"What ship are we on?"

[shipgeeks]

We are ship geeks, and we tend to choose our cruises for the ship more than for the itinerary.  I know this is not universal.

Sharing a cab back to the Cozumel port a few years ago, we asked the other couple what ship they were on.  (Ours?)

"Gee, I don't know the name.  It might be a Carnival."

Pulling in to port: Is one of those yours?

"Huh, might be.  I'm pretty sure ours is white."

We never found out whether they got back onboard the right one.

 

Then, this morning, our driver mentioned that he was just on a cruise, so of course we encouraged further conversation.

What ship were you on?

".....I have no idea.  Hmmm.  It might have been NCL or Royal Caribbean.  Let me see if I can remember anything."

He never did.

Are we the only ones who know things like this, lol?

[eyecantwait]

I'm always surprised when someone doesn't know the name of the ship they're on or will be on.

Reading reviews and everything else about the ship is what keeps me going while counting down to cruise day!

[CruiserBruce]

Hmmm....can we figure this out before we get turned away and embarrassed at the port? How about if we look at our room key?

[Heidi13]

I guess if they didn't know the ship's name, it is too much to expect them to know contact details for the Port Agent, should they miss the ship.

[hallux]

LOL.  I sailed out of Port Canaveral in March.  I rented a car in Orlando, turned it in near the port with the free shuttle to the ship.  They start shuttling people over to other ships but not NCL yet, each shuttle departure goes to only one ship.  They finally call NCL, I go out, get in the van in the very back seat, another guy gets in and sits back there with me.  Once it's full the van pulls away from the rental agency office and the guy asks me which ship I'm on.  Confused, I respond "the only NCL ship boarding here today".   Him: "umm, I think I'm on the wrong shuttle"....

Edited October 14, 2023 by hallux

[jsn55]

The clueless will always be with us!  In their defense I will offer a little insight. We have travelled the world for 50 years.  My husband couldn't care less where we're going, what we do or what we see.  He travels because I love it.  So he would be just like the people above ... 'uh, not sure if it was a cruise or we rented a car in ... um ... can't remember where we landed'.    He always remembers the people, the first class upgrades and the nice hotels tho!

[cruisemom42]

Allow me to talk about the flip side of this…

 

I cruise for the opportunity to travel and see places. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down at dinner with a random group, and the conversation goes like this:

 

Me: So, did you go into Rome today?

 

Them: Oh yes, we took a tour and saw EVERYTHING. It was wonderful! We took about 400 photos.

 

Me: What did you see?

 

Them: Ummmm….. (unable to name a single place or thing)

 

 

While the above is a generalization, just three days ago I met a couple over dinner who weren’t sure whether their excursion that day had been to Mystras or Monemvasia, two rather different places!

[shipgeeks]

Yes, I've heard that, too!  "What island were we just on today?"

[CDNPolar]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Me: So, did you go into Rome today?

 

Them: Oh yes, we took a tour and saw EVERYTHING. It was wonderful! We took about 400 photos.

 

Me: What did you see?

 

Them: Ummmm….. (unable to name a single place or thing)

 

 

While the above is a generalization, just three days ago I met a couple over dinner who weren’t sure whether their excursion that day had been to Mystras or Monemvasia, two rather different places!

 

I find that I get into this mind swirl of where are we, where have we been, and where are we going from time to time on a ship, but I do know the name of the ship and the cruise line we are on at all times.

 

Why I get into this mind swirl, and it happened recently on Passage to Eastern Europe, we were each day on one or two excursions where we have stopped at 2, 3, or 4 points of interest, and then the next day in a new country and do it over again...  I find that sometimes on day four or five, to sort out what I saw and when and where in my head, I have to sit down with the photographs and wander through and recreate the days and connect them to the country or city.

 

In Eastern Europe, many of the cities and countries had a very similar look and feel so this also contributed to "where am I today" kind of swirl.

[ceeceeDee]

Reminds me of the old film 'If it's Tuesday this must be Belgium' about a group of tourists on an 18 day escorted bus tour of Europe. The title says it all.

[Essiesmom]

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I find that I get into this mind swirl of where are we, where have we been, and where are we going from time to time on a ship, but I do know the name of the ship and the cruise line we are on at all times.

 

Why I get into this mind swirl, and it happened recently on Passage to Eastern Europe, we were each day on one or two excursions where we have stopped at 2, 3, or 4 points of interest, and then the next day in a new country and do it over again...  I find that sometimes on day four or five, to sort out what I saw and when and where in my head, I have to sit down with the photographs and wander through and recreate the days and connect them to the country or city.

 

In Eastern Europe, many of the cities and countries had a very similar look and feel so this also contributed to "where am I today" kind of swirl.

I have a friend who likes to cruise.  Years ago when she returned from a Med cruise, I asked to see her pictures.  Every one was of her, or her husband, or both.  In front of some stone structure or feature.  But you couldn’t see enough of it to tell where they had been.  EM

[hallux]

2 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

I have a friend who likes to cruise.  Years ago when she returned from a Med cruise, I asked to see her pictures.  Every one was of her, or her husband, or both.  In front of some stone structure or feature.  But you couldn’t see enough of it to tell where they had been.  EM

This is why, especially since I typically cruise solo, there are few pics of me and many pics of sights I've seen!

[BruceMuzz]

I manage a cruise ship that is part of a fleet of 12.

I frequently see cruise ship reviews of my ship on this website and others.

When reading the reviews, I often notice that they are talking about itineraries and other details that are not my ship.

I used to try to get the error corrected on the websites, but it is happening so often that I have given up.

[shipgeeks]

4 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Yes, I've heard that, too!  "What island were we just on today?"

BTW, the last time I recall being asked that, the "island" was Gibraltar, after a number of days crossing the Atlantic. Then the same lady asked "what island?" again after our day in Naples.

[Z'Loth]

🤷‍♂️ Does it really matter? It's your vacation, and the interactions and observations of other people just help to enhance those vacation stories told many years afterwards.. 

[ldubs]

6 hours ago, Z'Loth said:

🤷‍♂️ Does it really matter? It's your vacation, and the interactions and observations of other people just help to enhance those vacation stories told many years afterwards.. 

 

It really does not matter especially if we recognize everyone is different in their interests.   And you are absolutely right.  I would fondly remember someone who was only able to identify their ship as "the big white one".   😃

 

 

 

 

[BruceMuzz]

15 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

It really does not matter especially if we recognize everyone is different in their interests.   And you are absolutely right.  I would fondly remember someone who was only able to identify their ship as "the big white one".   😃

 

 

 

 

It only matters when you work on a cruise line and your salary, bonus, and continued employment are all in the hands of an idiot who gives a bad review to the wrong ship.

[jsn55]

I couldn't agree more!  Every time I read an awful review from someone who obviously doesn't know what he's talking about, I think about the person(s) who are responsible for the incredible nightmare in this guy's mind and hope there are no negative repercussions.  It must be awful to be 'accused' by an avatar on a website ... you have little chance of righting the so-called wrong in the reader's eye.  I post many positive reviews, but when something goes completely off the rails, I'll get all berzerko about it and post an accurate, detailed negative review.  One that I would send directly to the 'bad guys' if I could reach them.

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

It only matters when you work on a cruise line and your salary, bonus, and continued employment are all in the hands of an idiot who gives a bad review to the wrong ship.

 

Yikes, one would think that isn't a frequent occurrence, but in reality things like that can happen when dealing with customers.   Related is how an in-the-wrong but otherwise unhappy customer would give bad reviews just for spite.  In one case it is the person being clueless and in the other it is bad intent.  Both bad.      

     

[ceeceeDee]

And let's not forget those folks who fail to read the terms and conditions and then whine like a jumbo jet when something covered in the terms and conditions occurs.

[ldubs]

16 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

And let's not forget those folks who fail to read the terms and conditions and then whine like a jumbo jet when something covered in the terms and conditions occurs.

 

The T&C's absolve the cruise line of just about everything, so complaining is not valid (except where prohibited by law)!   😃

[ceeceeDee]

Yes, you're right Idubs. I'm thinking of things like cancelled ports or excursions due to things beyond the control of the cruise line, with such events being covered in the T&Cs.  People still carry on like pork chops and wail 'we didn't know/weren't told ahead of time'.

[diesel1973]

I can relate to some of the incidents mentioned. Being in my  " Golden Years " sometimes the one thing I miss the most is my mind !!

[lisiamc]

I always know what ship we’re going on, but I don’t always remember the ports in the correct order. And I don’t care, either. The cruise is important, and the ship is important, but obviously the ports are secondary for me! 😁

[lisiamc]

18 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

Yes, you're right Idubs. I'm thinking of things like cancelled ports or excursions due to things beyond the control of the cruise line, with such events being covered in the T&Cs.  People still carry on like pork chops and wail 'we didn't know/weren't told ahead of time'.

Oooh, I like this! 🤣 I’m stealing it.