those two dreadful four-letter words: Door Sign

I know door signs are controversial. I personally find that many of the door signs I've seen photos of reflect a sense of taste and aesthetics that differs widely from my own, but I like the concept itself. Enough that I'm thinking of making a door sign for my upcoming (first ever) cruise. It will also be my 87-yo Mom's first ever cruise, and I'd like to do what I can to make it special. That and Mom does get tired sometimes, and a little extra help knowing which room is which might not hurt anything.

Unless it does. I don't want to outrage or offend my fellow cruisers (I've already altered my initial wardrobe plans to avoid jeans after 6 pm), so I'm soliciting opinions on what I hope is a reasonably tasteful door sign:

I've attached a poll to this thread: please vote, or leave a comment, or both. Thanks.

(PS. The ship in a wheat field references an old family story: Mom grew up on a wheat farm in Kansas, and lived in many different places before our family moved to the agricultural area around Sacramento in the California Central Valley. One day we were driving somewhere amidst some huge fields of wheat. We came up over a rise, and there halfway to the horizon was a huge ocean-going cargo ship apparently just sitting in the middle of the wheat fields.

We were all surprised: the Port of Sacramento had only recently built canals large enough for such large vessels to come the 90 miles inland from San Francisco Bay. But Mom's basic sense of order was briefly affronted - wheat fields were just about part of her DNA, and her DNA knew that ocean-going ships do not belong in wheat fields. She got over it, of course, and we saw many more such vessels across wheat and tomato and sugar beets fields during the time we lived there.

But when I was thinking up how to do the door sign, I figured I'd put our cruise ship in a wheat field for her.)

I don't see a poll, but I see nothing wrong with the door sign you are proposing. Quite tasteful.

While we don't do door signs ourselves, we don't judge those who do choose to do them ;)

I don't see a poll, but I see nothing wrong with the door sign you are proposing. Quite tasteful.While we don't do door signs ourselves, we don't judge those who do choose to do them ;)

It took me a few minutes to get the poll posted, but you should be able to see it now.

It's cute! Put it up.

(I didn't realize door signs were controversial.)

It's cute! Put it up.(I didn't realize door signs were controversial.)

They are not, nor are jeans after 6pm. All perfectly acceptable and done.

I have no issues with your tasteful sign.

Your story reminded me of my first visit to Egypt, which was by cruise ship in 2006. All during the long 3-hour drive to Cairo from Alexandria, I was wide-eyed in my bus seat, taking it all in. All of a sudden, we must have approached the Suez canal, because I could see ships lined up, one after another, and they appeared to be sailing through the fields (cotton, maybe?). It was an amazing sight!

Please feel to free to wear jeans after 6.

GoPro cruiser on CC (ScottSingerCruises on Youtube) took a new years cruise on the Eurodam & specifically wore nice jeans to dinner in the MDR on a non-gala night & had no problems.

(I like watching his videos - he actually talks in his videos!)

Do what you want as far as door signs goes, its your cruise too.

My 2 cents worth:

1. Your door sign is not only inoffensive but tasteful as well.
   
2. What you wear after 6pm (or any other time of the day, for that matter) on your cruise is of no (legitimate) concern to any other passenger ... other than your mother, of course!
   
3. You should spend more time planning things that will please your mother and not waste time worrying about what might offend other passengers on your cruise.
   

I hope both you and your mother enjoy the cruise!

Smooth sailing ...

:):):):):)

I am not sure where you are getting your ideas - but many wear jeans after 6:00 PM on cruise ships (not just HAL) these days, so wear them if you wish. :)

Also, some sort of decoration on doors help many, even young folks, easily find their cabins. While I personally have not seen any offensive door decorations, I can believe they exist. The problem I have seen regarding door decorations is that on one long cruise, it became an unofficial contest to see how extensive door decorations could be (quantity not quality) so all door decorations were "banned".

For someone who can really use a gentle reminder of their specific room, even an easily removed colored dot by the door handle can help.

My 2 cents worth:

1. Your door sign is not only inoffensive but tasteful as well.
   
2. What you wear after 6pm (or any other time of the day, for that matter) on your cruise is of no (legitimate) concern to any other passenger ... other than your mother, of course!
   
3. You should spend more time planning things that will please your mother and not waste time worrying about what might offend other passengers on your cruise.
   

I hope both you and your mother enjoy the cruise!

Smooth sailing ...

:):):):):)

Great advice @avian.

OP, please keep in mind that many of the opinions and views expressed on CC are only reflective of the people posting them and are not an indication of the views you will find once you board the ship. I have never, on any of our cruises, ever heard anyone mention tipping, smoking or the dress code. Most are too busy enjoying their cruise to pay any attention to what others are doing.

Thank you, cbr663, and back at you!!!

I like it.

You should do what you like, it is your cruise after all. If it helps your mum all the better. I have rarely seen door signs on HAL but they are very popular on Disney and it did help us know where our cabin was without looking at the numbers. I can't see why anyone would object.

I like the picture.

Does anyone know if HAL has rules about door decorations? Some cruise lines will only allow non-flammable door decorations.

You should do what you like, it is your cruise after all. If it helps your mum all the better. I have rarely seen door signs on HAL but they are very popular on Disney and it did help us know where our cabin was without looking at the numbers. I can't see why anyone would object.

If you like it and want it, sure.

I've never found a reason or desir tro decorate my cab bin door and doubt I will any time soon.

We've never felt compelled to decorate our doors, but we were impressed with some of the door decorations on our cruise the week before Christmas. Some were really creative.

I've never built a float either, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate a good parade.

If you like it and want it, sure.

 

I've never found a reason or desir tro decorate my cab bin door and doubt I will any time soon.

Me either Sail. But it wouldn't bother me if someone else did it.

I know door signs are controversial. I personally find that many of the door signs I've seen photos of reflect a sense of taste and aesthetics that differs widely from my own, but I like the concept itself. Enough that I'm thinking of making a door sign for my upcoming (first ever) cruise. It will also be my 87-yo Mom's first ever cruise, and I'd like to do what I can to make it special. That and Mom does get tired sometimes, and a little extra help knowing which room is which might not hurt anything.

 

Unless it does. I don't want to outrage or offend my fellow cruisers (I've already altered my initial wardrobe plans to avoid jeans after 6 pm), so I'm soliciting opinions on what I hope is a reasonably tasteful door sign:

 

 

 

 

I've attached a poll to this thread: please vote, or leave a comment, or both. Thanks.

 

(PS. The ship in a wheat field references an old family story: Mom grew up on a wheat farm in Kansas, and lived in many different places before our family moved to the agricultural area around Sacramento in the California Central Valley. One day we were driving somewhere amidst some huge fields of wheat. We came up over a rise, and there halfway to the horizon was a huge ocean-going cargo ship apparently just sitting in the middle of the wheat fields.

 

We were all surprised: the Port of Sacramento had only recently built canals large enough for such large vessels to come the 90 miles inland from San Francisco Bay. But Mom's basic sense of order was briefly affronted - wheat fields were just about part of her DNA, and her DNA knew that ocean-going ships do not belong in wheat fields. She got over it, of course, and we saw many more such vessels across wheat and tomato and sugar beets fields during the time we lived there.

 

But when I was thinking up how to do the door sign, I figured I'd put our cruise ship in a wheat field for her.)

The sight of that ship in the wheat fields reminds me of that delightful film, "Secondhand Lion", the "defective lion", as described by the young boy. Wonderful!

I love the door sign and the story. Go for it!

I love the sign. I am often on the wrong side of the ship and my husband let's me keep walking till I figure it out! I applaud you for helping her find her cabin. The doors all look alike & it can be overwhelming for an older passenger or for a port/starboard challenged person. :-)

And as far as jeans go I wear them a lot. Never to the MDR but I go with what's comfortable to me. So should you. That's what I love about HAL you can dress up or dress down.

Not a door sign, but--On our last cruise our daughter gifted us with the Indulgences Bon Voyage package of a bottle of wine and balloons on the door. Those balloons were so helpful when we stepped off the elevator and tried to figure out which direction to go. Others on our hallway also mentioned how helpful they were. (Yes, I am directionally challenged on land, too.)

Door signs are great and nobody cares what you wear. Even if you wear a bathrobe in the Lido! :o

I put up a door sign. It was pink mac tac (self adhesive- no residue) paper cut in a Heart. It announced our first cruise and 10th anniversary. I also put up a small magnetic note pad and pen next to the sign.

Every day we came back to our cabin it was easy to find and people left us lovely notes. Congrats on our anniversary and welcoming us to cruising etc. It was lovely. We took it down and put it on backing paper at the end of our cruise. It is stored with the notepad of messages in our memories chest.

Go for it.

Nice sign!! We almost always put up a door sign and have seen some really creative ones over the years. One memorable one was a sign which encouraged other passengers to sign their sign. Halloween is another especially creative and decorative time for door signage.

We love door signs although we have only put one up over several cruises. We do intend to put one up this time because we always travel for our anniversary and it has become a tradition to have a sign on our car that says "Just Married . . . ## years ago and still happy about it." Since we are cruising this year instead of taking a driving trip, it's going on our door.

We actually like to walk the hallways of each floor and look for door signs. I think they are fun.