How rude can passengers be?

[Quilting_Cruiser]

There is another kind of rudeness I've witnessed onboard.

 

Husband to wife, wife to husband. The sarcastic and derogatory comments they say to each other are incredible. While checking in on the pier, in the elevators onboard, while waiting to go ashore, whereever, whenever.

 

I doubt they would EVER talk to their friends that way.

 

I totally agree. I'm amazed at the way spouses talk to each other. Whenever I hear something like that, it makes me even more thankful for my DH. I guess it's easy to fall into a pattern like that, but I just couldn't live that way!

 

Leafpeeper, I was in the grocery store the other day and the young checker called me "miss." I would have laughed out loud if he hadn't been so sincere (and respectful!). I'm coming up fast and furious on my 48th birthday, so the "miss" actually tickled me!

 

It's a shame that it surprises us so much when people are respectful to each other. I've tried to teach my children to be polite as I feel it's a lost art.

[Mrs. Gump]

What a sad day it was when I suddenly went from being called "miss" to "ma'am.":(

[sunshine426]

We sailed in February and had a couple (40ish) next door smoking pot. After we called the purser's desk, they stopped smoking for a couple days. Once we hit Jamaica, they were at it again. The smell was actually getting into my cabin. I asked the cabin steward to stand on my balcony to show him how bad the smell really was. Manners are definetely lacking on cruiseships and everywhere else.

 

I have found people becoming much ruder in the last ten years. Profanity is all around--with young teenage girls the most noticeable. Several years ago, an airline stewardess told me the most polite people are from the midwest, and I agree.

 

I have noticed that small towns in northern New England definetely maintain traditional manners--even at McDonalds they called DH "Sir." I can't remember the last time any teen used that term here in in the land of the Puritans and Pilgrims.

 

Mary

Plymouth, MA

 

Well. I am responding from the sunny south (Georgia). Most of the kids in this area still call adults Mr. and Mrs. and routinely "Sir" or Ma'am" and first it made me feel old to be called ma'am before I was even 30, but now I just take it for a sign of respect and the southern culture. In fact, I know people that are offended to be called "sir" or ma'am. Go Figure, just can't win.

[mrbbear]

Thank you. Have a nice weekend and if you live somewhere sunny, please send some of it our way!!!

 

Hey "Where"...

 

Noticed that you're from Derry, N.H. So happens that so are we.

If you reply to this maybe we can exchange e-mails, etc....

 

BTW, how did you like the Coral Princess?

 

Tom:) :) :)

[WoodsKeeper]

hey all! Live here, from the CB, and I've been keeping tally of all the rude people, and yes, they come in multitudes!

 

Of course there are always those who you hold the elevator for or ask which floor without receiving a please or thank you. Just last night while waiting to see Piano Man there was a spanish family in front of us that comprised of at least 20 people, all of which were not there. I was saving one seat for my friend while I saw someone else in the same row saving a seat for another person, and that family would turn around EVERY TIME another family member would come and say "no, those seats are not taken, they can't reserve any seats so they can't be taken." I politely told the family that you were allowed to save one seat at a time, but they still continued to try and sit on my hand that was placed on the seat being saved. Luckily my friend soon showed up, but seriously...I can't believe people these days!

 

And another group that was sitting behind us at the late night MUTS Rocky Horror Picture Show persisted on talking the entire time (and I don't mean the talk back lines like "a-hole, and vice) but just talking about their day...and then they kept throwing stuff (and I don't mean the toast, and scotts tissues, and water) but napkins and empty cups! And then when we were told that the sound (which was very low) would not be raised they moved to a lower level saying "we'll just be as obnoxious there!" Seriously, who do these people think they are????

[sunflower1972]

There is another kind of rudeness I've witnessed onboard.

 

Husband to wife, wife to husband. The sarcastic and derogatory comments they say to each other are incredible. While checking in on the pier, in the elevators onboard, while waiting to go ashore, whereever, whenever.

 

I doubt they would EVER talk to their friends that way.

 

 

SO TRUE!! We had the misfortune of having a couple beside us that fought every single day......in the morning, before dinner, prior to bed. Drove us just crazy...they had to be mid 60's and it amazed me how they spoke to each other!! They yelled at each other so loudly we could hear it word for word in our cabin. What a way to spend 10 nights on vacation!!

 

I have to say at 33 when I get called "ma 'am" it nearly gives me a heart attack:) Can't get used to that just yet....LOL

[Deloresgardella]

I think where I have met the rudest people was in Russia. Maybe because it is so crowded. You have to be really careful in crossing the street the don't pay any attention to the red lights and the don't look out for people at all.:confused: We went in one of the tubes and you really had to hold on going down or they would run you over.:(

Delores

[DrD]

I have gone up to kids in my girl's class and explain to them that they do not use certain words. I told one boy last year that he should not call another child "loser."

 

A few weeks ago' date=' we were in a McD's playroom. While my girl was eating mcnuggets while working on homework with her father, I noticed a boy throwing a tray up and down near the play gym. I called out to him to stop that (I was concerned that it would fly out of his hands and hit someone). He ran up into the gym to join his friends, all with trays. I can see the boy glaring at me. I waited until one of them came downstairs and I grabbed the tray out of his hand. I said that the trays are not toys and "you could have hurt a small kid." I then asked when his parents are. I looked around and no one was claiming this kid. Then his mother stormed me and yelled at me, "Don't you yell at my boy." I said that you should be watching your kid and not allow him to play with something that could hurt someone, especially little kids.

 

Then I went into the main restaurant area, up to the counter and asked to speak to the manager. She came with me and gathered up the trays from the boys. Then some man in the playroom said that I was overreacting. I turned to him and said that no, I was just concerned that some kid could get injured because that woman isn't supervising her kid. Then I turned my back on him. After he left, my hubby finally said that I wasn't overreacting at all. Apparently, he figured I was taking action so he wouldn't have to (he has told kids to knock off bad behavior from time to time).[/quote']

 

 

Does your McD's use different trays? Here they are plastic, with rounded corners, and couldn't hurt anything.

 

Once I used one to swat a fly and he just shook it off and flew away.

 

But your point is well taken.

[DrD]

Deleted upon further reflection.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Unfortunately, these kids were planning to use the trays to "surf" down the tubes in the play gym. We have seen it before and taken away the trays or tell the manager. Besides the possibility of hurting themselves if they hit the ground the wrong way, they can also nail another child. Just today, when talking about some other inconsiderate behavior at work, my hubby mentioned what happened at the McD's to illustrate his point, that the mother was probably the reason why her kid misbehaves. And that the guy who claimed I was "overreacting" was full of it.

[where next?]

Hey "Where"...

 

Noticed that you're from Derry, N.H. So happens that so are we.

If you reply to this maybe we can exchange e-mails, etc....

 

BTW, how did you like the Coral Princess?

 

Tom:) :) :)

 

Hi Tom (and fellow Derry, NH cruiser!),

 

We LOVED the Coral. We went on her this April school vacation for the 10-day Panama cruise and had a wonderful time. This ship is smaller which I liked. I also loved the "public" aft open decks which are a nice, quiet spot. We'd go out there in the mornings before our kids woke up and again in the evenings for some quiet time.

 

There weren't many kids on board - approximately 25. It was definately an older crowd. Thankfully we were traveling with friends that have two kids. They had a great time together and ended up meeting kids on board from England and the US. The kids spent all their time together and have continue emailing and calling at home.

 

Our two families have booked the Crown Princess for next APril and we laughed because we don't really think 7 days will be enough after the 10-day. That was our first cruise longer than 7 days and now we don't want to go back!!! Unfortuately (actually fortunately!), we'll have kids attending PA next year and think it's probably not a good idea to pull them from high school for a longer cruise.

 

Take care and if you want to know anything else about the Coral, just ask!

[erin6494]

Good Morning "Where"...

I was wondering if you could give me some more info on the kids' programs on the Coral. We will be taking our kids (will be 10 and 6 on the cruise) on their very first cruise on the Coral over Thanksgiving. I have heard from my travel agent that there are over 100 kids on board. What did your kids think of the program? What excursions would you recommend with a family? My husband and I did the same cruise Thanksgiving 2005 and loved it so much that we wanted to take the kids and do it again.

Thanks for your input!

Erin

[where next?]

Hi Erin,

 

Our kids are 10 and 14 and we loved the Coral itinerary but it was not the ship for kids at that point of the year. I loved the ship as an adult though - good number of pax, nice layout, etc.

 

The kid's program when we went on the April 22'ish 2006 sailing did not have many kids at all though(25 kids total on the ship), so our kids hardly participated in the program. It was definately an older crowd, by alot!!

 

We knew that ahead though because I called Princess and they were able to tell me how many kids were booked in each age group. We were traveling with another family whose kids are 14 and 8. My kids and their 14 year old were fine without the kids' program. They met a few wonderful kids on board and had a great time swimming, playing ping pong, eating meals and snacks together, b-ball, soccer, etc. The eight year old was with her parents almost all of the time, which did not allow them the relaxation at times that they'd hoped for.

 

Maybe over Thanksgiving, you'd have many more kids on board. Our school vacation is one week later than many schools so we've always had the experience of having fewer kids, although never that low of a number. We did the Mexican Riviera on the Diamond Princess April 2005 school vacation and the kids' club was awesome(maybe 150 - 200 kids?)!!! It was the best ever for my kids.

 

If I were you I would -

 

1. Call Princess and ask them how many kids they had on the past Coral Princess T'giving sailing.

 

2. If the number seem too low, look into other itineraries - the Mexican Riviera was a blast. We rode ATV's. rode horses, were supposed to zipline but were late to Puerto Vallarta. We loved the West Coast. April 2007 we're doing the Southern Caribbean on the Crown PRincess. I can't wait to see those islands. We've done the western caribbean and loved the itinerary with kids (esp Cozumel and Caymans). We've never done Eastern Car. itinerary but will see some when we're on the Crown.

 

I can't imagine you will have low numbers on a T'giving sailing but if you do, I don't think you'll be happy with the Coral because your kids won't want to go to kids' club and you'll not get any relaxation because they'll be with you all the time since they're still young. I don't remember how the age groups go but maybe they'd at least be together in the kids' club. My 10 year old would not have been happy in a young group though.

 

In case your numbers on the Coral are high though here's what we did-

 

Jamaica - some ziplined, others swam with dolphins

Panama - ocean to ocean tour - ferry that takes you through the rest of the canal - neat but very long and hot for young kids.

Costa Rica-private tour with Charlie de Soto - you'll find him on Costa Rica boards - a nice day

Grand Cayman-jeep tour around the island, Rum Pt. Beach-relaxing!

Cozumel-hideaway boat tour-2 person speed boats that you drive yourself with a group to a beach, have lunch, swim, play volleyball - another great day!

 

Thes BEST tours we've ever done with our kids are - Nativeway swim with stingrays in Grand Cayman and the jeeps in Cozumel (actually dune buggies that we booked through Eagle Ray Divers). You go off-road in dune buggy that you drive (all four of you can fit in it), have lunch on the beach, swim if the water isn't rough, see some small ruins, and just LAUGH because off-road is so fun!! The dolphins in Jamaica were okay if you've never done it before - I liked that better in Freeport, Grand Bahamas.

 

I know this was wordy but I hope it helps!

[TinaLee]

In my original post, I was talking about a couple who walked out of Horizon with at least two dozen black bread rolls, all that was in the basket. Another occasion had a woman walking away with two platters heaped, at least three inches high, of shrimp and sushi. In these cases, the amount of food couldn’t be eaten in I two days by the person taking it. If they sat down at a table, ate it all and went back for seconds I wouldn’t care. However the odds are high it all ended up in the trash latter that day. AND MY TICKET COST A COUPLE OF CENTS MORE DUE TO THE WASTE. Multiply this by a couple of hundred and you see we are all paying extra dollars for this practice.

 

Just curious how you know the woman with the shrimp and sushi wasn't foraging for a group? Maybe taking the tray right outside the buffet area to the deck where she had a hungry group waiting for food? We often play cards on deck and send one person to gather snacks... maybe next time give them the benefit of the doubt?

[vanessa_steve]

Just curious how you know the woman with the shrimp and sushi wasn't foraging for a group? Maybe taking the tray right outside the buffet area to the deck where she had a hungry group waiting for food? We often play cards on deck and send one person to gather snacks... maybe next time give them the benefit of the doubt?

 

I'm so glad you said this!

 

I'm often the lone caregiver to my grandparents. The both have mobility issues, among other health problems. They come from a generation where my grandmother would always have the food prepared and would serve my grandfather after a long day's work. He's a lovely man, not a chauvinist at all, but that's just the way it was.

 

Since my grandmother really can't get up at a buffet and serve my grandfather, I always offer "to get enough food for the whole family," while I am up. I try hard not to waste - I don't mind making multiple trips - but even so, the amount of food I carry around is substantial.

 

You wouldn't BELIEVE the dirty looks I get. I understand how it looks, and I used to explain, embarrased, to anyone that saw me, "Oh, it's not all for me! I'm bringing food to others!" I don't bother explaining anymore - I don't have an attitude about it, but know why I am doing it, and it gets exhausting explaining yourself over and over again. I am not even upset with those that get upset with me, as long as they don't say anything mean to me (yes, I have had people say VERY rude things).

 

I know others might assume I am being rude and selfish, but I know I am being loving and selfless. Never judge a book by it's cover!

 

Rudeness is in the eye of the beholder,

Vanessa

[constantcruiser]

We've also cruised for many years and have noticed manners declining...but the cruise where we witnessed the poorest treatment of staff was a 14-day Panama Canal sailing where the vast majority of passengers were 70+.

 

The first night our wait staff seemed unusually stiff and formal...but after we started kidding around with them (as we'd done on previous cruises), they became very friendly. We noticed, however, that people at the tables around us spoke to their waiters only when placing their orders. When we asked our waiter about it, he said that often passengers of that age began cruising in an era when it was truly a luxury and the "class system" was still very much in effect. It was not considered "proper" to converse with those whose job it was to serve them.

 

As the cruise went on, DH & I enjoyed visiting with the older passengers and hearing their stories, but we still feel they missed a lot by not getting to know the staff.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Just curious how you know the woman with the shrimp and sushi wasn't foraging for a group? Maybe taking the tray right outside the buffet area to the deck where she had a hungry group waiting for food? We often play cards on deck and send one person to gather snacks... maybe next time give them the benefit of the doubt?

 

My hubby will often make a tray in the morning for my girl and me (we're late sleepers whenever possible on the ship...during the school year I get up at 6:15am to get girl ready for school). Very sweet of him, even tho' he sometimes forgets the OJ (my one daily necessity of life).

[erin6494]

Hi Bobbie,

Thanks for the great input on kids. I checked with my TA back in March and there were 75 kiddos, he said it is over 100 now. Since it is still so far off, I will probably wait to call Princess until it is a bit closer and see if I can get some more exact numbers in their respective age groups (won't do mine a lot of good to have 95 17 year olds or 75 under two...) I was surprised when we went over Thanksgiving 2005 at the number of kids on board. Would be great if they enjoyed the kids club so we can get some relaxing in, if not will be playing lots of Uno on the balcony!

Did yours do okay with the food? Mine seem excited to try some new things.

Thanks again,

Erin

[where next?]

Hi Bobbie,

Thanks for the great input on kids. I checked with my TA back in March and there were 75 kiddos, he said it is over 100 now. Since it is still so far off, I will probably wait to call Princess until it is a bit closer and see if I can get some more exact numbers in their respective age groups (won't do mine a lot of good to have 95 17 year olds or 75 under two...) I was surprised when we went over Thanksgiving 2005 at the number of kids on board. Would be great if they enjoyed the kids club so we can get some relaxing in, if not will be playing lots of Uno on the balcony!

Did yours do okay with the food? Mine seem excited to try some new things.

Thanks again,

Erin

 

Hi Erin,

You should be in good shape with that number of kids. My kids loved the food - filet mignon right down to the big chocolate chip cookies. Then again, anything is good when compared to my cooking!!!!!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Bobbie