Voyager 1/15/05 Just back and have a few thoughts

[nicsdad]

First of all, let me say that we (2 adults, one 10 year old) had a wonderful vacation. No, the weather, and the sea conditions were not the best, but still, it was great. We were in cabin 1688, which was good, but we liked 1388 better for the views while in ports.

 

This was our 21st cruise and my daughters 12th, so we have done this before. Never, on any cruise have been on, I've come accross more rude people in one place and at one time. I always thought that vacation was a time to relax and just go with the flow, but, not these people. We had trouble getting off of the ship in Jamaica, due to computer problems. Since you are reading this on a computer, chances are that we all have had problems in this area. Well, I thought that there was going to be a riot at the gang way!! There was a very long line, as you might expect, to get off of the ship, because the crew needed to hand write every name when you got off. Yes, there might have been a better way, but at that point, what are you going to do? If you tried to take the elevator down to deck 1, when the doors opened, you were screamed at to go back up and get on the line at the end. If you were coming down from deck 10, you had no idea of the problem, and no idea that that there was this long of a line! People were yelling at crew members that could not do anything about this. I thought that one of the girls, who was from the cruise directors staff, was going to start crying at one point, people were being so rude to her.

 

Then the next day, when we miss Grand Cayman due to rough seas, and, they were not as bad as I've ever seen, but they were not good, people were at the guest relations desk yelling about that too! I just don't understand.

 

The last night, at the farewell show, my daughter, who is a good kid, not an angel, (or one of the kids that were on board with no parents, because they were doing back flips in the hot tubs and no one said anything to them), was sitting on the folded up part of the seat, a good 15 minutes before the show started. There was nothing to look at at that point except the curtains that hide the stage. This woman sitting in the seat behind her, yelled at her and told her to sit down, my daughter was blocking her view. When my daughter does something wrong, I am the person to scold her, not a stranger. But when she is doing nothing wrong, and a stranger yells at her, then that person is the one who has the problem.

 

As you can see by my number of posts, I am a lurker, not a poster. But this time I felt that I needed to post my observations about the passengers on this voyage. I also want to say that the food and the service, on this cruise was the best that I've had in a long time.

[Ontheseas]

excuse my language, but that's pretty ****ty of other people. Why is it that some passengers feel that they are the only people on this planet and give no regard to others? I'm so sorry you had to deal with those inconsiderate, rude people. That just sucks. :mad:

[KamloopsCruisers]

So sorry to read about your experience. I hope all the rude passengers have already sailed. We cruise this Saturday:) . While a ship full of rude passengers wouldn't spoil by vacation entirely, it would detract from my enjoyment. Here's hoping for happy sailors on my cruise.

[PortugueseLady]

We were on the EOS during hurricane Jeanie and got to stay on the ship an extra day....

 

When we finally got off on Monday it was a mess....people were so rude screaming at crew members..same thing with the elevators..people coming down the elevator and trying to get off were really cutting us but really not trying to cut but just trying to get off the ship....it was crazy..and for a minute I felt like what the hell is going to happen...I felt bad for the crew and truly they were trying their best but people just kept screaming, making such rude comments...and really all this did was create more drama...if people just calmed down things would of moved and ran a bit more smoothly...

 

I know I was ready to get off so I wouldn't miss my flight..but I knew I had to just relax and wait...and after that we were off and at the airport in plenty of time...

 

Now missing a port or having complications trying to get off the ship to enter the island is something that they can not control...seriously...people need to take a chill pill and just relax.....in time things will flow....

 

I am sorry you had to encounter such a mess....I know what you mean, I could go on and on about rude people on my cruises...but I vowed I would never let myself waste my breathe complaining about it....and if they are miserable...let them...

 

N

[lovethesun58]

There were some rude and inconsiderate people on our Explorer cruise 1/2/05 also. This was noticed especially at the elevators, Windjammer, and Promenade. This was the first we experienced such rudeness and I hope it's the last. ( I'm sure it won't be though :( ) Vacations are for relaxing and taking it easy. We could care less if we were first or last in line - we did everything we wanted to do and saw everything we wanted to see.

[ALIASapoFan]

People who really SCREAM at employees (be it a front desk clerk, a cashier, a ticket taker, etc.) BLOW me away. I just can't imagine anything being worth screaming about. I know we all pay a lot of money to go on these vacations, but that doesn't give us the right to be downright nasty. Some things are not in the control of any single person. If on our cruise we miss Coco Cay because of weather, I will be disappointed, but not enough to yell at a crew member! It's not in their control. Some people get really weird when they go away...it's like something else takes over their minds and body or something. LOL. I used to work as a front desk clerk...and it always amazed me what people thought we were in control of. I was expected to make the rain stop or magic up some extra rooms when we were sold out...people get weird.

 

I am glad it didn't ruin your vacation, but I am sorry you had to witness such behavior. Especially your daughter. No one has the right to scold your child but you (or someone whom YOU put in charge of your child).

[JDee]

Geez, wonder what would happen if a fire breaks out or have to abandon ship.... Doesn't sound pretty......

[nrdsb4]

People who really SCREAM at employees (be it a front desk clerk, a cashier, a ticket taker, etc.) BLOW me away. I just can't imagine anything being worth screaming about.

 

I truly believe that people often yell at people in service positions because they know that the object of their abuse is not at liberty to stand up to them without risking their job. I think it gives the abuser a sense of power that he/she may not normally have in their own lives. It's disgusting how people act sometimes when dealing with people in hospitality positions.

 

I once had a patient throw a carton of milk at me because I didn't give her the creamer she asked for (we were out). I calmly told her that I understood she was frustrated at being at the hospital on Thanksgiving day, as I was, but that my job description as an ICU RN didn't include taking physical abuse from any patient. She was totally shocked that I stood up to her and she was even more surprised when the hospital supervisor backed me up later. Some people seem to think being stressed out gives them an excuse to behave like a jerk. I wonder if these people had parents who did not teach them proper behavior?

[ALIASapoFan]

I truly believe that people often yell at people in service positions because they know that the object of their abuse is not at liberty to stand up to them without risking their job. I think it gives the abuser a sense of power that he/she may not normally have in their own lives. It's disgusting how people act sometimes when dealing with people in hospitality positions.

 

You know, you are right on...I agree completely. That makes me very sad (that people have to act that way, I mean).

[BobBeaSea]

Sorry you experienced rude behaviour and people. Unfortunately rude behaviour is here to stay; it is a result of our "me first, you're wrong, I want it now, it's your fault" society that collectively we have allowed to evolve. Ignorance, rude behaviour, intolerance, impatience etc. have infected the masses far more than even 15-20 years ago. God help you if you step in- you may get killed. I think people have more problems today and they are hellbent on sharing their "discomfort". Sorry your weather was not great, glad to hear the service and food were OK. We will be on Voyager in Mar. and, personally, I'll take a stand against rudeness and bad behaviour particularily where children are the targets.

[nicsdad]

Thank you everyone for the replies. It's good to know that it is not just me that noticed the change in people's behavior!!

[BobBeaSea]

Hi nicsdad...with 21 cruises under your belt you would be a great resource on these boards; even your daughter (10 cruises) would know more about cruising than most people including the woman who yelled at her. Just a couple of questions- who were the Captain and Cruise Director?.....did the ship's crew and staff seem to be a happy and satisfied group? Strange question but a happy ship is a good ship, (as long as the passengers behave themselves). LOL Thank you.

[angelsil]

We were on the EOS during hurricane Jeanie and got to stay on the ship an extra day....

 

When we finally got off on Monday it was a mess

 

Yep.

We were there, too. There were something like 8 ships docked at one time in Miami, due to the closure of the port. So, the luggage area was chaotic and tempers flared.

 

What we witnessed were the porters literally *plowing through* folks to get their bags out to the taxis/buses/etc. and get their tips. Since the lines were so long and the terminal so packed, there was nowhere for people to go to get out of the way. We carried our own bags and were stuck in the customs line with everyone else. After being rammed in the back by the same porter trying to 'get through' 3 times, my husband let loose on the guy. I thought it was coming to fisticuffs for a few minutes, but the other passengers were back DH up.

[arkcruiser1]

Thanks for posting. We are sailing on the Voyager March 19. I'm glad you thought the food and service were good. My wife is curious to know if they had theme nights in the dining room. If so, can you tell me what they were?

This will be our second cruise but the first on the Voyager class ship. Thanks again!!

[nicsdad]

Hi there - It would be my pleasure help with some questions.

BobBeaSea - The captain was Svein Petterson. The day that he made the announcement that we had to miss Grand Cayman due to weather, he seemed really uspet that he was letting his passengers down. We did see him several other times around the ship. The cruise director was Becky 'Hello Love" Thomson. Every crew member that we came accross on the ship was quite pleasant and very helpful. We were extremely happy with our room steward, Claudius, and our waiter, Rizo. He loved cutting up my daughters steaks, and feeding them to her. It was pretty cute. The night that we were sailing out of Cozumel, my daughter lost a tooth in the dining room. The wait staff really had a good time with that. On the last day, my daughter lost a charm that she bought in Cozumel, and the room steward saved the day when he found it while cleaning the hallways. The staff that we had really went above and beyond!!

arkcruiser1 - I saved each of the Cruise Compasses so I can tell you about the themes each night.

Sat - casual no theme

Sun - Formal no theme

Mon - Smart casual 50's/60's/70's Attire

Tues - Casual - Caribbean Theme

Wed - Formal no theme

Thur - Casual - Country theme

Fri - Casual no theme

 

We were on the Western Caribbean sailing, so I don't know if the nights that they have these themes change on the Eastern sailings, but I would think that the themes would stay the same.

 

If anyone has any other questions, please, feel free to ask!!

[BobBeaSea]

Thank you for the info. We are on Voyager Mar.5- Eastern Carib. It is my girlfriend's first cruise and my third (Sovereign of the Seas '90 & '93- when she was the biggest in the world). I thought Sovereign was huge, I can only imagine Voyager. I mention Sovereign because your Captain's name rings a bell- or I am losing more grey cells than I thought. Cheers!

[Rockiesfan]

Hi Nicsdad - We are going on the VOS 2/5/05 (10 days to go!!) and my 12-year-old son would love to know if the solarium pool will be reserved one night for the Navigators age group of Adventure Ocean. On our previous cruises he has been in younger groups that do not have a swim night and he is really looking forward to it if they still do it. Can you look on the back page of your compasses under "swimming pools" and see if any night it says the solarium pool is reserved for the Navigators?

 

Thanks for your help!

[nicsdad]

I looked at the compasses, and I did not see anything about the solarium pool being open for the Navigators. Sorry!!

[Rockiesfan]

Thanks for checking, Nicsdad. I guess by the time we're onboard he'll have so much else to do that he won't miss the kids' swim.

[arkcruiser1]

Nicsdad, Thanks!!!

[bplazo]

We had the same problem disembarking on the EOS in October. The exit line was backed up on several floors and the poor people who were getting off the elevators were told to get back in the elevators and wait their turn . One lady was very obnoxious not only yelling at the people in the elevator but yelling at her daughter that it was her fault that they were stuck in the line because she was late getting out of her stateroom.

 

Made the wait in line interesting, I am sure the woman was glaring at me because I told one group in the elevator that they could get in front of me.

[Tony O]

nicsdad We will be on the Voyager in July and staying in cabin 1690 right next to the one your were in. Was there much motion or noise in the stern? How was the view and the size of the balcony? Or any other info you would like to share would be appreciated