CruiserMel

I am enjoying reading this thread sooooo much! I sailed on the Mardi Gras in 1973/1974. I was 13 years old. Late in 1973, "The Poseidon Adventure" was in theatres and it was my favorite movie - I think I'd seen it 10+ times at that time. (Don't get me started on how many other times I've seen it since.) On Christmas Day, my dad announced that the family would be leaving the next day for a 7-day cruise on the MG which would include New Year's Eve! He hadn't even told my mother prior to his surprise.

I remember the dark, cramped hallways, the sink in the room, the bunk beds (my brother & I shared - imagine being a 23 yr old guy having to share with your 13 yr old sister!), the dining room which felt like it was so far down that it just had to be underwater, the baked Alaska, the wooden deck chairs. The memories are almost as fresh as they were then.

The best part was the band that played in the showroom - The Mike Harris Quintet from Israel......they had a very handsome sax player named Moshe, who I was completely ga-ga for. He must've been fifteen years older, but he was nice to this teenager. I still look at his picture and think "hubba hubba". I think my brother has their record album. They played music from "Fiddler on the Roof" quite a bit, as I recall.

All went swimmingly until NYE when suddenly it hit me that we were doomed to flip over from a tidal wave - a la Poseidon. I think my parents actually gave me a glass of wine to shut me up. Alas, midnight came and went and we all survived.

I don't even know how many cruises I've been on since the MG - but it will always remain dear to my heart. I'm thrilled that so many people feel the same way about her and that her memory is still here with us. Thanks for this thread.

OMG, these stories are fantastic! I'm glad to hear my voyages aren't the only weird ones! It was about 8 years ago on a Carnival ship. My friend and I had been looking forward to a nice vacation and were anxious to meet some fun folks at our dinnertable. In we go to our assigned table....a round table....and it's full, except for our two chairs. These people seem to know eachother already. Okay, fine. It turns out they are travelling with a group called "Singles World". All are middle aged and over but all claim to be young at heart. Okie dokie. There was this one man who had to be 55 and looked like Gallagher the comic who smashes watermelons in his act. He always (and I mean ALWAYS) wore his "Singles World" yellow visor and CLIP-ON earrings! I guess he thought it made him seem cool....but clip-ons?????? My friend and I hated going to dinner each night because he always insisted on sitting by one of us, dominating the conversation and always took over the butter plate on his right (uh, dude.....you use the one on the left!). We tried and tried to have the maitre'D switch us, but it never happened. Unfortunately, having to sit with that oaf really turned us off to Carnival and we didn't sail on the line until last summer. I'm glad we tried again, because our Elation cruise in 07/04 was fantastic and our tablemates made it all the better!