Interesting people you've met on a cruise or traveling

[ilikeanswers]

One cruise I met a Swiss woman who was hitch hiking all around the world. She was on her final leg about to go home to see her daughter get married and decided to see if she could get a last minute cruise. I found her stories hitch hiking around the Polynesian Islands particularly interesting. Another interesting person I met was Tino head of the freighter section of Aranui, he had some amazing crazy stories of the early days of Aranui pre passengers and without all the equipment they have now and before port infrastructure. The most memorable was how they got cars off the ship using a makeshift raft. 

Edited July 29, 2021 by ilikeanswers

[ontheweb]

We wanted to meet blues musician Slam Allen on our NCL Epic cruise for our 35th anniversary, but it ended up being during his 6 months off. He is from my hometown, and I know his 2 uncles.

 

We did meet him later seeing him in a local club. I got him to autograph the CD I own (his first). I told him about missing him on the Epic, and what musician we did end up listening to most of the nights.

 

If some of you are not familiar with him, you can always use google and hear some of his music. Before going solo, he played lead guitar for years with the James Cotton Blues Band. That is going back to the roots of the blues as James Cotton played with Muddy Waters' band.

 

And in addition to being a great musician, Slam Allen is also really a nice guy.

[dkjretired]

We did an NCL cruise which we did not know until on board was a themed NY Giants cruise. They had group meetings that only the group could attend but they also had plenty of free time. We were on a shore excursion with Dominic Hixon, a wide receiver on one of the Super Bowl winning teams, also took a picture in Atlantis for Harry Carson and his wife. Nice guys both of them.

[lenquixote66]

In 2015 we were on a Caribbean cruise and took a shore excursion .The tour guide was the owner of the company.I was having a casual conversation with her.We began discussing music and she told be that she was a backup singer for The Platters.She was a very interesting person.

[Toofarfromthesea]

1 hour ago, dkjretired said:

We did an NCL cruise which we did not know until on board was a themed NY Giants cruise. They had group meetings that only the group could attend but they also had plenty of free time. We were on a shore excursion with Dominic Hixon, a wide receiver on one of the Super Bowl winning teams, also took a picture in Atlantis for Harry Carson and his wife. Nice guys both of them.

Oooo, as a lifelong NYGiants fan (named my cat Eli) I would have loved that!

[canlin1]

One cruise, we met 4 sisters/sister in laws from Japan. Two of them could not speak any English and the other two barely spoke it. We were tablemates and hung out the whole trip together. We laughed and laughed over our inabilities to communicate fully but it did not matter.

[babs135]

Two guests stand out. One, a Canadian couple who explained about the wine industry which I had nil knowledge of. Frozen grapes!!  The second was a man who was an English teacher in one of the UK's toughest men's prisons.  Apparently the inmates loved Shakespeare with their favourite being Romeo and Juliet followed very closely by the sonnets. Lots of interesting stories!!

[lenquixote66]

On 7/29/2021 at 3:50 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

Oooo, as a lifelong NYGiants fan (named my cat Eli) I would have loved that!

One of my son in laws a huge Rangers hockey fan named both of his dogs after Ranger players.

[cruisemom42]

On 7/28/2021 at 2:23 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

Threads will always take their own path, and that is fine.  But for the record, my intent was not to ask about famous people you've met on a cruise, but interesting people.  Like ordinary people who have extraordinary stories.

Carry on.

 

In that case, probably the most interesting person I met on a cruise was a 90-year-young woman who was traveling solo on a Voyages to Antiquity cruise -- she was a frequent cruiser on the line. She had been in the US diplomatic corps for many years and in addition had done a lot of travel "back in the day" in areas where solo woman travelers were not exactly common -- for example, she had traveled the entire silk road on her own (e.g., not on a tour of any kind) and WITH her young son.

 

She had so many interesting stories to tell, but she didn't just "grandstand"; she was also very good at drawing out others. I somehow was lucky enough to get seated with her and a table of 4 other solo women travelers in the MDR, and we all hit it off like a house on fire. After that, we convened every night and had some terrifically interesting discussions that don't normally fit the typical cruise dinner brief (international politics, finance, womens issues, etc.). While there were definitely varying political views around the table, it was never an impediment to our conversation.

 

She was also very curious and active -- she was right there on some of the more strenuous tours of archaeological sites. Unfortunately at one site where the going was actually what I'd consider borderline dangerous (e.g., having to wade across an inlet by stepping on rocks at varying heights and distances in order to get to a site that was in danger of being submerged), she slipped and had such a bad fall that I truly thought she would not be able to continue the cruise. But two days later, and with a broken nose, she was back at our table. 

 

She definitely became one of several role models I've had over the years.

[Wayfairers]

Met many interesting people on cruises, but the most interesting was at breakfast sailing into Honolulu. My husband and I were at a table for 4.  The other couple included a guy who was in the barracks sleeping when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  His stories were incredible including when he looked out of the window and saw a Japanese plane flying by at window level.  His wife was also very interesting with her perspective of being a military wife at the time with a husband based in Honolulu.   Perfect timing too!  

[clo]

On 9/19/2021 at 7:29 PM, cruisemom42 said:

some terrifically interesting discussions that don't normally fit the typical cruise dinner brief (international politics, finance, womens issues, etc.). While there were definitely varying political views around the table, it was never an impediment to our conversation.

What I wouldn't give!  Thanks for sharing this special story.

[lenquixote66]

On 9/19/2021 at 5:44 PM, babs135 said:

Two guests stand out. One, a Canadian couple who explained about the wine industry which I had nil knowledge of. Frozen grapes!!  The second was a man who was an English teacher in one of the UK's toughest men's prisons.  Apparently the inmates loved Shakespeare with their favourite being Romeo and Juliet followed very closely by the sonnets. Lots of interesting stories!!

In 2010 we met a couple on a cruise.He was a college professor and she was an English teacher in a men’s prison in Virginia 

[beaming90]

On our first cruise my mom and I had a hard time meeting people because they kept seating us at tables for two but on disembarkation day we ate breakfast with a lovely couple from somewhere in England who had flown over to Orlando, Florida just to get on the cruise and were flying back later that day.  My mom just thought that was the neatest thing that we met people from England!  On our last cruise there were four of us and one morning we ate breakfast with a couple from Walla Walla and each time one of us would see them we'd have to say hi Walla Walla friends!  Not cruise travel but as a high school sophomore back in 1981 our band got to play at the Marti Gras and Andy Gibb was in our hotel and got off the elevator as we got on!  That was fun!!!

[lenquixote66]

20 hours ago, beaming90 said:

On our first cruise my mom and I had a hard time meeting people because they kept seating us at tables for two but on disembarkation day we ate breakfast with a lovely couple from somewhere in England who had flown over to Orlando, Florida just to get on the cruise and were flying back later that day.  My mom just thought that was the neatest thing that we met people from England!  On our last cruise there were four of us and one morning we ate breakfast with a couple from Walla Walla and each time one of us would see them we'd have to say hi Walla Walla friends!  Not cruise travel but as a high school sophomore back in 1981 our band got to play at the Marti Gras and Andy Gibb was in our hotel and got off the elevator as we got on!  That was fun!!!

Not cruise related but I was in an elevator in the building I worked in and so was Steve Martin.That evening I was in an elevator with Tom Seaver.

[bonsai3s]

Traveling...for a cruise...layover in San Francisco, SFO...late night/red eye flight...nearly empty airport.

I glanced to my right and noticed a young girl the same age as our grandniece, playing...then I look up and with my very little vision left, I recognized one of the best and Hall of Famer UFC fighter...Chuck Lidell.  One of the nicest guys I've ever met.  I treasure the picture I took with him and it's proudly hanging on the wall.

[navybankerteacher]

One of the reasons why we like traditional dining on Cunard (and until a few years ago HAL and Celebrity as well) was the opportunity to get to know people over a series of evenings - and by listening a bit more than by talking we got to know a fair amount about tablemates - most of whom were interesting in their own ways — I have had occasion to briefly meet some celebrities - but aside from their fame, there is little which is really interesting  you can gain from a momentary encounter.

[Flatbush Flyer]

29 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

One of the reasons why we like traditional dining on Cunard (and until a few years ago HAL and Celebrity as well) was the opportunity to get to know people over a series of evenings - and by listening a bit more than by talking we got to know a fair amount about tablemates - most of whom were interesting in their own ways — I have had occasion to briefly meet some celebrities - but aside from their fame, there is little which is really interesting  you can gain from a momentary encounter.

That’s what I liked about meeting Paul Tibbits in Saipan. Not just “passing ships.”

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

.That evening I was in an elevator with Tom Seaver.

 

During a convention that I was attending in Chicago at the Conrad Hilton Hotel, I found myself in an elevator with Ernie Banks.  It was one of those "did that really happen" moments when I got off the elevator.

 

Not on a cruise, but on an Eastbound Empire Builder trip from Seattle to Chicago, I had dinner with a North Dakota oil field worker returning to his job after vacation.  We discussed his experiences, his pluses, and his minuses in his job.  Major plus was the money he was making; major minuses were the long days at work, the dirty and sometimes dangerous jobs he did, the time away from his family, and the loss of vacation time because of having to get from his home/to his work/and back home because of transportation requirements.  Our conversation provided an education and appreciation for me about the work these men do.  

[rkacruiser]

Once a regular guest on long HAL cruises was an elderly lady whose nickname was Kissin' Annie.  I understood that she would book two staterooms.  One was for her.  One was for her wardrobe.  She always wore a different outfit (usually with a hat) each day.  And, the outfits were dated.  If one was a male, you were "fair game" to attract her attention--married or solo.  

 

I remember one evening I was sitting at the bar in the Crow's Nest when she made an appearance.  My friends with whom I was sitting warned me:  "Here she comes."  I made myself seem as inconsequential as possible.  She spotted another male before Annie got to me and he got to "enjoy" her attention.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

The comment about the lady with the extensive wardrobe reminded me:

 

Though we never actually met her, we did cross paths with the pictured lady at a mosque in Oman. She wasn’t on our cruise. But I had to take her photo.

Not meaning any disrespect to Islam, I’ll always have the mental caption of Muslim Barbie.

Truly, apologies to anyone who might be offended. But, the picture is just “so overboard.”

[klfrodo]

Everybody has a story and every story is interesting in it's own right. However, some don't want to bring attention to themselves or share their stories. While others will willingly give of themselves if someone takes the time to listen.

I've met everyone from soldiers, truck drivers, teachers, policemen, entertainers, doctors, to very wealthy individuals showing me pictures of the art they just purchased for their foyer entrance. I've met straight, gay, bi, young, old, and in between.

Everyone I have met has left a mark on me and I hope to never forget any of them.

[ilikeanswers]

5 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The comment about the lady with the extensive wardrobe reminded me:

 

Though we never actually met her, we did cross paths with the pictured lady at a mosque in Oman. She wasn’t on our cruise. But I had to take her photo.

Not meaning any disrespect to Islam, I’ll always have the mental caption of Muslim Barbie.

Truly, apologies to anyone who might be offended. But, the picture is just “so overboard.”

 

Not offended but confused😳. Why is her dress considered "overboard"? Is this a reference to something I'm missing? 

[ilikeanswers]

4 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Everybody has a story and every story is interesting in it's own right. 

 

I reckon I'm pretty boring compared to everyone else. I don't have a life anywhere near as memorable as the stories I've heard😂. 

[clo]

47 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Not offended but confused😳. Why is her dress considered "overboard"? Is this a reference to something I'm missing? 

Thanks. I kinda wondered the same.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Not offended but confused😳. Why is her dress considered "overboard"? Is this a reference to something I'm missing? 

Not familiar with Barbie Dolls outfits???