Have NCL passengers gotten more rude?

[blackwing]

Or have they always been, on the whole, like this?  Some of our early cruising experiences were on Carnival.  When we went on our first NCL 10 years ago, I had thought at the time that the Norwegian passenger on the whole was a bit more refined than the stereotype of the Carnival passenger.  There were formal nights, and passengers dressing up in suits and gowns was the norm and not the exception.  I know that NCL bills itself as a cruise line for families.  But I still want to believe that the passengers overall are very classy.

 

And then there were some incidents I witnessed last week on Getaway:

 

At the Mixx bar, an older lady turns to a middle aged man of Asian descent standing next to her.  He is waiting to order his drink.  She says to him very slowly and loudly, "EXCUSE ME".  He says "Yes, hello?"  She says "Oh good, you DO speak English.  I was worried."

 

Man walking in late to an art auction, making a beeline to a waitress at the front of room collecting empty champagne (prosecco) glasses.  Auctioneer is talking but the man just loudly says the the waitress "WHERE IS THE CHAMPAGNE".  I'm assuming he didn't have the bar package!

 

I walked into an elevator, where a man in his early 20s is chatting with a man of about 40 who is wearing a turban.  20 year old says "what country are you from".  40 year old (who did have a thick accent) says without missing a beat "United States of America".  20 year old gives this dumbfounded look and says "oh.  I meant..."  40 year old says "oh you mean originally?  India."  20 year old says "How is it?"  40 year old says "I wouldn't know.  I've only been there 4 times in the past 20 years."  Meanwhile, the 40 year old's 7-ish year old daughter just keeps repeating "it's crazy there, it's crazy".  I left the elevator before hearing the resolution of this conversation.

 

The best was the last night when I thought I was going to witness a fistfight.  There was a long line of people without reservations trying to get into the Tropicana.  The popular piano player Louis Razon was playing there all night.  One man was waiting in line and I think some little kids who were running around all over the crowded space must have bumped him.  He must have said something because the next thing I know, I hear shouting.  A woman is in his face yelling something like "Excuse me?  You do not get to talk to me like that."  There's some back and forth and she says "You are not allowed to tell me how I should parent my children."  Then her husband gets up and gets in the guys face and says to him something like "You need to back away.  You need to leave and sit down".  The parents go and sit on some bench.  The man (who wasn't talking loudly) must have been talking to the people he was in line with because all of a sudden I hear the woman yelling "excuse me!  I can hear you talking."  I went to the bathroom and when I came back, the parents were gone.  I don't know if they got seated or left.

 

I should not be surprised at all by any of these incidents, I think perhaps the answer is that NCL passengers are a slice of America, just like everybody else.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I don't think it's limited to NCL by any means. Anywhere there are people there days you can see this kind of thing. 

[SeaShark]

Are you certain that you are remembering NCL? They haven't had formal nights in over 20 years.

[yakcruiser]

55 minutes ago, blackwing said:

 

 

 

 

I should not be surprised at all by any of these incidents, I think perhaps the answer is that NCL passengers are a slice of America, just like everybody else.

Bingo!

Edited April 1 by yakcruiser

[david_sobe]

Everyone has gotten more rude.  Manners are no longer taught.  But to my surprise my co-worker originally born and raised in Miami (the rudest city in the USA) took a European cruise and came back complaining how rude people were. I wont mention the country that had his biggest complaint but he said he was routinely shoved out of line in the buffet and physically pushed all the time.  I was watching the Ben and David cruising vlog and even before their MSC fiasco they were mentioning how different the European crowd is on MSC.  They also mentioned rude kids and adults pushing and shoving.  So its not just Americans that are savages 🙈🙊🙉

Edited April 1 by david_sobe

[blackwing]

1 hour ago, SeaShark said:

Are you certain that you are remembering NCL? They haven't had formal nights in over 20 years.

I don't know if it was a strict formal night or if it was formal-suggested, but 10 years ago I definitely brought two suits and two ties, which makes me seem to think there were two formal or formal-ish nights.  I also remember wearing a dress shirt to dinner for every other night.  

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

The popular piano player Louis Razon was playing there all night.

Louis was on our last cruise (Pearl) and he is fantastic.  I spent countless hours enjoying his music, and the only rudeness I recall is when a "look at me" group decided that they had to dance right in front of his Piano in the narrow aisle.  It really distracted from his otherwise great performance.  There was plenty of room for them to dance off to the sides.

 

Flip the coin over and I'm certain that they thought I was rude when I asked them to stop stepping on my innocent toes.

[Stealthdog]

Every sailing is so different that it’s hard to stereotype.  We did a back to back on the Escape last December.  The first 7 days, lots of rude behavior and it felt like a party ship.  Second 7 days was completely different. We are going on the Jade in July, so I’ll be curious to see what the feel on board will be. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 minute ago, blackwing said:

I don't know if it was a strict formal night or if it was formal-suggested, but 10 years ago I definitely brought two suits and two ties, which makes me seem to think there were two formal or formal-ish nights.  I also remember wearing a dress shirt to dinner for every other night.  

Are you suggesting that people who dress casual are rude?  That doesn't sound quite right.

[blackwing]

4 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Are you suggesting that people who dress casual are rude?  That doesn't sound quite right.

No, I was saying 10 years ago, the NCL cruise I was on felt like a more refined group of passengers.  There's something elegant about seeing most passengers in formal attire.  Like the early days when cruising was a means of transportation to get from England to America. 

 

If this is the same cruise I think I am remembering, on the formal-suggested nights I think I remember the dailies saying that if you want to dress casual to eat dinner at the buffet.   For the most part, people complied.  They didn't turn anyone away in the MDR though.  Maybe I am getting my past cruises mixed up?

 

This time around, no mention of any formal or formal-suggested nights.  Since I hadn't cruised in years, I don't know when this change happened.  I wore t-shirts in the dining room, as did many others. 

[Distinctive-Destinations]

8 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Miami (the rudest city in the USA)  🙈🙊🙉

I’ve said for quite a few years now that the Miami airport staff (customs in particular) is consistently the rudest group of employees around, at least domestically in the US. However, I’ve also flown into there dozens of times so maybe I’m just perpetually unlucky.

 

 

[KeithJenner]

9 minutes ago, blackwing said:

No, I was saying 10 years ago, the NCL cruise I was on felt like a more refined group of passengers.  There's something elegant about seeing most passengers in formal attire.  Like the early days when cruising was a means of transportation to get from England to America. 

 

If this is the same cruise I think I am remembering, on the formal-suggested nights I think I remember the dailies saying that if you want to dress casual to eat dinner at the buffet.   For the most part, people complied.  They didn't turn anyone away in the MDR though.  Maybe I am getting my past cruises mixed up?

 

This time around, no mention of any formal or formal-suggested nights.  Since I hadn't cruised in years, I don't know when this change happened.  I wore t-shirts in the dining room, as did many others. 

You are certainly getting past cruises mixed up. 10 years ago on NCL there would have been a “dress up or not” night or “Norwegian night out” which was only ever a suggestion that many people ignored. The actual dress code was always exactly the same and I have never seen a suggestion that people eat in the buffet due to dress on NCL.

 

The lack of those sort of restrictions is the reason we selected NCL for our first cruise over 20 years ago,

Edited April 1 by KeithJenner

[ChiefMateJRK]

54 minutes ago, blackwing said:

No, I was saying 10 years ago, the NCL cruise I was on felt like a more refined group of passengers.

Refined?  

refined (adjective)

1. with impurities or unwanted elements having been removed by processing:

    

Yeah, maybe. I guess it depends on what a person finds to be "impurities or unwanted elements."  Did I mention that those folks dancing on my innocent toes were well dressed?  I'm sure at least one of the guys was wearing a shirt and tie and the lead diva nailed me more than once with her flowing gown (blowing waves of perfume my direction).  I would gladly have traded all that elegance for safer toes and a better line of sight with Louis (he was great at engaging us as we followed him around like groupies).

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

53 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

The actual dress code was always exactly the same and I have never seen a suggestion that people eat in the buffet due to dress on NCL.

 

The lack of those sort of restrictions is the reason we selected NCL for our first cruise over 20 years ago,

Same with us.  Our first was in 2007, and freestyle was alive and well back then.  I've only had to find a way to reconcile my "comfort first" policy with NCL's "pants and shoes" policy.  I've got it covered.😎

[Travelling2Some]

11 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Same with us.  Our first was in 2007, and freestyle was alive and well back then.  I've only had to find a way to reconcile my "comfort first" policy with NCL's "pants and shoes" policy.  I've got it covered.😎

Well, you've got those pants taken care of by Lands End.  Maybe consider a pair of steel toed shoes in case the "fancy dancers" incident repeats.  Things I have refused to do since I turned 50:  Homework, jogging, cheap wine, weird health food, uncomfortable clothing. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 minute ago, Travelling2Some said:

Well, you've got those pants taken care of by Lands End.

I'm here to help (well, usually).

1 minute ago, Travelling2Some said:

Maybe consider a pair of steel toed shoes in case the "fancy dancers" incident repeats. 

I was actually wearing black moccasin slippers with black Dickies athletic socks.  Those compliment my black jersey knit sweats well from ten feet away.  The "good" people think I'm wearing nice slacks with penny loafers.  They think I'm dressed to the nines, when they are actually a decimal point - or more - off.  I may again need @IAcruising's help with the math.  What they don't know won't hurt them (until they read my threads on this forum).  Fortunately that "hurt" can go away with a few aspirins.  Unless it's a deeper hurt.  I can't help them with that.

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

Things I have refused to do since I turned 50:  Homework, jogging, cheap wine, weird health food, uncomfortable clothing. 

Right there with you brother (or sister).  Although, I will hit the treadmill and drink some $10 Prosecco with dinner.  I fully embrace the carefree steerage lifestyle.  Both at land and at sea.😎

[geneticfreak]

Since 2020, people have forgotten how to people. The ill effects of the lockdowns will be felt for many years. 

[julig22]

2 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Everyone has gotten more rude.  Manners are no longer taught.  But to my surprise my co-worker originally born and raised in Miami (the rudest city in the USA) took a European cruise and came back complaining how rude people were. I wont mention the country that had his biggest complaint but he said he was routinely shoved out of line in the buffet and physically pushed all the time.  I was watching the Ben and David cruising vlog and even before their MSC fiasco they were mentioning how different the European crowd is on MSC.  They also mentioned rude kids and adults pushing and shoving.  So its not just Americans that are savages 🙈🙊🙉

I would have to 100% agree. I also won't mention the nationalities involved but I've been on cruises where large groups will take over the buffet, push past people in line, talk through presentations, block the elevators while they try to decide what to do next and so forth. 

[Ellis1138]

Maybe you were on a charter or "group" type cruise, because NCL itself hasn't had a formal night for as long as I've sailed with them (first cruise was 2003, specifically picked because I hate wearing formal clothing). But when the Star Trek cruise was on the Jade, there were formal and costume nights.

 

Overall, though, not just on NCL, but as a whole, people have stopped being as mannered. I think it happened even before the pandemic. Just a gradual slope that we didn't notice until we spent 3 months isolated from everyone else.

[HowardK]

People seem more rude lately- I was just at a hotel that had 20 minute delays to get an elevator due to one breaking.

We had 8 people (max) on the elevator, 4 more people wanted to come on and I said "you can't come on as it would exceed the weight limit"

The person proceeded to curse me out in front of his 2 young children.

 

[WITraveler37]

4 minutes ago, HowardK said:

People seem more rude lately- I was just at a hotel that had 20 minute delays to get an elevator due to one breaking.

We had 8 people (max) on the elevator, 4 more people wanted to come on and I said "you can't come on as it would exceed the weight limit"

The person proceeded to curse me out in front of his 2 young children.

 

Yes people are so much more pushy and inconsiderate. On the cruise we just got off of we had 8 adult sized people in the elevator, all of us with our suitcases as we were disembarking. The doors opened and a lady asked if there was room, we all said no and she said yes there is and proceeded to push her way in dragging her husband behind. Then there were the parentless 6 year olds in the buffet cutting in front of everyone and grabbing food with their bare hands. Can't expect them to know any better if their parents don't teach them but the severe lack of parenting I witnessed last week was baffling and doesn't bode well for our future. And I'm a parent (teenagers).

[ChiefMateJRK]

25 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

Overall, though, not just on NCL, but as a whole, people have stopped being as mannered. I think it happened even before the pandemic. Just a gradual slope that we didn't notice until we spent 3 months isolated from everyone else.

I would tend to agree to a point.  That said, I think the entitled me-me-me types are more prevalent on cruise ships than many other places.  I grew up in the rural midwest.  Have lived in a medium sized city half way across the country for decades since.  I had to spend some time back there last year and, WOW, everybody seemed so nice!  This wasn't Minnesota, but the phrase "Minnesota nice" is real man.

[blackwing]

2 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

You are certainly getting past cruises mixed up. 10 years ago on NCL there would have been a “dress up or not” night or “Norwegian night out” which was only ever a suggestion that many people ignored. The actual dress code was always exactly the same and I have never seen a suggestion that people eat in the buffet due to dress on NCL.

 

The lack of those sort of restrictions is the reason we selected NCL for our first cruise over 20 years ago,

Ah, thanks for the correction.  I definitely think I remember the phrase "Norwegian Night Out" now that you mentioned it and my family did dress up.  I guess we were still in the mentality of having formal nights.

27 minutes ago, HowardK said:

People seem more rude lately- I was just at a hotel that had 20 minute delays to get an elevator due to one breaking.

We had 8 people (max) on the elevator, 4 more people wanted to come on and I said "you can't come on as it would exceed the weight limit"

The person proceeded to curse me out in front of his 2 young children.

 

 

18 minutes ago, WITraveler37 said:

Yes people are so much more pushy and inconsiderate. On the cruise we just got off of we had 8 adult sized people in the elevator, all of us with our suitcases as we were disembarking. The doors opened and a lady asked if there was room, we all said no and she said yes there is and proceeded to push her way in dragging her husband behind. Then there were the parentless 6 year olds in the buffet cutting in front of everyone and grabbing food with their bare hands. Can't expect them to know any better if their parents don't teach them but the severe lack of parenting I witnessed last week was baffling and doesn't bode well for our future. And I'm a parent (teenagers).

It does seem like there is a particular rudeness with elevators, doesn't it?  Elevators are crowded.  People want to get on elevators.  I was in one with a woman, we were going down from 15 to 6.  And yep, we proceeded to stop on every floor, either because people were getting on or people were getting off.  With each floor she would make loud audible sighs or comments like "Oh my God, are we really going to stop on every floor" or "who's getting off on this floor now" or "why can't I ever get one that doesn't stop".

 

Then there was the kid who was riding down with me from a higher floor.  I was going to 7.  He got off on 10 and before he got out, he made some woo-woo noises and then tried pushing all the buttons from 11 to 15.  It didn't work since we were going down, but he didn't know that.  I said "come on kid" and he says "oh sorry, my fingers slipped".  His parents taught him well.

 

Another behavior I witnessed... the small number of people in a motorized scooter who just go full speed, not caring how crowded the walkway is or whose toes they might run over.  You're expected to see them coming and get out of the way.  Granted, I'm sure nobody would want to be in one, and it must be frustrating to maneuver around all the people, but still.  It's a ship with 4,000 people.

[expectthebest]

I think COVID has put us back as a society where it forces the individual now to put themselves (toilet paper famine) and their families (social gatherings) first. We created a me first and a “got mine” way of life that unfortunately is not pretty. Since over half the country is still work from home and has been for a few years now we have lost the ability to be nice and cordial to each other because we are all behind a computer screen and when we are in public together we really forget how to act and pick up on social cues..which gives way to a rise in misunderstandings which inevitably turns into a fight for all of the public to see.. then these scuffles make the news and people on the cruises think this is acceptable behavior.