New behavior patterns on Viking Ocean since COVID?

[CCWineLover]

Lots of talk on other threads about observed behavior patterns (such as reserving lounge chairs, etc).  We had a number of cruises pre-COVID and thought the Viking passengers were on the whole quiet well-behaved, courteous, and respectful.  Our observations are that after COVID, this has definitely changed.  Whether there is a new crowd of people now traveling on Viking, or whether just many have changed after COVID is hard to tell.  What used to be inappropriate, now seems to be accepted.

On the past couple cruises, for example, we noticed quite a number of people who now sit in the Explorer's Lounge and put their bare feet on the food/drink tables.  Never saw that before.  And there are other examples (such as more occurances of larger loud groups in the restaurants, wearing wet swim suits to lunch at the WC and to Wintergarden tea , an more).

Curious if others have felt the same . .

Here's a shot I took while sitting in the comfy chairs at Explorers Lounge near the piano of what is more and more typical. . .  🙂

[LindaS272]

Yowza! Pretty gross!

[broker1217]

That is pretty disgusting. Hopefully crew disinfects tables after they see this.

 

I do feel like , in a very general sense, people are more cranky since COVID. Less tolerant and shorter fuses. 
Our last Viking cruise was Panama Canal in February 2022. 
We were outside WC one afternoon enjoying the view of the sunset, as were other people outside, many taking photos. Inside WC was a table of 6-8 people at a table with a bottle of wine ( was not during meal service). 
Suddenly a gentleman came charging out and rudely demanded a woman at the railing taking photos remove herself as she was blocking their tables view of the sunset. Again-these people were sitting INSIDE. The poor woman fled looking embarrassed. The gentleman then did that weird manly strut back indoors, quite proud of himself.

 

I can’t say his behavior in particular was COVID related—-more likely just a jerk. I guarantee he would not have spoken to a woman so rudely if she was not alone. 

[duquephart]

Somebody should have dropped him.

[lackcreativity]

I brought this up in a thread in the spring after our (so far) only post covid cruise. We loved the cruise, but definitely saw a few eyebrow raisers. I prefer that guests follow Vikings suggested dress code, but don't usually let jeans in the dining venues diminish my experience. However, the morning I saw a woman in her bathrobe eating breakfast in the World Cafe I must admit to a disturbing distraction. It was worn over her visible pajamas, so not just someone on their way to the pool or spa, though I think that is over a line as well.

 

We began our cruise under a number of covid restrictions, but some were relaxed midway. There were definitely some passengers who ignored and/or mocked those requirements. Masks were still required by Viking and the Italian authorities on busses, but like unruly teenagers there were those who put the masks on to get past the ones in charge, and then remove them when in their seats. One time, it actually came to "We are not moving this bus until everyone has their mask on!" It has been 40 years since I quit teaching, but it was deja vu all over again.

 

Generally speaking, I thought more people than usual were cranky and irritable.  From "the trip was ruined because we couldn't dock in Naples" to "the captain doesn't know what he is doing" (same person) to loud complaining about a restaurant having no open slots and demands for money back on an excursion because the lines were too long, it just seemed like some people forgot how to have fun during the pandemic. 

Maybe the pent up demand left some people with unrealistic expectations and they  forgot how to play nice with others. Whatever it was, I do hope it is a short term phenomenon. 

Edited November 3, 2022 by lackcreativity

[CDNPolar]

2 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

 What used to be inappropriate, now seems to be accepted.

On the past couple cruises, for example, we noticed quite a number of people who now sit in the Explorer's Lounge and put their bare feet on the food/drink tables. 

We saw this twice, and two different people with bare feet on tables in the Explorers Lounge.  The same as the picture you have posted.

 

We have too seen two or three times people in their PJ's and a robe in the WC for breakfast.  Unacceptable.  Once was just PJ's with no robe.

 

And... may I just say, that there is a time and a place for sleeveless tank tops for men.  They should not be worn in dining venues, not even the WC.  

 

WE choose Viking because there is an understated elegance about Viking ships.  Viking delivers superior customer service, food, and experiences.  We felt a higher level of guest pre-pandemic too.

I would agree that there are more people since the pandemic with a very low level of decorum. 

 

And... if someone came and inferred that I was interfering with their view of the sunset, I would tell them to move.  The ship is for everyone, and if they want a front row seat then they can stand at the railing outside.

Edited November 3, 2022 by CDNPolar

[broker1217]

Yes, my husband and I discussed how we would react to someone ambushing us like that. My husband is more comfortable telling someone to back off. My nature would make me run away. Fight or flight-lol.

[powderhorn]

This is a great topic, albeit a bit alarming to read these observations. We went on our first post Covid shutdown cruise in April on HAL and, although I can't recount any misbehavior specifically, we both noticed a change in our experience....hard to put a finger on it, but the level of enjoyment was not what it had been....maybe it was the sense that there were so many woes happening around the world....mean spirited politics, war, pandemics, climate change, supply chain, etc....it made us sort of feel we didn't belong or shouldn't be enjoying ourselves that much.....my sister told me after we got back that I had 'grown a concious'....so we all laughed about that...a bit uneasily....oh....and we caught Covid on the trip as well....lol.

 

We are looking forward to our upcoming cruise on the Viking Sea....our first with Viking....and we will do our best to enjoy it.....I'm sure we will...and we'll keep our eyes open for bad apples....and promise to be on our best behavior.....thanks again for starting this conversation.....

[katlew]

I think this is way beyond just behavior on Viking. You hear about it everywhere, people acting up on flights, treating those in the service industry poorly, etc... We seem to have forgotten how to act in public, how to be patient, and how not to think only of ourselves. 

[broker1217]

I fully agree that this is not a Viking issue at all.

We have sailed Viking, Crystal, Princess and Celebrity since COVID- overall people are cranky and less considerate. 

The world has changed and many are still struggling to adapt to the new reality.
 

[powderhorn]

9 minutes ago, broker1217 said:

I fully agree that this is not a Viking issue at all.

We have sailed Viking, Crystal, Princess and Celebrity since COVID- overall people are cranky and less considerate. 

The world has changed and many are still struggling to adapt to the new reality.
 

We also sensed on our HAL cruise that the crew were stressed....although they did their best, there were still crew shortages.....reduced cleaning of our stateroom (only once a day)....one of our dining room waiters disappeared near the end of the cruise (probably caught Covid)....so there was a sense they were working under difficult conditions.....and maybe they were encountering more of that bad behavior directed at them......

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, broker1217 said:

Suddenly a gentleman came charging out and rudely demanded a woman at the railing taking photos remove herself as she was blocking their tables view of the sunset

I hear you on this one also. During the Chairman's cruise, DW and I got into a conversation after our meal in Manfredi's with another couple that we had met during the pre-cruise extension. Yes...it went on for maybe longer than it should have being that it was close to another couple at the next table, but the guy didn't hesitate to say something about us talking and blocking his view of the ocean. Don't recall the exact words, but it was sort of a "you make a better door than a window" comment. I mean...ok...I get it...but, ya know? Cut me some slack here. Just more of that 'I want what I want and if it means not being especially civil to accomplish it..so be it' approach. Lots of this sort of stuff going around these days. The guy really seemed less bothered by our talking (we weren't loud at all) than by us blocking his view. Probably ticked off that we had the table at the window and he didn't. 

 

1 hour ago, katlew said:

We seem to have forgotten how to act in public, how to be patient, and how not to think only of ourselves. 

That pretty well sums it up. 

 

 

1 hour ago, powderhorn said:

hard to put a finger on it, but the level of enjoyment was not what it had been

Definitely felt that way on our last few cruises. Kind of intangible, but felt nonetheless. A sort of tension in the air. Not going away anytime soon. 

 

Very interesting (but also unsettling) thread..

Edited November 3, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[SWFLAOK]

We just booked our first Viking Ocean cruise, after taking a long delayed Viking River cruise last May. We are most often Regent cruisers, but have also cruised on the Paul Gauguin, Silversea, Sea Dream, and a "one and done" on HAL We have never cruised on a ship with more than 1000 passengers and never want to.

We really enjoyed the Viking River Cruise, but we found the ships very confining, especially with extreme Covid measures still in effect for the first half of our cruise. Having to turn sideways and face the wall, while wearing a mask, to allow someone to pass you in the hallway (or turn back and wait until a larger person exited the hallway) became old very fast. We loved our Veranda Suite which used it's square footage so well. We loved our room steward who always knew when we left the cabin, and kept it really clean. We enjoyed the food, but we didn't enjoy all of the tables in the main dining room being for 6 or more diners. This might have been acceptable before Covid, but we were uncomfortable with it since we had to provide saliva for a Covid test every morning. And we often prefer to dine alone after a busy day. We had no complaints with the other cruisers onboard, and we enjoyed the excursions. There were no dress code problems.

But on our recent Regent cruise, we did see some of the same things that are being mentioned here. People would go to the Coffee Connection in the morning in their pajamas. They would wear their bathing suits to restaurants at lunch, putting on a coverup on top, but sitting with a wet bottom on their chair.

On several Regent excursions, the cruise guests became very rude and demanded to have the itinerary changed, or to be brought back to the ship because they were tired, or wanted to get back for lunch, or weren't enjoying the excursion. They didn't react well to being told that the excursion would continue as scheduled and they could pay for a cab to return to the ship. While we have seen guests decide to leave an excursion in the past and return to the ship at their own expense, we had never seen this level of rudeness before.

We also had problems in the specialty restaurants at dinner, with large tables of loud and obnoxious people as early as 7 PM. They seemed to have had quite a few drinks before arriving for dinner, and weren't very interested in an upscale meal.

So this could be a new trend on all high quality cruise lines. I think there might be many people who have cruised on the huge ships in the past, where the cabin was low priced, and the drinks weren't free, but they partied a lot and had a good time. Since they haven't been able to take a vacation in a few years because of Covid, and they've also saved money since they couldn't go to restaurants, they're looking for a more upscale experience. However, they're looking for a party experience, and expect to be accommodated.

We're looking forward to our first Viking Ocean cruise, and if someone tells us to clear their view, we'll definitely offer them some advice.

[SWFLAOK]

48 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

That would be nice but I wouldn't get my hopes up! I was also a teacher and know exactly what you're saying. It's like being back in the classroom with a few students who pride themselves in blatantly disregarding the rules.

Whenever I hear someone say "rules are made to be broken" it always annoys me. Rules were made to prevent problems that occurred in the past. We spent so much time with causal analysis, resulting in new rules, and then they were just made to be broken.

[lackcreativity]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

That would be nice but I wouldn't get my hopes up! 

I have to hang on to my hopes, because in real life, I worry that things may get worse before they get better. The thing about vacation (and for us that means Viking) has been that it was never "real " life. It was better than real life. The places we went, the food we ate, and most of the people we met (most certainly the crew) seemed better than everyday living. I certainly hope that returns before our travel days are done.

 

Sidenote: I wonder if the pajamas in the World Cafe thing is another side effect of the pandemic? If I can go to the "office" in my pajamas, why can't I go to breakfast that way? Sigh.

Edited November 4, 2022 by lackcreativity

[bottomfeeder]

50 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

 

Sidenote: I wonder if the pajamas in the World Cafe thing is another side effect of the pandemic? If I can go to the "office" in my pajamas, why can't I go to breakfast that way? Sigh.

I dunno.  I spent the last 23 years of my career working from a home office (when I wasn't traveling for work) and I have never considered leaving my cruise ship cabin in my pajamas and/or robe!

[Twitchly]

I did notice that our cruise in September had more groups of people who appeared to be traveling together, and the decibel level was noticeably louder in the lounges and restaurants as a result. Aside from that, I can’t say I noticed a big difference from our pre-pandemic cruise. I certainly didn’t see bare feet on tables or pax telling others to stop blocking their view. Gads.

[CDNPolar]

I feel most sorry for the crew as they are often the ones that have to shoulder the brunt of bad behaviour.  They have to ask you - if they would - to remove your bare feet from the table.  They have to ask you to go and change for dinner. 

 

The crew that are so brilliantly nice and accommodating to us work 7 days a week for up to 6 months and are away from their families.  I know that this is a choice but often it is an economic choice because they don't have the option in their home country to earn what they earn on a cruise ship.  The crew are making huge life sacrifices to serve us and unfortunately some people don't want to recognize this.  Here we are spending 10's of thousands on a cruise for 2 weeks and they have to leave their family for 6 months to scratch out a basic living.  AND, they always smile and do whatever in their power to make us feel welcome.

 

Whatever is causing any of us to feel that we are entitled to this, that, or the other thing, I think it is time for a reboot. 

 

Where did human kindness and consideration go?

[Nippy Sweetie]

On our France's Finest river cruise in April this year we were perturbed at the behaviour of one group. In the lounge after dinner a lady was singing Piaf's sings to guitar accompaniment. It was charming. Several tables and groups were really enjoying it. Then a group of people arrived, sat right next to the singer and began to chat noisily (and drunkenly). They seemed oblivious to the nervous glances from the poor singer and dirty looks from us. Eventually, OH got up and asked them to be quiet or find somewhere else to sit. There were many other places they could find on board. They actually seemed surprised to be accosted. However, they quietened down after making loud apologies. Hmmmm.

[hutch1994]

20 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Lots of talk on other threads about observed behavior patterns (such as reserving lounge chairs, etc).  We had a number of cruises pre-COVID and thought the Viking passengers were on the whole quiet well-behaved, courteous, and respectful.  Our observations are that after COVID, this has definitely changed.  Whether there is a new crowd of people now traveling on Viking, or whether just many have changed after COVID is hard to tell.  What used to be inappropriate, now seems to be accepted.

On the past couple cruises, for example, we noticed quite a number of people who now sit in the Explorer's Lounge and put their bare feet on the food/drink tables.  Never saw that before.  And there are other examples (such as more occurances of larger loud groups in the restaurants, wearing wet swim suits to lunch at the WC and to Wintergarden tea , an more).

Curious if others have felt the same . .

Here's a shot I took while sitting in the comfy chairs at Explorers Lounge near the piano of what is more and more typical. . .  🙂

Has nothing to do with Covid.  It's the same people who say that they can wear whatever they like because they paid big money for their cruise on Viking.

[OneSixtyToOne]

3 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

On our France's Finest river cruise in April this year we were perturbed at the behaviour of one group. In the lounge after dinner a lady was singing Piaf's sings to guitar accompaniment. It was charming. Several tables and groups were really enjoying it. Then a group of people arrived, sat right next to the singer and began to chat noisily (and drunkenly). They seemed oblivious to the nervous glances from the poor singer and dirty looks from us. Eventually, OH got up and asked them to be quiet or find somewhere else to sit. There were many other places they could find on board. They actually seemed surprised to be accosted. However, they quietened down after making loud apologies. Hmmmm.

More than anything this goes to the heart of the matter. People either have no awareness of how their actions impact others or they simply don't care. It's all about self and ironically they have no self-awareness.

I recently heard a discussion about how society has changed over the last two decades and how the pandemic has accelerated the trend. Everything around us caters to the individual and instantaneous gratification. Want music? You don't have to wade through a whole album to hear your favorite, you create you personal play list. Want to watch a TV show. You no longer have "appointment TV." Watch it anytime, anywhere. Hungry? No need to wait in line at you favorite restaurant. Call Grub Hub and whatever you want is at your door in minutes. Don't like what your child is being taught at school? Teach them at home with a curriculum you've curated. Don't agree with what you see and hear on the news? Only listen to what reinforces your belief system. All of this undermines the social contract. 

[TayanaLorna]

I'm guilty...GUILTY!  I have so wanted to throw on my robe and go to the LR bar at 6 am to get coffee to bring back to my room.  But I never did - only guilty in thought.

 

I have wore my robe to go down the hall to throw a load of laundry in at 4:30 am.  And I did get caught by the author of this thread at 5:30 am when I was retrieving my clothes and they were dropping off theirs.  Its just so annoying to meet early birds like me.

 

I have also worn the spa robe back to my room as I prefer to shower and dress in my own stateroom rather then the locker room.  One time I was so wiped out from a deep tissue massage that I had to text my DH to come help me get back to the room.  But then the forward elevators are right there and we like our stateroom near the forward lifts.

 

These are furtive robe wearing events whereas wearing ones robe to sit down for breakfast is rather blatent.

 

But I NEVER ever would put my feet on a table, sit in a dining chair with a wet suit or wear jeans to a restaurant.  I stopped packing jeans because for some reason i cannot zip them up after 5 days on a cruise!?

 

However all you people who stand outside on the Explorers Lounge bow blocking my view when I finally get one of those comfy forward facing chairs inside...  :)

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

14 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

 ....but the guy didn't hesitate to say something about us talking and blocking his view of the ocean. 

 

 

On Octantis one evening we were going through a lock which everyone was excited to see. After dinner everyone began going outside and gathering along the railing to watch the process. It was a beautiful evening, people were chatting and having their after dinner coffee.  As I was standing there someone told me, if you stand in that spot the man in the Explorers Lounge is going to start pounding the window and yelling at you. That did not detour me, and sure enough he started the banging and yelling. I continued chatting and watching the event taking place. He finally quit. I wondered how many people had actually moved to accommodate this man who felt he owned that spot. Thinking back on it now, I wish I would have waved and smiled and yelled back, "Yes it is lovely isn't it!!" 

 

The funny thing is...from where he was sitting, he did not have a view of what was going on, even without anyone in his way.  You had to be standing outside along the railing to actually see what was happening. He's probably the same guy who puts his stuff on a chair by the pool at 6 AM and finally sits in it for 30 min. at 4 PM. 

[NavyCruiser]

Another point of view.

Pre or Post Pandemic, within any large group gathering, there's always a few people that will annoy you.  That will never change.

After 2 yrs of lockdown & numerous cancellations, we're extremely happy just get away from "normal" life & go on needed vacations, including cruises.

Yes, it happens everywhere, from 1 star hotels/resorts/cruises to 5 stars, not just on Viking.

Yes, there are rude idiots in ALL social economic classes.

So just ignore these very few people/instances of rude behavior, & just enjoy your vacation...

 

[CCWineLover]

4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

More than anything this goes to the heart of the matter. People either have no awareness of how their actions impact others or they simply don't care. It's all about self and ironically they have no self-awareness.

I recently heard a discussion about how society has changed over the last two decades and how the pandemic has accelerated the trend. Everything around us caters to the individual and instantaneous gratification. Want music? You don't have to wade through a whole album to hear your favorite, you create you personal play list. Want to watch a TV show. You no longer have "appointment TV." Watch it anytime, anywhere. Hungry? No need to wait in line at you favorite restaurant. Call Grub Hub and whatever you want is at your door in minutes. Don't like what your child is being taught at school? Teach them at home with a curriculum you've curated. Don't agree with what you see and hear on the news? Only listen to what reinforces your belief system. All of this undermines the social contract. 

Joe - well stated.  I think you put it quite well - and better than I could.

I do also think that pent up demand to travel has exasperated the existing conditions Post-COVID - and thus want to remain hopeful that over the years, the "new" behavior will subside.  Trying to be positive.