Dressed up characters on board

[Pearlbill]

I think I saw a couple dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Thurston Howell one evening. LOL

 

Pearl

[Northender]

We have more cruising pictures that we need. When we board, we are usually with friends and we all stand together. Never been a problem with that.:)

 

Like others, when disembarking in port, I politely say no thanks and proceed. Pia, good for you.....:D:D

 

Maybe Princess will read this thread. I did think the photograpers were independent contractors tho, like the spa folks. But 5:00Somewhere mentioned that it was staff that were dressed up, so that puts Princess back in the mix. :(

[morriscats]

Thanks, one of our party has a bit of a phobia of these.

 

Thanks very much for your help, really appreciate it.

 

My 8 year old granddaughter has a fear of anyone in costume. She does not even want to go to Disneyland (which we have planned before our Hawaii cruise next month). Don't know where this fear came from.

[Ula]

I have only seen a charachter once on a Princess ship, and that was bad. The person could not navigate in the costume. So they were lead around and tripping up by the pool. Getting on and off the ship is more costume. And we just walk past.

Karen and Jess you can avoid the giant mouse at Disney just by hitting the rides. Disney actually knows some kids freak.

[arewethereyet]

Can we sneak in a funny here? A person was developing an on-line account and the system asked that they enter a password consisting of eight characters. So they typed in "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs"

LOL

 

I'll have to remember that one.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

The password joke comes from the Edinburgh Festival its this years winning joke.

 

 

Pam

As to photo folk grabbing you at the dining room door, I wrote a letter a few years ago about this to Princess explaining how I was dragged by the arm against my will, photo bloke would not take a no thank you

 

I got a reply saying that this was not inline with policy and this would be re issued.

 

yours shogun

[Mirco]

We had our 9-yr. old granddaughter on the Caribbean Princess several years ago. They showed Wizard of Oz on Muts one evening, and someone dressed as Dorothy came around with her basket (and a stuffed Toto) and handed out snacks. Since no one has mentioned it, they may not do it anymore. It was cute and definitely not frightening.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I understand that they have a job to do and probably have a quota, but like you, I brush past them with a murmured "No, thank you," even when boarding at embarkation. They used to be far more aggressive, going through the dining room to every table and/or blocking the exit from the dining room to force you to have a photo taken. Haven't seen that in years. I hate when they block the gangway and slow disembarkation when you're in port. That really bugs me. I know some people like a photo taken on the gangway with the ship in the background but IMHO, they don't have the right to block me or make me wait. If they really want that photo, Princess should set up a time when most passengers aren't disembarking.

 

I agree - they're okay for newbies I guess.

 

The only 'characters' I can remember on the gangways have been the pirates, an Aztec man, and showgirls. Oh - and the ships' captains, although I don't think they'd appreciate being called 'characters'. ;)

[lovevacadays]

When I read this post my first thought was, No, Princess has too much class for that.

 

But then I remembered all of the characters at port disembarkation, both inside and outside of the ship. And some of them can extremely annoying and pushy, too.

 

And one night there were pirates in the dining room.

 

I guess Princess isn't too classy for cheesy stunts!:o

 

Oh yeah. When I first read the post I laughed thinking definitely not on Princess but I do remember on our Western Caribbean cruise in 09 there were pirates going around the dining room and taking pictures.

[Talisker92]

Picture this-you have just come off a 10 hour flight in coach from the West Coast- you are tired, cramped, unshaven and dirty-you REALLY want your picture taken??

All I want to do is get on board and shave and shower

[Cruisin' Chick]

On our most recent cruise there was this one standing outside the dining room on Christmas:

 

 

Our girl did once react negatively to one "character" at Disneyland when she was tiny (maybe 20 or so months). When the Elmo movie came out, there was an Elmo in the lobby and she did want to stand in line and meet him. It was so cute when she gave him a hug. So just months later, she was over this phobia, unless she had some Chip and Dale phobia. The next time at DL she was thrilled to meet the characters.

 

To us, the only problem with taking photos getting off and on the ship is if we have stuff in our hands. Doesn't bother us one way or another. I guess if a photographer is really obnoxious, we can let Princess know.

[rdsqrl]

To clarify, it is the TV/film related characters that wander around deck which are the big issue.

Well, there is a slight chance of running into Captain Steubing . . .

[KruzPrincess]

In addition to disembarking in port, there are sometimes characters at the dining room doors and on Princess Cays. At least there used to be. I don't eat dinner in the MDR as much anymore, but I used to see this a lot. It's all just for photo opportunities to sell pictures. When I was younger and pictures were like $5 or whatever they were, we had a lot of fun with them. Now, I won't spend the money on them, so I just bypass the opportunities.

[BoardwalkBabe]

On our last cruise we came out of the dining room and encountered a young lady dressed in the typical yellow rain coat and hat holding a net with a stuffed lobster in it. Standing with her was a giant fuzzy lobster. They were cute and yes, I have the photo of us together. :D

[PatriciaF]

My daughter too was terrified of those dressed up characters--especially Chuck E. Cheese!

 

Didn't see anything other than those mentioned on a Princess cruise, but on our last cruise there was a large group that dressed up every night--on last formal night perhaps 12 or more were dressed in penguin costumes!

[RickEk]

The costumes that I've seen have been generally associated with photo shoots. At some ports there will be characters at the gangway and the aforementioned pirates at the dining room doors. Santa, of course, will make an appearance on Christmas Eve... But you won't find a Sea Witch costume anywhere...

 

Here's a photo we bought from our stop in Haines last year with moose and bear (no squirrel...). :p

 

Haines, Alaska by RickEk, on Flickr

[5:00_Somewhere]

Oh yeah, Rick, now I remember the Moose costumes in Alaska! :)

[geocruiser]

Last year when disembarking the Emerald in port, I declined to have my picture taken with one of those 'pirates'. I was grabbed around the neck with one arm while the other held a 'sword' to my throat.

 

Now I have a phobia!

 

That I would have reported. A lot of people have neck problems and the pirate could have hurt someone. I know they don't think they could hut you, but they could.

[Coral]

That I would have reported. A lot of people have neck problems and the pirate could have hurt someone. I know they don't think they could hut you, but they could.

 

RCCL did this to my mom who is visually impaired (and obviously caught off guard and scared) at the dinner table! I saw that they were going to do this and said "no - stop!" and they continued I was furious and reported it and RCCL didn't seem to care.

 

I agree - this should never be done.

[PescadoAmarillo]

A pirate once grabbed me. He will think differently the next time he attempts to grab a woman.

This was a female pirate. I was grabbed and held while my photo was snapped and then released. I started to walk away, but was pretty upset by that as I had been grabbed like that once over 30 years ago. I turned around and went back to the two pirates (there was one on each side of me) and let them know my displeasure and that I really didn't appreciate that very much. The worst thing is that she LIED- she said it was loud and she didn't hear me. Not one cell of remorse, and her attitude was haughty (ie how dare you stand in the way of what I want). There was no way I was not heard, and my disinterest in having the photo taken was obvious. It was clear to me that these folks are out of control. DH had been cursed at once by a photographer on our 3rd Princess cruise and the way it was handled when we reported it to PSD almost put us off Princess all together. Luckily it was over 15 Princess cruises later when this incident occured, but I have to admit they left us both with bad feelings about the paps (as we call them). I just don't understand what they think they are gaining by snapping and printing a photo I have no intention of 1.) spending my valuable cruise time wearying for or 2.) buying.

[ONT-CA]

I think I saw a couple dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Thurston Howell one evening. LOL Pearl

 

On more than one ship I imagine. Bet they didn't speak to you...

 

[Pearlbill]

On more than one ship I imagine. Bet they didn't speak to you...

 

 

Just enough to let me know, "No one can pull the wool over our eyes...cashmere maybe...but never wool!"

 

Pearl

[ShelbysMom]

We shot this from our balcony in Alaska. Even the moose need to take a break sometimes.

[Smokeyham]

This was a female pirate. I was grabbed and held while my photo was snapped and then released. I started to walk away, but was pretty upset by that as I had been grabbed like that once over 30 years ago. I turned around and went back to the two pirates (there was one on each side of me) and let them know my displeasure and that I really didn't appreciate that very much. The worst thing is that she LIED- she said it was loud and she didn't hear me. Not one cell of remorse, and her attitude was haughty (ie how dare you stand in the way of what I want). There was no way I was not heard, and my disinterest in having the photo taken was obvious. It was clear to me that these folks are out of control. DH had been cursed at once by a photographer on our 3rd Princess cruise and the way it was handled when we reported it to PSD almost put us off Princess all together. Luckily it was over 15 Princess cruises later when this incident occured, but I have to admit they left us both with bad feelings about the paps (as we call them). I just don't understand what they think they are gaining by snapping and printing a photo I have no intention of 1.) spending my valuable cruise time wearying for or 2.) buying.

 

How terrible! I would suggest yelling.... very loudly ... if they try that sort of stunt. Make a huge fuss, which they won't want to have happen in front of other passengers, then demand the names of all invovled and follow up with a written complaint. So sad that you had to deal with this on your vacation!

[Sapphire723]

My 8 year old granddaughter has a fear of anyone in costume. She does not even want to go to Disneyland (which we have planned before our Hawaii cruise next month). Don't know where this fear came from.

 

 

I think this fear is fear of the unknown and the innate ability of children to judge character (and characters apparently). There are some real creep-os who dress as children's characters and I think some kids want to be able to look you in the eye and assess if you're a good guy or a bad guy.