2018 wasn't short on wild stories at sea.
While a vast majority of cruise passengers undoubtedly enjoyed their experiences this past year, there were some absolutely crazy incidents that warrant a recap before we look forward to a new and what's sure to be an exciting year on the world's rivers and oceans.
There were plenty of unruly passengers in 2018, some of which got into trouble with drugs. An elderly couple in their seventies (yes, you read that right) was arrested for possessing 22 pounds of cocaine (again, not a misprint) and an American woman was fined $4,000 after being busted with three marijuana pipes, a grinder and an electronic cigarette cartridge holding cannabis oil.
Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean International issued refunds to customers after a September cruise was transformed into a floating bachelor party and Carnival Cruise Line was forced to apologize to guests after nearly two dozen passengers caused violent brawls that led to an emergency stop.
Also in 2018, a couple on a different Carnival voyage was shocked to find a hidden camera in their cabin.
In September, a powerful storm actually ripped an Oceania Cruises ship from its dock. Fortunately, the 478 guests and 26 crew members were ashore at the time. Just a few months earlier, high water levels on Canada's St. Lawrence River left Oceania Cruises' Marina stranded.
More recently, an American couple actually missed their cruise ship's departure out of Havana, Cuba and had to book a flight home in what serves as yet another reason why you should always use a travel agent.
Twitter also got a front row seat to one of 2018's happiest endings just days after Thanksgiving when social media users helped a woman find her "best friend" from a 2006 Hawaiian dinner cruise.
Another one of the year's coolest cruise stories saw Hurtigruten announce plans to power their ships with dead fish while Blue Star Line revealed plans for a replica Titanic to set sail in 2022.
What's more, May saw the highly anticipated Lip Sync Battle faceoff between Carnival Horizon godmother Queen Latifah and Philadelphia Eagles kicker and Super Bowl champion Jake Elliott.
Here's to hoping the extraordinary cruise tales of 2019 lean more positive than negative.
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