No chair hogs here! Sharing stories

I wanted to make a positive thread about sharing and caring, lol.

What are some examples where things worked out and you made new friends?

On my most recent dream cruise, we went to trivia. The previous trivia was ending and we didn’t realize that we stole the table and chairs of the people who were up checking their scores with the host.

Anyway, they were super friendly and decided all of us women should sit but then we told the men to grab chairs, and so about 7 of us sat at a small table for the music divas trivia.

They were from Canada (super friendly!) and it was their first Carnival Cruise. We all had a great time, talked a lot about excursions etc and we decided to compete as one group.

Sharing can be fun!

2 years ago we met some people on an excursion my daughter had fractured her foot so we were using a wheel chair - this excursion was cobbley and had to go upwards to see the view - this super nice family got so infatuated with our daughter the men in their group literally carried her chair over the cobble and up to make sure she could see the views - They even went as far as telling her they would carry her into the water and up by the falls so she could enjoy it although she did not take them up on that it was a nice thought

Yay!! Happy stories! I'm a solo traveler. I cruised on Fascination in April of this year, 2 weeks before I was scheduled for a total knee replacement. I spent the day in St. Lucia with Spencer Ambrose tours. On & off the speed boat & the rocky, steep path to & from the volcanic mud bath were challenging, but our awesome guide, Penny, and two or three of the guys on the tour were right by my side to help. I was SO grateful & it made for a perfect day.

A gentlemen offered us the two available seats at his booth in the Lido buffet on Glory 2 cruises ago when he saw my mom and me wandering around looking for a spot. While initially awkward (and probably for his wife when she came back lol), we talked a little and it was fine. He didn’t have to do that but it was much appreciated. What a nice way to start the cruise.

Myself and three BFF’s were looking for a table at the platinum diamond cocktail party and three ladies sitting in a large half- moon booth said we could join them. We had the best time chatting with these ladies. We ended up meeting up with them on a few other nights to have a glass of wine, dance a little and just chat.

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My 6-year-old daughter saved up her money and bought a sweet little coin purse from one of the Fun Shops. Well, that same night, she left it in the lounge after falling asleep during the late show. I thought there was NO WAY we would find it, but sure enough--a nice family had turned it in to guest services with a note about finding it at the show after they saw me carry her out.

Along those lines, I got a call from the casino about needing to come to the cage one evening. The previous night I had had a couple of alchemy drinks :D and forgot to cash out on one of the machines. Someone had turned the machine in (instead of playing on my $$$) and the casino actually cashed me out and gave me the money. I was a little embarrassed, but I bet it happens often. LOL.

On our honeymoon cruise 17 years ago, we met a really sweet couple. We went on a couple of excursions together and hung out at the casino bar on the Inspiration every evening. Lots of fun and they are actually in quite a few of our honeymoon pics!

On our last cruise, since it rained a LOT, we ended up staying inside doing ALLLLL the trivias. LOL We would hang out with this guy Kevin (forget where he was from) because one of his son's was out doing stuff with his age group club, one was back in the room sick (found that out on like the second day..what a way to spend a cruise) and I think his wife was either off doing other stuff or taking care of the sick kiddo. He was a really neat guy and we enjoyed hearing his stories and learning stuff we didn't know before.

Because we were at trivia so often, we also got to know one of the Fun Squad members who hosted some of them--a lovely young lady from Zimbabwe who went by the name Fuzzy (real name Fadyzia but Fuzzy was easier to remember/pronounce). :D

Not a Carnival story, but my husband is "A List Preferred" with Southwest Airlines, which means he gets to board first. He will frequently give up his seat so families with young children can sit together.

I have to say that of all my cruises, Carnival has been the friendliest when it comes to meeting new people.

When I first tried Carnival in 2014 I sailed Splendor from NY, 5X that year, sometimes solo. I met a few people during those trips and we stayed in touch. We've since cruised together again on Splendor, Sunshine and Pride as well as other lines. We've become true friends.

People will say.."You'll never see these people again." :D

Sometimes you do and it's a good thing!:)

I wanted to make a positive thread about sharing and caring, lol.

 

What are some examples where things worked out and you made new friends?

 

On my most recent dream cruise, we went to trivia. The previous trivia was ending and we didn’t realize that we stole the table and chairs of the people who were up checking their scores with the host.

 

Anyway, they were super friendly and decided all of us women should sit but then we told the men to grab chairs, and so about 7 of us sat at a small table for the music divas trivia.

 

They were from Canada (super friendly!) and it was their first Carnival Cruise. We all had a great time, talked a lot about excursions etc and we decided to compete as one group.

 

Sharing can be fun!

That’s the sort of thing I’ve found every cruise. With a few bad apples that think they’re special.

Wife and I met a couple at our table of 8 that we really just hit it off. Had similar backgrounds and so many things in common, it was almost like Carnival set us up to meet.

Anyway, that was 2012, some 13 cruises ago. We have cruised with them on almost all of the 13 cruises with 2 more booked this year. Traveled to their home in Alabama and they have come to our house in Iowa even. Life long friends forever.

A few years ago, on the last night, in the MDR a wonderfully sweet lady walked around handing out her Carnival medals and Ships on a Stick she had won on board to children. She let my DS have his choice of one. He chose the Ship on a Stick and it is by far one of his favorite souvenirs ever. He's taken it to show and tell a few times.

Also, last year during the favorite memories balloon drop DS was convinced he would find his balloon with his memory written on it (swimming with a dolphin). Three tweens searched for every yellow balloon and found his. The smile on his face was priceless!

We sailed on the Glory last week. My wife and I were seated for one of the Playlist shows one night and waiting for our son to get there. Start time was getting close, seats were filling up, and we knew that it wouldn't be long before we had to start telling people the seat was taken. He's a typical 17 yr. old who doesn't always manage his time in the best ways. We're both texting him, telling him to hurry, but he wouldn't answer, so we're getting pretty aggravated. Come to find out, he was stuck at Guest Services because he was returning a wallet that he found on the stairs. He also found someone's S&S card on debarkation day and turned that in. You need it to debark the ship, so I'm sure someone was glad to see it.

Aww...well that was nice of him.

People are always saying that they like traditional dining because "they meet people". You can meet people anywhere on a ship......especially if you're doing something you enjoy.

If a buffet is crowded, I never have a problem with asking people if we can "share" and I never turn someone away if they're looking for a spot.

This is a wonderful thread! Thanks for sharing!

Yes, I am enjoying this.

My daughter lost her S&S card the night before an excursion on Dream and just as she was headed down to guest services to get a new one, they called and said someone turned hers in. Thank you to that person!

DH & I always seem to get a table for 2 with YTD... but as you know, most of those tables are so close that you're practically sitting at the same table as your neighbors! We're sociable animals so invariably we usually strike up a conversation with our near-tablemates.

One time we sat beside a family and started chatting with them during dinner- it seemed that after that night we saw them all over, on & off the ship! They were so friendly and it was nice to get a friendly greeting whenever we saw them. In fact, near the end of the cruise, we were going into the lounge to watch a show but space was filling up. They saw us, and quickly grabbed the 2 seats next to them so we could sit down!

Yes there are special snowflakes out there who are selfish and mean-spirited, but there are far more nice people!

OP- thanks for starting this thread- it's great to hear about the positives rather than always the negatives!