Goodie goodies vs. Rule benders.

[cruzin w chris]

i am on the rule bender side here as i have smuggled beer in my luggage onto the ship, and i have purchased a soda card and shared it with the whole family. i would like to know just how many of you havebent the rules ( even if only 1 minor offence ) and how many of you are saints.

[Essiesmom]

Generally, I am a goodie-goodie. I believe rules in general are made for a reason and if I bend or break them, it's usually inadvertent. Last week in Rome, my friend and I got on a city bus with our one euro coins in our hands. But we got on the front entrance of a crowded bus, and the only fare machine was one to validate paper tickets. by the time we could see the back of the bus where there was a machine for tickets, we were getting off. So, not wanting to profit from our free ride, we gave our coins to the first street musician we passed. EM

[NorbertsNiece]

I won't bring an iron on board, or any of the other prohibited items as stipulated by the cruise line. If that makes me a goodie goodie then so be it. Not sure I like the expression but I can live with it.

[cb at sea]

While I don't go out of my way to "break rules", some rules are just incredibly stupid and exist for no real reason. Those rules get pushed aside at times!

[Guest TropicOne]

I am somewhere in the middle.:)

[boba]

:cool: I try to follow the rules. If the rules say no alcohol and you sneak in alcohol, you BROKE the rules, not bent them. :cool:

[Clutterlady]

Have to admit we do bring a small bottle with us in our checked luggage. Nice to have a drink on our balcony and believe me we spend plenty at the bars....so the cruise line are making a lot of $$ on us:)

[98Charlie]

Yeah, it's a contract. You either follow the stipulations of the contract or break them. Bending them is like being a little pregnant:p

 

My feeling is that most cruisers break the contract in one form or another.

 

Charlie

[silentbob007]

Here's my thing ... people get upset when others tell them not to break the clearly written rules and then go into the usual list of illogical defenses from "oh you've never done anything?" to "I'm not really hurting anyone." I guess what I don't understand is why people flaunt it and then attack others for being judgemental.

[travelntreats]

Sounds yo me as if you are hoping there will be more "rule benders" than "saints", merely to justify YOUR rule breaking guilt !

[tulsacubfan]

Guess I am a "goodie-goodie" as well. I figure the rules are made for a reason. I do wonder about the "rule breakers" - where do you draw the line on what rules you will break and what rules you won't break? And how do you teach your children to understand there are some rules it is okay to break and some rules should not be broken - do you just tell them if you don't like a rule (or think it is stupid), it is okay to break it? If your children think "rules" (which equates to laws) against drunk driving are stupid, it is okay to ignore them? One of my mother's favorite sayings when we were kids was "you can go to hell for lying just as easily as any other sin."

[morecruise4me]

I guess I'm a rule breaker :( I fed the squirrels at our timeshare when it specifically said not to feed the "wild life". Hey, they came up to me looking for something! I don't follow the tour guide or stay with the group :eek: My BFF calls me a scofflaw! Like someone else said, bending is breaking. Guilty as charged :o

[agabbymama]

As another poster said, it's like being a little pregnant. There is no such thing as bending the rules, you either break them or abide by them.

 

I try to abide by them, funny my kids have called me a goodie-goodie for years, and I don't mind at all.

 

Too many people today think the rules apply to everyone else, NOT THEM!

[98Charlie]

I guess I'm a rule breaker :( I fed the squirrels at our timeshare when it specifically said not to feed the "wild life". Hey, they came up to me looking for something! I don't follow the tour guide or stay with the group :eek: My BFF calls me a scofflaw! Like someone else said, bending is breaking. Guilty as charged :o

I like your style:D

 

Like most of us (myself included) you know the rules and know when you are wrong. But, you don't sugar coat it by saying that you're "only bending" the rules.

 

Charlie

[45014]

I admit to sharing the soda card with my hubby!

[hajekfam]

I guess I am a goodie-goodie. So much so that I consider sharing a soda card stealing - since the cruiseline specifically says that the sticker is good only for the person whose name is on the card therefore using it for another person is stealing revenue from the cruiseline.

[MadManOfBethesda]

Bringing beer on board is breaking a rule.

 

Sharing the soda card is theft. (Assuming of course, that you are referring to one of the unlimited use soda cards sold on some lines and not the punchcard type good for 10 or 20 drinks that are sold on others.)

 

In both cases, you are depriving the cruiseline of income; however, in the first instance you are using your own supplies to do so. In the second instance, you are using the cruiseline's.

[Ingrid83]

i am on the rule bender side here as i have smuggled beer in my luggage onto the ship, and i have purchased a soda card and shared it with the whole family. i would like to know just how many of you havebent the rules ( even if only 1 minor offence ) and how many of you are saints.

 

 

Everyone is saying "the rules are there for a good reason," but there are so many rules! I can't imagine not inadvertently breaking some because keeping them all straight seems very challenging. This isn't a church-affilliated boarding school, it's supposed to be a vacation. So I think people should cut each other a little slack, if no actual fraud or damage is intended.

 

I spent all my life following all the rules (my family says I follow rules that don't even exist) and missing out on a lot of fun because I couldn't figure out how to do a certain activity and still follow the rules - if you read them carefully, often they are poorly worded or self-contradictory, and I tend to have a very literal mind.

 

Long story short - then I find out my time on this earth maybe isn't that endless, and maybe it is time to worry less; live more; live by what is ethical and necessary and not spend the hours before a cruise parsing each sentence in The Rules to see whether I will be able to do anything or not.

 

Like the instructions for boarding at our pier state you should drop your luggage at the drop off area and then hand it to a porter. 2 years ago, I would have broken out into a sweat, wrote ten messages to message boards about how to handle that, called the cruise line, considered cancelling the trip ;-) This year, I figure I'll do one or the other, since it is seemingly impossible to do both, and if my bags don't arrive in my stateroom, I will become a nudist by attrition.

 

Former Goody-Two-Shoes. Hoping to be a (teetotalling) party animal before I die,

 

Ingrid83

[uppitycats]

I think the thing about breaking the rules is -- if you're going to do it, don't try to justify it with some excuse, and it's not "bending" the rule, it's breaking it. You either follow the rules or you don't, and if you don't, you may or may not suffer consequences. If you do suffer consequences, don't come whining about it!

 

I'm pretty much a goodie-goodie. About the only rules I consistently break is feeding deer in our yard, and occasionally the speed limit when I drive

[travelntreats]

Everyone is saying "the rules are there for a good reason," but there are so many rules! I can't imagine not inadvertently breaking some because keeping them all straight seems very challenging. This isn't a church-affilliated boarding school, it's supposed to be a vacation. So I think people should cut each other a little slack, if no actual fraud or damage is intended.

 

I spent all my life following all the rules (my family says I follow rules that don't even exist) and missing out on a lot of fun because I couldn't figure out how to do a certain activity and still follow the rules - if you read them carefully, often they are poorly worded or self-contradictory, and I tend to have a very literal mind.

 

Long story short - then I find out my time on this earth maybe isn't that endless, and maybe it is time to worry less; live more; live by what is ethical and necessary and not spend the hours before a cruise parsing each sentence in The Rules to see whether I will be able to do anything or not.

 

Like the instructions for boarding at our pier state you should drop your luggage at the drop off area and then hand it to a porter. 2 years ago, I would have broken out into a sweat, wrote ten messages to message boards about how to handle that, called the cruise line, considered cancelling the trip ;-) This year, I figure I'll do one or the other, since it is seemingly impossible to do both, and if my bags don't arrive in my stateroom, I will become a nudist by attrition.

 

Former Goody-Two-Shoes. Hoping to be a (teetotalling) party animal before I die,

 

Ingrid83

If your luggage is able to fit thru the xray screener, you can carry it on the ship and not use the porters. They are only there to assist w/ luggage that is too large for the screeners -or- if you just don't want to carry luggage on yourself.

 

There is NO RULE that says you MUST USE THE PORTERS.

[nparmelee]

Some rules are created because some people take advantage, some are created for real safety and some are created because people do stupid things. The first and third tend to ruin things for those who follow the rules but have little or no affect on those who do them to begin with.

[Ingrid83]

If your luggage is able to fit thru the xray screener, you can carry it on the ship and not use the porters. They are only there to assist w/ luggage that is too large for the screeners -or- if you just don't want to carry luggage on yourself.

 

There is NO RULE that says you MUST USE THE PORTERS.

 

I know that you have the option to carry on smaller luggage, but for the larger stuff, I am not making this up; here's a direct quote:

"Guests will drop off their luggage at the Baggage Drop-Off area and give the luggage to the Porter; the customary tip for this service is $1.00 per bag."

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Embarkation_Arrival.aspx

 

Note the use of "and" not "or." This is the part that would have given me hives in a previous life. And where I think you have to break the rules - if you have larger baggage. I don't know if I will or not. In a previous life, I might have restricted myself to a carry-on to avoid the possibility I might not have been able to both drop off the luggage at the Baggage Drop-off are AND give the luggage to a Porter. Nowadays, I will cut myself a little slack, and assume I can bend the rules by doing one or the other if both are impossible.

 

I just went to look at some instructions for making sure you have a bra that fits properly - and it says you need to do the tests with a well-fitting bra. My poor brain has had enough for one day ;-) "You want I should freeze or you want I should drop? Mean to say, if'n I freeze, I cain't rightly drop. And if'n I drop, I'm-a gonna be in motion. See what I'm sayi-- " - Raising Arizona.

 

Ingrid83

[fann1sh]

First, this observation IS NOT directed at any of the posters above...just a general one, after a couple years on these boards.

 

It seems quite a few posters have at least one cruise line policy which is dear to their heart, and another they regard as stupid, and made to be broken. Both are "hot buttons", and will lead these people to post as "saints" on one thread, and "sinners" on another. Examples, in no particular order: dress code, smuggling alcohol, children in adults only areas/swimming pools, tipping, etc., etc.

 

Sometimes it seems those people haven't really found the cruise line that is "right" for them, whether they know it or not. OK, so no one actually allows you to bring unlimited alcohol aboard....but some mass market lines allow wine, even unlimited wine, some don't mind beer, and other allow you to order liquor bottles for your room at a lot less than the "per drink" price....and Regent, with all drinks included, for those who have bigger cruise budgets.

 

If there's one cruise line policy that you plan on ignoring, why not "shop around" here at CC for another line that might be just what you want?

 

Of course, when it comes to real safety rules, like fire hazards and muster drills, scofflaws are quite another matter.

[uppitycats]

I know that you have the option to carry on smaller luggage, but for the larger stuff, I am not making this up; here's a direct quote:

"Guests will drop off their luggage at the Baggage Drop-Off area and give the luggage to the Porter; the customary tip for this service is $1.00 per bag."

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Embarkation_Arrival.aspx

 

Note the use of "and" not "or." This is the part that would have given me hives in a previous life. And where I think you have to break the rules - if you have larger baggage. I don't know if I will or not. In a previous life, I might have restricted myself to a carry-on to avoid the possibility I might not have been able to both drop off the luggage at the Baggage Drop-off are AND give the luggage to a Porter. Nowadays, I will cut myself a little slack, and assume I can bend the rules by doing one or the other if both are impossible.

 

I just went to look at some instructions for making sure you have a bra that fits properly - and it says you need to do the tests with a well-fitting bra. My poor brain has had enough for one day ;-) "You want I should freeze or you want I should drop? Mean to say, if'n I freeze, I cain't rightly drop. And if'n I drop, I'm-a gonna be in motion. See what I'm sayi-- " - Raising Arizona.

 

Ingrid83

 

You're misunderstanding the folksy phrase, "drop off". It doesn't literally mean "DROP your luggage", or even "set it down". It means -- here is where you dispose of your luggage -- you hand it off to a porter, or leave it in a clearly marked designated spot -- "drop it off" as opposed to "lug it around with you". If you hand it off to a porter (and just to be clear, this does not mean you cut off your hand in front of a porter, but rather turn your luggage over to him...which does not mean that you revolve your luggage front to back, or side to side, or upsidedown, but merely... oh, never mind.)

[nitnyleo]

For those who believe that you can't bend the rules without breaking them must not be/or have very good lawyers.

 

Of course the rules can be modified, without breaking them . . . didn't we all just watch George Bush do that for 8 years?