Not so smart angry man disembarking Explorer today

[BillOh]

If that idiot was the high light of your cruise it must of been a lousy cruise.

 

That is your take on this thread and you felt it worth contributing?:eek:

[daze6399]

There is some thing to be said for the assumption that us "steerage" class folk should just accept that other people are more important and we just have to wait on our social superiors.

 

I can completely understand being frustrated by watching people cut in front of me. I know that some people have paid for that privilege, that doesn't make an already stressful morning any easier. I might be tempted to start a rebellion right then and there especially if I had a flight that was early after debarkation. ( the fact that in this hypothetical scenario I booked a flight too close to debarkation is not relevant or up for discussion)

 

That being said I don't personally take issue with suite pax getting priority anything. They paid for the privilege, and that's fine.

 

The thing I take issue with is the assumption that anyone should just know that other people are obviously more important and failure to know that is "stupid" or makes one an idiot. That right there is a nice little all tied up package of what the poor gentleman was so frustrated about.

[dd likes to cruise]

95% of the passengers wouldn't even recognize the concierge, let alone know what he/she does.

 

I was going to say the same thing. Have no idea what the concierge looks like.

[JimAOk1945]

Maybe this person who complained did not see the concierge leading the group, or maybe he did. We may never know what was going through his mind.

 

However, the concierge, whether male or female, wears a cruise line uniform.

Edited February 8, 2017 by JimAOk1945

[Pellaz]

Maybe the concierge should carry a sign saying, say, "Express debark for suite guests only."

Not only would it get the message across and defuse hostilities, but it might encourage more people to consider getting a suite. :)

[KansasK]

I think getting off the ship is a very stressful time. When there are backups due to customs and the number of agents working that day, we stand for quite a while in long lines waiting to even get to the luggage and customs room. I saw several lines of people being led past us to the luggage area as we stood there in a hallway and nobody freaked out. Someone inciting a riot does not happen for all cruises.

 

I think there should be a separate exit area for privileged people, for whatever reason. It would be faster for them also.

 

The cruise lines solution to the backups is to have people go into the theater to wait. No one wants to do this since it seems like a place to be forgotten and you have to merge into the line exiting the ship that you were in before when they let you leave. They want all of us off the ship, but have not perfected the disembarkation process. Customs and immigration is out of their control, of course.

[casinostreer]

 

I think there should be a separate exit area for privileged people, for whatever reason. It would be faster for them also.

 

 

Agreed. This will keep the "we're all in this line together" mentality. It may be taking a while - but it's taking us ALL a while.

 

Also - seeing people go ahead of me in line would never "convince" me to pay more for a suite. There are many wonderful suite perks - that one isn't high on my list.

[BaBa2]

Ship or plane makes no difference! I had 2 young gentlemen almost knock me down to ground when they called for first class seating to board. Not only did they bust their way past me ( and yes I am a senior but regardless of age ) but their seats were 2/3 of the way back in the plane! It doesn't matter who paid what or who has "perks", it should just be the norm or common courtesy!

 

 

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[njm5378]

I like to wave as I pass, like i'm in a parade. Only kidding, just did that once after someone shouted at us "what makes you people so god damned special" when the port agents held them back so we could pass. It's a perk that was paid for. Nothing makes me special, just getting what I paid for.

[Gordo]

I wish they would offer a different way to exit for this perk.

 

We sailed in a suite to celebrate my mom's 70th Birthday. This perk was a part of the offering, but after we were home from our trip someone from our roll call posted negative comments about us cutting in line. We were just following the concierge as we were told to do.

 

We have global entry too, and are able to skip the long lines at immigration when we return to the U.S. as a perk of the program.

[easyboy]

Maybe the concierge should carry a sign saying, say, "Express debark for suite guests only."

Not only would it get the message across and defuse hostilities, but it might encourage more people to consider getting a suite. :)

Seeing a similar sign might make them understand that suite guests have indeed some privileges not provided to others.

[sanger727]

The most appropriate way for this to be handled would be for there to be a clearly marked separate exit/line for suites. My assumption would also be that the person didn't realize the people were allowed to skip the line. After spending a week or more on a ship with people failing to observe lines and butting in whenever; can't really blame someone for being tired of it when a large group walks straight to the front of a line.

 

They need to have a side/back door that empties out near the front of the line where they can have a section labeled 'for suite passengers only' or something.

 

 

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[davenew]

That's what I was thinking. I guess he didn't realize they were allow to jump the queue. There are so many rude people who do it without legitimate reasons. He had probably had quite enough rude people jumping in front of him and decided he wasn't going to have it any more.

 

Not saying the OP or any of the suite passengers, for whom this is a legitimate perk, were rude. Just that this poor little man probably decided enough was enough.

 

Its no difference to when you see people pushing their way to the front of the queue at guest services shouting "Diamond, Diamond". I was always brought up to believe that manners are free, so use them.

[BNBR]

Ship or plane makes no difference! I had 2 young gentlemen almost knock me down to ground when they called for first class seating to board. Not only did they bust their way past me ( and yes I am a senior but regardless of age ) but their seats were 2/3 of the way back in the plane! It doesn't matter who paid what or who has "perks", it should just be the norm or common courtesy!

 

 

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As someone who flies first class, I can tell you how annoying it is when everyone crowds the queue and you can't even get through to board. You ask "are you in line" and they say yes, but they are not really. You try to be nice and people don't move. So you kind of have to push your way through a bit. I want my preflight cocktail while I people watch all the miserable coachies standing in line trying to fight for overhead space, dangit.

 

Maybe consider not standing there and blocking the line?

 

If they were 2/3 of the way back on the plane, they were not first class. That would be priority, who boards after first class (depending on airline). And they want to get on to make sure they have overhead space before it crowds up.

[SargassoPirate]

After 35-40 cruises (I'd have to check for an accurate count) we've found there are two stress-free ways to disembark. Both involve schlepping our own bags off the ship - one roller suitcase and one back pack.

 

1) Express walk-off, or

 

2) Try to be among the last off the ship. Don't schedule any travel disembarkation day. Leave your cabin when you are supposed to and find a nice quiet place to relax where you can hear the announcements. Sometimes it's the concierge lounge or it may be the pool deck. When you hear last call, roll your bag to an uncrowded elevator and walk off the ship.

 

Why end the cruise with your knickers in a twist?

 

Somebody has to be last off the ship.

[Platinum Bob]

Bless his heart! Did you happen to video record this selfish curmudgeon? It could go viral.

[peter1975]

After 35-40 cruises (I'd have to check for an accurate count) we've found there are two stress-free ways to disembark. Both involve schlepping our own bags off the ship - one roller suitcase and one back pack.

 

1) Express walk-off, or

 

2) Try to be among the last off the ship. Don't schedule any travel disembarkation day. Leave your cabin when you are supposed to and find a nice quiet place to relax where you can hear the announcements. Sometimes it's the concierge lounge or it may be the pool deck. When you hear last call, roll your bag to an uncrowded elevator and walk off the ship.

 

Why end the cruise with your knickers in a twist?

 

Somebody has to be last off the ship.

 

I would like to second this idea. # 2 is what we frequently try to do. We have a nice, last breakfast on this ship and then get off at our leisure.

[peter1975]

This type of thing is not unique to cruise lines, by any means. Disneyworld has Fastpass. Almost all theme parks allow you to pay extra to have some priority line access. Even TGI Friday's sometimes offers their loyalty customers the ability to skip any lines and move to the front with no wait! No joke.

[AirGorilla]

As someone who flies first class, I can tell you how annoying it is when everyone crowds the queue and you can't even get through to board. You ask "are you in line" and they say yes, but they are not really. You try to be nice and people don't move. So you kind of have to push your way through a bit. I want my preflight cocktail while I people watch all the miserable coachies standing in line trying to fight for overhead space, dangit.

 

Maybe consider not standing there and blocking the line?

 

If they were 2/3 of the way back on the plane, they were not first class. That would be priority, who boards after first class (depending on airline). And they want to get on to make sure they have overhead space before it crowds up.

 

Diamond Medallions, even those with Coach boarding passes, board with First Class passengers at Delta Air Lines.

 

AG

[voidstar]

I can understand his frustration. It's one thing for Diamond+ perks to simply give you something extra, that affects nobody else - such as free drinks at happy hour in the lounge. But it's another thing when those perks are afforded to you at the direct expense of others (who have paid for their cruise all the same). I've heard that priority tender access has now been suspended across the entire fleet, and applaud this decision.

[gatour]

For those suggesting alternate exit points, there really isn't any safe ones. The only other exit points would be those used during the cruise a various port stops. The only is thing is that at the port stops almost all of the activity is people walking off the ship and along the pier.

 

At the disembarkation there is a lot of activity on docks, what forklifts unloading luggage, semi-delivering supplies etc. I would think this would be a libility issue.

 

I like the idea of the concierge holding a sign saying "Priority disembarkation for Suite Passengers". I think it would clear up the confusion.

[RocketMan275]

Nobody likes queue jumpers, and it's very probable that the man didn't realize that this group was entitled to do so. That's no excuse for his behaviour, but perhaps makes it understandable.

 

 

It is also possible that he didn't care about the entitlement. There are a significant number who believe that cruises ships should only have one class of service. If you doubt this, I invite your to go back and read the comments made when RCCI changed the Viking Crown Lounge on some ships to a suites only facility. There were many posts about how unfair that suites should get special privileges just because they were paying more.

[MrsPete]

Maybe the concierge should carry a sign saying, say, "Express debark for suite guests only."

Not only would it get the message across and defuse hostilities, but it might encourage more people to consider getting a suite. :)

This makes perfect sense. Even if people don't LIKE seeing others bypass the line, they'd understand that it was an option and they didn't choose to spend on that option.

 

 

Personally, it wouldn't motivate me to spend on a suite (just not how I choose to spend), but it might be a motivator for others.

[MrsPete]

After 35-40 cruises (I'd have to check for an accurate count) we've found there are two stress-free ways to disembark. Both involve schlepping our own bags off the ship - one roller suitcase and one back pack.

 

1) Express walk-off, or

 

2) Try to be among the last off the ship. Don't schedule any travel disembarkation day. Leave your cabin when you are supposed to and find a nice quiet place to relax where you can hear the announcements. Sometimes it's the concierge lounge or it may be the pool deck. When you hear last call, roll your bag to an uncrowded elevator and walk off the ship.

 

Why end the cruise with your knickers in a twist?

 

Somebody has to be last off the ship.

I'm with you on #1. We're close enough to drive to the port, and we prefer to be off FAST so we can hit the road. After all, we typically have to go to work the next day. When we retire in just a few years, we may adopt your #2 suggestion. For now, though, we get up EARLY on the last day, eat quickly, and never have any problem walking off the ship crowd-free.

[easyboy]

This makes perfect sense. Even if people don't LIKE seeing others bypass the line, they'd understand that it was an option and they didn't choose to spend on that option.

Sadly, that is what others refuse to understand. It could have been them had they paid for it.