AIBU to dread sharing my cruise with a clingy colleague?

If you are going on a big ship you should be able to avoid. I went on a cruise & my boss was on the same ship. We had both booked last minute & did not know.

This would be my idea of actual hell.

She’s probably going to think you’ve booked the cruise knowing she is going since you didn’t say anything 😂

I've been on several cruises. They absolutely do place you on a table in the restaurant with other guests unless you specifically request a non-sharing table. Not sure why it's considered old-fashioned.

On one cruise the couple we met every evening for dinner were in the cabin opposite and we only saw them on the very last night.

On one MSC ship we saw one couple every evening waiting to enter the restaurant but never saw them anywhere else the whole week. Of course they may have had better eyesight and spotted us and run the other way. 😉

I'd tell the colleague "I've just realised we're on the same cruise. If you're anything like us, our cruise is for some much needed downtime. I hope you enjoy doing your own thing just as much as we do. We'll have to catch up when we get back."

MSC isn't old fashioned and still has tables shared with strangers in its dining rooms. We were lucky on our first cruise and were allocated a table for 2, and on our second we paid more to have anytime dining and that also got us a table for 2. The tables are so close together though that it's often not much different to sharing a table.

🤣🤣

😂what a shit-stirrer you are 😜

If this were me I’d approach her at work and tell her and say some excuse why you will only be saying hi and moving on. Set it out from the start. Less stressful in the long run.

My idea of hell.
I actually changed a holiday when a FRIEND said they were going to the same hotel at the same time.
When its a friend you cant do smile and wave as it would be weird and we didnt want to have shared drinks/meals on holiday as they were child free and we were with ds 10 so would have changed the dynamic for him.

Been in this situation a few times and the max I've seen them is 2-3 times. People are creatures of habit so if you see them in a certain place more than once, avoid it!

Find out what package she has. If it's not Aurea, upgrade. You'll have a separate sun deck and bar that she can't access. If you're both already Aurea, use the main pool to avoid her.

Get yourself a big pineapple badge, and wink at her theatrically.
She'll avoid you for the rest of the cruise.

And a false moustache!

So she told you about her cruise... but doesn't know you're on it? What if she sees you and thinks you booked it because she's going and that you're a CF copycat 😱😱😱😱

I'm imagining her mumsnet thread now... 😉

To be honest they are so many bars/restaurants on MSC the chances of being stuck with her are slim. Your dining is set but if you are unlucky enough to be seated near her you can ask to change to another table/another time. You could always say this is a romantic break and ye want to spend quality time together

Pretend you’re your own identical twin if she spots you?

Ahem have you had the scary thought yet…. You could be room neighbours. Or do you know if she’s booked inside and you’re outside.

A colleague of mine once met another colleague on holiday by chance. He was blindsided and agreed to dinner. His wife was furious ( colleague 2 is a grade A prat) and said she would deal with it.

She told colleague 2 he needed to understand they were having marital issues and had to to spend one to one quality time as a last ditch attempt to save their marriage so unfortunately they couldn't meet up. She added she was only confiding in him so would be very grateful if he could keep it all hush hush.

Worked a treat - I was most impressed with her ingenuity.

If see her look absolutely shocked, then explain you aren’t there with your husband and this is SO awkward.
She will hopefully avoid you the rest of time whilst you’re having your illicit affair 😂

Broach it at work before you go.
Tell her it’s a special treat for you and your husband to spend some alone time together- away from work we prefer to keep ourselves to ourselves. We’ll give you a wave if we see you though!

Upgrade to Yacht Club, the rest of the ship can't get in those spaces!

He must cruise on very old fashioned lines as this is not a thing on modern ships, you are sat with your party only unless you specifically request not to.

They are going to think you booked after they told you they were going on it. They will think you did it on purpose and will want to be best friends

Omg. Worst nightmare. The phase “holiday friends” invokes a sense of dread.

I saw a school mum on holiday who I know by sight. We had a “what a coincidence” chat and talked about the places we had both seen on the trip. No more interaction after that bar polite smiles. Nice sensible woman.