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The Weirdest Things We’ve Ever Seen Guests Do On A Cruise – 29 Examples

I took a cruise on Symphony of the Seas – and saw another guest do the weirdest thing!

He took off his two socks, and then carefully laid them on the chairs in the theatre beside him to reserve two seats!

I asked my Facebook Group what other strange things they had seen on cruise ships. The answers might surprise you!

socks on chair weird cruise passengers

In The Restaurant / Buffet

I have seen plenty of pushing, shoving, lack of hand washing and general bad behaviour in cruise ship buffets – but nothing like these…

I saw a lady put grilled salmon in her pocket

Fred

A kid put his mouth on the self serve ice cream nozzle. I’ve never been able to eat it since!

Wendy

I saw a grown woman stick her hand into the bowl of parmesan cheese and eat it. Like the bowl that sits with the salt and pepper and has a SPOON in it that you’re supposed to use. So gross

Joanne

On Arvia in January in the Meridian restaurant…saw a lady take out a paper napkin from her bag and grind some black pepper into it and put it and put it back in her bag..

Jeanette

Last time I sailed Cunard, in the Fine Dining Room, a American complained there wasn’t Hot Dogs on the Menu

Bruce
Cunard Queen Mary 2 balcony formal night
For those unfamiliar with Cunard – they are one of the most – if not the most – formal/posh/fancy cruise lines you can sail on. I’m sure main dining room menus never include hotdogs…

A little boy in the buffet grabbed some French fries off the tray. His mom yelled; “NO! PUT THOSE BACK!” So he put them back. Then his mom yelled again; “NO! DON’T PUT THEM BACK!!!”
Even I was confused.

Kelly
chips in buffet


Watched a woman eat 12 kiwis at one sitting…

Neily

I saw a woman in the buffet take the whole serving tray with shrimp from the serving line – the whole silver tray with the tongs – took it to her table (luckily it wasn’t part of the hot foods – it was icy cold – she used her towel to hold it) – and I stood there with my mouth open – unable to speak

Bonnie

Strange Travelling Companions

Some people like to bring their own “travelling companions” with them when they cruise…

There was a lady travelling on the full World Cruise who was accompanied by a menagerie of soft toys and dolls. She was dining alone but was accompanied each evening by one of the soft toys and often dressed to match. For example, if her dining companion was a sheep she would dress as Little Bo Peep. If this wasn’t bad enough, she insisted that the soft toy was served its own 3 course meal from the menu

Paul


I saw a man bring a cardboard cutout of a woman to dinner with him every night.

Sean

Guy had A Blowup Doll on A Carnival cruise. It was a 4 night cruise and he had it 24/7.

Jason

A couple on one of our Alaska cruises would bring a toy stuffed monkey dressed in a tuxedo to the main dining room every night and set it in a seat of it’s own!

Steve

I can just imagine someone in another Facebook group laughing about seeing a mad woman with a toy cat on Formal Night on P&O’s Arvia…

“Unusual” Clothing

I’m sure we have all seen other passengers wearing things that we would never consider wearing – I remember being surprised to see a lady in some pink high-heeled Crocs (shoes) on my posh Azamara cruise…

 

One lady in her 80s brought a selection of funky wigs with her. She wore one to Gibraltar and one of the monkeys nicked it off her head and ran off with it ( you know when you shouldn’t laugh but you are in hysterics…) 

Nikki

On a family cruise. A women dressed in a giant cherry 🍒 featured dress. With large fruit all over it. She had hair died like a candycorn and Mary Jane’s and lace anklets on. She got on the elevator with us. My grandson, 4 at the time said – as a child would “You look like a clown.”
Before we could stop him she pushed every button on the elevator trying to get off as fast as possible. She looked at us and I said “Out of the mouths of babes” and shrugged my shoulders. Then we just laughed after she ran off the elevator. So did the other passengers. Good times…

Frankaren

Dress up as Buzz Lightyear for dinner in the MDR, not a child either.

Mark

I saw a grown man wearing nothing but a towel on his head in the hallway of a cruise with non other then Carnival. On that same cruise people had to step over a passed out passenger also in the same hallway! For your own safety stay away from deck six of the Sunshine outta Charleston

Mark
Scooby Doo and gang - Marella themed cruise - Emma Cruises

Me dressed as Velma from Scooby Doo – I did have an excuse, it was a themed cruise…

…And Everything Else!

I did a cruise to Norway about a year and a half ago and there were some wildlife experts on board looking out for whales and one day when some orca/killer whales swam past while most people were interested in seeing them, some woman kept shouting randomly that we can’t call them killer whales because “they’re not killers” and “if they’re called killer, they get traumatised”

Jacqueline

We went on a cruise around 35 years ago when I was a kid and some guy found a racing pigeon that was lost and kept it in a box in his families cabin.. I don’t think his marriage lasted after that cruise..

Honor

A couple of weeks ago, two male guests, who must have both been over 60 (so should have known better) almost came to blows over a couple of seats next to me, when they became available in the lounge. One of the men climbed over the back of the chair to get in it first, and then the other guy tried to sit in his lap. It reminded me of the episode of Friends where Joey and Chandler fight over the chair… (except without the humorous element!)

Jenna

On Sky Princess we saw two people carrying sunbeds up the corridor and take them into their cabin!!!

Lynne and Paul
sunlounger in corridor

I was on Adventure Of The Seas many years ago with friends. There was a swingers group aboard. During the game show Quest, their group had their own section and leader. The leader was running to give their item and did the splits. She was wearing a mini dress and NOTHING underneath, so all of us in the front row got a view. Ewwwwwww

Margaret

I was in the large whirlpool near the solarium on Wonder of the Seas and someone came into the Whirlpool with a wash cloth and bar of soap from his room and bathed in the Whirlpool. Needless to say the few of us that were there left…

DebbieLou

And A Few More…

  • There was a push bike parked outside a cabin on our deck – Norma
  • Bringing your own bottle of Whisky to the theatre show! – Mark
  • Saw someone in Pjs in the theatre – Hazel
  • A woman who came to the breakfast buffet in her pyjamas with her bathrobe on….but not tied closed – Peggy
  • The drunk stranger who told me he was “Bond. James Bond.” – Steve
  • A man asking guest services if he could bring his fishing rod next cruise and hang it off one of the sides (had to be a wind up) – Adz2
  • Throwing cigarette butts in the hot tub – Dan

Thanks to everyone who shared their stories. If you want to join our friendly Facebook Group, the link is below:

Emma Cruises Facebook Group

Before You Go

Find out about people who were banned for life from cruise lines because of their bad/dangerous behaviour here:

These People Were Banned From Cruise Lines For Life – What Went Wrong?

Find out about common mistakes people often make on their first cruise – and how to avoid making them here:

67 First Cruise Tips: Common Mistakes to Avoid

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