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Best Practical Jokes on Board?? Harmless suggestions?


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The only issue I have with the match the child to the parent game is that you are offering them money and that seems like you are paying them to entertain you. It would be more acceptable, IMHO, to play the game without money upfront or mentioning money and then at the end of a cruise give them an extra tip. I say this because it reminds me of the old days, where the rich asked those without to dance/entertain them to get some money to buy food.

 

 

 

At the risk of being shunned further, please let me try to clarify.

 

First of all I agree it would be cruel to play a “joke” on a server or employee anywhere. And we were not expecting to be entertained by our waiter like they were trained seals.

 

This whole thing started one night at dinner when our waiter told us his wife had just had their first child and he would see his new son in a few weeks when he was done with his time on board. I guess he felt comfortable enough with us to share personal details of his life (gasp).

 

He showed us a picture of his baby and we oohed and aaahed. It was a really cute baby. Although i think all babies are cute. But i digress. Already I’m hearing someone say I’m keeping a server from doing his job.

 

Throughout dinner when he was in and out with water, appetizers, etc we had a great conversation about kids and life. We didn’t make him stay when he was done serving us the dishes, nor did we ignore him when he was doing it. In the middle of all this he asked who belonged to who, and when we started telling him he was surprised and said let me try to guess the rest.

 

For the comments about the $$, the minimum they could win at the “game show” was $40 (each dinner that we did it, which was not every night or over the course of the cruise) which we told them in advance. The most we paid out was $95. This was in addition to tip which as I stated before we made clear to them before we ever asked if they wanted to play. We had waiters that weren’t at our table wanting to guess. It was something fun and different for them. If they didn’t want to play I doubt all the other waiters would have been listening in and high-fiving our waiter for correct answers.

 

 

So yes I’m guilty of having a conversation with employees beyond how they can serve us.

 

I think (hope) if we all met in person people would be kinder than some of the remarks here because we would realize we are, for the most part, people who have our differences, but try to do the right thing. Boards like CC are like texting in that so much can be taken out of context and it’s certainly easier to make comments that we might not make face to face.

 

Thanks for those that came to my defense. I had no idea what a firestorm of comments I would get. I’m not personally set up to handle mean comments so I’m done posting much beyond this.

 

Stay classy fellow cruise critic friends. If we all love cruising we can’t be all bad!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited by cindivan
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Thanks SoonerDog, Not sure if you read the entire thread (full disclosure some things are not "Light-Hearted"), but there is even someone who has asked to shut the tread down. Really sad as some are pretty funny others not so much.
Cruizer Rick, it's now impossible to read the entire thread as some individual posts have been deleted. [emoji22] I bet you never intended this post to end up like this, did you!
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At the risk of being shunned further, please let me try to clarify.

 

First of all I agree it would be cruel to play a “joke” on a server or employee anywhere. And we were not expecting to be entertained by our waiter like they were trained seals.

 

This whole thing started one night at dinner when our waiter told us his wife had just had their first child and he would see his new son in a few weeks when he was done with his time on board. I guess he felt comfortable enough with us to share personal details of his life (gasp).

 

He showed us a picture of his baby and we oohed and aaahed. It was a really cute baby. Although i think all babies are cute. But i digress. Already I’m hearing someone say I’m keeping a server from doing his job.

 

Throughout dinner when he was in and out with water, appetizers, etc we had a great conversation about kids and life. We didn’t make him stay when he was done serving us the dishes, nor did we ignore him when he was doing it. In the middle of all this he asked who belonged to who, and when we started telling him he was surprised and said let me try to guess the rest.

 

For the comments about the $$, the minimum they could win at the “game show” was $40 (each dinner that we did it, which was not every night or over the course of the cruise) which we told them in advance. The most we paid out was $95. This was in addition to tip which as I stated before we made clear to them before we ever asked if they wanted to play. We had waiters that weren’t at our table wanting to guess. It was something fun and different for them. If they didn’t want to play I doubt all the other waiters would have been listening in and high-fiving our waiter for correct answers.

 

 

So yes I’m guilty of having a conversation with employees beyond how they can serve us.

 

I think (hope) if we all met in person people would be kinder than some of the remarks here because we would realize we are, for the most part, people who have our differences, but try to do the right thing. Boards like CC are like texting in that so much can be taken out of context and it’s certainly easier to make comments that we might not make face to face.

 

Thanks for those that came to my defense. I had no idea what a firestorm of comments I would get. I’m not personally set up to handle mean comments so I’m done posting much beyond this.

 

Stay classy fellow cruise critic friends. If we all love cruising we can’t be all bad!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I've got no issue with your game or the time it took to play it. What I have issue with is offering a server money to entertain you by playing the game. I'd bet the servers would have had just as much fun getting high fives for getting the right answer or boos for getting the wrong answer and then a nice tip at the end of the cruise would be the topping on the cake, but we all do things different and think differently about how others might feel, especially those from different cultures, and think how boring it would be if we all thought alike. Edited by NLH Arizona
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To get this back to where it belongs.....

 

Take a couple days to simply watch your fellow passengers. Sooner or later you WILL notice one with a gleam in his (her) eye.

 

Approach him (her)... Make the deal.... Have him(Her) approach your target with a hearty "HEY!!! Long time no see", followed by enough personal information of the target to REALLY confuse them.

 

Keep feeding your accomplice information for a few days, just enough to drive your target crazy...

 

Works like a charm... (Trust me on this)

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Elaine5715, Thank you for answering for everyone else on this post, in the fact that you have sufficient experience that others don't play tricks on friends.... "I would like the Molten Cake, thank you" does NOT take 5 minutes... but you have not responded fully.... Perhaps you can respond to this ?

 

Notice how when you are talking to them it is a "brief & passing conversation" (which can times be at the end of dinner when you have your coffee & I am waiting for desert?) but when it is me I am wasting their time. You sir seem to have injected your opinion on what is or is not acceptable to engage a crew member for their use of time. Do you not waste the exact amount of time (5 minutes vs. 5 minutes)? My conversation has been all along to keep others on vacation out of the mix, and only engage crew that are willing. Do you ask every crew member where they are from ? I'm sure not because you can tell which crew like to have a chat (i.e. a rapport with their guests) and those that are so busy they prefer to just keep going. I use the same level of discretion when I engage a crew member as you do for your conversations.... We may have different topics, but we both use their time.

 

Please enlighten us all on your discernment between your 5 minutes & my 5 minutes. BTW which do you think a crew member enjoys more - ANOTHER question about their home, ANOTHER question about their family (which you remind them about how much they miss them), and ANOTHER question about how much they enjoy being on a ship 6 months at a time.... Gee, they don't hear THAT every single week from one of you who just thinks they are being friendly with a crew member ?? GEEEEZZZZEEE !!

I don't interrogate crew.

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Why the need to demean those who hold an opposing view? Is civil discussion so difficult? Name calling suggests an utter lack of viable counter arguments.

That would be similar to the taunts handled out to those who are the target , "where's YOUR sense of humor?" as they are humiliated by a "friend".

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Why the need to demean those who hold an opposing view? Is civil discussion so difficult? Name calling suggests an utter lack of viable counter arguments.

This is 2018 and the name of the game is to shut down opposition. So, if you don’t agree with me you are a Hater.... or racist or homophobe or ... whatever. Disagree, reaction = shut down.

 

JC

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Cruizer Rick, it's now impossible to read the entire thread as some individual posts have been deleted. [emoji22] I bet you never intended this post to end up like this, did you!

 

Um. Guessing he/she knew exactly where this would end.

 

JC

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To get this back to where it belongs.....

 

Take a couple days to simply watch your fellow passengers. Sooner or later you WILL notice one with a gleam in his (her) eye.

 

Approach him (her)... Make the deal.... Have him(Her) approach your target with a hearty "HEY!!! Long time no see", followed by enough personal information of the target to REALLY confuse them.

 

Keep feeding your accomplice information for a few days, just enough to drive your target crazy...

 

Works like a charm... (Trust me on this)

 

I love this. I’ve done it. It’s pretty great.

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I can imagine the yucks the practical jokers get in the retelling of their practical joke.

 

 

"It was hilarious! We told him we'd meet him at the champagne bar at 8:00. Ha. Ha. And get this. We didn't show up. Ha. Ha. We left him sitting there. Ha. Ha. He stayed for a half hour! We watched him from the bar across the way. Ha. Ha. Oh, my sides hurt from laughing. He bought a $15 glass of champagne! Ha. Ha. And he hates champagne. You should've seen his face when he took a sip. Ha. Ha. Every time he looked around for us we howled with laughter, surprised he couldn't hear us. Ha. Ha. Oh, my aching sides."

 

 

 

The great thing about it was that the other guy, his good friend, found it hilarious, too. Loved being the butt of the joke, found it hilarious, totally worth a half hour of his cruise.

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This was a hoot .

A couple with our party had an electronic Fart Buzzer that created a sound resembling a discharge when a remote control was activated. The small canister was placed under a chair in a group in the lounge while the chair was not in use. Once occupied by someone that appeared to enjoy laughter at an appropriate time , the remote was activated resulting in the expected reaction and accusations with a fun reaction enjoyed by all, including the unsuspecting target.

No harm done but quite fun.

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I've got no issue with your game or the time it took to play it. What I have issue with is offering a server money to entertain you by playing the game. I'd bet the servers would have had just as much fun getting high fives for getting the right answer or boos for getting the wrong answer and then a nice tip at the end of the cruise would be the topping on the cake, but we all do things different and think differently about how others might feel, especially those from different cultures, and think how boring it would be if we all thought alike.

Trust me- Those servers would be ecstatic to accept money in this type of situation. Do you know that the average waiter 'salary' on a cruise ship is between $300-$500 (US) PER MONTH, and that most of them work as much as 80-100 hours per week with ZERO days off. They rely primarily on 'tips' in order to make up for the low salary. Most of them would spin on their head if you paid them to do it, and they wouldn't care if it was demeaning or not. The majority are trying to feed families back home in predominantly 3rd-world countries.

 

And don't misinterpret this as me being insensitive or apathetic to them- I respect the heck out of these people who leave home and family in order to try and make it in the world. If the typical pampered American or Brit worked half as hard as they do, our countries would be in much better shape.

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Trust me- Those servers would be ecstatic to accept money in this type of situation. Do you know that the average waiter 'salary' on a cruise ship is between $300-$500 (US) PER MONTH, and that most of them work as much as 80-100 hours per week with ZERO days off. They rely primarily on 'tips' in order to make up for the low salary. Most of them would spin on their head if you paid them to do it, and they wouldn't care if it was demeaning or not. The majority are trying to feed families back home in predominantly 3rd-world countries.

 

And don't misinterpret this as me being insensitive or apathetic to them- I respect the heck out of these people who leave home and family in order to try and make it in the world. If the typical pampered American or Brit worked half as hard as they do, our countries would be in much better shape.

You said they would do something if it was demeaning or not to get a tip. Out of respect, I just prefer not to put them into a position to demean themselves. We obviously show our respect for people differently; maybe it has to be with how we are brought up. Edited by NLH Arizona
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wrp96 - You guys are FUN!! - Between this & Lobster - You are FUNNY - Thanks for contributing

 

Sister and I collect ridiculous hats, light up sunglasses, tiaras, mardi-gras beads, boas, etc. before the cruise and open different 'gifts' throughout the cruise. We wear them to games and bingo, and to the dining room on non-formal nights. Often, crazy accents or silly trigger words are part of the fun. "Do you have any Grey Poupon?" "Stromboli-oli-oli?"

 

Over time, it's evolved from silly t-shirts (airbrushed muscle men, "I'm with Stupid"), towering balloon creations, matching holiday pajamas, etc.

 

On Carnival and Princess, where the waiters do a song or song-n-dance, those silly accessories are shared. We sailed twice the same year on the Glory, and requested the same wait-staff... who were still wearing the silly hats we'd given them before. They jostled for the new light-up sunglasses, and made sure to get a pair to a one guy who had moved to a different dining room team. (And came back for hugs!)

 

We don't make a mess or cause work for the crew, but have discovered that fun is infectious.

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Sister and I collect ridiculous hats, light up sunglasses, tiaras, mardi-gras beads, boas, etc. before the cruise and open different 'gifts' throughout the cruise. We wear them to games and bingo, and to the dining room on non-formal nights. Often, crazy accents or silly trigger words are part of the fun. "Do you have any Grey Poupon?" "Stromboli-oli-oli?"

 

Over time, it's evolved from silly t-shirts (airbrushed muscle men, "I'm with Stupid"), towering balloon creations, matching holiday pajamas, etc.

 

On Carnival and Princess, where the waiters do a song or song-n-dance, those silly accessories are shared. We sailed twice the same year on the Glory, and requested the same wait-staff... who were still wearing the silly hats we'd given them before. They jostled for the new light-up sunglasses, and made sure to get a pair to a one guy who had moved to a different dining room team. (And came back for hugs!)

 

We don't make a mess or cause work for the crew, but have discovered that fun is infectious.

 

Yes!! Love it!!

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Sister and I collect ridiculous hats, light up sunglasses, tiaras, mardi-gras beads, boas, etc. before the cruise and open different 'gifts' throughout the cruise. We wear them to games and bingo, and to the dining room on non-formal nights. Often, crazy accents or silly trigger words are part of the fun. "Do you have any Grey Poupon?" "Stromboli-oli-oli?"

 

Over time, it's evolved from silly t-shirts (airbrushed muscle men, "I'm with Stupid"), towering balloon creations, matching holiday pajamas, etc.

 

On Carnival and Princess, where the waiters do a song or song-n-dance, those silly accessories are shared. We sailed twice the same year on the Glory, and requested the same wait-staff... who were still wearing the silly hats we'd given them before. They jostled for the new light-up sunglasses, and made sure to get a pair to a one guy who had moved to a different dining room team. (And came back for hugs!)

 

We don't make a mess or cause work for the crew, but have discovered that fun is infectious.

Love this idea. Obviously, you are all having a lot of fun and that makes the crew want to join you.
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I was reminded of an inadvertent practical joke Royal pulled on some passengers. I think it was Freedom of the Seas in 2015. We frequently walk though the dining room soon after our embarkation to see where we are sitting. There was a large family reunion, I'd guess 25-30 people, they did the same thing. I heard later that the staff found out there were 4 more wheel chair guests on board than they thought, so about noon they re-arranged all the tables to create a few more "accessible" areas. It took about 15 minutes to straighten out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

These are cute ideas!

 

The only people who've played a joke on me so far have been crew. On my first cruise, I carelessly left the cabin without my card. When I wanted back in I had to search down the corridor and find my steward cleaning rooms. When I sheepishly asked if it was possible for him to let me back in he bugged his eyes out in horror and gasped, "Oh no! You're in trouble now! All you can do is pray!" While he grabbed a book and made the sign of the cross at me. Then he opened my door while the other stewards laughed merrily.

 

Come to think of it, they probably had a bet on how many people would need to have their doors opened...

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People, people... As the OP I only asked for input to the original question, what are some good jokes I could play on friends (consensual & participator adults) while going on vacation with them. That was it! I sought input, not opinion. Then others commented about how we are taking away precious time from workers that work 14 hour days from their vacation, then to peoples opinion about TV programs & hate crimes... SERIOUSLY ??!!??

 

I only asked for input to my question, NOT OPINION on what your interpretation is about MY vacation, with MY friends keeping this light hearted & friendly - HATE CRIMES - Really ? Disappointing with how this has evolved and appreciate the people who have contributed funny topics they have done. Those people have simply answered the question, and opinion is what has lead us here.

 

I would request that we move back the original intent of the post, keep it light hearted as I am hopeful we can agree that there are far more serious topics to engage upon (such as another senseless school shooting today) than my original request.

 

Please stay on focus with the question... And thank you all for your input!

 

Thank you

Can you start another thread...where only those who want to ANSWER the question can come?? [emoji1] I have enjoyed all the funny comments.....but it is such a drag with all those offering opinions. I don't believe you asked for opions...just ideas for fun pranks. Pretty clever.

 

Sometimes wish we could block like on Facebook. Hope more happy pranksters with ideas show up and the cantankerous farts find another ladder to climb. Would love to hear a post AFTER the trip on how everything went down and what was done to you!!!!

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I think you CAN block posts from particular posters, but I'm not sure how you do that. Check out your account settings.
Yes, it just says 'spoiler'. They can still see and participate on your threads. Just blocked from your view not the feed. Therefore feeding other 'negative nelleys'. [emoji33]

 

 

Happy Friday!

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As a practical joke, I left this for our cabin steward and crew, but only after I realized they were all laid back with a great sense of humor. We left the cabin for breakfast right after I left this and saw our cabin steward in the hall, so he knew we were both out of the cabin.

 

 

 

enhance

 

 

They told us it scared the living **** out of them, at first but he, his assistant, and their manager loved it. They all told us they were scheming to get us back and I told them that's what I was hoping. We got this a couple nights later:

 

 

enhance

 

 

Totally harmless and innocent prank...but good thing to know the personality of your cabin steward first. Wouldn't want to try this on one with a 'tude...they may use your toothbrush for "cleaning". ;)

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Get a nice big photo of yourself and stick it to the underside of the lid of their toilet ... give him a fright when he goes to tinkle!! (Prank stolen off the internet)

 

Get friendly strangers involved... ask them to insist your friend is famous and ask for autograph/selfie etc... this one might spread though!

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