Small World Cruising

[psycho_bowler_chick]

I loved reading through the thread about the nightmare dining room table mates, and thought I'd try a new one:

 

Small World.

 

On my last cruise (NCL), My mom and I were in the dining room having dinner (it was my birthday). We were seated near a couple of guys who were obviously gay, although not with each other. We began having a lovely conversation with them (one from Orlando, and the other, I think from Michigan?).

I told them I was from VT and what town I was from, and they told me they had actually BEEN to my town on New Years' Eve a few years earlier.

Wait... it gets better..... :p

They told me they were friends with a girl who owned a bakery. I told them that the only girl in town that I knew that owned a bakery (she didn't live there anymore) was XXX YYYY.

Their mouths fell to the floor! YOU KNOW XXX YYYY????

Yes, I played softball with her, and we were actually on the softball board at the same time. She made my daughter's sweet 16 birthday cake.

They picked up the cell phone and called her. It was all very strange.

 

Love those small-world anecdotes.

 

Anyone else???

[Handsome58]

My family and friends were on a 7 day cruise........well on the 5th day I saw a young lady and I told my wife "that looks like one of the women from the Law Firm I work at"......and as she got closer it was her!!!!! A co-worker was on the same cruise.

[CptJimandPriateSteph498]

Every cruise i end up with the same guy at my table. and he seems to follow me around the ship all the time. ...... OH yeah its my husband. ...

 

steph

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

 

On my last cruise (NCL), My mom and I were in the dining room having dinner (it was my birthday). We were seated near a couple of guys who were obviously gay, although not with each other. We began having a lovely conversation with them (one from Orlando, and the other, I think from Michigan?).

 

 

Anyone else???

 

 

Hi!

 

Thanks for sharing your story.

 

When I saw the part about the guys that were obviously gay I thought it had something to do with the story. I am lost. Can you help me out? Just a little confused about that. Sorry. :o

[hott_michelle2001]

I went on the Fantasy last december out of New Orleans and ended up seeing 4 people that I went to high school with. We are from the houston area so I found it to be a coincidence. Iasked one of them and she said they all worked together and were on a buissnes trip.

 

I want to go on a buissness trip that involves me being o na cruisE!:D

[Luvscruisin]

I had met this guy from Switzerland on a cruise in 2001. We still speak to each other to this day and have seen each other alot. A few years ago I went on a cruise with my mother. My friend in Switzerland calls up one day to tell me that he just finished watching his neighbors video of a cruise he had just been on and sitting there by the pool was me. Good thing I was behaving, lol. Now that is a small world.

[HeidiHo]

My son saw a teacher from his school on one cruise and my daughter saw a girl from her school on another cruise.

[psycho_bowler_chick]

"

When I saw the part about the guys that were obviously gay I thought it had something to do with the story. I am lost. Can you help me out? Just a little confused about that. Sorry. :o "

 

I do this all the time.. get ahead of myself...don't explain fully....

 

Sorry.. I'm originally from VT.. you know... one of the first state for Civil Unions... we talked about it for a very long time. That's how we ended up chatting and finding out we had a friend in common.

[okgirl]

On my very 1st cruise on the Festivale in 1983 my sister and I were in St. Thomas at a little open air bar waiting having a drink and just relaxing. This was years before Havensite mall was constructed.

 

We started chatting with the bar owner who grew up on St Thomas and I guess because of our accents he asked where we were from (Oklahoma). He went on to say that his wife who is a school teacher is from Tennessee.

 

Well as it happens our older sister lives in Tennessee so we said our sister lives there where is your wife from. He said it's a small town outside of Memphis called Bartlett...........Well that's where our sister lives and her husband grew up there.

 

About 20 minutes later the wife shows up and he introduces us. She asked about our BIL as she had also graduated from HS there. We told her his name and she said "I used to date him in HS" "We even went to the same church and were invited to your sister and BIL's wedding"

 

Really is a small world. What is it they say about Six Degree's of Separation??????

[Luckysll]

I was on a Mexican Riviera cruise last year, travelling solo. I went to the Lido buffet for lunch and decided to sit out near the pool to eat. The tables were quite full and I was sitting by myself at a table for four, so when a couple walked by with their trays, obviously looking for a place to sit, I suggested they join me.

 

They said they were from Ontario and when I told them where I was from, the wife said she'd lived in Victoria a few years ago. She said she was with the Bank of Montreal and had been transferred to Victoria, but had had to return home to Ontario when her Mom got sick. Turns out, the branch of the Bank of Montreal that she worked at was one I had also worked at many years ago!

[SB2788]

Last time I cruised, it was aboard the Carnival Destiny. On the very first morning, I was strolling around the Lido deck when someone called out my last name. I have a very unusual last name so was a bit surprised. When I looked around, I noticed it was one of my clients. It just so happened that we were booked for mostly the same shore excursions on all ports! Each day we took turns buying each other beers. All in all, it made for a good time! I got to meet his family and he was able to meet my family and friends.

Small world, indeed!

[ManyMore]

We were seated at a table for 4 one short 4 night cruise we had gone on. The couple (their 1st cruise) that sat with us must have been from the back woods, the wife wore a fishing hat with a big Bass on it and fishing loars, yes really. My BF is black and the husband had no problem calling him "boy". I wanted to go across the table at this man but my BF settled me down and even ate at that same table with them all 4 nights. They told us they enjoyed the cruise and had booked another one for the following year while on this cruise. Well... on our very next cruise we are at the bar and my BF says to me... look over there! Where? There! OMG! It's fish lady! (as she was so dubbed) The last day of the cruise we were sitting playing card and she came towards the table... CRAP! She recognized us! She said to my BF... you were very good last night. (heyyyy get your mind out of the gutter! LOL) He was like... huh? She said... at the talent show. He said.. I wasn't in the talent show. She just looked at him so he said.... eh we all look alike! I almost choked on my drink! LOL

Same cruise.... we were walking on the Lido after boarding and saw this couple... I was like... hey wait a minute! I go after this couple and they were leaning over the railing of the Atrium and I put my empty glass between them and said... it's empty who's buying? It was my cousins best friend who was also my first BF when I was 10! LOL

[cruiser05]

My family and I have travelled on the Fantasy several times and both of my sons would go to the kids club. The last time we were on the Fantasy was in 2001. Last year, we went on the Holiday and my oldest son went back to the Camp Carnival program again. Turns out that the director of his age group was the same director that was on the Fantasy in 2001...and SHE REMEMBERD HIM! Like legitmatly rememberd their cruise and like certain activities that my son and other kids participated in.

 

Made me a little nervous what my son did to be so memorable to people who see thousands of people a week...... ?????? :)

[cherylatwork]

When we were being packed like sardines at the life boat drill, we starting goofing with the couple in front of us. “I will take my boobs out of your back if you take your hair out of my nose” etc.

 

The lady turns around and asked if I am from New Hampshire? When I replied “yes, are you?” She replied she was from Ohio and as a child would vacation in the White Mountains and remembered my accent? What?

 

Cheryl

[Luvscruisin]

I was on the Summit in 2004 and as I was getting off the ship at one of the ports, I heard someone call my name. I looked around and finally saw a friend of mine waving frantically as she was getting off her ship which was docked right across from us. I had no idea she was going on a cruise and she didn't know I was going on one either.

[firefly4423]

That happens to me alot too!

[NCTribeFan]

When I was on Elation out of Port C in December, 2006, I sailed with my friend/former co-worker who introduced me to cruising, and my DD and her boyfriend from England.

 

We were in the Straw Market in Nassau (you know what that place is like), and someone called her name.

 

She turned around, and it was her college boyfriend! She's in her early 50s! Hadn't seen him since college, either.

 

We met up with him when we were back on board for a drink. There were 5 ships in port, and he was even on Elation with us.

 

I think she's still stunned. I told her the good news was that she obviously hadn't changed so much that he didn't recognize her. Of course, maybe that red hair had something to do with it! ;)

[deeceedub]

I love this thread. :)

 

The closest we've come to something like this was on our first cruise, back in 2000 on the Norwegian Sea.

 

Our son was in high school and his football team had made it to the state championship game the previous fall. The first night of the cruise we were chatting with a couple in a bar, getting on famously, until they figured out where we were from.

 

Our team had beaten his local HS team/alma mater in the playoffs in a game that we were expected to lose. This guy was mid-thirties and didn't have kids playing, but he still took it VERY personally. He was truly pizzed and pouted the rest of the cruise. His wife thought it was funny, but she told us it really did get under his skin. He thought they were headed to state for sure.

 

We live in a very small town and play six-man football. I guess some of these guys take it pretty seriously! :rolleyes:

[sea_u_onboard]

In 2004 we, my 2 sons and myself, decided to try RCL and went on the Rhapsody out of Galveston. We were seated at a large table with a group of 7 – grandfather, grandmother, mom, dad, and 3 kids, all from the Houston area. We start talking and discovered that the grandfather went to my son’s high school and was the first class to graduate from it when it was first built. Funny thing is the school district my kids go to is a very small one outside Fort Worth and the school was going to be celebrating its’ 50th year in 2005 – the year my son was to graduate. They hadn’t lived in the area in over 30 years. That same cruise my son ran into classmates from his school that he didn’t know was going.

[FlLadybug]

Hi!

 

Thanks for sharing your story.

 

When I saw the part about the guys that were obviously gay I thought it had something to do with the story. I am lost. Can you help me out? Just a little confused about that. Sorry. :o

 

I took that phrase as to mean that the guys were just very friendly and outgoing as most "gay" individuals appear to me. Not a bad stereotype to be..friendly and outgoing that is. You know there was a time that that was what "gay" meant.

[RedbirdFL]

okgirl, my husband and I lived, went to church and worked in Bartlett, TN until a few years ago when we moved to Orlando.

 

It's a small world here at CC too! :D

[TammieLand]

My first cruise is on May 30th so perhaps I'll see someone I know -

 

However, I walked down the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy and saw a girl I graduated high school with some 27 years ago...

 

 

Love this thread!:p

[TammieLand]

I took that phrase as to mean that the guys were just very friendly and outgoing as most "gay" individuals appear to me. Not a bad stereotype to be..friendly and outgoing that is. You know there was a time that that was what "gay" meant.

 

Tis true - I'm friendly and outgoing and as gay as they come....:)

[CruiseinNJ]

Happened to me on my past TWO cruises! Last year, I bumped into someone I used to work with and haven't seen or talked to in a few years.

 

Year before that, we were up on deck watching the 'belly flop' contest. Someone started cheering for NJ - I turned and started talking to her, asking where she was from in NJ, as we live there also. She said the town... I said I lived there also. I asked what part of town.... we lived there also. She asked what street... It ended up they had recently bought a house a few houses away from where I had just sold my house! (I didn't move far away, just 2 miles down the road)

[Upandadam]

Two incidents.

 

One was on a cruise while waiting in line to board I noticed somone who looked very familiar. Turned out it was my ex-wifes' best friend when we first started dating some 25 years earlier.

 

One more was on an excurion on a small boat in the Caribbean with at most 20 people on board. When the captain came around asking where everyone was from, it turned out that the couple next to us was from the same small Oregon town we were from.