought oh i don't feel sick (had taken motion sickness tabs).

 

Well lets just say i was hooked!! The first stop was st thomas... waking up to that view 😍 omg now i know why i was cruising!

 

We are cruising again on carnival glory in jan, less than a year after our first ever cruise and I can't wait!!

 

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[USCcruisecrazy]

The coolest story I have was when we did a 7 day cruise on the Regal for our son and daughter-in-laws Wedding. We left Port Everglades on a Sunday afternoon with a very large group. Our first stop was at Princess Cay, so we had a chance to hang out, do some relaxing on the beach and get ready for the big event. Tuesday was a day at sea and the day of the Wedding. It started out with my son, his soon to be father-in-law and I going down to the casino to play a little Blackjack and keep his mind off the afternoon event. The staff was awesome. They provided "on the house" bloody Mary's for the three of us as we sat and talked and laughed. Around noon, we went back to the cabins and got into the Tuxedos. The Wedding was at 2 o'clock and was beautiful. Princess took care of everything...the flowers, the music, even clearing a path for the Bride from her room to the Chapel. After a short but very nice ceremony, we went to a private room for the Reception and had such a good time. To top it all off, it was formal night, so we stayed in our tuxedos...she stayed in her wedding dress. Then at about 7 o'clock they did the Champagne Fountain. My brand new daughter-in-law was asked to come up and pour the first part of the first bottle. It was very special. The entire day was magnificent thanks to the Princess Staff and all the guests that treated our entire party very well. can't tell you how many drinks others bought for us to celebrate the occasion. It's a story we tell often (of course with a few more funny and/or special parts included). :) The rest of the cruise was just a big celebration! Especially enjoyed the last stop at Grand Turk and a visit to Jack's Shack!!!

[callmedeb]

I wish there was a like/love button for all these stories!

 

Keep them coming =)

[Serious Cruisers]

I always like to ask crew when I see them around the ship what there job is on the ship.

 

Just got off a ten day cruise, was at the Horizon late one night, this crew member was ahead of me and dropped something and looked at me and apologized.

 

I asked him my usual question ' and what do you do here on the ship'?

 

He replied in a heavy Italian accent "I drive the ship"....

boy was I embarrassed I grabbed my mac and cheese and replied "bet that comes with good benefits"....

[Mud_Shark]

Our first cruise was on the Grand to Hawaii 3 or 4 years ago. We decided on a do-it-yourself excursion to the secret waterfall on Kauai.

We rented a car and drove to this place where you rent kayaks. They gave us basic directions from there. 10 minutes up the river we were to park the Kayaks and then follow the trail to the waterfall. Well, we got to the trail and found out the hard way - that it was the rainy season in Hawaii. We had no idea how far the trail went, and we saw no other people along the way to confirm we were on the right track. It was not rainy, but was humid and hot. The trail was not just muddy, it was literally knee deep muck the entire way, interspersed with buried roots of trees in the muck to cause tripping hazards. We were in our early 50s, average health and ability. At first we were trying to keep our shoes and shorts relatively clean by skirting the edges of the huge muck trails by hugging the jungle forest edges but we just weren't making progress. Eventually we just looked at each other and decided to "embrace the adventure", and plough straight through the muck. We tripped on roots and fell in several times. Everything was so slimy, we slipped and fell on our rears several times. It was long tough slogging. I understand in the dry season it is an easy walk of about 30 minutes or less, but we struggled for over an hour to get to our destination. We were basically covered from head to toe in muck. But we made it to the lovely secret waterfall, and cleaned off standing under a beautiful 300 foot waterfall. We just embraced the muck on the way back and laughed at how ridiculous we both looked. And it is the excursion that still brings back the fondest memories.

 

Don/Allison

[geocruiser]

I always like to ask crew when I see them around the ship what there job is on the ship.

 

Just got off a ten day cruise, was at the Horizon late one night, this crew member was ahead of me and dropped something and looked at me and apologized.

 

I asked him my usual question ' and what do you do here on the ship'?

 

He replied in a heavy Italian accent "I drive the ship"....

boy was I embarrassed I grabbed my mac and cheese and replied "bet that comes with good benefits"....

I had a similar thing happen to me. We were on Tahitian Princess and I needed to speak with the Head Waiter. so I went to the front desk and they told me to go to the dining room even if it was closed and and a head waiter would be there. I got outside the dining room and I saw a waiter(so I thought) , and I ask him "are you a waiter" He said "no madam I am the Captain" I look at him and just started laughing. He then started to laugh too.

[LarryL]

While we can't say we've ever been on a bad cruise we have had our favorites. Our new favorite was last February on the Star. While we love going to Hawaii, we had never done so on a cruise and this one had been on our bucket list for a long time. After all the airline problems we didn't get to the San Pedro hotel till around 4:30 AM. Everything was uphill after that. Boarding the ship was a breeze and we got on the Chef's Table list right away. We got our invitation not long after. There were so many things to do that the conflicts caused us to miss all of the Elua presentations. Now we have to take another cruise to see them. :p.

 

Every day we went up to the Platinum/Elite lounge for drinks and Hors d'oeuvres. We had the best server there named Nico who was from the Philippines. We spent much time sharing stories. I was stationed there not far from where he is from. Every day, he was there to escort us to our favorite table and then took very good care of us.

 

We also had the best crew experience; starting with Captain Tuvo. He was the most entertaining and informative captain of any ship we had sailed. Normally the noon captains briefings are pretty boring but his were not to be missed. I think people would stop in their tracks just to hear what he came up with on any given day. He was always out and about the ship, visiting with passengers and even cleaning tables. I think his crew was happy just because of his presence.

 

The Hawaiian cruise on the Star Princess will be a hard act to follow for us. Especially with Capt. Tuvo at the helm. :)

[chrysalis]

This guy and the nanny/mistress were assigned to our table of 8 on the previous Royal Princess (R-ship) from Rome to FLL....

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Michele_MacNeill

 

Makes for good conversation at dinner if we find our table partners in ATD to be quiet!

[c-boy]

"here put these on" my wife of ten years said. I looked at the clothes while thinking "man that's not my style, but the alternative to saying no is worse" . "we are expected at Michaels in twenty minutes, so no dawdling". I knew it was a surprise but man I sure don't like to be rushed. Off we went hand in hand then rounding the corner to greeted by thirty plus fellow cruisers, the cruise director, captain and a wedding cake. It was to be a surprise renewal of our vows at sea. Many pictures were taken that afternoon by the ships photographer. She asked if we were going ashore tomorrow and would we be interested in modeling. Saying yes and signing paper work took minutes. We spent the better half of that day ashore doing a photo shoot. Neither my wife nor I thought much of it, until the photos appeared all over the ship. Poster sized in ship stores, display cases on three floors etc... They don't call it Celebrity cruise line for nothing.

[Janie1111]

In 2003 we were celebrating our 25th anniversary and trying to decide what to do. It’s on 11-11 so we wanted somewhere sunny. Our travel agent suggested a cruise which we had never done before. We decided on Princess.

Picked a Caribbean itinerary and booked a balcony cabin and let them pick the cabin.

It started to get closer to our departure date and didn’t get a cabin assigned. Kept checking everyday. Finally saw the number E733. A suite. I quickly called our travel agent because I knew they had made a mistake.

My agent called me back screaming that we were upgraded to a full suite and she had never seen this before.

I thought we had won the lottery.

We had the best time of our life. The room was beautiful with a jacuzzi bathtub and every night warm canapés. We were treated like royalty.

Needless to say we have stayed with Princess and will be going on our 9th cruise in 9 days.

[Daisyloo]

This guy and the nanny/mistress were assigned to our table of 8 on the previous Royal Princess (R-ship) from Rome to FLL....

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Michele_MacNeill

 

Makes for good conversation at dinner if we find our table partners in ATD to be quiet!

 

Wow!! That would be an interesting dinner!

[DomsPaPa]

My cruise story: How I Started Cruising and Why on HAL

 

1st some background:

My wife had wanted to go on a cruise for a long time but I had successfully "deferred" this request for years .

Well my DW being very tricky when necessary began a project at the end of 2011 to get us on a cruise ship. I was a smoker at that time but was wanting to quit. E-cigs had helped several friends quit so I was going to try using this new tool. My DW knowing this, approached me with a wonderful "deal". She informed me that if quit smoking successfully (1 year minimum to prove success) she would buy me something I'd wanted since I could drive ... a Corvette. I quickly said "Deal!" But she said "hang on there's more". Now I know I'm in trouble ... I know she's got me where she wants me and I will agree to whatever it is . She drops the hammer ... "and if you get the Vette you have to take me on a cruise!". "... and if you try to get out if it I'm going with our (adult) daughters and you're paying". Like I said earlier she had me ... so I agreed.

Well I went Cold Turkey January 2nd, 2012 after approx 35 years smoking and haven't had a single puff since!

January 2013 Corvette was bought (5 yrs old - gently used) and we began to look for a cruise to book. We had no idea who to book with but me being me, I always look for a deal ... I just can't help it. My Surname happens to be Holland (bet you can guess where this is going) so in my constant quest for a deal I thought "Holland America is perfect! I bet we'll get some bonus for it ... maybe even an invite to the Captains table for sure". So we booked our 1st cruise, of course on HAL, Nieuw Amsterdam for November 2013. I loved it so much we will be on the NA again, in 2 weeks for our fourth HAL cruise! She won ... yet again!

To answer the question some may have "so what did being called Holland get you on HAL" ... nothing, nada but lots of smiles and some joking by the crew. When they see my ship card with my name they often say something along the line of "welcome aboard your Ship Mr. Holland. So ..... now my DW tells them she is a former Miss America ... so Holland America we are .

Once a crew member sees my ship card they never forget us and say hello to us all over the ship by name! We love it, especially at ports when we reboard "welcome back aboard your ship Mr. Holland & Miss America".

 

 

Sorry for being long winded

 

 

D Holland

[WVBill]

In 2012 we decided to celebrate our 25 Anniversary on a Caribbean cruise on Ruby Princess out of Fort Lauderdale. Gayle had cruised to Hawaii with her mom but this was to be my first cruise not on an aircraft carrier.

Our anniversary day was a sea day the 3rd day of the cruise so we booked a Renewal of Vows package for that day. It was going to be just the 2 of us but we were happy with that.

 

We booked Traditional dining at a table for six. Our table-mates were two Canadian couples. They were wonderful people and we hit it off with them right away. After we told them the story about our renewal of vows, they asked if they could come and be our "wedding party". We welcomed them and had a wonderful time.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gb7wdq1ztqmazh3/ROV%20group2.jpg?dl=0

 

 

 

[geocruiser]

Here is my second story. Once again this happened on Tahitian Princess. We were on a 14 night Alaskan cruise. We got on board and my DH and I started to check out the ship. We walked into a lounge at the same time another could walked in and we met. We exchange the usually, Hi, where are you from? I told them where we were from. They told us that they were from Ottawa Canada. I said to them I know some one in Ottawa. Do you know Jerry and Bev.... Before I could give their last name they said it!! It was our friends Aunt and Uncle. We were shock, our friends are from Canada and we are from the US, but we both winter down south in the same condo complex.

So, their aunt & uncle took pictures of us, and when they went home and show them their cruise album, there we were in it!

[cruiseintoheaven]

Not favorite - but most embarrassing [emoji85] story......first cruise, 1997 with DH and our then 8 and 7 yr. old. In the very dark theatre watching our first ever production show - and we were all very much focused on the stage.....husband goes to get some refreshments and turns around to ask for clarification on what we want....to see that I have unbuttoned my shirt completely (like bra showing). I was warm and in the dark thought I was unbuttoning my cardigan. Husband yells out "what the ^**# are you doing??". In an attempt to collect myself I scoot to the restroom - only to wonder why on earth there are urinals in the women's room?? [emoji85] Amazing we ever cruised again!

 

 

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