What shocked you the most

[mjldvlks]

I deliver food to restaurants for a living and what I see would make the dead sit up.

Especially Mexican and Chinese Restaurants.

They think absolutely nothing of putting it back whether it's food or utensils. I'll never eat in one.

Just to follow this slightly off topic rabbit trail a little further -- I was with my wife and my parents at the "new" buffet near their home. I was waiting patiently [as is my habit] in the line. As I approached the maccaroni and cheese, I saw a young man [say 10 or so] accidently slop some of the mac and cheese onto the line you slide your tray down. Again, before I could say anything an attendant calmly walked over, grabbed the spoon and plopped it back into the serving dish. I called the manager on that one.

 

To head back a lttle closer to the topic, here's one that actually happened on a ship [Monarch, Oct. '08]. I was sitting at the end of an 8 place table. I was drinking water with my dinner. The assistant waiter was obviously new, but I have to give him credit for trying. He was doing a fairly good job of keeping my water glass full. On one occasion, however, he came to refill my glass and inadvertently poured too much into my glass so that it was so full it was likely to spill. So, to remedy the situation, he merely poured a bit from my glass back into the pitcher. Now I try my best not to backwash, but my table mates thought that was going a bit too far, and we insisted on a new water pitcher. But I repeat, he was trying.

[shipshape sam]

Mine was one guy (ONE person) trying to hold two complete rows of seats for his group (about 20 seats). Most people were nice and relocated to other seats as he would walk/run down the row to stop someone from sitting down to then have to run to the other end. Unfortnuately, one couple, actually the male sat down and refused to move. A heated debate began and while this escalated, the guy could not protect the other side of the row(s) of seats and began losing seats. The debate turned into a physical fight and the assistant cruise director and one of the cocktail staff got in between them. By this time some of the guys group had come and sat down, but alast, both the guy and the couple did not get to stay for the show as security came and provided them with a special tour. :)

[babyher]

Mine was one guy (ONE person) trying to hold two complete rows of seats for his group (about 20 seats). Most people were nice and relocated to other seats as he would walk/run down the row to stop someone from sitting down to then have to run to the other end. Unfortnuately, one couple, actually the male sat down and refused to move. A heated debate began and while this escalated, the guy could not protect the other side of the row(s) of seats and began losing seats. The debate turned into a physical fight and the assistant cruise director and one of the cocktail staff got in between them. By this time some of the guys group had come and sat down, but alast, both the guy and the couple did not get to stay for the show as security came and provided them with a special tour. :)

 

 

Sorry that two staff had to get in on this and I hope neither were hurt. But good I am glad the guy wouldn't move. and that this jerk lost all his seats. I hate people like this, and the reason they are what they are is because people just let them have their way and move.

[cruisinmom1]

Waiting for an elevator for my mom in a wheelchair and someone just shows up and runs in front of us to get on the elevator.

 

Someone took my "Meet and Mingle" magnet off my door.

 

Waiting for the Promenade Parade-Someone came late and stood in front of us after we've been waiting so long.

 

I fell asleep at the pool and some women started to scream at her kids real loud for no good reason.

 

Chair Hoggs!!!

[bplazo]

Sometimes it is not worth confronting someone, it is just easier to find other seats. I hate arguments and it would just ruin the rest of my cruise.

[babyher]

Sometimes it is not worth confronting someone, it is just easier to find other seats. I hate arguments and it would just ruin the rest of my cruise.

 

 

You are a much better person than me :)

 

It would bother me to actually let this person boss me into moving. Especialy when they are in the wrong (saving a whole row of seats or deck chairs

[golf43]

As I am thinking of past cruises I remembered something funny to us, but really embarrassing to this lady. This was back in the 1980's. We were aboard a cruise ship in Hawaii. My dh and I were on our way to the top deck. He was a full flight of stairs ahead of me. He got to the top, then I arrived a few minutes later. I looked for him, but did not see him at first. There was a lady leaning over the balcony which I never took a second look at. I found my dh laughing his head off. I said whats so funny. He said see that lady over there? I said yes. He said as soon as he arrived up top here, that she all of a sudden passed some really loud gas. She thought she was alone, only to turn around and see my dh standing there. He said she had some brightly colored coulots on and her face turned that color. We laughed and laughed over that it.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

On the EOS we had a table mate beginning the second night who arrived and quickly announced that being she was D+ she had entitlements not granted to the 'ordinary folks' like us. She also told us she knew how to get her way on a cruise ship and she kept telling us she had 'trained' her son also how to do this.:eek: She was in her 70's and nicely dressed. She quickly informed the waiter that she and her two guests were to have shrimp cocktail every night along with certain other requirements. When informed that shrimp cocktail was not on the menu every night she demanded to see the head waiter, then the maitre'de and on up the ladder very loudly. She soon had the wait staff so flustered they began to cater to her every whim to the extent that they began to ignore the rest of our table. Our friends were so upset they were not going to return to the dining room after the third night of this. After some phone calls, etc the Food & Beverage Manager sent us all some wine and must have had a talk with the staff because things improved with our service. Our tablemate remained a boor, though. We went to Portofino's and the buffet a few nights to get away. I wanted to have formal night dinner in the dining room, though so we returned only to have this tablemate hit on my DH, slipping down the shoulder of her dress and leaning into him the entire meal. That provided comic relief for the rest of us.:rolleyes: Also -shrimp cocktail was on the menu this night. When it was placed in front of her she refused it and demanded something else not on the menu that night!:eek:

 

BTW - we found out later that on the first night she had been at another table but had been moved when the larger group at that table refused to sit with her anymore. :D

[BehrHunter]

Sitting at a table in the buffet one day, next to a large family (in all senses). There must have been 4 generations sitting around the table.

 

The family matriarch who was seated directly in my line of sight proceeded to withdraw her dentures prior to eating. She was not too discreet about it and the image of the drool stretching between her mouth and the dentures was enough to put me off my dinner for the rest of the evening. Im sure the bus/waiter was equally amused as the set of teeth sat on the table for the entire meal.

[old bag]

Firstly, I have to say ... I'm so glad I don't recognize my extended family in any of these stories, as they really are something to travel with.

 

This was when my son was an infant, and was taking a nap with "Grandma" in the cabin. My husband and decided to take a brisk walk on the running deck. A nicely shaped woman ran by us in a tightly fighting white jogging suit, as my husband took a OBVIOUS triple take. I, of course, hit him ... causing him to look at me incredulously and say, loudly enough for the woman to hear ... "But she isn't wearning any underwear!"

 

Yes, the comment and the woman attracted a great deal of attention ... as she kept on running, beaver, headlights, and all!

[pilotboy1985]

This is shocking, but not in a funny way.

 

While sailing on the MOS we docked in Mazatlan and decided to take one of those horse back riding tours into the sierra madre. I found the horses to be very rough and upset, "rude" if you will. Well, half way into our ride one horse got too close and the horses did not care for that. Kicking started and the horses got up on their hind legs. My horse got spooked and it was a bad scene. One of the guys had blood coming out of his leg and was all over himself and the horse. This happened right as we got to the halfway point where there was a little "ranch" the mans wife was freaking out because they carried no first aid and had nothing to stop the bleeding. They did have a pick-up truck at the ranch and they loaded the couple in and, I assume, took him to hospital. I didn't see them again for the rest of the cruise.

Obvisouly everyone was nervous on the ride back.

[pmdc5696]

In April of 2008, I took my 69 year old mother and my then 14 year old daughter on the Serenade out of Puerto Rico. My children are adopted and are black. I am very white and blonde. We are Crown and Anchor members and have cruised many times with RCCI, having a fabulous time on each trip....we are big fans.

 

When I approached the checkin counter, the employee advised me that my daughter's passport was not sufficient. She stated that she could not possibly be my daughter. After picking my jaw up off the ground, I asked her how she came to that conclusion. She answered by saying that it was impossible. "Just look at the two of you". I then demanded to speak with a supervisor who started down the same path. My daughter then came up to the counter asking what the delay was as we typically are there very briefly and are off to start our vacation. I explained that I was having difficulty explaining our relationship to their understanding. My 14 year old precious daughter looked straight at the supervisor, put her hands on her hips and said, "She stole me off a street corner from the burbs in Atlanta, packed a suitcase full of vacation clothes, a camara, a cool MP3 player, a portable DVD player, my allergy medicines, prepaid our excursions and our soda package, paid for a night in a hotel, and bought the plane ticket to Puerto Rico so that she can take a stolen kid on a cruise. Works for me!" I was laughing so hard I was nearly crying! I also travel with the adoption paperwork and her birth certificate that bears my name. Been there done it before but never with RCCI. My mom wanted to go home immediately. The three of us had a talk about not letting a couple of fools interupt a great trip and got on the ship. We had a great trip. It was the last trip I took with my mom before she died. Great memories made. Little bit of a bumpy start, but great vacation.

[BND]

In April of 2008, I took my 69 year old mother and my then 14 year old daughter on the Serenade out of Puerto Rico. My children are adopted and are black. I am very white and blonde. We are Crown and Anchor members and have cruised many times with RCCI, having a fabulous time on each trip....we are big fans.

 

When I approached the checkin counter, the employee advised me that my daughter's passport was not sufficient. She stated that she could not possibly be my daughter. After picking my jaw up off the ground, I asked her how she came to that conclusion. She answered by saying that it was impossible. "Just look at the two of you". I then demanded to speak with a supervisor who started down the same path. My daughter then came up to the counter asking what the delay was as we typically are there very briefly and are off to start our vacation. I explained that I was having difficulty explaining our relationship to their understanding. My 14 year old precious daughter looked straight at the supervisor, put her hands on her hips and said, "She stole me off a street corner from the burbs in Atlanta, packed a suitcase full of vacation clothes, a camara, a cool MP3 player, a portable DVD player, my allergy medicines, prepaid our excursions and our soda package, paid for a night in a hotel, and bought the plane ticket to Puerto Rico so that she can take a stolen kid on a cruise. Works for me!" I was laughing so hard I was nearly crying! I also travel with the adoption paperwork and her birth certificate that bears my name. Been there done it before but never with RCCI. My mom wanted to go home immediately. The three of us had a talk about not letting a couple of fools interupt a great trip and got on the ship. We had a great trip. It was the last trip I took with my mom before she died. Great memories made. Little bit of a bumpy start, but great vacation.

 

Great story. Let's face it, lots of children look nothing like either parent, even when they are biological. People can be so dumb. Have they never heard of adoption? Of course I've had people tell me I couldn't possibly know white families that adopt black children because it's not allowed. I'm like, um, okay, does that mean both sets of friends that have these children, just found them and took them home? Come on people, it's very common to see children of all races with parents of all races. I'm very european looking (fair skinned, freckles, green eyes, light hair) and my youngest son takes after his dad who is hispanic. Does he look like he should be my son? Not particularly, but I know I gave birth to him. No one has ever asked though, but I know another family with the opposite parent combination and a child who is fair and she was questioned if he was her child because she's olive complexioned.

[amybear912]

From the Love and Marriage show... The newlywed couple, when hubby is asked where the strangest place they've ever made whoopee, answers, "at a swingers party, it was our first date"... The new wife obviously didn't expect him to give that answer and couldn't supply a matching answer... the look on her face when she realized what he had said....

 

we saw her in the casino later - alone...

 

we saw him later on in the cruise at dinner, alone...

[paintedduck]

good one, amybear!!

 

one time we were the "middle" couple on love and marriage.

 

one newly wed couple, who were obviously pretty drunk, after the "ooo eee, baby, baby" stuff, the husband picked up his wife and threw her over his shoulder and headed up the stairs and onto the stage and proceeded to parade around for their audition. unfortunately for keith williams, the CD, she had on a very short skirt and thong underwear!! keith was shocked, but the audience apparently wasn't, as they cheered loudest for them to be included.

 

it only got worse, as at one point the hubby fondled his bride...and many of her comments were R or X rated. at one point, keith put down his mike and spoke into her ear, "you've got to tone this down, this is a family show"...as reported by my wife, since i was backstage.

 

later that evening, when we spoke to keith, he still seemed a bit shell shocked and said it was the worst he had ever dealt with!!

 

p.s. pmdc, three cheers for your daughter!!

[paintedduck]

oh yeah, i forgot to mention that the next day at bingo, one of keith's staff was commenting on the newlywed couple between calling numbers. after several amusing comments from him and several from the bingo players...a voice comes from the corner in the back..."i'm right here."

 

we all turned around to look, and there she was...wearing sunglasses!

[ddy123]

Returned from the Explorer a few weeks ago and they had many many mixups on dining room table assignments. We were traveling with my in-laws to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and they had failed to keep the "linked" reservations together and my husband and our two children ended up at different tables from my in-laws :eek:. Not the way we planned to celebrate.......we were able to get it sorted out just fine but what I saw while we got our situation fixed amazed me. Standing in line behind me was a woman repeatedly telling her husband that she had better get her table for two that she had requested months ago and that there was no way she was going to sit with a bunch of strangers. The husband was calmly trying to tell her that the reality was they were on a completely full ship and that they may just have to deal with it. Well that completely set her off....she proceeded to tell him that he was a total wimp and that she WAS getting her table for two. She then proceeded to get out of line, stormed up to the podium and demanded her table for two! SHe was bordering on violent pointing her finger in the fellow's face, demanding to speak to his supervisor etc. The fellow working at the podium handled her very well and ultimately got her back in line. He then called someone and said he wanted security to arrive which I thought was totally warranted. The whole time she is now back in line behind me she is muttering how they had better look in that magic computer and just MAKE IT HAPPEN because she absolutly did not want to sit with other people and have to talk to them! Pity the poor husband! Never did find out whether she got her table for two.....in some ways I hope she did to spare anyone from having to sit with her!

[AMommyof2]

1. We found a toenail (not ours) in our bed on the first night of a cruise. DH called our room steward to change the sheets. She did change them, but only after arguing with my husband that the sheets were clean and calling him a liar. We were in a suite and had prepaid our gratuities for 4, but she certainly didn't get a dime extra from us.

 

2. A heavy set girl, either late teens or early 20s was on the Flowrider in a bikini. After her wipeout she stood up and one of her boobs was showing. Everone around was pointing and laughing, but she didn't catch on for several seconds that they were laughing at her.

[bubbie617]

In April of 2008, I took my 69 year old mother and my then 14 year old daughter on the Serenade out of Puerto Rico. My children are adopted and are black. I am very white and blonde. We are Crown and Anchor members and have cruised many times with RCCI, having a fabulous time on each trip....we are big fans.

 

When I approached the checkin counter, the employee advised me that my daughter's passport was not sufficient. She stated that she could not possibly be my daughter. After picking my jaw up off the ground, I asked her how she came to that conclusion. She answered by saying that it was impossible. "Just look at the two of you". I then demanded to speak with a supervisor who started down the same path. My daughter then came up to the counter asking what the delay was as we typically are there very briefly and are off to start our vacation. I explained that I was having difficulty explaining our relationship to their understanding. My 14 year old precious daughter looked straight at the supervisor, put her hands on her hips and said, "She stole me off a street corner from the burbs in Atlanta, packed a suitcase full of vacation clothes, a camara, a cool MP3 player, a portable DVD player, my allergy medicines, prepaid our excursions and our soda package, paid for a night in a hotel, and bought the plane ticket to Puerto Rico so that she can take a stolen kid on a cruise. Works for me!" I was laughing so hard I was nearly crying! I also travel with the adoption paperwork and her birth certificate that bears my name. Been there done it before but never with RCCI. My mom wanted to go home immediately. The three of us had a talk about not letting a couple of fools interupt a great trip and got on the ship. We had a great trip. It was the last trip I took with my mom before she died. Great memories made. Little bit of a bumpy start, but great vacation.

 

pmdc5696 - Congratulations. You have raised a wonderful daughter. At 14, she was self-assured and mature enough to realize that the person you were dealing with was a boob and not worthy of a rational answer. If you still want to pick up someone from the street and take them on a cruise, I'm available at any time. But bring your daughter with us; I would really love to get to know her.

[uppitycats]

Way too funny. I live in Atlanta now, but grew up in Central NJ and there were quite a few Trans Ams at my school. I think you can also substitute Camaro and it will also work for NJ.

 

 

This is what my husband, a Yankee (from Wisconsin), was told by his boss from the Great State of Georgia: "Son, what's the difference between a Yankee and a bucket of p___?" My husband didn't know... "The bucket".

[petesweet]

. . . because she absolutly did not want to sit with other people and have to talk to them!

 

Don't you imagine that feeling would have been reciprocated??!:eek:

Kathy

[P1TKL]

A couple of years ago on the Mariner, we had arrived for the parade on the Grand Promenade early so our 9-year old daughter could be in front to see everything. About 2 minutes before the parade began, an older gentleman came through, elbowed us aside and stood in front of our daughter. I said

"excuse me" and he turned to me and said, "well, I want to see the parade!" It just always amazes me how self-absorbed some people are!

 

A very similar thing happened to us at Disney World waiting for the Parade there. I was absolutely furious but managed to hold my tongue. My son was 5 at the time....how are you supposed to explain peoples rude behaviour to a young child ?:mad:

[Ambrosia64]

Easy, tell them how lucky they are that THEIR mother taught them some manners. If the rude person makes a comment back - say "why do you think I was talking about you?" lol

 

 

A very similar thing happened to us at Disney World waiting for the Parade there. I was absolutely furious but managed to hold my tongue. My son was 5 at the time....how are you supposed to explain peoples rude behaviour to a young child ?:mad: