Characters you have met on your cruise(s)

Some of the recent threads on our forum are decidedly depressing for us dedicated cruisers (eg, Where have all the cheap cruises gone, No more complimentary icecream on Australian Princess ships, dangers in Sydney, Australia is a big bust) - to name a few.

Enough to make a grown man cry!

Perhaps it is time for a thread to lighten up and reflect on the characters you have met - after all on the Celebrity forum there is a hot thread - "craziest things you've seen another passenger do" - it's a hoot.

This is my contribution:

As you all know, you always meeting many interesting and lovely people on your cruise.

Then there are some that you don't wish to meet again or leave a lasting impression that lingers long after the cruise is over.

Some years ago, on a cruise on the Dawn Princess to NZ, I met one such character - John.

He was very dapper, about five foot tall and smartly dressed in a suit and Panama hat at all times - originally from Malta so he told me.

After our initial meeting he use to seek me out as if I were his long lost friend - yes I am a little eccentric too, so my wife tells me often.

But is soon become apparent that John was not liked by the other passengers, (he only wanted to take his meals with us), because among other things, he told everyone he met to go to the pursers office to get the gratuities removed as "we Australians don't tip"

Even stood up at the breakfast buffet to loudly inform others sitting around of this fact!!!

On the second night out, John stood next to the pianist in the foyer and proceeded to provide the vocal accompaniment, much to the horror of the musician and fellow cruisers wishing to enjoy the music.

Finally, I went to the first Art Auction (for the free quality champagne of course) and there was John, bidding and buying lots of the expensive, rare and sought after quality art works that were on offer.

Needless to say, at Auckland, he was put off the ship - insufficient funds on his credit card to pay for the art, barely enough for his bar bill.

I don't know how he paid for his fare home, perhaps he is still in NZ?

In 2010, wife and I did a "one-off" "probably never to be repeated" World cruise with P&O UK - 42 days to the UK on Oriana, 19 days in London over Christmas and 42 days return to Oz on Arcadia - a World Cruise, Brisbane to Brisbane !! :)

On the way over on Oriana, we had a table of 8 at dinner - and had a mixed group of Aussies and Poms with a little change around in Singapore - all in all an interesting and enjoyable group of dinner companions. BUT - on Arcadia, on the first night at sea, we were ushered to our dinner table to find a table of 4 - with an old man and woman already seated . The lady was VERY frail - and our first thought was "oh Dear!!!! - 42 nights!!! " . But as the cruise proceeded , it turned out that there was not a single night that we regretted this table arrangement - not a night that we wished we might be somewhere else. We hit it off with these two wonderful people so well , I think it will be one of those things that I remember until the day I die !! :)

Mrs Gut meets a strange character every day on her cruises.

As soon as she wakes up.

Met a man on a cruise once who refused to wear trousers, only shorts., so every night he would eat in the buffet rather than the MDR. A lovely man but very stubborn.

I met 'MicCanberra' on a cruise once - he's a character.

I met 'MicCanberra' on a cruise once - he's a character.

Cheers, glad you said character and not a caricature.

You of course cannot be described as you are the ghost who walks.

.

We met a couple once that were courteous actually liked each other, smiled a lot didn't push in lines at the buffet or tender lines, didn't act like psychopaths in lifts took their correct turn in the laundry didn't go feral when confronted with a sale of any kind and didn't want to regale us with their deeds of derring do on all their previous cruises that were so much better than than this current travesty.

They also had a complete lack of the need to shove some electronic device laden with their loved ones, offspring, grandchildren, pets, relatives, latest house, garden, copious amounts of food prepared for them or the latest update to make their perfect lives moreso.

They truly were a strange one off couple, needless to say sadly now possibly extinct...

:halo:

.

I have meet a lot of people on cruises over the years, some of whom remain good friends that we plan on cruising with again. Our last cruise on Mariner, we had a couple who I shall call Betty and Bill. Bill was in the technology business and very quiet. Betty was an extrovert with over the top Type A characteristics with an aversion to crowds and smoking.... We were going to China!

A group of us met on the Roll call and agreed to do private tours together. Betty created a group on that other Social Network site for us to share information, since she couldn't work out how CC forums worked. Betty and Bill and another couple decided to do as we were. Fly to Beijing for a few days touring and then off to Shanghai to join the ship. I organised tours in China for us as well as transfers to the high speed train and to the ship. Betty with thrilled with the arrangements at first but then her husband had to go to China for work so she tagged along with him. She became the China expert after that and decided that it was too crowded and too smokey and changed her mind at least 6 times about the Beijing arrangements, so I just told her to make her own arrangements.

Same thing happened with the transfers, so I suggested she made other arrangements. The tours from the ship went reasonably well with everyone overriding Betty's rather overbearing suggestions. Having said that, she always had to sit in the front seat of the van, and asked the guide endless questions. Even suggesting to our Vietnamese guide that his girlfriend who was off studying in Sydney will find another boyfriend so not to expect her to go home. To the question from the guide "how do you tell how old a water buffalo is', Betty replied 'by the size of his testic.. well I am sure you get the idea and so on...

The wildest thing is this lovely women on the cruise from California who Betty accosted and demanded to know how old she was, who her parents were, where she was born and more. Apparently, Betty had a sister born in CA after her father had left his family and since this poor woman looked similar to Betty's Aunt, she was certain the lady was her long, lost sister and wanted her to take DNA tests. We, along with 2 of the couples who toured with us (not Betty and Bill) got to know CA lady and her husband in the D Lounge and she was horrified and was going to talk to security if Betty didn't stop. Each evening we talked about if she had managed to dodge her long, lost sister Betty that day.

Needless to say, we declined the invitation to become FB friends with Betty after the trip.

Wow, now that is a case of Betty boo!!

.

 

We met a couple once that were courteous actually liked each other, smiled a lot didn't push in lines at the buffet or tender lines, didn't act like psychopaths in lifts took their correct turn in the laundry didn't go feral when confronted with a sale of any kind and didn't want to regale us with their deeds of derring do on all their previous cruises that were so much better than than this current travesty.

 

They also had a complete lack of the need to shove some electronic device laden with their loved ones, offspring, grandchildren, pets, relatives, latest house, garden, copious amounts of food prepared for them or the latest update to make their perfect lives moreso.

 

They truly were a strange one off couple, needless to say sadly now possibly extinct...

 

:halo:

 

 

 

 

.

I call "no way".

Couldn't believe that at all.

There was this one time.......on the Emerald.......we met an Elf:eek::').......but I wont say much more because he is around here sometimes:*

There was this one time.......on the Emerald.......we met an Elf:eek::').......but I wont say much more because he is around here sometimes:*

LOL, if you want to find him, look for him under the stairs or in the cupboard. keep your socks safe as well.

Many years ago on the good old Fairstar I noticed a bloke wandering around the decks on embarkation day and for some reason he looked a little bit out of place. Just a normal looking person in his 30's but there was something different about his manner I couldn't put my finger on. It was always Pyjama Night on the second night out and I saw him mingling about in his striped fleecy PJs getting into the swing of things. He was still in those PJs. flaked out on a deck bed on Promenade Deck the next morning at about 10am when we wandered by. Somebody had thrown a blanket over him during the night and I'm not sure what time he surfaced.

The next time I saw him was at drinks on the first formal night and he was looking quite dapper in a tuxedo and bow tie and I thought to myself maybe I've got this bloke wrong. He didn't look quite so dapper the next morning when we saw him at breakfast out aft on the Promenade Deck. He was staggering about still in the tux with bow tie eschew and a very large red wine stain down the front of the white shirt. Then we never saw him again!

We had become friends with one of the Security Staff and I mentioned this bloke to him and he told us the reason he had vanished from sight. It seems he had been seen trying to climb through the railings near the lifeboats and somebody had hauled him back and alerted staff. He had a skinful and wasn't trying to end it all but but get to the edge in a quiet spot and scatter his Mother's ashes at sea which was the whole reason he was on the ship.

He was locked up and put ashore in Port Vila, not sure what happened to Mum!

There is always one!!!

On a ship's bus tour of the El Alamein battlefields and war cemeteries some years ago, we had one gent (I won't disclose his nationality), who kept us all waiting for over half a hour at one of the stops because he "got lost"

On the way back to Alexandria and the ship, we made the obligatory stop at a "shop" that provided better prices, better service, better everything for about 3/4 hour - you know the drill, "don't buy anywhere but here"

Anyway the same gent was again missing when the bus was due to leave and after an hour finally turned up, despite the bus driver and guide out looking for him.

The guide, who had her microphone on at the front of the bus asked him where he had been, to which he replied he had been looking for a chemist shop to buy a lotion for his wife who had a heat rash.

The guide looked at the bottle he had purchased from the chemist and told him, in a calm voice, that he had purchased a lotion normally used by Egyptians to treat sores on their donkeys cause by fly strikes.

All of this was heard by the other passengers on the bus - and of course caused a instant loud cheer and much laughter.

We have met some 'interesting' people on our cruises. I find it hard to forget the American woman on Mariner of the Seas early last year. This was a cruise out of Singapore over Chinese New Year. Most of the passengers were from somewhere in Asia not surprisingly. At lunch the woman leaned over the table and asked me in a loud voice "How many white people are on the ship?".When I replied that the captain had listed the nationalities the night before and mentioned them, she said,"No. no. People like you and me...white people". Not a lot to say, really. :eek:

My latest QM2 voyage had a very 'unusual' mix on our dinner table, though we did end up getting on OK by the end.....enough said.

There was this one time.......on the Emerald.......we met an Elf:eek::').......but I wont say much more because he is around here sometimes:*

Oh my stars, did we meet on Emerald last year? Although I am a little taller than an Elf, and tend to stand in gardens - we can sometimes be confused! :D

Gnome.

Oh my stars, did we meet on Emerald last year? Although I am a little taller than an Elf, and tend to stand in gardens - we can sometimes be confused! :D

 

Gnome.

Haha....so fortunate to have met Dobby the ship Elf and his wife.

I knew where to find him....under the stairs:rolleyes:

Haha....so fortunate to have met Dobby the ship Elf and his wife.

I knew where to find him....under the stairs:rolleyes:

I do know where to get some 'interesting' views!!!

And Chezza can back me up on that .... PS ... Reminder to Chezza - don't look up! LOL :cool:

So many cruises :D and so many characters! :eek:

But I fear that some of my fellow cruisers may have considered me to be a "character".

There is always one!!!

 

On a ship's bus tour...

I'm not a fan of bus tours. On our first ever cruise we did a ship's tour called "Hanoi in a Day" and that cured me of bus tours. I swore I would never again do a tour call "ANYWHERE in a day" but...

In 2015 we enjoyed a 14 night Baltic Sea Cruise on Brilliance of the Seas which included 2 days in St Petersburg. This meant 2 days on a bus! :eek:

I told my wife that we weren't going to be "those people" on the bus (the ones who were always late) and it's amazing what you can achieve when you are determined.

In 2008 we were on Pacific Sun when it did the Chelly Brossom cruise. We had one passenger who would hit the Casino as soon as it opened and he would put $50 in a machine and drop the $1 coins out. He would do this to half a dozen machines and then go into the Legends Bar and spread the coins out on a table and then examine each one for minting defects which apparently increase their value to certain coin collectors. He only did it for a few days before the Casino staff worked out what was going on because they had to continually refill empty machines and promptly barred him from there. One fellow cruiser remarked that he was a bit strange doing what he was doing to which I replied, "You think that's weird, you should see his antics at the dinner table. We have to dine with him each night."

He had a delightful wife and it was a pleasure to have her company at the table but he was an absolute goose, and that's what his christian name rhymed with. He had appalling manners and his favourite food request to our waiters was, "Give me some more chippies"

We had a stop in Rabaul and opted for a ship's tour and who should hop on the bus but ----- the Goose. One of the tour stops was the Bita Pake War Cemetary and it was very peaceful until our friend bellowed out that any ex service people or those interested in paying their respects could join him at the Memorial Cross as he recited the Ode. I knew he was ex Army and proud of it but seeing him standing there bolt upright army style reciting the Ode wearing a Donald Duck T shirt was pathetic and disrespectful to say the least.

his favourite food request to our waiters was, "Give me some more chippies"

Is probably my favourite food request too, or

"Ice Cream with that thanks"

Does that make me a character????

his favourite food request to our waiters was, "Give me some more chippies"

 

 

 

 

Is probably my favourite food request too, or

 

 

"Ice Cream with that thanks"

 

 

Does that make me a character????

The problem was that in 42 nights I never heard the words please or thankyou pass his lips.

The problem was that in 42 nights I never heard the words please or thankyou pass his lips.

Maybe he tipped well, apparently then you don't need pleases and thank you'.

On the last night of a 20 day PNG cruise on Dawn Princess, was leaving the Wheelhouse Bar and noticed an elderly man sitting alone so decided to say hello. Anyway after a bit of a chat it turned out he knew my father as they were in the Navy together in WW2 and both did the very first Sydney to Hoabart yacht race (on different boats) in 1946. He also knew my brother as he lived in the same suburb. Small world!!

After a couple of hours talking, the bar closed up and our drinks ran dry - but before we adjourned for the night, he picked up his walking stick and unscrewed the handle and topped up our glasses with port from the hollow stem and mentioned something along the lines that they would never think to look there.

Was a pleasure talking to him and I often wonder how he is.

On the last night of a 20 day PNG cruise on Dawn Princess, was leaving the Wheelhouse Bar and noticed an elderly man sitting alone so decided to say hello. Anyway after a bit of a chat it turned out he knew my father as they were in the Navy together in WW2 and both did the very first Sydney to Hoabart yacht race (on different boats) in 1946. He also knew my brother as he lived in the same suburb. Small world!!

 

After a couple of hours talking, the bar closed up and our drinks ran dry - but before we adjourned for the night, he picked up his walking stick and unscrewed the handle and topped up our glasses with port from the hollow stem and mentioned something along the lines that they would never think to look there.

 

Was a pleasure talking to him and I often wonder how he is.

Ha! Very cool. :D:cool: