Had a great cruise except one incident

[ShelleyQT]

We just got back from our cruise on the Beyond.  Beautiful ship and overall a great cruise!

 

My only complaint is that one night at dinner in the Cosmopolitan dining room, a large family group were seated near us.   As soon as they were seated, they began to play some music very loudly using a bluetooth speaker.  The whole group sang with it, as loudly as possible.  When the song was over, they continued to play music on their bluetooth.  This was very rude, and it greatly impacted the atmosphere, and our enjoyment of our dinner.

 

None of the staff asked them to turn it off, even though there were several staff members serving the table.  It frustrates me when staff do not take care of these kinds of problems.  It should not be left up to us to either put up with it, or to have to confront them ourselves (which would not have gone well, especially with such a large family group).  I realize the waiters are not going to want to confront, but they should have notified the maitre 'd, and then he should have done something.

 

Did I notify the maitre'd myself?  No.  I know better than to tattle on such a big group.  In fact, my whole point is that I should not have to tattle.  It was clear to everyone around (including many staff) what was going on, and staff should take care of this kind of thing so that guests aren't bullied into accepting such rude behavior.

[Arizona Wildcat]

1 minute ago, ShelleyQT said:

We just got back from our cruise on the Beyond.  Beautiful ship and overall a great cruise!

 

My only complaint is that one night at dinner in the Cosmopolitan dining room, a large family group were seated near us.   As soon as they were seated, they began to play some music very loudly using a bluetooth speaker.  The whole group sang with it, as loudly as possible.  When the song was over, they continued to play music on their bluetooth.  This was very rude, and it greatly impacted the atmosphere, and our enjoyment of our dinner.

 

None of the staff asked them to turn it off, even though there were several staff members serving the table.  It frustrates me when staff do not take care of these kinds of problems.  It should not be left up to us to either put up with it, or to have to confront them ourselves (which would not have gone well, especially with such a large family group).  I realize the waiters are not going to want to confront, but they should have notified the maitre 'd, and then he should have done something.

 

Did I notify the maitre'd myself?  No.  I know better than to tattle on such a big group.  In fact, my whole point is that I should not have to tattle.  It was clear to everyone around (including many staff) what was going on, and staff should take care of this kind of thing so that guests aren't bullied into accepting such rude behavior.

Really - the staff is taught passengers are right.  Unless YOU said something discretely to your waiter or the Maitre'd they can't do anything.  

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

2 minutes ago, ShelleyQT said:

We just got back from our cruise on the Beyond.  Beautiful ship and overall a great cruise!

 

My only complaint is that one night at dinner in the Cosmopolitan dining room, a large family group were seated near us.   As soon as they were seated, they began to play some music very loudly using a bluetooth speaker.  The whole group sang with it, as loudly as possible.  When the song was over, they continued to play music on their bluetooth.  This was very rude, and it greatly impacted the atmosphere, and our enjoyment of our dinner.

 

None of the staff asked them to turn it off, even though there were several staff members serving the table.  It frustrates me when staff do not take care of these kinds of problems.  It should not be left up to us to either put up with it, or to have to confront them ourselves (which would not have gone well, especially with such a large family group).  I realize the waiters are not going to want to confront, but they should have notified the maitre 'd, and then he should have done something.

 

Did I notify the maitre'd myself?  No.  I know better than to tattle on such a big group.  In fact, my whole point is that I should not have to tattle.  It was clear to everyone around (including many staff) what was going on, and staff should take care of this kind of thing so that guests aren't bullied into accepting such rude behavior.

Rough. It almost sounds unbelievable that the staff didn't do anything about it. Not doubting you, just shocked. What kind of music was it?

[RTShaker]

5 minutes ago, ShelleyQT said:

...

 

Did I notify the maitre'd myself?  No.  ...

Seriously? At a minimum you should have stated your displeasure as you left the dining room. A big group has no special privileges.

Edited January 17, 2023 by RTShaker

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

Lol, come in shorts and they may turn you away. Bring a bluetooth speaker, no problem!

[LMaxwell]

You're right, the staff should notice when one group is acting in a loud, callous way that impacts others and do something about it. They know the loudest people, the ones with no couth or awareness of their surroundings, are the first to make major demands and then cry off to guest services when their bad behavior is pointed out or asked to stop.  

 

I have learned over the years that staff will do nothing (not just cruise lines, many places) but I have no issue asking someone politely to please be aware of their surroundings. Sometimes they comply nicely, usually they get louder and belligerent at which point the host has no choice but to intervene and correct the situation.  You are right, staff should be handling things from the start. But I would not sit through a dinner w a neighbor blasting a tinny, ear piercing bluetooth speaker. I am certain it was not palatable dinner music for everyone else either. It never is. 

[Crazy planning mom]

I would not have said anything to the other table but definitely would have said something to the maitre'd

[asnaleah]

I think I would ask to be moved to another table away from the big party.

[Mark_T]

34 minutes ago, ShelleyQT said:

Did I notify the maitre'd myself?  No.  I know better than to tattle on such a big group.  In fact, my whole point is that I should not have to tattle. 

As a minimum I would have requested a move to a different table and tell the Maitre D’ why. That puts the choice in their hands, deal with the problem or relocate your table.

 

Saying nothing and complaining later just ensures that nothing is done. 
 

I never rely on the psychic abilities of the crew to determine my state of mind. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Mark_T

[Wakepatrol]

Just another case of the dumbing down of cruising

[redjetz]

24 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

I would not have said anything to the other table but definitely would have said something to the maitre'd

agree. And if nothing was done, I would have gotten up and left. How incredibly bo9rish.

[Dancing Shoes]

I would have gone to the Maitre'd in a New York minute.     "Take your fricken party to the bar"  

 

[sdnich]

I almost can’t believe someone would bring a speaker into a restaurant and no one in the restaurant did not shut that down immediately!!This is very odd to me ???

[fizzy1]

19 hours ago, asnaleah said:

I think I would ask to be moved to another table away from the big party.

We did this in Murano . A couple arrived and sat opposite us and did nothing but complain to their waiter in very loud voices . It started to upset me so i beckoned our waiter over and whispered in his ear please could he move us to the other end but just wait for a mo then come over and get us . This he did and we had a lovely evening 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

1 minute ago, fizzy1 said:

We did this in Murano . A couple arrived and sat opposite us and did nothing but complain to their waiter in very loud voices . It started to upset me so i beckoned our waiter over and whispered in his ear please could he move us to the other end but just wait for a mo then come over and get us . This he did and we had a lovely evening 

👏 Handled this well

Edited January 17, 2023 by NorthStarStateCruiser

[PTC DAWG]

3 other dining rooms, correct? I would have asked to be moved…and waited at the entrance until they did. 

[horseymike]

19 hours ago, ShelleyQT said:

We just got back from our cruise on the Beyond.  Beautiful ship and overall a great cruise!

 

My only complaint is that one night at dinner in the Cosmopolitan dining room, a large family group were seated near us.   As soon as they were seated, they began to play some music very loudly using a bluetooth speaker.  The whole group sang with it, as loudly as possible.  When the song was over, they continued to play music on their bluetooth.  This was very rude, and it greatly impacted the atmosphere, and our enjoyment of our dinner.

 

None of the staff asked them to turn it off, even though there were several staff members serving the table.  It frustrates me when staff do not take care of these kinds of problems.  It should not be left up to us to either put up with it, or to have to confront them ourselves (which would not have gone well, especially with such a large family group).  I realize the waiters are not going to want to confront, but they should have notified the maitre 'd, and then he should have done something.

 

Did I notify the maitre'd myself?  No.  I know better than to tattle on such a big group.  In fact, my whole point is that I should not have to tattle.  It was clear to everyone around (including many staff) what was going on, and staff should take care of this kind of thing so that guests aren't bullied into accepting such rude behavior.

 

[horseymike]

Maybe they thought they were on Carnival ?

[NutsAboutGolf]

Could have ordered a second and third lobster tail each then get the charges removed due to the disruption!

 

I hate that society is this way and doing the following could be difficult but if one has a complaint about something they should do their best to take a video (discretely if preferred) of the offending event and bring it to the crews attention.  The crew can easily dismiss what people verbally claim, they can't dismiss it if there's video evidence 

[rmalbers]

On X, Alaska cruise in the main dining room a table of maybe 8 or so had young kids who got up and ran round the table, both ways, like playing tag.  It was crazy.  On X, South American cruise there was a group of over two dozen young kids, with one adult couple, all cousins from Spain,  having lunch in the MDR.  They all ordered for themselves and had a great lunch, talking among themselves.  It's all about the parents. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

20 hours ago, RTShaker said:

Seriously? At a minimum you should have stated your displeasure as you left the dining room. A big group has no special privileges.

 

Agreed. If no one was saying anything, the servers and the maitre'd have no way of knowing it's impacting others negatively.

[midwife1021]

36 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Could have ordered a second and third lobster tail each then get the charges removed due to the disruption!

Cheeky! 😉 

[ShelleyQT]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.  I love the idea of taking a video.  It did not occur to me.  I did, however, add the incident to the survey after the cruise, just so they are aware that this sort of thing is. bothersome to other guests.

[Bluewake]

I can't keep from pondering "what kind of people would do that"?  Could it have been as simple as they didn't think anyone around them would mind?   Is that even possible to be so oblivious to one's surroundings?  Or, was it more that the group/family just didn't give a hoot if others in the room were bothered by their music and singing because "it's all about us and no one else matters?"  I'm seeing more CC threads about this sort of boorish behavior and already tend to avoid one cruise line in particular because of it.  We have an upcoming cruise booked on Beyond so I'd sure like to think this is an anomaly for Celebrity. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

I think the OP was very classy in sharp contrast to the guests with the music.  Some people are just not confrontational...I have never been described as such...in fact, I am often referred to as Southern Sassy...and would have said something is my sweetest FU southern drawl.  DH says my accent makes everything sound sweet.  OP, glad this was the only blip on your cruise!