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After the lunch 'feeding' on one cruise, several of the shops on that deck put out finger foods and deserts. It was amazing to watch people who had already 'grazed' 2-3 times that day ... descended on the snacks ... as if they hadn't eaten in a week!
True, most cruises are comprised largely of a non-stop eating binge, but, it's really amazing to watch some people shovel it in. I suspect that many of the contestents in those eating contests
'learn the ropes' aboard cruise ships.
I cruised the first time in 1991 with the now defunct Commodore Cruise line on the Caribe, the smallest chip out of Miami, an old transatlantic ocean liner converted to a cruise ship. All the things our friends told us about on Carnival and RCCL, well, this was NOT. They had one tiny pool in the back, one dining hall open for meals only, no snack bar, no eating all the time, and no stabilizers on the ship so the small size meant a rough ride.
Small world! My first cruise - in 1980 - was on Commodore's Caribe, which they referred to as "The Happy Ship." However, the Caribe that you sailed in 1991 was actually a different vessel than the one I sailed on. Yours had been the Olympia and was purchased by Commodore in 1983. It's official name was Caribe I.
Still, it's nice to remember Commodore and the Caribe.
Small world! My first cruise - in 1980 - was on Commodore's Caribe, which they referred to as "The Happy Ship." However, the Caribe that you sailed in 1991 was actually a different vessel than the one I sailed on. Yours had been the Olympia and was purchased by Commodore in 1983. It's official name was Caribe I.
Still, it's nice to remember Commodore and the Caribe.
Excellent!
We had a good time, I went with some friends, we were all single at the time and the great thing was there were more girls than guys so that worked out well for us
I was a bit disappointed with the food, they did not have all you can eat things going 24 hours and so no chance for people to shovel it in like they were in an eating contest. Also, there were no kids, mostly probably 90% retirees The singing captain was the best though. At photo night, he had his arm around all the ladies with a big leering smile and with u guys, he was shaking hands at arrms length "Smile- look at the camera- goodbye..."
Being the first cruise I did not know what to expect except that carnival and RCCL at the time had 24 hour food (they still do from what I can tell and there are people who seem to never leave the buffet
Now someone mentioned size 14 women in size 10 bikinis. The first cruise was a year after I had multiple abdominal surgeries, and I was not sure I wanted to show off my tic tac toe scars to everyone. BUT when I was at the pool, loking at all the old men with beer guts (KEG SIZED) wearing speedos, all the fat women, all the people missing one or more limbs, I realized NOONE CARES! it is VACATION!!! have fun!
Of course, Let me close by saying that my kids still get chewed out if they are rude to a waiter or server, and if they do not say please and thank you, they don't get it!!!!! I try my best to make sure my kids are not the noisy obnoxious ones but they are kids after all, they forget at times.
I'm probably going to hell for laughing at all of this, but...
I was on a carnival cruise once, and in attendance was a tour group of 150 BLIND people. The first thing the cruise tour guide did? Took them on a tour of the art gallery on board. That 9 day Caribbean cruise was one of the more entertaining ones I've been on. They set up little "Kiddie" pools, filled with cat litter, for the seeing eye dogs. Blind people were getting stuck in corners. Whole "trains" of them would be walking the halls, with one leader, feeling with their cane, and about 10-15 blind people, holding each other's shoulders like a conga line, following behind.
What was really funny was when they went out on deck. As most of you know, exterior doors have a metal "lip" on them, to keep water out. Well, the seeing eye dogs would step over the lip, and the blind people would accidentally trip on them!
The absolute best story from the whole trip, though, was during the Panama Canal excursion. We were on a 4-story boat, with a couple hundred people. The whole group of blind people were on the tour with us. Out on the top deck? A blind man with a seeing eye dog in one hand, and a video camera in the other... pointed right at the wall of the ship. We very slowly turned him, so he was facing the right way.
...Then there was our "cruise to nowhere". On the first day at sea, a hurricane swept through and hit BOTH our ports of call. With no port to pull into, we did circles in the Gulf of Mexico, north of Cuba, for the rest of the trip. Towards the end, they started to run out of food (since the cruise usually restocks at each port of call). Everyone got a voucher, offering 50% off the next cruise. We used it a few months later!
I have worked for two different cruise lines in the past...to share the ridiculous would take hours.
I will say, to all cruise lines, dear GOD do not EVER run out of fricken berries. Holy crap, you will have an uprising!
In the end though, how I see it: At least for the lines I worked for, these people paid a significant amount of money for their cruise. If they want to show up in their pajamas, while we prefer they didn't, let them.
I would also like to add: You can get food 24 hours a day on a cruise. Really, you are not going to starve. Keep that in mind at the buffet.
Not so anymore. On both NCL and RC there are times of day that there is no food and no room service either.
Also, it seems to be a figment of my imagination these days that there is no longer the old Midnight Buffet. I'm not sad it's gone but what the lines are replacing it with - more spread out, more type of food specific, and more frequent "mini" buffets just don't work and RC even had major problems with running out of food - not that it was a big loss as the food was a means of using up leftovers which weren't good to begin with. Imagine empanadas made with 2 day old pork and a bare hint of scrambled eggs - it didn't work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jezer
Given all the binge eating stories, this should come as no surprise;
I have lost over 5 pounds on each of my last 5 cruises on 3 different lines, 4 of which were within the last 18 months; and one of those, on RC's Brilliance of the Seas, is where I lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks - actually 12 days. I was not trying to diet. I enjoyed breakfasts, when it was finally served, although the fruit was not at all ripe - imagine crunching a piece of honeydew melon that isn't even sweet. But the lunches and dinners had a wonderful salad bar and lettuce and veggies - and that's what I existed on. I sampled different items but didn't find anything that said - EAT THIS - so I would head to the buffet for my salads.
I am petrified of heights and the snack bar which is only open from 10pm to 1 am is on the uppermost deck accessible only by an outside ladder (that's staircase) and a run across an (every single night) rainwashed deck where the thrilling menu consisted of a roll with a piece of cheese and a thin slice of ham, maybe a leaf of lettuce. Not thrilling, not worth the panic attack. Oh, I could have opted to pay for sushi but that's not ever gonna happen.
I suppose I could have eaten more cookies - the only dessert that tasted as it was supposed to taste - and not lost so much weight.
The most ridiculous was on Norwegian where children cruise free and go on excursions for free as well. The ridiculous was allowing children to run wild in and around the coffee stations while their parents ignored them. All this at the same time a toddler screamed for his "Mommy" and wouldn't let Daddy hold him while mommy sat chatting with others. This went on for over 1/2 hour until I got up and told both Mommy and Daddy that their relaxation and permitting their child to scream should not infringe upon my right to enjoy my cruise and if they didn't remove said screaming brat, I was going to turn into the screaming great-grandmother from hell and berate them non-stop until they did something.
... All this at the same time a toddler screamed for his "Mommy" and wouldn't let Daddy hold him while mommy sat chatting with others. This went on for over 1/2 hour until I got up and told both Mommy and Daddy that their relaxation and permitting their child to scream should not infringe upon my right to enjoy my cruise and if they didn't remove said screaming brat, I was going to turn into the screaming great-grandmother from hell and berate them non-stop until they did something.
Good for you! I'm dying to hear what their reaction was!
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