Any Navy men out there?

[travlnblueberries]

I'll make it short & sweet.

 

Brother in law says to my DS:

"No I'm not going on a cruise"

 

DS to her DH:

"Why not?"

 

Brother in law to DS:

"I've been on a ship for x amount

of time, straight, everyday. There's

no way I'm going back on a ship!"

 

Mind you, it's been years since he was in

the navy. I told DS, does he think he's

the only person ever to be in the navy

and then go on a cruise?

 

As I told her, I'm sure it's nothing of

the same.

 

So please Navy guys, give me your thoughts

so I can pass them along

[TC1957]

My father-in-law had been a Merchant Marine for 40 years (he retired with 53 years service) when his wife started working on getting him to take a cruise. She finally convinced him...but it took 11 years. :eek:

 

For most of them, the "romance of the sea" faded a long time ago.

 

I wish them luck.

[Capt_BJ]

I was in the Coast Guard for 30 years and <unusual for a CG officer> was a 'deep water' sailor with Command of ships as a Commander and a Captain (only a small percentage of senior CG go to sea, CG does not have that many ships as compared to land positions for senior ranks and requirements to maintain sea qualification means the pools of the qualified get thin...)

 

I frequently came back from a patrol and got on a cruise ship for R&R. The experience of a cruise ain't like a deployment .... even if I was Captain!

 

maybe the difference is I LIKED my time at sea . . . . . . . . I'm happy to go back and just watch the water go by . . .

 

one of our last while I was active duty, and at the time Captain of a ship working the Bering Sea

 

one of our first, mid 80's, I was dept head on a ship out of Florida doing drug and migrant interdiction

[this is CARIBE in Cap Haitian]

Edited July 9, 2014 by Capt_BJ

[spookwife]

NO standing watch at oh Dark Thirty

 

NOT a dry ship( only relevant if you are USN and not an Aussie or Brit)

 

BEDS, not racks.

 

NOT Galley food

 

Spouses or Significant Others can come along

 

Hollywood Showers

 

NO Blueberries, coveralls or Dungarees.

 

Wear your Mess Dress Whites on Formal night and get mistaken for crew..BY Crew. ( and random little boys)

[sparks1093]

It's a lot different going to sea when you can share a cabin with one other person instead of 50 guys, you don't have to worry about how much water you use in the shower, the mid-rats are muuuuuuuuccccccchhhhhhhhh better, and you can have a beer by the pool.

[Fergus]

Spookwife and Sparks, my son is a Midshipman and I'm pleased to say that I understood all of your slang except "mid rats" - what is a mid rat??!! :confused:

[GeeDunk]

Spookwife and Sparks, my son is a Midshipman and I'm pleased to say that I understood all of your slang except "mid rats" - what is a mid rat??!! :confused:

 

Mid Night Rations --

For the Lower Deck Patrols.

 

"Google" GeeDunk;)

[dolittle]

I have a brother with the same lame c*** I would bet, not knowing anything about this person that he is not much of a traveler or a very active person. Many on this site don't understand human nature ''there are two kind of people in this world'' . Those that will find a reason to travel and those that will find any reason not to. Most on this site are the former and just don't get those who are the latter . For people who are not active there is always a good reason not to do something. It is something we deal with all the time , freinds and family will say hey we would love to cruise ,go to the beach, hike, fish,camp with you guys and we just say oh yea anytime give us a call . They never do and for about the last 5 years we don't talk about travel to our friends and family. I don't know if it has to do with were we live or the people we know but very few people are active or like to travel . The O.P. should be greatfull that she is one kind of person and ignore B.I.L.B.T.W I find almost all of the people I know who were in the service are not into travel.

[Grog5]

I was US NAVY for 21 years, many of them at sea. It took the wife 10 years to get me to try a "fun" cruise. Wish I would have gone sooner. Difference is night and day.

I think you should tell him - try it, you'll like it.:D

[CruisenOne]

So please Navy guys, give me your thoughts

so I can pass them along

 

Have him get off of his "duff' and cruise.

 

No --

0600 Revilie

 

No "Sweepers man you brooms".

 

No forever water hours.

 

No Taps -- Sort of miss that.

 

No Bos'n Pipe before announcements.

 

No GQ

 

No "Trice up your racks"

 

No standing in Chow Lines

 

No Chow call

 

No "thump" of the catapults

 

No screaming jet engines

[nybumpkin]

We spoke to our DS the Navy Ensign this morning. He's on a DDG homeported in Japan, and Skyped us to wish us fair winds and following seas on our upcoming Alaska cruise. He loves the sea - he's itching to have his ship get underway. Would he like to spend a vacation with us on a cruise? Sure. He went on cruises with us from the time he was 13 until he entered the US Merchant Marine Academy at 18, and he knows it's an entirely different sailing experience. And I think there's part of him that would like to wear his mess dress and be mistaken for crew.:p

[TinCan782]

Spent three years on a Tin Can in Vietnam...I'll go back to sea anytime! Underway, shift colors!

[mikedw]

I was in the Coast Guard for 30 years and <unusual for a CG officer> was a 'deep water' sailor with Command of ships as a Commander and a Captain (only a small percentage of senior CG go to sea, CG does not have that many ships as compared to land positions for senior ranks and requirements to maintain sea qualification means the pools of the qualified get thin...)

 

I frequently came back from a patrol and got on a cruise ship for R&R. The experience of a cruise ain't like a deployment .... even if I was Captain!

 

maybe the difference is I LIKED my time at sea . . . . . . . . I'm happy to go back and just watch the water go by . . .

 

one of our last while I was active duty, and at the time Captain of a ship working the Bering Sea

 

one of our first, mid 80's, I was dept head on a ship out of Florida doing drug and migrant interdiction

[this is CARIBE in Cap Haitian]

 

I was in the US Navy Submarine service for just under four years and I love cruises. When you were wearing your mess dress uniform, how many times did people stop and ask you questions thinking you were the captain?

[navybankerteacher]

Mid-rats .... I'd forgotten them. Never did understand how they got the bread for the cheese sandwiches so stale.

 

"Now set the special sea and anchor detail" - somehow I think HAL, Cunard, Celebrity, et al do sail-always with a bit more panache than ComDesLant -- and they certainly outshine ComPhibLant when it comes to itineraries.

 

OP - you should tell DS to tell her messmate to heave out and turn to.

[nybumpkin]

NO Blueberries, coveralls or Dungarees.

I should have mentioned - the new term for the blue camo coveralls is "Smurf Suits.":p

[TinCan782]

I should have mentioned - the new term for the blue camo coveralls is "Smurf Suits.":p

 

I've heard the term blueberries but "Smurf Suit" is a new one for me. Give me a well-worn set of Seafarer dungarees!

[spookwife]

Spookwife and Sparks, my son is a Midshipman and I'm pleased to say that I understood all of your slang except "mid rats" - what is a mid rat??!! :confused:

 

Late night snacks. on one of DH's ships a billion years ago there was a pastry chef who worked miracles with sticky buns. apparently the only way he made it through those icky Mid watches was a pot of Chief Strong coffee and a tray of those buns still steaming.

 

I will miss being a Sponsor.. we PCS in just under 2 weeks way from the Company School.

[spookwife]

We spoke to our DS the Navy Ensign this morning. He's on a DDG homeported in Japan, and Skyped us to wish us fair winds and following seas on our upcoming Alaska cruise. He loves the sea - he's itching to have his ship get underway. Would he like to spend a vacation with us on a cruise? Sure. He went on cruises with us from the time he was 13 until he entered the US Merchant Marine Academy at 18, and he knows it's an entirely different sailing experience. And I think there's part of him that would like to wear his mess dress and be mistaken for crew.:p

 

which one? Stepson just got off MUSTIN and DH was the embarked spook on JOHN S MCCAIN ten years ago.

[LA_CA_GAL]

I'll make it short & sweet.

 

Brother in law says to my DS:

"No I'm not going on a cruise"

 

DS to her DH:

"Why not?"

 

Brother in law to DS:

"I've been on a ship for x amount

of time, straight, everyday. There's

no way I'm going back on a ship!"

 

Mind you, it's been years since he was in

the navy. I told DS, does he think he's

the only person ever to be in the navy

and then go on a cruise?

 

As I told her, I'm sure it's nothing of

the same.

 

So please Navy guys, give me your thoughts

so I can pass them along

 

My father was Navy.

 

Mom always wanted to go on a cruise, as sisters and other relatives would go on one every now and then.

 

Pop was always just like yours, been on a g** d***ed ship for years, and no way blah blah blah.

 

Well, finally the Aunts and Uncles and mom convinced him to go.

 

He spent the rest of his life booking cruises, as he absolutely loved it, everything about it.

 

I never understood what he was thinking, were they going to have him swab decks, peel potatoes, paint the hull?:confused:

[sparks1093]

Spookwife and Sparks, my son is a Midshipman and I'm pleased to say that I understood all of your slang except "mid rats" - what is a mid rat??!! :confused:

 

Mid Night Rations --

For the Lower Deck Patrols.

 

"Google" GeeDunk;)

 

Actually for anyone standing the mid(night) watch and it's more of meal than a snack. Usually comprised of what was left over from lunch and dinner.

 

A couple of other things the replies have reminded me of- no manning the rail when you get underway but if you choose to man the rail you don't have to dress up and you may do so with a drink of the day in your hand. No missing a port because you have duty. No port and starboard watches.

[LA_CA_GAL]

Spent three years on a Tin Can in Vietnam...I'll go back to sea anytime! Underway, shift colors!

 

Pop was also a tin can sailor, pre Nam.

[montekat]

My husband was also Navy, stationed on a destroyer during the Viet Nam war. He was also reluctant to go on a cruise. Our first cruise was a group cruise organized where I worked. We had a great time on the Carnivale, many years ago. Since then we have sailed 32 times. All I have to say is "there is a cruise with good ports and good prices" and he will say "Book it"!

 

However, he was stationed on Adak for a year (it is an island in the Aleutions, almost at the very end of the chain) and I have yet to talk him into an Alaskan cruise. My DB and SIL went and their pictures were gorgeous.

[sail7seas]

Capt BJ

Those photos are fabulous.

Thanks for sharing with us.

 

Disney's Captain must have been proud to pose with you for that photo. :)

 

Edited July 10, 2014 by sail7seas

[Fergus]

Thanks for helping add to my vocabulary - maybe I'll be able to drop a few terms in conversation and impress my Midshipman!! Probably not, I won't hold my breath for it!! :D

[nybumpkin]

which one? Stepson just got off MUSTIN and DH was the embarked spook on JOHN S MCCAIN ten years ago.

DS is on FITZGERALD. He reported aboard late last October and the ship was undergoing a fairly significant refit. They sent him out on CURTIS WILBUR in November just so he could get some sea time and we have some wonderful pictures of him at the conn - with the CO very close at hand.:p FITZGERALD just finished INSURV, passed with flying colors, so hopefully they'll deploy for some more significant patrols soon. DS loves Yokosuka.:cool: