What have you seen from your balcony that was unusual

[CENTEX CRUISER]

I enjoy relaxing on our balcony and watching for anything unusual. I once looked down , and low and behold , a beautiful sea turtle, 500 miles from any land, and another time a school of tuna..

[boogs]

We typically book balcony staterooms near the front of the ship so we can enjoy the sound of the waves against the bow of the ship as it plows through the water. I've seen dolphins surfing the wake, flying fish flinging themselves out of harms way and skipping across the waves for a considerable distance, a whale in the distance, and a mermaid flipping off the captain for disturbing her swim (OK, I'm kidding about that last one!). ;)

[sparky-elpaso]

Orcas in Alaska (swimming the opposite direction so by the time we got to where I could take photos they were too far away).

 

And an oil drilling platform off the coast of Australia.

[chipq]

For at least the last hour as we sailed into Acapulco we saw hundreds of sea turtles. At first I was thinking maybe some wayward coconuts until the first of many passed right below our balcony. There was also the adventurous couple on the balcony below who were joining the balcony club in broad daylight! I got pictures of the turtles.

 

ChipQ. http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[cantwait2cruize]

For at least the last hour as we sailed into Acapulco we saw hundreds of sea turtles. At first I was thinking maybe some wayward coconuts until the first of many passed right below our balcony. There was also the adventurous couple on the balcony below who were joining the balcony club in broad daylight! I got pictures of the turtles.

 

ChipQ. http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

 

Did you get pictures of the couple?:p

[Kartgv]

Seas changing from smooth as glass to angry and churning in just an hour, incredible sunrises and sunsets - they just look different, more intense, than they do from land. Also, a whale breaching about 100 feet from our balcony, and possibly best of all - the Sydney Operahouse at dawn!

 

[Momis2]

Sailing down the Mississippi from New Orleans on the Triumph in May 2010 we went through the oil spill from Deep Water Horizon ( the BP oil well that blew up). The captain missed most of it but you could see big patches of oil on the water. It looked like molasses , brown and gloppy, not a shiny oil-slick look. And did it ever smell !!. Even the air inside the ship smelled like an oil refinery. We could see the cluster of ships in the distance.

[alex12_3]

Dozens of people running and being allowed back on the ship 20 minutes after all-aboard :D

[Starbright]

We were once on HAL Zuiderdam sailing down the west coast of America when the ship was 'buzzed' by some USAF fighter jets. They flew extremely close by on a level with our balcony - I could see the faces of the pilots they were so close. They circled the ship twice, then as they flew away they dipped their wings in salute. It was very exciting I must say!

[paul929207]

In Manaus, Brazil, on an Amazon River cruise aboard the Pacific Princess, we saw Lady Camilla reboarding the royal yacht and sailing away

[Robb]

Once while relaxing on my balcony sipping my wine and munching on some goodies a sea gull landed on the railing. I guess he was attracted to the food. he jumped from the railing to the floor of the balcony and tried to grab the food off the little table (after trying to take a chunk out of my leg). I am scrambling to get back into the cabin with out spilling my wine, the bird becomes hyper and tries to fly thru the glass partition in front of the balcony.

 

This resulted in the bird getting more frightened and thus releasing an inordinant amount of very smelly, gooey #$%@%. A true mess. :eek:

[grand isle joe]

We saw a U.S. sub off in the distance following the ship early one Sunday morning on it's way back to it's home in Cuba. She was visable just the tower and wake from behind. After a bit she dove under. I ran into the Captain later and he did say they do appear from time to time and "shadow" the cruise boats as an exercise. In the Med. after we left Malaga the ships horn started to blast and found out that the ship was real close to a small whale and they said they did not want to hit her...too much paperwork.:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Having done so many cruises -- we have seen a lot of what others have seen -- whales, turtles, flying fish, dolphins, porpoises, people madly running for the ship (amd some missed the ship) -- even saw a couple out on their verandah in their birthday suites -- several times we have been buzzed by the Cuban jets. We have had sea gulls land on the railings -- but none came after our drinks.

[susie8862]

The first thing that came to mind was the Cozumel Pier Runners...BUT, then I remembered being on the Explorer INSIDE rooms that have big picture windows looking on to the promenade deck.

 

In one of the cabins across the other side of the promedade, an elderly lady was getting ready for bed. Lights on, drapes open. Not a pretty sight and I am sure dozens of other people saw this..:eek:

 

CLOSE YOUR DRAPES if you have balcony/picture window.

 

 

[chipq]

Did you get pictures of the couple?:p

 

They were, well, far short of attractive or fit or youthful in my book. The image is burned in my mind and now have nightmares. Seriously, I first thought was to give a Wooo Hooo shout but you know they were possibly living out a fantasy or thrill so I quietly returned to the cabin. Afterall I don't think it lasted all but 10 mins and there was no need for medics so must have been good.

 

ChipQ. http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[beachbum53]

Dozens of people running and being allowed back on the ship 20 minutes after all-aboard :D

 

Do drunken pier runners count? Cozumel and Nassau are both great places to observe these not-so-unusual creatures.:rolleyes::D

[mrsfuzzmo]

Frozen chickens and heads of cabbage (or possibly lettuce) floating past us in the moonlight. Not sure if they still do it, but years ago, they would dump the biodegradable (food waste) into the sea when it was expired. It was absolutely hilarious!!

[Geldhart]

We were on the Freedom and were supposed to be on the Eastern run, but Tropical Storm Emily had other plans and we ended up in Cozumel on the other side of the pier from Oasis.

 

On the Oasis, enjoying his balcony was an elderly Canadian man. How did we know he was Canadian - his very tight (and small) speedos had the Canadian Flag on them.

[mferranti]

In port once, I walked out onto our aft-facing balcony and noticed that the small vessel behind us had broken free of its moorings and was drifting toward our ship. Luckily they got it under control before there was a collision. Can't remember where this was, though.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Another one. We were sailing out of POM and in an aft wrap balcony. There were 6 of us out there enjoying the sailaway. When the ship was still in the channel, we passed a small fishing boat with 3 men in it. The wake of the ship knocked the boat right over and all three of them had to swim to shore. Thankfully they were all able to swim. I would have been heartborken if I had to see someone go down. Their boat was the only casualty!

[Havin'fun]

Heading thru the Inside passage on the last day of our Alaska cruise, a small boat came up along side of us as we were sailing. The boat was decorated with both Canadian and U.S. flags and banners. The driver of this little boat spent at least 15 minutes on each side of our ship playing his trumpet with US and Canadian anthems and other tunes. It was really a nice welcome into Canada!

[indigosails]

We were in an aft cabin in the Drake Passage. An albatross glided back and forth over our wake for at least a couple of days. Every so often he'd dive down for a fish. We also saw penguins in the water on that voyage.

[LIV 2 CRUISE]

On the way from LA to Hawaii, opened the curtains in the morning and there was the most beautiful rainbow. Best part was -- the "end of the rainbow" was directly in front of our balcony.

[marshhawk]

Frigate birds over dead calm water a day off Grand Cayman. The sky was dark with the threat of rain, and these beautiful birds were swooping over the water with lightening behind them. Flying fish in the Bahamas. And I'm now sure that the people above me on my last Legend cruise saw me with just a towel on.:o Oops! There really is not that much privacy out there.

[Porthopper101]

I took this picture on our last day of our world cruise.