What are your biggest cruise pet peeves?

I agree with much of what has already been posted. The uncontrolled kids are not only a nuisance, but a risk to themselves and others. One of my pet peeves are the ship's photographers. I don't want a picture of myself pigging out at every meal. Maybe they need some kind of signal that you want a picture or don't.

 

 

 

My second pet peeve is passenger related -- Karaoke bar "wanna be stars." Those that think they're going to be the next Faith Hill or Madonna (yes, I'm showing my age), and put their name on the list over and over again. For goodness sake, it's supposed to be fun for everybody, not your audition for American Idol.

I greatly agree with you about the ever present photographers. They are especially annoying when the have crew dress up as pirates etc. when you are disembarking at a port. You cannot get off the ship unless you go through their gauntlet. At least once you tell them no thanks they leave you alone.

Diana

Diana

Las Vegas

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We are definitely not snobs. We are definitely not rich, but we are veteran cruisers.

1. The dining experience has become worse. We have been cruising more or less for 20 years, although we took some years off in the middle. The difference between now and the early 2000s even is striking. Especially in dining. The advent of unassigned tables and the automatic tipping that goes to the wait staff seems to have made the dining experience less special. We used to really get to know our wait staff and table mates. Now they have little incentive to really serve you the way it used to be. They're pretty much going to get tipped whether you love them or not (unless you purposely tell the ship to remove your tipping charges). Meals, including the food, in my mind, even on the same ship and lines has become less of an event. Less special. Even in the formal dining room, seeing people arrive in shorts, flip-flops and tank tops, often with baseball caps unremoved. The whole experience has more more akin to going to Carraba's than to a nice formal meal. Even on the same ship or same line, to us, the quality of the food has declined.

2. Cheap tickets/cruising with the masses. Rudeness. Crowds. Crude people. Kids running everywhere. it kinda sucks. It's like being at 6 Flags now more than being on something more relaxing and special. Am I'm not talking about the bargain lines. Yes, you can go with the more upscale lines, but frankly it's not in our budget and we get so many extras being Diamond members on RCL that I can't see giving that up. The ignorant and the rude are now more likely your neighbors than people with common sense. sad.

3. People stiffing their room and wait staff. I realize why the automatic tipping became common - people were stiffing the room stewards and dining room staff. So now we all suffer. And the super-cheap go to the desk and have all their tipping charges removed. It's hurt the staff. I think they have LESS staff on board now and the service overall has declined. I hate that. These people generally work their butts off 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. I feel bad for them that people are stiffing them. And again the automatic tipping to me hurts personal service compared to even 15 years ago.

4. price of drinks. still outrageous. at least now you can bring on two bottles of wine each. But the way they search you for booze after a shore stop is dismaying. If you're going to be that hard-core, at least make the drinks more reasonably priced.

5. Photographers. ugh

6. The shows. Well this hasn't ever changed. The shows for the most part are cheesy. we saw a comedian last year who we had seen 3-4 years before on another ship. He used some of the SAME material. groan. Anyway, the happy peppy dancing floor shows have always been a snoozer to me. but to each his own

Why not just politely ask "Do you mind if I just slip past while you decide?"

 

Not really that hard.

Sure, until the first time you get someone who loudly tears into you in front of everyone. (Yes, this happened to me.) I don't care to make a spectacle of myself or ruin other passengers' breakfast because Clueless Claude can't get his act together in the breakfast line and is a jerk without his first coffee...

Sure, until the first time you get someone who loudly tears into you in front of everyone. (Yes, this happened to me.) I don't care to make a spectacle of myself or ruin other passengers' breakfast because Clueless Claude can't get his act together in the breakfast line and is a jerk without his first coffee...

Sorry that happened to you. Hopefully if that ever happens again you will have someone like Mr Gut and myself to protect you.

I dislike the ones that move against the flow,or come back and push in.I politely stand aside and say please go,help yourself,you look starving.Normally they have a platter full of food and are about 30 stone.Most times they are so rude the comment goes right over their heads.:eek:

I don't mind if someone needs to get something, if they ask nicely if they can cut in, but I hate the ones who push in. I usually say, I'm so sorry am I in your way, it always gets a response from them and it is usually I'm sorry. Hopefully they understand that they need to use their manners everywhere!!

Yes sometimes a bit of sarcasm goes along way,all said very politely of course

Iheartbda, I've used tissues,too. The jackets are handy when the dress doesn't have pockets and also good if the ac is really cold. But yes it all fits in a roll aboard. I'm actually onboard Carnival Dream today for a 7 day with my usual roll aboard and carry on. I even had extra room for pralines and a bunch of other items I bought in NOLA as gifts last night. My jackets are small and light so easy to pack. My husband always laughs about how I can go for a week or more out of a roll aboard and he has to have a big suitcase for his stuff.

In regards to the buffet, I think if there is a gap in the line ahead and you don't want what is at the first station in the line, it is perfectly ok to skip ahead to the next station. For example today I was in the buffet and the line started before the salad but there was a big gap at the carvery station that was grouped in line with the salad bar. If someone skipped the salad bar to go to the carvery station ahead of me I would not care. What I find annoying are those who stand forever before a station picking up one little item at a time clueless that they are holding up a huge line of people behind them. I actually watched a woman pick her salad one leaf at a time today then everything else from the salad bar she chose without haste or any concern for those behind her very slowly and one at a time. It was entertaining watching the reactions of those behind her that she was oblivious to.

1. People making out of the ordinary demands of the wait staff without saying "please" and "thank you".

2. Bar staff not making eye contact or helping you last because you are wanting to refill prepaid drink cups instead of bar orders (bigger tips).

3. Smokers on balconies

4. A cruise director (and yes, a fully grown man) whose name is Dan but goes by "DanDan". After a "weekweek" you are driven "nutsnuts" that he refers himselfself as DanDan.

5. THAT guy. You know the passenger. He thinks you can't have fun without him being social director wherever you are. He's loud, he's drunk, he's EVERYWHERE. He's making his way around the excursion boat while you are trying to take in the calm, the scenery, the beauty of it all without wanting the experience to be a frat party. At one point he was spraying the women passengers with his water bottle and shouting out "ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?!?!" Yes, gold chain guy, we are having fun. Chill.

All in all, it's pretty amazing you can be with a few thousand people if and it all goes so well :)

We always tote a small fan to drown out unwanted sound, such as an adjasoned cabin with a crying baby. (Sorry, I have a thing about misspellings, but spell check wasn't cooperating tonight.) I also dislike when ppl get on the elevator BEFORE ppl get off. Also ppl who move slower then STP in North Dakota in the salad bar. I could go on & on, but I would rather order another $6.00 can of beer. THAT'S another subject!!!

People smoking on their balconies and the smoke drifting on to our balcony. :mad:

 

It is a pet peeve but I don't allow it to ruin our holiday.

Me too!!!!

As.well.as.people.who have their tv on loud all night long.as they sleep!

People asking what my pet peeves are!

People asking what my pet peeves are!

That my biggest pet peeve about cruise critic. People actually on a cruise have the good sense not to ask me what my biggest pet peeve is.:)

I think I must be the only person in the world who is bothered by this as I've never heard anyone else complain but my pet peeve is the plastic plates in the buffet.

 

I rarely eat in the Windjammer, not because I don't like the food but because I don't like eating from the plates.

You could bring your own fine china plates if it is that important. The will not weigh much and will not take much space in your suitcase.

DON

Bad mattresses

Bingo!!

my pet peeve is those trying to push their way onto the lift before those getting off can get off .

My Pet Peeve is people who have Pet Peeves. :rolleyes:

My Pet Peeve is people who have Pet Peeves. :rolleyes:

So you have a Pet Peeve with yourself?

:)

That' OK so do I sometimes.

The NCL "Freestyle" approach to cruising.

So you have a Pet Peeve with yourself?

:)

That' OK so do I sometimes.

Yup! :D

My Pet Peeve is people who have Pet Peeves. :rolleyes:

Or who think their Pet Peeve is so important that it should impact everyone else.

Safety briefing and how the Jacksonville port handles non-Americans

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Hmm. I'll have to think if there is anything that counts as a "pet peeve." I don't care about sitting close to the pool, so the chair hogs are not a personal bother to me. And I hardly ever use the elevators, so that's not a peeve. Smoke from neighboring balconies used to be, but I haven't experienced that, since they banned balcony smoking. (I'm sure it still happens from time to time, but I haven't encountered it.)

 

I suppose one peeve is people who congregate in traffic areas and seem clueless that they're in the way. I've seen this with kids parking themselves on stairways or groups of people standing in the middle of the "track" on the sports deck.

This is very rare, but as jammed as the elevators are my wife and I have noticed that on several cruises, when the doors open there are 3-4 teens, between the ages of 12 or 13 literally laying stretched out on the floor. People would start in, but had to wait till the teens finally decided to roll over on their side, and slowly everybody would start filling in. I started to say something to one of the ship's officers because it seemed to me like a safety issue but thought if their parents don't care where they are, why should I bother. When I mentioned it to my wife, she just brushed it off and said, 'Well, it's no big deal, they're just bored, there's probably not a whole lot for young teens to do except the pool'. I guess she had a point, but still it sure did make it difficult for a lot of passengers. :(

Mac

3. Smokers on balconies

I hate that so much! :mad:

People who cannot walk by without grabbing the back of my chair or lounger. It wakes me up or kills my concentration.

Another thing that sucks is that Carnival doesn't heat the pool water. It takes all day for the water in the WaterWorks to get nice, then during the night, they replace it with ice cold water.

Also, they are pretty stingy with music on the lido deck. I also hate The Morning Show.