Have NCL passengers gotten more rude?

[The Traveling Man]

3 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Must be a Florida thing.

Also Texas.

[The Traveling Man]

27 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

This is bizzare.  I've never seen anybody clean off their own table in the buffet.  There are crew assigned to do this and they do a great and prompt job.  Why do you think it is rude not to let them do their job?  Might be insulting.  Why are you comparing a cruise ship to McDonalds anyways?

The crew usually is Johnny on the spot when it comes to clearing tables.  I don't think I've ever been able to get up from a table in an NCL buffet before a crew member had whisked away my dirty dishes.  Maybe a glass or a napkin were left behind, but otherwise they had my table spic and span even before I was ready to leave.

[All-ready2cruise]

Maybe it's a Canadian thing.... who knows... or an eclipse event 

[WakeView4Us]

On 4/1/2024 at 5:13 PM, blackwing said:

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.

I don't think is anywhere limited to NCL, my mom and I were on the Carnival Magic last year where the guy hit a passenger over the head with his bar glass because the other guy asked him to be quiet during the show in the theater.

 

Quite honestly we have been cruising for a while and I noticed a big change in passenger attitudes when cruiselines started offering unlimited drink packages..

[MoCruiseFan]

On 4/1/2024 at 6:25 PM, 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.  

 

On NCL there is ONE 'dress up or not' night but no formal nights.  There are two dining options on some ship that have a not so strictly enforced dress code of a collared shirt for men.  However you are free to dress as you please otherwise.  There are cetainly no dining options that require a suit or tie at least not since 2011 when I first cruised.

I have only been on 19 NCL cruises so far, #20 is later this year.  I've never seen any rude behavior.  To the contrary I have seen nothing but very kind and thoughtful passengers.  Luck of the draw I guess.

[RedwingHockeyFan]

21 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

On NCL there is ONE 'dress up or not' night but no formal nights.  There are two dining options on some ship that have a not so strictly enforced dress code of a collared shirt for men.  However you are free to dress as you please otherwise.  There are cetainly no dining options that require a suit or tie at least not since 2011 when I first cruised.

I have only been on 19 NCL cruises so far, #20 is later this year.  I've never seen any rude behavior.  To the contrary I have seen nothing but very kind and thoughtful passengers.  Luck of the draw I guess.

 

The kind really does outnumber the rude, but it is the rude that will get remembered. 

[Peachypooh]

Sorry I didn't read through all the replies. We have been on numerous  cruises spanning the last 30 years and most  of them were  on NCL. I would have to say that behavior has slowly gotten worse over the years but the only cruise where I noticed it was really bad was February 2023 on the Getaway. My earlier cruises perhaps a bit of rude elevator etiquette or hogging the buffet stations but that was it. On my last cruise on the Getaway I was at a bar and the person next to me was telling this "hilarious" story (to him) about an elderly overweight woman that fell down in front of him on the beach and he didn't want to pick her up but reluctantly did. Then he turned to me and asked it that was me. And other general rudeness on that cruise.

Edited April 10 by Peachypooh

[laudergayle]

1 hour ago, Peachypooh said:

On my last cruise on the Getaway I was at a bar and the person next to me was telling this "hilarious" story (to him) about an elderly overweight woman that fell down in front of him on the beach and he didn't want to pick her up but reluctantly did. Then he turned to me and asked it that was me. And other general rudeness on that cruise.

Oh my.  My handbag might have accidentally knocked over my unfinished drink as I turned abruptly to leave.  🫗😂

[CruiseMH]

On 4/8/2024 at 3:57 PM, blackwing said:

 

Why doesn't this get done by more people at the buffet? 

Because thats what people pay for on a cruise.

Depending on ship size there are dozens or even hundreds of crew doing nothing else then cleaning the tables and removing plates and waste, in the buffet restaurants and in the table-service restaurants as well.

this is called service.

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, CruiseMH said:

Because thats what people pay for on a cruise.

Depending on ship size there are dozens or even hundreds of crew doing nothing else then cleaning the tables and removing plates and waste, in the buffet restaurants and in the table-service restaurants as well.

this is called service.

Yep.  Not to mention that they often operate at ninja speed and having some layman trying to self clean would likely just slow everything down.

[Menocchio]

According to a "Tips for Travelers" video, crew would rather you not bus your own table. Or rather, they'd rather not their bosses see you bussing your table because they don't know you're doing it because you're so considerate and not because the crew aren't doing their jobs.

[KarenRB]

Heard at the buffet this morning:  A "gentleman" in his 80s was moving the ropes to get to the buffet food even though it didn't open for another 15 min. The sweet girl behind the food line told him the buffet wasn't open yet and where he could get some food.  His response?  "Give me two g** d*** bananas NOW!"  I'm ashamed to say I sunk to his level and told him he was a jacka**.

[DingoMom]

@KarenRB, good for you!

[Travelling2Some]

4 hours ago, Menocchio said:

According to a "Tips for Travelers" video, crew would rather you not bus your own table. Or rather, they'd rather not their bosses see you bussing your table because they don't know you're doing it because you're so considerate and not because the crew aren't doing their jobs.

I was staying several nights at a guest house attached to a governmental installation in a third world country.  After a couple of mornings an employee implored me to stop making my bed because she was supposed to make it.  Being a democratic sort of person I said it did not seem right to me because, after all, I do not make her bed so why should she have to make mine?  She said she needed her job and might get in trouble if I kept cleaning up after myself.  Whoops!  I stopped, of course.

[Travelling2Some]

6 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Yep.  Not to mention that they often operate at ninja speed and having some layman trying to self clean would likely just slow everything down.

Agree.  Ever have well-meaning dinner guests who insist on "helping" you clear away but have no clue where anything goes?  I have a system and I really would rather do it myself.

[blackwing]

14 hours ago, Menocchio said:

According to a "Tips for Travelers" video, crew would rather you not bus your own table. Or rather, they'd rather not their bosses see you bussing your table because they don't know you're doing it because you're so considerate and not because the crew aren't doing their jobs.

Ahh, that makes sense.  Good explanation.  I won't bus my own table on my next cruise which will hopefully be soon!

[detroitlions]

12 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

I was staying several nights at a guest house attached to a governmental installation in a third world country.  After a couple of mornings an employee implored me to stop making my bed because she was supposed to make it.  Being a democratic sort of person I said it did not seem right to me because, after all, I do not make her bed so why should she have to make mine?  She said she needed her job and might get in trouble if I kept cleaning up after myself.  Whoops!  I stopped, of course.

This happened to me almost identical. At the time I did not realize the cleaning crew were treated like slaves and bad things probably happen to them if they did not do there job right. 

Disgusting if you ask me You could not force me to go to those places again. 

[Distinctive-Destinations]

One of the rudest things I have personally ever seen on a cruise ship happened to me on the Epic last year. We were at the whiskey bar. I went up to order a round of drinks and then bring them back to our seats. I was leaning on an empty bar stool at the end of the bar. Woman came up and pulled the bar stool right from under my arm and knocked me off balance. I didn’t fall over but I could see where some people would. No “excuse me” or “is this taken?” Etc. she just pulled the stool out and sat on it. The guitar player was starting to set up, so I guess she wanted the best seat. There were several other empty bar stools (including like 3 next to the one I was leaning on). 

Edited April 11 by Distinctive-Destinations

[coffeebean]

On 4/1/2024 at 6:36 PM, 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. 

NCL has never had formal nights since we started cruising on NCL in 2001. NCL is the Freestyle cruise line. They are the innovators of this type of cruise experience. Funny how all other cruise lines have adapted what NCL inititated years ago.

[Distinctive-Destinations]

Witnessed on the Jade today:

1) woman so drunk coming out of the casino that she fell getting on to a bar stool at Magnum’s (nearly hitting me in a nearby chair). Then called the bartender a MF after he brought her a glass of water instead of her drink. Bartender 0% at fault and handled it very professionally.

2) Alizar: couple each on FaceTime at the table talking to two different people. Phones up full blast and both of them talking very loudly.

[MSUjohn]

On 4/10/2024 at 1:00 PM, Peachypooh said:

On my last cruise on the Getaway I was at a bar and the person next to me was telling this "hilarious" story (to him) about an elderly overweight woman that fell down in front of him on the beach and he didn't want to pick her up but reluctantly did. Then he turned to me and asked it that was me.

i think on cruises and on land, things were much much "worse" if you were obese; the derision to even hostility was open 30 years ago.

[MSUjohn]

On 4/8/2024 at 9:21 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

here are crew assigned to do this and they do a great and prompt job. 

i worked in the cafeteria at university.
the "dining room attendant" was the most boring job; having nothing to do was even more boring.