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Let me tell you about some of the people I met on the Gem 4/12-4/19 (LONG)


slackeyed

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#4 The Declasse

 

As past cruisers we were invited to and attended the Latitudes Cocktail Party. On the letter it stated that the Dress was Smart Casual for Ladies and also for Men with Pants and Shirt. Time was 1:15 pm on the first day at sea.

 

Most people dressed up nicely and most men wore long slacks. The captain and officers looked so neat in white. Even the Head Chef donned on his best chef uniform.

 

Except for the 3 couples ... they came straight from the pool and were wearing damp shorts and throw-ons. Their kids were dripping wet and wrapped in towels.

 

No, I'm not finished here .... the 3 couples proceeded to drink as many "free" drinks that they could get from various servers passing by their table and they even had at least a couple EACH lined up on the table for them as well as the ones already in their hand (yes the little table was groaning under the weight of 18 drinks). They were kinda grabbing drinks off trays!

 

OMG. :eek:

 

My DH had a very pleasant chat with the Chief Engineer while I stared in awe at the declasses! They were pretty loud.

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actually speaking of chair hogs - me & my DH sat out on Tues. on the upper deck next to cagney's (I don't know which side is which), got there about 9am and we stayed until 2 I think, there was a family next to us- husband & wife & they saved 6 chairs for about an hour and a 1/2 just sitting there arms folded watching people pass looking for chairs, later 2 teenage girls came, & both of their mom's came and the 2 other chairs - yea they sat EMPTY except for a towel or bag for the ENTIRE time we sat next to them - that was so rude...

 

we only went to the buffet once to go get ice cream & once to just walk through to get somewhere, that was enough to make us stay away for the entire cruise - it was a madhouse in there & the time for icecream was in the afternoon.

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I've got a twin sister that I crusie with and believe me you WOULD NOT want to be a chair hog next to her! She can freeze you with one look if she is in the right. I watched her clear chairs on our last cruise for an timid elderly couple who had walked by us THREE times looking for a seat. and when the women who was "watching the chairs for her friends" started to open her mouth to protest I think she realized from my sisters look she was not going to win this battle and she just shut her mouth and went back to her book! When you're wrong you're wrong.

 

Golly! When's her next cruise - I want to go on her cruise!!

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So true...It would have been a different cruise if my daughter hadn't have been there with us.

 

This was my first impression, after I stopped laughing with your post. I commend you for showing patience and being a good example in front of your daughter. Not everyone could or would have kept their cool. The behavior I see in some parents in front of their kids is awful.

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DH and I have encountered many a "chair hog" but one in particular stands out. She had place towels on a lounge on either side of her. There was one empty and then hers. DH and I shared the one "open" lounge for a bit of time when we realized no one was coming for the other saved lounges. DH asked if she was expecting anyone to come and sit and she replied, "no, I just don't like to have people sitting so close to me" (mind you this is on a ship with 2500 people and she dosen't want anyone to close to her!) DH asks again, still polietly, if she would mind then if he used the one lounge next to me, she say "No you can't, I don't want anyone close to me what don't you understand?" Okay, I'm ready to toss the wench, but DH smiles back at her and responds, " You really shouldn't be so critical of yourself, yes, you do have a large a** but I think two lounges will hold it just fine" and with that he plopped himself down on the lounge. It only took her a few minutes to decide it was best for her to relocate:D

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The audacity of some people never ceases to amaze me. Don't remember exactly where on CC that I read it but a person saw someone had actually made lamanted signs that said "Reserved for the ****Family" that they were putting on chairs.

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DH and I have encountered many a "chair hog" but one in particular stands out. She had place towels on a lounge on either side of her. There was one empty and then hers. DH and I shared the one "open" lounge for a bit of time when we realized no one was coming for the other saved lounges. DH asked if she was expecting anyone to come and sit and she replied, "no, I just don't like to have people sitting so close to me" (mind you this is on a ship with 2500 people and she dosen't want anyone to close to her!) DH asks again, still polietly, if she would mind then if he used the one lounge next to me, she say "No you can't, I don't want anyone close to me what don't you understand?" Okay, I'm ready to toss the wench, but DH smiles back at her and responds, " You really shouldn't be so critical of yourself, yes, you do have a large a** but I think two lounges will hold it just fine" and with that he plopped himself down on the lounge. It only took her a few minutes to decide it was best for her to relocate:D

 

That has got to be the funniest thing I've ever read!!! I laughed out loud and almost spit out my drink!!!

 

To the OP: don't sweat what people have said here. I completely understand the nature of your post. And, I, too, commend you for showing so much patience in front of your daughter. You should be given a medal! I have what I consider to be a large amount of patience, too. But, the one thing I can't stand is chair hogs. EVERY cruise I've been on has them. I go up to the pool with my DS at 9:00 a.m. and just about every lounge chair has a towel (or some other personal belonging) on it and sits for hours at a time without a single human sitting on it. Next time, I will grab a crew member and ask them to do something about it.

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The audacity of some people never ceases to amaze me. Don't remember exactly where on CC that I read it but a person saw someone had actually made lamanted signs that said "Reserved for the ****Family" that they were putting on chairs.

I think it's a good idea to take signs that say "Your stuff was left for 30 minutes and was lonely...it has been removed to Lost & Found for company" :p

I was on a ship, removed the stuff to the floor and GLARED at the rude hog when they wanted to say something about it. They left with their stuff in silence!:D

 

To the OP, I thought you were very humorous and have a great writing style...thanks for sharing.;)

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Slackeyed, enjoyed your review immensely. It gave me a couple of good belly laughs on an otherwise bleak Monday.:D I commend you on dealing with the situation with such grace.

 

Amazes me how quick some are to jump with daggers. Whew, you guys need to chill.

 

Aloha!

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Sorry you didn't have a perfect vacation. We seldom do either, but we try to focus on the good memories when we get home. We had a vacation in Hawaii in March that was far from paradise, but at time goes by, the disappointments are fading and the good things seem even better.

 

We don't eat at buffets. I don't like sharing germs, waiting in lines, or searching for a clean table. I prefer having lunch in the dining room. It is amazing how few people actually do use the dining room for breakfast or lunch--which works out great for us.

 

I have noticed that people these days are much ruder than in the past. Some people just don't care whether their kids are out of control or whether they are upsetting other guests. There is a whole new generation of people who don't care about anything but themselves. Manners and consideration for others is hard to come by anywhere these days--whether it is in the supermarket or having dinner somewhere.

 

We've learned to book balcony cabins so we don't have to search for an open lounge chair. What we like most on our NCL cruises is the dining. If you go somewhere that you don't like, all you have to do is go somewhere else.

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Slackeyed - I laughed out loud while reading you post, recognized some of the cruisers you described and think you set a good example for your DD. Please tell me you didn't call these unpleasant cruisers the same names in front of your DD. My kids repeat everything and it just isn't the same coming out of the mouth of an 8 yr. old.

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Hmm, I think you're being harsh. The OP is obviously a gentleman

 

What? I was going to stay out of this but he lost gentleman when he started name calling.

 

Let me clarify that yes, it was funny. But there is never a need degrade another human being. I think that "thick accent" and "very large woman" would have been enough.

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What? I was going to stay out of this but he lost gentleman when he started name calling.

 

Let me clarify that yes' date=' it was funny. But there is never a need degrade another human being. I think that "thick accent" and "very large woman" would have been enough.[/quote']

 

Oh please. The OP wouldn't have resorted to calling these "ladies" anything other then a lady had they behaved like one. They deserved to be called much worse....to their face. Which by the way, the OP did not do.

 

It would be another issue entirely if he came on here and said that Jane P. Smith of 21786 Oak Way, Boston MA was on his cruise and acted like a cow. I'm sure that if those women even read these boards, they will have no clue that they are the ones he's even talking about. They are blind to their behavior as most rude people are. After the appalling way they behaved, they deserve no sympathy.

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Oh please. The OP wouldn't have resorted to calling these "ladies" anything other then a lady had they behaved like one. They deserved to be called much worse....to their face. Which by the way, the OP did not do.

 

It would be another issue entirely if he came on here and said that Jane P. Smith of 21786 Oak Way, Boston MA was on his cruise and acted like a cow. I'm sure that if those women even read these boards, they will have no clue that they are the ones he's even talking about. They are blind to their behavior as most rude people are. After the appalling way they behaved, they deserve no sympathy.

 

Ok, what if this "lady" read these boards, happened to recognize herself. Say she were mortified because this is her Russian culture and didn't know any better. If the accent were really that thick, then she could be straight from Russia. Suppose she had a metabolic problem or was on a medication that made her retain fluid and be very heavy? This does occur. Would that make it right?

 

And no, it was not me! I just don't believe that name calling is the right thing to do. Just voicing my opinion, that's all.

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What? I was going to stay out of this but he lost gentleman when he started name calling.

 

Let me clarify that yes' date=' it was funny. But there is never a need degrade another human being. I think that "thick accent" and "very large woman" would have been enough.[/quote']

 

I wholeheartedly agree. I haven't been called a gentleman before.

 

Yes the woman had a russian accent and yes the woman was HUGE.

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found the post amusing, but please tell me that the majority of NCL cruisers have better manners than this?

 

We Brits are known as a nation who see a line and join it, (we seem to love to Que) if there are many who jump line then we will never be served!

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found the post amusing, but please tell me that the majority of NCL cruisers have better manners than this?

 

We Brits are known as a nation who see a line and join it, (we seem to love to Que) if there are many who jump line then we will never be served!

 

Well I'm also a Brit and have honed the elbow movement almost to perfection ;)

 

It also has to be said that I cruise solo, so have no youngsters to show up or embarrass when I take on a would-be queue jumper or lounger ejit. When I accidently on purpose dropped the puzzlebook and silly hat of the lounger ejit over the side in Nassau, I did get a fairly rousing round of applause from other passengers there at the time. They, like me, had been severely ticked off with this ejit...some had also been on the previous cruise with him too (B2B). One or two came up to me and admitted they felt like doing that but hadn't got the guts to do it. I'm afraid that ejit type behaviour cuts no ice with me...and it also has to be said that the ejit who discovered that his silly hat and puzzlebook had taken impromptu swimming lessons was not amused, but it did seem to do the trick as for the rest of the cruise he always made sure he collected up all his bits and pieces before leaving the sundeck areas.

 

The 'Bull Elephant' mentality is sadly getting more and more common. The crew can rarely do much about it...afterall they are not allowed to speak as to what they see a passenger does, in regards to bad or oafish behaviour.

 

However they do have ways of getting their own back sometimes...in the buffet on Braemar last year, an ejit was taking things from a platter...then putting them back...and repeating several times. He then walked off and didn't take anything. The next day he tried it again...but the tongs had been tied to the shelf so tightly that he couldn't pick them up. We were in stitches as we watched this idiot try and get the tongs to reach what he wanted to play with....he gave up and marched out of the buffet mumbling. He later went to reception to whinge...however the staff were ahead of him and threw back his complaint with complaints from other passengers and some of the staff about his behaviour. The maitre d' also confirmed that on each occasion he had already eaten a full meal in the main dining room, so hadn't gone hungry, despite his protests to the contrary.

 

When an ejit acts up, it is great to see other passengers and/or crew act together to show them up in some way. Doesn't happen very often...but when it does, it is very satisfying.

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These posts are beginning to fill me with dread, we are quite reserved and would never be able to stand up to people like this.

 

I think it must be a generation thing, we were brought up to think that manners are very important.

 

So while this sort of behaviour would annoy me, I would never have the nerve to say or do anything about it.

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Ok' date=' what if this "lady" read these boards, happened to recognize herself. Say she were mortified because this is her Russian culture and didn't know any better. If the accent were really that thick, then she could be straight from Russia. Suppose she had a metabolic problem or was on a medication that made her retain fluid and be very heavy? This does occur. Would that make it right?[/quote']

 

Please God let this woman read my thread.

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