Pirate BEES take over FANTASY Lido Deck!

[cruisetobeaches]

We just completed a B2B on the Fantasy. On January 12, during our second leg, a swarm of honeybees attempted a take over of the Lido deck. This was a port day in Progresso, so not many were on deck. Having been there several times, I decided to stay on the ship and relax with a few drinks by the pool on a lounge chair. I noticed first, a few bees flying about over my head. This very quickly turned into a cloud of bees. A very LARGE CLOUD!!

 

This post will be long and in multiple parts as there a a number of pictures, including how the crew handled the situation. A few facts first:

• No one was stung or hurt. Bees in a swarm are not aggressive.
  
• These were common honeybees. NOT African Killer Bees.
  
• Honeybees communicate with pheremones, generated by the Queen and passed on to the workers. Once the queen is gone and these pheremones are no longer generated, the workers become confused and scatter about, becoming almost dormant.
  
• Honeybees are attracted to bright colors, especially yellow.
  

Yes, I have experience with honeybees, having worked for a bee keeper when I was younger. BUT, I had no desire to try to remove this swarm without proper equipment. If was a shame that the swarm had to be destroyed, but there was no none available in port to handle them.

 

On with the story:

 

Swarm finding the umbrella:

 

Swarm clustered around queen under umbrella:

 

A CLOSER look:

By the way, my term "PIRATE" in the title is used in jest. I am fully aware of the serious nature of piracy on the seas, so save the flames...........besides, the queen bee was seen wearing a tiny patch over one eye and had a peg leg.............:p

 

To BEE continued...............

[UpstateCruizer]

 

 

Swarm clustered around queen under umbrella:

 

A CLOSER look:

 

By the way, my term "PIRATE" in the title is used in jest. I am fully aware of the serious nature of piracy on the seas, so save the flames...........besides, the queen bee was seen wearing a tiny patch over one eye and had a peg leg.............

 

 

To BEE continued...............

 

OMG :eek::eek::eek::eek:I'd have been scared beeless over that! Just the sound of bees swarming gives me the willies! I can't wait to read more and what a great story with pics too!!

[Thirsty Cruiser]

How dare you jest about pirates :p :D

[cruisetobeaches]

The crew cordoned off the Lido deck around the pool:

 

I did offer insight to those in charge of this on how to handle a swam. However it was determined that this swarm would have to be destroyed.

 

Bees become lethargic and dormant when cold. CO2 Fire extinguishers were brought on deck to "freeze" them:

 

This crew member commented "How did I get THIS job?":

 

 

More to come.................

[gill_boo]

OMG, I would have been running.

[cruisetobeaches]

 

Notice the bees scattering:

 

 

After the cloud dispersed, the remaining bees settled back in:

 

 

The queen then moved to a lounge chair: (Great way to reserve a lounge chair. Something new for the chair hogs)

 

 

More to come...............

[LizaMM]

Wow! Very cool pics of all this and I like your story telling as well!

[aggieastrosfan]

Great photo story! I would've been far far away from this to take any pictures. :o

[cruisetobeaches]

Swarm has clustered on chair now:

 

Attack by the crew #2:

 

 

 

And then to clean up the mess. Once the queen had been destroyed, the remainder stray bees were vacuumed up:

 

 

 

It took several hours for the crew to clean up the deck, pools, and hot tubs as there were thousands of dead bees to deal with.

 

If any of you reading this were on the same cruise and happened to be on deck, I was the one laying on my back under that umbrella taking pictures.

 

Thanks for the free beers from fellow pax, BTW!!

[Luckysll]

Boy you're eyes are better than mine.....I couldn't see the Queen's crown to pick her out in that crowd! :D

 

Good thing it wasn't crowded on deck that day, I'm sure there would have been someone complaining about having their cruise ruined and wanting a free cruise!

 

Great story and the pictures to prove it!

[klmorg]

Wow... very fascinating! Thanks so much for the pix and the story!

[cruisetobeaches]

 

Good thing it wasn't crowded on deck that day, I'm sure there would have been someone complaining about having their cruise ruined and wanting a free cruise!

 

quote]

 

 

Of course there were complainers! I overheard one guy saying he was going to complain and wanted a one day credit because he could not use the pool! I told him to go ahead and jump in.................:D

[MEOWSMURPHY]

Being HIGHLY allergic to bee stings, :eek: I'm really glad I wasn't on your cruise..otherwise I would have been hibernating inside somewhere...great pics...I applaud your camera skills !!

[Wolfie48]

I would have been afraid the pirate bees would have gotten my booty.....I know I'm exposing myself to some stinging replys on this one :-)

[michelle2]

Wow, is all I can say. Thanks for sharing your story.

[cruisetobeaches]

I uploaded pics of this to Photobucket. Only a few were posted here on CC. To see more go here: http://s369.photobucket.com/albums/oo140/cruisetobeaches/Fantasy%202009/?albumview=grid

[duhe98]

Great vacation adventure.

[Guest Crazeecat5]

WOW! I know you said that you worked with bees before but you were very brave to get so close to them. I too, cannot stand the sound of any buzzing. I would have been on the other side of the ship, hiding!

[soulfulone]

wow,

I think that this story should be on the first page of CC..Come on Laura please make sure this gets the attention it deserves..

 

Great story and Pics.

[cruisetobeaches]

WOW! I know you said that you worked with bees before but you were very brave to get so close to them. I too, cannot stand the sound of any buzzing. I would have been on the other side of the ship, hiding!

 

there were a few crawling around on me while I was taking shots of the lounge chair. the only really annoying one was on the front of my lens!

 

I was amused by those that felt the need to cross the yellow caution tape to cut through. Once the "event" was pointed out to them............The look on their faces was priceless!!

[halos]

Bees always follow their queen...it's just what they do. If she up and leaves her hive due to the fact that she needs a cruise, well then, it's cruise time for all the drones as well!!

 

PARTAE! :D

[jetskier]

It is great to see Willie back from vacation. I am sure he is still looking that one up under job duties. At least he was smart and got a sub-ordinate to operate the fire extinguisher.

Dave

[beansatw]

Well, if there's one good thing about this, it's that they were honeybees and not cockroaches. :D

[halos]

Well, if there's one good thing about this, it's that they were honeybees and not cockroaches. :D

 

LMAO!!

Now right there, is the silver lining in that dark cloud of bees!!! :D

[cruisetobeaches]

It is great to see Willie back from vacation. I am sure he is still looking that one up under job duties. At least he was smart and got a sub-ordinate to operate the fire extinguisher.

Dave

 

I had a lengthy conversation with him. He said that on occasion, a passenger may need a bee removed from a cabin, or maybe a few in the galley, but he had never had to deal with a swarm.

 

I also chatted with the guy operating the fire extinguishers. He drew the short straw and was muttering a lot of words i did not understand. Probably a good thing..............:confused: