We returned from a family cruise, 2400 people on a Carnival ship out of Tampa. I was surprised by the number of Utah residents cruising! Every game show, every introduction of passengers seemed to include someone (or more) from Utah!

Tshirts we noticed on tender boats indicated the wearers were from Brigham Young school (elementary? junior highs? U?). These were larger families with multiple women (could be aunts, cousins, etc.) and plenty of kids. The newlyweds on the tender in front of us...well, the bride looked like she might be all of 14 years old. So young!

Don't their children return to school immediately after January 1?

Is early- to mid-January a popular time for LDS to cruise for any particular reason? I am curious.

Wow! wish I could go do that. Instead stuck here in this frozen waste called utah.

macaRomney Wrote:
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> Instead stuck here
> in this frozen waste called utah.

Its all in your head.

and thousands of square miles of open space spanning deserts and plush evergreen forests mixed with fantastic varieties of wildlife a "wasteland" what are you using for your point of perspective?

Stuck or choose not to move? Utah may be a cultural waste of sorts, but the state is far from a frozen one.

Maybe you need to get out more.

This is true. Utah is a great place to live 9 months of the year. But I seriously struggle in our rocky mountain winters. Yesterday it was snowing in the morning and that just de-motivates any plans for leaving the house.

But it's only a few more weeks till groundhog day! yay!

So Cal born and raised....Living in Ut county, we can get tons of snow. So far this winter, some snow. Rarely any temps close to 0 degs. Tons of snow in the mountains....This winter has been mild IMO.

When I first moved here...digging out of 2 foot snow storms twice a week...that wasn't fun

Might have just been a big or multi-family thing and happened to be on your cruise. Could have been anyone, but it happened to be Utah mormons.

When I was at BYU in the late 80's they had year round school so the breaks lengths were different than schools with the summers off.

Crusing: the 'secret' is plenty of on-board entertainment because, well, looking at water is sooooooooooooooooo boring.

and, the gambling is far, far removed from Ew-tah, your Bp / SP most likely won't hear about it (unless they're at the same table as U are, that is)

It could be worse. It could be like when I was on an Amtrak train full of amish.

Dave the Atheist Wrote:
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> It could be worse. It could be like when I was on
> an Amtrak train full of amish.


Been There, Done that; (prime territory, between Chicago & Toledo) No problem whatsoever.

I'm sorry.

Cruises are popular for family reunions. It's easier and cheaper to book your family on a cruise than it is to stay in hotels and trying to get a big party of people seated and served in a restaurant is a big pain.

With a cruise you just book everyone into their cabins and the food and entertainment is taken care of. It's easy.

They go on cruises so they can pork out like pigs and stay fat. :):):)

I'm claustrophobic, and would hate being trapped on a boat for a Mormon family reunion, with no way of escaping up into the mountains for long hikes, no way of ditching out to drive into the city for some fun. The ditching-out is the most fun at family reunions.

Aren't the rates cheaper in the off-season?

We went on a cruise and met a mormon family onboard.

They refused acceptance of a bottle of champagne given as a prize in a game, rather than politely accepting the prize and disposing/giving it away discreetly later.

They would play UNO or other children’s card games - NOT with ‘poker’ cards, but Mickey themed children’s cards.

They brought their own ‘stash’ of diet Mt. Dew to the dining room for dinners.

They would not gamble, but would stand at our shoulders and watch us play cards or slots.

They gushed over another couple who they found out were of the Mormon persuasion because they were participating in a game and were asked what their favorite drink was ... “root beer!”

“A peculiar people”, indeed.

A cruise with a bunch of Mormons is like being in jail with a chance of drowning.

My wife always wanted to go on a cruise...I wasn't crazy about the idea..
I don't handle crowds well...and I hate standing in line for anything to the extent I'd rather go hungry than endure a buffet line.ĺ

Lethbridge: you can opt for fully civilized dining on a cruise ship: go to the main dining room for seated breakfast, brunch lunch and/or formal dinner. Options for sushi, seafood, fancy Italian, too in various "extra cost" restaurants.

A cruise does not necessarily mean you must eat from "fill your plate" chaos.

Find a friend, give it a try - and enjoy the Caribbean warmth sometime during the cold months of the North?