Ever been pleasantly (or otherwise) surprised to discover who is sailing with you?

[COLLEYBERRY]

Have you ever been pleasantly (or not;)) surprised to discover a fellow cruiser is someone you never expected to see.?How did you handle the situation?

Perhaps someone from your past ..old school chum,old love, pesky neighbor. Maybe a client ,coworker ...or your therapist.:D

Has anyone ever booked your same cruise hoping to surprise you (was this a welcome thing or not?) Just being curious ..thought it might make for some interesting stories here on CC.:)

Hope to meet many of you ,one day.

Colleen

[sail7seas]

Yes, That has happened to us several times but the most recent was on Eurodam last Feburary. We were on b-to-b and I was walking down Rotterdam Deck to our cabin one afternoon when I heard someone say "Judy" behind me. I turned to find a couple we had met a number of years ago on Volendam at Hotel Manager's table one evening. We had hit it off immediately and enjoyed them for the remaining days of our cruise.

 

They, too, were on b-to- on Eurodam and we met for drinks, at parties etc and totally enjoyed seeing them again.

 

Now, what are the odds of this but,,,,,,,,,

 

We returned to Eurodam this past October and I took a 'stab in the dark' and e-mailed them about 2 weeks before we boarded. This was a relatively (for us) last minute booking and for the 'heck of it' asked if per chance they'd be aboard. They were doing another b -to-b and, indeed, would be their second week, the week we were coming. What are the odds that would have happened? We, again, enjoyed sailing with them and had fun the times we were together.

 

Many times we've been delighted to find crew friends unexpectedly aboard a ship but that is more likely to happen than cruiser friends.

 

[SHERGIB]

Maasdam , three years ago, I was sitting on the promenade deck while my husband finished his unpacking. I looked up and he was blocking the door on his way out,behind him were our friends from England. Talk about speechless !!!!!!!!!!! They had flown over to join us on this cruise. It was a total surprise. We met them on the QEII and also cruised with them to the Med on the Queen Mary. Best surprise ever.

[fann1sh]

This is long, but has a happy ending. Let me set it up.

 

In 2004, Hurricane Charley turned the thirteenth of August into a nightmare "Friday the 13th". The mega-storm roared ashore in Punta Gorda Florida as a force 4. It destroyed half the town where our family has wintered for 3 generations. Thankfully, only one life was lost. But we were frantic for days before that fact was known. Hard to get information from a place with no electricity and no phones. Friends and neighbours lived through a miserable summer while Frances, Ivan and Jeanne smacked them upside the head 3 more times.

 

Our Fishermen's Village complex was just about ground zero. The stores were mainly OK, but the apartments were gutted, and the marina was hit hard. No chance of the complex being fixed for the winter of 2005.

 

So, Mom, Dad and I started looking at HAL cruises for a warm getaway instead. We settled on a Maasdam cruise out of Norfolk, Virginia.

 

We have many friends who, like us, return to FV every winter - and, like us, had no place to go for 2005. We tried to get one couple, Lamont and Betty, to book the same cruise so we could have our yearly get together. Although they're 4 star with HAL, they told us their dance card was full for 2005.

 

We pestered them. (OK....I pestered them!)

 

They refused, politely.

 

I pestered them some more.

 

"Enough, already!"

 

So, we dragged another good friend along instead.

 

The 4 of us drove to Norfolk, and were booked into a downtown hotel which would keep our car securely parked for the duration. It also offered a free shuttle to the cruise dock, as well as a HAL happy hour. So, as expected, the place was stuffed with fellow passengers.

 

We wandered into the happy hour reception, and looked over the crowd. Mom instantly zeroed in on faces. "See at that couple in the corner, half crouched behind the potted palm? They look just like Lamont and Betty."

 

The light bulb went on over all our heads.

 

"It IS Lamont and Betty!"

 

They rushed across the room. "Surprise!"

 

They'd booked the minute we told them we were serious about the cruise. :rolleyes: They'd kept the secret for 6 months.

 

Originally, the plan was to surprise us on the ship. But as Lamont said, "Betty just can't turn down free white wine, so we risked it. I should have known you couldn't turn down free white wine, either."

 

**friends 4 evah**

 

(PS - it was a great cruise!)

[shandryl]

Yes!! I few years ago my sister & nephew booked the same cruise and suprised my Mom!! The look on my Moms face was priceless!! LOL Its not too often other family members can go at the same time so thats what made it special for us.

[VegasCrossfire]

We were surprised when someone came up to us on the 4th day of a cruise and said hi. He couldn't remember where he knew us and we couldn't think of it either. After a few minutes and several suggestions back and forth, it turned out he was the Service Advisor at the car dealership where we go!! What a surprise. It makes taking our car to the dealership a lot easier now - we feel he is a "friend".:D

 

Another time we were on a cruise and all week long I kept telling my husband that I thought "that guy over there" was a customer where I worked. I never said a word to him because I didn't want to be embarrassed if I was wrong. When I got back to work, my boss was upset because he hadn't been able to get in touch with that particular customer for a week. It turned out it was him. When he found out we were on the ship, he was disappointed I hadn't said "hi". Lesson learned!:eek:

[foodsvcmgr]

Last April on VEENDAM I ran into my first grade teacher - 45+ years after

the fact:eek:

[Randyk47]

Have you ever been pleasantly (or not;)) surprised to discover a fellow cruiser is someone you never expected to see.?How did you handle the situation?

Perhaps someone from your past ..old school chum,old love, pesky neighbor. Maybe a client ,coworker ...or your therapist.:D

Has anyone ever booked your same cruise hoping to surprise you (was this a welcome thing or not?) Just being curious ..thought it might make for some interesting stories here on CC.:)

Hope to meet many of you ,one day.

Colleen

 

Well, I'm the therapist but I've never had a patient show up on a cruise. :) I just discovered a couple of months ago that my ex and her husband cruise. For obvious reasons I'd really prefer not to be on the same ship with them but I have no way of knowing when or where they're cruising. We do share our cruise planning with friends and family on our personal Internet site and maybe she's checking in there to stay away from us....I hope so! Once cruise friends of ours surprised us and showed up on a cruise when we had no idea that they'd be on the ship. Actually ran into them in the Lido getting lunch after we boarded. A pleasant surprise and a great cruise.

[cruisun]

We just found out that our next door neighbors are going to be on the second week of our two week b2b Nieuw Amsterdam cruise next week. We booked this cruise over the Summer and they just booked a few weeks ago. We are excited to dine with them a few nights in the specialty restaurants. We prefer late fixed seating and they have early. But what a pleasant surprise.

[DeepWaterMariner]

I've lost count of how many times we have run into people we know from home or from past cruises. As far as surprises go, my brother booked the same cruise as us with the idea of showing up at our table for dinner on the first night. It didn't quite work out that way but was still a surprise. This was over 30 years ago when it seemed as if everyone took the cruise line's air package to get to the port. As we were boarding a bus at Miami airport to go to the pier my brother, who had flown in from another city, had to jump behind the bus to avoid running into us. When we boarded we went to lunch in the dinning room and as luck would have it he ended up at the next table where my wife spotted him. Big surprise, but not at dinner.

 

The first time we took our daughters on a cruise my mother and sister decided to join us. We kept it secret from the kids for months. Back then everything was done on paper instead of computers and as we checked in at Fort Lauderdale my older daughter, then 11, read the clerk's passenger list upside down and spotted my mother and sister's names and the surprise happened a little earlier than expected.

[ariawoman]

Last April on VEENDAM I ran into my first grade teacher - 45+ years after

the fact:eek:

 

WOW and you still recognized them??!?! That's pretty insane.

[trvlcrzy]

Two separate incidents...

 

Ryndam 2-week cruise to Alaska...

I was pleasantly surprised to discover (through the roll call) that I would be sailing with Middle-Aged Mom. Great trip... Great memories.

 

On another line...

A former co-worker who was slightly "leech-like" was on board. DH and I avoided the couple like the plague. I had changed my hairstyle a bit since we worked together, and I was really hoping that I was unrecognizable. Once, we both were at a game/activity, and I told my teammates that I would have to be "Leslie from Virginia" if we won! :D (BTW, not my name, and not my state!)

[RuthC]

This hasn't happened, but I'm always afraid that it will---

I'm always afraid that I'll arrive at the dinner table the first night and see my doctor sitting there. :eek: How will I ever be able to order a meal?????

[COLLEYBERRY]

This hasn't happened, but I'm always afraid that it will---

I'm always afraid that I'll arrive at the dinner table the first night and see my doctor sitting there. :eek: How will I ever be able to order a meal?????

 

You could always tell him/her you were Leslie from Virgina.:D

 

Great stories folks.:)

[Halgirl1278]

The old westerdam...quite a few years ago...my aunt and uncle surprised my parents and I at dinner....they did in fact just show up at dinner on the first night LOL

[Koshlong]

Last April on VEENDAM I ran into my first grade teacher - 45+ years after

the fact:eek:

 

One of my husband's high school teachers turned out to be the guest lecturer on the Veendam last fall. The strange thing is, I was the one who first recognized him, and I didn't go to the same high school. He seemed pleased to meet people from "home".

[cruisinjudy]

My husband and I were on a cruise, Oosterdam Mexico I think, and we ran into two of his coworkers. He has been retired a few years, but as far as he knew they were both married to other people. No explanation was ever made. We did not go out of our way to see them on the cruise as it was kind of awkward since nothing was ever mentioned about a change in their relationships.

[catl331]

A couple from FL (about 60 miles away from us) that we met on our 2005 Westerdam cruise showed up on our one and only RCCL cruise, a theater in Orlando, and a retaurant at Downtown Disney ... so far. ;)

[airlink diva]

Have you ever been pleasantly (or not;)) surprised to discover a fellow cruiser is someone you never expected to see.?How did you handle the situation?

Perhaps someone from your past ..old school chum,old love, pesky neighbor. Maybe a client ,coworker ...or your therapist.:D

Has anyone ever booked your same cruise hoping to surprise you (was this a welcome thing or not?) Just being curious ..thought it might make for some interesting stories here on CC.:)

Hope to meet many of you ,one day.

Colleen

I had this to happen on my first two Maasdam cruises.

On my Westerdam cruise, I sat with Marti. She is a wonderful lady with alot of cruising days under her belt. We had a great time on Westerdam!

When I sailed on the Maasdam for the first time, I was somewhere on the ship when I heard someone call my name, it was Marti. We were happy to see each other and play catch up.

On my next Maasdam sailing I went to the Ocean bar joking to myself about Marti. Guess who was seated at the bar! Marti was!

I was really hoping to see her again on my December Maasdam sailing,but she wasn't on board.

I thought it was great to sail with her three times in a row without knowing she was going to be on board!

[legalslave]

This is a little long. DH & I sailed on the old Westerdam 11/99.. It was our first HAL cruise and everyone we met said we weren't supposed to tip as tips were included. After we got home, I discovered cruise message boeards. Not this one but another. It was when reading various posts I found out it was more than fine to tip. We felt awful because we had the very best waiter and assistant you could ever hope for. My BFF and I decided to take a cruise and it was going to again be on the old Westerdam 01/01. DH & I could not remember the name of our waiter or his assistant. All I had was a photo of him that I took with me. I was going to try and find him and give him the tip he well deserved from the earlier cruise, 14 months prior to this one. I knew the odds were slim but I was going to walk through the dinning room at both seatings to see if I could recognize him. My BFF and I went to the lifeboat drill. I could not get my life vest strapped properly. The staff member assigned to our station told me he would show me how to get the straps on properly. I looked up and it was the waiter I was going to try and find. I grabbed my BFF and was yelling "it's him, it's him". I told him the story and told him I would try and find him at dinner to give him the overdue tip. We went to dinner the first night and he and the same assistant were assigned to our table. They could not believe it when I handed them each an envelope with the overdue tips. I was thrilled to once again have the pleasure of their service for 8 nights. We did not overlook tipping them on the last night of that cruise.

 

Diane

[NYteacher]

I am pleasantly surprised that someone whose reviews and posts I have long enjoyed reading on the NCL board is coming on our upcoming HAL cruise.

 

I was supposed to meet Coka during an unofficial M&G, on a one-night cruise to nowhere. It is the only M&G I have every missed (husband and I totally fell asleep after lunch).

 

I met another person who was at the missed M&G on a mediterranean cruise last summer. I wonder if one-by-one I will meet those people from that missed gathering?

[hal lover]

Nov 2010 on the Maasdam~ got to meet kakalina and her hubby. Nice CC people and always enjoyed her postings! I really liked them!

 

Nov 2010 on the Maasdam~ I knew that woman and she was assisting her parent's and I knew that woman~ spoke with her and yes, we remembered each other from a cruise 2 year's prior.

 

April 2009 on RC. I'm in line for the customer service and there is Mark and Peggy! So happy to see them!

[Marian Paroo]

Well, I can think of three people right off I would ♥ to be surprised by on my upcoming cruise.

 

 

1) A friend who I lost contact with some 35 years ago.

 

2) One of my favorite HS teachers - can't decide who, but s/he would be in mid-late 60s or early 70s by now.

 

3) One of the mean girls from my youth. No I would not toss her overboard, but it would be nice to see her at double her weight and a hubby that yelled at her. Sorry, there are one of two grudges I 'm still holding. Aren't we all (if we are being honest).

[Hflors]

My sister and her husband were going to celebrate their 35 wedding anniversary on a 7 day cruise. My other sis and I were thinking about showing up on the ship as a surprise. Well I can't remember why we did not do it, but for what ever reason we didn't. About two weeks before their anniversary we met them at dinner and they were talking about their upcoming cruise all excited. Well the day came and I just kept thinking about them on their first cruise. Five days later I got a call from the sister who was suppoosed to be on the cruise. I heard her voice "sis?" I immediately panicked and said "What happened" She said "who told you?" To which I replied "no body told me anything, but if you are calling me and you should be in the middle of the ocean it can't be good news!" She said her husband had left her for another woman and they were getting a divorce! I could not believe it. I have never been so shocked in my whole life! There were many reasons for their divorce, but this was the one and only time in my life that I was very happy I had not booked that cruise! Can you immagine what a surprise my other sister and I would have gotten if we showed up at the ship and no sis & bil to surprise!

 

I told you it was a sad, but true story!

[cruiser-007]

An interesting question. On our last cruise, a co-worker of mine that I often chat with that works in another department whare I work was tossing around the cruise idea. Later when he told me he booked, I said "Oh yeah, whare are you going?" After describing it I knew that was our cruise we just booked, what a neat suprise! We got our dining arangements linked and had a great vacation which we still talk about at work.;)