'The nicest story ever': A small gesture on a cruise stuns grieving family
A simple gesture by a waiter on a cruise ship has been called "heartwarming" and the "nicest story ever".
Posting on a cruise Reddit thread, a passenger on a recent Royal Caribbean sailing detailed how the family were big cruisers, with his parents taking "three to five trips a year".
The traveller starts off the post criticising the general decline in cruising over the years, including the food quality and the "microtransactions everywhere, constantly trying to get you to buy something".
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The traveller had been on a Royal Caribbean cruise recently. Supplied
But the post then takes a very emotional turn.
His mother had died recently and it was the first sailing his father had taken without her. As they were sitting down for dinner, a waiter recognised him from a previous sailing.
"He came over to greet us and spoke with my father for about five minutes before asking where my mother was that night. When my father told him she had passed, the waiter's reaction was as if a friend of his had died."
He then sat down with the dad to talk about the last cruise the couple had been on, "remembering some details with crystal clarity".
"After that night, a special empty table setting was placed next to my father at every dinner. It had a flameless candle and a flower in a vase. Each night, they filled her water and cleared the extra utensils after every course."
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In the dining room a waiter made a special gesture. Royal Caribbean
"This is the reason I cruise," said the traveller. "These are people who, in every moment, go above and beyond whenever they see a chance."
The story seemed to strike a chord with commentators with many going on to tell their stories of how crew go above and beyond the call of duty sometimes.
Others simply shared how the story had touched them.
"That level of genuine care and profound connection from the crew, remembering your family and creating such a touching tribute, is something you just don't experience anywhere else. It's those unexpected moments of profound kindness and above-and-beyond service from the crew that cut through all the modern frustrations."
"I'm not crying, you're crying," summed up many responses.
Royal Caribbean has been approached for comment.
This story was originally published by Stuff and has been repurposed here with permission.
