Introduction

Ships have long been the stuff of legend, and for good reason. They’re the perfect setting for all kinds of strange stories: mysterious lights in the fog, coca-infused stews, and human flesh delicacies—the list goes on! Each week we’ll be sharing some of our favorite ship myths over here at The Cruise Lines Blog, starting with this one.

The roulettist:

The roulettist:

The roulettist, a word that means someone who gambles, is a man named Joe. Joe is a friend of the captain and he really likes to gamble. He’s good at it too, so he bets a lot of money on the ship.

Mysterious lights in the fog:

You could be forgiven for thinking that all ship captains are the same. It’s true, a large part of their job is to steer the ship in the right direction and make sure it doesn’t run aground. But what happens when fog rolls in? What happens when a lighthouse flashes its beams?

It’s just like any other night on board: you’re roused from your slumber by sounds of alarm bells and watchmen shouting that there are mysterious lights in the fog. The captain orders the helmsman to turn toward them so they can find out what’s going on, but as soon as he does so he realizes his mistake: these aren’t lighthouses at all! They are actually some kind of airship—a flying machine—and it disappears into thin air once again just before dawn breaks over an otherwise calm morning sea . . .

The cannibal cook:

The cannibal cook was a story about a cook who was killed by the crew when they thought he was going to eat them. This is an urban legend, however, and it is not true. The victim of this story was actually killed when he was mistaken for a bear during a polar bear hunt on board ship.

Cockroach infestation:

Cockroaches are known for their ability to thrive in almost any environment, including the cruise ship industry. They are capable of spreading disease and can cause damage to ships by chewing through electrical insulation or leaving behind their droppings. The most common types of cockroach found on cruise liners include the American cockroach, Chinese cockroach and Australian cockroach.

The presence of a severe infestation is considered one of the most dangerous situations that can happen on a ship because it can affect both physical health and psychological well-being among crew members as well as passengers. A single female American roach lays approximately 50 eggs every 30 days which means that even an isolated case could lead to an exponential growth in population within days if left unchecked.

Cockroaches are also known for setting fires due to their attraction toward electrical equipment such as lights, fans or air conditioners; they will often short circuit wires while searching for food sources such as kitchen scraps or human waste products left behind by passengers who have fallen ill during their journey aboard your ship!

Cocaine smugglers:

Drug smuggling is a big problem. Ships are searched on a regular basis, and it’s not uncommon to find drugs hidden in all sorts of places—from the most obvious (like stowaway suitcases) to the least expected (like hair braids or shoes).

One story involves an unfortunate pair of drug smugglers who were caught with 2 kilograms of cocaine hidden in their baby’s diaper! Another featured a man who tried to smuggle over $3 million worth of cocaine by hiding it inside his own body. And then there was that time someone attempted to hide 1.5 tons of weed inside several hundred pairs of socks….

Pirates! (or not):

Pirates are a real danger for ships in the ocean. They can be armed with guns, knives and even bombs. Pirates have been known to take over ships and kill the crew. Some pirates are easy to spot—they look like your average person on the beach, but others can be very stealthy and blend in with their surroundings easily.

Tipping point 2.0.:

But it gets worse.

Tipping point 2.0 is the highest point of a ship and represents its maximum stability, which means that if you’re there when something goes wrong, chances are you won’t be able to get off in time. And if the ship’s crew is required to evacuate everyone from that area in a hurry, you’ll have limited options for escape. You may have seen this on TV shows or movies where someone climbs up into their boat’s masthead while they’re rocking back and forth on choppy waters—but even then they only went as far as tipping point 1.5 (see below). We know firsthand how treacherous this spot can be because at one point during our journey, we lost our anchor during strong winds off Santa Cruz Island near California’s Channel Islands National Park—and almost capsized!

In case you were wondering why we don’t allow passengers above deck 5? It’s for their own safety: The higher up your room is located on board, the higher its center of gravity will be when something goes wrong with your vessel.

North by North…Poland?:

• A ship was on route to Poland.
• There was a storm and the ship was forced to take shelter in a small port in Poland.
• The captain decided to stay there for the night.
• The crew were invited to a party by the locals.

There, they were offered some local vodka which they all drank…except for one man who had never tried alcohol before; he thought it was water!

Never take for granted the job of a ship’s crew.

You may think that the captain is the most important part of a ship, but let me tell you something: the crew can be just as important. A captain can’t do anything without his team and they are there to help him. The crew are often the first to know about any problems on board and they will tell you if anything is wrong so you will be able to fix it before it becomes too serious. They also help keep up morale by having fun with each other when they’re not working or taking care of passengers.

I’m sure there have been many times in your life when a friend has come through for you when no one else could — or even wanted to try — in some way that made all the difference in making things better for them (or even yourself). This feeling should never go away; after all, our friends are often our best resource! But sometimes we forget how much we rely upon their support until something happens where someone needs help urgently…and then who steps up? It’s usually not us…it’s usually another friend who knows exactly what needs doing because someone else already tried unsuccessfully before finally giving up hope completely!

Conclusion

So, what are you waiting for? Turn your phone or tablet on and start reading! You will not be able to stop yourself from being amazed by these crazy stories.