Standing on line at Guest Relations and.....

[quote name='Ma Bell']I had this same experience on a cruise recently. I stood in a very long line and in order to solve my problem I had to go back to my cabin to get a telephone number. I was told to not stand in line again when I returned so I stood to the side until the guest relations person waved at me to come forward explaining to the others that she had asked me to do so.[/QUOTE]

The smart way to handle this. You put the responsibility of cutting in line on the desk staff. That they waved you forward and explained to the others why you were "cutting" defused a situation that no one in line was aware of the reason for.

And thanks for taking the polite and respectful approach to an awkward situation.

[quote name='Muushka']I think it's pretty clear. Lois won. :D

Now I have a related question.

What if you really do have a quick question, like what time are you here until?
Would anyone mind if someone waited until the staff was between cruisers and asked a 2 second easy question?[/QUOTE]

Can call from your stateroom

[quote name='sloopsailor']It is not only "just his opinion" - he backs it up by his actions. His admitted behavior of cutting in line at the Aqua Spa Cafe because he didn't feel he should wait with the others is against social norm. It, and his opinion that it is OK, should be singled out for how anti-social it is.

My opinion is that he is wrong. Everyone here, "been here for many years" or not, has an equal right to voice an opinion. Long time poster or not, all of our opinions are equally valid. Or none of them are. It can't be one way for some, and another for others.[/QUOTE]

At the risk of being accused of hijacking this thread.....let's discuss the aqua spa cafe. It is now essentially made to order salads...that is, each person in line points out the things they want on their salad and the server puts the salad together for them. Given the "maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't", that takes about 1.5-2 minutes per person.

Now the aqua spa cafe also has two plates of the day which you can order...and you sit down until someone brings it to you. At times/often there is only one server behind the salad counter.

Now...there is a line of 10-12 people waiting for salads....and all you want is to order the deviled eggs.

Do you get in line, wait for the 15 minutes or so to put in your order which takes 15 seconds. "what would you like, where are you sitting".....or do you go to the front and try to find someone else to take the order...essentially cutting into line.

Of course the real answer to this is that Celebrity should have more than one person behind the counter...but they didn't.

Obviously, one answer is to go eat somewhere else or come back later...but if you wanted to dine with your spouse who was already eating, think about what would you do? Don't post the answer...just think about the situation.

Note: my opinions are always my opinions and may not reflect anyone elses views or opinions....and number of posts doesn't make my opinions any righter or wronger than anyone elses.

My most recent encounter with serious rudeness was on the Connie just last week, when a woman, my wife and I were waiting outside the dispensary for the door to open at four PM. Off the elevator comes this guy who times his approach perfectly for the door to be unlocked, piles though ahead of the three of us, and announces that he needs medicine for his wife's cough. The worst part was that I debated saying something to him but did nothing.

[quote name='ghstudio']At the risk of being accused of hijacking this thread.....let's discuss the aqua spa cafe. It is now essentially made to order salads...that is, each person in line points out the things they want on their salad and the server puts the salad together for them. Given the "maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't", that takes about 1.5-2 minutes per person.

Now the aqua spa cafe also has two plates of the day which you can order...and you sit down until someone brings it to you. At times/often there is only one server behind the salad counter.

Now...there is a line of 10-12 people waiting for salads....and all you want is to order the deviled eggs.

Do you get in line, wait for the 15 minutes or so to put in your order which takes 15 seconds. "what would you like, where are you sitting".....or do you go to the front and try to find someone else to take the order...essentially cutting into line.

Of course the real answer to this is that Celebrity should have more than one person behind the counter...but they didn't.

Obviously, one answer is to go eat somewhere else or come back later...but if you wanted to dine with your spouse who was already eating, think about what would you do? Don't post the answer...just think about the situation.

Note: my opinions are always my opinions and may not reflect anyone elses views or opinions....and number of posts doesn't make my opinions any righter or wronger than anyone elses.[/QUOTE]

Similar situation: made to order omelette station, also has pans of self-seve bacon, potatoes and pre-made eggs benedict. Do you stand in line to get the eggs benedict while the custom omelettes are made, or do you go to front of line and grab and go. I go to front of line and grab and go.

[quote name='cle-guy']Similar situation: made to order omelette station, also has pans of self-seve bacon, potatoes and pre-made eggs benedict. Do you stand in line to get the eggs benedict while the custom omelettes are made, or do you go to front of line and grab and go. I go to front of line and grab and go.[/QUOTE]

But did you say 'excuse me' to the person you cut in front of? Or did you just lunge at those benny's? ;)

[quote name='BosoxI']My most recent encounter with serious rudeness was on the Connie just last week, when a woman, my wife and I were waiting outside the dispensary for the door to open at four PM. Off the elevator comes this guy who times his approach perfectly for the door to be unlocked, piles though ahead of the three of us, and announces that he needs medicine for his wife's cough. The worst part was that I debated saying something to him but did nothing.[/QUOTE]

Too bad we were not in that line with you. My DW would have ripped that guy a new one.:eek: You do not mess with Mrs. Dawg! (Me included:))

[quote name='ghstudio']At the risk of being accused of hijacking this thread.....let's discuss the aqua spa cafe. It is now essentially made to order salads...that is, each person in line points out the things they want on their salad and the server puts the salad together for them. Given the "maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't", that takes about 1.5-2 minutes per person.

Now the aqua spa cafe also has two plates of the day which you can order...and you sit down until someone brings it to you. At times/often there is only one server behind the salad counter.

Now...there is a line of 10-12 people waiting for salads....and all you want is to order the deviled eggs.

Do you get in line, wait for the 15 minutes or so to put in your order which takes 15 seconds. "what would you like, where are you sitting".....or do you go to the front and try to find someone else to take the order...essentially cutting into line.

Of course the real answer to this is that Celebrity should have more than one person behind the counter...but they didn't.

Obviously, one answer is to go eat somewhere else or come back later...but if you wanted to dine with your spouse who was already eating, think about what would you do? Don't post the answer...just think about the situation.

Note: my opinions are always my opinions and may not reflect anyone elses views or opinions....and number of posts doesn't make my opinions any righter or wronger than anyone elses.[/QUOTE]

I would do the appropriate thing and wait in line. How do you know if someone already in line doesn't have the same request as you, and now you have made their wait even longer? Did you ask each and every person what they were in line for before determining that your reason was more important? By taking it upon yourself to place your needs above everyone else's, you are indeed being rude. That Celebrity may have needed additional personnel is not the issue. The issue is the rudeness displayed by people who decide that their needs are more important then the other people waiting in line. That is not debatable. And any amount of rationalization, justification or excuses won't change that.

Thank heaven most people understand this, and only a very few couldn't care less. Edited November 22, 2014 by fortinweb

Sorry about that Lois,

Maybe it was the passenger in line with me that
was irritated because "the cabin had been out of toilet
paper for a week."

Really.

-Marisa Edited November 22, 2014 by USVI-4-me

Lois - you were 100% correct for calling the woman out.

I personally feel it is wrong to cut the line under any circumstances .... even if your problem will only take 10 seconds to resolve..... even if all you want is one slice of bacon and you want to do a "grab and go" at a buffet ..... even if you have to make a second trip to guest relations because you forgot to bring all pertinent information in the first place. Edited November 22, 2014 by jcpc

[quote name='Lois R']..having that rude person go up to the counter who was never on line.:rolleyes:

I was on Reflection last week and yes, I was next up and all of a sudden
I see this person walking up to the counter (she was not on line).......
I said "excuse me, the line starts back there"--------> and I pointed
to the back the line......she said, "oh this will only take a minute, I just
have to get them to give me a new S&S card":eek:.......
I said, no....we have all been waiting on line......well, the gal at
Guest Relations helped her.......:rolleyes:......I then had my turn and politely
told the young lady she should not have helped that person. The
line was long as it was the day before we disembarked and alot of
folks were needing different things. Guest Relations could see the line.

I did have a wonderful cruise and met some lovely people over the
week but this lady?......she is in the group who have no manners and
"it is all about her"..........[/QUOTE]
totally agree with you, too many rude people about

[quote name='jcpc']I personally feel it is wrong to cut the line under any circumstances .... even if your problem will only take 10 seconds to resolve..... even if all you want is one slice of bacon and you want to do a "grab and go" at a buffet ..... even if you have to make a second trip to guest relations because you forgot to bring all pertinent information in the first place.[/QUOTE]

I didn't forget to bring anything. So you think that after waiting in line for 30 minutes and having the GR person request a phone number that they couldn't seem to find and telling me not to stand in line again, I should have just stood in the line for another 30 minutes? Give me a break.

[quote name='ghstudio']At the risk of being accused of hijacking this thread.....let's discuss the aqua spa cafe. It is now essentially made to order salads...that is, each person in line points out the things they want on their salad and the server puts the salad together for them. Given the "maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't", that takes about 1.5-2 minutes per person.

Now the aqua spa cafe also has two plates of the day which you can order...and you sit down until someone brings it to you. At times/often there is only one server behind the salad counter.

Now...there is a line of 10-12 people waiting for salads....and all you want is to order the deviled eggs.

Do you get in line, wait for the 15 minutes or so to put in your order which takes 15 seconds. "what would you like, where are you sitting".....or do you go to the front and try to find someone else to take the order...essentially cutting into line.

Of course the real answer to this is that Celebrity should have more than one person behind the counter...but they didn't.

Obviously, one answer is to go eat somewhere else or come back later...but if you wanted to dine with your spouse who was already eating, think about what would you do? Don't post the answer...just think about the situation.

Note: my opinions are always my opinions and may not reflect anyone elses views or opinions....and number of posts doesn't make my opinions any righter or wronger than anyone elses.[/QUOTE]

I've waited 15 minutes at the pool grill while people ordered their hamburgers, hotdogs, etc., when all I wanted was 7 french fries :)

If the fries were self serve, I'd probably ask nicely, do you mind if I grab a few fries? But it's not, so I wait.. & yes, it's totally worth it for those few fries.

As for room cards, I am a serial looser of my pass card. Lined up at gruest relations at least 3 times last cruise to get a new one.

Only time I went to the head of the line was when I had been told to do so over an ongoing billing problem. (they gave us an exact time to come each evening to see if corporate billing had resolved it) they would see us coming & wave us up.)

[quote name='DirtyDawg']But did you say 'excuse me' to the person you cut in front of? Or did you just lunge at those benny's? ;)[/QUOTE]

[quote name='jcpc']I personally feel it is wrong to cut the line under any circumstances .... even if your problem will only take 10 seconds to resolve..... even if all you want is one slice of bacon and you want to do a "grab and go" at a buffet .....[/QUOTE]

But is it cutting in line if the person ahead of you is waiting for a made to order item? If you go around them to "grab and go" surely you haven't inconvenienced them in any way?

I totally agree that cutting the line at Guest Relations is completely unacceptable and would take issue with anyone who did this [B]and[/B] the member of staff who facilitated their rudeness. This is because everyone in that queue is waiting for the same thing i.e.to talk to a Guest Relations agent. Doesn't matter how short or long you think your query is going to be.

The two situations are very different IMHO.

[quote name='Ma Bell']I didn't forget to bring anything. So you think that after waiting in line for 30 minutes and having the GR person request a phone number that they couldn't seem to find and telling me not to stand in line again, I should have just stood in the line for another 30 minutes? Give me a break.[/QUOTE]

I don't think your original post stated that the GR person couldn't find a phone number that he or she should have had so I incorrectly presumed that you forgot to bring the phone number with you. My apologies .... give ME a break!

[quote name='Lois R']..having that rude person go up to the counter who was never on line.:rolleyes:

I was on Reflection last week and yes, I was next up and all of a sudden
I see this person walking up to the counter (she was not on line).......
I said "excuse me, the line starts back there"--------> and I pointed
to the back the line......she said, "oh this will only take a minute, I just
have to get them to give me a new S&S card":eek:.......
I said, no....we have all been waiting on line......well, the gal at
Guest Relations helped her.......:rolleyes:......I then had my turn and politely
told the young lady she should not have helped that person. The
line was long as it was the day before we disembarked and alot of
folks were needing different things. Guest Relations could see the line.

I did have a wonderful cruise and met some lovely people over the
week but this lady?......she is in the group who have no manners and
"it is all about her"..........[/QUOTE]
Loved hearing that! Kudos to someone willing to call out bad behavior. I had that happen last year on the Eclipse. This pig of a person was berating the staff capt.at the front desk. Terrible language & such, along with phyically pushing the staff capt... I told the guy he didn't need to be such a "dick" about it & he was immediatly right in my face. I had to push him away at least twice. Third time I told him I'd break his leg if I had to. That seemed to work. This was during dinner, so there was nobody around guest relations.. I walked back to the dining room & told my partner & the couple at the next table what happened. My partner explained to the couple that I should on the program "What would you do?", as I frequently get involved when I see bad behavior. Surprisingly, the Staff capt. followed me in & treated us to a bottle of Champagne & a free lunch in Bistro on 5. I later was informed that the rude pax was to be banned for life on Celebrity after the cruise.

[quote name='cle-guy']Similar situation: made to order omelette station, also has pans of self-seve bacon, potatoes and pre-made eggs benedict. Do you stand in line to get the eggs benedict while the custom omelettes are made, or do you go to front of line and grab and go. I go to front of line and grab and go.[/QUOTE]

This reminds me of the time I was waiting in the line for an omelet, that's all I wanted but I waited just incase any of the people in the pre-made line also wanted an omelet. Out of no where a young lady appeared and proceeded to order an omelet. I mentioned nicely that I was next and pointed to the end of the line, her reply "all I want is an omelet, I don't need to wait behind all of those people" Then she asked who had appointed me the line police and started giving me a hard time. :confused:

[quote name='lovecruzin']This reminds me of the time I was waiting in the line for an omelet, that's all I wanted but I waited just incase any of the people in the pre-made line also wanted an omelet. Out of no where a young lady appeared and proceeded to order an omelet. I mentioned nicely that I was next and pointed to the end of the line, her reply "all I want is an omelet, I don't need to wait behind all of those people" [U][B][U]Then she asked who had appointed me the line police[/U][/B][/U] and started giving me a hard time. :confused:[/QUOTE]

There are no "Line Police" on Celebrity ships.... :rolleyes:

Just Elevator Police.... please everybody pay attention!!! :D Edited November 22, 2014 by A Sixth?

[quote name='A Sixth?']There are no "Line Police" on Celebrity ships.... :rolleyes:

Just Elevator Police.... please everybody pay attention!!! :D[/QUOTE]

I hereby nominate my wife for inclusion in the inaugural squad of Celebrity Line Police. She will call out anybody, anywhere, any time for queue-jumping, even in China where the locals have no firm concept of queues.

[quote name='lovecruzin']This reminds me of the time I was waiting in the line for an omelet, that's all I wanted but I waited just incase any of the people in the pre-made line also wanted an omelet. Out of no where a young lady appeared and proceeded to order an omelet. I mentioned nicely that I was next and pointed to the end of the line, her reply "all I want is an omelet, I don't need to wait behind all of those people" Then she asked who had appointed me the line police and started giving me a hard time. :confused:[/QUOTE]


MY mom (a wonderful woman . just don't tick her off because she goes for the eyes and jugular and it isn't pretty) had a similar incident with a line crasher in a supermarket.

The woman asked "Who made you a cop? How big is your badge?"

My mom replied "Its about as big as your mouth and only half as big as your behind "

The woman went to the end of the line and people in line several registers away applauded her. *LOL*

All this reminds me of a cruise we took years out of Aruba. it was our least favorite cruise mainly because it was loaded with passengers from Venezuela. If you think jumping to the front of the line is bad, these people literally pushed us out of line. I mean, physically PUSHED us. It happened several times. I'm sorry if this offends folks from Venezuela but these were by far the rudest people I've ever met. Apparently, this little ship had been crusing their waters for years and they felt entitled. Really though, we all should wait our turn, no matter what the reason is. There's no excuse for rudeness.

I hereby nominate my wife for inclusion in the inaugural squad of Celebrity Line Police. She will call out anybody, anywhere, any time for queue-jumping, even in China where the locals have no firm concept of queues.

 

LOL!! You Aussies!!!!! (or as we Canadians call you "Canadains South & Dry)

 

Here's her pass...

 

Edited November 22, 2014 by A Sixth?

Early one morning, I got into line to order an omelette. There may have been one or two people ahead of me. I joined the line behind them. Maybe I was still half asleep. But when I looked up, a huge line had formed on the other side. I couldn't believe it! What was I to do? I muttered something and started to walk away (not too happily!). One of the waiters saw, and came over to me, asked what I wanted on my omelette and got it for me.

 

That's excellent service!

 

As to Lois' experience. We will never know why that person went ahead of everyone. These things happen everyday and everywhere. Yesterday I was stuck in heavy traffic for a few blocks. Then along came a car from a sidestreet and pushed right ahead of me. Was I happy? No. But I soon forgot about it. (Italics not intended!). It's really not worth getting worked up over it. Chalk it up. You may meet the very same lady in different circumstances and find she is indeed a nice person.

All this reminds me of a cruise we took years out of Aruba. it was our least favorite cruise mainly because it was loaded with passengers from Venezuela. If you think jumping to the front of the line is bad, these people literally pushed us out of line. I mean, physically PUSHED us. It happened several times. I'm sorry if this offends folks from Venezuela but these were by far the rudest people I've ever met. Apparently, this little ship had been crusing their waters for years and they felt entitled. Really though, we all should wait our turn, no matter what the reason is. There's no excuse for rudeness.

 

This is the custom in some countries.

 

We were first in line for a bus in Sorrento. By the time the bus arrived, there were many people. They tried to push and shove. But I managed to block them, and we got on first!

Let me start another controversy. DW and I have become experts at "queue avoidance" techniques. Over the years (of which we have spent more then 3 1/2 years on cruise ships) we have noticed that some folks seem to love queues and often go out of their way to spent much of their day on long lines. I sometimes think its a "follow the leader" thing in that they just think they will miss something if they are not on line. So lets take the Guest Relations issue. Yes, there are times (such as when your key does not work) when you just must visit the place at a specific time. But experienced cruisers know that the longest lines at Guest Relations will happen in the afternoon of the last full cruise day (often a day at sea). So we simply avoid going to that place at that time (unless it is imperative). Many visit that last day queue because they do not want their account settled to a credit card...and we think those folks are creating their own problem. And then there are those that will wait in the queue for an hour to complain about not having ice in their cabin! And how about all the folks who queue-up for dinner when they already have an assigned table. On our last Princess Cruise (Ruby) the line stretched across the large foyer for the wine tasting (free for many on the ship) which was being held in the MDR. DW and I seeing the huge queue (15 min before the scheduled event) simply sat down at the nearby International Café and enjoyed some coffee. Once the queue was gone we walked right in, were seated at a table with others who had stood in line for over 20 min, and enjoyed our wine (having been braced with our coffee).

 

And then there is that awful debarkation morning when everyone is in a hurry. Many want to rush to the closest airport so they can "enjoy" waiting around for many hours (we all know how airports are such wonderful places to wait). Some folks have no choice because they must book and catch an early flight. But many others do have alternatives. For example, we will usually book an early afternoon flight. Then while the queue lovers are working themselves into a frenzy waiting in queues, fighting for an elevator, etc.....we are simply relaxing on the pool deck with our books and a cup of coffee. Then, about 9:30-10:00, when just about everyone is off the ship, we simply grab an elevator (no waiting at this point) to the debarkation deck, walk right off the ship, retrieve our luggage (easy to find at this point), hop in a taxi, and we are off. No queues, no sweating, no tempers flaring, etc.

 

And how about those who queue-up at 11:30-12:00 for lunch at the Lido? Has anyone noticed how many of the heaviest cruisers are the first to get in a queue for food? So instead of going at noon, why not just wait until 12:30 when there is no queue?

 

These are just a few examples of queue avoidance. Oh, and we just saw a great example 2 days ago while waiting for a flight in Auckland, NZ. Like many in the airport, we wanted to change our remaining NZ Dollars before leaving the country. The first Travelex exchange point had a huge queue of folks waiting to change their money. We simply walked on by....and stopped at another Travelex counter (about 50 feet along our route) where there were 3 open windows and not a single person waiting (because they all followed the leader to station with the longest queue.

 

And lastly we relate the longest queue mess we have ever witnessed on Celebrity. About 3 years ago we took a cruise on the Silhouette when more then 1000 cabin keys (issued at embarkation) did not work! This was a major screw-up with most passengers not being able to get into their cabin that embarkation day. There were hundreds in line at Guest Relations to get new (functioning keys) and most were visibly angry (with good cause). In the good queue avoidance tradition we simply found chairs on the pool deck, put our carry-ons under our loungers, read our books, and enjoyed a couple of nice adult beverages. By 3:00 the crew had set-up multiple locations around the ship where they were making new keys. Those that had spent their first 2 hours (or more) of their cruise waiting in queues finally had their keys, and those of us who had practiced queue avoidance simply had to go to one of those extra keying locations (or to Guest Relations) where our wait was less then 10 min. Yes, it was inconvenient not being able to get into our cabin until late in the afternoon, but it was much more inconvenient for those who spent hours waiting in queues.

 

Hank

 

I love your attitude and I agree completely.

Edited November 23, 2014 by cruisefreaks