Most surprising thing seen on a cruise

[GTO-Girl]

On 9/27/2019 at 12:11 AM, xDisconnections said:

Honestly, I can agree... this is something I have been pleasantly surprised about regarding Carnival and a factor I haven’t seen on Princess or Royal Caribbean. It reminds me of when I stay at certain hotel brands where the staff addresses me by name without hesitation.

we haven’t sailed Carnival in almost 8yrs but I can tell you we are addressed by name by most every crew member (including our room steward) on every Royal cruise I have ever been on. 

[xDisconnections]

3 hours ago, GTO-Girl said:

we haven’t sailed Carnival in almost 8yrs but I can tell you we are addressed by name by most every crew member (including our room steward) on every Royal cruise I have ever been on. 

And just like that- our experiences differ as I’m very rarely, if ever, addressed by name on Royal.

[Cook Cylinder]

On 9/24/2019 at 7:57 PM, ramrax4 said:

 

On another cruise we had been enjoying the Serenity deck  and we were half way to Hawaii when a passenger calmly took off his shoes, stepped onto the rail and jumped off the back of the ship. 

Was that on the Carnival Spirit from San Diego in April 2012?  If so we were on that cruise too; were just talking about that man overboard recently!

 

Andy

[CanWeGoYet?]

21 hours ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

 

Wow, then I should be surprised to have been on a peaceful cruise.  

 

This was not a typical Carnival cruise in my experience.  It was a 3 day out of Miami to Nassau on the Imagination.  In December.  Basically a rock bottom price cruise that many wouldn't even need to take vacation time off for - a booze cruise.   Our next door neighbor was screaming the F bomb, playing guitar & his female companion howling with loud laughter up to 4AM when I finally called security.  They were great, on it, came within a few minutes & no more out of these two for the rest of the night.  That morning it was a whole Customs Immigration & ship's security convention outside their door - I don't know what happened but it didn't look good for them.  Disembarking, port police running up the ramps looking for people & squad cars circling the pier apparently doing the same.  It looked like an episode of cops, there was so much police activity on disembark day.  Not typical of my experience either on any cruise line, had this been my first carnival cruise I would have made wrong assumptions about the cruise line.  

[PhillyFan33579]

15 hours ago, Marauder40 said:

I like how people are talking about being on lots of cruises and never seeing a fight.  We were on our first cruise ever on the Carnival Magic in August.  While on an excursion at Amber Cove  during the lunch served on the excursion two ladies from the same cruise got into a fight.  Several people from the excursion got called in to break them up.

 

I have been on 31 cruises on Carnival and have never seen anything even close to a fight. The only time I have seen upset passengers is when I have witnessed a passenger yelling at a bartender or yelling at someone at guest services, which I have seen both multiple times. 

[vicky3vicky]

Okay, this is not the most surprizing thing I saw, but the most surprizing thing my , at the time,15 year old grandson experienced when cruising. It was his first cruise, and we had sent him some links in the preceeding weeks so that he could have an idea what to expect. Obviously he did not look at them. We got on the ship and EVERYTHING SURPRIZED HIM!

 

He had been expecting to board the ship and  be assigned a seat, in a huge area with seating similar to a commercial airplane. He thought we would stay in our seats, being served meals on trays, sleeping in our chairs, and only getting up to use the bathroom, until we reached a port. He was blown away! "this is AMAZING!" I heard him say this at least 100 times on the cruise. 

 

It is always fun cruising with someone who has never cruised before, but this particular cruise with this grandson was AMAZING!

[LandlockedCruiser01]

50 minutes ago, vicky3vicky said:

Okay, this is not the most surprizing thing I saw, but the most surprizing thing my , at the time,15 year old grandson experienced when cruising. It was his first cruise, and we had sent him some links in the preceeding weeks so that he could have an idea what to expect. Obviously he did not look at them. We got on the ship and EVERYTHING SURPRIZED HIM!

 

He had been expecting to board the ship and  be assigned a seat, in a huge area with seating similar to a commercial airplane. He thought we would stay in our seats, being served meals on trays, sleeping in our chairs, and only getting up to use the bathroom, until we reached a port. He was blown away! "this is AMAZING!" I heard him say this at least 100 times on the cruise. 

 

It is always fun cruising with someone who has never cruised before, but this particular cruise with this grandson was AMAZING!

Wow!  What a cool story! 

 

Your grandson's reaction sounds vaguely similar to my own on my first cruise.  While I researched my ship obsessively, and by embarkation time, and knew everything from its itinerary to its breakfast menu, nothing prepared me for how much fun I had, despite picking Carnival for its "Fun Ships" motto.  Because I was cruising solo, I half-expected it to be a relaxing but unsocial experience, with most people limiting themselves to whoever they came with.  That's been the case on every vacation I've gone on prior, although those weren't solo.

 

I got assigned MDR seating and looked into organized activities to minimize the "alone in a crowd" factor, but I still planned on the cruise being more relaxing than social.  I was later floored by how easy it was to meet people and make friends, and how open everyone was.  I ended up hanging out with some of them during much of the cruise.  I've been a cruise addict and a staunch Carnival fan ever since.

 

How did you grandson act during the cruise?  Did he partake in social activities, like the teen club, and/or make friends?

[Roscoe13]

2 hours ago, vicky3vicky said:

Okay, this is not the most surprizing thing I saw, but the most surprizing thing my , at the time,15 year old grandson experienced when cruising. It was his first cruise, and we had sent him some links in the preceeding weeks so that he could have an idea what to expect. Obviously he did not look at them. We got on the ship and EVERYTHING SURPRIZED HIM!

 

He had been expecting to board the ship and  be assigned a seat, in a huge area with seating similar to a commercial airplane. He thought we would stay in our seats, being served meals on trays, sleeping in our chairs, and only getting up to use the bathroom, until we reached a port. He was blown away! "this is AMAZING!" I heard him say this at least 100 times on the cruise. 

 

It is always fun cruising with someone who has never cruised before, but this particular cruise with this grandson was AMAZING!

Makes perfect sense.  People my age grew up watching the Love Boat and knew the Hollywood version of cruising.  Younger generations think Love Boat is video game or dating app.  Swipe port or starboard.

[Sillyjilly]

A woman showering nude at the main pool.

[TNcruising02]

3 hours ago, vicky3vicky said:

Okay, this is not the most surprizing thing I saw, but the most surprizing thing my , at the time,15 year old grandson experienced when cruising. It was his first cruise, and we had sent him some links in the preceeding weeks so that he could have an idea what to expect. Obviously he did not look at them. We got on the ship and EVERYTHING SURPRIZED HIM!

 

He had been expecting to board the ship and  be assigned a seat, in a huge area with seating similar to a commercial airplane. He thought we would stay in our seats, being served meals on trays, sleeping in our chairs, and only getting up to use the bathroom, until we reached a port. He was blown away! "this is AMAZING!" I heard him say this at least 100 times on the cruise. 

 

It is always fun cruising with someone who has never cruised before, but this particular cruise with this grandson was AMAZING!

That's so funny that he originally thought of a cruise ship as just a form of transportation like an airplane.

It really is impossible to know what it's like until you experience it.  Even though I looked at pictures of cruise ships and the various areas, I couldn't fully comprehend how incredible they were until I stepped on board for the first time. I still remember the feeling of walking into the atrium area and how amazing it was.  Cruising and cruise ships were nothing like I thought they would be.  They were so much more.

[v3cruiser]

Sailing on the Sunshine. We stopped to potentially help a small watercraft. A group of three guys in between the coasts of Cuba and Hait fishing in a home made sailboat. the center mast looked like it was from a tree trunk and the sails were sewn together out of many pieces of canvas or fabric. They actually had some nice sized fish on board. We stopped for about an hour to see if they needed help. They appeared  fine and we continued on to Aruba.

Edited September 30, 2019 by v3cruiser

[CoasterGuy]

10 hours ago, vicky3vicky said:

He had been expecting to board the ship and  be assigned a seat, in a huge area with seating similar to a commercial airplane. He thought we would stay in our seats, being served meals on trays, sleeping in our chairs, and only getting up to use the bathroom, until we reached a port. 

 

wow.               

[FLCruise7]

Just off the Breeze and had 2 things "surprise" me.  First was up in the smoking area on Lido.  Young guy stops and asks if he can have a hit off my cig (say what??).  I was almost finished and told him he could have the rest of it.  He took it & threw it over the side.  I can't repeat the things I yelled at him.  What a jerk!  Lesson learned - never give anyone a cigarette.

 

The other was one night leaving the casino.  There was this fairly young kid (13?  15?) sitting by the atrium rail.  He said hello and then asked if he could give me some money to gamble (I win and get to keep winnings) - and if I could get him a beer!  I wanted to ask him if his parents knew where he was at 2:30 am.  I just told him I was going to bed & walked off.  Not sure if he got any takers or not.

 

Both of these were firsts for me after many cruises.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

6 minutes ago, FLCruise7 said:

The other was one night leaving the casino.  There was this fairly young kid (13?  15?) sitting by the atrium rail.  He said hello and then asked if he could give me some money to gamble (I win and get to keep winnings) - and if I could get him a beer!  I wanted to ask him if his parents knew where he was at 2:30 am.  I just told him I was going to bed & walked off.  Not sure if he got any takers or not.

This sounds vaguely similar to what happened to me.  I was sitting on the lido deck, smoking a cigarette.  (I smoked at the time, but had quit since then.)  Two kids looking 16 or 17, a guy and a girl, approached me, asking for a cigarette.  I immediately asked them if they were old enough.  The girl immediately said "yes"; the guy hemmed and hawed a little.  I told them: "Absolutely not!"  They tried to come back with: "Come on, be cool."  I stopped them in their tracks by saying: "I'm too old to worry about that.  Have a pleasant night.  Better yet, go to bed."  They walked off without saying another word to me.

[Linsuesue]

Last year, on the Splendor to Mexico, there was a woman who entered the hairiest chest contest! She had some wig hair or fake fur that she had sticking out of her bikini top. She did not win the contest but gave it a good go.  I didn't expect to see that but enjoyed the show!

[TNcruising02]

12 hours ago, FLCruise7 said:

Just off the Breeze and had 2 things "surprise" me.  First was up in the smoking area on Lido.  Young guy stops and asks if he can have a hit off my cig (say what??).  I was almost finished and told him he could have the rest of it.  He took it & threw it over the side.  I can't repeat the things I yelled at him.  What a jerk!  Lesson learned - never give anyone a cigarette.

 

The other was one night leaving the casino.  There was this fairly young kid (13?  15?) sitting by the atrium rail.  He said hello and then asked if he could give me some money to gamble (I win and get to keep winnings) - and if I could get him a beer!  I wanted to ask him if his parents knew where he was at 2:30 am.  I just told him I was going to bed & walked off.  Not sure if he got any takers or not.

 

Both of these were firsts for me after many cruises.

We were on the Breeze earlier this month and were lounging at the non smoking side of deck 11.  There was this guy sitting in one of the loungers smoking.  A crew member walked up to him and told them that the smoking section was on the other side.  They guy told the crew member that he was over on the other side and they sent him to this side.  The crew member walked away and the guy continued to smoke.  It wasn't very crowded at the time or I am sure someone would have complained.

Edited September 30, 2019 by TNcruising02

[KrakedMask]

13 hours ago, FLCruise7 said:

Just off the Breeze and had 2 things "surprise" me.  First was up in the smoking area on Lido.  Young guy stops and asks if he can have a hit off my cig (say what??).  I was almost finished and told him he could have the rest of it.  He took it & threw it over the side.  I can't repeat the things I yelled at him.  What a jerk!  Lesson learned - never give anyone a cigarette.

 

The other was one night leaving the casino.  There was this fairly young kid (13?  15?) sitting by the atrium rail.  He said hello and then asked if he could give me some money to gamble (I win and get to keep winnings) - and if I could get him a beer!  I wanted to ask him if his parents knew where he was at 2:30 am.  I just told him I was going to bed & walked off.  Not sure if he got any takers or not.

 

Both of these were firsts for me after many cruises.

 

This was me back in 2004! I was 16 on my first cruise on the Inspiration and went with my family and grand parents. Made a few friends but they all had a curfew of midnight and I would be still bored and wide awake so I would go try and gamble or get free beer or cigs off people leaving the bar for the night! 

[jordanaire]

On 9/24/2019 at 8:57 PM, ramrax4 said:

We had booked the Chef's table and by the time we got to the main course the couple next to us was extremely intoxicated. They got into a knock down fist fight in the middle of the dining room. Everyone was stunned,  the dining room went completely silent. Security eventually intervened and they were escorted from the dining room.

 

On another cruise we had been enjoying the Serenity deck  and we were half way to Hawaii when a passenger calmly took off his shoes, stepped onto the rail and jumped off the back of the ship. Someone quickly threw over the life ring which activated a GPS locator. It took the ship an hour to slow down and turn around. When we returned to the area it took another hour to locate him, he tried to swim away from the rescuers when he was spotted. Once we reached Hawaii he was handed over to the authorities.

 

Was that cruise to Hawaii back in April of 2012, out of San Diego? If so, we were on that cruise too and witnessed the guy jumping off the ship. I was the one who spotted him floating about 400 yards from the ship. Heard that he hadn't been taking his medications. At least he survived. We also had to return to Honolulu on our way towards San Diego for an emergency.

[ramrax4]

On 9/30/2019 at 11:06 AM, jordanaire said:

 

Was that cruise to Hawaii back in April of 2012, out of San Diego? If so, we were on that cruise too and witnessed the guy jumping off the ship. I was the one who spotted him floating about 400 yards from the ship. Heard that he hadn't been taking his medications. At least he survived. We also had to return to Honolulu on our way towards San Diego for an emergency.

Yes same cruise!

[ramrax4]

On 9/28/2019 at 9:56 PM, Cook Cylinder said:

Was that on the Carnival Spirit from San Diego in April 2012?  If so we were on that cruise too; were just talking about that man overboard recently!

 

Andy

Yes it was! That was a pretty eventful cruise.

[MNelson486]

These are some very entertaining stories.

 

I was on a cruise last year with my 16 year old daughter.  We want to Nachi Cocum in Cozumel, that is usually a pretty mellow place.  There were a group of people really drinking ALOT.  At one point one lady was unsteady on her feet and her companions started to video her antics with their cell phone.  I told my daughter to keep an eye on her as I was worried she might do something or hurt herself and within 2 minutes she fell into the bushes and could not get up.  Her friends were laughing at her (and not helping -- the people who worked there helped her up).  The friends were busy taping her antics.

 

I used this as a teachable moment for my daughter on 2 things -- 1.  Do not drink so much you cannot handle your business and 2.  Find friends who help, not just exploit your stupidity.

[Joe817]

3 minutes ago, MNelson486 said:

These are some very entertaining stories.

 

I was on a cruise last year with my 16 year old daughter.  We want to Nachi Cocum in Cozumel, that is usually a pretty mellow place.  There were a group of people really drinking ALOT.  At one point one lady was unsteady on her feet and her companions started to video her antics with their cell phone.  I told my daughter to keep an eye on her as I was worried she might do something or hurt herself and within 2 minutes she fell into the bushes and could not get up.  Her friends were laughing at her (and not helping -- the people who worked there helped her up).  The friends were busy taping her antics.

 

I used this as a teachable moment for my daughter on 2 things -- 1.  Do not drink so much you cannot handle your business and 2.  Find friends who help, not just exploit your stupidity.

A good life lesson and teachings about friends. Good job!

[rocketship]

Does anyone else read these and hope to not see any of their stories?  haha

[Silent Penguin]

On 9/29/2019 at 3:51 PM, Sillyjilly said:

A woman showering nude at the main pool.

Yes, the first time you see this, it's surprising.    I also saw a woman  occupying the lounger near mine change out of her  clothes into her bathing suit without regard to any modesty-preserving tactics.       

[GUT2407]

6 minutes ago, Silent Penguin said:

Yes, the first time you see this, it's surprising.    I also saw a woman  occupying the lounger near mine change out of her  clothes into her bathing suit without regard to any modesty-preserving tactics.       

Some cultures are less uptight about nudity than others.