Ultimate Cruise Snob Stories

[LittleMissMagic]

We've encountered a lot of cruise "snobs" - usually when we're in some "VIP" lounge or status party. The claws just come out there. It's really rather ironic because everyone's there for the same or similar reasons.

 

Once, we were staying in a suite which gained us access to a party at Royal Caribbean's private island, Coco Cay. We were having a wonderful time, then it started raining. Our table didn't have an umbrella, so we asked an older couple sitting near us if we could join them. They said yes but didn't look too thrilled about the idea. They asked us our status, and we told them Emerald. "Oh, we're diamond. That's why we're here. I thought this was a diamond and above event." "Well, we got an invitation." They then proceeded to quiz us on how many cruises we'd been on, things like that. If I wasn't getting drinks, I would've left. :D

 

Usually, the people who feel as if they need to brag about their status or stateroom or anything else are doing it because they, for some reason, feel inferior and have the need to prove themselves to be better than everyone else. It's quite ridiculous, actually.

[Pushka]

I can't believe the issue that people make out of their cruise line status. It means nothing to me and I don't know the various levels. Someone could be trying to high note themselves and all I'd be doing is give them a blank look.

 

I think of all the stories so far is that child who made the elite status comment. Can only imagine what the parents must be like.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WendyG]

I had an 11 year old in the hot tub with me and a friend and we were just chatting between ourselves....and the kid piped up and said to us " you two will be old ladies before you even get close to the status that I have and im only 11. Im Elite on princess you will never get that.....

 

I was shocked to say the least

 

You were in the hot tub with that brat? The last warm weather cruise I was on, we were sitting in the hot tub (and one other guy was in there) and a kid (maybe about 8) started climbing the steps and I looked over at the other hot tub and there were kids in that one so I said "This hot tub is adults only, you can go in that one" and he did! LOLOL - the stranger in our hot tub thanked me!

I wonder if that makes ME a cruise snob???

[LittleMissMagic]

You were in the hot tub with that brat? The last warm weather cruise I was on, we were sitting in the hot tub (and one other guy was in there) and a kid (maybe about 8) started climbing the steps and I looked over at the other hot tub and there were kids in that one so I said "This hot tub is adults only, you can go in that one" and he did! LOLOL - the stranger in our hot tub thanked me!

I wonder if that makes ME a cruise snob???

 

Oh my goodness, that's a great idea!

 

Most all hot tubs actually say that children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult to enter. So really, it's a safety issue. Kids will play around in hot tubs for long periods of time, and that can have lasting effects and is actually believed to lead to infertility in boys (though most hot tubs on cruise ships aren't nearly hot enough).

[Wehwalt]

Sorry if this is a bit of a thread hijack, but...

 

My late wife really liked trivia and as she was good, & I can play with some luck at times, we nearly always went.

 

So we teamed up with some other passengers, a couple from South Africa, a Kiwi fellow, and had a lot of laughs. After a fortnight or so, this other Australian lady asked if she could join our lot.

 

Well, the way she carried on you would have thought we were playing for sheep stations. You were not allowed to talk even, just in case another team heard your answer, which if you didn't write it down on a piece of paper for her to peruse & check, you were soundly chastised.

 

She told me on one occasion that she cruised for the twice each day trivia sessions, and when not cruising would read encyclopaedia's to bone up on her knowledge of trivia.

 

I think her original team had told her to take a hike.

 

I think it's OK to take the trivia seriously during the game, so long as you don't take it too seriously the rest of the time, given the paltry prizes. Each to his own, and teams can choose how seriously to take the game, so long as they don't get nasty about it. On my past cruise, I teamed up with a couple of very elite cruisers (enough so that the Captain came up to our table one afternoon, to talk with them). We won often enough that there were scattered handclaps when we won, and warm applause when anyone else did. I gave away most of the prizes.

[Iamcruzin]

This was quite a few years ago but I was seated at a table at lunch because there weren't many spots and a couple graciously said I could sit there. We were chatting and then they said in a snooty way, "Well, you know, we're on Aloha deck." I wanted to say, "And?" but all I said was, "That's nice." I didn't get into how I was on Caribe in a much better cabin. There are people out there who still think that the higher the deck, the further away they are from "steerage."

All I know is that every time I watch Titanic, the passengers in steerage seem to be having a better time than the snobs in first class who don't exhale or crack a smile.

[ChevyCruiser]

When I encounter cruise snobs, I'm always reminded of a couple of memorable quotes from the movie "Titanic"

 

Ruth: Tell us of the accommodations in steerage, Mr. Dawson. I hear they are quite good on this ship.

Jack: The best I've seen, ma'am. Hardly any rats.

 

and;

 

Jack: The other night I was sleeping under a bridge, and here I am on the grandest ship in the world, sipping champagne with you fine people.

 

And when I'm stuck with a blowhard braggart, I try to say "that's nice" with my best southern accent:

 

Two Southern belles, one of whom was from Texas, were seated on the porch swing of a large white-pillared mansion talking. The first woman, who was not from Texas, said, "When my first child was born, my husband had this beautiful mansion built for me."

"That's nice," commented the lady from Texas.

"When my second child was born," the first woman continued, "he bought me that fine Cadillac automobile you see parked in the drive."

Again, the lady from Texas commented, "That's nice."

"Then, when my third child was born," boasted the first woman, "he bought me this very exquisite diamond and emerald bracelet."

Once more, the lady from Texas commented, "That's nice."

"What did your husband buy for you when you had your first child?" asked the first woman.

"My husband sent me to charm school," answered the lady from Texas.

"Charm school!" exclaimed the first woman. "Land sakes, child, what on earth for?"

"So that instead of saying 'who gives a ****', I learned to say 'That's nice!'" replied the lady from Texas.

[Parvatiiv]

There was a story my parents told me of their waitress on their Australia/new Zealand cruise. The Ship had just done a 30 day tour and was while the ships were all traditional dinning still. The girl was from Mexico and had this man at her table. (Big Tex, old oil kind of guy) and every night he would walk in and take his seat and comment loud enough for her to hear "I hate Mexicans".

 

 

There was also an instance on a ten day cruise a friend of mine and I did on Ruby. The last formal night e get seated at a table with three couples. Two couples from Canada and the other from Florida. Well the Winter Olympics (Vancouver) had just ended when we boarded and so I was talking the the Canadian couples about the events and how the hockey finished up. The Florida couple constantly interrupted any conversation we had to bring up football or how much money they didn't spend on the trip. They kept Regaling us on how they booked two weeks out and only spent $400 and rattling on how often they get to cruise like this because of where they live. On top of that, their manners and hygiene were deplorable. The Florida man wreaked to no end, belched very loudly through out the meal, and even blew his nose napkin on several occasions. My friend and I were honestly embarrassed to admit we were Americans as well. Luckily they got up and left before dessert. As soon as they were gone, all of us exhaled and about dropped our heads on the table. I actually muttered at one point "I apologize on behalf of America" drawing a relieved laugh.

[5326jan]

I know that some of you think it's snobby to mention "most traveled", but I really like it when someone is doing a "live" from a cruise and talks about the most traveled lunches and who has the most days, what happens at the Captains cocktail party, etc. It adds perspective to the commentary and it's more informational than braggadocious. Of course, that is completely different than someone -in person- implying that their experience makes them better than others.

 

The rudeness is much more annoying to me. We have been extremely lucky in our cruises to not have encountered people like those mentioned in this thread. The crew works so hard and is separated from their loved ones to support their families', so to see them mistreated is "unconscionable"!:mad:

 

As for the kid in the hot tub! He was probably raised by the "nanny" mentioned above! :rolleyes: On cruises, I like the WC Fields philosophy on kids, "beat kid, you bother me" or "children should be seen and not heard". (Kidding!...sort of);)

[High C's]

I know that some of you think it's snobby to mention "most traveled", but I really like it when someone is doing a "live" from a cruise and talks about the most traveled lunches and who has the most days, what happens at the Captains cocktail party, etc.

 

I don't think Live From threads are snobby. There are some CC members who do incredible live threads (you know who you all are ;)). While they are well travelled, they never name drop or speak of how special THEY are.

But there are others who in their opening sentence tell us how many people ran up to them to welcome them back. I'm not sure if these people realize how gracious the Princess staff are to everyone, and how they try to make everyone feel welcome. Those posts tend to grate on my nerves....

[JEM4205]

And when I'm stuck with a blowhard braggart, I try to say "that's nice" with my best southern accent:

 

 

LOL, "Now thats funny, I don't care who you are," (Larry The Cable Guy):D

[wonderpig]

Some people grow them young! They can only learn that behavior from their parents. I would have given them something to brag about!;)

I would've drowned the kid.........just sayin'.....

[magandy]

Trivia can be taken seriously, its a learning curve, but it has also got to be fun.

We like to play trivia and on our recent cruise arrived 2 minutes late for an evening Music Trivia, Theo(Cruise Staff) who was facilitating the trivia had just finished the 2nd question, he offered to go back and give the questions again, only for the other team to say no.....yes other team!...there was just one team playing at that time. We told Theo to carry on, we played and lost, but hey we enjoyed it. The other team was seen going into the distance clutching their hard won lanyards:rolleyes:.

Always remember what you are playing for!

[Amuse Bouche]

The other team was seen going into the distance clutching their hard won lanyards:rolleyes:.

Always remember what you are playing for!

 

:D Love the visual!!

 

This kind of attitude is what keeps me from joining in on shipboard activities.

[Wehwalt]

To be fair, Princess does encourage some snobbery, that's why we have colored cruise cards, and the cards outside our cabins are colored too. If some passengers choose to overdo it, I generally ignore it as there is no point in arguing about it.

 

As for the prizes, now that they no longer give away passport wallets you can carry around your neck, I usually accept the prizes for trivia if we win, but then see that they go to people who actually want them. I keep a water bottle to take lemonade or iced tea back to the cabin for balcony sitting. Worst case, I leave the prizes on a lounge table the last night and walk away. There's no point in just refusing the prizes, take them and give them to someone who wants a souvenir.

[cruisinnorth]

To which my answer would have been to the effect that 'we may make Elite eventually - you carry on like that and you'll be lucky to make 12'.

 

I was a member of a voluntary organisation once which could turn the 'social order' on its head at times. We had a saying for these types of people: 'dustmen by day, directors by night'.

 

I wonder where this 11 year old "elite-ist" learned such behavior. And wouldn't it be grand to be a fly on the wall when he buys passage for the first time under his name, rather than mom or dad's, and finds the elite status doesn't follow and he is handed the newbie blue card.

 

I have found the the person who brags the loudest and the longest often has the least to brag about.

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

[Liz54]

If he was on the cruises that earned him the elite, he will get the elite card!

[5326jan]

I don't think Live From threads are snobby. There are some CC members who do incredible live threads (you know who you all are ;)). While they are well travelled' date=' they never name drop or speak of how special THEY are.[/color']

 

..

 

Yes, this is exactly my point! I don't want them to think they are thought of in the same way! I love their posts! :)

[abqmommyof4]

We had a passenger that shared a table in the main dining room with us on our last cruise, that seemed to enjoy all the attention they got for their "special diet" as they were diabetic and gluten intolerant. Every night was the same complaint so little to choose from, how ill they were because of the food they were served the day before etc. This apparently never happened when she cruised P&O a far superior line (her words).

['

 

Having just gotten off the Sapphire, and having just found out I had a gluten intolerance, I for one really appreciated the fact that the dining room staff was so helpful in my meal planning. ( we were booked for Anytime dining, but were able to have a standing reservation each night in the Sante fe room) Im not a picky eater, but know there are things I cant eat.. tomatoes

are another thing that dont agree with me....

 

In regards to the trivia games, I enjoy them but saw lots of people who took them far too seriously for cheap ship stuff.... I mean really its only a game....

[iriemon]

We were on a cruise and this woman and adult daughter came to lay out by the pool. They pulled their lounger into the walkway around the pool. One of the pool attendants came over and asked them to move since they were blocking the walk way and the mother turned to him and rudely told him in no uncertain terms that she paid for this cruise and she could sit any place she wanted (I guess the rest of us were there for free!). Well felling sorry for the attendant and annoyed at her I made it a point to walk past her lounger and "accidently" bump into her. After a couple of times of this she looked up at me and said "Will you watch where you are going?" My response - I paid for this cruise and I can walk where ever I want! Shortly afterward they moved.

[CPA92]

There is one over on the Royal Caribbean's forum right now.:eek:

[sprinkles]

I'm loving this thread (for the most part). I have to tell you about the man I met at the beginning of a long cruise recently. He went around wearing his grandaughter's blue cruise card around his neck on a lanyard (as a joke).

 

He told me how one woman was all but hysterical trying to get him thrown out of the Captain's repeater party even though the CD kept telling her it was a joke. The CD begged the man to put it away, but he would not.

 

Later in the cruise I had the honor of accompanying my Dad to the top 40 luncheon, while waiting to get in, I was talking with "my friend" who was, as usual wearing his "blue card" and sitting there in his wheelchair (also waiting to get into the luncheon). Someone else in line told him three times "this is a private function", to which he finally replied "I'm just here early, waiting to go to dinner" (it was 12:30pm - lol)

 

My Dad loved this so much that he has procured a blue card and is planning on wearing it constantly on our up-coming Panama Canal cruise.

 

Happy Sailing Everybody!

Tammy

[trikeman]

Probably the worst I've seen was in the Horizon Court, a pro athlete who order OJ and sent it back because it wasn't cold enough. He did this three times. Then told the waiter to get him a special coffee drink from the I.C. and taste it to make sure it was good before he brought it back to him. The worst part was the whole family was like that.

[madjohn]

Like others this has been a fun read.

 

On cruises the wife and I tend to stay by ourselves and don't mingle much. Its our away time. However on one cruise we were seated at dinner with a couple and preteen daughter. They were quite borish but we put up with it. The wife would make political statements of one bend. From my appearance and work most think my thinking is one way and it is about as far to the other as one can imagine. I held my tongue for my wife sake. About the third night the couple was to tired to come to dinner but sent their preteen daughter to dinner with a "friend" she had met on the ship to dinner at the table, leaving my wife and I to baby sit. That was our last night at the table for the first and only time we changed tables. From my new table I could still see our poor waitstaff from the first table and they would look at me smile and then roll there eyes. I felt bad leaving them there.

 

I always laugh at people who send food back on a cruise or anywhere. Do people not know what the cook or waiters can do. I have had many friends who worked in the food industry tell me stories of what they would do to peoples food who gave them a hard time. I will eat the shoe leather before I send a piece of food back. I wait until I am leaving the restraunt or the ship to express my thoughts to the manager. I am always as nice as I can be to the people making or bringing me my food:rolleyes:.

 

As to trivia, I love going but I never join in because of how some people take it. I get my little slip of paper, sit by myself and answer the questions and see how I do. I often have a good score but have never once turned it in. Remember, its just for fun

[blazerjan]

There's one on the Princess Thread right now too.... He's only posted twice so I doubt he's reading this thread but I find this statement so funny...

 

I am 24 years old and going on my 12th cruise. I have cruised Princess, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian, & Royal Caribbean. Each time, I bring large parties with me. I average a tab of over $3000 on each cruise. I am to the point now, where I have seen every island, every ship, and every cruise line

 

 

Really? How dumb does he think we are??? 12 cruises and he's been on every ship and every island.. and every cruise line? Hope he's not an accountant !