ODD events on a cruise!

[JUST ADD WATER]

:eek: I just got off the thread about where does Princess put the bodies! Got me thinking about other weird things that have happened while we were on a ship. Wanted to know if others had odd events too?

 

We were on the first sailing of the Monarch of the Seas (RCL) after it had been repaired from running into a reef. I guess someone on the ship had suffered a heart attack and the Caption tried to get the ship to St Croix for mediacl attention. Somehow ran up on a reef in the process. Crew spent most of our cruise talking about how sad it was the Captian lost his job. We were on that ship because the Grandour of the Seas had engine problems and our original cruise was cancelled (along with the cruises of everyone on the Enchantment which was found to have a similar problem). Not a good month for RCL it semmed.

 

Our next cruise we came accross a boat floating out in the open sea. Captain came on and said that normal people would not be in those waters. The people were either drug runners or really stupid and lost. Security went out on one of the tender boats with guns drawn and handcuffs ready (Pre 9/11). Captain said they were put in the jail and given food/water/clothes until the next port. There are jail cells on board.

 

3 cruises later we had to make an emergency stop at St Criox to drop off a heart attack victim (he lived :) ). I had Monarch crash scenes running through my head!

 

Next cruise we came accross another boat drifting in open sea. This time it was a Cuban refugee raft and there was nobody left aboard :( . Captain said they most likely had died, but we picked up the raft to take to the Cost Guard just in case.

 

Whenever we talk about our boat finding and medical emergency port stopping with others they don't seem to have had these experiences. Are we in the twilight zone of cruising of what!?! 4 of 13 cruises with odd stuff. Anyone else out there had any of this happen?

[srphnx]

Wow, that is quite a list, my biggest odd thing was waiting behind Charro at a pay phone in Alaska, she is getting a bit old for "coochie, coochie".

[jdecker2000]

OK, besides the incident the OP mentioned, can others chime in on what they know about this - I am SO curious :D to find out what people are doing on the cruise ship to merit incarceration. NOT that I doubt that it happens or that it is deserved. I just want to hear more about it for whatever reason... Stories, anyone??

[srphnx]

I have seen crew members escorted to the brig for drug smuggling.

[mringenoldus]

While on the Sun Princess, we watched as two middle-age male passengers were detained and questioned. Soon after, the dogs were brought to their cabin. My assumption was that it had something to do with narcotics.

 

It was a bit strange - I'm guessing that they didn't have the same wonderful cruise we did!

[PescadoAmarillo]

We had dinner with a ship's officer on a recent cruise, and talked about the ship's jail. Most of the incarcerated are spouses (husbands OR wives), or significant others who get into domestic disputes on board. And alcohol is involved about 99% of the time.

 

Which got me thinking...if you can't get along with your mate on a cruise, I'm not sure there is any hope at all for the relationship while on land!

[Julia & David]

Wild, scary stuff!!

[monty95]

Julie,

 

Do you have a checklist that your revising for the Alaska cruise of activities that MIGHT get you incarcerated? :-) Just wondering if I need to check this out before getting access to our balcony :-) Just kidding....my mind keeps wandering to the cruise....2 weeks left!!!!

[tom-n-jules]

I am SO curious :D to find out what people are doing on the cruise ship to merit incarceration.

1st degree use of walkie-talkies in public areas, and pre-mediated elevator button-pushing. :D :D :D :D

[BJS]

We were just south of Acapulco on HAL Ryndam and the Captain came on the speaker and told everyone to hold on tight we were making a 180 degree turn. Someone had spotted a teenager on a Jet Ski floating in the ocean miles off the coast, too far out to see land. They sent a tender out and brought the boy back and put him into the medical center. He'd gone out too far and stayed out too long running out of gas and had been drifting with the currents out to sea. The coast guard and search parties were unable to locate him. The boy was severly sunburned and dehydrated. They kept him in the medical center until the US embassy in Puntarenas came and picked him up when we docked. The night before docking the Captain took him out of deck and he said the boy could not control his shaking from fear when he saw the water. This was the month after 9/11.

 

On the same ship about 11:30 pm one night I smelled smoke coming into our cabin. At first I thought it was someone smoking in an adjoining room but the Captain came on the speaker and said for no one to be alarmed but the lower decks were filling with smoke. He said that a fire had started in the flume in the incinerator room and he'd let us know when it was put out. About 30 minutes later he said all was out. They had huge fans at the ends of the hallway with the doors propped open for several days to rid the ship of the smoke.

 

On the Grand we were notified by the Captain that we'd be stopping just outside the 3 mile mark off Cuba. He said there was an ill passanger who needed to be tendered to the military base for medical attention. He told us this would possibly be the closest we'd ever be to Cuba.

[coiran]

WQhile on the Royal Panama Canal cruise - my friend and I were having a cocktail on one of the rear decks when the ship rimbled and the starboard backwash stopped indicating that the starboard engine had stopped. The Royal has direct drive propulsion. ASfter about 45 minutes it started back up - no announcement was made.

 

Curious, I questioned everyone from the staff I could - some said nothing happened - the Chief Engineer said it was a routine switching of engines? You don't switch engines way out to sea. Finally, at the CC Party i collared and asked the Captain. HE stated it was an errant painter - further explaining that one of the crew painting in the engine room painted over the emergency engine stop button, which was OK - It was when he went to wipe it off he stopped the engine!!

[spongerob]

We were cruising with friends and they related a terrible story to us at breakfast. There were 4 teenage girls sharing a mini-suite next to them. Some time in the early AM, the girls started screaming and were pounding on their cabin door. Apparently a crew member had slipped into their room and hidden under the bed. Somehow he was discovered, and when the screaming started he bolted.

 

Ship's security conducted an investigation and were able to identify the crew member through his pass-key code. He was detained and identified by the girls. Later that morning, we saw him being escorted off the ship in chains by Mexican authorities. Since we were in port overnight, the incident was under the jurisdiction of the Mexican Federal Police.

 

A security officer guarded the girls' room for the rest of the cruise.

 

Some observations: Access to your cabin is monitored and recorded. There is nowhere to hide on a ship.

[ahracer]

Hmmm, i'm disappointed 14 cruises and nothing!

 

Scott

[pandabebe]

Haven't had any weird experiences like that either, not that I would really want to , but there are great stories to bring back home.

[WeBeGone]

On our last cruise, a cabin attendant missed the ship and we were amazed as we watched her climb up the cargo netting to get into the ship. A local boater brought her out to the ship and we later learned that at the next port she was sent home to Asia.

[Lidi]

On our cruise last year on the SS Norway we were playing Bingo and there was a man who was very loud and was being beligerant and even abusive to his wife. When it could not be ignored any longer one of the staff spoke to the man and he got physical with her. A few minutes later security showed up, escorted him out of the room. We saw him later in handcuffs in an elevator with security. It was very hard to stay out of the situation because we were nervous for all the girls doing the Bingo but they wanted everyone to remain seated. We did spot the wife throughout the rest of the cruise and she was always alone. We never did see the man again. Too bad people have to ruin their cruise experience and others with stupidity.

[srphnx]

We should follow HR on one, that shouldbe good for a story or two.

Hmmm, i'm disappointed 14 cruises and nothing!

 

Scott

[Druke I]

Someone (several people actually) mentioned the ship's brig.

 

When Sky Princess was transferred to P&O Australia, and changed to Pacific Sky, the company increased the size of the brig of the ship, to accommodate more "guests".

 

The Aussies' reputation preceded them!

 

Michael

[bostonlass]

:eek: I just got off the thread about where does Princess put the bodies! Got me thinking about other weird things that have happened while we were on a ship. Wanted to know if others had odd events too?

 

We were on the first sailing of the Monarch of the Seas (RCL) after it had been repaired from running into a reef. I guess someone on the ship had suffered a heart attack and the Caption tried to get the ship to St Croix for mediacl attention. Somehow ran up on a reef in the process. Crew spent most of our cruise talking about how sad it was the Captian lost his job. We were on that ship because the Grandour of the Seas had engine problems and our original cruise was cancelled (along with the cruises of everyone on the Enchantment which was found to have a similar problem). Not a good month for RCL it semmed.

 

Our next cruise we came accross a boat floating out in the open sea. Captain came on and said that normal people would not be in those waters. The people were either drug runners or really stupid and lost. Security went out on one of the tender boats with guns drawn and handcuffs ready (Pre 9/11). Captain said they were put in the jail and given food/water/clothes until the next port. There are jail cells on board.

 

3 cruises later we had to make an emergency stop at St Criox to drop off a heart attack victim (he lived :) ). I had Monarch crash scenes running through my head!

 

Next cruise we came accross another boat drifting in open sea. This time it was a Cuban refugee raft and there was nobody left aboard :( . Captain said they most likely had died, but we picked up the raft to take to the Cost Guard just in case.

 

Whenever we talk about our boat finding and medical emergency port stopping with others they don't seem to have had these experiences. Are we in the twilight zone of cruising of what!?! 4 of 13 cruises with odd stuff. Anyone else out there had any of this happen?

 

*GULP*........you're on my cruise in October!!!!!:eek: Hope it's an uneventful one!!!:D

[famski740]

:)

 

Besides the normal ambulance meeting the ship at various ports along the way, 2 things stick out in my mind.

 

On the Grand Princes 3/3/02 on a Western Caribbean Cruise we left 2 young guys stranded at Cuzumel. We were to depart at 6:00 pm. Between 6:00 and 6:30 pm the Captain was walking around outside the gangplank as people were rushing back to the ship. We sat on our balcony with binoculars and watched 2 guys on the steps of Carlos' and Charlie's playing games with some local girls. At 6:30 pm the Captain finally got on board and the gangplank was raised and we set sail. As we were fading into the sunset we could see the 2 guys who had run down the pier and were watching us leaving. We hope they made it back to Florida.

 

On the Sun Princess 2/29/04 on a Southern Caribbean Cruise we left Florida and hit some fairly heavy seas. People who were not used to it were having trouble getting around. At approximately 11:00 pm on the first day at sea the Captain came on to say that we would be stopping dead in the water so that a helicopter could air-evac a passenger who had fallen and hit her head. At approximately 11:30 pm we stopped dead in the water and the helicopter hovered over the stern and took the passenger aboard along with the head Doctor. Later we were informed that she had made it to a hospital in Florida and was doing OK. The Doctor joined us later at one of the ports.

 

Just to show that things do happen! :cool:

[Mrs_Tiki]

In 15+ cruises, we have seen a lot of odd things, but here are two of the most interesting, IMHO:

 

 

We had sailed from Barbados on the Dawn Princess in 1998 when DH said he saw a flame on the water. It turned out to be a fisherman in a small wooden boat with engine trouble. Apparently, he saw us approaching in the dark and, having no lights on his boat, set his shirt on fire to keep from being run over. An inflatable Zodiac was lowered and sped over to his boat. I was surprised that they did not bring him aboard the Dawn. Instead, we sailed in a big circle, keeping him in the beam of a spotlight. Captain announced that maritime law required us to stay until Barbados Coast Guard arrived, saying "they say they will be here in 45 minutes, but since it's Barbados, that means an hour and a half." Sure enough, it was well over an hour before they arrived and we were on our way again.

 

Another time, DH and I were on a 2-day cruise to nowhere when the Constellation was first entering service. An elderly woman took a bad fall down the stairs and needed medical treatment, so we turned back to Ft. Lauderdale a few hours after sailing. We were met by an ambulance at the pier and again set sail for nowhere. I couldn't imagine why some of the people around me were complaining about the unscheduled return to Ft. Lauderdale. It wasn't like we would be late or miss a port. You guessed it: they had taken the trip to gamble and were PO'd that the casino was delayed in opening. I even heard one person ask "Why couldn't they have sent a helicoptor for her?" YIKES, what happened to concern for fellow man?

[Aquarian]

On my first cruise on the SS Norway, we were supposed to go to St. Maarten but they were threatening a transportation strike so we went to St. Croix instead. Hardly any excursions were available as it was last minute. The day we were supposed to go to NCL's private island, someone had a heart attack and we sailed to Turk Island instead. The passenger was taken to the island by tender and we waited until a jet landed and picked up the passenger. We only got to visit one island that was on the itinerary - St. Thomas.

[Globaliser]

Once in St Thomas a family missed the ship after we had left the dock, but before we had got out of the harbour. The ship decided to pick them up in a tender, so we floated around in the middle of the harbour while it was despatched. This attracted some attention from everyone, who stood at the rails and watched this rescue operation - and the family were in due course warmly "welcomed" on board when they got to the ship.

 

My bag missed the ship earlier this year. It had missed my flight, but was sent on the next one which arrived just a little too late for the bag to reach the pier before we sailed. I was resigned to having no clean clothes until we returned (it was a 2 night cruise to nowhere) but the bag did turn up - apparently brought out on the pilot boat when it came to pick up the pilot. A pity I didn't see that, as it would have been quite fun. (You can read more about this cruise in the review linked to in my signature.)

[Wile1170]

Curious, I questioned everyone from the staff I could - some said nothing happened - the Chief Engineer said it was a routine switching of engines? You don't switch engines way out to sea. Finally, at the CC Party i collared and asked the Captain. HE stated it was an errant painter - further explaining that one of the crew painting in the engine room painted over the emergency engine stop button, which was OK - It was when he went to wipe it off he stopped the engine!!

 

Yes, this is a common thing on traditional props with driveshafts. We were on Nordic Empress once going to Bermuda and during the wine tasting in the restaurant, the entire back of the ship started to rattle...we were freakin' out....but there was an officer at the tasting that told us they were switching over to a different drive on the propeller....so when an engine goes down, they have to hook up the drive to another motor while the ship is moving...

[Wile1170]

Carnival Spirit a couple years ago....we pulled away from the pier in Miami....we didn't even make it to the center of the channel right off the pier when we pushed back in and tied up (worlds shortest cruise). We waited for a half hour for the ambulance to show up and take the emergency off the ship... so we finally pull away again, head down towards the Miami Area turning basin....turn around and start heading down the channel....get close to the Carnival pier and guess what, we pull over again...another medical emergency....and another half hour wait for an ambulance....

 

Grand Princess - we were on when 9/11 happened...the whole cruise after that was a bummer....instead of sporting events on the tv's in the sports bar, it was nothing but CNN...and it was packed!! On the final sea day, we were sitting on the pool deck and saw huge amounts of the blackest smoke you could imagine coming out of the stack for about 10 mins...we thought "FIRE!!!!"...turns out they were just cleaning the flumes and it was routine to do this once a month while at sea.

 

Voyager of the Seas - last December...in the disco a big fight broke out among two races....had to do with a white man dancing with a black man's sister...they were grinding it up on the dance floor, aparently her brother didn't approve and tackled the guy, sucker punched him in the head. The fight went on for a few minutes until security got there...both were handcuffed and taken to the brig....we found out the next day from the sister of the guy that they were holding him in the brig because the other guy was going to press charges...this was on the 2nd to last night...we saw the police take the guy off the ship when we got to port on Sunday.

 

I have also witnessed on two occassions the security officers detaining minors for underrage drinking, and vandalism on the ship...in fact, I called security on one of those occassions because a group of teens were vandalising items on the pool deck...

 

Parents not supervising their children onboard is another issue...tune into the next Jerry Springer....