Rude Fellow Cruisers

We are sailing on the Divina in April, so I've been reading reviews to acquaint myself with the ship. Most of the reviews mention rude European guests. I don't know if this will help other cruisers, but when my husband and I were stationed in Germany in the 80s we were given orientation/culture talks, and one of the things I remember is the woman laughing about the idea of a four way stop. She said that would never work in Germany, that as a people they just didn't do the waiting in lines, honor system of taking turns. She told us if we were at a deli or bakery to find a spot and move forward when able, and that we would be helped in a timely manner. It always worked, and the other customers weren't rude, it was just their way. In European travels since then I've used the German method and never had a problem, or been miffed at the other guests.

In October we were in the Divina Yacht Club, our 3rd time there. The first night in Le Muse, the private restaurant, there was a group of about 10 people who were loud, boisterous and shouting across the room. I don't know their nationalities, but they were highly disruptive. Three couples left before eating and the rest of us could hardly have a conversation. The next night, after complaints, the staff refused to sit them all together and split them up into 2 or 3 smaller tables. End of problem.

FWIW, we were on Divina in November and only ran into rude people twice. One was a person from the US who constantly disrupted trivia and other activites being loud and drunk day after day, and the other was a Canadian who couldn't shut up about the election in the US and proceeded to tell everyone his views (over and over and over). I never found a rude European on board.

Stereotypes abound. On our last Divina cruise, I held an elevator door for someone needing to get off the elevator before I entered.

Someone else who also entered the elevator with me, looked at me after the doors closed and said, "You must be Canadian - you're so polite."

I laughed and in my broadest accent from my New York upbringing, I responded "Nope, I am one of those rude New Yorkers you hear so much about."

Rude people have no common nationality.

Besides a larger European crowd, there are usually quite a few S Americans (e.g. Brazilians on my cruise). You just go with the flow since there is nothing you can do about how others behave.

Rude people have no common nationality.

Totally agree. Criminals as well.

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You find rude people from all around the world and often it's the liquor taking over.

Rude people have no common nationality.

I usually don't respond to this type of comment but I have to say that after 15 days on the Divina I have seen just as many rude and crude people on "American" cruise lines. Americans are just as bad as the rest of the world, it depends on the individual. We are on vacation why not relax and just get along?

why not relax and just get along?

There is a reason MSC chooses the song We Are The World to close out its last evening show before disembarkation.

As a Brit and therefore a 'European ' I can honestly say that the only rude/loud people I have ever encountered at sea on any cruise line have been 'specifically' Italian and on MSC. Tell it like it is!

That said, having sailed twice with MSC and about to sail again, it wouldn't stop me choosing them if the price/itinerary was right

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Perhaps we should all be taking into account the different cultures, countries, nationalities and then consider if it's perhaps a simple difference in how we perceive what they've said/done before accusing anyone of being rude.

I've met many "rude" people in our travels.... many were Canadians... does that mean all Canadians are rude? No, of course not... just some, the same as any other country...

I think we need to stop putting nationalities into racial categories.... we're all guilty of being rude at some point in our lives... forgive and move on. IMO

One love

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I feel like the OP's point is being missed. Not so much that yes Europeans are rude and you should be rude to match it. More that the cultural norms in some situations in some European countries clash with cultural norms in the US or Canada.

I saw exactly what she was describing in Italy. In the US if you walk into a coffeeshop/café there will be a sign saying "order here", and a line of people waiting to order. People abide by the line and it's very unusual for someone new to cut in front of you. In Italy, If the café was busy, I could barely get my order in, just a mess of people yelling orders at the employees. To us, that behavior is rude, to them, that's how it's done and since I wasn't pushing my way to the front to order I must not have known what I wanted yet. That doesn't make Italians rude, just a different cultural norm.

That's what I took away from OP's post at least. not so much that Europeans should be painted as rude, just that in the same situation, people from different countries will expect different things.

In the same thread of thought, in the US it's polite and respectful to make eye contact when you talk to people. Based on my job's cultural sensitivity training, they explained that in some Asian cultures it's rude to make eye contact. That doesn't mean that I'm rude for making eye contact, simply a cultural difference.

Well as a European (United Kingdom) I can say that it must come down to cultural differences. We find some of our European neighbours loud and pushy, but hardly ever rude. It must be something to do with the Mediterranean heat! :D

In my experience on our first MSC Mediterranean cruise (where there was a mix of European nationalities), there was less rude behaviour than on many of our Caribbean sailings with other US based cruise lines and vacations in the US and the Caribbean.

People were extremely polite and often greeted you when boarding an elevator, and waited patiently whilst others got out of them without barging in first.

People lined up patiently in the buffet and at bars.

If you think Europeans are rude, then boy you need to spend time in hotels with people from another area of the world. Then you'll experience loud, boorish, ignorant and rude people who do not wait in line, who do not wait at all for anything! They flash their cash, jewellery, mobile phones, cars and clothes but have no table manners and don't show any etiquette whatsoever.

These are those that have obtained a large amount of wealth in a short period of time after a long time of austerity and without a great deal of freedom.

We have sailed with all the major lines and about 5 defunct lines. You are going to find rude people on all of them. What bothers me more than anything is the attitude of some passengers and their "it's my vacation and I can do anything that I want". I just was visiting the RCCL boards and there was a discussion about a couple in one of balcony cabins that smoked on the balcony against the rules, other passengers complained and RCCL told the people mote than once to stop smoking but they continued to do so the whole week with no repercussions from RCCL. This was a dangerous situation as there has been fires caused by smoking in cabins and on balconies yet RCCL did not enforce a very important rule.

Another peeve is people coming to the dining room on formal nights in shorts and t-shirts. That is sort of rude but it goes back to the it's my vacation thing, why the lines don't enforce the dress code is a mystery.

I agree with the above posters, rudeness doesn't have a nationality. The rudest passengers I have come across were on my cruise from San Juan (they were Puerto Rican), but then again, some the nicest people I have ever come across live in Puerto Rico, as I travel there often. That being said, it all comes down to how one chooses to carry themselves while onboard. Everyone is cruising for different reasons, but the main one that everyone shares is the want to get away. It's little things like holding elevators for people, politely waiting in lines, letting small inconveniences blow over and not getting too upset, complimenting a few people if you like what they are wearing, breaking awkward silences in elevators, etc, it will make your cruise experience better for everyone involved.

One last piece of advice: Smiling has no language or nationality, and smiles go a long way. :)

We have sailed with all the major lines and about 5 defunct lines. You are going to find rude people on all of them. What bothers me more than anything is the attitude of some passengers and their "it's my vacation and I can do anything that I want". I just was visiting the RCCL boards and there was a discussion about a couple in one of balcony cabins that smoked on the balcony against the rules, other passengers complained and RCCL told the people mote than once to stop smoking but they continued to do so the whole week with no repercussions from RCCL. This was a dangerous situation as there has been fires caused by smoking in cabins and on balconies yet RCCL did not enforce a very important rule.

and that is the most irritating part that makes the situation worst.

The rudest people we experienced were the ones at the cocktail parties. They were rude to the serving crew who were serving them drinks and canapés etc. Mind you they probably didn't realise how rude they were actually being. When being offered drinks they didn't even look at the wait staff or even say thank you, just reaching to the tray taking a drink and carrying on their conversations. And the heigh of, rudeness during the speeches still carrying on with their conversations.

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