Do you speak up when you see rulebreaking?

[Copper10-8]

Yes, I have (when working) asked guests to refrain from some of the activities mentioned in this thread. I would not however, in this day and age, recommend other guests from doing so versus their fellow guests in order to prevent potential heated confrontations that can easily get out of hand depending on the personal disposition of certain individuals. I'm referring to the "Why don't you mind your own business" (with or without the application of certain bombs that start with the letter "f") and the "I paid for this, I can do whatever the - you know what - I want" crowd

 

I have seen Indonesian Lido Market crew approach and stop a guest who he saw refilling his (the guest's) water bottle from a dispenser at the beverage station in defiance and/or ignorance, what have you, of a posted sign asking to please refrain from this activity. That guest actually stopped his refilling process upon being told, said he wasn't aware/failed to see the posted sign that almost struck him in the forward part of his cranium, and handed the crew the bottle, who (the crew) subsequently refilled in the Lido pantry, and returned to the guest. Case solved in a positive way, everyone a bundle of tickles, as well as a positive learning experience applied from the crew member to the guest! I wrote that particular crew member an "attaboy" and sent it to his Lido supervisor, the Lido manager, the COM, and the Hotel director. I have also seen a Filipino asst. cook ask yet another guest to please refrain from picking up bread, utilizing his left metacarpus, from below and inside the sneeze guard without the supplied tongs.

 

On the other hand, I've seen guests immediately "get in the face" of crew who asked them to stop this activity as described. Unlike the avg Indonesian (or now also Thai) Lido Market crew member, having been a flatfoot for thirty years with the local constabulary in the City of Angels, I have no problem with someone getting in my face and in those three decades have successfully obtained the expertise to respond accordingly.

 

You have to understand, all Indonesian, Filipino and Thai Hotel Dept. crew attends, and is required to satisfactory complete and pass, one of the three HAL basic hotel academies in their home countries before being allowed to set foot on a dam ship. The curriculum of those three academies includes a working knowledge of the English language however, English still remains their second language. Most Asian Lido staff is not looking forward to getting into a verbal confrontation with a guest. Not so much for the potential lack of a gratuity later on, but more so because a verbal confrontation with a guest is not a "day at the beach" for most of them, those confrontations have the potential of involving copious amounts of  intimidation initiated by the "offended" guest(s), and they can ultimately lead to consequences for the crew member.

 

I once asked a female guest to stop using the same tong to pick up different portions of condiments from a salad bar. She asked me why and I told her "in order to prevent others from potentially getting ill" Her response "So, you're telling me I'm a filthy person?" This went on for a while and she left that station an unhappy camper. Sometimes, you can't win for trying! 

 

It should be the job of supervisors and management (any ship's supervisor and any ship's management) to professionally confront guests who are observed potentially threatening the well being and health of others (guests and crew) through their (the former) uncouth and unsanitary actions in the self-service food and beverage stations of the ship

[CTOM]

Yeah, these stories and my own will have us avoiding the taco bar from now on.  

[DaveOKC]

Copper 10-8 - thanks for your comments, especially on the concept of a passenger not confronting another passenger "in this day and age".   You just never know how a person will react and especially if they have been drinking or just having a bad day.

 

 

[GUT2407]

How do you know they’re not a psycho hit man on family vacation.

 

Nor push comes to shove I used to be able to take care of myself hand to hand, but who knows it’ll stay hand to hand.

[Sir PMP]

30 minutes ago, TAD2005 said:

We were seated at lunchtime at a table in the Lido pool area, right next to the Taco Bar, which is self-serve.  It is also next to the Dive-In service window.   We watched a woman loading sour cream onto her plate, and when she was done, she licked the serving spoon and placed it back into the tub of sour cream.  Yuccch !!!

We told the Dive-In staff of this disgusting action.  They immediately removed the tub of sour cream and replaced it.  Some people are slobs, and you can't fix stupid.

 

One person like that can bring the whole ship down..

 

 

[CTOM]

To me, the major point is that the water spout rule is clearly posted, in writing.   

If they back talk you or the staff, you simply say "It's not my personal opinion.  It's the ship's rule.  Then point to the sign.

[dundeene]

 

We were on an Oceania cruise with a beautiful cheese board display in the Italian Specialty Restaurant Tuscana.  The wheels of cheese were huge! They were obviously for display and there were smaller wheels for carving. A little guy (about 4 years old) walked around the display running his hands over each of the unwrapped wheels of cheese. He then began to take pieces of the sliced cheeses and lick them, then return them to their place on the trays. I called over the waiter and he was appalled.  He ran over to the 4-year-old and said: "Stop doing that, where are your parents?" The parents got up from their table and grabbed the little guy,  who was kicking and screaming and left the restaurant in embarrassment. Kitchen staff came out and started removing the entire elaborate display. 

[qoap24]

9 hours ago, CTOM said:

Just got off a HAL cruise, and wife and I were astonished by how many people filled their water bottles directly from the water/coffee spouts in Lido.  With signs everywhere telling them not to do it, and staff everywhere watching them do it and ignoring the people.   Do any of you ever speak up when people don't obey the posted rules and when the staff refuses to enforce the same rules??  It was especially bad, because we saw several people drink from their bottles then immediately put it right up (touching) the spout.

 

Related:  What about when see you see a woman move the tongs out of the way so she can reach her hand into the chip bowl and grab a handful by hand.  Eat a few, then go reach in for more.

I know I'm not the HAL police, but it was sooo tempting to go ask her, "Is there a reason you didn't just use the tongs?"

 

How should we handle these disgusting habits??  We're not even germiphobes; we just believe in following common courtesy.

 

Curious on your experiences.

Yes, I guess I would be the person that would say something to the person as well as to the staff. And I would also be the one standing there telling people "don't eat that or that because that person over there did something nasty to it" until the staff removed such item. 

 

I don't know that me saying something to the person will change their habits, but I would still feel the need to say something. 

[bennybear]

I was horrified when standing behind a very loud woman who had been drinking during muster.  The crew ignored her and made it impossible to hear.  I said shh, and she hissed at me.  The people behind  me could not hear  either.  I still I didn’t understand why the crew said nothing.  I loved it when the captain would order quiet on the decks and people listened.  

[Shel71]

Just to put another spin on this, the rule for the water bottles is only for bottles that have a spout that you put to your mouth, it's not for filling bottles that have a lid that can be removed. I drink a lot of water so I brought my large cup along with me that has a lid and a straw (see photo) on my HAL cruise last summer.

 

The lid comes off so it is just a regular (larger cup). The first day I was standing at the water dispenser and using their cup to fill and dump into my cup, a worker stopped me and told me I did not need to do that because my cup/bottle was not the type that is covered under their rule. The rule is only for plastic bottles where a person's lips touch it and then would touch the dispenser, which mine didn't do at all. The worker told me to stop wasting time filling and dumping and just fill my cup directly. I thanked them and continued to do that throughout my cruise per their direction. One day a fellow passenger started to yell at me and I tried to politely explain what the worker had told me. She refused to listen and kept yelling. I just walked away at that point.

 

Point of all of this is before you make assumptions about the wrongness of others make sure you fully understand the rules, to begin with.

[Ken the cruiser]

I draw the line at politics. If I start hearing it at our diner table or on an excursion, the “pit bull” in me comes out very quickly and loudly and the discussion ends shortly thereafter. 

 

When it comes to someone grabbing for food on the buffet line in an inappropriate manner, I basically turn to my wife and say something derogatory, but loud enough so the person can hear. This way I get my point across, as they know they’re not supposed to be doing it, without confronting them directly.

 

But then again people like this also reenforce my need to sanitize my hands before as well as after we leave a dining area as well as wash my hands once we get back to the cabin, because there are a lot of sickly folks on a cruise and it’s up to me to minimize the damage to my health while on the cruise.

[erewhon]

One day when  I walked into the Neptune Lounge for coffee,  (the concierge not present) was appalled to see a passenger use her fingers to take pieces of fruit from 3 individual little bowls of fruit salad, she then returned her handful of sliced fruit to the bowls, picked up different bowl and sat down to eat with her fingers.  

The concierge then returned, I quietly told him what I had seen, he was horrified , showed him which were the affected bowls, which he promptly removed. 

On another occasion in the Lido, a  passenger  alongside, dropped the serving tongs on the floor, then put the tongs back in the bread basket,  I told a staff member who was nearby, he removed the bread basket. 

[Wehwalt]

Not a passenger's job to order around or rebuke any other passenger. Advise against. If you don't like what someone's done, talk to the crew, who have that responsibility.

[GUT2407]

2 hours ago, Wehwalt said:

Not a passenger's job to order around or rebuke any other passenger. Advise against. If you don't like what someone's done, talk to the crew, who have that responsibility.

Crew are hesitant, too. They don’t want bad reviews and pulled tips.

 

[dockman]

I have pointed out the NO JOGGING signs to a few who don't seem to notice the large signs on LP decks....joggers just don't fit in with an already crowded walking deck full of slow moving folks not to mention the people in rooms under the deck who can sometimes hear the pounding above them.

 

I have also pointed out NO SMOKING on LP deck to a few folks who obviously think that cigar smoke fits right in with ocean breezes.

 

As for water bottles why don't people just fill them from the sink in their rooms?  I suspect it's the same quality water?

[dogs4fun]

19 hours ago, iancal said:

We mind our own business and believe that it is up to the cruise line to monitor behaviour and enforce whatever rules they believe should be enforced.

 

 

Same here. However, we would immediately mention issues that might affect our well being to the person(s) in charge (like replacing a dish/bowl wherein someone used their hands to serve themselves (yuck).

[baggal]

Yes.  If you're going to push me aside when you're going through security to get back on the ship before me or elbow me in the Lido buffet to reach over me to grab an item, you are going to get a not-polite "Really?  The line is behind me."  Which is always surprising to me since I'm a woman that stands 5'6" and I would not consider myself petite.   I have stunned some people by my comments.  I don't like speaking up  but I dislike being pushed around even more.

[SargassoPirate]

The vast majority of people are ok, but there's always a percentage who are ignorant slobs - just look at the trash alongside our roadways.

 

I tend to speak up when it affects the health and well-being of me and others and I speak up to the idiot.  Few of them are bigger than me, so I tend to get my point across.  I also speak up when it affects my place in line - you know the types, the ones who pretend they didn't know there was a line.

 

People who get defensive when caught and confronted doing something wrong are trying to transfer accountability and guilt to the other person in order to make themselves feel exonerated.

[jbhcw]

Having had Noro virus twice...once on land and once on a ship...I'm extremely leery of self serve buffets....so glad Hal is serving more food now instead of letting people help themselves...I used to love the rolling Bloody Mary Cart they would have out on the lido until I saw the cart unattended and a man walked by...stuck his hand in the shrimp bowl...grabbed a handful and kept walking!!  I reported it...have also seen people just reach in grab rolls...etc....it makes me not want to eat anything from a self serve area.   I think it should always be reported...I'm not a confrontational type of person...so probably would not say anything to anyone...but it is amazing to me how some people behave when around food!

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, baggal said:

Yes.  If you're going to push me aside when you're going through security to get back on the ship before me or elbow me in the Lido buffet to reach over me to grab an item, you are going to get a not-polite "Really?  The line is behind me."  Which is always surprising to me since I'm a woman that stands 5'6" and I would not consider myself petite.   I have stunned some people by my comments.  I don't like speaking up  but I dislike being pushed around even more.

 

I'm 5'2" and I'm just grateful not to be stepped on. But I will say something to someone who is trying to cut in a line. I go for  a neutral, "Excuse me, there's a line" and I point to the end of the line. 

 

One of the funniest experiences I had was many years ago on QE2. Before a refit that gave her a full buffet, they did it sort of ad hoc, with serving carts along the hallway that led to the buffet dining area. One morning a women behind me kept poking her tray into my back. I would inch forward and she would catch up. I was about to say something when she said to me, "Sorry, but we have to stay close to keep the queue jumpers out." She told me about an elderly lady who would reach across the line "to get a piece of bread for my friend who forgot to get some" and then insinuate herself into the line. Sure enough, the old dear tried it right in front of me and I did my "Excuse me, there's a line." The woman looked baffled as if the idea of there being a line--despite the many people in it--was a mystery. After she went to the back of the line, the woman behind me said, "Yeah, that's what I mean."

 

[0bnxshs]

15 hours ago, TAD2005 said:

We were seated at lunchtime at a table in the Lido pool area, right next to the Taco Bar, which is self-serve.  It is also next to the Dive-In service window.   We watched a woman loading sour cream onto her plate, and when she was done, she licked the serving spoon and placed it back into the tub of sour cream.  Yuccch !!!

We told the Dive-In staff of this disgusting action.  They immediately removed the tub of sour cream and replaced it.  Some people are slobs, and you can't fix stupid.

 

On the Prinsendam one afternoon I watched a guest load a bowl with bread pudding in the Lido and then swizzle the topping over it.  He then proceeded to stick the spoon used to add the topping all the way into his mouth and then remove it.  He placed the spoon back in the pan with the topping and walked off with his bowl.  I was flabbergasted but quickly recovered and found one of the Lido staff and explained what had happened.  The bread pudding and topping disappeared quickly afterward.

 

I guess my point is that there are people out there who care nothing for etiquette/courtesy/hygiene/other people/rules, etc.  Then there are a few people who act before they think (I have a BIL who does such things due to TBI) and even fewer whose capacities are diminished and should be accompanied by a responsible party for assistance.  In the case above, it was the last option I mentioned and so confronting the man would have been futile.  Further, if it can be done (any of these violations of rules) it will be done, probably more often than any of us realize.  For me, the best option is to act to protect myself and others without provoking others or causing a scene.  I think in most all cases, letting a supervisor or manager know of the problem is the best option; you never know who you are dealing with and none of us wants to find ourselves in a unexpected and heated exchange (at least I don't.)

 

Expecting the wait staff to deal with an issue is beyond their perview, IMO.  As in the case that Copper10-8 mentions, an experienced staffer might work to turn the issue into a positive one but many on the Lido are new and less experienced.  I think conveying the observed infraction to a supervisor is best.  Having done this myself, I have even "occupied" the corrupted device or area to prevent others from unknowingly using it and exposing themselves. 

[Judyrem]

10 hours ago, erewhon said:

One day when  I walked into the Neptune Lounge for coffee,  (the concierge not present) was appalled to see a passenger use her fingers to take pieces of fruit from 3 individual little bowls of fruit salad, she then returned her handful of sliced fruit to the bowls, picked up different bowl and sat down to eat with her fingers.  

The concierge then returned, I quietly told him what I had seen, he was horrified , showed him which were the affected bowls, which he promptly removed. 

On another occasion in the Lido, a  passenger  alongside, dropped the serving tongs on the floor, then put the tongs back in the bread basket,  I told a staff member who was nearby, he removed the bread basket. 

😝

[Judyrem]

I will say something if I see young children in a hot tub, they do NOT belong there.  

[KroozNut]

20 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

I still don't understand the reason for the overly large salad bowls, however.  I was told it was to assist the guest in "mixing" their salad.  My observations:  such large bowls produce much uneaten food.

 

I actually appreciate their large salad bowls because I like to mix everything in my bowl (including dressing) together prior to eating it. And the larger bowls leave enough room to do this.. 🙂

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

 

I actually appreciate their large salad bowls because I like to mix everything in my bowl (including dressing) together prior to eating it. And the larger bowls leave enough room to do this.. 🙂

 

I agree. It probably saves a lot of spilling as people mix their salads or dig through to find the "good bits" that tend to fall below the lettuce.