What was your worst experience on a cruise ship?

Heidi13 · December 23, 2020

6 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

But was it truly better than your best day at work? 😂

I guess it all depends what we did for work🙂

gooch47 · December 23, 2020

I've told this story before on Cruise Critic. It was actually before the cruise. Hope it counts.

We arrived at the New Orleans port to board. No ship. We were told it was delayed. Later found out it was diverted to Key West to offload a sick passenger.

No one was allowed inside the building. At first there were lines, but that quickly disintegrated as busloads from the airport arrived and people just pushed in toward the doors. Parking was a nightmare since the cars were still there from the passengers already on board from the last cruise.

Once the outlet mall closed there were no restrooms, no food, no place to sit down. If you had to use the restroom they would take your passport at the door to the building and give it back when you came back outside. No food, nothing to drink. They brought out some sandwiches and water but it disappeared very quickly.

The ship finally arrived around 5:30 p.m. You all know it takes a while to dock, unload the luggage and the passengers. I don't know exactly what time they started allowing people into the building but it was a stampede. We hung back, but finally reached the security checkpoint. We were herded into groups and told to sit down until our group was called. Like sheep, we obeyed, but were among the few that obeyed. People were pushing and shoving to get into lines to check in. To make matters worse, some of the employees who were to check people in decided their shift was over and went home. So they were short on staff. I finally told my husband our "group" was never going to get called so we joined the throng. We checked in and again were told where to sit until we were called. Once again we tried to comply. We finally realized there were only about a dozen or so of us left sitting. We finally got to our cabin around midnight. Not sure when the ship actually sailed since we collapsed into bed.

There is no way we blamed the ship for diverting, and the mess outside was probably not under the control of the cruise line. They somehow made up some of the time but our first stop was cut short.

ontheweb · December 23, 2020

14 hours ago, iancal said:

The only bad experience is having disembark on the final day of a wonderful cruise.

OP here, and my original post was not only about a disembark, but a disembark from hell.

We actually once had what I would consider a good disembark. It was an excursion from Dover to Heathrow airport with a stop in Canterbury. There were very few on the bus, I think 10 or 12. And we knew 4 of them from our roll call, the other couple on the roll call who were celebrating a wedding anniversary on the cruise and their 2 college age daughters. It made it seem like we were still on the cruise as opposed to leaving for the airport. Plus we had a great guide for the parts before Canterbury, and Canterbury where we were all on our own was wonderful.

We were hoping for something similar on the cruise we had booked for the past summer where we were going to Heathrow from Southampton with a stop in Stonehenge (a place definitely on our bucket list).

sverigecruiser · December 23, 2020

3 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

The attitude makes me think that some people have made serious mistakes in picking their careers.

I like my job but still think that a day on a cruise is better. That's why I'm paid to work and have to pay to be on a cruise! If I should prefer to work I should defenitely never cruise!

cruisemom42 · December 23, 2020

5 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

I like my job but still think that a day on a cruise is better. That's why I'm paid to work and have to pay to be on a cruise! If I should prefer to work I should defenitely never cruise!

Nevermind....clearly I am not coherently making my point that one CAN have a day on a cruise that is WORSE than one's BEST day at work. It is just one of those statements that should be specific, but most take to be general.

I understand there are some who simply cannot grasp that a passenger from, say, the Costa Concordia might not think that the day they abandoned ship was not better than the day they won "Employee of the Month" at work, or snagged a new client, or got a nice Christmas bonus, or helped a child learn something new that they were struggling with.

(Taking off pedantic editor hat now and donning protective gear instead....🤷‍♀️)

navybankerteacher · December 23, 2020

16 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

...

(Taking off pedantic editor hat now and donning protective gear instead....🤷‍♀️)

Please -- drop the diffidence! Retain the cattle prod - and continue to apply it as necessary.

If people took time (or perhaps simply possessed the ability) to think, they would get your point. You should not cater to folk lacking the necessary ability or willingness.

I have had many days at work where things went right, when junior staff finally got the point, when I may have received some recognition, when a troubled student finally grasped something which had eluded him, or just felt what I was doing was generally really worth while. And, while on cruises, there have been some bad weather days, interactions with loutish fellow cruisers, interminable delays and or frustrations which cast a bad tone.

Anyone who's working life is regularly and reliably worse than the worst he has experienced on a cruise should get a new job.

Edited December 23, 2020 by navybankerteacher

iancal · December 23, 2020

We believe that the key to having great travel experiences, cruises or otherwise, is to leave your sense of entitlement at home, don't assume that how you do things at home is the 'right' way that everyone else in the world should follow, and be flexible enough to adapt to changes and move forward.

Seems to me that those who do this have far fewer unhappy cruise or travel experiences.

sverigecruiser · December 23, 2020

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

Nevermind....clearly I am not coherently making my point that one CAN have a day on a cruise that is WORSE than one's BEST day at work. It is just one of those statements that should be specific, but most take to be general.

I understand there are some who simply cannot grasp that a passenger from, say, the Costa Concordia might not think that the day they abandoned ship was not better than the day they won "Employee of the Month" at work, or snagged a new client, or got a nice Christmas bonus, or helped a child learn something new that they were struggling with.

(Taking off pedantic editor hat now and donning protective gear instead....🤷‍♀️)

Maybe it's wishful thinking but I really think that every expensive day on vacation should be better than every day at work. I'm sure that every passenger on Costa Concordia or Titanic should have prefered to be at work that special day but I was not there so I have not experienced that.

Edited December 23, 2020 by sverigecruiser

sverigecruiser · December 23, 2020

46 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Anyone who's working life is regularly and reliably worse than the worst he has experienced on a cruise should get a new job.

Maybe thay have only experienced good days on cruises?

navybankerteacher · December 23, 2020

1 minute ago, sverigecruiser said:

Maybe thay have only experienced good days on cruises?

More likely that they are stuck in dead-end, menial jobs.

sverigecruiser · December 23, 2020

3 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

More likely that they are stuck in dead-end, menial jobs.

I'm not.

lenquixote66 · December 23, 2020

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

OP here, and my original post was not only about a disembark, but a disembark from hell.

We actually once had what I would consider a good disembark. It was an excursion from Dover to Heathrow airport with a stop in Canterbury. There were very few on the bus, I think 10 or 12. And we knew 4 of them from our roll call, the other couple on the roll call who were celebrating a wedding anniversary on the cruise and their 2 college age daughters. It made it seem like we were still on the cruise as opposed to leaving for the airport. Plus we had a great guide for the parts before Canterbury, and Canterbury where we were all on our own was wonderful.

We were hoping for something similar on the cruise we had booked for the past summer where we were going to Heathrow from Southampton with a stop in Stonehenge (a place definitely on our bucket list).

Re a disembark from hell.I have posted this previously but it bears repeating.Several years ago Mrs.66 and I were on line to an exit.In front of me was a couple .Suddenly the husband ran about 10 feet apparently in the belief that an elderly women was walking to slow and began punching her .We all stood in disbelief as did the guys wife.Passengers ran to help the woman as well as armed security officers who removed the guy from the line and took him off some where.

whogo · December 23, 2020

My worst experience on a cruise ship? My absolute worst? I ordered a dessert with chocolate sauce that came with raspberry sauce instead. I still have nightmares.

jocap · December 23, 2020

I've told this one before...

P&O Aurora in Casablanca- the crew had spread plastic coverings on the departure and lift carpets, as the docks are dirty.

We were sitting upstairs before going ashore, and noticed that excursion passengers were wading through a thick, black oily substance. We watched in amazement as a female office, wearing white leather shoes, kept trying to rub the black stuff off on the carpet laid on the dock to the gate, and saw people in flip flops with their toes covered in the stuff. We stayed on the ship.

The captain spoke that night, and told us that there had been a spillage of black molasses all over our dock... he was not amused.

A few months later- P&O Ventura- we were again in Casablanca, and a small unmanned crane on rails rolled down the dock and smashed the aft corner balcony.

Again, the captain- a different one- was not amused.

Not exactly a disaster for us, but both were for the crew.

George C · December 23, 2020

About 20 years ago I was on ncl and a ring my father had given me went missing , informed security, they sent over a officer and others to search the cabin , was told they did a thorough search and there was no ring. We then searched the cabin and didn’t find my ring but found other rings and jewelry that was left by a previous passenger. My ring which was given to my dad when he entered the army in WW two, was never found.

rkacruiser · December 24, 2020

Many interesting posts and I thank those who have done so. Keep them coming, I hope.

My worst and most disappointing sailing was a trans-Atlantic crossing on QE2 in 1980. Labor issues aboard the ship impacted stateroom service, dining room service, and even High Tea in the Queen's Lounge. My traveling companion and I were sailing in Tourist Class, but he had friend's in First Class and they experienced the same disappointing "White Star Service".

There was one Deck Steward that served me on an open deck in windy, cool weather that was exemplary. He was, I think, a more experienced Cunard veteran and not some of the "young'uns" on the crew that seemed to be unhappy with their working situation.

pris993 · December 24, 2020

3 hours ago, jocap said:

I've told this one before...

P&O Aurora in Casablanca- the crew had spread plastic coverings on the departure and lift carpets, as the docks are dirty.

We were sitting upstairs before going ashore, and noticed that excursion passengers were wading through a thick, black oily substance. We watched in amazement as a female office, wearing white leather shoes, kept trying to rub the black stuff off on the carpet laid on the dock to the gate, and saw people in flip flops with their toes covered in the stuff. We stayed on the ship.

The captain spoke that night, and told us that there had been a spillage of black molasses all over our dock... he was not amused.

A few months later- P&O Ventura- we were again in Casablanca, and a small unmanned crane on rails rolled down the dock and smashed the aft corner balcony.

Again, the captain- a different one- was not amused.

Not exactly a disaster for us, but both were for the crew.

I visited Casablanca on HAL's Westerdam some years back, we were lucky, no dock problems. But your story reminds me of getting off a ship in the port near Rome. It had rained the night before and the dock was like a swimming pool. What made it bad is we were not warned about the deep rain puddles at all... so as you walked off the gangway into shoe deep water. I thought I doubt they would have passengers board in this mess. It was like well the cruise over... you are on your own. I don't recall which cruise lines, have done Princess, HAL, Cunard, Celebrity in and out of Rome many times. This was the worst.

getting older slowly · December 24, 2020

It wasn't a bad cruise.... but it was interesting..... our first cruise.... bad weather 5.5m seas and at one stage 70 knot winds across the deck.... missed 3 ports......since then we have had...a fire on board... possible man overboard,,, more missed port....

All in all we have always had a great time on board.... we have learnt to go with the flow...