What's the worst example of passengers being rude you have seen?

[littlesteelo]

I haven't been on many cruises, so mine is pretty tame. I was going down the stairs on Ventura back to my cabin, and when I got to my deck, there was a (fairly large) group of people having a conversation completely blocking the entrance to the corridor. There was a very large gap in between them, so I quickly snuck through. The 'main' guy there then shouted 'excuse me!' at me, with the most disgusted look on his face, as if I had just thrown a cup of water at him and punched him in the face. I apologized, giving him an equally dirty look, even though in my opinion I had done nothing wrong. They were blocking the entrance to the corridor.

 

That has got me wondering, what is the worst example of passenger rudeness you have experienced yourself, or maybe seen in all your time cruising? :)

[FLUFFY01]

Hi

 

Anytime I am blocked I just say "excuse me please" and hey presto a place opens up for me. I can understand to an extent how being blocked is a bit of a pain and this happens any place. Unfortunately when you have a group of people together they are not aware of others around them.

 

Regards

JO

[u2cruiser]

I think the worst I've seen was a man, probably in his 60s, lording it over one of the poor bar waiters on Ventura.

 

He first told him off for bringing his can of beer already ring pulled, saying 'I've told you once not to do it!'. Then he complained that the glass wasn't big enough and he wanted a pint glass. I felt like apologising on his behalf to the poor bar man. He looked so upset about it.

 

I agree about groups stood chatting, blocking the way. They are oblivious that people are trying to get round them.

[Catherine Janaway]

Hi

 

Anytime I am blocked I just say "excuse me please" and hey presto a place opens up for me. I can understand to an extent how being blocked is a bit of a pain and this happens any place. Unfortunately when you have a group of people together they are not aware of others around them.

 

Regards

JO

 

I was thinking the same, the man who made the comment to the op may have thought he (the op) was being rude.

 

There seems a reluctance to say 'excuse me' when people want to pass. I have been known to say it fairly loudly when my initial attempt has failed! :D

[CASPALL]

On Oriana a few years ago an elderly man pushed his way into the buffet queue in front of my friend almost knocking her over!

On the same cruise (Portunis one - from Southampton:rolleyes: ) there were quite a lot of passengers on these mobility scooters and one old lady in particular was a danger on the decks! One evening she almost ran my friend over - and she never even said sorry!!!

After that cruise I wondered if I would ever book another one!

I did!:D

 

Caryl

[lancashire_cruisers]

It would have to be either:

 

1. the man who roared at my husband to 'sit down and shut the (insert expletive of your own choosing!) up' as he was helping a man with mobility difficulties get settled on the minibus for our tour in Antigua. I was so upset because this was in front of our then 8 year old daughter and I just wanted to go back to the ship.

 

2. the man who roared at one of the young waiters in the Conservatory on Oriana because there were no teaspoons:eek:. A few days later the same man was seen roaring at the restaurant manager in the Conservatory because he had to wait 30 seconds for some cream for his scone:eek::eek:.

 

Thankfully, those are the only 2 incidents I have to tell in nearly 10 years of cruising!

 

Debbie:)

[littlesteelo]

I was thinking the same, the man who made the comment to the op may have thought he (the op) was being rude.

 

There seems a reluctance to say 'excuse me' when people want to pass. I have been known to say it fairly loudly when my initial attempt has failed! :D

 

I worded my original post badly, there was a gap between them and the entrance to the corridor, so I didn't barge through them or interrupt their conversation, so I didn't see the need to say excuse me. Obviously if they had been completely blocking the entrance I would have. Still, the only person who seemed to have an issue with me walking past them was the man. The other passengers seemed to be awkwardly laughing when he was getting ratty with me, you know when they are a little embarassed themselves? :rolleyes:

[littlesteelo]

On Oriana a few years ago an elderly man pushed his way into the buffet queue in front of my friend almost knocking her over!

On the same cruise (Portunis one - from Southampton:rolleyes: ) there were quite a lot of passengers on these mobility scooters and one old lady in particular was a danger on the decks! One evening she almost ran my friend over - and she never even said sorry!!!

After that cruise I wondered if I would ever book another one!

I did!:D

 

That reminds me of one time when I was in York, and a very fat man on a mobility scooter was making his way down the footpath (in the shambles, where both the path and road are pedestrian only), shouting at people to 'get out of my way!' and running over peoples feet!

[balf]

For me it's the "lady" who was always in the front seat on the tour bus, you know the one, right behind the driver. How she managed it every time but one I have no idea, but when everyone else boarded there she was with that smug look on her face; you know the one. She was like that Keith Prouse advert of so long ago "You want the best seats we've got them" Anyway once, just once she didn't manage to make it and finished up in the seat right next to the toilet that I always seemed to get; you know the one.

 

Boy did she give me the verbal work over when she boarded. However there she was on the next tour, guess where.

 

David

[Catherine Janaway]

For me it's the "lady" who was always in the front seat on the tour bus, you know the one, right behind the driver. How she managed it every time but one I have no idea, but when everyone else boarded there she was with that smug look on her face; you know the one. She was like that Keith Prouse advert of so long ago "You want the best seats we've got them" Anyway once, just once she didn't manage to make it and finished up in the seat right next to the toilet that I always seemed to get; you know the one.

 

Boy did she give me the verbal work over when she boarded. However there she was on the next tour, guess where.

 

David

 

OMG that reminds me of a couple on our Lions tour of South Africa in 2009, we travelled around a lot to and from hotels and different airports and this elderly couple used to practically sprint to get these seats!

 

It became a bt of a joke but in the end we just accepted those seats were theirs.

 

Most of us used to sit in different places everytime we boarded.

 

There's none so queer as folk! :D

[verycanny]

Has to be the guy who thought that leaving a fag packet on the breakfast buffet table reserved it, my wife seen him leaving and handed the packet to a waiter who was passing thinking he had forgotten it.

 

By the time he came back, I was sitting there along with my wife and my friend's wife when he started... 'unbeleivable..unbeleivable'..every time he passed there was a sarcastic remark like 'enjoy the table' his wife seated at another table was more embarressed for him I think

 

joys of cruising...

[DamianG]

Just for fun here's a "Top 10":

 

1. The retired ex-miner from Barnsley (with the biggest chip on his shoulder of anyone I've ever met) who we had the misfortune to share breakfast with once. He criticised everything possible in a loud voice then stormed off for a "proper cup of tea" leaving the rest of us stunned and his poor wife highly embarrassed. Funny enough the next day we had breakfast with another ex-miner from South Yorkshire and you couldn’t have met a nicer chap.
   
2. The couple that we had the misfortune to share a club dining table with on our 2nd P&O cruise. The lady was okay but the gentleman was one of the most obnoxious people we've ever met. Our opinions just didn’t count for anything no matter what the subject was. They turned up randomly for dinner and we were relieved on the nights that they didn't show up. We felt sorry for the waiters and not surprisingly the couple didn't turn up on the last evening (but hopefully our tips went some way to covering the lack of theirs). We didn't know at the time that we could have asked to move tables unfortunately.
   
3. The chap who pushed past everyone on the way to the coach for an excursion trying to secure the front seat (looks like this is very common). We much prefer to sit at the back anyway!
   
4. A couple who turned up towards the end of the church service in the theatre, marched to the front row, sat down and then started eating sweets! It turned out that they were waiting for the show which was scheduled for after the service.
   
5. The lady who would launch into her dinner as soon as the plate landed on the table, regardless of whether anyone else had been served yet. To be fair she was very nice and good company but we still thought it lacked manners.
   
6. The lady on an excursion who picked up a sauce ladle in the included buffet, took a sip from it then put it straight back into the pot!
   
7. Those who shuffle along oblivious that they are holding anyone up then turn into an Olympic sprinter to jump in a lift!
   
8. Those to whom we are invisible when queuing for anything from the buffet to the reception.
   
9. Those in the buffet who "dig" you from behind with their trays.
   
10. Anyone who reserves a seat or sunbed.
    

Thanks to all the lovely fellow passengers and crew that we have met and have made all our cruises enjoyable in many different ways. As for the moaners and ignoramuses, don't let them get to you!

[FLUFFY01]

A friend and I went to the self service restaurant at lunchtime. As it was busy we asked a couple we did not know, if we could sit with them. We were eating our main course, when the chap decided to tell us a racist joke. I said that was not very nice. We left the table and went elsewhere to have our dessert.

[u2cruiser]

Just for fun here's a "Top 10":

 

1. The retired ex-miner from Barnsley (with the biggest chip on his shoulder of anyone I've ever met) who we had the misfortune to share breakfast with once. He criticised everything possible in a loud voice then stormed off for a "proper cup of tea" leaving the rest of us stunned and his poor wife highly embarrassed. Funny enough the next day we had breakfast with another ex-miner from South Yorkshire and you couldn’t have met a nicer chap.
   
2. The couple that we had the misfortune to share a club dining table with on our 2nd P&O cruise. The lady was okay but the gentleman was one of the most obnoxious people we've ever met. Our opinions just didn’t count for anything no matter what the subject was. They turned up randomly for dinner and we were relieved on the nights that they didn't show up. We felt sorry for the waiters and not surprisingly the couple didn't turn up on the last evening (but hopefully our tips went some way to covering the lack of theirs). We didn't know at the time that we could have asked to move tables unfortunately.
   
3. The chap who pushed past everyone on the way to the coach for an excursion trying to secure the front seat (looks like this is very common). We much prefer to sit at the back anyway!
   
4. A couple who turned up towards the end of the church service in the theatre, marched to the front row, sat down and then started eating sweets! It turned out that they were waiting for the show which was scheduled for after the service.
   
5. The lady who would launch into her dinner as soon as the plate landed on the table, regardless of whether anyone else had been served yet. To be fair she was very nice and good company but we still thought it lacked manners.
   
6. The lady on an excursion who picked up a sauce ladle in the included buffet, took a sip from it then put it straight back into the pot!
   
7. Those who shuffle along oblivious that they are holding anyone up then turn into an Olympic sprinter to jump in a lift!
   
8. Those to whom we are invisible when queuing for anything from the buffet to the reception.
   
9. Those in the buffet who "dig" you from behind with their trays.
   
10. Anyone who reserves a seat or sunbed.
    

Thanks to all the lovely fellow passengers and crew that we have met and have made all our cruises enjoyable in many different ways. As for the moaners and ignoramuses, don't let them get to you!

 

Nice end to your post DamianG.

It's a good job there are many more polite people than the rude people we all encounter on cruises and everywhere else for that matter.

[capasamari]

To be fair to the lady in no. 5, I seem to remember reading in the advisory literature in the cabin that the waiters prefer you to start as soon as you are served as it speeds up the service for them. Personally I sympathise with her as I cannot abide cold food.

 

Usually on a large table people will tell you start rather than wait for them otherwise the first one served has a cold dinner while the last ones served enjoy their food hot. Maybe she would have thought your manners were lacking in expecting her to wait?!

 

It's a minefield some days!

 

Carol x

[Catherine Janaway]

To be fair to the lady in no. 5, I seem to remember reading in the advisory literature in the cabin that the waiters prefer you to start as soon as you are served as it speeds up the service for them. Personally I sympathise with her as I cannot abide cold food.

 

Usually on a large table people will tell you start rather than wait for them otherwise the first one served has a cold dinner while the last ones served enjoy their food hot. Maybe she would have thought your manners were lacking in expecting her to wait?!

 

It's a minefield some days!

 

Carol x

 

Phew I'm glad you posted this!

 

When I have a meal out with family we usually tell the person who has been served first to start and not let their meal go cold.

 

I have to admit that I didn't give this a thought even though I will be sitting with a table of strangers - it is likely we will be eating different meals that could be ready at different times.

 

I think I'd be likely to start my meal before everyone has been served.

 

Looks like I may make someone's top 10 list! ;)

[MTElkwhistle]

The older gentleman who had a right go at me for taking teenagers on "his" ship and taking them out of school to do so. He was poisonous.

 

I took great pleasure in telling him that they had every right to be there, that he had a choice of pools to swim in whilst teenagers were only allowed in one, and finally my polite, well behaved, straight "A" student sons have 2 weeks school holiday every October and he jolly well should check his facts before he booked a cruise thinking it was outside of school holidays.

 

To say I was raging was an understatement.

[Denarius]

Has to be the guy who thought that leaving a fag packet on the breakfast buffet table reserved it, my wife seen him leaving and handed the packet to a waiter who was passing thinking he had forgotten it.

 

By the time he came back, I was sitting there along with my wife and my friend's wife when he started... 'unbeleivable..unbeleivable'..every time he passed there was a sarcastic remark like 'enjoy the table' his wife seated at another table was more embarressed for him I think

 

joys of cruising...

The issue of "reserving" tables is one which annoys lots of people. On a recent cruise on Ventura two elderley people, both with walking sticks, approached a table for 4 in the buffet and "reserved" it by placing their sticks down each side of the table top. They then went to the buffet without their sticks and returned carrying trays. One wondered whether they really needed the sticks or whether they carried them merely to reserve tables (or sun loungers)

[marylizcat]

To be fair to the lady in no. 5, I seem to remember reading in the advisory literature in the cabin that the waiters prefer you to start as soon as you are served as it speeds up the service for them. Personally I sympathise with her as I cannot abide cold food.

 

Usually on a large table people will tell you start rather than wait for them otherwise the first one served has a cold dinner while the last ones served enjoy their food hot. Maybe she would have thought your manners were lacking in expecting her to wait?!

 

It's a minefield some days!

 

Carol x

 

It is actually correct etiquette not to wait for the others if you are served hot food. However, if it is cold food, then one should wait until everyone has been served. (Generally, not just on ships! This is to avoid food going cold.)

[DamianG]

Perhaps I should have worded my post more carefully. What I should have made clear is that the lady in question would start as soon as she received the plate, i.e. before the waiters even had the opportunity to serve potatoes or vegetables.

I agree with Carol to some extent in that if one of our dishes is delayed for any reason we always invite the others to start "before it gets cold".

Very interesting to read the above etiquette too, not what my mother taught me but I live and learn!

[cruiseluvva]

It is actually correct etiquette not to wait for the others if you are served hot food. However, if it is cold food, then one should wait until everyone has been served. (Generally, not just on ships! This is to avoid food going cold.)

 

Interesting - according to Debretts, everyone should wait until all the guests at the table have been served, before even picking up cutlery.

[mogpie]

Ok, my two-penneth worth,

on our Ventura cruise a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I sat at an empty table for 4 by the outside pool. our daughter was in the kids club, so just after we settled down with our cups of coffee and a juice for our daughter, I was just getting up to go and fetch our daughter when this chap sat down on one of the empty chairs. fully expecting him to say "excuse me, are these seats free?", he just sat there and stared straight forward without saying a word. I said to my wife " I will be back in a min, I'm just going to fetch Freya". when I came back, not 2 mins later, my wife was on another table. I said " why are you sitting here?" she said that the guy's wife came not 2 seconds after I'd left and also just sat down as if my wife didn't exist, even though she was sitting there and my bag was on the other seat and 2 coffees and a juice were on the table. I was absolutely fuming. My wife said that she didn't want to make a scene so she moved all our stuff whilst the ****explicit words deleted*** just sat there still without saying anything, either to her or each other. Well, my wife then went to the toilet, so I went over to them and gave them a massive piece of my mind. If the area had been busy, I could have forgiven them but there were LOTS of tables free so I couldn't understand why they did that....... Later in the cruise, we were sat in Havana watching a presentation by Marlene from Only Fools and Horses, and it just so happened that the offending couple were sat on the table behind us. I said to the missus "shall we ask them if they want to sit in our seats instead?" we had a laugh about it between ourselves, but they really were the rudest couple we have ever met on our hols.

regards

Darren

[Catherine Janaway]

Ok, my two-penneth worth,

on our Ventura cruise a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I sat at an empty table for 4 by the outside pool. our daughter was in the kids club, so just after we settled down with our cups of coffee and a juice for our daughter, I was just getting up to go and fetch our daughter when this chap sat down on one of the empty chairs. fully expecting him to say "excuse me, are these seats free?", he just sat there and stared straight forward without saying a word. I said to my wife " I will be back in a min, I'm just going to fetch Freya". when I came back, not 2 mins later, my wife was on another table. I said " why are you sitting here?" she said that the guy's wife came not 2 seconds after I'd left and also just sat down as if my wife didn't exist, even though she was sitting there and my bag was on the other seat and 2 coffees and a juice were on the table. I was absolutely fuming. My wife said that she didn't want to make a scene so she moved all our stuff whilst the ****explicit words deleted*** just sat there still without saying anything, either to her or each other. Well, my wife then went to the toilet, so I went over to them and gave them a massive piece of my mind. If the area had been busy, I could have forgiven them but there were LOTS of tables free so I couldn't understand why they did that....... Later in the cruise, we were sat in Havana watching a presentation by Marlene from Only Fools and Horses, and it just so happened that the offending couple were sat on the table behind us. I said to the missus "shall we ask them if they want to sit in our seats instead?" we had a laugh about it between ourselves, but they really were the rudest couple we have ever met on our hols.

regards

Darren

 

How rude!

 

I think I would have had to ask 'can I help you?'

[SPACASTAN]

We have just come back from a cruise on Azura and have met some of the rudiest people i have ever met. My partner tried to pass one lady and said "excuse me please" to which he received a dirty look and a tut, i tried to put my cigarette out in the ashtray where a person in a wheelchair was blocking it and when i asked could i get to it, they replied "go and use the other one", i just leaned over her (to her annoyance) and put it out. We was told to be quiet in a bar by another passenger because the captain was speaking (we weren't even on their table). I could go on. There is just no need for rudeness.

[lostinvegas]

The lady smoking in the non smoking area in the casino. When asked to stop she refused, so I told her I did not want lung cancer and asked a member of staff to stop here which they did in the end. This was on RCI Oasis of the seas.

 

Most of the other things I have had happen have been minor and just people being people. I did get really angry when someone told me the score of the football game we were watching in the exchange in Ventura, the game had been broadcast delayed but we did not know the final score.

 

Oh and more amusing than anything the young group we were seated with at dinner who thought they were some sort of bad rap stars. They ordered lobster, did not like it and asked for Ribeana because they could not understand why anyone would have wine with their dinner. I was only 25 myself at the time but found it hilarious.