AIBU to dread sharing my cruise with a clingy colleague?

[InkyOctopuswithLegs]

Just found out someone i work with is going on the same MSC cruise as me.I am polite and always say hello but this person is someone I wouldn't want to spend time with. They are clingy and talk non stop, if they see you in a communal area they will make a bee line for you and start telling you about what they are doing, boasting mostly.
They told me yesterday about the cruise and I was speechless🤣 in didn't let on i was on the same cruise but I'm gutted and don't want this person chasing me around the ship🤦‍♀️

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.

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.

😂what a shit-stirrer you are 😜

🤣🤣

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.

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."

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

This would be my idea of actual hell.

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.

How can you be so sure your colleague and her husband are so desperate to spend their holiday with you?

You obviously don't like her, so it's likely she doesn't like you either. She has probably noticed you don't like her and will be horrified that "the woman at work who doesn't like me" is going to cast a shadow over her enjoyment of her holiday.

In the unlikely event that you see her amongst 3,000 other people, pretend you haven't and look the other way. She will probably do the same.

That's a bit presumptuous.

It would be my luck she will have the room next door 🙈

It would definitely happen to me!!!!

If she's not a gambler, then scarper off to the casino section of the boat to shake her off the trail! You don't have to gamble yourself, just sit at the casino bar for a drink.

Have you got a balcony? I love sitting on my balcony on a cruise with my book, away from people.

@SummerHasArrivedAtLast 🤣🤣
Believe me she is friends with everyone, she makes a bee line for anyone stood on their own!

If I do bump into her we've decided to say DH has surprised me for my birthday!

If they are in the room next door at least I can be sure of their movements 🤣🤣

Disagree - OP will be on tenterhooks all holiday (even with a disguise!) in case she bumps into said colleague. I wouldn’t even attempt it and ask for a transfer (or whatever they can offer!).

You may well not ever bump into her if on different parts of the ship. Or you could find her next door lol 😆 Sorry...

Like PP said if you do see her just say hi, have you been to the xx / we did the xx / OK nice anyway have a good trip bye. Grey rock her.

You could set it up now. When she brings it up again, lay it on about how if you ever went on a cruise with DH you'd really love the quiet time with him and just to get away from everyone and everything relating to real life.

MSC ships are huge, just book into Yacht Club so she can’t get to you.

just deal with it like a grown up.

yapping on about her on a forum behind her back is pretty ugly

Fingers crossed she doesn't use MN.

Hmm not sure how I feel about the suggestions to pre-empt it. Might as well say 'I've booked the same cruise, none of your usual shit please Susan!' 😂

I don't have any better though. If I did see her I would just laugh and tell her she reminds me too much of work to be social! If your job is stressful she'll probably laugh along knowingly.

Yeah don’t preempt It act all shocked if you do bump into her like you was paying no attention to her chats and that your dh surprised you.

If you let her know she will look for you even if to still not talk but to watch and see and share.

Can you gently probe to find out more of what/ when she's planning to do on the cruise? Maybe an excursions she has planned? If she's a talker you could probably easily just set her going. Might help you plan how to avoid!!