Quest vs. Maritime Quest
Have you considered sailing on the Queen Mary 2? A few dates offer the low rate of just $899*) You can sail Eastbound (from NYC to Southampton) for this rate on April 16, April 28, May 10, and June 8. Westbound sailings on May 4 and June 2, 2008. Book at Cruise Bug Vacations.*This rate is a base fare.
Onboard activities rank high for many cruise ship passengers. Cruise directors develop new activities or borrow them from other ships. One of the ubiquitous activities is Quest. We had heard about this adult activity described in a cryptic way. Fellow passengers claimed it indescribable. Curiosity got the best of us, so we decided to see for ourselves exactly what this game entailed.
When we reached the spot where Quest would take place, we found plenty of people already seated. Knowing very little about this activity, but enough to know better than to participate; we sat away from the forming teams. The assistant cruise director asked for 5-6 people for each team that must include both male and females. A few people immediately formed teams, but for this game to work well, there needed to be several more teams. We watched as unwitting participants were persuaded to join the remaining teams that lacked for members.
The assistant CD explained the rules, noting that it was legal and encouraged that team members use the audience to help them fulfill their quests. The first team that fulfilled the requirement got the most points with the following teams receiving a lesser amount of points.
The first quest was to find a copy of the Freestyle Daily (we did this on the NCL Star). A woman seated in front of us flagged down a participant and pulled the requested item from her purse. She also told the person seeking the item that she had some other items.Obviously, this person had observed Quest before, and felt a need to come again supplied with whatever objects a team might find useful. The game proceeded and this woman donated enough items. Guess that passengers can participate in Quest in anyway that they want.
It’s no surprise that some of the objects or requested actions were risqué and tasteless. The final Quest involved a man from each team wearing women’s shoes and a bra and carrying a purse. The official judges did not choose the winner by the applause of the audience, which was supposedly the criterium to select the winner. The contestant that the official judges chose actually received the least amount of applause from the audience.
For all of their public humiliation, the winning team members won something like a key chain. One visit to Quest was enough for us. It was offered on another ship and we declined to attend. However, if you enjoy seeing people in various states of undress performing strange acts; you might enjoy Quest.
Maritime Quest
photo courtesy of Cunard
Don’t expect this Quest to be similar to the above described. This Quest is a heritage trail that describes the history of Cunard from the 1840’s to the building of the QM2. Definitely don’t expect to find the former Quest as an activity on any of the Queens.
Know your ship and its demographics. I recently heard a woman expressing disappointment that the ship she sailed included such things as the hairy chest contest as an activity. Because of this, she said that she would never cruise again. Had she done some research in advance, perhaps she would have figured that this particular cruise line was not a good match for her. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to realize that all passengers are not required to attend the hairy-leg contest. It’s optional.
If you find an activity offensive or just not to your taste; just don’t participate. Even the ship with the hairy-chest contest had plenty of other activities.
Sail Away