Ever see anything totally shocking and unexpected on a cruise?

[ruadisneyfan2]

Yes it was drugs ! And i have to say I was quite suprised as we were with our young children. Not a great first impression .

We felt this way too about not so discreet offer to buy drugs in Jamaica while on a non-DCL cruise.

When a future cruise was rerouted to Jamaica due to hurricane damage in Costa Maya, we opted to stay on the ship. Had we known in advance we would have chosen a different cruise but we weren't informed until checking in at the port.

 

[mpetersen]

Yes it was drugs ! And i have to say I was quite suprised as we were with our young children. Not a great first impression .

My DH had this happen on our honeymoon cruise . He got off the boat in Nassau looking to buy a Harley Tshirt and was offered cocaine. It's funny bc he's a police officer...

 

[100AcreWood]

Yes it was drugs ! And i have to say I was quite suprised as we were with our young children. Not a great first impression .

The same thing happened to us on a trip to Kauai. We visited the waterfall that was in the intro to Fantasy Island (just dated myself there) and a local was hanging out trying to sell drugs to tourists.

 

[snchpnz]

Yeah, I think the drug thing happens in almost every port. I had the same thing happen to me in Mexico while browsing the little shops outside the Tulum ruins.

 

[mmouse37]

Drug pushers don't care what ship you are from. We have been offered drugs (and our kids as well) in St. Maarten while on a DCL cruise. Also in Nassau while on a DCL cruise.

MJ

 

[RedSox68]

The same thing happened to us on a trip to Kauai. We visited the waterfall that was in the intro to Fantasy Island (just dated myself there) and a local was hanging out trying to sell drugs to tourists.

That's always so sad to hear this about such a romantic setting like Hawaii. If I hadn't watched "Dog the Bounty Hunter", I would never have been prepared for what we saw in some of the Hawaiian ports

Our very first DCL cruise in 2000 stopped in St. Maartin and after our excursion we were sitting on the beach with our young daughter and I couldn't believe how many people came up trying to sell us illegal items.

 

[alaskanabbott]

Honestly the worst port for us was Key West. I don't embarrass easy, but the naked man swimming next to my daughter was the last straw in a very disturbing day there. My dad wanted to have a drink at Original Joes and couldn't finish it due to the illegally lewd behavior of the couple next to him (and he's no prude). I'm from New Orleans and I think the French Quarter was less raunchy

 

[RedSox68]

Honestly the worst port for us was Key West. I don't embarrass easy, but the naked man swimming next to my daughter was the last straw in a very disturbing day there. My dad wanted to have a drink at Original Joes and couldn't finish it due to the illegally lewd behavior of the couple next to him (and he's no prude). I'm from New Orleans and I think the French Quarter was less raunchy

WOW -- Key West? I've never been, but I've always pictured it to be so docile I would have been shocked too

 

[wcw57]

not sure what travel brochures you have been reading but "docile" is not a word ever used when describing Key West

 

[NCConch]

WOW -- Key West? I've never been, but I've always pictured it to be so docile I would have been shocked too

You don't want to be KW for Fantasy Fest - October. We were there (by accident) close to 20 years ago and I am pretty sure it had not cleaned up any.

 

[RedSox68]

not sure what travel brochures you have been reading but "docile" is not a word ever used when describing Key West

Nope, didn't see it in writing. Just always pictured Bed and breakfasts and serene sunsets But now I will be prepared for it to be a more "party" town

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

This is one of the reasons we don't go to a public beach all that often. In Nassau, we go to Blue Lagoon, in Cozumel we go to Chankanaab (have to pay to get in), in Jamaica we go to an All Inclusive straight from port, even after our sting ray snorkel catamaran in Grand Cayman we went to a nice 7 Mile beach area called Royal Palms. If you have to pay to get on the property (royal palm would have cost like $3 to get in, it was free for us with our excursion but it's still not very much anyway) than that means its considered private property. Having these excursions or destinations has cut down tremendously on having questionable items hocked at us. You still get a little bit of that if you are in the major transport area getting taxis or something, but it definitely is kept to a minimum.

We find it is well worth it to pay for a great excursion, after all, you have come all that way, so for us, it isn't always worth it to walk to the closest beach full of bodies and yucky water to pay $10 for a chair or umbrella and have people try to sell us stuff. We would rather pay $55 for a gorgeous catamaran snorkel with amazing fish and peace and quiet (with some island music in there) and not have to have a care in the world... (and places like Chankanaab only cost like $29 to get into for the day and offer snorkeling right there down the steps to a beautiful reef, sea lion shows, and pure paradise.) For even more peace of mind and ease, you can book straight through the cruise line and typically you don't even have to worry about transportation either.

If it's public, than expect public and anyone to be there. If it's a private beach or location, than they can control the security a lot better.

 

[jrabbit]

.... My dad wanted to have a drink at Original Joes and couldn't finish it due to the illegally lewd behavior of the couple next to him (and he's no prude). I'm from New Orleans and I think the French Quarter was less raunchy

Man I ALWAYS miss the "interesting" stuff

 

[jrabbit]

The same thing happened to us on a trip to Kauai. We visited the waterfall that was in the intro to Fantasy Island (just dated myself there) and a local was hanging out trying to sell drugs to tourists.

That's now legal in several states.

Da 'plane, Da 'plane ... Corinthian Leather ....

 

[cdnfamily]

I think I find it astonishing because I think of Disney as "milk and cookies" - the cruise is mostly filled with families or other people not looking for a 24 hour party cruise persay, travelling with kids and grandparents, etc. But I guess they must get some customers otherwise they wouldnt be there selling, which in itself is sad.

Thansk to twinprincessmermaids for the tip about the beaches. We rarely go to the beaches in port for those same reasons, but I will now have to rethink that.

On another note, something shocking or distrubing we witnessed ... We were travelling with my older parents last November out of Miami on the wonder. My parents ended up with the incredible room attendant. She went out of her way to make sure that they had everything they needed all the time, and always recognized myself or my DH, DD, or DS in the hlls and went out of her way to say hello. On day one my parents asked if they could get two navigators in the room each night. No problem. So on about day 3 we were heading down the hall to visit my folks when we came up to a passenger tearing a strip off her. He called her every racial slur he could think of loudly and proudly in any and every way he could to demean this wonderful lady. And why ?? Because he wanted an extra navigator right then but she didnt have enough to accomodate. She just stood there calmly waiting for a break to explain to him that as soon as she finished with her turn down service she would hand deliver an extra navigator. She offered to call guest services to being one down immediately. She asked if moving forward he would like two sent to his room each night. Nothing. He didnt care. He decided that the two old people ( in the room next to him being my parents) didnt need an extra navigator and that he only wanted that one off the cart. She was so polite to him while he ranted. He finally stormed off and when i approached her it was like nothing had happened, just rolled off her back. I immediately went to guest services to let them know just in case that joker tried to file a complaint. And knowing he would not tip her, we gave her a tip at the end of the trip to say thanks for the great treatment my parents received.

I think we all encounter some rudeness in our lives or witness some behavior that we may ourselves think is inconsiderrate, but this was beyond that, just so mean.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

You don't want to be KW for Fantasy Fest - October. We were there (by accident) close to 20 years ago and I am pretty sure it had not cleaned up any.

Nope, didn't see it in writing. Just always pictured Bed and breakfasts and serene sunsets But now I will be prepared for it to be a more "party" town

We arrived the day after Fantasy Fest on the Magic a few years ago. We did the little electric cars but booked on our own. A driver from the company picked us up to take us to the office to get the car. On the way he explained how he's lived there for 20+ yrs and every year the Fantasy Fest gets raunchier.One woman was shocked/furious for being arrested for having a public threesome on a sidewalk with 2 other men saying, "Hey come on, this is Key West!"
He also explained how the city has the clean up down to a science so that cruise visitors don't see any of it. At like 3 am they have a huge crew come out with bull dozers to clear up the trash from the streets & sidewalks. We didn't see any signs of any party except a shop clerk (the store with the giant flip flop outside) showed me a picture on his cell phone of his poodle that he had its fur dyed bright fuchsia and how we missed a great party.
I really don't need to go back.

 

[raymeswh]

Was on my honeymoon in 2011, saw 2 parents crushing up multiple benadryl tabs on the table next to us with a butter knife. They swept it into 3 chocolate milk glasses and gave it to their kids! "who wants chocolate milk!"

I was amazed, inspired, and appalled at the same time.

 

[katiefried]

Was on my honeymoon in 2011, saw 2 parents crushing up multiple benadryl tabs on the table next to us with a butter knife. They swept it into 3 chocolate milk glasses and gave it to their kids! "who wants chocolate milk!" I was amazed, inspired, and appalled at the same time.

My son's pediatrician told us to give him Benadryl for sea sickness on the cruise so maybe that is why these parents did that. The only way we can get him to take any type of medicine is to sneak it in his milk or food so I completely understand!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We arrived the day after Fantasy Fest on the Magic a few years ago. We did the little electric cars but booked on our own. A driver from the company picked us up to take us to the office to get the car. On the way he explained how he's lived there for 20+ yrs and every year the Fantasy Fest gets raunchier.One woman was shocked/furious for being arrested for having a public threesome on a sidewalk with 2 other men saying, "Hey come on, this is Key West!"
He also explained how the city has the clean up down to a science so that cruise visitors don't see any of it. At like 3 am they have a huge crew come out with bull dozers to clear up the trash from the streets & sidewalks. We didn't see any signs of any party except a shop clerk (the store with the giant flip flop outside) showed me a picture on his cell phone of his poodle that he had its fur dyed bright fuchsia and how we missed a great party.
I really don't need to go back.

Yeah, our last cruise stopped in Key West. The last time we were there was over 15 years ago. Things have definitely changed. We kept hearing "you just missed a great party" all over town. But, we did see a very statuesque female (with an extremely bronzed-suntanned body) walking down the street in a string bikini that was the same color as her skin. I'll tell you, there were many possible neck injuries on our tour bus as we went by her.

And, while DH & I were walking around town after our tour, we passed a couple wearing paint for clothes. Nothing cloth, just paint.

 

[DahliaRW]

This is one of the reasons we don't go to a public beach all that often. In Nassau, we go to Blue Lagoon, in Cozumel we go to Chankanaab (have to pay to get in), in Jamaica we go to an All Inclusive straight from port, even after our sting ray snorkel catamaran in Grand Cayman we went to a nice 7 Mile beach area called Royal Palms. If you have to pay to get on the property (royal palm would have cost like $3 to get in, it was free for us with our excursion but it's still not very much anyway) than that means its considered private property. Having these excursions or destinations has cut down tremendously on having questionable items hocked at us. You still get a little bit of that if you are in the major transport area getting taxis or something, but it definitely is kept to a minimum.

We find it is well worth it to pay for a great excursion, after all, you have come all that way, so for us, it isn't always worth it to walk to the closest beach full of bodies and yucky water to pay $10 for a chair or umbrella and have people try to sell us stuff. We would rather pay $55 for a gorgeous catamaran snorkel with amazing fish and peace and quiet (with some island music in there) and not have to have a care in the world... (and places like Chankanaab only cost like $29 to get into for the day and offer snorkeling right there down the steps to a beautiful reef, sea lion shows, and pure paradise.) For even more peace of mind and ease, you can book straight through the cruise line and typically you don't even have to worry about transportation either.

If it's public, than expect public and anyone to be there. If it's a private beach or location, than they can control the security a lot better.

Just because you pay to get in doesn't make it private property. All of the beaches on Grand Cayman are public and anyone at all has the right to be on them, even if they are in front of a house or hotel.