Scariest Moment aboard a Cruise

[5waldos]

Scary boat stories. Not exactly a cruise but a ferry from Turkey to the Greek Isles. I already had el tourista and was in sad shape. We left the port to cruise over to one of the nearest islands. However a severe storm came in and shortly after leaving the port we began to hit 35 ft seas. The boat was literally leaving the water, I was seasick in addition to everything else. We fought the seas for nearly 2 hours then just outside the Greek port they announced that the port was closed so we had to go back. I truly thought I was going to die- at one point I was clinging to a post by the door since I was vomiting and one of the crew wrapped himself around me so that I didn't go overboard. We did make it back to Turkey and the storm, as bad as a hurricane, kept up for another 2 days- no power, flooding, trees down everyplace. I love the sea- but I have never been as happy to see solid ground.Even in the sheltered port the sea was big and angry. Must say whenever anyone suggests that it might be fun to cruise the Greek Islands this is all I can think of. Don't think I will ever give it another try.

[Luvsnorkeling]

We were sitting at lunch way up on Lido deck when suddenly a loud alarm sounded. We were in port at the time, so a lot of officers were in the Lido having lunch. When that alarm started, every officer jumped to his feet and literally ran out of the buffet area. We had no idea WHAT was going on! A few minutes later, a voice came over the intercom saying that there was a fire on one of the passenger decks. We were told to stay calm and stay put...that the crew was handling it.

 

We sat there debating whether to stay where we were (up high on the ship) or to try to get lower near the exit or at least where we could jump overboard if we had to. It was only a few minutes but seemed like an eternity before the announcement came that the crew had the fire contained.

 

To learn that there is a fire onboard is one thing you never want to hear when you're on a ship. Just glad we were in port and not at sea.

[bubbles1209]

For me, it was while sitting at the Lido deck bar. My SO & I had slept in that morning, went to the buffet for breakfast, then went outside to smoke a cigarette at the Lido deck bar . (I have quit smoking since then, yay for me!) Anyway, my SO looked at me, and said "I don't feel too good" and the next thing I knew, he went white as a sheet, broke out into a cold sweat (which scared me, 'cause he's had 2 heart attacks in his past), and his whole body just went limp in my arms. He was out cold. All I could do was scream Help, Help. The lady at the bar ran to call the doc, while the other bartender got me a cold towel. About the time the doc showed up with a stretcher, which was pretty quick, my SO woke up. He said he had to .....well, to word it nicely, use the facilities. They took him to the infirmary, took all of his info & vitals, which were all great, and said he had heat exhaustion, and was dehydrated. :confused: We had just walked outside from an air-conditioned room. He rested comfortably the rest of the day, and I stayed in the cabin all day with him. I have never wished for a cruise to be over, but I was anxious to get home and get him to his doctor. We did take him to his doctor when he got home, and told him everything. His doctor told us it was more than likely food poisoning.:eek: Go figure. He's fine to this day, and we're looking forward to the Miracle in Feb. That, however, is the scariest thing that's ever happened to me and I certainly don't wish to re-live that moment ever again. There's a feeling of helplessness that cannot be described.

[Stepmstr]

When I was giving my wife a back rub, then relized it was not my wife....

 

Now that's scary! :)

[DryCreek]

Many of the most alarming "cruise" episodes I have probably don't relate here since they occurred while sailing in defense of our nation (USN 1980-86). I can however attest to the veracity of severe sunburn and its ill effects!

 

On our third return to the Indian Ocean Atoll of Diego Garcia, I was persuaded to go snorkeling off the beach out to the reefs. It was pretty interesting - and we HAD to go at low tide. The plan was to have our tennis shoes tied to our waist and swim on out. Once at the reef, you removed your snorkel gear and donned your shoes. We spent hours walking along the top of the reef, marveling at the big ol' sharks just circling on the deepwater side, waiting for the tide to come in so they could visit the beach. When walking on an uneven surface such as the top of a reef, you tend to hold items in your hand out and away from your body for balance. After several hours of this, whilst standing above sparkling blue (and reflective) water - guess what? Yup, your armpits are going to be so severely sunburnt that you will have trouble sleeping for days on end! Ever met anyone who had sunburn on their armpits?

[tk5953]

Kerrytens, GREAT autism ship! My scary moment was on the Ecstacy last year when a fire broke out in a cabin near mine. The smoke filled hallway was distressing to say the least. Lack of instructions and poor messages from the crew added to the "fear factor", but everything was resolved in the end.

[Terri102066]

I was on a Princess cruise and at around 3 in the morning and was woke up to fire alarm. The alarm was not a mistake boat was actually on fire. Went to muster station only to sit there for many hours ( I think it was 6 or 7 hours). They had actually started lowering the life boats to the correct position for passengers to get on, but finally got the fire under controll. It was a very bad trip. One passenger lost his life due to heart attack during the fire and others were hurt. I am still cruising and loving every one of them but I do pay attention more during the muster drills and get angry at others that do not. Many people did not know what to do the morning of the drill.....many I am sure because they were waken from a sleep and others because they had not paid attention when they should have during the muster drill.

[5waldos]

Many of the most alarming "cruise" episodes I have probably don't relate here since they occurred while sailing in defense of our nation (USN 1980-86). Ever met anyone who had sunburn on their armpits?

 

Nope but sounds really unpleasant. Thanks especially for this story though because I have a nephew who has just gone out there for a year- Navy. Glad to hear he'll have the chance to learn that armpits need sunscreen too!

[TOgirl47]

 

 

We were on another one (not sure which) where the engines stopped working for a while on our sea day. All of a sudden it was very quiet on deck. Wasn't that big of a deal, except when we kept seeing Cuba get closer and closer.

 

 

 

Seriously? What is scary about Cuba? I'm just glad that we get to go there whenever we want - so there! Its an unbelievably beautiful island with the best beaches in the world!!

[DryCreek]

Seriously? What is scary about Cuba? I'm just glad that we get to go there whenever we want - so there! Its an unbelievably beautiful island with the best beaches in the world!!

 

Maybe what was scary was the thought of ending up on the beach - you know, beached? Ships don't really do well in that type of scenario. I bet you could get some good deals on cigars though!

[DryCreek]

Nope but sounds really unpleasant. Thanks especially for this story though because I have a nephew who has just gone out there for a year- Navy. Glad to hear he'll have the chance to learn that armpits need sunscreen too!

I'll bet he loves it. Just kidding.

Warn him about the beer! Since it has to be shipped in from such a long distance, it has formaldehyde in it (or did in the 80's). Bad, bad headache in a can..:eek:

 

Also, tell him those sharks that swim around the sub tender (mother ship, not like a launch to carry you ashore) are really testy when fooled around with. Picture a young ships welder that is bored to death. He fashions a large treble hook from barstock (even heat-treated it), attaches a chain as a leader and some small rope he "acquired". I talked the cooks out of a chunk of chicken and went topside for my adventure. Well, I never really expected to actually catch anything, but imagine my surprise when I got a solid hook on one! The deck of a sub is rounded, so we worked him aft and decided to haul him in. The next question that has to be answered is: what do we do with a five foot great white with an attitude? About then better sense kicked in (from the Officer Of the Deck) and it became catch and release day. I'll miss my "shark rig"....

[5waldos]

I'll bet he loves it. Just kidding.

Warn him about the beer! Since it has to be shipped in from such a long distance, it has formaldehyde in it (or did in the 80's). Bad, bad headache in a can..:eek:

 

Also, tell him those sharks that swim around the sub tender (mother ship, not like a launch to carry you ashore) are really testy when fooled around with. Picture a young ships welder that is bored to death. He fashions a large treble hook from barstock (even heat-treated it), attaches a chain as a leader and some small rope he "acquired". I talked the cooks out of a chunk of chicken and went topside for my adventure. Well, I never really expected to actually catch anything, but imagine my surprise when I got a solid hook on one! The deck of a sub is rounded, so we worked him aft and decided to haul him in. The next question that has to be answered is: what do we do with a five foot great white with an attitude? About then better sense kicked in (from the Officer Of the Deck) and it became catch and release day. I'll miss my "shark rig"....

 

I'm passing your stories onto my niece- she'll just love this one I'm sure! What an opportunity though- adventure galore. Finally a good line for I joined the Navy to see the world......

[cruisng4fun]

oops

[cruisng4fun]

When we couldn't find my teenage daughter after her curfew. She was an hour late and it took another hour to find her. Had the Captain looking! She was finally found in a stairwell, with a group of kids from the teen center. She was oblivious to the time. :mad:

 

Did I mention that it was our first cruise and it was storming that night and the ship was rocking really badly. I thought surely my daughter had gone overboard. :eek:

That happen to us on our last cruise with our daughter,the thoughts that go running through your mind don't ever want that feeling again. No more stairwells for her.

[lillian marie]

Being in a tropical depression-hurricane on a ship in the gulf.

[trock]

Did I really start this thread? Wow I must have really beeN uNbelievably bored.. Unbelievable!

 

lol

[gtalum]

Once I ran out of beer. But fortunately the waiter showed up quickly with another bucket, so it was all good in the end. :D

[bafinegan]

3years ago we were sailing out of port canaveral on the glory. we had jsut left our cabin to go to mdr and i see a man and woman in the hall, woman crying and man obviously upset. passign by, we heard "should we get the dr?" well me beign the nosy person i am AND being a RN, i asked if there was something wrong and could i help? the man hestitated, but MOM asked me if i could take a look at her teen age son. I go in and this kid is SNOWED. i peel back his eyelids and his pupils are so dilated, you can barely se his eyecolor. i told hubby( who is a police officer) to get the ships doctor NOW!. i was too afraid to move the kid. i felt around his head while questioning mom and dad to see if he had fallen, taken any thing, what(if any) meds he was on. I find a large lump behind his L ear. as the ships dr arrives, little brother tels mom and dad that his borhter had gotten in a fight yesterday, but didnt want to tell them and get grounded during the cruise. doc looks over th kid, gets on the ships phone, and THE SHIP IS TURNED AROUND TO GO BACK TO PORT CANAVERAL. we were only a cpl hrs out and apparently it was fasgter to turn around than to get coast guard here. found out later kid had a subdural hematoma and underwent emergency surgery in port canaveral.

he recovered, but scary cpl of hrs, spec for the parents.

 

baf

[Seydlitz]

I know this is not on the ship but it happen on the cruise. In Costa Rica on Our Legend cruise, we went horse back riding in the hills. CR had just got smashed by a tropical storm, so it was really muddy. On the way back down I heard a woman yell "Look out" I turned around just in time to see my GF and her horse back off a cliff. Just at the last second She jumped off the horse and was clawing at the top of the cliff. I was off that horse so fast, but there was a guy who was faster and he was able to grab her and pull her up to safty. The horse was also able to get it a grip and it pulled itself up. Holy S... both looked like they were frighten out of their skins.

[suzmarie]

:cool:

How can being on a cruise alone be scary ? I love traveling alone .

[Bookworm29]

Did I really start this thread? Wow I must have really beeN uNbelievably bored.. Unbelievable!

 

lol

 

:eek:

[cbMcruiser]

OK, I'm going to go there...my scariest moment is sitting at the aft bar on the Ledo deck and watching a 280 lbs slavic guy get into the pool in a Speedo ;-)

[kerrytens]

Did I really start this thread? Wow I must have really beeN uNbelievably bored.. Unbelievable!

 

lol

IN uNusual fashion, I can't disagree:p

[steveNcindy]

I sadly am no where Nearly drUnk eNoUgh to relate my tale of horror:eek:

[blessedx3]

3years ago we were sailing out of port canaveral on the glory. we had jsut left our cabin to go to mdr and i see a man and woman in the hall, woman crying and man obviously upset. passign by, we heard "should we get the dr?" well me beign the nosy person i am AND being a RN, i asked if there was something wrong and could i help? the man hestitated, but MOM asked me if i could take a look at her teen age son. I go in and this kid is SNOWED. i peel back his eyelids and his pupils are so dilated, you can barely se his eyecolor. i told hubby( who is a police officer) to get the ships doctor NOW!. i was too afraid to move the kid. i felt around his head while questioning mom and dad to see if he had fallen, taken any thing, what(if any) meds he was on. I find a large lump behind his L ear. as the ships dr arrives, little brother tels mom and dad that his borhter had gotten in a fight yesterday, but didnt want to tell them and get grounded during the cruise. doc looks over th kid, gets on the ships phone, and THE SHIP IS TURNED AROUND TO GO BACK TO PORT CANAVERAL. we were only a cpl hrs out and apparently it was fasgter to turn around than to get coast guard here. found out later kid had a subdural hematoma and underwent emergency surgery in port canaveral.

he recovered, but scary cpl of hrs, spec for the parents.

 

baf

Oh my goodness!!!!! I am a nurse also and starting your cruise off like that would be so scary. Those poor parents not knowing what to do. Thank goodness you were there to check the boy out. Only heaven knows what could've been the outcome of that situation had you not stepped in. Thank you for being a concerned passenger on that ship. Not many people would've gotten involved.