Are any of the HAL ships haunted?

[karlth]

Any stories out there of ghosts roaming the ships?

[whogo]

Spoiler alert!
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There is no such thing as ghosts.

[Randyk47]

Any stories out there of ghosts roaming the ships?

Never heard any ghosts or ghost stories on HAL. Got to give this question high marks for originality though! :D

[karlth]

There is no such thing as ghosts.

:D

Anyway I saw this on a blog last year:

Then there was the ghost of the old guy who died a few cabins down from us aboard the m/s Noordam: The entire rest of the cruise, we would feel tapping on our shoulders (ice-y cold), hear whispering in our ears and my cruise-buddy would see shimmery images in the mirror over the desk. We figured he was looking for his family who got off the ship w/ his body in St Thomas to return to New York...

[catl331]

Not HAL's but there is always the chance of running into the "Flying Dutchman"!

"Sightings in the 19th and 20th centuries report the ship to be glowing with ghostly light. It is said that if hailed by another ship, its crew will try to send messages to land or to people long dead. In ocean lore, the sight of this phantom ship is a portent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portent_(divination)) of doom" Wikipedia

Sometimes early in the morn before sunrise on the veranda it is so quiet out on the ocean it is eerie. Wouldn't be surprised!

[Math Guy]

We docked in Ketchikan a few years back aboard a Princess ship, but before the passengers could disembark, 3 hearses awaited at the foot of the gangway.

Needless to say, the issue of ghosts and 'departing' passengers did come up in some of our discussions.

Whether ships are haunted or not probably makes for good folklore.

[karlth]

On the only Carnival cruise I've been on I saw some ghostly beings near the pool early each morning.

Very pale - almost transparent, moving slowly and groaning - often with sunglasses too.

The most frightening thing I've ever seen. :eek:

[Randyk47]

On the only Carnival cruise I've been on I saw some ghostly beings near the pool early each morning.

Very pale - almost transparent, moving slowly and groaning - often with sunglasses too.

The most frightening thing I've ever seen. :eek:

Hey....I saw that too on a Carnival 4-day cruise....those "ghosts" smelled a lot like stale beer and cigarettes. Actually saw they walk off the ship and the thought of zombies came to mind at the time. :rolleyes::D

[bay-girl]

LOL!!! My thoughts exactly!!

[tomc]

Funny you should ask that...

I was on a 'dammer one night, on my way up the outside stairs to the Sports Deck, when I heard this eerie moaning. I don't believe in ghosts as you see them on the tv ghost shows (to me, not as real as professional wrestling). I stopped and looked around to see what was going on. Nobody there and the moaning was coming from all sides on that deck; no discernible single point.

At that time, I felt it might be good to retreat to the Lido and have myself a good strong cup of tea. But curiosity, which kills cats by the thousand dozen, urged me on to be yet another non-feline victim.

As I walked around the deck, I noticed it was perceptibly stronger nearer the low-level deck railing lights. Turns out the light fixtures are fairly rectangular and open at the bottom. Also turns out there was a fair wind blowing. You know how you blow across a bottle's lip to make a sound? That's what was happening all around the deck. A strong wind with an open "lip" and you had the sound of some twenty tortured souls begging for prayers to release them from their agony.

I sprinkled each fixture with Holy Tea, intoned "Good to the very last drop," and swung a teabag over each one.

Didn't work. I went back to the Lido.

True story. Except for the ritual, which I made up for here.

[Randyk47]

Just have to add that I was not saying that "walking zombies" is typical of Carnival. Our TA at the time put me on a 4-day Carnival cruise as a "try it, you'll like it" cruise to see if the ex and I liked cruising. It was one of those slow cruises from Port Canaveral to Nassau and back. I could have sworn there were folks who got off the boat in the same clothing....without changing by the way....that they boarded in. Don't take me wrong, I was up on the pool deck myself doing the electric slide in my tux at 2 AM while we were docked in Nassau. :eek::D

[RuthC]

Anyway I saw this on a blog last year:

Then there was the ghost of the old guy who died a few cabins down from us aboard the m/s Noordam: The entire rest of the cruise, we would feel tapping on our shoulders (ice-y cold), hear whispering in our ears and my cruise-buddy would see shimmery images in the mirror over the desk. We figured he was looking for his family who got off the ship w/ his body in St Thomas to return to New York...

That was Brian & Scottie! I remember when it happened. It was on the inaugural cruise of the Noordam, back in February of '06. The ghost stayed in the area of his cabin.

[SeaSheep]

You should ask the crewmembers that question. I am pretty sure that there is a ghost story on every ship, as people like to make up interesting stories ;)

[Copper10-8]

The prior Westerdam (born as Homeric, since leaving HAL to Costa, now with Thomson) was known for para-normal sightings:eek:

[solocanadian]

Love your story TOMC - especially your imaginary ritual LOL.;)

[kelmac]

Once on the Volendam, there was this one cabin that had been vacant after a "bright Star" had been removed at one port. The cabin was vacant for several days when people start hearing strange sounds; weeping, whining, moaning and very caustic sounds.
Security finally got the cabin door open, only to find the TV was on FOX news:rolleyes::)


Sorry,
Kel

[Amuse Bouche]

Well of course there are. But a gag order has been enforced for those in the know.
It's unanimous that no one wants the Ghost Hunters or Ghost Adventures, or Paranormal State TV show crews to take over an entire deck to film a show and ruin everyone's vacation. And you know they will delay food service. :D

This is a dangerous thing. Those shows will pay full price for their cabins.!

Shh! If you encounter a ghost, it's rumoured that if you give them the Elephants or Monkeys eye, they will leave you alone.

[Typhoon1]

Any ship HAL ship that has hosted a RSVP charter is haunted by gay ghosts.:eek::eek::eek::eek:

[arewethereyet]

I don't know about ghosts, but I'm absolutely certain there are aliens aboard.

I've also seen what appears to be zombies at the buffet. Either that or they are so heavily medicated that they pass for zombies. That's frightening since I have to leave my zombie survival kit at home when I cruise. ;)

[iancal]

...only when they sail through the Burmuda Triangle.

[HamburgAvonLady]

Well, the old Queen Mary which is now docked in Los Angeles and been turned into a hotel ---- is suppose to have ghosts. In fact,
you can even take a "ghost tour" of the ship. We stayed there several
years ago prior to our Panama Canal trip --- our cabin was just down
the hall from Winston Churchill's suite. We even got to look inside
as it was being cleaned that morning.

[wilsonqbc]

The prior Westerdam (born as Homeric, since leaving HAL to Costa, now with Thomson) was known for para-normal sightings:eek:

I remember being told that, back in the 90's when she was sailing on the St Lawrence. That She was haunted, many of the crew seemed to really believe it too. also lots of stories about the QE2.

[Himself]

Kel:
Don't be picking on FOX news it is fair and balanced--sometimes.

JOHN: I would not say the old Westerdam was haunted but I will say that of all the HAL ships I have been on it was my least favorite.

[tomc]

What's that old song? "I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you."