Attitude toward cruisers?

[island lady]

You should have read the whole post:

 

Taking a stay-on-board mega-ship was one of the three options.

 

Going to synthetic ports - including specifically mentioned Labadee - was a second.

 

The third was going to real ports - with sufficiently limited numbers of passengers to maintain the qualities which make those ports worth seeing in the first place.

 

I suppose these ports "enjoy" the cruise passengers, but do those ports offer much for cruise passengers to enjoy?

 

I am inclined to think that there may be several entirely different cruise markets:

 

The mega ships which are destinations in themselves which need not make any ports at all - serving the "wow factor" fans.

 

The generic cruise port: Labadee, Falmouth, Half Moon Cay, etc. - which exist only for cruise ships.

 

The "real" ports - which would strictly limit the number of passengers allowed any particular day so that passengers can experience the place itself without being part of an overwhelming crowd which obscures what the port has to offer.

 

Here ya go! :)

[slidergirl]

That does remind me though of a diner in a tiny SE community that was popular with other Alaskans for a weekend away. Super small town. You had a dining room in the only hotel and the one diner and those were your only food options. Besides the one grocery store. But any time someone walked into the diner with shiny new Patagonia gear and a general big city (if sincerely Earth-friendly) tourist look, she'd tell them she was closed. Despite other people at tables eating. And repeat it until they left.

 

Tourism dollars are a bonus, not a necessity.

 

I want to visit this town!!! I promise I'll bring my well-worn and traveled Patagonia shell with it's duct tape over holes, my "Resist" T-shirt, well-worn trekking pants and my old Keen trail shoes. And, I promise I won't be tossing money in the air to the poor locals. One of my acquaintances grew up in Alaska - family owns a rustic lodge that was accessible only by floatplane or boat - so I'll ask her how to cozy up to the natives ;)

[Lady Chew]

Kind of interesting ... some of you who are cruisers - look down on some of your fellow cruisers - because you think they are "tourists" rather than "travelers" ... how are you any different if you, too, are cruising, and are in port for "just" a day trip?

[slidergirl]

Kind of interesting ... some of you who are cruisers - look down on some of your fellow cruisers - because you think they are "tourists" rather than "travelers" ... how are you any different if you, too, are cruising, and are in port for "just" a day trip?

 

You may be a traveler even for a day in a port. Be respectful of your surrounding. Don't be a loudmouth boor. Don't talk to the locals like you are superior. Don't just hit the nearest beach bar and sit there and get sloppy drunk. Don't go into port and go to the closest McDonalds instead of trying a small local mom & pop restaurant. Don't leave your trash around on the beach. Don't try to bargain at every single store because, hey, it's not the US. Seek out more remote and local beaches (see Hank's comments on St. Maarten). Don't travel in a herd of 50 other cruisers with someone with a flag leading you around, cutting your tour short because some slowpokes have taken up too much time and the guide MUST take you to some rug store or other "cruise recommended" store to get their commission. Read up on what cultural attractions are at the port and visit those. Go for quality, not quantity, when you go to someplace like Rome or Athens. Take the time to soak up the atmosphere and get a true appreciation of something rather than spending 5 minutes at all the "must see" places like The Griswald Family. Learn a few local phrases - not everyone in the World speaks English. You'd be surprised how well you can communicate with someone even if you don't have a common language between you.

 

To me, I get much more out of a vacation and am not exhausted at the end if I don't try to do everything available. There are places I've been to where I have not even scratched the surface of what everyone thinks are the "must see" things. For a day trip, I'll pick out maybe 2 things I really want to see/do, (90% of the time NOT excursions and I DIY) and use the rest of my time just watching the local goings on, wandering around streets, sampling local food, running into a unique church...

 

P.S. it's not just cruisers that I think of this way as 2 different types. Any one on any kind of vacation has the chance to choose between being a tourist and a traveler ;-)

[DedeF]

Kind of interesting ... some of you who are cruisers - look down on some of your fellow cruisers - because you think they are "tourists" rather than "travelers" ... how are you any different if you, too, are cruising, and are in port for "just" a day trip?

 

Exactly! What a bunch of hypocrites!!

[slidergirl]

Exactly! What a bunch of hypocrites!!

 

Exactly what is hypocritical?

 

How about this little tidbit:

 

"A tourist treads from monument to monument on a two-dimensional checklist; a traveler will treat a city like the living, breathing thing it is and always come out the other side with an incredible tale to tell." Easy to do in a day...

[DedeF]

What's hypocritical is that they talk bad about cruisers while being one of them. They say how we are ruining the culture and environment, but continue to cruise. I haven't heard one yet, say how they will give it up! That's hypocritical.

[Velvetwater]

I think that a majority of ports in the world (current ones anyway) can handle cruise passengers. Its just the small Caribbean islands and a few other places (small Norway ports, Kotor etc) where it would be more obvious a Mega ship is in town.

 

Its important to note there are different types of cruisers as there are different types of holiday makers and whatever way you travel you will get the tourists and the travellers. I have had friends who think they are a supreme traveller because they spent three months in Thailand, in the same resort drinking with other westerners each night and sleeping on the beach all day....similarly I have friends that went to the same region and travelled all over doing charity work and whatnot. Its not how and where you get there its your attitude.

 

Personally, I just love being a new place as much as I can so cruising is great and I would never even dream of heading back to the ship to eat though...give me local everytime. I love to get a feel of a place just chilling out and wandering to interesting spots. As my Hubby and I are British and are both 30 with a more hippy/alternative look we often don't look like a typical cruiser. In Cayman we were sat at a bar on the other side of the Island and the barman and his mate were moaning about cruiser rudeness and asking us if we agreed and if we were looking forward to a quiet evening. We replied that we were leaving at 5.00 so didnt know.

 

I tend to see cruising as 'Tapas' and a land holiday as a 'steak dinner'. I will enjoy both lots and I am still experiencing both ....I just prefer Tapas because I get lots of different flavours.

[island lady]

It's not the cruise ship people....but ALL types of people. You have polite types, and the

crass types in every arena.

 

Have you ever sat at an airport and studied your fellow travelers? All walks of life. Rude drivers

and good drivers? Don't get me started. :(

 

Now...how about the "Walmartians" at Walmart? ;p

[wowzz]

I think that a majority of ports in the world (current ones anyway) can handle cruise passengers. Its just the small Caribbean islands and a few other places (small Norway ports, Kotor etc) where it would be more obvious a Mega ship is in town.

 

Its important to note there are different types of cruisers as there are different types of holiday makers and whatever way you travel you will get the tourists and the travellers. I have had friends who think they are a supreme traveller because they spent three months in Thailand, in the same resort drinking with other westerners each night and sleeping on the beach all day....similarly I have friends that went to the same region and travelled all over doing charity work and whatnot. Its not how and where you get there its your attitude.

 

Personally, I just love being a new place as much as I can so cruising is great and I would never even dream of heading back to the ship to eat though...give me local everytime. I love to get a feel of a place just chilling out and wandering to interesting spots. As my Hubby and I are British and are both 30 with a more hippy/alternative look we often don't look like a typical cruiser. In Cayman we were sat at a bar on the other side of the Island and the barman and his mate were moaning about cruiser rudeness and asking us if we agreed and if we were looking forward to a quiet evening. We replied that we were leaving at 5.00 so didnt know.

 

I tend to see cruising as 'Tapas' and a land holiday as a 'steak dinner'. I will enjoy both lots and I am still experiencing both ....I just prefer Tapas because I get lots of different flavours.

Excellent, well reasoned post. I especially like the 'tapas' analogy.

 

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

[ontheweb]

There is a subtle difference between tourists and travellers. Travellers tend to want to integrate into the local community, sample the native way of life, and eat and behave as a local, even if for only a day. Tourists, however, tend to operate on a 'to do list ' system, ticking off sights, cathedrals, castles etc, without ever fully understanding their true meaning. Most holiday makers fall into the tourist category, and cruisers are no different.

 

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

 

Reminds me of a wow I'm being a traveler not just an ordinary cruiser moment. DW and I were in Santorini on a Greek Isles cruise, and we were LOST. We stumbled on a museum in a cave. We went in and were taken on a tour. There was one other couple, and the tour guide spoke both English for us and Greek for them.

 

Afterwards, we showed him the map we had received from HAL, and asked him to point out where we were. He laughed and said we were off the map. He tried to hail us a cab, but they were all going in the other direction toward the airport. He then showed us a shortcut we could take back to where we wanted to go.

 

And I realized we had seen something, quite interesting as a matter of fact, that may not have been seen by anyone else on our ship, or possibly by no tourists.

[NLH Arizona]

Exactly! What a bunch of hypocrites!!

Agree, they sure generalize about cruisers, but they do the same as many of us cruisers.....way too funny.

[cadien]

I couldn't care less whether someone is a tourist or a traveler. You don't realize how cruise passengers can behave in a small town. It's a manners thing. Actually walking into people's homes to see how locals live. Demanding seating at restaurants ahead of locals who were already waiting because they are on a time limit. Trying to haggle at pharmacies.

 

It only has to be one bad egg per ship to get overwhelming. Up to five ships per day. All summer.

[navybankerteacher]

I couldn't care less whether someone is a tourist or a traveler.

...

 

 

Silly to compare un-defined terms. Some "tourists" take a tour of an area to really experience it and come away with a sense of understanding; while some "travelers" are so focused on getting from point A to point B that they tear through a magical point C halfway in between - not only missing an extraordinary experience, but disrupting the "tourists" who have specifically gone there to experience what is so special.

[Aquahound]

What's hypocritical is that they talk bad about cruisers while being one of them. They say how we are ruining the culture and environment, but continue to cruise. I haven't heard one yet, say how they will give it up! That's hypocritical.

 

Nope. Your (and others') use of the word "hypocritical" is not correct in this context. I am well aware that I am labeled when I step off a cruise ship. What I and others are saying is that we understand why we are labeled, and we take certain measures in ports to not be part of that stereotype. Big difference from the context to which you're trying to change it.

[slidergirl]

Nope. Your (and others') use of the word "hypocritical" is not correct in this context. I am well aware that I am labeled when I step off a cruise ship. What I and others are saying is that we understand why we are labeled, and we take certain measures in ports to not be part of that stereotype. Big difference from the context to which you're trying to change it.

 

Exactly.

It only takes one rotten apple to spoil the entire basket. It only takes one rude and "I'm here to get drunk and make a scene" cruiser every cruise to a port to get all cruisers labeled rude. It only takes one "I'm bringing you my money here to your town for a week so you better treat me with the deference my money demands" person on a land trip to give locals a bad impression of guests.

[slidergirl]

Silly to compare un-defined terms. Some "tourists" take a tour of an area to really experience it and come away with a sense of understanding; while some "travelers" are so focused on getting from point A to point B that they tear through a magical point C halfway in between - not only missing an extraordinary experience, but disrupting the "tourists" who have specifically gone there to experience what is so special.

 

See, I think you have it backwards. Just because you are a tour, does not make you a tourist. It is the behavior exhibited for the most part.

Personally, I am not "target-blind" that I go from point A to B without looking around. I've encountered many wonderful things that I would not have noticed with a list of "must sees". And, I've been shoved out of a viewing spot by a herd of "tourists" who wanted to see something because they were on a tight schedule. A group of tourists just finished with the Trevi Fountain heading to do the Pantheon may be so target-blind that they don't see the other ruins hidden in plain sight, then going from the Pantheon into their private shuttle to go to the next thing on the list, they miss out walking behind the Pantheon and seeing the only Gothic Church in Rome, with Michelangelo and Bernini statues... I've been in Petra and heard a couple complain why there isn't transportation to get them around and why aren't there more restaurants. I've been to Grand Cayman and had a bunch of cruisers from New Jersey (hard to miss that accent) take over a beach in front of my hotel, drink for hours, be loud and profane, and leave their trash when they left. I've been to Giza where the amazing Sphinx gazes not out onto the Plateau, but directly at a KFC full of tourists eating fried chicken instead of sampling the local cuisine...

[dverzic]

Some people are jerks no matter where they are. I was in the Sistine Chapel and a woman from Jersey threw her garbage on the floor. I politely picked it up and said, "Excuse me, but you dropped this." She looked me dead in the eye and said it wasn't hers. My husband had to usher me away because he said I looked like I wanted to punch her! Then later on, her group of about ten or twelve family members, took our seats and moved all our stuff on the bus. We had to look all over for our things, even though the tour guide specifically said to take your original seats. Do I blame it on them for being cruisers? No! I blame it on them for being rude, self-centered idiots!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[slidergirl]

Some people are jerks no matter where they are. I was in the Sistine Chapel and a woman from Jersey threw her garbage on the floor. I politely picked it up and said, "Excuse me, but you dropped this." She looked me dead in the eye and said it wasn't hers. My husband had to usher me away because he said I looked like I wanted to punch her! Then later on, her group of about ten or twelve family members, took our seats and moved all our stuff on the bus. We had to look all over for our things, even though the tour guide specifically said to take your original seats. Do I blame it on them for being cruisers? No! I blame it on them for being rude, self-centered idiots!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Wow. That someone would be that inconsiderate in the Sistine Chapel. The Ugly American Tourist raised her head there...

I used to not like Rick Steves at all. His introduction of Europe to a new group of Americans lead to invasions of some of Europe's nice quiet locations. He didn't like cruises, either. But even now he has done a few cruises and has written a port guide for his "Stevaholics" to use. I've seen some here on CC suggest the guide to others. When I found out about his huge and amazing humanitarian efforts in his native Washington, I started to admire him (his books paid for his efforts). Hell, I even have a couple of his books to use to take his solo walking guides through some cities. He wrote this little piece, and I think it speaks well:

 

https://www.ricksteves.com/press-room/ugly-american-sentiment-abroad

 

And, yes, this translates to cruisers as well, not just the land-based visitors.

[CruiserGuyWPB]

If anyone is hypocritical, it her mayor,city council, or whatever the governing body is at the port or city or country. It is they who decide to let the cruise ships dock. Cruise ships don't just go to a dock haphazardly. They are invited for the money.

Maybe the citizens need to vote for other learners if th don't want the ships to port there.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[slidergirl]

If anyone is hypocritical, it her mayor,city council, or whatever the governing body is at the port or city or country. It is they who decide to let the cruise ships dock. Cruise ships don't just go to a dock haphazardly. They are invited for the money.

Maybe the citizens need to vote for other learners if th don't want the ships to port there.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Venice, Italy. Trying to ban large ships from going into the Guidecca Canal past Piazza San Marco. Cruisers on CC are bitching and moaning that they won't be able to do that cruise-by if this happens. "It's the best part of doing Venice", "we'll never go to Venice again if they take this away." Comments like that. Venice wants to save their waterfront buildings at the expense of moving the ships. Cruisers only want to do what they did before, even if it means the continual erosion and destruction of the waterfront buildings. When Venice crumbles, they will say "too bad, it was so pretty and magical when we cruised up the Canal on our ship."

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Won't build a dock, so ships must tender. Cruisers bitch and moan on CC when they couldn't get into shore because of rough seas.

Grand Cayman: Cruisers bitch and moan on CC if they had to use the far away dock from Georgetown or had to tender.

[NLH Arizona]

Some people are jerks no matter where they are. I was in the Sistine Chapel and a woman from Jersey threw her garbage on the floor. I politely picked it up and said, "Excuse me, but you dropped this." She looked me dead in the eye and said it wasn't hers. My husband had to usher me away because he said I looked like I wanted to punch her! Then later on, her group of about ten or twelve family members, took our seats and moved all our stuff on the bus. We had to look all over for our things, even though the tour guide specifically said to take your original seats. Do I blame it on them for being cruisers? No! I blame it on them for being rude, self-centered idiots!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

what a jerk that lady was, but unfortunately there are those kind of people in every country. When I did a trip to Uganda to trek up to the gorillas, there was a man from the U.K. who wouldn't listen to the guides and kept trying to touch a young gorilla and this was after our briefing explaining that we could transfer diseases to them. Finally when one guide had enough and told him they would walk him down, he acted like a little kid saying how he could by and sell them and would have them all fired. Thankfully, him and his poor wife left the trip.

[Aquahound]

Maybe the citizens need to vote for other learners if th don't want the ships to port there.

 

They did in Key West. The city wanted to widen the main ship channel to allow larger cruise ships. The people voted against it.