Passenger Behavior - Does if Differ ?

[Winchester Ranger]

A sensitive question I know, but here goes.

 

We have cruised mostly in the US (Caribbean and Mexico on NCL, Carnival, and Celebrity), and also completed a couple of TA’s with Cunard on the Queen Mary 2 and to be honest I haven’t seen much in the way of bad behavior even on our one Carnival cruise back in 2004.  But I was prompted to ask the question by 2 things, the first was hearing about Carnival’s letter to passengers about bad behavior and drug use on their ships and the second was some negative comments about European passenger behavior on Mediterranean cruises especially on MSC.

 

I’m just looking for some honest feedback on your recent personal experiences, especially as self and DW are looking at booking our first Med cruise and the Yacht Club feauture on MSC’s ships looks like a great deal.

 

Thanks in advance.

[rkacruiser]

You ask a fair question and I will follow this thread with interest to see what others have to say.

 

My experience:  Guest behavior varies from cruise to cruise (note, I am not saying cruise line to cruise line) just as human behavior in any type of community/setting does.  Who can accurately predict?

 

My first Carnival Cruise was on Carnival Freedom, a 6 day Spring Break cruise.  The passenger demographics were what one would find on any cruise; many young people were aboard as well.  I saw no behavior from anyone on that cruise that was offensive to me.  I had an enjoyable dinner with a group of college Seniors whose MDR table was next to mine.  (My table companions did not show nor did one of their friends, so they invited me to join them.)

 

During two HAL cruises, I saw two adults make fools of themselves.  One was a drunk who could not walk across the floor without falling down.  The Stewards picked him up and took him to his cabin.  Before the Stewards returned to the Lounge, Mr. Drunk was back again, repeated his "performance", and Security took him to the Brig.  On another cruise sailing from Honolulu, at the aft pool, there was a "lei throwing into the pool ceremony".  One mature gentleman, wearing his lei and fully dressed. threw himself into the pool as well.  (Probably due to a Mai Tai too many.)

 

So, who knows what to expect?  I surely don't with the miles at sea I have under my keel.

[mom says]

Im going to agree with rkacruiser. I don't think you can use a wide brush to paint all cruisers on a given ship with the same wide brush. Indeed, I've noticed a wide variation in cruiser behavior from cruise to cruise on the same ship.

 

As for your comments about " European" passenger behavior  😒, I'm not sure where to start. First of all, they are just as exempt from the previously mentioned wide brush as their American counterparts.  Second,  Europe is a huge continent, made up of a lot of different countries with different cultural backgrounds, so why would anyone lump all Europeans ( or other large geographical areas) into the same pot? And third, and I'm sorry to say this, but too many Americans seem to feel that anything other than the "American way" of doing things is automatically wrong.  I'd like to gently point out that if you are visiting Europe, on a European ship, that your go fellow European cruisers may consider that YOU are the one who may be exhibiting inappropriate behavior, not them. One of the things that separate tourists from travellers is that one of these wants to learn, understand,  and appreciate cultural differences, not disparage them.

 

I'll climb down off my soapbox now.

[Elaine5715]

Any cruise under any cruise line with a four day or less itinerary will attract the party crowd since a last minute cruise for locals is cheaper than a night out without a concern of drinking and driving. 

Any cruise from any cruise line from any port can include a rowdy bunch of bachelorettes or a loud family reunion.  

Any cruise from any cruise line from any port  can have on board Hooty McDrunk, Smell Me Fancy Pants, Pushy McShove, The Brat Family, Screaming Baby, Door Slammy, etc.   

[calliopecruiser]

I'm not sure what you're question is:  Does it differ between cruise lines?  Does it differ between cruise voyages to different places?  Voyages of different lengths?  Voyages to different parts of the world?  Cruise passengers of different nationalities?  Passengers of different ages?

 

Generally speaking, shorter cruises tend to attract a party crowd, particularly those less than 5 days.  Longer cruises (over 3 weeks) tend to attract an older crowd, because most people of working age can't take that long a vacation -- of course, it doesn't mean those of retirement age can't get fall-down drunk or get into fights (only that it's less likely). 

 

 

[babs135]

As most of our recent cruises have been with Cunard and never seen anything untoward, it was with some trepidation that we sailed on the NCL Breakaway to the Bahamas over New Year's Eve.  Guess what, didn't see any drunken behaviour, etc at all.  Maybe we were just lucky?

[Karysa]

Our last 5 cruises were on different lines and we noticed seat reserving and lounge chair hogging on all. The only one where we saw people spitting over the railings was on a Princess ship leaving from Barcelona with bus loads of Asian passengers. That was so gross to me and then someone told me that a man in the bathroom spat in his urinal.  I will never get used to somethings I guess. 

[capriccio]

12 hours ago, fyree39 said:

On Princess, I had a woman who I had to assume was a very frequent Princess cruiser blatantly step in front of me at the International Cafe for a coffee refill.  I asked her if she noticed the line and she replied she only wanted a coffee. "Well, so do I!" I shot back.  I've noticed that some Princess cruisers seem to walk around the ship with airs, if you know what I mean. The atmosphere was, well, phony.

 

Not doubting this happened but am wondering why you 'had to assume' she was a very frequent Princess cruiser?  As an elite on Princess I (like many others on any line I presume) go out of my way to help newbies with directions, explanations, etc.  but they never know I'm 'elite' because I don't wear my cruise card on a lanyard (and besides, if they are like me they have no idea what the colors of the card mean).  I have been asked if I was staff on one or two occasions. 😀

[ufyellowfin]

MSC out of Miami is AWFUL. Too many different “backgrounds and nationalities” and everyone doing their own thing. Here’s some examples:

In some countries I’m assuming it’s ok to just use your hands to grab things off the buffet line.

 

In others just go ahead and bring your dirty fork back to the buffet to grab that grilled chicken breast.

 

Line!!!! What LINE?????

 

 

[helen haywood]

I have sailed Carnival, Royal, HAL, Costa, Celebrity, NCL and MSC.  Both Costa and MSC had a more varied nationality mix of passengers.  I have not seen any trend in any one line as to behavior.  I can say that some lines are much more casual in experience and dress than I personally prefer.  For example, Carnival has done away with tablecloths in the MDR. 

 

 I have only sailed MSC in the Caribbean.  I have sailed in the Yacht Club several times.  I can pretty much assure you there will not be any boorish behavior in the YC.  

[JMorris271]

1 hour ago, Karysa said:

Our last 5 cruises were on different lines and we noticed seat reserving and lounge chair hogging on all. The only one where we saw people spitting over the railings was on a Princess ship leaving from Barcelona with bus loads of Asian passengers. That was so gross to me and then someone told me that a man in the bathroom spat in his urinal.  I will never get used to somethings I guess. 

That's terrible! I've seen worse. I have seen where some "gents" have actually peed in a urinal!

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, JMorris271 said:

That's terrible! I've seen worse. I have seen where some "gents" have actually peed in a urinal!

 

Oh, the horror.  

[Mike981]

I've only cruised Celebrity, Carnival and once on Princess. As far as guest behavior, it just isn't that much different for me. They are all mass lines. I know some hate to hear this, but there are fantastic and lousy people on all lines.

[ldubs]

19 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

You ask a fair question and I will follow this thread with interest to see what others have to say.

 

My experience:  Guest behavior varies from cruise to cruise (note, I am not saying cruise line to cruise line) just as human behavior in any type of community/setting does.  Who can accurately predict?

 

 

Best response.  

[JMorris271]

2 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

I've only cruised Celebrity, Carnival and once on Princess. As far as guest behavior, it just isn't that much different for me. They are all mass lines. I know some hate to hear this, but there are fantastic and lousy people on all lines.

And the lines are getting longer. Imagine Venice or the Louvre in 20 yrs.

 

[K32682]

4 hours ago, Karysa said:

Our last 5 cruises were on different lines and we noticed seat reserving and lounge chair hogging on all. The only one where we saw people spitting over the railings was on a Princess ship leaving from Barcelona with bus loads of Asian passengers. That was so gross to me and then someone told me that a man in the bathroom spat in his urinal.  I will never get used to somethings I guess. 

 

What is wrong with spitting in a urinal?  I have or am about to empty my bladder into it.  What difference does it make if I spit in a little saliva as well?

 

Definitions of "bad behavior" vary.  I just ignore it unless it directly affects me in a meaningful way.  For example, someone cutting a buffet line is mildly irritating but not worth making a federal case over.    

Edited April 1, 2019 by K32682

[cb at sea]

So, pretty much the answer is: it will depend on who's on your ship at any given time!

[fishywood]

I was on the QM2 for a northern European cruise. With a breakdown of roughly 60% European (mostly German), 30% British, 10% USA & rest of world. Worst behaved passengers I have ever seen. Pushing and shoving in every line and the greatest lack of elevator etiquette imaginable. I'll take a ship full of obnoxious teens running in packs, or drunken fratboys howling at the moon all night, in a second over them. 

 

I have also been on a round-the-Horn cruise which broke down as roughly one-third each North American, South American, and European passengers. Problem there was that so many of the crew were happy to have someone speaking their native languages and kowtowed to the German and French speaking passengers (there were two large groups onboard, one from a Quebec TA, another from an Austrian one) at the expense of the English speakers. Yes this was a USA-based cruise line--but you wouldn't know it from the actions and policies set by the Hotel Manager and Customer Service Managers (both from Portugal) and the Shore Excursions Manager (German). 

 

I guess my point is that for those used to the North American cruising experience, be prepared to take a "When in Rome...." attitude when sailing the rest of the world's seas. 

[Karysa]

48 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

What is wrong with spitting in a urinal?  I have or am about to empty my bladder into it.  What difference does it make if I spit in a little saliva as well?

 

Definitions of "bad behavior" vary.  I just ignore it unless it directly affects me in a meaningful way.  For example, someone cutting a buffet line is mildly irritating but not worth making a federal case over.    

I think it’s more spitting in public that I was taught not to do. Someone witnessing someone spitting in the urinal is the icky thing.

[OVgirl]

I think someone spit in his urinal.

[Ashland]

The only time we've seen some bad behavior was on our Asia sailing...but it didn't affect us or would we avoid this itinerary again.

Also some questionable behavior out of San Juan this past September...but that hasn't stopped me from booking another B2B for April 2021.

Edited April 1, 2019 by Ashland

[martincath]

23 minutes ago, Karysa said:

I think it’s more spitting in public that I was taught not to do. Someone witnessing someone spitting in the urinal is the icky thing.

Unless spitting in public is less acceptable than urinating in public, logic dictates it's just fine to spit in a urinal;-) Given that when brushing your teeth you also spit into the sink (unless you're one of those weird toothpaste-swallowing people) then spitting into a sink would also a perfectly sensible option.

 

I was actually reading an interview recently with the individual charged with getting Beijing locals to stop spitting in public before the Olympics - and their preferred place to recommend spitting was in public loos if there was one present. Anyone who's ever had to deal with poor air quality quickly realises that spitting and nose-blowing is a necessity, so it really is just where and how one performs these actions that matters - doing it somewhere that urination is acceptable cannot possibly be anything but an appropriate location.

 

[calliopecruiser]

 

25 minutes ago, martincath said:

 

[slidergirl]

5 hours ago, ufyellowfin said:

MSC out of Miami is AWFUL. Too many different “backgrounds and nationalities” and everyone doing their own thing. Here’s some examples:

In some countries I’m assuming it’s ok to just use your hands to grab things off the buffet line.

 

In others just go ahead and bring your dirty fork back to the buffet to grab that grilled chicken breast.

 

Line!!!! What LINE?????

 

 

 

My first encounter with "European" behavior was at the Club Med in Cancun.  First lunch, all the Americans lined up like we do in American cafeterias.  Then, the "Europeans" would just dart in the line wherever the food they wanted was offered.  After that first lunch, we all learned to just dart in line - no one yelled, no one got annoyed.  It worked just fine.

 

Seems like some Americans cannot abide or tolerate different backgrounds and nationalities on their cruises, would prefer their ship is filled with like-minded Americans...

 

My worst encounter with rude people was on HAL.  Did a 4 day repo cruise that was the end part of a longer cruise.  I was made to feel like I was an interloper, destroying their environment they had created the past 2 weeks.  I had my share of people looking at me with their noses up in the air.   God forbid if I tried to ask if I could share a table at the Lido.   And, those guests were not the sterling examples of decorum - there were a few old drunks behaving badly on that cruise, too.  

[sfaaa]

6 hours ago, Karysa said:

Our last 5 cruises were on different lines and we noticed seat reserving and lounge chair hogging on all. The only one where we saw people spitting over the railings was on a Princess ship leaving from Barcelona with bus loads of Asian passengers. That was so gross to me and then someone told me that a man in the bathroom spat in his urinal.  I will never get used to somethings I guess. 

Yes spitting is gross. This would include NHL players constantly spitting all over the ice in a hockey game. It's not just an Asian thing.

Edited April 1, 2019 by sfaaa