The one that all the food servers will appreciate.
Part II of this story, “Dinner and an improv show,” is really the best part. I will give you a little bit of foreshadowing when I say that our dinner cruise involved unlimited champagne and some people have no self-regulation when it comes to free booze.
Our waitress had been working as part of the ship’s waitstaff for a while, and she told us this story:
You know, people do crazy things. I had this couple one time for a dinner cruise, and I kept noticing throughout the night that their wine glasses were always full. I thought, That’s a little weird, but they must be getting their drinks at the bar. However, every single time I approached their table, their glasses were completely full, and yet I saw the couple drinking out of them.
Well, finally I noticed that they had brought in several bottles of wine and hidden them under the table. They were pouring themselves wine from under the table when they didn’t think I was looking.
So, I decided to play a little trick on them.
I went and found the biggest, meanest-looking bouncer that we had (he’s actually a complete sweetheart). Then I had this bouncer approach their table and tell the couple that we caught them on security camera (we don’t have cameras). And he told them that if they didn’t pay the corkage fee, we would call the coast guard and have them arrested.
While the bouncer was telling this to the couple – coast guard *snort* – a group of us were hiding in the kitchen and watching this exchange through the window. You should have seen their faces. It was fantastic.
And they paid the corkage fee.
