Cruiselines with the Best Mannered Passengers?

[Boo Boo]

Ok, maybe I am asking the impossible, but... IF THERE IS SUCH A THING, which cruiseline/s have the best mannered passengers?

 

Just came back from our 5th Royal Caribbean Cruise (Western Caribbean) and I must say that I found quite a lot of other passengers' manners quite shocking: "I want" or "I need" came high up on the the list of verbs used, "please" and "thank you" were sadly lacking and some people would be happy to walk through you to get where they were going :(

 

Ok, maybe this isn't a cruise problem - just a sad reflection of society in general... Not everyone onboard lacked manners and it didn't ruin our cruise (still had a great cruise!), but could sincerely fancy a cruise with predominantly well-mannered, polite people... :)

 

Or maybe Royal Caribbean could just introduce a "well-mannered cruisers only ship" :D

 

Boo

[cruisemom42]

Sadly, I think it may be a reflection of the times. I was nearly mowed down a couple of times on my Princess cruise in May by people barrelling into the elevator without letting the occupants out first -- what is up with that?

 

And once in the buffet I was pretty sharply elbowed by a little old lady trying to get in front of me in the line. After I gave her a prolonged and piercing look, she gave up a grudging "Excuse me".

 

That's not to mention the fistfight I witnessed in the Princess theater over the saving of seats.....:rolleyes:

[paul929207]

Perhaps if you tried a cruise line that caters to non-Americans.

[LHT28]

Maybe on the upscale lines.

There are those types of people everywhere but on some lines they seem to be fewer of the "I wants".

Any mass market ship I have been on there are those act that way.

[Boo Boo]

Perhaps if you tried a cruise line that caters to non-Americans.

 

Although, to be honest MOST of the bad behaviour that I witnessed was from Americans (aged 18-50), not all of us Brits or Europeans have the best of manners either... :(. So I am not sure that would work, unfortunately...

 

In Britain I actually think that have more "purposefully rude" (if that makes ANY sense) people than in the US. Many Europeans have no concept of queueing (if you are a skier - and have tried skiing in both the USA and Europe - you would know what I mean) or personal space. I love US good manners and ettiquette - they are fab (when applied!) :)

 

Boo

[Boo Boo]

Maybe on the upscale lines.

There are those types of people everywhere but on some lines they seem to be fewer of the "I wants".

 

Is that true? That is the question?

 

Money doesn't always equal manners: there are lots of rich people out there with none and lots of "not so rich people" out there with buckets lots of manners...

 

Maybe I am on a hiding to nothing... Maybe it is more of a problem on the mega-ships: we were on Freedom of the Seas. The ship wasn't full (well the cabins were all sold out, but not at maximum capacity), but still more people after limited resources (elevators, buffet, tenders etc) can make for a tense atmosphere... BUT I love amenities that a ship like Freedom has to offer and it is a beautiful ship with a good crew.

 

Boo

[TexasCPA]

Maybe on the upscale lines.

There are those types of people everywhere but on some lines they seem to be fewer of the "I wants".

Any mass market ship I have been on there are those act that way.

Perhaps that's because the people traveling on the upscale lines are not the "I wants" kind of people, they're the "I already haves" kind of people. Or maybe, they'e just people with decent manners.

[klsage]

We were on 2 back-to-back cruises on Oceania Insignia in Aug and Sept and everyone was very polite. I heard there was a problem sometimes with people trying to "save" lounges near the pools, but otherwise everyone seemed very gracious. And great service abounded!

[TomTN]

That's not to mention the fistfight I witnessed in the Princess theater over the saving of seats.....:rolleyes:

 

I missed the blows, but there were a couple of very pissed guys, and security had to be called.

 

That was one of the very few things I did not like about the Caribbean Princess. the first show is so crowded that you had to be there at least 30 minutes before the show to get a seat.

 

A nice cruise though. Every line has its' +s and -s.

[TomTN]

Perhaps if you tried a cruise line that caters to non-Americans.

LOL And I know you meant it. Especially noticeable in foreign countries where some Americans want everything to be Americanized. It is their right.:rolleyes:

[LHT28]

We were on 2 back-to-back cruises on Oceania Insignia in Aug and Sept and everyone was very polite. I heard there was a problem sometimes with people trying to "save" lounges near the pools, but otherwise everyone seemed very gracious. And great service abounded!

 

I agree

We have done several O cruises & while we did meet a couple of " I deserve" people the majority were polite, well travelled type people.

 

It could be just the way of the world but I hope good manners are still taught

 

BOO BOO

Yes you are right money does not bring good manners.

 

Lyn

[cruisemom42]

Perhaps if you tried a cruise line that caters to non-Americans.

 

Doubtful. My parents have been on 2 Mediterranean cruises on Costa and commented both times on the less-than-stellar manners of the mostly European passengers, including the previously mentioned issues with queueing (or should I say "stampeding"), blatant disregard of nonsmoking areas, and a lot of noisy talking, laughing, etc during shows and tours.

[cruisemom42]

That's not to mention the fistfight I witnessed in the Princess theater over the saving of seats.....:rolleyes:

 

I missed the blows, but there were a couple of very pissed guys, and security had to be called.

 

That was one of the very few things I did not like about the Caribbean Princess. the first show is so crowded that you had to be there at least 30 minutes before the show to get a seat.

 

A nice cruise though. Every line has its' +s and -s.

 

 

No, I was on the May 26th sailing. Don't get me wrong, I've tried other cruiselines and Princess is my current line of choice. Having been on the Caribbean Princess almost exactly one year earlier, I thought the crowd on this cruise was much less polite.

[Jade13]

That's not to mention the fistfight I witnessed in the Princess theater over the saving of seats.....:rolleyes:

 

Seriously? Was this because someone was saving a seat and the show had already started?

[fann1sh]

If I had to generalize about manners, my observation is there are more boors on short cruises than on longer ones.

 

That may be the "newbie" effect: more first time cruisers who simply don't know about things like chair "saving", lighting cigarettes in non-smoking areas (because they don't know which is which), etc.

[BILLP1]

We have found the people on Regent to be very friendly and well mannered.

[fun*n*sun]

Perhaps if you tried a cruise line that caters to non-Americans.

 

I usually find people who say this sort of thing haven't spent much time in other countries, outside of fancy hotel/restaurants anyway where their money is a great incentive for politness, or they haven't spent much time in heartland America, one or the other.

[cruisemom42]

Seriously? Was this because someone was saving a seat and the show had already started?

 

Yes, seriously! It came about because a very popular comedian on board was doing his final show and everyone had heard how good he was. One guy was saving several seats even though the theater was full and Princess personnel were actually helping people find single seats, etc. This guy would not budge nor let anyone else take the seats. Another guy started giving him lip, then it escalated to pushes and shoves and worse. It was a bit scary but also a little funny as both guys were not exactly young or in good shape....:cool:

[Texaswinediva]

My daughter and her husband cruised on Costa to the Mediterrean a

couple of years ago. She said she would NEVER cruise with that line again.

She said the Italians were soooooo rude.:eek:

[GORDONCHICK]

While money certainly does not guarantee better manners, the chances are much higher for finding them on the luxury lines such as Regent, Oceania. Silversea, and Seabourn. And some of these have no formal nights, but you will still find people impeccably dressed every evening. My SIL is able to cruise on these lines. Alas, I must live vicariously through her.

[TexasHorseLady]

We have found the people on Regent to be very friendly and well mannered.

 

I'll second that!

We sail on Regent most of the time, although we do go with groups and friends on other cruiselines, so I get the opportunity to compare.

Regent passengers are classy without being snooty...it's definitely not the 'grey poupon and white gloves scene' but they are sophisticated enough to know how to behave...and nobody needs to be told what to wear. They just know. And the thing I have noticed most on Regent cruises is everybody seems genuinely happy...lots of smiling faces, friendly gestures ("no, no, after YOU") and people being just plain nice to each other. I hear stories about other cruiselines dealing with unruly kids, drunk people in lounges getting out of control, and people acting unpleasant toward each other by hogging chairs...or being pushy in lines at elevators or buffets...or when embarking or disembarking. I have NEVER seen any of that on a Regent cruise. Never, not once.

[Philip217]

Having worked on 11 different cruise lines - from top of the line to bottom of the barrel - I can tell you that the outrageous behaviour I have to deal with on an hourly basis on mass market ships is very rarely seen on the luxury lines.

 

Money may not buy good manners - but it certainly seems to help a lot.

[RachieLnnn]

While I believe you can encounter rude people anywhere, when I'm on vacation I absolutely try not let it get to me.

 

If someone were to cut in front of me, I would loudly laugh and say, "Wow, I can't believe that guy has the nerve to cut right in front of me! It's like there's not even a line here!" to my husband. Usually the offender has the decency to at least look embarrassed, and it amuses us.

 

If I didn't do this, it would really irritate me, and I'm not going to let things like being angry about others' rudeness take any time away from my vacation. :)

[Boo Boo]

If someone were to cut in front of me, I would loudly laugh and say, "Wow, I can't believe that guy has the nerve to cut right in front of me! It's like there's not even a line here!" to my husband. Usually the offender has the decency to at least look embarrassed, and it amuses us.

 

Had a lovely experience of karma when flying back from our cruise this past Sunday... we were flying MIA-Houston-London on Continental.

 

At Houston when they first announced boarding they called BusinessFirst rows 1-10. So there was quite a sizeable queue for the "elite"/"Business Class" boarding. Husband and I were about half way down the queue. Guy brazenly jumps into the queue a couple of places infront of us (muttering something about "this is for Business Class right?" to the guy infront of him). I TRIED to say "Excuse me this IS the Business Class queue and it starts back there...", but I had an awful cold and just croaked a virtually inaudible croak... :(

 

Anyway guy gets to the front of the queue and it turns out that he isn't in rows 1-10 (there were about 13/15 rows of Business First I think), so they wouldn't let him board and sent him to the back of the line... :D

 

I LOVE it when things like that happen :)

 

Boo

[catmand]

That's a GREAT story.

By the way, AkaWanda and I went on our first Transatlantic cruise last year, we spent a few days in London pre cruise. We loved it, had a wonderful time and would go back if we could change the flight to maybe 3 hours. Business class BA was bs. ok, enough said.

I gotta go with dough. Honestly, trying not to snob here but you don't see well cultured men wearing ball caps in dining rooms.