Cruise Etiquette - Major Faux Pas???

[bmichael415]

Reading these, I see very few things that would classify as major mistakes for a first time cruise passenger and many things that are common annoyances caused by rude / inconsiderate people of any experience level.

 

The simple key that you need to know for a successful cruise is HAVE FUN. Be polite, courteous and respectful. Nobody on the boat/ship is going to get angry with you for calling it by the wrong name. Treat the staff well and if you have questions about something on board, smile and ask someone. Cruise lines deal with newbies all the time and are well prepared to answer your questions.

 

Remember... no honest question is EVER stupid.

 

Have a great time!

[navybaby1113]

As far as the star gazing recommendation, that is a little over the top. If you want your balcony light on, leave it on. Personally, I like to always leave a light on for safety and theft prevention!

 

I'm curious who is going to be breaking into your cabin from your balcony.

[bmichael415]

I'm curious who is going to be breaking into your cabin from your balcony.

 

I was wondering the same thing! Maybe he's scared of pirates? In all my years traveling / cruising, I have never once thought about leaving the light on for security reasons.... esp on a ship balcony. A lame excuse for being inconsiderate.

 

Though, if Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp wanted to climb over my balcony railing.... they wouldn't need to break in, I'd throw them a rope!

[MissColtsLover]

I hope this doesn't come off as rude. I know people have talked about being courteous to those in wheel chairs but the same can be said about wheel chair people being courteous to those not in wheel chairs.

 

Last cruise I was on a woman about plowed me over in line at the buffet. She looked at me and said "I'm in a wheel chair I don't have to wait in line, I'm allowed to cut"

 

Another wheel chair person berated me on an elevator because I used it to go down one deck. He told me that I was young and should have walked down. Yes I'm young (30) but I have an equilibirium (yeah probably spelled wrong) problem that makes going down a flight of stairs difficult for me. Now going up I have no problems.

[lindyf]

Funny that cruisers get irritated at calling the ship a boat. My husband is retired navy and the seasoned sailors all refer to their ship, even the aircraft carriers as a boat. :p

[papcx]

Interesting, as this thread has been resurrected, that nothing has changed in 4 years.

 

Lift etiquette, buffet etiquette, chair hogs etc. the back packs "discussion" was interesting. I use a back pack, but I carry it by my knees until off the ship.

 

As it was, and how it ever shall be!

[donaldsc]

Funny that cruisers get irritated at calling the ship a boat. My husband is retired navy and the seasoned sailors all refer to their ship, even the aircraft carriers as a boat. :p

 

This thread was dead and buried 3 years ago. How did you find it? Why did you resurrect it?

 

DON

Edited May 25, 2014 by donaldsc

[cdnphotogirl]

Another wheel chair person berated me on an elevator because I used it to go down one deck. He told me that I was young and should have walked down. Yes I'm young (30) but I have an equilibirium (yeah probably spelled wrong) problem that makes going down a flight of stairs difficult for me. Now going up I have no problems.

 

Sounds like I am going to have to bring my priority pass that I use for the bus to show that I have a health issue that I can show if anyone questions why I am in the elevator. ;) Although I look healthy, I have had 6 knee surgeries on one knee and have chronic back issues that require ongoing treatment at a pain clinic. Walking upstairs is painful for me but down is no problem.

[cdnphotogirl]

Another wheel chair person berated me on an elevator because I used it to go down one deck. He told me that I was young and should have walked down. Yes I'm young (30) but I have an equilibirium (yeah probably spelled wrong) problem that makes going down a flight of stairs difficult for me. Now going up I have no problems.

 

Sounds like I am going to have to bring my priority pass that I use for the bus to show that I have a health issue that I can show if anyone questions why I am in the elevator. ;) Although I look healthy, I have had 6 knee surgeries on one knee and have chronic back issues that require ongoing treatment at a pain clinic. Walking upstairs is painful for me but down is no problem. Now my 80 year old mother that I will be cruising with....she finds walking down stairs more difficult after 2 knee replacements.

Edited June 2, 2014 by cdnphotogirl

[donaldsc]

I'm curious who is going to be breaking into your cabin from your balcony.

 

Maybe they are going to rappel down from a higher balcony or from a deck and break in a steal their stuff. LOL!!

 

DON

[dorisis]

I am a person in a wheelchair. I'll let you all decide if these things -- all of which have happened to me personally -- are "rude" or not:

 

Person along side me reaching past me on the buffet line, to scoop something out of the bin next to me..dripping food on my plate, in my hair. They couldn't wait for me to move to the next station.

 

Person in front of me on line, huge backpack on their pack, swinging sideways to talk to his companion...hitting me in the head and shoulder.

 

Crowd of people *behind* me, waiting for the elevator. When it arrives, swarming around me -- not to hold the door so that I can get on, but to crowd on themselves.

 

Teenagers in the elevator with me, admiring my power wheelchair.. "Wish WE had one of those!! We could get around the ship much faster!!" and then shoving past me out the elevator doors.

 

Person in front of me, going through a doorway. Not so much as a glance behind. The door shuts in front of me.

 

A couple (or group of people) walking down a hallway -- stop dead, to look at ..whatever (ship map? schedule of day events? doesn't matter).. then mad at me because I nearly hit them (scooters don't stop totally, sometimes..but glide ahead.)

 

Person in line in the bathroom, sees me waiting for the *one* handicap stall to open..and when it does, slides around me and into the stall.

 

Family in the buffet area see me leaving my open space (I moved the chair so I could get to the table in my wheelchair), heading to the buffet line to get something, having left my book behind as a "marker" -- move the book and take over the table. "Well, there were several of us and you were at the table by yourself.."

 

People in the theatre standing in front of me as I'm "parked" in the few handicap accessible spots at the back of the theatre..hard enough to see from there anyway, but then latecomers come in and stand *in front* of me..

 

I could go on....

 

YES!!! being in a wheelchair is hard enough without all the cruisers who feel they are entitled to ignore us. Elevators are the worst; getting in and out while others push ahead. We are not invisible.

[Mary Ellen]

Funny that cruisers get irritated at calling the ship a boat. My husband is retired navy and the seasoned sailors all refer to their ship, even the aircraft carriers as a boat. :p

We have a friend who is also retired Navy, a USNA grad. He was in command of ships. He calls himself a "boat driver". While some here feel they know better, I'm certainly not going to argue with him.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Some passengers come from a different planet ..

[jaxkai]

omg, im at work, so excuse spelling and other 3errors, ive been laffing reading this thread in between customers. most of it was just funny and common sense but i have to chime in about the back packs

 

ive never had a back pack issue on a cruise and im now feeling lucky. but amusement parks and airlines are a whole other story. first please if you like a back pack use it i do and im not judging but i am 4'9 and at amusement parks you are sorta packed in line i cant count the number of bruises and once even a black eye from being smacked in the face with them planes are the worst people pull them and over head luggage out of the compartment and sorta let it fall.... usually on top of my head Again they are not being rude and sure don't mean to do it but gravity does work.

 

what ive learned is that this is really just a short person issue, all people look around in their zone and space which makes sense they see what they need to see. the funny part is how many people were going off about accidents and just life issues.

 

i don't think a new cruiser could do something major intentionally and very few things are not recovered by good manners and common sense. so now im gonna go read about more chair hogs :)

[train460]

As for us guys that hold doors for the ladies, On one hand it is just the proper thing to do but the REAL reason is that we can check out your butt:)

Michael

[cairokid]

Funny that cruisers get irritated at calling the ship a boat. My husband is retired navy and the seasoned sailors all refer to their ship, even the aircraft carriers as a boat. :p

 

 

Yes, my husband was in the navy for 35 years and he calls any vessel a boat too, so if it's good enough for professional seamen I'm not going to apologise for using the word.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[davenew]

As a first time cruiser, are there any major etiquette breaches that one could unintentially commit? (other than the obvious like being outride rude/obnoxious etc.)

 

Was there ever anything you saw a "cruise newbie" do that was a major faux pas?

When I was a newbie, I made a major faux pas on the second night.

I made the mistake of turning up for formal night dinner wearing..........a Tuxedo. :D

[PTAngel]

I had a lot of laughs reading this thread but there were issues I never really thought about. It has certainly reminded me about proper attitudes & manners I may have gotten a little lax about. I have probably been inadvertently guilty about a couple of them. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I do appreciate it. Cruising is a vacation & should all be about having fun.

[big al]

Some cruisers get upset, to different degrees, when you call the ship a boat. They will tell you a boat goes on a ship.

 

Both true & correct - when I was on the Mariner Of The Seas, Captain Johnny ( now on the Allure..so funny!) once told us that the Mariner is a "ship" , not a "boat"..a boat is what you go fishing on..he asked us to show respect and call it either a "vessel" or a ship...I like using cruise lingo..deck, not "floor"; cabin or stateroom, not "room"...funny how nobody ever says in a hotel, "I'm going back to my cabin on deck 8", isn't it? One more thing..I was talking to Capt. Johnny when he was singing autographs for his new book on the Royal Promenade and I told him how much I liked his speech..he asked me to promise him I would correct anybody who used inappropriate terminology on cruise ships since I told him I was a TA...I have honored that request as much as possible..it's a respect thing for me...

 

Big Al

[navyvet8395]

I was wondering the same thing! Maybe he's scared of pirates? In all my years traveling / cruising, I have never once thought about leaving the light on for security reasons.... esp on a ship balcony. A lame excuse for being inconsiderate.

 

Though, if Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp wanted to climb over my balcony railing.... they wouldn't need to break in, I'd throw them a rope!

 

You can still crawl around the dividers between the 2 cabins. Expecialy the ones on the back of the ship where the rails slope allowing more room.

 

That is the reason why everytime you come back to your cabin after its been cleaned and you find the balcony door locked from the inside with the small latch. On one cruise I and a friends had aft balcony cabins next door to each other. To be funny, my friend decided to climb over the rail onto my balcony from his. This was on the Victory. So yes.. It can be done if someone decides they want to do it.

[navyvet8395]

How about no Speedos by hairy men, hairless men, men over 12? Has this been covered? Or barely as the case may be.:eek:

 

Since Im a Speedo wearer and I like to defend the topic, So we have a "age" limit for Speedos now? Im 51 and I have all my hair in the correct places and not in others. which means im lucky to be "smooth" and still have a swimmers body.

 

Plus im not bragging or anything, but I spend time in the gym and I look better then most women younger then me wearing Bikinis.

 

As far as the body hair goes... What difference does it make if the guy has on regular trunks or a speedo? The same amount of hair can be seen except more on the upper thighs in the case of the speedo. In todays Society I figured why on guys they have to wear there shorts below the knees... I guess now that the leg above the knee is considered a "sex organ" and mandatory that it stays covered in all cases.

 

Last time I looked, my "sex organs" are in the same place where God put them over 51 yrs ago. So I will continue to wear my Speedos until further notice.... LOL.

[LA_CA_GAL]

So I will continue to wear my Speedos until further notice.... LOL.

 

Please be so kind and post a picture.

[navyvet8395]

Please be so kind and post a picture.

 

There you go... This one was taken Dec 2013 on my last cruise in refection of window of aft balcony.

[Laurie S.]

There you go... This one was taken Dec 2013 on my last cruise in refection of window of aft balcony.

 

Looks good to me! :D

[Suska_83]

Its common sense the things mentioned in this thread, but sometimes people , not saying this is how it is but being on vacation might also think that common etiquette deserves a vacation as well. That being said: Not washing your hands when leaving the bathroom after doing your business, yes i've witnessed this quite often. Thats just plain disgusting.