We took our Cub Scout den to this last weekend–we’ve done a number of events like this, such as at the Philadelphia Zoo and the Franklin institute, so the kids were really looking forward to the trip.
And for the most part, they enjoyed it. But the adults in charge, myself included, were surprised at how mean the staff were. They made us feel like an intrusion the entire time, and were unwilling to repeat instructions, or really to help any of us in any way, without a lot of huffing and eye rolling. Things were going to happen on their schedule, whether we were ready or not, and if we missed the instructions, well, too damn bad. I could fill several paragraphs with the details of the weekend, if anyone is interested, but I’m more curious if anyone else has done this trip and had a similar experience
(the tour guide, on the other hand, was fantastic and very helpful. It was the rest of the staff that made things miserable for us.)
I know many people have had problems with unpleasant PS staff and rangers, but I’ve been entirely fortunate in that respect… barring one time. Our horrid week in Philadelphia included a turn through the touristy stuff - Liberty Bell, Freedom Hall, all that stuff. The rangers were uniformly ex-concentration camp trainees - stomping, goose-stepping, order-barking, demanding assholes. Not the firmness you sometimes get when there’s no room for tourists to get out of line (delicate buildings, etc.) but a cross between boot camp and a cop you’ve tried to argue with.
Which is one of about ten reasons why I will allow you to shoot me before I will allow myself to return to Filthydelphia.
No, they’re not park service—it’s a non profit, I believe. This ship is ridiculously big, and an awful lot of what’s inside looks the same, so it’s incredibly easy to get lost especially when they’re rushing you from one place to the next. When someone asked for directions, to the non-nautically inclined their directions sounded like “Just go the garbledeck aft of the blablaMast, and you head toward the port side of the foredeck before you hit the thingYouveNeverHeardOfDeck stairs…”. Now, my father was a sailor so I at least understood things like ‘fore’ and ‘aft’ and ‘starboard’, but a lot of the rest was gibberish, and most of the folks in my group didn’t know either. And one staff member literally told someone in my group “I already answered your question, if you weren’t paying attention, it’s not my fault” when he asked for clarification.
on the overnight trip, the New Jersey still fires her guns as well (the small ones on the side, not the giant ones in the turret). The ship itself was very cool.