My Parents Just Got off the Fantasy - Bad Experience with some pax

[Rowan555]

I almost typed "Blues Clues" - shows where MY brain is lol. Anyway, my parents took my dad's two sisters on this cruise. My dad said he felt the passengers were much ruder than usual, particularly to the staff of the ship. He came home very disgusted about the behavior of people in general. He said that they couldn't walk down the promenade deck or eat on the lido deck without hearing profanity from at least one nearby table or group of people. They didn't know about the Blues Cruise group until close to sailing, and I'm not even sure if it was the group that was being obnoxious - could have been anyone - but I just wanted to report this, since there have been posts in the past about problems with big group sailings. My father is like me - he hates to see people being treated badly - and he was telling me about the incidents he witnessed with passengers treating the crew absolutely horrendously. It's really a shame. I've noticed this, to a lesser degree, on previous cruises recently, and I hope this is not a trend that will get worse. My aunt is a nun, and she's quite sheltered (meaning she's not used to hearing a lot of the words she was exposed to for 5 days on this cruise) and she's not at all happy right now. You would think someone would see a nun (she always wears her habit) and perhaps tone down the vulgarity - but apparently not!

 

We'll be on the NCL Spirit tomorrow and I'm going to try to pay attention to the behavior of my fellow pax a little more closely than I normally do. I generally just try to ignore bothersome people. It's a shame people just can't have more respect for others - whether fellow pax or employees they come into contact with. It would certainly make for a much better experience for everyone involved.

[JLC@SD]

I'm curious.....what is a Blues Cruise Group...:confused:

[Lionesss]

Happy sailings. How unfortunate your parents went through this. I hope you will find a better and more civil vacationing group of people on your vacation. Best of luck.

[*Mach*]

I almost typed "Blues Clues" - shows where MY brain is lol. Anyway, my parents took my dad's two sisters on this cruise. My dad said he felt the passengers were much ruder than usual, particularly to the staff of the ship. He came home very disgusted about the behavior of people in general. He said that they couldn't walk down the promenade deck or eat on the lido deck without hearing profanity from at least one nearby table or group of people. They didn't know about the Blues Cruise group until close to sailing, and I'm not even sure if it was the group that was being obnoxious - could have been anyone - but I just wanted to report this, since there have been posts in the past about problems with big group sailings. My father is like me - he hates to see people being treated badly - and he was telling me about the incidents he witnessed with passengers treating the crew absolutely horrendously. It's really a shame. I've noticed this, to a lesser degree, on previous cruises recently, and I hope this is not a trend that will get worse. My aunt is a nun, and she's quite sheltered (meaning she's not used to hearing a lot of the words she was exposed to for 5 days on this cruise) and she's not at all happy right now. You would think someone would see a nun (she always wears her habit) and perhaps tone down the vulgarity - but apparently not!

 

We'll be on the NCL Spirit tomorrow and I'm going to try to pay attention to the behavior of my fellow pax a little more closely than I normally do. I generally just try to ignore bothersome people. It's a shame people just can't have more respect for others - whether fellow pax or employees they come into contact with. It would certainly make for a much better experience for everyone involved.

 

Sadly, there are rude, insensitive people everywhere including on cruise ships.

 

I found the same things you're referring to, to a far lesser extent, on the Conquest. Fortunately it was just a very small percentage of the passengers that engaged in such behavior. I hate it when these cretins lash out at the crew for no reason whatsoever. The staff work their collective tails off to provide a wonderful experience for everyone on board. Some people, however, seem to think they're owed special treatment.

[maxamuus]

We'll be on the NCL Spirit tomorrow and I'm going to try to pay attention to the behavior of my fellow pax a little more closely than I normally do.

 

I would suggest you go and have a great time and forget about other peoples behavior.

[okgirl]

I just don't understand why the cruise lines do so little to address rude and obnoxious people. Is their business more important than mine? I guess it's not hurting their bottom line, but I have to believe that if the corporations would start to sanction or black list these people there would hopefully be plenty of more reasonable normal acting people to fill those spots and over time it would become obvious what the industry expectations were.

[hammybee]

Don't you wish that cruise line would require all passengers to take personality tests before booking? This way, they could match up the good guys versus the others.

 

In absence of this, the only thing we can control is our reaction to other people's behaviors.

[Rowan555]

I would suggest you go and have a great time and forget about other peoples behavior.

 

Well I'm certainly not going to be walking around with a notebook to record every incident of obnoxious behavior - I'm just going to try to pay a little more attention to what's going on around me. I'm a bit curious as to whether another ship/cruise line will have similar pax with similar bad manners. My children are VERY sensitive to rude behavior and profanity (particularly my 8 year old son, who has an anxiety disorder that is exacerbated by things like this). I hope we have a better experience next week than my parents did last this past week.

[hammybee]

I just don't understand why the cruise lines do so little to address rude and obnoxious people. Is their business more important than mine? I guess it's not hurting their bottom line, but I have to believe that if the corporations would start to sanction or black list these people there would hopefully be plenty of more reasonable normal acting people to fill those spots and over time it would become obvious what the industry expectations were.

 

And who would determine, "normal"? :D

[hammybee]

I would suggest you go and have a great time and forget about other peoples behavior.

 

I like the way you expressed this. It is indeed the magic formula for a fabulous cruise vacation. Thank you.

[big_duck]

I would suggest you go and have a great time and forget about other peoples behavior.

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

I just don't understand why the cruise lines do so little to address rude and obnoxious people.

 

They aren't behavior police. As long as people behavior isn't a danger it is none of the cruise lines business.

[*Mach*]

I'm curious.....what is a Blues Cruise Group...:confused:

 

I believe it was a group of Blues music fans. There are often cruises organized with a basic theme such as reggae, soap opera stars, poker or almost anything you can imagine.

 

This is a link to a CruiseCritic feature about theme cruises:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=349

[LHP]

This is exactly why I keep a calendar (2008 now) right by the computer and search for "groups" that will be on the Carnival ships.

 

Just about every month has 1 week marked out....September has all four (different ships of course).

 

Before I book a cruise I check my calendar.....and I keep updating it and check again before we are inside the penalty window.

 

It is bad enough when you have to deal with the thugs in the general population acting like this...but if I can avoid there being several hundred like that on one cruise...I will.

[NCTribeFan]

I would suggest you go and have a great time and forget about other peoples behavior.

 

It's a little difficult to ignore people who are being loud, obnoxious, insulting, demeaning, and throwing around profanity.

 

Oh, of course, we can always just "go to another area" of the ship.

 

My question is why is it that the people who are behaving in a civilized manner are the ones who are inconvenienced? Why shouldn't those few who are being unpleasant be the ones who should be inconvienced?

 

Why is it that, in these instances, minority rules?

 

It's simply a matter of consideration.

[skylock]

I personally do not like these large groups. I don't care if it is hells angels or a knitting club, it seems something happens to these people when they are with a large group.

 

They tend to be noisier, ruder and often bordering on vulgar behavior.

 

I haven't noticed this same behavior when it is a large family group.

 

When we are boarding and I see a group wearing the same color shirts, I cringe. I can not remember a single time I was glad there was a group of anything "club" on board.

[NCTribeFan]

Makes me wonder how the Cruise Critic groups are! :eek:

[Travel Angel]

I almost typed "Blues Clues" - shows where MY brain is lol. Anyway, my parents took my dad's two sisters on this cruise. My dad said he felt the passengers were much ruder than usual, particularly to the staff of the ship. He came home very disgusted about the behavior of people in general. He said that they couldn't walk down the promenade deck or eat on the lido deck without hearing profanity from at least one nearby table or group of people. They didn't know about the Blues Cruise group until close to sailing, and I'm not even sure if it was the group that was being obnoxious - could have been anyone - but I just wanted to report this, since there have been posts in the past about problems with big group sailings. My father is like me - he hates to see people being treated badly - and he was telling me about the incidents he witnessed with passengers treating the crew absolutely horrendously. It's really a shame. I've noticed this, to a lesser degree, on previous cruises recently, and I hope this is not a trend that will get worse. My aunt is a nun, and she's quite sheltered (meaning she's not used to hearing a lot of the words she was exposed to for 5 days on this cruise) and she's not at all happy right now. You would think someone would see a nun (she always wears her habit) and perhaps tone down the vulgarity - but apparently not!

 

We'll be on the NCL Spirit tomorrow and I'm going to try to pay attention to the behavior of my fellow pax a little more closely than I normally do. I generally just try to ignore bothersome people. It's a shame people just can't have more respect for others - whether fellow pax or employees they come into contact with. It would certainly make for a much better experience for everyone involved.

 

I too do not like to see passengers disrespect the crew, but what are you hoping to accomplish by paying attention to behavior patterns of others ? I am not trying to be snippy about this subject, but as long as you are treating them fairly, I don't see how you believe you can make the world a better place or try to correct others that are not respectful.

 

I would not waste my energy or time taking notes of others behavior and sacrifice having a great time on your cruise because of the behaviors of others. Go have a great cruise !

[Rowan555]

I too do not like to see passengers disrespect the crew, but what are you hoping to accomplish by paying attention to behavior patterns of others ? I am not trying to be snippy about this subject, but as long as you are treating them fairly, I don't see how you believe you can make the world a better place or try to correct others that are not respectful.

 

I would not waste my energy or time taking notes of others behavior and sacrifice having a great time on your cruise because of the behaviors of others. Go have a great cruise !

 

As I said, I'm not going to follow people around with a notebook - I'm just going to pay a little more attention than I usually do. As I also posted, my son has an anxiety disorder which causes him to get very stressed out around people who are being overly rowdy or speaking with vulgar language. It therefore behooves me to pay a little attention to these things, for his comfort if for nothing else. I can be completely oblivious to people throwing food and saying "MF" every other word, but my son will have a panic attack in the midst of behavior like that.

 

We're in the process of deciding whether to take a Fantasy or NCL Spirit cruise next fall - my cruise tomorrow on the Spirit and my cruise in January on Fantasy will help determine which we choose - and all things being equal, our choice might very well depend on our experience with the pax on the two ships.

[SheriNtexas]

I believe it was a group of Blues music fans. There are often cruises organized with a basic theme such as reggae, soap opera stars, poker or almost anything you can imagine.

 

This is a link to a CruiseCritic feature about theme cruises:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=349

 

 

 

Machman, when did you become a host??

[bonniemari]

My aunt is a nun, and she's quite sheltered (meaning she's not used to hearing a lot of the words she was exposed to for 5 days on this cruise) and she's not at all happy right now. You would think someone would see a nun (she always wears her habit) and perhaps tone down the vulgarity - but apparently not!

 

So sorry to hear this. I also have an aunt that is a nun and even though at 77 she is pretty "hip" I still would be mortified if she had to witness that kind of behavior. She taught catholic high school students for quite a few years but still to have her be around that kind of behavior would really make me mad.

 

Of course I have witnessed the same behavior on cruises when people cuss around small children. I am always glad when the parent steps up and ask the offender to tone it down. To some people cussing comes out of their mouths and they don't even know it. My ex husband was one of those people for many years-until I insisted he stop when our son was born-took him much practice but he finally was able to stop.

 

My aunt is a nun in Ohio and most of her fellow sisters are from that area. So they are used to having family visit. My 3 sisters and I took a trip to visit her a couple of months ago. She was smiling from ear to ear the whole 4 days (except when we got lost in Amish country-I was driving so I wasn't doing much smiling either).

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise on the Spirit.

[LHP]

Couldn't agree more.

 

 

 

They aren't behavior police. As long as people behavior isn't a danger it is none of the cruise lines business.

 

This statement is absolutely wrong. It is very much the cruise lines' business when their "behavior" is open pornography. The last time I checked, that was against the law around minors!!

 

Just because it does not endanger someone's life...doesn't mean it is legal!

[trarecar]

I didn't notice any bad behavior of other guests. I was too busy relaxing and enjoying my time off.

 

Perhaps your parents and aunts are a bit more aware of foul language than others? I know if I had a nun with me I would be aware of every little "damn" and "sh**" around me, too. LOL

 

In all fairness, the cruise ships are very large places. Unless a person is going to stay in their room the whole time they are going to be around hundreds of people at any time that for sure will not have the same sense of propriety as everyone else.

 

Not knowing what types of places your family normally goes, perhaps a cruise might not be the best place for your child with the anxiety disorder? Dinner is loud, the pool area is certainly loud, the casino might have to be walked through to get to your dining area....

[vacruizer]

This is exactly why I keep a calendar (2008 now) right by the computer and search for "groups" that will be on the Carnival ships.

 

Just about every month has 1 week marked out....September has all four (different ships of course).

 

Before I book a cruise I check my calendar.....and I keep updating it and check again before we are inside the penalty window.

 

It is bad enough when you have to deal with the thugs in the general population acting like this...but if I can avoid there being several hundred like that on one cruise...I will.

 

If it weren't against the rules, you could probably make a mint on here selling copies of your calendar for the rest of us:D . And try as hard as we can - there are some groups we just don't find until it is too late. I've been lucky so far - the groups on my last cruise weren't that bad but I did see enough from one small group that I will avoid them in the future - especially if it's a large group. I was really worried ahead of time since I didn't find out about one until after final payment. It's sad that we have to go through this, but these groups seem to have a "pack" mentality when together. It's not just cruises - I can remember a group of Red Hat Ladies that used to make my life a living H**L when I was a waitress back in college.

 

The cruise to nowhere I took in June didn't have any large groups that I knew of, but I did see lots of people being exceptionally rude to the staff. I guess because I once worked in the hospitality industry I am a little more sensitive to that and notice it more than some would. It really irritates me though - how can you possibly treat another human being that way? A smile along with a please and thank you does wonders in most situations.

[halos]

Machman, when did you become a host??

 

Yeah machman...CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! :D

Rowan...have a great cruise!!! :)

[LHP]

If it weren't against the rules, you could probably make a mint on here selling copies of your calendar for the rest of us:D . And try as hard as we can - there are some groups we just don't find until it is too late. I've been lucky so far - the groups on my last cruise weren't that bad but I did see enough from one small group that I will avoid them in the future - especially if it's a large group. I was really worried ahead of time since I didn't find out about one until after final payment. It's sad that we have to go through this, but these groups seem to have a "pack" mentality when together. It's not just cruises - I can remember a group of Red Hat Ladies that used to make my life a living H**L when I was a waitress back in college.

 

The cruise to nowhere I took in June didn't have any large groups that I knew of, but I did see lots of people being exceptionally rude to the staff. I guess because I once worked in the hospitality industry I am a little more sensitive to that and notice it more than some would. It really irritates me though - how can you possibly treat another human being that way? A smile along with a please and thank you does wonders in most situations.

 

I know what you mean. My PVP has one client (of course I don't know the name) that is paranoid about "groups"...so I send my PVP updates as I run across them.

 

When we booked our B2B in the Imagination, I had originally planned for it to be Jan 24 and the 28th. Then (after a little research) I found out the Jan 24th cruise was a Motley Cruise. Nothing against Hard Rock...but I am just to old. I hope they have a marvelous time...I just don't want to be around it.

So we backed it up to Jan 28th and Feb 2nd. Now there is still no guarantees...but at least I have done all I can to make sure there is nothing to diminish my vacation.

 

Years *and I do mean YEARS ago ~~ there was a website called GroupsAhoy.com and it was my group cruise Bible. Not only did it tell me groups to avoid....BUT if there was a group I was interested in joining...it was there as well.

 

That sight have been down for about 4 years and I really miss it!!!