Scariest Moment aboard a Cruise

[SheriNtexas]

On my very first cruise back in the early 80's...a bunch of us...all Canadians travelling alone...wound up hanging out together on the ship and excursions.

 

One sea day we were all on the deck in the sun...decided to go for lunch...one of the women said she would catch up. After we had all gone to our cabins...showered...changed...and headed for the Lido for lunch...we noticed our friend was not there and her room mate had not seen her.

 

Two of us went on the deck and found her....she had fallen a sleep in the sun!!! I have never seen anyone that badly burnt. We woke her...all she could do was moan in pain...except when we tried to get her on her feet to walk to her cabin....then she screamed. Four of the guys carried her to her cabin using the loung chair as stretcher...her room mate and another woman went for the Doc.

 

The Doc told us to cut her bathing suit off. There was no room for embarassment or modesty. The Doc smeared handfuls of what she called Green Goop all over her from head to foot...left a bucket of the stuff and told us to smear it all over her every four hours. It was moisturizer and topical anesthetic. She then put an IV in her arm for fluids and replaced it every four hours for the the first day then every eight hours the second day.

 

That poor woman suffered in serious pain for two days...she said the only thing that didn't hurt when she moved was her eye lids. On third day she felt better...and got back into the cruise....but not into the sun.

 

From that day on I have never questioned the power and danger of the sun in the tropics.

 

Scary is seeing a water blister on person's back stretching from the back of the their neck to to the top of the their butt!!

 

Tom:(

 

 

OMG!!! Poor woman!!! :eek: :eek:

[Vellamint]

On my very first cruise back in the early 80's...a bunch of us...all Canadians travelling alone...wound up hanging out together on the ship and excursions.

 

One sea day we were all on the deck in the sun...decided to go for lunch...one of the women said she would catch up. After we had all gone to our cabins...showered...changed...and headed for the Lido for lunch...we noticed our friend was not there and her room mate had not seen her.

 

Two of us went on the deck and found her....she had fallen a sleep in the sun!!! I have never seen anyone that badly burnt. We woke her...all she could do was moan in pain...except when we tried to get her on her feet to walk to her cabin....then she screamed. Four of the guys carried her to her cabin using the loung chair as stretcher...her room mate and another woman went for the Doc.

 

The Doc told us to cut her bathing suit off. There was no room for embarassment or modesty. The Doc smeared handfuls of what she called Green Goop all over her from head to foot...left a bucket of the stuff and told us to smear it all over her every four hours. It was moisturizer and topical anesthetic. She then put an IV in her arm for fluids and replaced it every four hours for the the first day then every eight hours the second day.

 

That poor woman suffered in serious pain for two days...she said the only thing that didn't hurt when she moved was her eye lids. On third day she felt better...and got back into the cruise....but not into the sun.

 

From that day on I have never questioned the power and danger of the sun in the tropics.

 

Scary is seeing a water blister on person's back stretching from the back of the their neck to to the top of the their butt!!

 

Tom:(

 

OMG thanks for this....packing EXTRA STRONG sunscreen as I type. That poor woman.

[jennbill]

That day we were boarded by evil pirates and they started summoning the Kraken. Oh wait, that was a movie, I think.

[sandravb79]

No cruise experience yet, however...

 

Watching the guy ahead of me in the customs line get nailed for a small Cuban cigar and trying to convince myself that I really didn't have two stashed in my garment bag.

 

Wife flirted a little with the Agent. All was well.

 

-D

 

Something like that happened on Brussels Airport. two iPods were the forbidden goods. Of course you can import them from the US. However, you have to declare them and pay taxes.

We didn't declare anything. Nope, we only have a stuffed Mickey Mouse and a Disney-book and some DVDs. No ipods (two video ipods). No two full suitcases full of designer clothes we bought in the US (because it's way cheaper over there). Now we always cut the tags from the clothes and mix them with the dirty clothes.

 

So when you "came to" how did you recover from that horrible HORRIBLE trauma? I would have been deeply scarred and probably needed therapy LOL.

 

They did give you a free cruise after that, didn't they??

[surrocruiser]

(I didn't really realize how scary this was at the time.)

 

On my first cruise on the Norway, I traveled with my 2 daughters and my family. My parents and siblings were all in seperate cabins on opposite ends of the ship. Every night, I dropped my girls at Kids Crew and went to the casino, a bar, or trying to get sunset photos before 2nd seating for dinner (about an hour). There was a great sunset so I went up top to the forward most point of the ship. I didn't realize that this area closes at dusk and there are gates that are locked. When I got up there, there were about 5 or so other people with me. After awhile, I realized I was the only one up there. Took a few more photos and started heading back. The gate at the top of the stairs was closed and locked. As I stood there looking around for an employee or a phone, I realized the only area where I would be seen from was a small pool area which was closed and nobody was there. After maybe 45 minutes, a couple walked up not realizing the area was closed. Luckily I was able to get their attention and they went to find someone to let me out.

 

By the time I made dinner (over an hour late), my parents were starting to wonder where I was had called the room and checked to see if the girls made it to Kids Crew. Needless to say after that, I always had to let them know where I was planning on going when I was by myself.

[flitter306]

This didn't happen on the ship, but rather on a Carnival excursion in Belize last fall. We were riding the rickity old school bus to go cavetubing and while we were barrelling down the dirt road at 50-60 MPH through the rain forest our tour guide fell out of the bus. I was sitting next to the window in the back of the bus with my now-husband and our friends were in the seat in front of us. We just saw the guy tumbling dangerously close the bus. At first we thought we hit someone on the road, but then we realized that it was our tour guide!

 

The bus came to a stop as quickly as it could (which wasn't quickly at all) and the driver and other tour guide ran out to where the man was lying motionless on the side of the road. And as if that wasn't scary enough, those of you who have been on this road know that it's only narrow enough for one bus (though it's two-way traffic) and we were stopped on a blind corner. As they scooped up the bloody tour guide and brought him into the bus, we were all very anxious to move the bus so that we didn't get rear-ended by another bus travelling 50-60 MPH..

 

As it turns out, we were only a mile or so from the preserve where you start the hike to go cavetubing, and despite a lot of blood and gravel embedded in his skin, his injuries didn't appear to be life threatening. He was taken to the hospital and we were told at the end of the day that he was fine.

[SheriNtexas]

That day we were boarded by evil pirates and they started summoning the Kraken. Oh wait, that was a movie, I think.

 

 

LOL!!! Ya had me worried there for a minute...!!:eek: ;)

[SheriNtexas]

This didn't happen on the ship, but rather on a Carnival excursion in Belize last fall. We were riding the rickity old school bus to go cavetubing and while we were barrelling down the dirt road at 50-60 MPH through the rain forest our tour guide fell out of the bus. I was sitting next to the window in the back of the bus with my now-husband and our friends were in the seat in front of us. We just saw the guy tumbling dangerously close the bus. At first we thought we hit someone on the road, but then we realized that it was our tour guide!

 

 

OMG!!! :eek: :eek: How horrible!! And not only did it happen in the first place, but it just HAD to happen on a blind curve! Y'all were lucky you didn't get hit!!!!

[SheriNtexas]

Reading the bus story above reminded me of what happened to us on our excursion in Merida City during our Progreso port of call on our first cruise. My mom and I were on a bus tour of Merida City, and we were already a tad nervous after watching just how close that bus came to parked cars, etc.! Close, but never hit anything! Well, the bus was heading down an unbelievably small street, when all of a sudden, another bus came up on the right side of us and then turned LEFT in front of us!!! Our bus driver slammed on the brakes and I have NO idea how he missed hitting that other bus!:eek: :eek: When we finally got back to the ship, we gave him a standing ovation!!:D I gave him a big tip too!!

[megansdad1]

My scariest moment was on our legend cruise last year. We were docked in St. Thomas. We were doing a ton of shopping and my DW asked me if I could take the bags back to the ship. I told her yes , but it was getting late so i was going to stay on the ship and I would meet her in the cabin. This is the 1st time we have ever been seperated in a foreign port. The ship was due to leave at 2. I checked my phone at 1:30 and decieded to sit on the balancy since we had a direct view of the port and wait for her. 1:30 turns into 2:00 and i don't see her and start freaking out. I was frantic until I finally see my wife strolling up to the ship at 2:35. She comes into the room and i say "where the heck were you? I was worried sick." Then she started to laugh. It wasn't 2:35 it was 1:35. Apparently my verzion phone registered the incorrect time. :mad: Next time I am not using my cell phone to tell time. :p

[cruizinronnie]

My scariest moment was on our legend cruise last year. We were docked in St. Thomas. We were doing a ton of shopping and my DW asked me if I could take the bags back to the ship. I told her yes , but it was getting late so i was going to stay on the ship and I would meet her in the cabin. This is the 1st time we have ever been seperated in a foreign port. The ship was due to leave at 2. I checked my phone at 1:30 and decieded to sit on the balancy since we had a direct view of the port and wait for her. 1:30 turns into 2:00 and i don't see her and start freaking out. I was frantic until I finally see my wife strolling up to the ship at 2:35. She comes into the room and i say "where the heck were you? I was worried sick." Then she started to laugh. It wasn't 2:35 it was 1:35. Apparently my verzion phone registered the incorrect time. :mad: Next time I am not using my cell phone to tell time. :p

That's what you get for committing such a sin as turning on your cell phone during a cruise. LOL...Just kidding

[cruizinronnie]

I was on the Imagination in 2001 and my girlfriend and I shared a cab from Playa del Carmen to Cancun with another couple. We were flying up the deserted 2 lane road at Mexican Cab Warp speed when suddenly the cabbie without a word slammed on the brakes slid to a stop in a gravel parking lot (literally), jumped out of the car and ran up to where there was a small concrete building with 2 men standing in front of the barred doors and windows both armed with assault rifles. I looked at the guy and his wife that were with us (who I had never met) in the cab and he looked back at me with the same horror as the cabbie and 2 heavily armed men pointed at us, talked loudly and laughed. He said I am a New York City police officer and asked me if I could hold my own. I said yea but not against those guys and I'm sure your not armed, are you? He grimmaced aloud, "no, first time in my adult life" clearly uncomorftable out of the US! The cabbie hung out for a few more minutes and then jumped back in the cab. After we were back on the road at Warp speed and out of reach of gun fire we loudly asked him what the H___ had just taken place. He in very broken english informed us he had to pay a toll and declare the Americans and the destination. We agreed that this took a few years off both of our lives.

 

This is long but keep this in mind if you travel far from the port alone.

 

Up next.....The trip back, very near disastrous.

 

My girlfriend was a true adventure seeker with no fears of anything. We stayed in Cancun a bit too long drinking at Senior Frogs. Fun none the less but when I finally drug her out of there it was 11:00PM our ship was sailing at 12:30PM. Hence we still had to find a cabbie, negotiate the fare and endure the 40 minute Warp speed cab ride back in the dark no less. Well in my infinite wisdom I found my best deal on a cab with a cabbie that spoke NO ENGLISH. I conveyed with my hands and loud english that we needed to return to the BIG SHIPS. He replied ci senior. Off we went, at the 35 minute mark I started looking for the unlighted dirt road with the little gaurd shack that was off the road between the tall dense vegetation. Fortunately I had somewhat timed the trip up to Cancun and to our amazement in the haze of tequilla shots I saw the gaurd shack that looked kind of familiar as we went by at Warp speed. I demanded that the cabbie turn around and take us back. He replied in loud Spanish and also re-enacting my big hand signals from earlier, pointing south. From what I could gather he said "NO! big ships still far away". I demanded that he take us back and he did. When I got back to the vendors outside the ship I was speaking with one that was giving my drunken girlfriend a quick henna tattoo, he elaborated that we almost went an hour further south to Cozumel. The cabbie was taking us the "Big Ships" just not the correct port. Close call to say the least.

 

I now always know exactly where I am going long before I leave the US. I suggest everyone follow my lead.

[trock]

I actually started this thread and DUH

Its not my story, my sisters...

They were on one of the Princess ships that left NYC either on Sunday or Monday before 9-11-01

 

They were heading towards Bermuda when they saw a very large crowd gathered around the tvs at the bar and people were crying..

 

Princess offered free telephone/fax/email to all on board to check on family members

 

We could not get in touch with them except via fax to tell them we were all ok (i had an appointment in the Trade Center that morning)

 

My sister said arriving in Bermuda was errie as the British army/navy ? were all out patroling.. Bermudans were wishing us well and were very comforting..

 

Long story short, they sail back but are rerouted to Boston because, well the NYC Pier was an id / morgue center.

 

They were held back from Docking because of a bomb threat and the docks needed to be cleared.. Finally they docked and after waiting about 10hours they were bused down to NYC

[patrice1]

Not on a cruise, but a land vacation - scary nonetheless.

We were in Uganda, traveling to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest on the border of Zaire, Rawanda & Uganda to do the Gorilla Trek (Remember "Gorillas in the Mist"? This was it!) Got started late & ended up at a road block about 50 feet from the road leading to our lodge. It was me, DH, my brother who lived there & his driver. The road block was by Ugandan soldiers with AK 47's pointed at us, no matter how much we explained that we needed to just go around the corner, "NO, you cannot go there!" When we asked why, we were told there were rebels that crossed the border & killed people. My brother felt they were really doing the right thing because they weren't drunk - normal for soldiers there.:eek: So - we were stuck - no food & nowhere to get it, no rooms for rent, except for this nasty mattress on a frame with a dirty tea towel for a pillow case and no bathroom except for a port-o-let that had all manner of creatures living and wiggling in it. We slept in the Jeep!:o In the morning, they rapped on the window with their guns and said "You can go now". We entered the park where the lodge was so early that there were Hippos and Wildebeast & Ibex all along the way - priceless. The lodge was surrounded by barbed wire & the front desk told us there'd been "trouble" from rebels. A year later - to the day, some Canadians were taken from the same place we stayed & the women were macheted. So, I guess the soldiers were right - we got lucky & only had to sleep in a Jeep - with a story to tell later. Strangely, we weren't scared until the front desk told us about the rebels. We were in Africa for 3 weeks and that was the only time we looked at each other & gulped! Ummm, except when DH got chased by an elephant, but that's another story!

[trock]

Not on a cruise, but a land vacation - scary nonetheless.

 

We were in Uganda, traveling to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest on the border of Zaire, Rawanda & Uganda to do the Gorilla Trek (Remember "Gorillas in the Mist"? This was it!) Got started late & ended up at a road block about 50 feet from the road leading to our lodge. It was me, DH, my brother who lived there & his driver. The road block was by Ugandan soldiers with AK 47's pointed at us, no matter how much we explained that we needed to just go around the corner, "NO, you cannot go there!" When we asked why, we were told there were rebels that crossed the border & killed people. My brother felt they were really doing the right thing because they weren't drunk - normal for soldiers there.:eek: So - we were stuck - no food & nowhere to get it, no rooms for rent, except for this nasty mattress on a frame with a dirty tea towel for a pillow case and no bathroom except for a port-o-let that had all manner of creatures living and wiggling in it. We slept in the Jeep!:o In the morning, they rapped on the window with their guns and said "You can go now". We entered the park where the lodge was so early that there were Hippos and Wildebeast & Ibex all along the way - priceless. The lodge was surrounded by barbed wire & the front desk told us there'd been "trouble" from rebels. A year later - to the day, some Canadians were taken from the same place we stayed & the women were macheted. So, I guess the soldiers were right - we got lucky & only had to sleep in a Jeep - with a story to tell later. Strangely, we weren't scared until the front desk told us about the rebels. We were in Africa for 3 weeks and that was the only time we looked at each other & gulped! Ummm, except when DH got chased by an elephant, but that's another story!

 

 

That is way too brave for me!

[vacruizer]

This didn't happen on the ship, but rather on a Carnival excursion in Belize last fall. We were riding the rickity old school bus to go cavetubing and while we were barrelling down the dirt road at 50-60 MPH through the rain forest our tour guide fell out of the bus. I was sitting next to the window in the back of the bus with my now-husband and our friends were in the seat in front of us. We just saw the guy tumbling dangerously close the bus. At first we thought we hit someone on the road, but then we realized that it was our tour guide!

 

The bus came to a stop as quickly as it could (which wasn't quickly at all) and the driver and other tour guide ran out to where the man was lying motionless on the side of the road. And as if that wasn't scary enough, those of you who have been on this road know that it's only narrow enough for one bus (though it's two-way traffic) and we were stopped on a blind corner. As they scooped up the bloody tour guide and brought him into the bus, we were all very anxious to move the bus so that we didn't get rear-ended by another bus travelling 50-60 MPH..

 

As it turns out, we were only a mile or so from the preserve where you start the hike to go cavetubing, and despite a lot of blood and gravel embedded in his skin, his injuries didn't appear to be life threatening. He was taken to the hospital and we were told at the end of the day that he was fine.

 

I saw the busses Carnival uses for Cave Tubing and those are a horror story in and of themselves!!! No AC and BALD tires.

 

Was really glad we were with a private tour in a nice new motorcoach.

[SheriNtexas]

Not on a cruise, but a land vacation - scary nonetheless.

 

We were in Uganda, traveling to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest on the border of Zaire, Rawanda & Uganda to do the Gorilla Trek (Remember "Gorillas in the Mist"? This was it!) Got started late & ended up at a road block about 50 feet from the road leading to our lodge. It was me, DH, my brother who lived there & his driver. The road block was by Ugandan soldiers with AK 47's pointed at us, no matter how much we explained that we needed to just go around the corner, "NO, you cannot go there!" When we asked why, we were told there were rebels that crossed the border & killed people. My brother felt they were really doing the right thing because they weren't drunk - normal for soldiers there.:eek: So - we were stuck - no food & nowhere to get it, no rooms for rent, except for this nasty mattress on a frame with a dirty tea towel for a pillow case and no bathroom except for a port-o-let that had all manner of creatures living and wiggling in it. We slept in the Jeep!:o In the morning, they rapped on the window with their guns and said "You can go now". We entered the park where the lodge was so early that there were Hippos and Wildebeast & Ibex all along the way - priceless. The lodge was surrounded by barbed wire & the front desk told us there'd been "trouble" from rebels. A year later - to the day, some Canadians were taken from the same place we stayed & the women were macheted. So, I guess the soldiers were right - we got lucky & only had to sleep in a Jeep - with a story to tell later. Strangely, we weren't scared until the front desk told us about the rebels. We were in Africa for 3 weeks and that was the only time we looked at each other & gulped! Ummm, except when DH got chased by an elephant, but that's another story!

 

 

:eek: :eek: And to think that I thought that going to Paris back in June was an adventure!! OMG!!! I like to joke around and say while I don't know how I will die, I DO KNOW how I WON'T die-

 

Bungee jumping

parachuting out of airplanes

being chased by Elephants

riding BIG roller coasters

 

 

and the list could go on and on! I applaud you for going on that kind of trip, but it truly is something that i will NEVER do!!:eek: :D So glad that y'all were ok, so now you HAVE to tell us about the elephant!

[bunting]

We were in an inside cabin on the Brilliance Summer 2003 when the ship was hit by high winds and a storm very early in the morning, ship tilted to port, lots of things moved but as quick as she went she came back. Within a minute or two (seemed sooner) she went over again to port and it seemed more of a list but again she came upright. Then the good lady decided it was time to get some fresh air and we left the cabin! Seemed a lot of others had the same idea. The Captain and crew were excellent but then around 0700 they had a bit of a black out, maybe because of the tilts....interesting night!

[ECP]

she had fallen a sleep in the sun!!! Scary is seeing a water blister on person's back stretching from the back of the their neck to to the top of the their butt!!

 

My brother had the same happen to him, not so bad because he is Black. But for the next week skin would come off his back in sheets. A square foot of skin at a time was not unusual. And he had to sleep on his stomach.

[SheriNtexas]

My brother had the same happen to him, not so bad because he is Black. But for the next week skin would come off his back in sheets. A square foot of skin at a time was not unusual. And he had to sleep on his stomach.

 

 

Oh Yikes!! :eek: :eek:

[LetsSailAway]

I saw the busses Carnival uses for Cave Tubing and those are a horror story in and of themselves!!! No AC and BALD tires.

 

Was really glad we were with a private tour in a nice new motorcoach.

 

Yep, that brings back my memories of the cavetubing expedition in Belize, now that you mention it! Our table-mates at dinner had told us that their bus broke down when they were on the tour a year or two before. We laughed it off. Our trip went off without a hitch -- until the ride back to the pier when the bus pulled over to the side of the road to allow a larger truck to go by in the other direction, and we got stuck in the sand! There was another bus somewhere behind us that stopped when it saw us and it helped push us out of the sand. I was worried that it would pull over too much and get stuck too!

[falcon5travels]

My daughter was on a school trip last April, which included 4 days on the Louis Cruise, Sea Diamond. All got off except for 2 french people(very sad). The boat sank. Scary as heck for her, but me as well. We heard the story at 11:00 am our time and didnt get to speak to her til 11:00 pm that night. When we went to bed, we thought they would be retrieving their belongings, only to wake up to CNN telling us the Ship sank. THANK HEAVENS she got home safely.

[falcon5travels]

I was on the Regent Sea we were enjoying a comedian when all of a sudden bells start ringing and the doors start closing and water comes shooting out the ceiling. Turns out it was a small fire and was contained as the doors did what they are supposed to do. But very unexpected and scary.

 

We were on the Majesty of the Seas in Jamaica (I think) and our ship was hit by the Dolphin. Fortunately our ship was ok to continue, but the dolphin had to be evacuated.

[Starfire_rules]

Another tale from the first cruise. Okay, coming home from the cruise.

Our flight home went from Miami to St. Paul to Omaha. On the last leg of our trip everything was fine, even the old snoring lady at my side. Then all of a sudden the airplain banked hard left at a sharp angle and climbed high. You could hear the engines whine from the strain. I was a little freaked:eek: to say the least. The pilot then came on the speakers saying that he got the 30 second warning that a little Cesna wasn't where it should be and he had to do a climb or we would have crashed right into it.

When we finally landed I thanked the pilot for his reflexes.

At least he woke up the lady beside me and stopped the snoring.:rolleyes:

[cruizinronnie]

We were on our honeymoon cruise in Sept 06. Our 1st port was Nassau, we had been advised there wasn't much to see, but we were told the Atlantis Resort had a nice aquarium. We disembarked and walked through port area to find a cab to go see it. We were approached by a well dressed local woman with a nice set of pictures of her "tour" she showed us the pass around her neck that gave her special access to the Atlantis Resort and she would give us a tour of the island and a "special tour" of the Atlantis. We agreed to pay the $80 for her tour. We climbed into her van and enjoyed the sites on our 20 minute ride to the resort. When we arrived at the Atlantis she parked at the curb, took her "special id" off and left it in the van. She was approached by security and told she couldn't park there. She told them she would be back in 1 minute. She hurried us in the main door and said to take our time and she would be waiting in the van. Smelled the 1st rat right then. We walked through the main areas of the resort and saw the free side of the aquarium. We tried to go out to the pool side bar for a drink and were stopped by security and walked back to the front desk. I explained to the lady at the front desk exactly what had happened and she was explained that no one had special access to the resort except for employees and apologized profusely for island mates deception. She snuck us out another entrance to an awaiting cab she had summoned and sent us on our way so we wouldn't have to face our so called "special tour guide". When we were dropped off back at the port the large man our guide had checked in with prior to leaving was standing right there gazing at me. We blazed through the people and got back to ship side of the port all the while wondering if we about to hear something to the affect of "stop thief"!!! Fortunately we didn't and went straight back to the ship. to find out the totally obnoxious table mate we had encountered the night before had been arrested in port and was in the Nassau jail and his friends had no idea what to do with his stuff. He apparently had tried to buy marijuana from an undercover and was arrested on the spot. There room was searched thoroughly and they were questioned heavily for over an hour.

 

No desires to head back to Nassau for me.