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Cruise Ship Workers Are Sharing Their Horror Stories And It's Wild

"The ship was considering going into quarantine at sea but luckily, we didn't."

BuzzFeed Contributor

If you've ever vacationed on a cruise ship, you know things run pretty smoothly from the passenger's point of view. But from a worker's perspective, a lot of things go on behind the scenes that people luckily don't know about.

Reddit user u/imDudekid was clearly curious to find out as they asked the question , "Cruise ship workers of reddit, what was the biggest 'oh shit' moment on the boat that, luckily, passengers didn’t find out about at all?"

The responses are really something else...

1. "water pipe burst in a store room and soaked all of the spare toilet paper. this was on day 2 of a 14-day voyage to antarctica.".

"The cabin stewards had to swap around rolls of paper between 'low use' and 'high use' guest cabins and it came right down the wire. None of the guests found out or realized. Now toilet paper is hidden in every cabin instead of a centralized location." — u/myjobisawesome

2. "Fires. I worked on a cruise ship for 2.5 years and we had three major fires. They were all in crew areas and were controlled and extinguished by our awesome fire team. The passengers never knew what happened, only that their waiter had to leave in the middle of dinner service."

"People don't realize how much training the crew members go through to handle these situations. And they will never know that their waiter just helped save the whole goddamn ship." — u/wanderinggal

3. "I worked on a ship almost 15 years ago. Many stories. This happened to a friend of mine. A family came on. They had a teenage son, who was not interested in the cruise."

"As soon as the family got to their room, he jumped off his balcony (which is insanely dangerous). They fished him out and the family got kicked off the ship."

— u/rothmaniac

4. "I was playing a production show (guitar) and was standing on stage with a wireless unit alone to play 'Purple Rain,' and then all of the sudden the house lights came on and the curtains closed."

"Everyone in the audience looked at me, and I ran off the stage. Turns out a sewage pipe burst backstage and there was shit everywhere. Show was canceled and the passengers didn't find out why." — u/Lacklusterbeverage

5. "I was a cruise ship worker for a few years and on a route between two cities there was a really bad storm. So a few minutes after the passengers got off, the storm got so rough that the ship was ripped off the docks and drifted out to sea."

"Because it takes quite a while to start up the engines, it took some time until we got back to the harbor. Not really dangerous but if it had happened while the passengers were disembarking, it could have gone badly." — u/idontmindtherain78

6. "I used to be a crew member and one time a guy working at the front desk jumped overboard after a crew party. He was found a few hours later by the coast guard and everybody was asked to be discreet in order to keep the cruise running smoothly. And everything was fine until the captain came on the PA and said we were delayed because a crew member jumped overboard."

"Then the madness begins, rumors appear out of nowhere, and the rest of the cruise was pretty much guests asking what happened the whole time." — u/rjdac

7. "My 'oh shit' moment was when I was hired for a ship with two-day notice as a trombone player. When I got on the ship, I found out that I was replacing a guy who had just died in a jet skiing accident in Nicaragua."

"Everyone in the crew knew it (and the last cruise's passengers knew it) and the entire band that I was joining was obviously traumatized. In the end, it ended up being my favorite contract but the first few weeks were difficult for everyone. RIP bone guy. I never knew you but I know they all loved you." — u/trustustoo

8. "One of the waiters had to go to the backroom really bad but it was during the dinner rush so the supervisor told him to wait. He ended up running out of the restaurant and shitting his pants on the way out and left a trail behind him."

— u/SarcasticGamer

9. "I currently work for a cruise line. I have assisted people who want to bury their loved ones at sea. Obviously, the bodies have to have been cremated and the ashes have to be in a biodegradable container."

— u/onegreatboard

10. "I am a cruise ship worker. First one is, we don't want you to know that we actually have more fun than the guests. Sure, we'll work the big white hot party that you're all going to but once we finish our shift, all hell is breaking loose in the crew bar."

— u/Pixielix

11. "I’m working on a cruise ship currently. One time we had to turn around to take someone to a hospital and then there was a fire in the laundry room, and it was also pretty rocky seas."

— u/PM_ME_DEEP_QUESTIONS

12. "Somebody shot at the navigation bridge of the ship from the shore on my last ship, the bullet bounced off and hit my colleague on the hand (no real damage but it scared the hell out of her, ended up going home for a few weeks)."

"While we waited for the local police to come on and investigate and take statements, guests were told we were delaying the departure to take on fresh water. I'm still shocked that never leaked out." — u/ElGofre

13. "Only one I have witnessed were two fires in the engine rooms. Scary thought but because of the nature of the ships, normal workers are picked to be firefighter-trained."

"So your onboard firefighters will be engineers or wait staff or galley men. They chose the big bulky ones who wont be blown over when the water comes out the hose." — u/Pixielix

14. "One of the dancers in the cast got his foot caught in one of the hydraulic stage lifts... Crushed two of his toes."

— u/Barfuzio

15. "Worked on ships for about four years. On embarkation day, all the public areas of the ship are open like the theater, spa, gym, etc., so new passengers can see them and get settled in (but mostly so we could sell them packages)."

"An older man was checking out the gym in regular clothes (jeans, Hawaiian shirt, flip-flops probably) and decided to go for a run on the treadmill. He had a heart attack and died right there in the gym before the cruise even started. Because we were still in port, Miami PD and the coroner had to come on and investigate, etc. The problem was the gym and treadmills on this ship had a huge glass wall to the pool deck. Who knows how many people witnessed him die before the crew had a chance to close down the space. The crew simply closed the pool area and gym, the coroner took the body, and the cruise set sail a few hours late. No announcement was ever made." — u/ThrashNet

16. "A teenage girl and her 10-ish-year-old brother had a serious argument on an open deck at night. She was much bigger than him. She picked him up by his throat and held him over the side of the ship."

"We were doing a Baltic run and between some ports with serious distance between them, so the ship was sailing around 26 knots and it was pitch black. Security happened upon them while this was happening and, thank god, prevented an either intentional or accidental Oscar (man overboard). The girl was kept in the brig until morning, and the family was disembarked and repatriated immediately." — u/kmc307

17. "I worked on a cruise for a year. During a rehearsal in the main auditorium, one of the dancers got his foot caught in the crack of the hydraulic platform that raises up and down. Because some of the safety sensors were broken, the lift completely shut and sucked his foot into the space between the platform and the stage which was about a centimeter. I was friends with a lot of the dancers who witnessed it and they were pretty shook up from the screams."

"After they got him stabilized, the captain came on and told us we were making a stop in Cabo so he could be flown back to the States for emergency surgery. I felt so bad for him. It was his first contract and he was so excited to be there."

— u/atcitizen100

18. "The ship always needs a certain number of crew members on board so when it's your week/cruise to be a designated crew member, your passport and ID are confiscated so you literally cannot leave the ship."

— u/hatramroany

19. "I worked on ships for three years and boy, the stories you hear about or live through. This one takes the cake, though. My colleague in the kids center who we all found creepy AF is now a convicted sexual predator serving 14 years."

20. "my first week on the ship, a crew member committed suicide. the captain announced over the ship pa that there was an unexpected death of a crew member but didn't mention the circumstances. the guests knew someone had died and that the crew was taking over the theater for a memorial, but not how he died.".

— u/deakers

21. "I used to work for a cruise. During one cruise, we had four passengers die from flu. The ship was considering going into quarantine at sea but luckily, we didn't."

— u/smokingmonkeybaby

22. "I worked on one and we had a complete power failure in the middle of the water near Southeast Asia somewhere. It was in the middle of the day so everyone knew. Just sat there for hours as the temperature and humidity gradually rose until it was about as high as outside."

"I simply tried to put on a happy face and kept working the photo gallery. Even made an exception to the 'no phones in front of the passengers' rule to use my phone’s flashlight app to let them see their photos." — u/CaptainJAmazing

23. "My ship hit a massive rock. No one knew except the officers. We took on water but not enough to stop the cruise. We sailed into our last port Seward, Alaska, which is when the captain decided to inform the crew. New passengers were turned away. We spent two weeks slowly cruising to Freeport, Bahamas, to get all fixed up."

— u/radical33

24. "Worked for a major cruise line for a year. We had to spray several bottles of a bleach solution over every surface of the kids clubrooms every night because of norovirus outbreaks. Passengers got sick but the company somehow kept it out of the media."

— u/Tokugawa1600

25. "I'm three days into working on a small cruise ship and there has already been a fire in the laundry room, a crew member almost died from a food allergy, and we crashed into the side of a lock/dam/passageway and it caused an entire liquor cabinet to come crashing down. I'm a housekeeper and the cabinet was in a room I'm responsible for so that was much fun..."

— u/altcoffeedries

Do you have any cruise ship horror stories to share? Let us know in the comments!

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• Carnival Cruise Lines

Cruise Horror Stories

By TamLaiSang , July 29, 2009 in Carnival Cruise Lines

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MamaParrotHead

My worst story has to do with an acquaintance interpreting a "why yes, cruising is fun, you should try it sometime!" as an invitation to come with US. It was a nightmare. They were quite a bit younger than us, so drinking was high on their list of priorities. Then they had the nerve to bitch about feeling sick the whole time (yeah, I'm SURE it was seasickness and not the GALLON of Long Islands you drank last night) and how high their S&S bill was (yeah, a few of those $12 double Long Islands will do that to ya!).

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Best horror story I remember reading was the group stranded in Belize without passports.

I would love to hear that one!:eek:

A passport is like good insurance.... You don't really need it, until you do!

Familyforce6

I had my own little horror story. A few days before our FIRST Carnival cruise, I threw my back out severely. My dh had to pack for me, himself, and 3 of our 4 kids. He had to take care of our kids and me the whole cruise. I couldn't dress or anything. The one attempt I made to put on a pair of socks had me screaming. We don't take family vacations very often either. He really deserved an award for that one. Or a whole lot of ships on sticks.:D:D

GlendaleCruiser

Six of us did the 12 day Meditteranean on the Freedom in June of 06. We didn't get our luggage til day 8 of the cruise. All we had were the clothes on our back and what we could buy at the gift shop. About 200+ other cruisers had the same problem. The problem was between JFK and Rome airport.

Wow. I hope I don't have the same problems at O'Hare.

I intend to take a carry-on with all my cosmetics that are not liquid or gel,

one formal dress and shoes, and a couple of daytime and dinner outfits...............just in case.........

I always plan for the worst and hope for the best!;)

One time on lido my bucket of beers ice melted way to fast, was not fun at all.

I took my First carnival cruise this past may, the whole thing was a disaster. I looked and looked and I could not find one woman sunbathing topless. Then to top it off I did see funship freddy. Like I said not a good cruise at all!

About 6 or 7 years ago there was a lot of the norwalk virus running through cruise ships. My adult DD and I were on a cheapest room we could get, 5 night RCCL west. carib. cruise. Third day we returned to ship from Cozumel beach and DD became really ill. A number of guests had norwalk and there was a sign on infirmary door saying all norwalk virus cases would be treated for free. She went to infirmary and they gave her a shot for nausea and told her to return to room, rest, drink fluids, etc. ...and she was confined to room until better. Then they turned to me and said you will probably get it too so you are also confined to room. I had never really read much about cruising and I'm a pretty timid person and so I said sure. Even smell of food made DD ill so I kept ordering PB&J for me. I had forgotten to bring a book. I watched the movie "The Tuxedo" over and over - I think the jail cells at Sing Sing were probably bigger then this tiny room we were in. Sometime after midnight there was a knock at the door. I opened it and two crew members dressed in white suits almost like astronaults came in without a word. They had tanks on their backs and they started spraying every surface of the room and left without more then a grunt and a wave. Room now reeked of vomit and disinfectant. Next day, dr. admitted DD to infirmary because she was dehydrated. After several IVs she was a little better but started having bad stomach pain. We were to dock the next a.m. so I was told to go pack up our room and bring suitcases down to infirmary. It was a nightmare. When I got back the dr had decided my DD had a majory stomach problem and even though he didn't have correct equipment, he jerryrigged a gastric bag and there she was with a tube down her nose, crying because dr had told her it was very serious and she might was to try to contact her DD (10 at the time) so she could basically say her goodbyes if something happened. Luckily we were not about to get a hold of DGrD. An ambulance was waiting at the dock. I was so scared for her and so weak from hunger I felt like I needed an ambulance too. Everyone was looking at us over the rails and yelling stuff like good luck and I'll pray for you. We were at Ft. Lauderdale hospital for less then 15 mins. when ER dr. said, take that tube out, they could have punctured her intestines with that thing!... She's fine. You probably had norwalk fist 24 hrs. and then stomach ache from not eating and taking pain meds on empty stomach. She got up got dressed and we flew home. Before leaving ship she had to put $2,ooo on her credit card for her "free Norwalk treatment". On top of that she had ER bill, ambulance bill. Never cruised without insurance after that!!

i was on a cruise and at the end of the week - imagine this - they

MADE me get off. oh the horror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Curt Jerome Wild

Cruise from Hell - A Horror Story

I just got back from my last Carnival cruise ever! I’m warning all of you people looking into booking anything from Carnival leaving out of Los Angeles, because here’s what happened.

Just so you know, this cruise was completely filled with a bunch of Hollywood and Los Angeles people.

First of all I booked a guarantee and didn’t get upgraded. The person told me when I booked that upgrades happen, but no, not on this cruise. Once I saw my inside cabin, I immediately walked to the pursers office. I had to wait in line for five minutes, probably because all these other people were upset with their cabins also. When I finally got to the purser and complained about not getting an upgrade, he told me that no upgrades were available because the Hollywood people bought up all the suites and good cabins. I guess they think they’re too good to stay in a normal cabin.

Dinner was horrible. These Hollywood people were all pretentious, and dressed up overly fancy every night. I pretended to be nice to them, but inside I was uncomfortable. Then, the worst thing was they were all on diets and only ate one entrée per person, so they made me feel like a complete pig when I ordered four lobsters. It was bad enough that all I had brought to wear were sweats and jeans and flip flops (they were nice ones though), so it was obvious that they were totally trying to show off their money and make me feel uncomfortable. But then to barely eat at dinner just to make me feel like a cow was mean. I went over to the Maitre D and purser after dinner and immediately complained about my rude dinner companions. They said they would try to remedy the situation. Well their remedy was different tablemates, but they were obviously bad at picking them, because every night it was new people. The ones from each previous night never returned again.

The comedy show was disgusting. The Hollywood people laughed AT the comedian in a really loud and condescending way. It was like they were making fun of him, because he was working on a cruise ship. Their laughing was just too over the top to be real, and you could see the look in their eyes that it was a mean laugh.

I was so upset by this; I stormed out just to find somewhere to get away. Well I finally thought that I would find something good to say about this cruise but Carnival wasn’t through ruining my cruise. I found a nice Classical Trio playing in a quiet area, where there were few people. I requested my favorite song from them, in order to lighten my mood and make me feel better. But they refused to play my request! Outright refused. They obviously had the skill, know how, and proper instruments to play my request, but I guess I was not one of the privileged Los Angeles guests. So after I asked them for the third time (and I did this nicely from across the room, so that everyone could hear my request and hear them rudely refusing me) I marched down to the pursers office to let them know. They had two fiddles and a big bass; there’s no reason they couldn’t have played "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" right?

The pool decks were terrible during the day. I couldn’t find anywhere to sit, because naturally all the local people were hogging up all the chairs by the pool. The only place that had any chairs that weren’t "reserved" was a place near the Funnel. It was a travesty up there. These Hollywood people think that they can just turn anyplace they want into one of their Hollywood flesh orgies. There were topless women in thongs and their fake massive breasts all over the place. They were rubbing lotion on each other and exposing themselves for all to see. I just wanted a quiet place to read my book, and this is what I had to deal with. I immediately complained to the bartender, and she told me that it is a topless optional deck, so they were allowed. So, I guess Carnival is now catering to the needs of these Hollywood smut movie peddlers also.

On the last night, there were drunken teens all over the place. They were all laughing and lounging around the atrium bar. I went over to the purser again, and pointed to them and said in a loud voice that he should do something about those drunken teenagers. They swore that they were 30, but knew a really good plastic surgeon. I knew not to believe their lies, because in the town where I live, 30 year olds don’t look or dress like that.

The purser wouldn’t do anything about it.

I finally was so frustrated that I just went to the cabin and packed my bags and went to sleep. Little did I know the final nightmare was about to begin.

I woke up in the morning, and took my bags down to debark. Well, I looked around and no one else was carrying their own bags. I had to drag my bags around while waiting, and apparently Carnival has catered to these spoiled Los Angeles people yet again. Apparently they had put their bags out in the hall late the night before, and they were to be hand carried outside for them. Only in Hollywood folks!

By this time, it was the final straw. I threw my bags down, sprinted over to the purser’s desk, and started screaming about why didn’t I get the bag privilege. He said maybe because I went to sleep so early the night before I missed it. So obviously again they are catering to these late night Hollywood people from LA. If you don’t stay up late and get drunk, then you don’t get told what’s going on. I started yelling at the purser about all of the things that happened during the cruise, and he actually walked away to make a phone call! Can you imagine?

I finally threw myself down on the floor, and started throwing a tantrum, because it seemed like that was the only way that anyone would help me. Then the Hollywood people actually started laughing at me in that mean and condescending way like they did at the comedian. This made me even angrier and I could barely breathe.

Finally, they brought out two large male Carnival employees, who picked

up my bags and me and physically escorted me off the ship ahead of the LA people. They applauded as I was being escorted out, probably for finally getting the attention and respect from Carnival that I deserved on this whole cruise.

Too little too late I say. Carnival can’t make this up to me ever. So don’t sail out of LA, these are the types of people they cater to from this port. I’m warning you.

Next time, I’m going to sail out of Galveston. Unless Carnival is catering to a bunch of local redneck cowboys, which knowing Carnival they probably will do that.

Their classical trio might be able to play my favorite song though, hmmm.

Could have been worse. Could have seen Freddy topless. Not a pretty sight as I am led to believe.

i was on a cruise and at the end of the week - imagine this - they   MADE me get off. oh the horror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:eek: Oh my gosh! They have made me do that too...TWICE! I will never cruise again. Till next time. :p

.....during the first leg, everything went fine. But you won't believe what happened on the second leg. I had to leave the darn ship after the cruise was over!

Needless to say, I've fully recovered from the experience having gone through therapy for the past year. As a matter of fact, I'm going to try it again in 28 days. I hope it works out differently this year.

Cruise from Hell - A Horror Story   I just got back from my last Carnival cruise ever! I’m warning all of you people looking into booking anything from Carnival leaving out of Los Angeles, because here’s what happened...

What a hoot! (Least I hope it is a hoot!) ;)

LOL...pretty funny...

I really appreciated Bluehenfan's story too... Lots to learn there...glad everyone made it out okay.

PhoneGoddess

cruise from hell - a horror story

roflmao!!!!!!! :d

That is soooo creepy! The same thing has happened to me twice!!!!

Blue Ribbon Cruiser

Really Great!!!! Are you a writer by chance ????? You should be:D

That HAS to be the funniest thing I've ever read here!

Good One....Loved it. Being from LA can appreciate the rudeness of those Hollywood people, but not the LA down to earth plain ole simple folks .. Latte please. :)

• 7 months later...

Cruise from Hell - A Horror Story   I just got back from my last Carnival cruise ever! I’m warning all of you people looking into booking anything from Carnival leaving out of Los Angeles, because here’s what happened. Just so you know, this cruise was completely filled with a bunch of Hollywood and Los Angeles people.   First of all I booked a guarantee and didn’t get upgraded. The person told me when I booked that upgrades happen, but no, not on this cruise. Once I saw my inside cabin, I immediately walked to the pursers office. I had to wait in line for five minutes, probably because all these other people were upset with their cabins also. When I finally got to the purser and complained about not getting an upgrade, he told me that no upgrades were available because the Hollywood people bought up all the suites and good cabins. I guess they think they’re too good to stay in a normal cabin.   Dinner was horrible. These Hollywood people were all pretentious, and dressed up overly fancy every night. I pretended to be nice to them, but inside I was uncomfortable. Then, the worst thing was they were all on diets and only ate one entrée per person, so they made me feel like a complete pig when I ordered four lobsters. It was bad enough that all I had brought to wear were sweats and jeans and flip flops (they were nice ones though), so it was obvious that they were totally trying to show off their money and make me feel uncomfortable. But then to barely eat at dinner just to make me feel like a cow was mean. I went over to the Maitre D and purser after dinner and immediately complained about my rude dinner companions. They said they would try to remedy the situation. Well their remedy was different tablemates, but they were obviously bad at picking them, because every night it was new people. The ones from each previous night never returned again.   The comedy show was disgusting. The Hollywood people laughed AT the comedian in a really loud and condescending way. It was like they were making fun of him, because he was working on a cruise ship. Their laughing was just too over the top to be real, and you could see the look in their eyes that it was a mean laugh.   I was so upset by this; I stormed out just to find somewhere to get away. Well I finally thought that I would find something good to say about this cruise but Carnival wasn’t through ruining my cruise. I found a nice Classical Trio playing in a quiet area, where there were few people. I requested my favorite song from them, in order to lighten my mood and make me feel better. But they refused to play my request! Outright refused. They obviously had the skill, know how, and proper instruments to play my request, but I guess I was not one of the privileged Los Angeles guests. So after I asked them for the third time (and I did this nicely from across the room, so that everyone could hear my request and hear them rudely refusing me) I marched down to the pursers office to let them know. They had two fiddles and a big bass; there’s no reason they couldn’t have played "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" right?   The pool decks were terrible during the day. I couldn’t find anywhere to sit, because naturally all the local people were hogging up all the chairs by the pool. The only place that had any chairs that weren’t "reserved" was a place near the Funnel. It was a travesty up there. These Hollywood people think that they can just turn anyplace they want into one of their Hollywood flesh orgies. There were topless women in thongs and their fake massive breasts all over the place. They were rubbing lotion on each other and exposing themselves for all to see. I just wanted a quiet place to read my book, and this is what I had to deal with. I immediately complained to the bartender, and she told me that it is a topless optional deck, so they were allowed. So, I guess Carnival is now catering to the needs of these Hollywood smut movie peddlers also.   On the last night, there were drunken teens all over the place. They were all laughing and lounging around the atrium bar. I went over to the purser again, and pointed to them and said in a loud voice that he should do something about those drunken teenagers. They swore that they were 30, but knew a really good plastic surgeon. I knew not to believe their lies, because in the town where I live, 30 year olds don’t look or dress like that. The purser wouldn’t do anything about it.   I finally was so frustrated that I just went to the cabin and packed my bags and went to sleep. Little did I know the final nightmare was about to begin. I woke up in the morning, and took my bags down to debark. Well, I looked around and no one else was carrying their own bags. I had to drag my bags around while waiting, and apparently Carnival has catered to these spoiled Los Angeles people yet again. Apparently they had put their bags out in the hall late the night before, and they were to be hand carried outside for them. Only in Hollywood folks!   By this time, it was the final straw. I threw my bags down, sprinted over to the purser’s desk, and started screaming about why didn’t I get the bag privilege. He said maybe because I went to sleep so early the night before I missed it. So obviously again they are catering to these late night Hollywood people from LA. If you don’t stay up late and get drunk, then you don’t get told what’s going on. I started yelling at the purser about all of the things that happened during the cruise, and he actually walked away to make a phone call! Can you imagine?   I finally threw myself down on the floor, and started throwing a tantrum, because it seemed like that was the only way that anyone would help me. Then the Hollywood people actually started laughing at me in that mean and condescending way like they did at the comedian. This made me even angrier and I could barely breathe. Finally, they brought out two large male Carnival employees, who picked up my bags and me and physically escorted me off the ship ahead of the LA people. They applauded as I was being escorted out, probably for finally getting the attention and respect from Carnival that I deserved on this whole cruise.   Too little too late I say. Carnival can’t make this up to me ever. So don’t sail out of LA, these are the types of people they cater to from this port. I’m warning you. Next time, I’m going to sail out of Galveston. Unless Carnival is catering to a bunch of local redneck cowboys, which knowing Carnival they probably will do that. Their classical trio might be able to play my favorite song though, hmmm.

LOL...great story! Sorry I missed it before.

One time, at band camp...oh wait, that is another story...

Anyways, brace yourself, on our first cruise my DW hit a $1,500 jackpot on a slot machine on the first night of the cruise. Yep, you guess it, now we had to stuff all that cash into our safe! What a pain in the asp...;)

Rockportgirl

Cruise from Hell - A Horror Story  

That was great. I think I have a cyber-crush. :p

Cruise, J.D.

That was a good one.

There was one awhile back in which a woman took her son and her son's friend on a cruise. The friend ended up causing a huge mess and had to be talked off a ledge by the captain. I don't think it was on Carnival, but I can't remember the cruise line. Wish I had the link to it.

2PinaColadas

Noooooooooo!!!!! You mean I have to get off the ship!? My husband told me that would happen, but I didn't believe him.

( I'm pretty small, maybe I can hide somewhere.;) )

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

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The Worst Cruise Ship Horror Stories

Collision of Costa Concordia by Rvongher ( CC BY-SA )

Relaxation Gone Wrong

Cruises can be a low-hassle way to get away from it all. And while most voyages go off without a hitch, ferrying passengers to sun-soaked destinations while they enjoy a range of top-notch amenities , that's not always the case, especially now that COVID-19 is in the mix. But the pandemic isn't the only thing cruises have contended with in recent years. Storms, badly behaving passengers, fires, and even grounding (as happened with the Escape this year), have wreaked havoc with cruise vacations, sometimes with tragic results. Here are some of the most notable cruise ship horror stories and foibles of the past few decades. 

Related:  15 Types of People Who Shouldn't Take a Cruise

Ship Runs Aground in Dominican Republic

When a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, Escape, ran aground  in the Dominican Republic four days into the cruise, guests were hopeful the ship would find its way again. Instead, over 2,000 people were dumped at the Porta Plata airport and, without assistance from the cruise line, were shuffled onto charter flights back to Florida. When one of the flights was canceled due to mechanical issues, unlucky passengers had to scramble for hotel rooms or their own flights out of pocket. 

Cruise Disrupts Rocket Launch

Elon Musk probably isn't too happy about this one.   The U.S. Coast Guard has launched an investigation after one of Royal Caribbean's largest ships, Harmony of the Seas, sailed into an exclusion zone drawn around the planned flight path of a Falcon 9 rocket, which was supposed to be launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral on Sunday. Even worse: The launch, which was called off with less than a minute until liftoff, had already been scrubbed three times  thanks to bad weather, according to the New York Post. 

Related:  15 Historic Failures by Successful Billionaires

Ship Refuses to Dock in U.S. to Evade Authorities

For cruisers aboard a recent sailing of the Crystal Symphony, vacation came to an unexpected, dramatic, and inconvenient end. The ship was expected to dock in Miami, but it was diverted  to the Bahamas  in January 2022 in an effort to evade a federal order for U.S. Marshals to seize the vessel, part of a lawsuit over $4.6 million in unpaid fuel. Passengers were ferried to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale a day after their scheduled return to Miami. In the meantime, Crystal Cruises has suspended sailings for the next few months. Its parent company, Genting Hong Kong, has filed for bankruptcy. 

Related:  Companies That Have Filed for Bankruptcy Since the Pandemic Began

Coronavirus Outbreak Turns Deadly

The Diamond Princess was placed under a two-week quarantine in Japan in February 2020 after several passengers tested positive for coronavirus. Testing later found at least 700 cases of the virus among the more than 3,700 passengers and crew members, and ultimately, at least seven passengers died. The quarantine was harshly criticized , with experts saying that keeping passengers and crew members confined on the ship only helped the virus spread faster. 

Related:  Everything You Need to Know About Taking a Cruise Right Now

Volcano Kills Cruisers

Excursions can be a highlight of cruising, but for several passengers, a much-anticipated stop to explore New Zealand's White Island became anything but. The island's active volcano, a tourist magnet, blew in December 2019, killing at least 21 people. Many were on an excursion from the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas, which had departed from Sydney two days earlier. The company has since suspended tours of active volcanoes .

Related:   18 Ways Cruises Have Evolved in the Past 40 Years

Winds, Skipped Ports Trigger Mutiny

Cruise itineraries are always subject to the weather, but passengers on the Norwegian Spirit were especially unlucky  after departing in September 2019 for a two-week exploration of Scandinavia. High winds prevented stops in at least four ports, and fog made the Norweigian fjords impossible to glimpse. Toilets began to back up, food began to spoil, and angry cruisers demanded a refund. Norwegian ended up offering a 25% credit for a future cruise instead.

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Extreme Weather Forces Evacuations

Cruises aren't always smooth sailing, a fact that passengers on the Viking Sky learned the hard way in March 2019. The ship's engines lost power in bad weather  during a cruise along the Norwegian coast, and then the ship began to take on water and list so severely that furniture was tossed across the tilting floors. About half of the passengers were evacuated by helicopters before tugboats finally helped pull the ship and remaining passengers safely to port.   

Ship Takes a Terrifying Tilt

Veteran cruisers often reassure novices that they rarely feel the ship rock — after all, the boats are massive, with sophisticated stabilizers to keep things as steady as possible. But when one of those stabilizers malfunctioned  during an October 2018 cruise aboard the Carnival Sunshine, the ship tilted so severely that plates shattered, tables slid across the floor, and water ran into elevators. Though panicked passengers rushed for life jackets, the situation was soon under control. Not all passengers were satisfied with Carnival's offer of a $50 onboard credit, however, and some opted to leave the boat early when it next docked.

Baudy Crowd Takes Over Cruise

Fueled by booze and sun, some passengers get a little too raucous during their cruises. But there's nothing "little" about what happened on the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas in September 2018, when a group of more than 1,300 men essentially commandeered the ship off the coast of Australia and turned it into a floating bachelor party . Passengers say the men, who worked for a data company based in India, harassed female passengers and brought aboard burlesque dancers. They also accounted for more than a third of the ship's 3,000 passengers. Royal Caribbean issued refunds and apologies after families complained that they were forced to stay in their cabins to avoid the debauchery.

Related:  1 in 4 Avid Cruise Goers: 'I'll Never Go on a Cruise Again'

Onboard Brawls Spiral Out of Control

A cruise can be a great place to grab a drink, a lounge chair, and some much-deserved relaxation. For passengers on the Carnival Legend in February 2018, a trip along the Australian coast was more "Fight Club" than zen retreat  after a series of brawls broke out on board, complete with screaming, broken glasses, and head injuries. Ultimately, authorities removed 23 people from the ship, and Carnival offered affected passengers a 25% credit for future sailings.

Cabin Fire Kills Retired Couple

For plenty of retirees, an exotic cruise is a reward for years of hard work and penny-pinching. So it was for a Nebraska couple who booked an Amazon River cruise with International Expeditions in April 2016. But on the first night of the voyage, a malfunctioning power strip touched off a blaze in their cabin , killing them both. Compounding the tragedy: The crew's lackluster response — it took 20 minutes for anyone to enter the cabin — and a 1920s law that limits cruise lines' liability after deaths occur in international waters.

Man Loses a Limb Thanks to Cruise Doctor

Most cruisers take comfort in the fact that ships are outfitted with medical clinics. Sadly, a waiter aboard the Norwegian Breakaway discovered that those clinics may not always be staffed with the best doctors. The man visited an onboard doctor with flu-like symptoms in March 2016, but ended up losing his arm to gangrene  after the doctor, described in court documents as "inexperienced," injected him with the wrong dose of the wrong medication. The waiter was awarded $4.6 million in a subsequent lawsuit.

Electrician Crushed to Death by Ship Elevator

Imagine excitedly making your way to an indulgent cruise dinner, only to be confronted by sheets of blood streaming down the elevator doors. It sounds like a horror movie, but one Florida family encountered exactly that aboard the Carnival Ecstasy in December 2015. The cause of the gruesome scene: An electrician who fell and was crushed to death during routine elevator maintenance. Investigators later found that he had disabled a safety system  before the fatal accident.

River Cruise Boat Capsizes, Killing Hundreds

Better safety regulations and systems have largely made Titanic-scale disasters a thing of the past, but they didn't stop one of the worst modern-day cruise disasters, the sinking of a Chinese river cruise ship, in June 2015. Close to 450 passengers enjoying a Yangtze River cruise on the Eastern Star were killed when the ship capsized during a storm. Though officials originally blamed a freak tornado  for the tragedy, investigators later said strong winds, heavy rains, and the crew's failure to send a rescue signal all contributed to the disaster.

Terrorists Gun Down Cruisers in Tunisia

A leisurely stop along the Tunisian coast turned tragic for passengers from the MSC Splendida and Costa Fascinosa in March 2015. At least 12 cruisers from the Splendida and 5 from the Fascinosa were killed  when terrorists opened fire at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, a popular tourist destination. More than 20 others were injured in the incident, which included a three-hour hostage crisis. The attack was followed by a mass shooting at a beach resort a few months later, leading most cruise lines to scrub Tunisia from their itineraries for a year or more.

Norovirus Sickens Hundreds

Long before cruisers had to worry about coronavirus, norovirus dominated cruise-related headlines. There have been several outbreaks over the years, but the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas dealt with one of the worst in January 2014. Close to 700 passengers and crew members  came down with the bug, which causes vomiting and diarrhea, forcing the ship to return to port early. Some guests were even confined to their staterooms. Royal Caribbean refunded all passengers half of their fares and offered half off a future cruise.

Fire Turns Voyage Into 'Poop Cruise'

There was nothing to celebrate aboard the Carnival Triumph in February 2013, when a fire in the engine room cut power to the entire ship  and left it adrift in the Gulf of Mexico for four days. Conditions deteriorated rapidly: Overflowing toilets left passengers to dispose of human waste in plastic bags, and many slept in makeshift tents on the decks to escape the smell and rising temperatures inside. Carnival refunded the cost of the trip, later nicknamed the "poop cruise," and offered $500 and a free cruise to passengers.

Rescue Boat Mishap Kills Crew Members

A safety inspection turned deadly while the Thomson Majesty was docked at La Palma, a port in the Canary Islands, in February 2013. Crew members were inspecting a lifeboat suspended alongside an upper deck of the luxury ship when it suddenly became untethered, plummeting 65 feet into the water. Five of the crew members drowned  after the lifeboat overturned when it hit the water, trapping them underneath.

Gunmen Rob Passengers During Excursion

Cruisers who went ashore for a guided jungle hike in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, got a different kind of adventure in February 2012. Nearly two dozen passengers from the Carnival Splendor were traveling back to port after the hike when masked gunmen boarded their bus  and robbed them of their cash, passports, and other valuables. Carnival suspended the excursion and reimbursed affected guests after the incident.

Ship Runs Aground in Italy, Killing 32

There were no rough seas to navigate when the Costa Concordia left the Italian port of Civitavecchia in January 2012, but that didn't prevent the ship from running aground, killing 32 passengers. The captain ordered the ship to steer close to a nearby island as a "salute," a decision that proved disastrous  when rocks ripped open the hull. An investigation later found that passengers weren't told to abandon ship for more than an hour after the ship hit the rocks. The captain was charged with manslaughter and abandoning ship, and Costa Cruises said the change in course had been unauthorized.

Ships Strand Passengers as Hurricane Looms

It's a cardinal rule of cruising: When in port, you'd better get back to the ship on time, or you get left behind . But in 2011, for passengers of the Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas and the Carnival Victory, keeping an eye on the clock didn't matter. Hundreds of cruisers  were left stranded in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when port authorities ordered the ships to leave hours early to avoid Hurricane Irene. While Carnival offered free hotel rooms and flights to its stranded customers, Royal Caribbean left most passengers to fend for themselves since the incident was weather-related.

Pirates Attack Luxury Ship

A luxury cruise along the African coast sounds like the adventure of a lifetime, but it's unlikely that pirate attacks ever made it into the brochures. Still, the Seabourn Spirit faced exactly that as it sailed down the Somali coast in November 2005. Passengers were sent below deck as heavily armed boats ambushed the cruise liner , firing machine guns and launching grenades. The Spirit was able to outmaneuver and outrun the pirates, though one crew member was injured by shrapnel.

Massive Wave Floods Cabins

Choppy seas are one thing, but passengers on the Norwegian Dawn got a true taste of Mother Nature's wrath in April 2005. During a voyage from the Bahamas to New York, the ship was battered by a freak seven-story  wave that flooded 62 cabins, ripped away whirlpools and tossed furniture. Four passengers were injured, and even the captain's offer of free drinks all night couldn't keep everyone on board — 300 left the ship early once it docked for repairs. All passengers received a 50% refund and half off a future cruise.

The Real Stories Behind Scary Cruise Disasters

Need to get away from it all? Want to take a vacation from your problems? Well, perhaps you should book passage on a cruise ship . Or then again ... perhaps not. Cruise ships are basically floating disaster zones just waiting to happen, and over the years, thousands of unlucky passengers and crew members have found themselves at the mercy of pirates, nature, and incompetent captains.

The Carnival Triumph cruise from hell

The Carnival Triumph was anything but. On February 10, 2013, a fire broke out in one of the engine rooms, knocking out the ship's power and condemning the 3,143 passengers to endure the cruise from hell. The blaze began courtesy of a leaky fuel line, and making things worse, only four of the Triumph 's six generators were working in the first place. Now, they were all fried, and the boat found itself without some pretty basic amenities, such as air conditioning, working lights, and a functional sewer system.

This is where the story starts to get pretty nasty. Stuck at sea for five days, the passengers were forced to use biohazard bags to store their, well, waste. According to reports, the decks were jam-packed with these bags. The stench coupled with the heat made things absolutely unbearable. Hoping for some sort of reprieve, the passengers camped out on the open decks and hallways, desperate for a bit of cool air.

Eventually, four tugboats towed the so-called "poop cruise" from its position off the Yucatan Peninsula to Mobile, Alabama. Although, there were a few hiccups, with a tow line and some tugboat equipment breaking along the way. As to why the cruise line didn't have the passengers switch over to another ship, that scenario would've been much too risky. In the grand scheme of things, five days isn't too long to wait for a safe trip home, even if the smell is unbearable.

Hoping to make up for the nightmare, the cruise line gave its passengers a refund, an extra $500 per person, and best of all, a free future cruise . We can't say for sure, but chances are good most people didn't take them up on that offer.

The attack on the Seabourn Spirit

Modern-day pirates are not a jolly bunch. Instead of peglegs and parrots, they're notorious for packing AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Many of these 21st century buccaneers work out of Somalia, looting any ship that tries to sneak by. And in November 2005, a group of Somali pirates decided it was a good idea to attack the Seabourn Spirit, a cruise ship carrying around 300 people. But as the cutthroats approached their target, they quickly realized they'd picked the wrong ship.

The Seabourn Spirit was heading for Mombasa, Kenya , when the crew noticed two boats were heading their direction. That's when Ship Security Officer Michael Groves went into superhero mode. The 41-year-old ex-cop ran up on deck and was almost immediately knocked down by an RPG blast. After making sure he still had all his digits, he fired at the pirates with a high-powered hose, forcing the Somalis to back off.

Of course, the pirates weren't giving up so easily, and soon they were back for round two. This time, the liner's Master of Arms, a Gurkha named Som Bahadur Gurung, decided to go sci-fi on the swashbucklers. Under fire, Gurung tried to blast the pirates with a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), a sonic cannon that can cause serious hearing damage. But as he tried to fire, Gurung took a bullet, dropping him instantly. Fortunately, Groves pulled his comrade to safety and began firing the LRAD at the pirates, causing the outlaws to beat a hasty retreat.

For their bravery, Groves and Gurung were presented to Queen Elizabeth , who awarded Groves with the Queen's Gallantry Medal and Gurung with the Queen's Commendation for Bravery. They also found themselves armed with one great story to tell at parties.

The hijacking of Le Ponant

A swanky ship called Le Ponant was between jobs and only carrying its 30 crew members when it sailed through the Gulf of Aden in 2008. The Gulf is prime pirate territory, so the crew readied itself accordingly, with pirate-repelling fire hoses and lookouts at port and starboard. Before the ship could make it safely out of the Gulf, it was attacked by a team of eight pirates.

When he spotted the pirate crafts coming his way, Captain Patrick Marchesseau ordered the crew to prepare for battle, but the veteran pirates expertly avoided his fire hoses and line traps (meant to tangle up their motors). Pulling up alongside the ship, the Somalis hooked a ladder to the side of the boat, and when Le Ponant 's doctor tried to knock the ladder off, the pirates began firing their machine guns. Soon, the Somalis were in charge, and the situation was made even more intense because the pirates were high on a stimulant called khat.

Luckily, the jittery pirates were only interested in money, and they directed Marchesseau to head for Somalia. Thinking on his feet, Marchesseau surreptitiously phoned CMA CGM, the Marseille-based company that owned Le Ponant , to let them know about the hijacking. Soon, the situation was being monitored by both the French and Canadian militaries , but this didn't deter the pirates for even one second.

As planned, Le Ponant anchored off the coast of Somalia, and soon, there were approximately 30 thugs on board, discussing how much ransom money they should demand. The pirates figured the crew was worth $3 million, but the folks at CMA CGM actually began haggling with the Somalis, convincing them to lower their price to $2.15 million. When all was said and done, the Somalis exchanged their prisoners for cash, and most of the outlaws escaped.

However, French helicopters chased down one vehicle carrying at least three confirmed pirates, and after shooting out the engine, the Somalis were taken into custody. Unfortunately, these three only possessed a fraction of the ransom money. The rest of the pirate band had disappeared, vanishing with the haul of a lifetime.

The disappearance of Rebecca Coriam

When you board a Disney cruise ship, you're hoping to find the happiest place on the ocean. But in 2011, things went from magical to mysterious when a Disney employee seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth.

Rebecca Coriam was a Youth Activity worker on Disney Wonder , a cruise ship taking tourists down the coast of Mexico. On March 22, 2011, the 24-year-old British citizen was caught on CCTV footage, talking on the telephone, appearing quite distraught. After hanging up and walking away, it was like Coriam stepped into another dimension. Hours later, after failing to report for work, Disney officials began searching the boat, but to no avail. Soon, both Mexican and American authorities were notified, and as Disney Wonder was registered in the Bahamas, a Bahamian official was sent to investigate.

The results were inconclusive. According to the investigator, it's likely Coriam was knocked off Deck Five of the ship by a wave. However, there's no CCTV footage of anyone falling overboard. Plus, journalist Jon Ronson wrote that it was unlikely she fell off Deck Five as a high steel wall would've prevented any such accident. And while some theorize she committed suicide, there are others—including high-ranking British politicians—who believe Coriam was murdered and possibly sexually assaulted. Some have even alleged that Disney knew of the killing and kept it quiet.

As for Coriam's family, they still hold out hope that Coriam is alive somewhere , but while they asked both the FBI and President Barack Obama for assistance, there haven't been any concrete answers. In 2016, the family reached an undisclosed settlement with Disney, perhaps ending the entire, enigmatic saga. Although there is one bit of additional info which makes the story stranger still: two months after after Rebecca Coriam disappeared, someone used her credit card.

The sinking of the SS Arctic

It was September 1854, and the steam-powered SS Arctic had recently left England, full of American tourists returning home. Near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the ship found itself plowing through dense fog, and instead of slowing down, Captain James Luce gave his paddle steamer, well, more steam.

As an employee of the Collins Line, Luce was simply following company policy. The idea was the faster you go, the sooner you're out of the fog. Evidently, the captain aboard the Vesta , a French steamer, had a similar idea, so the two ships were going pretty fast when they rammed into one another.

At first, everyone thought the Vesta was in worse trouble, so passengers began paddling to the Arctic for safety. But it quickly became apparent that the iron-huddled French ship had absolutely destroyed the Arctic 's wooden hull. As the American ship turned on its side, Luce ordered the ship to head for land, but as it chugged along, the boat quickly filled up with water. Soon, the Atlantic Ocean had washed into the furnaces, leaving the Arctic dead in the water.

That's when things descended into anarchy. The crew freaked out and abandoned most of the passengers, escaping in the lifeboats, and in the ensuing madness, many of these boats were capsized or destroyed. Now, the numbers are fuzzy, but of the approximately 400 people on board, it seems less than 90 survived. None of the women and children made it off the boat alive.

As you might've guessed, this tragedy marked the beginning of the end for the Collins Line, and perhaps the idea of Victorian gallantry, as well. If chivalry is dead, then maybe the SS Arctic killed it.

The Eastland tragedy

In 1912, the RMS Titanic famously struck an iceberg and went down in the North Atlantic. In total, 829 passengers were lost at sea. Then in 1915, in another well-known tragedy, the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine, claiming the lives of 785 passengers. But just a few weeks later, the SS Eastland topped both the Titanic and the Lusitania in a horrific accident that ended with hundreds of passengers floating lifelessly in Lake Michigan.

The date was July 24, and it was supposed to be a great day for the employees of the Western Electric Company. The Eastland had been chartered to ferry workers and their families from Chicago to a nice park across the lake, where they could spend the day eating, playing, and hanging out with friends and relatives.

In total, there were over 2,500 people aboard the ship, and on top of that, the Eastland was loaded down with lifeboats ... too many lifeboats. Even worse, all this extra weight was stored in the upper decks of the ship, making the Eastland incredibly top-heavy. Throw into the mix that the ship had a history of a nearly capsizing, and now you've got a surefire recipe for disaster.

According to Smithsonian magazine, the vessel began to list before it was even untied from the dock. In a matter of minutes, the Eastland had turned on its side, causing complete mayhem. Water began flooding into the ship, passengers were forced to dodge pianos and refrigerators—some unsuccessfully—and almost everyone on the upper decks was hurled into Lake Michigan. In total, 844 passengers died that fateful day, an absolute tragedy made worse because around 75% of the victims were younger than 25-years-old.

The Costa Concordia disaster

You know how the captain is supposed to go down with his ship? Evidently, Francesco Schettino didn't get that memo. In January 2012, the Italian captain was in charge of the Costa Concordia  (above), a ship carrying over 4,000 people . As the vessel passed the Tuscan island of Giglio, Schettino decided to get a closer look. Like, a lot closer.

Evidently, the captain steered the ship so close to the island that the Costa Concordia was less than 1,000 feet away from land. According to Schettino, he meant this as a respectful "salute" to Giglio. According to authorities, he was actually trying to impress his girlfriend .

Whatever the reason, the Costa Concordia ran into trouble when it smashed into a rock. As Popular Mechanics put it, the wreck left a hole the length of an "Olympic-size swimming pool" in the port side. The ocean began flooding in, killing the generators and causing the vessel to list. Schettino then ordered the crew to tell the passengers they were simply having electrical issues. The crew complied, but in fairness, most of them didn't know what was happening either.

Eventually, the Costa Concordia hit the shore and began to seriously roll. It was here—over an hour after hitting the rock—that Schettino ordered an evacuation. This was no easy task, as the passengers hadn't yet been told where to find the lifeboats. Complicating things further, the ship was seriously tilted, making escape difficult. But then, in a shocking turn of events, Schettino sailed away in a lifeboat, leaving hundreds of passengers behind.

In total, 32 people died in the disaster, and Captain Schettino was found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 16 years behind bars , possibly for trying to wow his girlfriend. We're pretty sure she wasn't impressed.

The Achille Lauro hijacking

It was October 1985, and the Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro , was floating near Alexandria, Egypt, when four passengers pulled out machine guns and took over the boat. They were members of the Palestine Liberation Front, and they wanted the state of Israel to free 50 Palestinian militants. If Israel didn't comply, they threatened to kill all the American and British citizens on board, and if anyone tried to stop them, they would blow up the ship.

The terrorists then ordered the ship to sail for Syria, but when the Syrian government refused to let them dock, the militants decided it was time to send a message. The group grabbed a 69-year-old Jewish-American, wheelchair-bound man named Leon Klinghoffer, shot him in the head and tossed him over the side of the ship. Shortly after the execution, Egyptian officials convinced the group to surrender, in exchange for an airplane ride to freedom. But before the terrorists could make their escape, American fighter jets forced their getaway plane to land at a NATO base in Sicily.

While they'd committed murder, the terrorists all got off with surprisingly light sentences. Three were given between 15 to 30 years in prison, while the fourth was convicted separately from the bunch because he was a minor. Believe it or not, the whole bloody incident inspired an opera called The Death of Klinghoffer which raised quite a bit of controversy when it finally made its way to the stage. Yeah, ya think?

The SS Morro Castle fire

When the Morro Castle set sail in September 1934, it was cruising straight into disaster. First, Captain Robert Wilmott mysteriously died of a " heart attack and nervous stomach ." Then, with unprepared Acting Captain William Warms in charge, the ship was hit by a violent gale. Making things worse, as winds battered the ship, a fire broke out in the Morro Castle 's writing room. Soon, the blaze spread across the vessel, devastating the ship and killing 135 people.

Shortly after the fire, the Morro Castle ran aground on the New Jersey shore, but in the middle of all the tragedy, a hero emerged from the ashes. His name was George White Rogers, and he served as the ship's chief radio engineer. As smoke billowed across the ship, he sat at his radio and bravely sent out SOS distress messages. After the fire, Rogers became something of a national hero and even spoke about his heroic actions on Broadway. But if you dig a little deeper, it turns out that Rogers might not be so courageous after all.

You see, Rogers was something of a lifelong criminal . Before stepping on the Morro Castle , he was a rapist, a thief, and a dog-poisoner. Afterward, he tried opening a radio store in Bayonne, New Jersey, but when the enterprise proved to be unsuccessful, the store mysteriously burned down. Next, he got a gig working as a radioman at the Bayonne Police Department, but he was arrested after trying to murder a coworker with an explosive device. Then after he was released from prison, Rogers took a loan from a man named William Hummel, and when the guy wanted his money back, Rogers murdered both Hummel and his daughter with a sledgehammer.

In 1954, the hero of the Morro Castle was sentenced to life in prison, though he died after four years behind bars. His passing left a great number of questions unanswered. Did this psychotic criminal set fire to the Morro Castle ? Did he murder Captain Robert Wilmott? It seems we may never know for sure.

But the answer is yeah, probably.

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The Scariest Things That Ever Happened On Cruise Ships

Many people use the summer season as a time to book trips. They might plan a lazy beach weekend or a trip abroad. A lot of people even book cruises ; they get to enjoy beautiful waters, eat an abundance of food, and drink to their hearts’ content. Usually, those water-filled excursions are relaxing  and  fun. Sometimes, though, things get a little chaotic out on sea. And these cruise ship horror stories prove it.

Cruise ships will always be popular, though. They’re always packed with a lot of fun entertainment . Most have activities and bars on board, along with swimming pools and, sometimes, a celebrity act or two.

Even though this list shouldn’t scare you away from booking a cruise, it’s important to know that cruise ship disasters happen somewhat frequently. An unexpected shortage of food could occur or someone on board may sustain an injury that requires immediate medical attention. The situation could be just a memorable blip or it might send passengers home earlier than expected.

Here are some of the most disastrous events that happened on cruise ships. They may make you want to rethink your summer plans.

 1. The Tilted Ship

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This Carnival Cruise went awry quickly.

In 2018, plates and bottles smashed to the ground after an error with a Carnival Cruise ship’s fin stabilizer. In fact, the faulty part derailed the entire excursion , and the ship had to dock in the Dominican Republic for repairs and maintenance. The episode was so scary that many of the ship’s passengers cut the trip short and flew to their various homes. Luckily, the cruise crew identified the problem early.

2. The Costa Concordia Disaster

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A little tilt is scary, sure.

But a small tilt can easily turn catastrophic if the ship’s captain doesn’t move quickly and efficiently. One such thing happened when the Costa Concordia, which operated from 2005 until 2012, tilted. During the wreckage and confusion, 32 passengers and crew members lost their lives. It took over six hours for people to fully evacuate from the ship. And photos of the event are absolutely frightening.

3. The Pirate Attack

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Few people think pirates still roam the seas.

They most certainly do, though. And CBS News reported that in 2005, pirates actually attacked a Seabourn Spirit cruise ship. The band of ship robbers initiated the takeover by firing a grenade while the ship was close to Somalia. Passengers went down to the dining area for safety, however. And nobody sustained any serious injuries in the attack.

4. The S.S. Eastland Disaster

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The S.S. Eastland suffered many fatalities in 1915.

Interestingly, though, the ship captains docked the entire vessel to host a gathering for Western Electric employees . Reportedly, 844 passengers and crew members passed after the ship rolled onto its side. Choppy waters or tumultuous sailing weather had nothing to do with the accident. And it’s a bit eerie to realize a ship doesn’t have to be out in the middle of an ocean for a disaster to strike.

5. Carnival Triumph’s Sewage Disaster

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This trainwreck of a cruise ship incident occurred in 2013.

The Carnival Cruise ship passengers expected to hang out in the Caribbean for four idyllic days. Instead, their holiday turned tragic. And everyone endured hardly livable conditions on board after the ship caught on fire and lost power. The sewage got more than a little clogged. Let’s just say, people referred to this particular voyage as the “Poop Cruise.”

6. The Marital Murder

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The passengers can be dangerous too.

Kristy Manzanares was enjoying herself on an Alaskan cruise ship back in 2017. Things took a truly horrific turn in 2017, though. The woman’s husband, Kenneth, fatally attacked during a moment of intense rage and aggression. What caused Kenneth to snap? According to an acquaintance who spoke to the aggressor , Kristy “wouldn’t stop laughing” at him.

7. The Viking Sky’s Power Loss

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When a ship loses power, things tend to get chaotic .

In March of 2019, for example, the Viking Sky cruise ship was traveling around Norway when they lost power in one of the most treacherous areas of the trip. At least 890 passengers witnessed the windows shatter. The cabins also flooded due to the dangerous weather conditions. Thankfully, no one passed, but 20 people sustained injuries .

8. Royal Caribbean Cruises Spread Illness

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Passengers of the Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas cruise ship will remember their trip forever, for all the wrong reasons.

During the Oasis of the Seas voyage, a whopping 500 passengers caught a gastrointestinal disease . The huge cruiseliner was meant to sail through the Caribbean, but so few people could even stomach the voyage. Consequently, the captain cut the entire trip short. The good news is that the passengers all received refunds for their troubles.

9. The Antigua Robbery

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This cruise made everyone a lot more stressful.

In fact, it’s hard to picture a situation where being robbed at knifepoint wouldn’t make you a little uneasy. In February of 2018, two French passengers were out and about in Antigua while their MSC cruise ship docked. And in a horrible turn of events, the aggressor in a violent robbery stabbed one of the passengers in the abdomen. Fortunately, the authorities found and charged the suspects.

10. The Carnival Splendor Fire

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A fire started and the electricity went out.

Passengers on the 201o Carnival Splendor cruise faced challenging situations instead of the nice vacation they planned. After the fire started and the power completely halted, vacationers had to survive on Pop Tarts and hot dog salads . They definitely didn’t get the luxurious buffets they paid for. Luckily, nobody was hurt, but their holidays were cut short.

11. The Possible Murder

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Some people lose their lives in very suspicious circumstances.

And a woman in her 50s passed after a serious of particularly confusing events. Princess Cruises revealed that one of their ship’s passengers died on board during 2018. But the company didn’t elaborate on any of the details. In fact, reports suggested passengers saw the woman jump overboard. However, USA Today noted that witnesses allegedly watched a man choke the victim before her body ever left the ship, which was sailing near Aruba at the time.

12. The Missing Honeymooner

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Passengers actually go missing on some cruise ships.

And George Smith IV , who celebrated his honeymoon in 2005 with a tour of the Aegean Sea, experienced this first hand. Smith was with his new wife, Jennifer Hagel Smith, on the Brilliance of the Seas ship, before he vanished. On the man’s last known night, though, he reportedly drank heavily and had a loud argument with other men on the ship.

13. The Mass Robbery

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Robberies can happen any time, but when there are 22 victims, the story gets a little fishier

Things were especially confusing during a robbery in 2012. Over two dozen Carnival Cruise Line passengers lost their passports and other valuables while eating at a restaurant in the Mexico leg of their trip. No one sustained any injuries, but Carnival did suspend the tour for future sailings, according to CNN . The company also agreed to work with the victims to figure out a reimbursement plan.

14. Norovirus Outbreak

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Hundreds of people got sick at once.

Illnesses spread quickly in inclosed spaces. So in 2010, when a Celebrity Cruise ship had a norovirus outbreak, everyone suffered. The vessel departed from North Carolina and ended up as the site where over 400 passengers — approximately one out of every four person — fell ill. They all contracted the disease. Symptoms included vomiting, diarrhea, muscle cramps , and a low-grade fever. No thanks.

15. Invasion Of Privacy

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You don’t expect a cruise ship to install cameras in your private lodgings.

But one couple had their privacy expectations completely shattered during a 2018 Carnival cruise . In particular, Chris and Dana White found a recording device in their room during a quick water excursion. Understandably, they felt like the entire company egregiously invaded their space. The Carnival cruise line reportedly denied that the camera was actively recording, but the White family disagreed.

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11 Of The Scariest Ghost Stories From Reddit

Leave the lights on when you read these bone-chilling stories of average people encountering the paranormal.

Lady Ghost on Staircase

[via Discovery Inc.]

It wasn’t a little girl

I was camping with my husband and his family at a small, remote lake in New Mexico. There were about 10 people in our group and another group of six people in the next campsite. It was nighttime and both groups were doing typical activities: making s’mores, having a few drinks and telling stories, when we all heard what sounded like a little girl yelling out for help. Neither group had children with them, but we were all positive we were hearing a little girl and decided to search the area we heard the noises from together.

There was a field behind our campsites, and we all saw a very tall, pure white figure standing maybe 100ft away from us in the field, making the noises. We all agreed this thing looked maybe 6 feet tall, skinny, and white as can be. We made our way closer to investigate, but whatever it was that we saw started backing off as we got closer, and it disappeared into the trees. All night we continued to hear a little girl calling for help as we tried to sleep.

The walking dead

I'm a psychiatric nurse and early in my career, I worked at a residential mental health facility. One of our residents was an elective mute, which means that he didn't/wouldn't/couldn't talk, but there were no medical reasons as to why. He had spoken earlier in his life and in fact seemed quite normal back then, with the exception of being close to seven feet tall. He'd been raised in the Deep South and joined the military when he was 19, but one night he vanished. He was declared AWOL, and eventually he was declared missing and dead.

Ten years later, a seven-foot tall man walked into a VA Hospital emergency room in my part of the Midwest and said to the receptionist: "My name is Marion Duchene (not the real name), and I've been dead for ten years."

Those were the last words he ever spoke.

He was covered with dust, and he was wearing the same clothes he'd been reported to be wearing the night he vanished. His social security number had not been used and he had no identification on his person. However, they were able to identify him, I guess via fingerprints. The family was notified but they said they had already grieved their lost man and that whomever was claiming to be him simply could not be. They demanded not to be contacted again.

Marion paced all day every day, moving his mouth that looked like talking or muttering, but no sound came out. He had an unnerving habit of throwing his head back with his mouth wide open as if he were laughing heartily, but not even a breath could be heard. If I talked to him, he appeared to listen, periodically throwing his head back in that laughter-mimicking way of his.

Various medications were tried, but they did not affect him either positively or negatively. Occupational therapy did nothing because Marion would just grin and unless told to stay put, he'd get up and start pacing again.

On my last day at that job, the last thing I saw was Marion, pacing in the parking lot, throwing his head back to "laugh." Later I wondered if all along I'd been dealing with a ghost. All these years later, I still don't know.

The unrest stop

I was driving across country with my mom and sister when I was 16 and my sister was 20. It was late, but we were well rested still and alert. We were driving along an interstate and needed gas and a bathroom break, so we stopped at the only rest stop in 200 miles. There was a van full of teenagers on a road trip at the gas station, as well as a small grey car parked at the pump in front of us with two young men standing still outside of it.

When we got there everything felt wrong. We'd been on the road for days and seen many rest stops at night and had never been afraid until then. My mom and sister went inside and I stayed in the car. I heard the teenagers say they were creeped out and couldn't get the pump to work, and they left in a hurry. I was watching the car in front of us, and the two men had not moved at all. Not an inch. They weren't talking. They weren't on phones. They were just standing there, still as stone.

My sister and mom came running back out to the car and when they got in, the two men slowly turned to look at us while not moving or pivoting the rest of their bodies, and I swear to fucking shit, we all saw the same thing - they had eyes dark as pitch and empty. Truly empty. Not black, not reflecting any light at all, just a void.

We sped out of there and didn’t stop until we were in the next city. The worst thing about the entire experience? We couldn't find the place on any map. We knew exactly which spot on the interstate to look, and we couldn't find it on Google maps or any paper map we had. We even asked locals about the creepy gas station out on that stretch of road and got only confused looks. We've traveled on that interstate since, and there is no rest stop.

It came for us in the graveyard

We were driving my friend’s really old beat up Subaru through a massive graveyard. We stopped and walked down a hill and came across a little pond. There was someone sitting on a rock on the other side of the pond. The figure was all black and we couldn’t make out any features other than the fact it looked like a man who was wearing some old-style top hat. We stupidly waved and shouted “Hi!”. He didn’t show any acknowledgement and continued sitting still on the rock. All of a sudden, he jumped to his feet, started running to us on the water and then vanished in thin water about halfway on the pond. My friends and I screamed and ran back to the car.

The car wouldn’t start, and we heard something banging on the back of the car. It wasn’t a constant bang, but every few seconds or so we’d hear it. Nobody was outside from what we could see in the dark, but something was making a noise on the car. I opened my phone and started dialing my mom to come give us a boost, but I had no service. None of us had any cell service. The next 30 minutes were spent trying to get her car started. No banging was heard afterwards, but we felt this heavy pressure around us.

Finally, the car started and she hit the pedal to the metal. We sped out of the graveyard so fast. Immediately crossing the gates, all of our phones regained cell service. One thing I know for certain is that someone or something was out there, and it was not an animal or a human.

It was good to see an old friend

When I was 37, I went to my high school reunion. I flew into the nearest airport and rented a car. The distance was about 35 miles through a very rural and almost abandoned part of the country. About three miles outside of town I see someone on the side of the road, flagging me down. It turned out that it was one of the guys I had attended school with. Jim (not his name) gets in the car and we start talking. I had not seen him in twenty years, but he still looked the same, maybe a little older. We get to town and I ask him if he wants to come to the VFW and have a drink. He says "No, just take me home." Jim's parents had lived only a few blocks from my grandmother’s house, and I turned in that direction but he said to take him to the outskirts of town. There was a mobile home park out there, and I figured that is where he lived. When we reached the end of the turn off he said, "Just drop me here. It was good to see you again" and he walks off into the night.

I go to the VFW, met some of my old classmates, we start to talk. As we are talking about who is coming to the reunion, I mention that I had just picked Jim up three miles east of town and had dropped him off. Everyone gets quiet; even the guy singing karaoke stops and lays down the mike. My cousin goes white as a new t-shirt.

"Barb, Jim died on that curve eight years ago. Rolled his car. We were all at his funeral," I was told. I started to feel really dizzy, and I went out to the car to take some deep breaths. There on the seat is the local newspaper, printed eight years previous, containing Jim's obituary. I still have the paper.

Someone take Reddit away from me. I can’t stop reading ghost stories — rym (@fiincheresque) March 25, 2021

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned

After we moved into our home, we were told a woman had died there at the hands of her abusive husband. She hated men. My dad would wake up with scratches all over himself, and whenever my brother was mean to my sister or I, he would have scratches on him as well. One day, my brother hurt our sister he hit her with something. When he woke up later that night he had a horrible bloody nose.

The day we moved out, my brother accidentally broke his twin’s arm trying out a wrestling move. He swears that he would have died that night if it wasn't our last in the house.

Death came for him

I was standing in my parents’ room, talking to my very sick dad at the time. He was dying of stage 4 esophageal cancer. I got the feeling something was behind me. I looked towards the doorway to the living room and something about 4'6 and fully black is peeking around the corner, with its hands on the door frame. I ran towards it, and it slipped back around the door. When I got outside the doorway, there was nothing. My dad was completely confused when I step back inside the room when I tell him. People who stayed at my house in my dad’s final days claimed to have seen it. My mom saw the figure on multiple occasions in multiple places until he passed away. We haven't seen it since.

I don’t know what possesses me to binge read Reddit true/real life ghost stories about twice a year when each place I live always has some kind of resident spirit. 😱 — Dr Fish Philosopher Todd (Dr FPT)🐟 (@ZoeSTodd) February 4, 2021

My mother attracted evil

After my parents divorced when I was a teenager, I lived with my mother. I experienced lots of paranormal happenings. Several times when I was reading in my bed, the room would start to feel really “icy.” Next, it would feel as if something/somebody that hated me was staring at me. When I got that feeling, I would leave the room and come back an hour later. Sometimes during the day, I would see a shadow figure sneaking along my bedroom walls.

Something in the flat was pretending to be my dog. I went into my room and heard a deep growl from under the bed. My dog wasn’t capable of making a noise that deep. It sounded like either a really big dog or a man doing his best dog impersonation. Other times, my dog would whimper and pace in the room next to mine but wouldn’t come when called, as if he was afraid of something in the hallway.

When I moved in with my father, the paranormal activity stopped.

Evicted by a ghost

Shortly after college, I got married. We immediately moved into a basement apartment because that's all that was available within our budget. This place had a poltergeist, and my wife was terrified. Whatever resided there with us made it clear it wanted to live alone. Dishes, glasses, and other items would fly off the shelf. My wife was hit several times. There was always an ominous feeling like we were being watched. At night when we walked through the apartment in the dark, there would be insanely bright flashes of light that would illuminate the entire room.

One night while we were going to bed, as soon as my wife and I walked into the bedroom we heard a voice from nowhere say, "[My name], move." My wife looked at me, I looked at her...I said loudly, “you've got it, bud.” We moved out 2 days later and stayed with family. The old lady who owned the place died a few months later, and the house was torn down. It is still an empty lot to this day, nothing but grass and a tree. I still drive by it every now and again.

The Death March

My dad used to work as a corrections officer at a rural prison. He drove the perimeter of the property for his entire shift, where he would check empty buildings for runaway inmates. It was generally a boring job.

One night, my dad was parked on a hill reading a magazine when he started to feel a thumping in his body. He described it as the feeling you get when speakers are playing a song with really heavy bass.

He put the magazine down and checked his rearview mirror where he saw someone outside the truck. He grabbed his pistol and jumped out of the truck with his weapon drawn. Outside the truck, he realized it was a procession of Native Americans walking through the truck (and directly through his seat) only to disappear at the exact spot he was sitting. He said it was clear they were ghosts because many of them appeared injured. This went on for a few seconds, and then the whole procession disappeared.

He called the other perimeter guy on his walkie to try to explain, and the other guy almost immediately stopped communicating. Turns out the other guy had seen this happen before but didn't believe in ghosts, so he wouldn't talk about it.

The demon’s room

I worked as a forensic nurse in a hospital’s lock-up unit. We had one older lady who swore she was being haunted and abused by a demon she would call Tiberius. So many crazy things happened while she was on the unit. We’d go into the room, do normal care, leave, and seconds later she’d start screaming bloody murder. We’d run into the room to find her looking like she’d been in a fight with a boxing champ—bloody lip, black eye, markings all over her body. No one ever saw her doing this stuff to herself. Things would get moved around the room by themselves. At one point she was in protective restraints because the doctor thought she was hurting herself. There was no way she could have moved or done anything to herself while in these restraints, but new marks would always appear or her tray/cart would be across the room. The room was secure so there was no way someone else was doing this. When we asked her questions, she’d just say, “It was Tiberius.”

After she was discharged, we always had trouble with that room. If there was going to be a rapid response or code, it happened in that room. One night a guard reported lights blinking on and off. It was that room.

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15 nightmarish facts that will make you never want to set foot on a cruise ship

• Cruise ships can be wonderful, but they aren't exempt from disturbing occurrences.
• Cruise ships are legally required to have morgues aboard.
• Overflowing toilets aren't as uncommon as you'd hope.

Cruise ships sound like a luxurious way to knock a few locations off your bucket list — at their best, they're paradisiacal wonderlands, filled with interesting people from all walks of life, mountainous buffets, and a plethora of activities.

But sometimes, they can go very, very wrong.

Some cruise ships have been given failing grades by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After reading reports about overflowing sewage, secret morgues, and bedbug infestations, you might think they sound more sinister than you had previously realized.

From sinkings to sewage, here are 15 horrible facts about cruise ships that may keep you firmly on land.

The chances of a ship sinking is slim, but it's not an impossibility.

In 2013, The New York Times reported that 16 cruise ships sank between 1980 and 2012.

The ships that sink generally either travel through rough waters — such as the Antarctic Ocean — or belong to smaller cruise lines. One of the most fatal ship sinkings occurred in 1994, when 800 people died on a ship that sank in the Baltic Sea, the Times reported.

One of the most famous sinkings in recent history was that of the Costa Concordia. In 2012, the Italian cruise ship hit rocks off Giglio Island, partially sinking and killing 32 people. Its captain was found guilty of manslaughter in 2015. He denied the charges.

In fact, the ship only partially sank and, more accurately, ran aground. This is a more common scenario, according to The New York Times' report. Cruise expert Ross A. Klein told the publication that 98 cruise ships ran aground between 1972 and 2011, or  about 2.5 ships every year .

What's more common than sinking is a ship getting stranded.

Though cruise trips are built with relaxation in mind, the journey isn't always smooth.

In March 2019, over 1,300 passengers were left stranded when the Viking Sky luxury cruise ship ran into engine troubles off the coast of Norway. Over 400 people had to be rescued from the boat , of which 28 people were transported to hospital. 

"Throughout all of this, our first priority was for the safety and well-being of our passengers and our crew," the cruise line said in a statement after the incident, according to USA Today . "We would like to thank the Norwegian Redningssentral and the Norwegian emergency services for their support and skill displayed in managing the situation in very challenging weather conditions."

Unfortunately, there have been reported incidences of deaths on cruises.

It sounds macabre, but it happens — and more often than you'd think. According to a 2023 report from  Newsweek , a study published in the International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health found that there were 623 reported deaths on cruise ships between 2000 and 2019. 

The study concluded that, for passengers, falls were the most common cause of cruise deaths, followed by cardiac arrests and suicides. For crew members, suicide, murder, and falls were the leading causes of death.

Cruise ships are required to have morgues on board.

Cruise ships are legally required to carry body bags and maintain a morgue — they typically have space for three or four bodies, depending on the size of the ship, The Telegraph reported in 2015.

A Carnival spokesperson told Cruise Critic in 2020 that its cruise line also has a "Care Team" whose members are specifically trained to deal with grieving passengers.

The size of the morgue depends on the size of the ship. Should there not be enough space, crew members may have to get creative. In 2017, a person who identified themselves as a former cruise-ship employee on Reddit broke down what happens when someone on a ship dies.

"There were small refrigerators on the ships that, from memory, could take one or two corpses, but the contingency plan was to use a walk-in freezer," the poster wrote.

Overflowing toilets aren't uncommon.

Toilets can overflow on cruise ships. In 2017,  Reddit user Phantomsplit , who claims to have worked on cruise ships, wrote, "You would be amazed at what people will flush down the toilet. Pool noodles, t-shirts, shoes...pretty much anything that people don't want to pack with them when they leave."

According to the Daily Mail , in 2013, one Carnival cruise ship flew passengers home a few days into a voyage after it experienced a variety of complications, including overflowing toilets. Gregg Stark, a passenger who anticipated a week-long trip with his wife and children, reported that he saw what he described as "human waste" all over some of the ship's bathroom floors.

Carnival released a statement and referred to the toilet issue as an "interruption" to "restroom service." Passengers were refunded for three days of the trip and given a 50 percent discount for their next trip with the cruise line.

Cruise ships dump huge amounts of sewage into the ocean.

While many cruise lines have installed advanced wastewater-treatment systems, according to a 2022 report by environmental organization Friends of the Earth, the US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that a 3,000-person cruise ship emits 150,000 gallons of sewage each week, which amounts to over 1 billion gallons of sewage a year across the cruise industry. 

Sewage can be harmful to both humans and sea creatures. According to the organization's report , "Seafood consumers, beachgoers, surfers, and water sport enthusiasts can contract illnesses, gastrointestinal diseases, diarrhea, ear nose and throat problems, vomiting, hepatitis, and respiratory diseases, when exposed to sewage- contaminated waters or seafood."

Further, marine life "can suffocate due to surplus nitrogen and phosphorous from ship sewage that can promote excessive algal growth which reduces available oxygen levels in the water," according to the report.

In addition to polluting the ocean, cruise ships emit pollution into the air.

Many cruise companies have made attempts to institute more eco-friendly practices, but a 2016 report by German NGO NABU said European cruise ships were pumping out 3,500 times more sulphur dioxide than vehicles on land, The Telegraph reported.

Daniel Rieger, a researcher at NABU, told the publication that cruise ships are "damaging global climate and human health."

NABU also found that air quality on cruise ships can be around 20 times worse than air in a busy city center .

Fires and explosions can — and have — happened.

According to a 2015 report from research firm G.P. Wild, approximately 60 people per year are injured on cruise ships due to "operational mishaps," which can range from small fires on the ship to actual explosions, collisions, and ships sinking or getting stranded.

In 2022, part of a Carnival cruise ship erupted into flames while it was docked in Grand Turk island. Soon after the incident, Carnival's public relations manager, Matt Lupoli, announced that all passengers and crew members were safe.

Keeping food fresh can be tough.

Cruise ships must feed thousands of people multiple times a day, and do so with food that's stored on board for the duration of the cruise.

Nearly 200 passengers on board one of Royal Caribbean's cruise ships  contracted a gastrointestinal illness after indulging in the "bottomless brunch" in December 2017.

In regards to the issue, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said, "We hope all our guests feel better. Meanwhile, we're taking steps like intensive sanitary procedures to minimise the risk of any further issues."

Around 129,678 cruise-ship guests contracted a gastrointestinal illness between the years 2008 to 2014, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

In the span of eight years, 150 people went overboard on cruises and ferries.

According to a report released for the Cruise Lines International Association in 2016 by G.P. Wild, between 2009 and 2016, an average of approximately 19 people go overboard on cruise ships and ferries each year. Over that period, there were 150 overboard incidents — and the person who went overboard was only rescued in about one fourth of incidents.

Cruise ships are certainly not exempt from crime.

Although cruises are supposed to provide passengers with an escape from reality, crime still occurs at sea.

In 2016 alone, 70 percent of alleged crimes on cruise ships were sexual assaults — there were 62 reported sexual assaults  out of 92 total alleged crimes, NBC News reported.

Pirate attacks aren't just in the movies.

While rare, pirate attacks do happen.

In 2005, a Seabourn Cruise Lines ship that had 150 passengers on board  managed to evade an attack by armed Somali pirates.

In 2009, the Piracy Reporting Center of the International Maritime Bureau claimed that pirates along the coast of Somalia had attacked a whopping 214 vessels that year , which resulted in 47 hijackings. 

According to The Telegraph, in 2017, passengers on the Sea Princess departing from Sydney were subjected to a 10-day dusk-til-dawn blackout to avoid a perceived pirate threat.

Bedbugs and other pests often find their way onboard.

"What was supposed to be a relaxing vacation turned into a nightmare!" Cruise Critic user gordon046 wrote after discovering bedbugs on their cruise in 2016.

Bedbugs aren't always the fault of the cruise line — according to Vance Gulliksen , a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines, bed bugs are often brought onto the a ship through passengers' luggage. 

When cruise ships lose power, it can affect the sewage system.

Power outages on ships can lead to various problems.

The Carnival Triumph cruise ship famously caught fire and subsequently lost power in the Gulf of Mexico in February 2013. For five days, passengers were subjected to raw, rising sewage after the plumbing system collapsed, propelling the media to nickname the debacle " The Poop Cruise ."

The 3,143 passengers aboard the ship reported scarce electricity, water shortages, dwindling food supplies, and "sewage running down the walls and floors." Eventually, the Triumph was towed to Mobile, Alabama.

According to Business Insider , Carnival offered passengers refunds, credits to put toward future cruises, and $500. 

Cruise ships can become hot spots for the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19.

With thousands of people living in close quarters, sharing amenities, and unable to escape the premises, the conditions of a cruise ship can be the perfect environment for the spread of contagious diseases. The CDC's website has a page dedicated to cruise-ship travel to warn prospective passengers of — and help them prepare for — the elevated risk of infection on the vessels.  

One of the first documented COVID-19 outbreaks occurred on a Carnival cruise ship. In February 2020, when little was known about COVID-19, Carnival Cruise's Diamond Princess ship became a vector for the spread of the illness . Ultimately, over 700 of the Diamond Princess' 2,666 passengers tested positive for the virus. 

On February 27, 2020, Princess Cruises put out a statement which detailed its proposed solution to the issue, saying it had hired a medical firm to provide care — including daily health checks, laundry, and meals — for passengers at a quarantine facility in Japan.

When the Centers for Disease Control began tracking the virus in the United States, one of its first reports stated that about 17% of known cases in the US were recent cruise passengers.

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Random hookups, booze-fuelled parties and the misdeeds that get you kicked off the ship: Cruise line employees reveal what it's REALLY like to live and work at sea

• Current and past employees revealed their secrets in a new Reddit thread
• Many end up in relationships but hookups with passengers are not allowed
• Workers said they work long hours but lead busy social lives on board

By Chris Kitching for MailOnline

Published: 11:53 EDT, 17 July 2016 | Updated: 04:55 EDT, 18 July 2016

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Cruise ship employees have revealed what it's really like to live and work at sea for months at a time.

In a new thread on the US-based website Reddit, current and former workers lifted the veil on their exploits as they explained what goes on behind closed doors or in plain sight when passengers aren't paying attention.

Anonymous crew members told tales of random hookups with colleagues, booze-fuelled parties, hatred for bosses and the misdeeds that can get you kicked off a ship.

Current and former cruise ship employees revealed their secrets in a new thread on the website Reddit 

Cruise ship 'hanky panky' 

It's no surprise that cruise ship workers become involved in flings or serious relationships, given that they live and work in close quarters for weeks or months on end.

A Reddit  user named MirtaGev wrote: 'Everyone sleeps with everyone.' 

Another user, JMPBass, added: 'Remember high school, where everyone knew everything about everyone's business? Who was macking whom, cheating on so-and-so, doing this-and-that, being a such-and-such? Well, that's ship life in a nutshell.

'The bar is where we all congregate, it's where we all commiserate and it's our only meat market option.'

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Hookups with passengers are a no-no

User heapsgoods worked on a cruise ship for three years and revealed they had three friends sent home for sleeping with passengers.

It's a strict no-no for crew members. 

The Redditor wrote: 'Essentially you get busted, you have a masters hearing and you're sent home at the next port (on your dime).

'The cruise companies don't want to be liable for anything and rape accusations are all too real. We aren't allowed to take elevator rides with guests if you're the only two people in it either, for the same reason.'

Hookups with passengers are a no-no and the food for crew is 'almost inedible', the workers revealed 

Having your own cabin has its perks

Most employees sleep in shared cabins that are tiny and cramped, but officers tend to have their own rooms. It turns out there are a number of advantages, especially for those who are looking for love.

One user wrote: 'If you have a solo room then you might as well write a blank booty cheque.

'Girls (and guys) go crazy over you as you have a solo room. Ugliest guys get prettiest girls if they have a solo room... I should know.' 

A female crew member said she enjoyed similar 'benefits' as an officer, which meant she had a large cabin with a double bed and windows. 

Your social life is better at sea than it is on land

Workers said a lot of partying happens when they're at sea or on their down time when the vessel is at port, although not every employee is into that kind of lifestyle.

Employees have access to cheap booze from the crew bar or event discounts at certain bars or restaurants on land.  

Reddit user heapsgoods wrote: 'There is a crew only bar, and beers are $1.50. Some ships have a crew only hot tub.'

An engineer who worked four months at a time on cruise ships for three years added: 'Alcohol (including spirits with my company) was very cheap and you would often find yourself buying drinks for an entire room of people for very little cost.

'I could, as an officer, order room service and there were even some crew cooking in there cabins and selling it to other hungry crew members. 

'All in all it's a hard lifestyle to maintain and sleep is limited if you're social and want to go ashore at the same time but in my opinion, totally worth it. If for a few years in any case.'

There is no such thing as privacy

User Seastar321, who worked on cruise ships for five years, described the joy of sharing a room with colleagues and working alongside them all day.

They wrote: 'Long working hours, very small shared cabin with walls thinner than paper so you can hear everything your neighbours are doing.' 

User too-tsunami added: 'Think of a time you did something embarrassing while drunk at a bar. Now imagine having to see every single person who saw you do that embarrassing drunk thing, every day for months & months. That's what ship life is like.' 

One of the biggest perks is the ability to see incredible places around the world, including Alaska 

The food for crew is really bad

Several crew members wrote on the thread that the food served to crew is 'almost inedible' or 'really bad'.

Workers also said they had limited options or had to eat food they weren't used to.

A user named too-tsunami wrote: 'Food is provided, but the two most common ethnicities on my ship were the Philippines and India, so the crew cafeteria was usually full of food I wasn't used to, like pigtail stew & fish heads. I ate a lot of salad & mashed potatoes on my contracts.'

It's not all play

Many employees complained they worked long hours for days on end and didn't get paid what they should have.

A user named teddersman wrote: 'Crew members are super hard working and work weeks are 70 hours a week without a single day off for 6-8 months at a time.

'Most crew members rely on tips for their wages. My position was salaried for $58/a day, I was an officer on board working in the guest services office. Came out to roughly $1400 a month after taxes. No one else is taxed besides Americans on board.'

Redditor JMPBass, a musician in a cruise ship band, called it the 'jail factor', adding: 'You're in a tin can and you can't leave. Some people can never get off in port because their jobs don't allow for it.'  

It's a great way to see the world 

Many people dream of having a job where they get paid while exploring the world. Even though they put in a lot of hours, cruise ship workers take in a lot of the sights.

User Seastar321 wrote: 'In five years on cruise ships I literally travelled the world. I basically visited every continent except Antarctica and went to over 75 countries.' 

Their experiences included a sled dog ride in Alaska, white water rafting in Costa Rica, a day on a luxury yacht in the Caribbean, snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef and visiting the pyramids of Egypt.

The Redditor added: 'None of the bulls*** you have to put up with on board matters compared to that.' 

There is a class system

User TickleMafia said things are very divided by position.

They wrote: 'There is almost a caste system in place with officers at the top, then entertainment, then front-of-house, then the back of house.

'These groups are usually divided by nationality too, so there isn't a lot of interaction between them.' 

A user named BilliousN added: 'Totally depends on which country you come from. My wife and I met working on ships. She's Indonesian, worked 10 month contracts without a day off, 12-14 hours a day... and made about $600 bucks a month.

'Lived in a shared room, ate food that was literally made from the scraps of what passengers didn't eat, never had time to get off ship in port.

'I'm American, worked 4 month contracts, had a solo room, usually worked about 6-10 hours a day, ate with the passengers in the lido, and made around $3000 a month.'

Workers don't pay rent (but may have to pay for toilet paper)

Cruise ship employees don't have to pay rent on their cabins, although many are sending money back home to support their families.

User TickleMafia, a musician, wrote: 'Paying zero rent or bills is a great deal and I've been incredibly lucky that that is an option, but... the pay is almost always less then what you make on land, and if you lose work on land it can be a wash.

'Some lines also try and suck the crew dry, charging extra for necessities like toilet paper, drinking water or over-charging for internet.'

A user named teddersman added: 'Wifi was $5 a day for 24 hour access to limited social media apps or $10 for 100 minutes unrestricted. I spent way too much money on the s***** wifi.'

• Cruise ship crews of reddit, what's it really like to work and live on a cruise ship?? : AskReddit

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