Will RCCL enforce their rules on my cruise?

[MM27]

When I was on the Navigator the pool crew did a wonderful job of sweeping the deck of unused, but clearly saved chairs. I don't think I would go up and just move someone else's stuff, but I would have no problem asking the staff to help me find a seat and let them move it. I did see that happen once and this guy came back after several hours and started getting nasty with the lady that was now in "his" seat. She only took the seat after his stuff was moved by the staff.

 

Now, when I was on Splendor there were kids (really little ones) in the hot tubs with their ice cream cones and every now and then someone would come by and tell them they shouldn't be in there. They would leave, and then return shortly after with a new cone. The cruise director even made a comment about it during the belly flop contest, but it was more of a joke than anything else.

[RBOrrell]

I hope that you also abide by the rules and not try to smuggle alcohol on board in your luggage, or try to iron your clothes in your cabin, or smoke in a non-smoking area or wear inappropriate clothes to the dining room (especially formal night).

 

It's a vacation for crying out loud. Clearly your CC handle is not far off the mark.

[mediator]

I fail to see how my hoping that I won't be disturbed in an area that is expressly not for children means I need a quiet cottage on a deserted piece of land. Can you elaborate how my wanting to enjoy and adult pool without children ties into that? How am I micromanaging others, too? By not wanting loud kids at the adult pool? By not wanting some nitwit putting a towel on a chair for 3 hours? Sounds like maybe you tinker in such behavior and don't want me to confront you...

 

I am not going to dignify myself with any further respose to you.

[berwyn]

Last week on the majesty we always had to wait for elevators. And as soon as that door would open you would find a kid standing right by the buttons. Or try walking through the centrum with kids running at full speed.The crew never said a word and of course no parents to be found.

[KC_fn]

I feel lucky that I am able to take that cruise with someone I love and I'm not so worried about a kid in the solarium, a chair hog, and spotty sevice. If these are your big worries, I suggest you get a hat and a whistle, so you can patrol.

 

Amen to that! I'd only add to the OP that if you allow chair hogs, noisy kids, and underdressed diners to ruin your cruise, you have no one to blame but yourself -- you gave them all the power. Instead, be determined to roll with the punches, and to look for the good things (and there are MANY). And a little forgiveness and humor will go a long, long way. ;)

 

Enjoy!

[Little Elm]

I have a child, but on our cruise if a child is in the adult area and is bothering me, I will ask the staff to correct the problem. This is time for my husband and me alone. Well behaved kids don't bother me, but if they are screaming and running crazy, they can go to the other pool.

[Dapzilla]

Just came off of our first cruise on the Enchantment, and I definitely experienced kids out of control... we had a little boy of about 7 or 8 years dive right over our heads into the pool. He had no problem sassing me, a total stranger, when I said "hey, you could hurt someone - there is no diving here!" Of course, no parents or attendants in sight.

There were kids aplenty in the Solarium, and several in the hot tubs.

:mad:

 

The kids are just being stupid kids. It's the parents who let their kids run rampant (and don't teach them any manners) who are the problem.

 

That gripe aside, it was a fabulous, fabulous cruise! Don't let the brats get you down - it's still vacation! :)

[luckyprincess]

Amen to that! I'd only add to the OP that if you allow chair hogs, noisy kids, and underdressed diners to ruin your cruise, you have no one to blame but yourself -- you gave them all the power. Instead, be determined to roll with the punches, and to look for the good things (and there are MANY). And a little forgiveness and humor will go a long, long way. ;)

 

Enjoy!

Thank you so much for your well wishes on my cruise. I am sure I'll enjoy it. I thank the people that realize that my concerns on whether or not the staff enforces their own rules is legitimate but just that - a simple concern. I don't, on the other hand, understand the posters that rose to hysterics and tried to put words in my mouth that these things would 'ruin my cruise'. I never said that and absolutely never implied it. I'm not sure if it is just poor reading comprehension skills or what, but it puzzles me. And to those that ask if I will follow rules such as not bringing alcohol on board and dressing in line with the recommendations of the cruise line, well, yes. Does that make me crazy, a bad person or a freak or something? I assume that the people that ask that in response to my original post are people that don't do those things. I just don't see how it could be otherwise for them to jump to such inaccurate conclusions.

[luckyprincess]

I am not going to dignify myself with any further respose to you.

 

Ha! Sounds like a loud yes to me!:rolleyes:

[pcur]

To the OP: I think you may be reading too much CC :)

 

It's a vacation, relax and don't let what others are doing around you bother you so much. Although kids in the solarium is not fair....they get so much of the rest of the ship. We've never had a problem with it on any of our cruises.

 

I take along my Ipod or stick my head in a book, no one bothers me then ;)

 

I think Happy KS is right. You have to realize you are seeing a tiny little fraction of cruising experience on this board. There are thousands of cruises every year, so a few with problems will occur.

 

The GENERAL trend on RCCL is to not offend anyone, and the crew are reluctant to cause trouble. BUT, the security staff are there to enforce the rules.

 

So, if it's a chair hog situation, ask the pool attendant. If he's one of the "don't make trouble" types, then tell him/her that you are removing the items from the lounger and giving them to him/her. Then tell the returning passenger that the attendant has their stuff.

 

In the solarium, call Security and ask for the kids to be removed. Some parents get feisty about this, especially if they don't know the rules.

 

One of the biggest problems from my point of view is people ask the WRONG staff member to take care of a problem. Customer Relations just passes the word along.

 

So, if it's a noisy, drunk, obnoxious, doesn't-belong-there ANYBODY, then call Security.

 

Cabin problems are your cabin steward or HOUSEKEEPING if the steward is off-duty.

 

Customer Relations for room keys, general info, money, etc.

[landshark661]

:D I just got me a new megaphone...with all the bells and whistles...can I bring it onboard with me???...

[YOW]

luckyprincess, don't take it personally (not that I think you are). More and more these days, the Cruise Critic boards seem to be divided into two distinct camps, with less and less in-between. One is the complainers, the people who nitpick and find something wrong with everything, and may indeed have too much time on their hands. The other are the ones who go around with blinders on, either defending the cruise lines as if they were family, or simply dedicated (with the best of intentions, mind you) to the cause of 'always look on the bright side and be thankful for what you have.'

 

Some on either side will read into what you say, put words in your mouth, and immediately categorise you with the opposition. Others will try to convert you and, often in the process, can drag you down into the fray.

 

You are entitled to take a cruise and get what you've bargained for. If the cruise line markets itself as something, you deserve to get that. You are not out of line in inquiring as to the various policies of the cruise lines (made, after all, to enhance your enjoyment), nor are you unreasonable in asking that said policies be enforced. You are not a bad person for not wearing a glued-on smile 24-7 and thanking the Lord or creator or whomever for every second that you're alive, and in the process putting aside any curiosity you may have as to how to make your already-good life even better. There's no sin in that. Repeat after me, "I am not a bad person..." ;)

[berwyn]

Great post.Thank you.

[8-11-07]

I don't think that there is a rule about drinks in pools. On my last crusie the sign in the Solarium said no glass, no food.

[DrivesLikeMario]

From past experience, I would say "no" to your question, but there aren't many cruise lines that do nowadays. It doesn't mean you'll have a bad time at all. When surrounded by thousands of people, there are bound to be those that have no regard for rules. It's the same on every cruise line IMO.

 

You can approach people and ask a crew member to back you up or enforce their own rules, but my guess is that you'll end up wasting more of your energy than it's worth.

[luckyprincess]

luckyprincess, don't take it personally (not that I think you are). More and more these days, the Cruise Critic boards seem to be divided into two distinct camps, with less and less in-between. One is the complainers, the people who nitpick and find something wrong with everything, and may indeed have too much time on their hands. The other are the ones who go around with blinders on, either defending the cruise lines as if they were family, or simply dedicated (with the best of intentions, mind you) to the cause of 'always look on the bright side and be thankful for what you have.'

 

Some on either side will read into what you say, put words in your mouth, and immediately categorise you with the opposition. Others will try to convert you and, often in the process, can drag you down into the fray.

 

You are entitled to take a cruise and get what you've bargained for. If the cruise line markets itself as something, you deserve to get that. You are not out of line in inquiring as to the various policies of the cruise lines (made, after all, to enhance your enjoyment), nor are you unreasonable in asking that said policies be enforced. You are not a bad person for not wearing a glued-on smile 24-7 and thanking the Lord or creator or whomever for every second that you're alive, and in the process putting aside any curiosity you may have as to how to make your already-good life even better. There's no sin in that. Repeat after me, "I am not a bad person..." ;)

 

Thank you, Yow, for a thoughtful and kind post.

[Ohunion Cruzers]

Hi,

Hope I'm not going to get flamed too bad for this, but here goes. If I read the rules of the cruiseline I will adhere to them and expect others to adhere to them as well. (Not the suggestions, but the rules) If I see a child or pre teen in the adult only solarium I will either go to them and tell them they have to go or let their parents know that they don't belong there. I don't like the shrill sounds or crazy behavior of kids when they are playing (yes, I like kids:rolleyes: ) so I wouldn't go to the family pool. Seems simple. If I don't like it, they make a pool I can use without the sounds of happy playing children. So my questions is, if I have a problem, can I go to a member of staff and ask them to remove the offender and point them to the pool area they can be in? Or will they ignore it. If they ignore, its going to be a problem for me:) . I hate spotty service like that.

The same goes for chair reserving at the pool. I expect that if I come upon it affecting me, I completely expect to go to the staff and have it taken care of. I'm in the hospitality industry, and we get paid to have that uncomfortable conversation with guests to be sure that the rules do get followed, so I expect that on my cruise.

I guess by reading the threads here I'm getting nervous that nothing would be done about these kinds of issues on board.

 

One thing to remember - RCI publishes rules. The suggestions are recommendations for ALL passengers to follow those rules.

[VampyBuff]

My kids (19 and 21) went down to the pool late in the afternoon and exactly at 4 the security shooed all the kids out. .

 

Well me and my boyfriend are traveling alone on our cruise..I'm 22 and he's 19...And we both look about 17. I'm going to be more than a little POed if I'm repeatedly told to leave...

[VampyBuff]

I hope that you also abide by the rules and not try to smuggle alcohol on board in your luggage, or try to iron your clothes in your cabin, or smoke in a non-smoking area or wear inappropriate clothes to the dining room (especially formal night).

 

It's a vacation for crying out loud. Clearly your CC handle is not far off the mark.

 

And there are rules for reasons for crying out loud. I think that if ones behavior effects those around them, then they should modify that behavior. Of all the things you listed, I'll admit the one I do and plan on doing is the smuggling of alcohol, and this is because it would in no way effect any of my fellow passengers. But actions such as smoking in smoke free areas and wearing, in your words, "inappropriate clothing" is just that. Inappropriate.

[VampyBuff]

I hope that you also abide by the rules and not try to smuggle alcohol on board in your luggage, or try to iron your clothes in your cabin, or smoke in a non-smoking area or wear inappropriate clothes to the dining room (especially formal night).

 

It's a vacation for crying out loud. Clearly your CC handle is not far off the mark.

 

And there are rules for reasons for crying out loud. I think that if ones behavior effects those around them, then they should modify that behavior. Of all the things you listed, I'll admit the one I do and plan on doing is the smuggling of alcohol, and this is because it would in no way effect any of my fellow passengers. But actions such as smoking in smoke free areas and wearing, in your words, "inappropriate clothing" is just that. Inappropriate.

[pcur]

VampyBuff: just so you are informed, you might want to read this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=615863

 

It seems they are starting to crack down on smuggled alcohol, so you might have it confiscated.

 

The thread, by the way, started out being informative, and went downhill from there with people getting insulting. I've unsubscribed, but the first several posts might prepare you.

[mediator]

I too wish the rules and or guidlines were enforced. However, on my cruise some of these are in the category of "irritants" and not worth getting into a discussion with someone. They could be some crazy person. Screaming, kids, chair hogs, etc are irritants. Others fall in the category of dangerous, ie: irons, and leaving or using cigarettes where it could cause a danger to myself and others. That's a problem for me.

 

When I was on the Mariner in June, there was a "pack" of kids running down the stairs just below me. One passed me with a banana. You guessed it. When I got to the bottom of the step, there was this squished banana for someone who hadn't seen this happen slip and fall. I told my friend to stay there. I found actually a uniformed like officer type and told him about it, so that no one would hurt themselves. Later in the theater, this "pack" of kids came running in. I was looking to see if parents were with them and I was nicely going to tell them what had happened. Well, no parents, and they lasted in the seats about 3 seconds. One of them ran by me, and I said tapped him on the arm and I told him about the banana, and HE SAID NOT ME. I said to him, you are running with this groups of kids, and (I couldn't help myself), I told him that an officer is looking for all of you kids and he should pass the word to the group he is with. I swear, I never saw that "pack" again. Where were these kids parents?

[DrivesLikeMario]

Where were these kids parents?

 

Having "me" time. After all, it IS their cruise too, isn't it? They work hard to pay for THEIR cruise, so why shouldn't they enjoy it too? lol :D

[mediator]

Having "me" time. After all, it IS their cruise too, isn't it? They work hard to pay for THEIR cruise, so why shouldn't they enjoy it too? lol :D

 

You are so right!!! Why should they be stuck with the little darlings?:D

[MikeNJ1109]

I am just fine. I'm not nervous that I'm going to get hijacked or something. My boyfriend and I love each other very much - not sure where that figures in in your thinking, but guess I need to throw that in there. I don't recall talking about everything being perfect - can you please show me that? Why do you think my concerns about obnoxious children are less than yours about a fender bender on the road? Kind of presumptious, no?

I'll enjoy my cruise fine, I'm sure. Hope you do too.

 

If your concerns involve obnoxioux children, then that's fine by me. On the cruises I've been on with my wife, we've frankly been non-plussed by the kids on board who, overall, have been a good lot. Rather, our issue has been with a fair number of obnoxious, drunk, and rude ADULTS that can just as easily ruin an otherwise fantastic holiday.

 

Just my 2 cents,

 

Michael