Re: Puerto Ricans on Adventure of the Seas

[smurd83]

Recently, I have noticed a lot of people worried about Puerto Ricans "taking over" the ship or whatever. What worries me is that people may become prejudice with this mindset. Yes, Puerto Ricans are generally very lively and maybe even aggressive at times (you should see their driving! ..and I thought New Yorkers/New Jerseyians were bad!) But that is just their lifestyle. It is an entirely different culture than we're used to. Make it an educational opportunity to learn about someone else's culture, rather than viewing them as rude and obnoxious. Also, just like in America, we have MANY different personalities and backgrounds, making each and every person unique. It's like that practically everywhere in the world (Life would be boring if every person was the same!).

 

My point is, if you see Puerto Ricans on the boat (or anywhere for that matter..), please don't automatically assume they are going to be rude, ignorant, and a nuisance to be around for an extended amount of time. Most of them are actually very friendly and fun to be around. If you go on your vacation with the frame of mind that they are unpleasant, you are destined to have a horrible time (and based on the amount of negative reviews lately, it seems like people are TRYING to have a horrible time and find things to complain about, it's very sad!)

 

Instead, take the time to meet some people of different cultures and backgrounds and learn about them, maybe even make some pen pals along the way, but most importantly...ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!! Remember, it is whatever you make of it.

 

Sorry for my rant, I just noticed more and more people hoping to not have a large amount of Puerto Ricans on their cruise ship.:(

[ckrobyn]

Thank you for your post - well said!

 

One thing I cannot stand in life is INTOLERANCE. We all wonder why the world is in rough shape with religion's fighting eachother everywhere, culture clashes etc.....if we fix the small stuff, maybe the bigger issues can be fixed too - one can only hope, right? :o

 

I have sailed on the Adventure of the Seas, and will sail her again for 2 weeks this February. Yes, there are Puerto Rican's onboard - SO FREAKING WHAT!!!!!! Give these people a break!!!!!! Rudeness is not a matter of culture - it is a matter of the way you were brought up. There are plenty of rude Americans and Canadians on cruise ships too - why not start a thread about THEM?????

 

As you can see, I am quite passionate about this subject. I can't stand when people lump an entire culture together as "rude, obnoxious etc".

 

Okay, I'm done......for now ;)

[Crazy Cruiser Man]

Hi guys I agree with you 100 % i am from montreal , speaking about rudeness

we have our fare share.

maybe the people that complain the most are the problem.

They should look at themself first before judging other people.

In feb. this will be our 4 th time leaving from sj and the other 3 times was great.I found the people to be very nice and polite of course there are some exeptions like anywere else.

but these people are very friendly.

like i always say if you can't say anything positive don't say it at all.

[Madkitty]

I second that and funnily enough thought they were great on our cruise!

[Puerto Rican Cruiser]

Recently, I have noticed a lot of people worried about Puerto Ricans "taking over" the ship or whatever. What worries me is that people may become prejudice with this mindset. Yes, Puerto Ricans are generally very lively and maybe even aggressive at times (you should see their driving! ..and I thought New Yorkers/New Jerseyians were bad!) But that is just their lifestyle. It is an entirely different culture than we're used to. Make it an educational opportunity to learn about someone else's culture, rather than viewing them as rude and obnoxious. Also, just like in America, we have MANY different personalities and backgrounds, making each and every person unique. It's like that practically everywhere in the world (Life would be boring if every person was the same!).

 

My point is, if you see Puerto Ricans on the boat (or anywhere for that matter..), please don't automatically assume they are going to be rude, ignorant, and a nuisance to be around for an extended amount of time. Most of them are actually very friendly and fun to be around. If you go on your vacation with the frame of mind that they are unpleasant, you are destined to have a horrible time (and based on the amount of negative reviews lately, it seems like people are TRYING to have a horrible time and find things to complain about, it's very sad!)

 

Instead, take the time to meet some people of different cultures and backgrounds and learn about them, maybe even make some pen pals along the way, but most importantly...ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!! Remember, it is whatever you make of it.

 

Sorry for my rant, I just noticed more and more people hoping to not have a large amount of Puerto Ricans on their cruise ship.:(

 

Thanks for your comments.

What is happening with Puerto Rican people?

People rude and obnoxious are everywhere, everyplace. I am puerto rican and I like to meet new people from different cultures. I don’t have any problem with that.

Puerto Ricans tend to be very lively. We like to be partying a lot. What a better way to do it like a cruise? It appears that some people don’t like that. Well, you have to live with that. Every person could not be boring and passive.

 

You could find a lot of puertoricans aboard Empress and Adventure and you really felt the difference; the cruise is a lively and active one. If you don’t like that, you have to choose another cruise or being in your stateroom with room service for the whole trip.

I don’t want to “open the door” for a prejudice issue but puerto Ricans are like any other people in the world. There are good and bad ones.

[Yankee_Fan]

Another Puertorican here and I agree 100% with what the OP stated. There's good and bad in every group. I was recently on a Thanksgiving cruise out of Miami and I experienced a lot of the things that people complain about on the "Puertorican" cruises, only these were all Americans and Europeans. I suggest everyone take a cruise on the AOS or Empress...and have fun! We Puertoricans LOVE to party and have fun..so come on and join in. :D

[CoronaCpl]

I'm not quite clear what precipitated this thread, but I'm glad I read it. As a Puerto Rican I was somewhat hesitant to click on it because of the subject line. I assumed it was going to be another blast on Puerto Ricans taking over AOS. I thought it would be an opportunity for me to send friends and family the link so they could read the perception of a few. I was pleasantly surprised the thread was overall positive (to this point anyway).

 

Just like any other group of people, Puerto Ricans have their share of good and bad. I always enjoy watching different 'groups' of people on cruises. I rarely use the stereo-typical method of cataloging people in racial categories since good behavior is good behavior, regardless of class or race. And bad behavior is bad behavior, regardless.

 

Curious to see how this thread develops....

[amapola]

Another Puerto Rican cruiser chiming in here. The thing with prejudices and stereotypes is that we tend to identify some characteristics of a group and apply them to every member of that group. My husband and I are incredibly boring people :rolleyes: . We're not lively, don't like to party, don't yell, speak perfect English, don't hog elevators or pool chairs.... so the casual observer would never look at us and say "Ohhh, look, such well behaved Puerto Ricans" simply because we just don't stand out. I bet that for every loud, lively, boisterous <insert your favorite ethnic/racial/geographic group here>there are many more that do not conform to the prevailing stereotypes or prejudice. But the few rude, obnoxious, loud specimens set the tone by which an entire nationality is judged. Very sad, don't you think?

 

To the OP, thanks for starting this thread! I have found many of the comments on other threads quite hurtful.

[CoronaCpl]

...the few rude, obnoxious, loud specimens set the tone by which an entire nationality is judged. Very sad, don't you think?

 

Well put!

 

I'm somewhat surprised how many Puerto Ricans are on this board. Must be the makings of a 'take-over.' :D

[Fritz265]

I believe what happens is that the cruises that sail out of SJ tend to be predominantly populated by PR folks and they act no differently than any other cruise "society" but tend to get labled as a group.

 

There are notable rude behaviors and obnoxious people on every cruise I've been on but since the crowd is more diverse, no one ethnicity gets tagged.

 

Threads on this subject serve no good purpose other than to sway the opinions of the less experienced cruisers away from the SJ ports.

[chitowngoose]

OK,

Group Hug!!

:rolleyes:

[golfer1966]

but I have some friends who are and like most of the posts have already said, there's good and bad in all. I have sailed the Serenade from SJ and didnt notice any problems or any reasons to think there was any problems. The only difference I noticed, that all the PA announcements were in English then is Spanish, no problems per se'. My DW and I have stayed in SJ for vacation too and never had and problems. A friend of mine lives in SJ and told us where to stay away after dark, but you have that in any city. I also have to agree that PR's like to party and eat. Pass the Pincho's and Rice and Beans please !!! :D Well, the people who are having the problem will have to face it.....The cruise leaves from SJ ...so LIGHTEN UP FRANCIS !!!

[darrencantwait]

Well, I guess I AM prejudiced or biased. The cruises out of Puerto Rico with more Puerto Rican families on board ARE different: Boleros is WAY more swingin'!!! :eek: :D

 

I love seeing people being able to dance to that wonderful music. I love sailing out of Puerto Rico...and I love staying IN Puerto Rico!

[MIcruiser99]

But the few rude, obnoxious, loud specimens set the tone by which an entire nationality is judged. Very sad, don't you think

 

It is sad that it happens.

 

But after reading this, it just makes me more excited about our upcoming cruise!:D

[Ocean Boy]

I don't usually post to threads on this subject but I guess I have a liitle too much time on my hands this afternoon. I have read plenty of threads on this subject. Fortunate, I also have personal experience to draw my own conclusions.

 

I have sailed Serenade from San Juan. It was nothing other than an excellent experience. This includes the sailing itself as well as time spend in Old San Juan pre and post cruise. I had nothing but good experiences with the local people of San Juan. I think they are wonderful people and they have a beautiful city. It was such a positive experience that we will be sailing Adventure this coming year in March and I am very much looking forward to our return to Puerto Rico.

 

Now, their airport is a whole different matter but I won't get into that here.;)

[albertiger]

The more you go there, the more you will love it! I now go down 3 days before my cruises, so much to see, do, eat, drink, dance! I love P.R. and its people. Everyone, everywhere you go, open your hearts and minds!:D

[cruisinMike]

One thing I cannot stand in life is INTOLERANCE.

 

Okay, I'm done......for now ;)

 

Ok, guess you could say you're intorerant of intolerant people...hmmmm;)

[nrdsb4]

I don't know why, but on both the Carnival message board and RCI lately there have been a whole slew of "Puerto Ricans are horrible" threads. In my opinion many of them go way beyond Cruise Critic policies regarding bigotry and inappropriate posts. Yet they stay. When I have called people on their comments I often get replies such as "back off, she's just giving her opinion" or "I'm sure there are a lot of nice Puerto Ricans, I've just never met any." Pretty outrageous imo.

 

I found the Puerto Ricans to be warm and lovely people every time I've been around them. Of course there are rude ones to be found, but I sincerely doubt there are more rude Puerto Ricans than rude mainlanders.

[will work to cruise]

:) I want to party with these people. Sounds like it would be a blast!

[mauimary]

We are booked on Adventure of the Seas 5/13/07 and are very much looking forward to our cruise. I am very disappointed in some of the attitudes we are reading about. Question what makes this any different than any of the other ports where people can just walk on at the last minute at rates I wish we could-- if we lived near a port ? We would love to just have a suitcase and just show up!! Besides with the new travel regulations requiring a passport in Jan you think this would be harder to do.

We have seen obnoxious behavior on every cruise we have been on by people of all sorts. We have been on cruises at all times of the year including 2 at spring break and one last year to Panama on Brilliance who had their share of obnoxious seniors!! Some cruisers just seem to think the staff is there to serve them. Our last cruise to Hawaii in late Sept on Radiance there were people on board that we were embarrassed for them. Who just demanded attention anywhere they seemed to go. All ages- all demanding. Know it all cruisers who always seemed to have to have something.

The staff of these ships work so very hard to please everyone and work for months at a time without a day off. They always seem to be able to have a smile and are always gracious.

Why not loosen up some and be grateful for the attentive service you get and be aware and courteous of your fellow cruisers. We are all here to have a good time and meet people from all nationalities.

[ckrobyn]

Ok, guess you could say you're intorerant of intolerant people...hmmmm;)

 

 

Uhmmm.....yah...okay.........YIKES! I think you got me on that one! :p

[NAHA]

My DH and I cruised AOS the first time in February of 2002. Her maiden voyage was sometime in the fall of 2001, so we sailed during her inaugural season.

 

For several weeks prior to our cruise, there were numerous threads here, blasting the Puerto Rican passengers, saying a number of different negative things about their behaviour on the ship.

 

It was so bad, that I became very worried about taking that cruise, but I soooo wanted to try Southern Caribbean, that I decided to stick it out.

 

Adventure of the Seas became one of our favorite ships, and the cruise we took is one of the most favorite cruises we have ever taken. So much so, that in February 2007, we are sailing with my cousins and their spouses on this cruise. This will be their first cruise, and I feel confident they will love Adventure as much as we did.

 

My cousin has seen several of the negative threads about Adventure and expressed some concern. I assured her that we would enjoy ourselves very much, yes, there will be Puerto Rican people, but as she said, "why does one cruise if not to meet people of different cultures and backgrounds?"

 

No one is naive enough to believe that there will be no rudeness on the ship, with that many people, one always has the few. But I do not believe that Puerto Rican people have a monopoly on rudeness, I have met people of all nationalities who haven't got a clue how to behave in public.

[luv2cruz64]

On our first cruise Dawn Princess from SJ there were very few Puerto Rican passengers. However on the Voyager out of Bayonne last year there were quite a number of spanish speaking passengers(from various nations I would assume). I think that with large crowds the rudeness always increases. With less that 2000 pax on the Dawn but over 3000 on the Voyager it was just more people to irritate each other, I would never attribute that to race or nationality.

[Yankee_Fan]

Well, I guess I AM prejudiced or biased. The cruises out of Puerto Rico with more Puerto Rican families on board ARE different: Boleros is WAY more swingin'!!! :eek: :D

 

I love seeing people being able to dance to that wonderful music. I love sailing out of Puerto Rico...and I love staying IN Puerto Rico!

 

 

And to those who are cruising in the month of December on the AOS (like ME!), we REALLY get into the Holiday spirit. Christmas in Puerto Rico and/or with Puertoricans is a BLAST! Woo hoo....only 13 days to go!!

[drarill]

Hi:

Another puertorrican here, I have to tell all of you that I was a little reluctant to open this thread because I feel insulted every time puertorricans are trashed on this boards. I didn't know what to expect. But to all of you, thank you. As you can see there are plenty of us; and we are always willing to help all of you with your questions about your stay in our island.

Happy Holidays everyone:)