On a cruise, my husband & I noticed two chairs piled with towels & belongings for several hours. We threw the items on the deck, picked up the chairs & moved them someplace else. When they came back, they didn't know who did it.
On my last cruise, there was a family at my table that was constantly late to dinner. The staff was reluctant to take our orders without the entire table being there. This was very annoying as I wanted to go to the early shows which were right after our dinner time. By mid-cruise I told the staff not to wait for them. The next meal the staff didn't wait. The family showed up just as we were getting our first course and were quite upset. Before they complained I told them I told the staff to proceed with service because it was unfair to wait for you. They didn't say a word, just glared at me. They never arrived on time the entire cruise, but after that incident it didn't matter.
To me “boring” is a feature. Cruising across the Atlantic on Silversea or Seabourn is an absolute joy, I find a comfortable shady spot and sip Champagne while relaxing and reading a book. In the evening pre dinner cocktails, dinner and head to one of the bars for live music and more champagne or cocktails. Next day repeat.
My husband and I are into the same kind of "boring" that you are! That's why we cruise on Oceania. Although I think they have a lot of activities. We usually don't participate in them but choose to do the champagne and cocktails thing..
Regarding bad behavior, a guy I know has a maintenance and repair company. He was called to a local, high end restaurant, because someone had torn a sink off the wall in the men’s restroom. I asked him how that sort of thing could happen in such a fine establishment, and his response was simple: “People with money can be dirtbags just like anyone.“
Agree. It’s an easy enough policy to enforce. I was recently at a resort where are the pool had signs prohibiting the practice of chair saving, but nobody policed it. I went and got in a chair after my breakfast, (which was still quite early) and observed several chairs with towels on them for the next 3+ hours completely unused. It’s despicable behavior.
Cruise lines could bring a quick end to rude guests if they were willing to establish clear rules and consistently enforce them. Cruisers could be required to read over the rules of the ship and the consequences for breaking those rules. Guests could then be required to sign that they agreed to those and would accept the well-defined consequences. I taught school for 30 years and I’ve learned that people (children and adults) will push whatever limits you set. If rules and consequences are consistently enforced, the problems will be minimal. The couple that made everyone wait should have been left.
Costa cruises started removing articles (glasses books and towels) From sun beds if left empty for over 45 minutes and a flag stating items were held at the towel station :-)
The cruise industry is very competitive and over represented with liners. It is not at the point YET where cruise companies will enforce behaviour rules to the letter in fear of losing customers to bad reviews from drunken and unruly passengers. I have been on cruises with RC and have seen numerous occassions of anti social behaviour but it was dealt with properly, not hardnosed but sufficiently handled by staff to other passengers OK. I myself love a drink and whatever and can get a bit over the top but at the same time respectul of other people. i would be disppointed if I went too far and was not pulled up for it. We can all have a good time without ending up iun the brig.
We have found the same on a number of cruiselines...when we were on the Seabourn Ovation, I noticed this happening quite a lot and I kept reporting it to the pool area staff...initially they seemed reluctant to take action but when I informed them that either THEY move the clothing/phones etc or I would dump them in the pool, only then did they actually put the property in a locked box until the owners returned HOURS later... I was asked by the owners why we were sitting in their seats and I referred them to the Seabourn Staff who put them straight...they were NOT very pleased at all! The arrogance of (some) people is just baffling...if it wasn't for the fact that I was on a quality cruiseline, all their belongings would have been on the bottom of the pool! Sadly far too many cameras on ship decks these days!
Great video Gary, as usual. Your mother was correct, "money doesn't buy manners". Sometimes money eliminates manners altogether. I just finished reading a new brochure from Silversea and I will say, most of the prices for 23-25 can be a bit eye watering. Keep up the good work!
Nice video as always, Gary. Recently cruised with Azamara from Cape Town. Pool staff were excellent and ensured no chair hogging took place. Think it all depends on the staff being motivated and backed up by supervisors if people moan.
I was in a Greek AZAMARA, had the chair hogs and staff did nothing. That said, these two men were rude to EVERYONE and seemed as if they were too good to socialize.
On a recent Celebrity cruise I could not sleep. I went to the pool area to clear my head. This was at 230 AM. Dude comes strolling through with towels and a couple of bags and reserves 2 chairs.
Our last cruise was on Viking Ocean cruises Athens to Rome. We never experienced problems with the "Chair Hoggers" at the pool. For the most part, our experience was great. The crew had some challenges but that was because they had a lot of new crew onboard, so there were hiccups at dinner, but the they were trivial in my opinion. Food was still outstanding and our tours were excellent. Love not having to worry about screaming kids or adults for that matter. Makes the cost to cruise with Viking well worth it.
My last cruise was in 1992 aboard the SS Norway and I came away from it vowing off cruises till the end of time. That being said, I am about to retire from a travel industry job after 43 years and have been looking for an adventure. Thanks to you and a few other You tubers I have been talked into giving it another go. So many of your videos have such great ideas that can really be used in many modes of travel and transport. My girlfriend and I are going to try the Viking great lakes cruise to wet our feet without being too far from home. I am going to use one of those websites to find out if the mini bar is included in the fare in case I want a toddy. Lastly, and I mean this as no criticism but merely in humour, your t shirt, says cruise more / worry less. Happily for us you seem to have put a lot of worry into cruising hacks to benefit others. Thank you.
My last cruise was on the Norwegian lines in 2008. Since then I have taken a paddle wheel cruise down the Mississippi River (American Queen) & THOROUGHLY enjoyed it! No more crowded, noisy, rude people for me! Also cruise on Princess lines in 1974….smaller ship, excellent food & staff….seems those days are over with the crowded, huge ships that try to out due each other in megatonnage!
As much as I really enjoy this channel and love the IDEA of cruising, the REALITY of cruising has me trying to convince myself that I want to shell out a substantial payment for an experience in which the enjoyment of it is in many ways dependent upon the good behavior of other people. It's the opposite end of the cost/reward spectrum, but this is the same reason I quit camping in public campgrounds. It doesn't take a majority of idiots to ruin a vacation, it takes just enough, and who wants to be irritated and annoyed when they should be able to relax? The best vacations are spent as far away from the presence of other people as possible and a cruise sounds like the opposite...
When younger, we loved hiking and camping in the wilderness, just wonderful! But since retiring, we are cruising twice a year, and have met wonderful people on board in the dining rooms and at the on board activities. Just avoid the cheapest cruise lines, as that will be a much rougher crowd, we have found.
Better off finding a cabin or something far away from other people. I agree with what you said, I wouldn't want to pay money, to then get frustrated because other people don't have respect for others. Controlling people can ruin an event.
This, exactly this. I know for sure I would get into trouble on such cruise. Not because I am a troublemaker, but because I would get in trouble with the troublemakers. A cruise is for me the worst of the absolute worst experience. And none of Gary's videos has changed that, only secured more. And in the end Gary is glad with any non cruiser watching, it's a numbers game.
@@Torero2901 You hit the nail on the head! I always wanted to take a cruise....but the more I learn the less I want to do it. I think I'll stick to small fishing boats. To me, that's a fun time. And being around other fishermen who also understand what we're all looking for on the trip is nice. Always a good time. Can actually appreciate being on the ocean in a smaller boat, too. Those cruise ships have so many stabilizers that it seems you never feel the rock of the waves.
I just love your channel. I feel very fortunate to have my first cruise be the Cunard Transatlantic Cruise (The Theater week). I took the crossing a week after you last May. I think after seeing this Iwill only do Cunard. The amount of programs and the level of quality was amazing....
The 50s and 60s music is played because of the age of the customer base. Seabourn has an average age of 60-70 for passengers outside of school holidays and summer.
I'm 45 and the Beatles are awesome! :-) Still, I agree with markf, need people who are at least young at heart! Like Michael Dorn, who plays Worf on Star Trek. In Picard Season 3, he's 70 years old, but he has this AWESOME martial arts scene with Michelle Hurd (who is 52 I believe) and they didn't use extras! That was really them sparring, and it was awesome!! So a 70 year old like Michael Dorn is welcome. lmao 🙂 Or, the scenes when they were back together on the Enterprise-D, that was SO awesome. When Sir Patrick Stewart points forward and says "ENGAGE!" he sounds like he's 50 again, though he is 83! 🙂 Well, I mean everybody's welcome, but young vibes are good. 🙂
I just got back from an ultra luxury river cruise where the same 3 obnoxious New Yorkers were LATE for every excursion, needless to say everyone onboard really despised them after awhile. 😊
We took a Viking Cruise in February 2023. It had casual dining in the evening along with Specialty Dining. Maybe you don't consider Viking luxury, but it was really really nice and the crew really took care of everyone on the ship. Amazing cruise in my opinion.
Viking is considered Premium (or sometime Luxury), which is one step below Ultra Luxury. To me Viking is the best compromise between luxury and cost. and Viking includes almost all costs.
@@classicsciencefictionhorro1665 That is good to hear. I think if I were to go on a cruise I'd choose Viking because I'ver formed the impression that paying a premium to sail on that line buys you the company of adults who seem to remember how to behave and in which people aren't stacked on top of each other like cattle.
Viking River is nowhere near luxury. And that’s not a moral judgment, just a fact. No biggie. Viking Ocean, though, is completely different. It’s much more a premium line bordering on luxury in some aspects.
I'd like to see tour groups hardcore hold to the times. If the meet up time is 5pm, and the bus is pulling out at 5:30 (for example) the bus pulls out at 5:30. If you miss it, that's too bad and you'll have to figure out how to get back to the ship quickly. It's not like times are not posted and excursion guides don't hammer those times into your brains repeatedly. Zero sympathy unless someone's in an accident or sick.
We were on a small ship in Piraeus leaving to transit the Corinth Canal. The ship waited for two passenger late back from their trip to Athens and consequently our transit of the canal was in virtual complete darkness rendering video and photography impossible.
So true about cabin location! We upgraded to a beautiful Deck 12 suite on Regents, and while I have no regrets, it was right above the card room where staff was trying to entertain the very few children and teenagers on our cruise. I don't believe they were being especially loud, but we could hear everything!
I have been on all the ultra luxury lines , including Silversea ,Seabourn, and Regent. They all have their pluses / minuses. I just don’t see the value. I have now settled on the Celebrity Retreat . In my opinion they have nailed it. Big cruise amenities with world class , personalized service.
we were on Seabourn over new years out of Barbados, several things i liked.....live music, no lines at the bar, coffee in the mornings, food. I was fine with the wine they were serving that day (you could spend 400 a bottle and some people were). No fights or elbowing for the last shrimp....... Love your show Eric
Good video. I get so perturbed by people that are late. Although unexpected things can happen, on longer cruises, I've noticed that it tends to be the same people over and over again. Very annoying and disrespectful to all those w ho manage to be on time.
Part of the fun of cruising is standing on deck 10 on the dockside as the ship is preparing to leave the dock and hearing the ship’s horn blow and passengers on the dock running for the gang plank, while we on board with a drink in our hand, shout encouragement to them!! 😂🎉
Gary, great content as always!!! A good warning for cruisers, especially first timers..... yes the ship is huge, yes there are tons and tons of passengers. So many passengers that you would think that you will never see those people again. However if you cross a passenger or one crosses you early on during your cruise, you can better believe that you will see those same people over and over again...enough so you start to question your own sanity. 🤣
I've discovered that my father's maxim ("there's always going to be an a$$ho!e") is almost always the case, and the only thing I can really do is control how I decide to react to unpleasant, inconsiderate, or rude people. You make a very good point that just because you're paying a lot of money there is no guarantee that you'll enjoy the company of those who happened to book that same experience.
Hi Gary , another informative video. I cruised with my carer on oceania last November and have booked again for June as I found most of what you discuss here did not happen on the 'Regatta" admittedly it was only half full and the passengers all very polite and well mannered. I rarely use sun beds fear of skin cancer, and the suite customers get their own hot tub and sunning area forward behind a shelter. I was most impressed with the company and how I was treated. I received a free drinks package and like you I do not drink alcohol. I did enjoy the dedicated coffee shop where a few snacks were always available. Thank you for your informative videos it was from your reviews I decided to try Oceania.
chair hogging annoys us, even on holidays stopping in hotels in Cuba and Mexico sunbeds the staff seem to be a lot better moving items if chairs, sunbeds are not occupied after like 60 minutes
@@enjoyslearningandtravel7957 I have known someone who was fed up with people reserving sun beds decided one day to dump the towels in the swimming pool
On my recent cruise on Royal Caribbean (Ovation of the Seas) they had signs saying towels etc would be removed after 30m and I even saw a staff member confronting a passenger who was placing towels on a few chairs to check that the rest of his group was coming right away.
Agree about the rude people who are hogging the chairs if they don't use them. There should be a strict time limit if someone hasn't come back to the chairs after an hour, then the staff or anyone should be able to remove their items. Another rude thing that I have noticed is on excursions, specifically inside the bus. People having conversations while the tour guide is talking. I don't understand why people insist on talking and having conversations while the guide is talking. Not just a quick sentence, but long conversations. It's rude to the guide and rude to all the other passengers.
For me luxury represents choice. I have worked for many wealthy persons and the greatest challenge is having to suffer them not getting exactly what they want. Many become petulant, rude, and self-consumed. Having worked for several Fortune 500 companies where senior leaders are required to take etiquette lessons, I can say without a doubt money class/manners. So many people break/violate the basic rules (no politics, no religion, no race topics) at the dining table. As such, I will limit table sharing to 2 nights out of a 7-day cruise. Etiquette is rarely trained at home or in general life these days. I am really reaching my limit on the number of people seeing themselves as social media bloggers and recording all-the-time and everywhere (especially at the dining table). We had to have a couple removed because they thought it was a great idea to live-stream their dinner on formal night. A few pictures is no problem but full on recording every moment is too much. There was recently a big blowup on a cruise when a couple paid $$$$ to pay for a ship-within-a-ship experience and two bloggers would not stop recording in the private dining area, I think camera and phones should be banned in certain venues as they are on land.
There should be full expectations of privacy. And any recording made on a ship should require full release for everyone visible, no matter how shortly or in no matter tiny slice.
Special Groups can add flavor or frustration to a cruise. In the 90s I arrived for my Alaska cruise to find the entire cast and crew of Baywatch on my ship for filming. About half the ship's public areas were closed to passengers, and other areas would open or close at the whim of the crew. (And I kept running into David Hasselhof everywhere...) There was a definite party atmosphere. No advance warning. It was a huge disappointment.
I won’t pay for an ultra-luxury cruise (I might change my mind for a very specific itinerary), but can say one of the worst cabins for noise I’ve ever had was a suite on Azamara Journey. I was so unimpressed I haven’t been back on Azamara since. Thanks you for the video. Money can’t buy class.
I was on that ship for Christmas and new years 18/19, 2 adults and 2 children. it was very expensive and I can only agree with your review. Also, I have to say that there were a lot of alcoholics and the ship, that were only there to drink all day the free drinks. I have seen altercations, fights, women being harassed by alcoholics. One person was made to leave the ship. It was not luxury but more like, people with money and a drinking problem
Great video, as usual, Gary!! We took our first Princess cruise last year and loved it. It was the first cruise ship we have been on that had a laundromat (which we used!) We never knew that this was common on luxury lines ! 😳
Good video Gary. You are definitely correct about the SeabournSun loungers. It really annoys me when this happens - Seabourn crew won’t do anything about it as they fear losing their contract if they get bad feedback.
Yes but if you take the matter in your own hands and take affirmative action which may result in you being injured, verbally harrassed and fronted continually while on board I would say there is a good case in your favour against the cruise line for not doing their job as required
Thank you. We thought about booking an ultra luxary but feared it might be too uppity for us. We will try something like Viking first. We have always done the main lines and Princess but are now older and hoping to find a more adult focused rather than kid focused experience. I thought going all out on luxury would be the answer but too many points you made would really tip me over on cost vs experience. Thank you for your videos. So helpful! Hope you are doing well.
My husband and I love Viking! No children, great service and food, excursions that appeal to us and almost all inclusive. We are more interested in the ports of call than ship offerings of casinos, water slides and climbing walls. This ole girl isn’t climbing a wall unless my life depends on it. 😂
We cruise with Viking. It suits our needs and for the most part meets our expectations (no kid running around, no casino, no pesky photographer). We do not cruise for the entertainment but for the destinations.
I love Regent Seven Seas myself and have never seen children. No amount of money buys manners-it’s true. I happen to agree with their smoking rules, and I personally think any tour should leave on time. Those who don’t return to the bus should be left behind. The ship should never wait for anyone-again, anyone who is late will be left behind!
Our first cruise was on the Celebrity Edge in 2019 and I was surprised that there wasn't guest laundry onboard. I'm really looking forward to sailing with Viking one day.
One way to combat chair hogs would be for the cruise lines to put much more comfortable seating on balconies. I have found with the high-end ships that have all balcony cabins that there’s less of a chair hog situation.
Manners and wealth quite often do not exist in the same person. Many people think that the richer they are, the more they are above the law. They feel that everyone is [ so desperate ] to ask them for a job or for a loan that they are totally afraid to call their bluff and confront them about breaking the rules.
I was on a Carnival cruise where the crew weren't playing games with chair hogers. It was great. They paid attention and if stuff sat for an hour and no one was there using the chair they'd take the stuff put it up somewhere to open the chair up and the people would have to get with the crew to get their stuff back.
Come on now, if somebody just walks up to the bar or to the bathroom, it's not reasonable to assume they're giving up their chair. That's a pretty untenable standard and you're just asking to start some fights.
I don't sit around pools or in the sun. I can understand people leaving for short periods for personal reasons, but towels lying on chairs first thing in the morning is obvious abuse. This is a great post. A fair pointing out to people on expensive cruisers not to be selfish.
We book cabanas in retreat areas to have a quiet place to sit. It bothers me that people just walk through, ignoring the signs, and the crew doesn't do anything about it.
Chair hogs are annoying. I want to pick up each towel and toss them in the pool, back up their bags, and deposit them by the pool bar and tell the staff someone forgot their stuff.
Outdated music onboard is something I was commenting on with a friend. We've been thinking about doing a cruise together but we were both born after the Beatles broke up. I think there was a similar discussion about senior living and elder care places that were playing music from WWII, a time when most of those residents were babies. Time to update the music by at least 20 years, if not 30, especially if they are trying to appeal to a younger audience.
Gary I recently did an expensive Ponant cruise to the sub Antarctic islands below NZ, it was very disappointing for the quality of food served in the main dining room and the lack of service from reception, and no wet room on board for the expedition conditions, your comments on the entertainment provided were also very relevant, the rest of the staff however were fantastic with the service they provided. Thank you for the advice provided here I will not be cruising with this cruise line now, just need a small ship cruise line with Cunard’s Queens Grill standard.
Just finished a HA 2wk trip from Sydney to Auckland. We pre-bought the $99/cabin laundry package and loved it though one of my shirts was shrunk (I’ll hand wash special items next time). It was SO convenient esp because we had five days on either side of cruise so we didn’t have to worry about laundry for 25 days away.
Having just disembarked the Nieux Statendam (Holland America) and experienced, once again on a "mid-level" cruise ship, boorish behaviors, I thought my salvation would be to spend more to upgrade in every way - including the caliber of passengers. Thanks for helping me to settle on a land vacation next time.
Hi Gary, I love your reports. I have traveled extensively for business and pleasure. The same applies to hotels as cruise ships cabins . Some 3 star South Africa hotels are as good as Turkish, English, Irish, Australian 5 star hotels.
I wholeheartedly agree that the behaviour of other passengers can often ruin a cruise. I do wonder if it’s getting worse over the years. Selfish attitudes and the lack of courtesy to fellow passengers and in particular crew members seems to be increasing. On the other hand, I have invariably found that crew are incredibly polite, helpful and, if engaged, extremely pleasant and very friendly. I have also noticed that on cruises where American passengers are in the greater majority, there is much more courtesy and politeness shown to others - although they are not so afraid to voice complaints if they feel service or other standards are not up to their expectations. Have others noticed similar trends? Ken
Years ago I had an Ethiopian boss who had been a tour guide there, and once I asked him which nationality he thought were the best. He said they loved Americans because we're friendly and treat everyone like equals. They also loved Italians despite that little matter of Italy annexing their country once... 😉 He said the British and the Germans were the worst - rude entitled snobs who treated them like servants. Very interesting.
I'll take at least one opposing point of view: I graduated from college in 1981, and for my money almost no music since the 70s is worth listening to. I actually prefer the early rock and even the swing era. (Actually, my first choice is classical.) People not paying attention to the schedule? I once joined a wholesale club (no, not Costco, Price Club, or the other monsters; I don't remember the name of this one) where new members received a book written by the founder. In it he told a story about the time he showed up for a flight and the door had already been closed but the plane was still sitting at the gate. He actually got them to open the plane up again so he could get on by complaining "Do you know who I am? I'm a paying passenger!" Yes, those were his exact words -- I remember them to this day. My response would have been, "so are the 190 others who got their butts here on time, so shut up and wait for the next flight!"
I agree. Strangely though a lot of young people end up admitting they love the same music. Because of peer pressure they make out they love the garbage of today. Introduce teenagers now to Led Zeppelin and it blows their mind.
We are pretty sold on Oceania and Viking. That being said, we’re going to try Holland America on an eastern Mediterranean🎉 cruise this fall. We won’t like all the upcharges for specialty dining, etc., but they had the itinerary that we wanted. The only other cruise lines we have tried have been Princess to Alaska 27 years ago and Renaissance a couple times when they were in business( one cruise was to the Black Sea which was fabulous. Can’t do that now.) Thanks for all the great information. You are the best of the cruise vloggers!
Going on a HAL cruise in January 2024. There is no Guest Laundry, you have to send things out to get cleaned. The only shopping I do on board is buy some ships/cruiseline's branded clothes. A Polo top/jacket etc
We have been on Holland American more than any other line, and have always had a great experience. If you want to do your own laundry, just pack a small container of laundry soap and use the sink in your stateroom; there will be a zip-line in your shower to hang your wet laundry on to dry.
Totally agree about groups had our Alaskan cruise on celebrity almost ruined as there we hundreds of Mexican from a multilevel marketing group on board. They were noisy, untidy making huge messes in the ocean view cafe, hogging the fitness suite and making a huge show of taking their vitamins etc. which they were marketing.
@@nkdgolf nothing against them it could easily have been French, Brits Americans , African just stating the fact that their group took over the ship and made it known.
I did a Singapore-Phuket cruise recently, the deck chairs are mostly empty. The reason, Asian hate the sun and stay away from the open deck when possible.
Yes, my opion here is that people who have money to take these luxury cruises(we took our one and only RSS last summer to Alaska)“probably „ think that since they paid big bucks, they have the right to do whatever they please. We did not experience this on our RSS cruise, but I could imagine these types are there.
I find it particularly amazing that people - however wealthy - can actually believe that a ship will wait for them to return at their leisure! I would be sympathetic to anyone held up by an event outside their control (eg a car accident, heaven forbid) but even then, it is not realistic for a whole ship to be held up, and when people do seem to expect the world to stop for them capriciously, it amazes me. I don't do sunbaking, but people hogging the sun beds would enrage me regardless. It is the principle of it! Thank you for the video!
@@joseribamarjr5164 If thay're *that* wealthy they would just use their own boat to travel. I think Eddy p is right. Rude people are just Rude, not rich or poor.
@@RUclipsAndRedditModsAreNazis Yep, they fall in between. The middle class in mass market or upmarket. And richer in these lines. The truly wealthy rent the whole yatch and those will wait. They are anyway being paid by day or hour.
100% agree with the smoking area rule, and punishment for rule breakers, if only they would do the same and establish a booking service for deck chairs to stop the chair towels.
One thing this video plainly reinforces is the sad reality that a grossly inflated sense of entitlement among certain passengers is a reality across the board these days. As for the early morning chair hogs issue, the crew on my recent Holland America cruise had a simple solution. They stacked all the chairs away at the Sea View Pool at the stern every night, starting at 5:00pm, and began putting them back out in the morning at 9:00am. I came on deck on a sea day right at 9:00 am, waited for a couple of minutes, and then sat down on one of the first chairs put in place and had a wonderful morning right by the pool. On the evening casual dining angle, I think it comes down to having enough available crew members. When I cruised back in 2015 on Princess on one of their "small ships" (the old Ocean Princess), they also closed the buffet at night -- and ran only one of the two premium restaurants each night (steakhouse one night, Italian the next).
Thank you, Gary! Just got back from a cruise with Carnival on the Conquest. It was easily the worse cruise I've been on. Guess I've gone tired of the "fun" cruising. I have only cruised with Carnival and I'm looking at cruising with a more mature but not uptight crowd. Any suggestions as to where I should be looking to book my next cruise? Btw, I am also a solo cruiser most of the time.
I agree, Carnival has the worst class of passengers, dress the worst (cutoff denim shorts and tank tops) but in our experience, has the best entertainment. Also has the most children on board.
I don't know about solo cruising, but I liked Celebrity and felt it was a nice step up from Carnival/Royal. Still plenty of the younger crowd, but a slightly different vibe.
Certainly you should look at Holland America, based on your description of your wishes. Their three newest and largest ships (Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam) have a dozen single cabins each -- outside cabins, six on each side, near the bow, but on the lowest deck).
I love cruising but I am getting fed up with the selfish behaviour of other passengers. On my latest cruise. People bagged chairs by 7am. Started drinking at 10 and got louder and louder. The worst thing (which the crew didn’t want to address) was people vaping on their sun beds thinking no one would notice! If cruise lines don’t sort it out it will put regular travellers off.
We just got off the Symphony of the Seas. It was an INCREDIBLE ship! Simply massive. But that allowed it to have some amazing spaces. The shows were simply unbelievably great. Far better than we've experienced on our other cruises. And it was probably the cheapest cruise we've been on. We are going on another Cruise in August and that boat **only** holds 4100 guests. It's going to seem so much smaller than the Symphony.
After going on the Radiance and Explorer ships with Royal Caribbean I went on another cruise on the Ovation of the Seas.What a massive ship. Along with the drinks package I could not ask for more. Never got bored. Plenty to do. Only downfall I probably say was because of it size you did not bump into the passengers that you had struck up a friendship with unless by chance. Definitely will be returning to R C
This video highlights some of the reasons I haven’t cruised in a couple of decades. I love being able to unpack my suitcase once and then visit a different city or country every day, but the negatives associated with cruising outweigh the positives for me. Mainly, it’s the other passengers I hate the most. The rude, entitled, disrespectful behavior just ruins things for me. When people are in large groups, it gets so much worse. I only ever went on a handful of cruises, so I was never very savvy about how things worked or how to "game the system" to my advantage, which made me feel like I was having a lesser experience. If you have to know things in order to have the best experience, the cruise line has failed at providing the customer with a satisfactory experience. The shipboard activities were also a reason I disliked cruising. I’m an extreme introvert and having to be social with strangers causes me to have extreme anxiety. I don’t do trivia, dancing, games, any of that. I love theatre but hate amateurish theatre (I am an opera musician, actually, so I know when theatre is good and when it’s not), so most ship shows are pure torture for me. Cruises with entire days at sea are the worst, because I feel like I’m paying a lot of money to be bored. I’ve just never been able to figure out what to do with myself on those days. I live in a hot, sunny climate, so there’s no appeal to me even in sitting out in the sun. I’ve wondered about the ultra-luxury cruise lines and whether I’d enjoy cruising with them better, but it seems I would not…
Apparently regular people can take a cabin on a merchant ship, like a container ship. You would probably be the only passenger on the whole ship. You dine with the crew, so the food would probably be much better. Look into it...!
We went on Norwegian’s Jewel in 2018 and it did not have self- laundry nor did it have laundry service. We brought more clothes with us that trip. We were also attaching a business trip to this cruise. Had to find a laundry service that did fast turn arounds. Usually we go for the unlimited laundry packages.
Right on target. My special form of politeness is that I go around apologizing to service people for the behaviour of the idiot who just treated them so rudely. This happens both on cruises and in my day-to-day life.
My inner New Yorker came out quick when a woman started to have a cell phone conversation in the MDR during breakfast. I sailed a back-to-back Bermuda cruise with Viking & second week was 50% travel agents. Very different energy & experience from us usual Viking clientele. Enough already with Abba/Beatles/Motown reviews! During our Viking Neptune trans-Atlantic this December there were more gimmicky "activities" that were thinly disguised sales pitches than before. Found that surprising. No one cruises with Viking to go shopping onboard.
We have had several favourite items of clothing ruined with bleach spots by sending them out to to be laundered, that was on 5 star. So I prefer to do it myself and send them the cheaper clothes. Since in is in a daily port doing free tours, why would we need a busy ship schedule? That would just add to the cost. On Marriner they had a night buffet I think. You can go grab a bite of one plate, but I suppose alone it’d be easier to get buffet food. I did like buffet food and like all the a la crate. As for pool chairs. My knack is I ask an attends to please remove the items as I have been waiting and the chair has had them vacant for 45 minutes and I’m here now. Then when the guest arrives I smile and say that I saw the attendant remove it as you must of reserved it and lost track of the 20 minute limit
Never been on a pleasure cruise (been haze gray and underway) but you make me really want to go on one. Thanks for all you do. If we do book one we will refer to your videos to make certain we do it properly.
Better off. Drop him a message. Give him a rundown of wants and want nots age etc and I reckon he would be able to steer you in the right direction. Probably better than some travel agent who is only interested in kickbacks
On an excursion for my cruise last year, the bus organizer said at our drop-off, "If you are 5 minutes late, you do a little dance. If you are 10 minutes late, you sing a song. If you are 15 minutes late - you call a cab." Everybody arrived in plenty of time and the bus left earlier than the other buses from the ship.
"The ship designer thought that luxury cruisers wouldn't be doing their own laundry..." - most wealthy people don't get that way by being spendthrift! They can definitely be quite thrifty
The behavior of people on a cruise ship is a reflection of society…so it’s everywhere unfortunately…only going to get worse until people demand a return to law an order..l
I want to hear the staff opinion about if the chair hogs also tip well. If so they probably approve because the good tippers stay in their assigned work area. It smells like a hack to get preferential service.
On the queen, Mary II and Elizabeth ship they have laundry facilities. I find that good no matter what ship you travel on because then you know you have all your laundry in one place I know what time it’ll get done.
On a cruise, my husband & I noticed two chairs piled with towels & belongings for several hours. We threw the items on the deck, picked up the chairs & moved them someplace else. When they came back, they didn't know who did it.
Good move! 😊
I would let them know who did it and if they did it again I would throw their shit in the pool
😂
This is the way.
Great suggestion!
On my last cruise, there was a family at my table that was constantly late to dinner. The staff was reluctant to take our orders without the entire table being there. This was very annoying as I wanted to go to the early shows which were right after our dinner time. By mid-cruise I told the staff not to wait for them. The next meal the staff didn't wait. The family showed up just as we were getting our first course and were quite upset. Before they complained I told them I told the staff to proceed with service because it was unfair to wait for you. They didn't say a word, just glared at me. They never arrived on time the entire cruise, but after that incident it didn't matter.
To me “boring” is a feature. Cruising across the Atlantic on Silversea or Seabourn is an absolute joy, I find a comfortable shady spot and sip Champagne while relaxing and reading a book. In the evening pre dinner cocktails, dinner and head to one of the bars for live music and more champagne or cocktails. Next day repeat.
My husband and I are into the same kind of "boring" that you are! That's why we cruise on Oceania. Although I think they have a lot of activities. We usually don't participate in them but choose to do the champagne and cocktails thing..
@@debbiegibson3604 us too! We spend hours over a leisurely dinner on Oceania.
@@creativeinfusion6570 Yeah!
Us too!
Thumbs up. Absolutely what we want to do.
Regarding bad behavior, a guy I know has a maintenance and repair company. He was called to a local, high end restaurant, because someone had torn a sink off the wall in the men’s restroom. I asked him how that sort of thing could happen in such a fine establishment, and his response was simple: “People with money can be dirtbags just like anyone.“
I think I did that!
Seems like the more money they have, the more of a dirtbag they are.
Jerks will always be jerks.
Personal items left on chairs need to be removed by the crew if no one has shown up for half an hour. Put a stop to the chair hogs.
That is a great idea and should be made policy everywhere.
Agree. It’s an easy enough policy to enforce. I was recently at a resort where are the pool had signs prohibiting the practice of chair saving, but nobody policed it. I went and got in a chair after my breakfast, (which was still quite early) and observed several chairs with towels on them for the next 3+ hours completely unused. It’s despicable behavior.
I just move the stuff myself. Don't make staff do it as they have way too much to deal with already.
@@eastonbrown2088 That's my plan if I ever go on a cruise. Those trying to break the rules and reserve their chairs can go pound sand.
Cruise lines could bring a quick end to rude guests if they were willing to establish clear rules and consistently enforce them. Cruisers could be required to read over the rules of the ship and the consequences for breaking those rules. Guests could then be required to sign that they agreed to those and would accept the well-defined consequences. I taught school for 30 years and I’ve learned that people (children and adults) will push whatever limits you set. If rules and consequences are consistently enforced, the problems will be minimal. The couple that made everyone wait should have been left.
Costa cruises started removing articles (glasses books and towels) From sun beds if left empty for over 45 minutes and a flag stating items were held at the towel station :-)
The cruise industry is very competitive and over represented with liners.
It is not at the point YET where cruise companies will enforce behaviour rules to the letter in fear of
losing customers to bad reviews from drunken and unruly passengers.
I have been on cruises with RC and have seen numerous occassions of anti social behaviour but it was dealt with
properly, not hardnosed but sufficiently handled by staff to other passengers OK.
I myself love a drink and whatever and can get a bit over the top but at the same time respectul of other people.
i would be disppointed if I went too far and was not pulled up for it.
We can all have a good time without ending up iun the brig.
@@markf3229
Perhaps a few bad reviews where action had NOT been taken may persuade them to act.
We have found the same on a number of cruiselines...when we were on the Seabourn Ovation, I noticed this happening quite a lot and I kept reporting it to the pool area staff...initially they seemed reluctant to take action but when I informed them that either THEY move the clothing/phones etc or I would dump them in the pool, only then did they actually put the property in a locked box until the owners returned HOURS later...
I was asked by the owners why we were sitting in their seats and I referred them to the Seabourn Staff who put them straight...they were NOT very pleased at all!
The arrogance of (some) people is just baffling...if it wasn't for the fact that I was on a quality cruiseline, all their belongings would have been on the bottom of the pool! Sadly far too many cameras on ship decks these days!
Throw the cameras in the pool.
Great video Gary, as usual. Your mother was correct, "money doesn't buy manners". Sometimes money eliminates manners altogether. I just finished reading a new brochure from Silversea and I will say, most of the prices for 23-25 can be a bit eye watering. Keep up the good work!
Shame we can't make those folks walk the plank! 🦈😅
I have usually found that the rudest people are often those who feel they are entitled.
Manners cost nothing.
Your creativity on subjects to discuss is excellent. Great video
Some rich people feel entitled and thus act super rude, unfortunately
"Some people are so poor,,, all they have is money."
Nice video as always, Gary. Recently cruised with Azamara from Cape Town. Pool staff were excellent and ensured no chair hogging took place. Think it all depends on the staff being motivated and backed up by supervisors if people moan.
I was in a Greek AZAMARA, had the chair hogs and staff did nothing. That said, these two men were rude to EVERYONE and seemed as if they were too good to socialize.
On a recent Celebrity cruise I could not sleep. I went to the pool area to clear my head. This was at 230 AM. Dude comes strolling through with towels and a couple of bags and reserves 2 chairs.
Ugh!
So, did you remove them after he left?
@@j.m.7056 Nope. Thought about it. Decided he wasn't worth the effort.
2:30am. Those bags didnt happen to get blown overboard
If not the bags make great urinals
Princess ships do have self-serve laundromats, which we greatly appreciate.
Our last cruise was on Viking Ocean cruises Athens to Rome. We never experienced problems with the "Chair Hoggers" at the pool. For the most part, our experience was great. The crew had some challenges but that was because they had a lot of new crew onboard, so there were hiccups at dinner, but the they were trivial in my opinion. Food was still outstanding and our tours were excellent. Love not having to worry about screaming kids or adults for that matter. Makes the cost to cruise with Viking well worth it.
My last cruise was in 1992 aboard the SS Norway and I came away from it vowing off cruises till the end of time.
That being said, I am about to retire from a travel industry job after 43 years and have been looking for an adventure. Thanks to you and a few other You tubers I have been talked into giving it another go. So many of your videos have such great ideas that can really be used in many modes of travel and transport.
My girlfriend and I are going to try the Viking great lakes cruise to wet our feet without being too far from home. I am going to use one of those websites to find out if the mini bar is included in the fare in case I want a toddy.
Lastly, and I mean this as no criticism but merely in humour, your t shirt, says cruise more / worry less. Happily for us you seem to have put a lot of worry into cruising hacks to benefit others. Thank you.
My last cruise was on the Norwegian lines in 2008. Since then I have taken a paddle wheel cruise down the Mississippi River (American Queen) & THOROUGHLY enjoyed it! No more crowded, noisy, rude people for me! Also cruise on Princess lines in 1974….smaller ship, excellent food & staff….seems those days are over with the crowded, huge ships that try to out due each other in megatonnage!
As much as I really enjoy this channel and love the IDEA of cruising, the REALITY of cruising has me trying to convince myself that I want to shell out a substantial payment for an experience in which the enjoyment of it is in many ways dependent upon the good behavior of other people. It's the opposite end of the cost/reward spectrum, but this is the same reason I quit camping in public campgrounds. It doesn't take a majority of idiots to ruin a vacation, it takes just enough, and who wants to be irritated and annoyed when they should be able to relax? The best vacations are spent as far away from the presence of other people as possible and a cruise sounds like the opposite...
When younger, we loved hiking and camping in the wilderness, just wonderful! But since retiring, we are cruising twice a year, and have met wonderful people on board in the dining rooms and at the on board activities. Just avoid the cheapest cruise lines, as that will be a much rougher crowd, we have found.
Better off finding a cabin or something far away from other people. I agree with what you said, I wouldn't want to pay money, to then get frustrated because other people don't have respect for others. Controlling people can ruin an event.
This, exactly this. I know for sure I would get into trouble on such cruise. Not because I am a troublemaker, but because I would get in trouble with the troublemakers.
A cruise is for me the worst of the absolute worst experience. And none of Gary's videos has changed that, only secured more.
And in the end Gary is glad with any non cruiser watching, it's a numbers game.
@@Torero2901 You hit the nail on the head!
I always wanted to take a cruise....but the more I learn the less I want to do it.
I think I'll stick to small fishing boats. To me, that's a fun time. And being around other fishermen who also understand what we're all looking for on the trip is nice. Always a good time. Can actually appreciate being on the ocean in a smaller boat, too. Those cruise ships have so many stabilizers that it seems you never feel the rock of the waves.
I just love your channel. I feel very fortunate to have my first cruise be the Cunard Transatlantic Cruise (The Theater week). I took the crossing a week after you last May. I think after seeing this Iwill only do Cunard. The amount of programs and the level of quality was amazing....
The 50s and 60s music is played because of the age of the customer base. Seabourn has an average age of 60-70 for passengers outside of school holidays and summer.
I love 1950s and 1960s music. Of course, I am age 66.
I'm 71 and I would be bored with the passengers in that age bracket.The young people give it an alive vibe. Not a floating retirement village.
I'm 45 and the Beatles are awesome! :-) Still, I agree with markf, need people who are at least young at heart! Like Michael Dorn, who plays Worf on Star Trek.
In Picard Season 3, he's 70 years old, but he has this AWESOME martial arts scene with Michelle Hurd (who is 52 I believe) and they didn't use extras! That was really them sparring, and it was awesome!! So a 70 year old like Michael Dorn is welcome. lmao 🙂
Or, the scenes when they were back together on the Enterprise-D, that was SO awesome. When Sir Patrick Stewart points forward and says "ENGAGE!" he sounds like he's 50 again, though he is 83! 🙂
Well, I mean everybody's welcome, but young vibes are good. 🙂
I just got back from an ultra luxury river cruise where the same 3 obnoxious New Yorkers were LATE for every excursion, needless to say everyone onboard really despised them after awhile. 😊
I sit close by and if the people don’t come in 30 minutes, I move their things. No one says anything to me.
Good idea.
We took a Viking Cruise in February 2023. It had casual dining in the evening along with Specialty Dining. Maybe you don't consider Viking luxury, but it was really really nice and the crew really took care of everyone on the ship. Amazing cruise in my opinion.
Viking is considered Premium (or sometime Luxury), which is one step below Ultra Luxury. To me Viking is the best compromise between luxury and cost. and Viking includes almost all costs.
@@classicsciencefictionhorro1665 That is good to hear. I think if I were to go on a cruise I'd choose Viking because I'ver formed the impression that paying a premium to sail on that line buys you the company of adults who seem to remember how to behave and in which people aren't stacked on top of each other like cattle.
Viking River is nowhere near luxury. And that’s not a moral judgment, just a fact. No biggie. Viking Ocean, though, is completely different. It’s much more a premium line bordering on luxury in some aspects.
I'd like to see tour groups hardcore hold to the times. If the meet up time is 5pm, and the bus is pulling out at 5:30 (for example) the bus pulls out at 5:30. If you miss it, that's too bad and you'll have to figure out how to get back to the ship quickly. It's not like times are not posted and excursion guides don't hammer those times into your brains repeatedly. Zero sympathy unless someone's in an accident or sick.
We were on a small ship in Piraeus leaving to transit the Corinth Canal. The ship waited for two passenger late back from their trip to Athens and consequently our transit of the canal was in virtual complete darkness rendering video and photography impossible.
Hi Gary , absolutely love your vlogs , facts and opinions delivered calmly and clearly .
So true about cabin location! We upgraded to a beautiful Deck 12 suite on Regents, and while I have no regrets, it was right above the card room where staff was trying to entertain the very few children and teenagers on our cruise. I don't believe they were being especially loud, but we could hear everything!
I have been on all the ultra luxury lines , including Silversea ,Seabourn, and Regent. They all have their pluses / minuses. I just don’t see the value. I have now settled on the Celebrity Retreat . In my opinion they have nailed it. Big cruise amenities with world class , personalized service.
We love Celebrity and are looking forward to our 3rd Celebrity cruise next month. 🎉
@@jewelpickard9716 the entertainment, food, and service are top notch. The ultra luxury ships such as Silversea have terrible evening shows
Totally agree that there needs to be casual dining in the evenings. As for shopping, we can just skip going into the stores.
On Regent you can always order room service.
we were on Seabourn over new years out of Barbados, several things i liked.....live music, no lines at the bar, coffee in the mornings, food. I was fine with the wine they were serving that day (you could spend 400 a bottle and some people were). No fights or elbowing for the last shrimp.......
Love your show
Eric
Good video. I get so perturbed by people that are late. Although unexpected things can happen, on longer cruises, I've noticed that it tends to be the same people over and over again. Very annoying and disrespectful to all those w ho manage to be on time.
Part of the fun of cruising is standing on deck 10 on the dockside as the ship is preparing to leave the dock and hearing the ship’s horn blow and passengers on the dock running for the gang plank, while we on board with a drink in our hand, shout encouragement to them!! 😂🎉
Gary, great content as always!!! A good warning for cruisers, especially first timers..... yes the ship is huge, yes there are tons and tons of passengers. So many passengers that you would think that you will never see those people again. However if you cross a passenger or one crosses you early on during your cruise, you can better believe that you will see those same people over and over again...enough so you start to question your own sanity. 🤣
I've discovered that my father's maxim ("there's always going to be an a$$ho!e") is almost always the case, and the only thing I can really do is control how I decide to react to unpleasant, inconsiderate, or rude people. You make a very good point that just because you're paying a lot of money there is no guarantee that you'll enjoy the company of those who happened to book that same experience.
Hi Gary , another informative video. I cruised with my carer on oceania last November and have booked again for June as I found most of what you discuss here did not happen on the 'Regatta" admittedly it was only half full and the passengers all very polite and well mannered. I rarely use sun beds fear of skin cancer, and the suite customers get their own hot tub and sunning area forward behind a shelter. I was most impressed with the company and how I was treated. I received a free drinks package and like you I do not drink alcohol. I did enjoy the dedicated coffee shop where a few snacks were always available. Thank you for your informative videos it was from your reviews I decided to try Oceania.
chair hogging annoys us, even on holidays stopping in hotels in Cuba and Mexico sunbeds the staff seem to be a lot better moving items if chairs, sunbeds are not occupied after like 60 minutes
They should all do that. It’s not fair to the other people who can’t use the chairs in the beds
@@enjoyslearningandtravel7957 I have known someone who was fed up with people reserving sun beds decided one day to dump the towels in the swimming pool
@@pagrant Not sure this is a good idea since most of the towels are just owned by the ship causes more work from people that work on the ship.
On my recent cruise on Royal Caribbean (Ovation of the Seas) they had signs saying towels etc would be removed after 30m and I even saw a staff member confronting a passenger who was placing towels on a few chairs to check that the rest of his group was coming right away.
Agree about the rude people who are hogging the chairs if they don't use them. There should be a strict time limit if someone hasn't come back to the chairs after an hour, then the staff or anyone should be able to remove their items. Another rude thing that I have noticed is on excursions, specifically inside the bus. People having conversations while the tour guide is talking. I don't understand why people insist on talking and having conversations while the guide is talking. Not just a quick sentence, but long conversations. It's rude to the guide and rude to all the other passengers.
It's nice and refreshing to hear some honesty about cruise ships.
I very much like the idea of not nickel and diming that most things are included, even if you pay more for the voyage
For me luxury represents choice. I have worked for many wealthy persons and the greatest challenge is having to suffer them not getting exactly what they want. Many become petulant, rude, and self-consumed. Having worked for several Fortune 500 companies where senior leaders are required to take etiquette lessons, I can say without a doubt money class/manners. So many people break/violate the basic rules (no politics, no religion, no race topics) at the dining table. As such, I will limit table sharing to 2 nights out of a 7-day cruise. Etiquette is rarely trained at home or in general life these days.
I am really reaching my limit on the number of people seeing themselves as social media bloggers and recording all-the-time and everywhere (especially at the dining table). We had to have a couple removed because they thought it was a great idea to live-stream their dinner on formal night. A few pictures is no problem but full on recording every moment is too much. There was recently a big blowup on a cruise when a couple paid $$$$ to pay for a ship-within-a-ship experience and two bloggers would not stop recording in the private dining area, I think camera and phones should be banned in certain venues as they are on land.
There should be full expectations of privacy. And any recording made on a ship should require full release for everyone visible, no matter how shortly or in no matter tiny slice.
Special Groups can add flavor or frustration to a cruise. In the 90s I arrived for my Alaska cruise to find the entire cast and crew of Baywatch on my ship for filming. About half the ship's public areas were closed to passengers, and other areas would open or close at the whim of the crew. (And I kept running into David Hasselhof everywhere...) There was a definite party atmosphere. No advance warning. It was a huge disappointment.
I won’t pay for an ultra-luxury cruise (I might change my mind for a very specific itinerary), but can say one of the worst cabins for noise I’ve ever had was a suite on Azamara Journey. I was so unimpressed I haven’t been back on Azamara since.
Thanks you for the video. Money can’t buy class.
I was on that ship for Christmas and new years 18/19, 2 adults and 2 children. it was very expensive and I can only agree with your review. Also, I have to say that there were a lot of alcoholics and the ship, that were only there to drink all day the free drinks. I have seen altercations, fights, women being harassed by alcoholics. One person was made to leave the ship. It was not luxury but more like, people with money and a drinking problem
How were they made to leave, walking the plank, or put adrift in a boat...? :)
@@PRH123they put them in the brig until they get to the next port, then escort them off the ship
Great video, as usual, Gary!! We took our first Princess cruise last year and loved it. It was the first cruise ship we have been on that had a laundromat (which we used!) We never knew that this was common on luxury lines ! 😳
@@JulieWallis1963no
Good video Gary. You are definitely correct about the SeabournSun loungers. It really annoys me when this happens - Seabourn crew won’t do anything about it as they fear losing their contract if they get bad feedback.
Yes but if you take the matter in your own hands and take affirmative action which may
result in you being injured, verbally harrassed and fronted continually while on board I would say there
is a good case in your favour against the cruise line for not doing their job as required
Thank you. We thought about booking an ultra luxary but feared it might be too uppity for us. We will try something like Viking first. We have always done the main lines and Princess but are now older and hoping to find a more adult focused rather than kid focused experience. I thought going all out on luxury would be the answer but too many points you made would really tip me over on cost vs experience. Thank you for your videos. So helpful! Hope you are doing well.
My husband and I love Viking! No children, great service and food, excursions that appeal to us and almost all inclusive. We are more interested in the ports of call than ship offerings of casinos, water slides and climbing walls. This ole girl isn’t climbing a wall unless my life depends on it. 😂
We cruise with Viking. It suits our needs and for the most part meets our expectations (no kid running around, no casino, no pesky photographer). We do not cruise for the entertainment but for the destinations.
No kids?!!!😮 I may look intro this cruise line.
We love Viking and Oceania! We are itinerary focused and they have good to great food.
I love Regent Seven Seas myself and have never seen children. No amount of money buys manners-it’s true. I happen to agree with their smoking rules, and I personally think any tour should leave on time. Those who don’t return to the bus should be left behind. The ship should never wait for anyone-again, anyone who is late will be left behind!
Our first cruise was on the Celebrity Edge in 2019 and I was surprised that there wasn't guest laundry onboard. I'm really looking forward to sailing with Viking one day.
The lack of a laundry on most ships is the biggest failing of Celebrity.
When we went to a resort in Aruba, people claimed the beach chairs at 5 am in the dark. So annoying!
One way to combat chair hogs would be for the cruise lines to put much more comfortable seating on balconies. I have found with the high-end ships that have all balcony cabins that there’s less of a chair hog situation.
"Money doesn't buy you manners". I'm so stealing that one! Truer words never spoken.
Manners and wealth quite often do not exist in the same person. Many people think that the richer they are, the more they are above the law. They feel that everyone is [ so desperate ] to ask them for a job or for a loan that they are totally afraid to call their bluff and confront them about breaking the rules.
I was on a Carnival cruise where the crew weren't playing games with chair hogers. It was great. They paid attention and if stuff sat for an hour and no one was there using the chair they'd take the stuff put it up somewhere to open the chair up and the people would have to get with the crew to get their stuff back.
If a chair is not occupied for a longer time then it's available to use. No problem. Chairs are not reserved.
Why don't they just charge for half the chairs. Otherwise no saving even if you get up to use the bathroom.
Come on now, if somebody just walks up to the bar or to the bathroom, it's not reasonable to assume they're giving up their chair. That's a pretty untenable standard and you're just asking to start some fights.
I don't sit around pools or in the sun. I can understand people leaving for short periods for personal reasons, but towels lying on chairs first thing in the morning is obvious abuse.
This is a great post. A fair pointing out to people on expensive cruisers not to be selfish.
We book cabanas in retreat areas to have a quiet place to sit. It bothers me that people just walk through, ignoring the signs, and the crew doesn't do anything about it.
How does the Concierge Class on Celebrity Apex compare to a luxury cruise? Booked because of itinerary and time. What can I expect?
Chair hogs are annoying. I want to pick up each towel and toss them in the pool, back up their bags, and deposit them by the pool bar and tell the staff someone forgot their stuff.
Hello my friend we just found your PDF on all the rankings of travel cruise channels. How do we get on your awesome list please???
Outdated music onboard is something I was commenting on with a friend. We've been thinking about doing a cruise together but we were both born after the Beatles broke up. I think there was a similar discussion about senior living and elder care places that were playing music from WWII, a time when most of those residents were babies. Time to update the music by at least 20 years, if not 30, especially if they are trying to appeal to a younger audience.
“Money doesn’t buy you manners”. Applies more than ever with today’s ever lowering standards.
Gary I recently did an expensive Ponant cruise to the sub Antarctic islands below NZ, it was very disappointing for the quality of food served in the main dining room and the lack of service from reception, and no wet room on board for the expedition conditions, your comments on the entertainment provided were also very relevant, the rest of the staff however were fantastic with the service they provided.
Thank you for the advice provided here I will not be cruising with this cruise line now, just need a small ship cruise line with Cunard’s Queens Grill standard.
The pool chair hogs are the worst. I would think the pricey cruises would have staff monitoring the chairs. Your Mom is smart.
Just finished a HA 2wk trip from Sydney to Auckland. We pre-bought the $99/cabin laundry package and loved it though one of my shirts was shrunk (I’ll hand wash special items next time). It was SO convenient esp because we had five days on either side of cruise so we didn’t have to worry about laundry for 25 days away.
Having just disembarked the Nieux Statendam (Holland America) and experienced, once again on a "mid-level" cruise ship, boorish behaviors, I thought my salvation would be to spend more to upgrade in every way - including the caliber of passengers. Thanks for helping me to settle on a land vacation next time.
Hi Gary, I love your reports. I have traveled extensively for business and pleasure. The same applies to hotels as cruise ships cabins . Some 3 star South Africa hotels are as good as Turkish, English, Irish, Australian 5 star hotels.
I wholeheartedly agree that the behaviour of other passengers can often ruin a cruise. I do wonder if it’s getting worse over the years. Selfish attitudes and the lack of courtesy to fellow passengers and in particular crew members seems to be increasing. On the other hand, I have invariably found that crew are incredibly polite, helpful and, if engaged, extremely pleasant and very friendly. I have also noticed that on cruises where American passengers are in the greater majority, there is much more courtesy and politeness shown to others - although they are not so afraid to voice complaints if they feel service or other standards are not up to their expectations. Have others noticed similar trends? Ken
Years ago I had an Ethiopian boss who had been a tour guide there, and once I asked him which nationality he thought were the best. He said they loved Americans because we're friendly and treat everyone like equals. They also loved Italians despite that little matter of Italy annexing their country once... 😉 He said the British and the Germans were the worst - rude entitled snobs who treated them like servants. Very interesting.
I'll take at least one opposing point of view: I graduated from college in 1981, and for my money almost no music since the 70s is worth listening to. I actually prefer the early rock and even the swing era. (Actually, my first choice is classical.)
People not paying attention to the schedule? I once joined a wholesale club (no, not Costco, Price Club, or the other monsters; I don't remember the name of this one) where new members received a book written by the founder. In it he told a story about the time he showed up for a flight and the door had already been closed but the plane was still sitting at the gate. He actually got them to open the plane up again so he could get on by complaining "Do you know who I am? I'm a paying passenger!" Yes, those were his exact words -- I remember them to this day. My response would have been, "so are the 190 others who got their butts here on time, so shut up and wait for the next flight!"
I agree. Strangely though a lot of young people end up admitting they love the same music. Because of peer
pressure they make out they love the garbage of today.
Introduce teenagers now to Led Zeppelin and it blows their mind.
Yes, my 33-year-old son epitomizes that observation. He's long a fan of 60s and 70s groups.
We are pretty sold on Oceania and Viking. That being said, we’re going to try Holland America on an eastern Mediterranean🎉 cruise this fall. We won’t like all the upcharges for specialty dining, etc., but they had the itinerary that we wanted. The only other cruise lines we have tried have been Princess to Alaska 27 years ago and Renaissance a couple times when they were in business( one cruise was to the Black Sea which was fabulous. Can’t do that now.) Thanks for all the great information. You are the best of the cruise vloggers!
Going on a HAL cruise in January 2024. There is no Guest Laundry, you have to send things out to get cleaned. The only shopping I do on board is buy some ships/cruiseline's branded clothes. A Polo top/jacket etc
We have been on Holland American more than any other line, and have always had a great experience. If you want to do your own laundry, just pack a small container of laundry soap and use the sink in your stateroom; there will be a zip-line in your shower to hang your wet laundry on to dry.
Hi Gary! I love the information you provide. I do have a question for you. How do i find a good reputable travel agent?
A travel agent will only push and sell you tickets if they are getting a kickback.
Gary himself will fill you in on allm other aspects.
Totally agree about groups had our Alaskan cruise on celebrity almost ruined as there we hundreds of Mexican from a multilevel marketing group on board. They were noisy, untidy making huge messes in the ocean view cafe, hogging the fitness suite and making a huge show of taking their vitamins etc. which they were marketing.
Have something against Mexicans? What difference what nationality does it make?
@@nkdgolf nothing against them it could easily have been French, Brits Americans , African just stating the fact that their group took over the ship and made it known.
Great videos great information in what to do and not what to do on board a cruise ship. Manners makes the diference.
I did a Singapore-Phuket cruise recently, the deck chairs are mostly empty. The reason, Asian hate the sun and stay away from the open deck when possible.
That’s just smart. Lying in the sun for more than 20 minutes isn’t healthy.
Some people are never on time for anything in their life, not just excursions. They're clueless.
I agree with your mom about money and manners. She is spot on correct.
Yes, my opion here is that people who have money to take these luxury cruises(we took our one and only RSS last summer to Alaska)“probably „ think that since they paid big bucks, they have the right to do whatever they please. We did not experience this on our RSS cruise, but I could imagine these types are there.
I find it particularly amazing that people - however wealthy - can actually believe that a ship will wait for them to return at their leisure! I would be sympathetic to anyone held up by an event outside their control (eg a car accident, heaven forbid) but even then, it is not realistic for a whole ship to be held up, and when people do seem to expect the world to stop for them capriciously, it amazes me. I don't do sunbaking, but people hogging the sun beds would enrage me regardless. It is the principle of it! Thank you for the video!
you aren't *that* wealthy if you're on a cruise ship, lol
Rude people are not rich or poor just plain rude.
lol, wealthy people would be the first ones to expect that everything, including the ship, revolves around them.
@@joseribamarjr5164 If thay're *that* wealthy they would just use their own boat to travel. I think Eddy p is right. Rude people are just Rude, not rich or poor.
@@RUclipsAndRedditModsAreNazis Yep, they fall in between. The middle class in mass market or upmarket. And richer in these lines. The truly wealthy rent the whole yatch and those will wait. They are anyway being paid by day or hour.
100% agree with the smoking area rule, and punishment for rule breakers, if only they would do the same and establish a booking service for deck chairs to stop the chair towels.
One thing this video plainly reinforces is the sad reality that a grossly inflated sense of entitlement among certain passengers is a reality across the board these days. As for the early morning chair hogs issue, the crew on my recent Holland America cruise had a simple solution. They stacked all the chairs away at the Sea View Pool at the stern every night, starting at 5:00pm, and began putting them back out in the morning at 9:00am. I came on deck on a sea day right at 9:00 am, waited for a couple of minutes, and then sat down on one of the first chairs put in place and had a wonderful morning right by the pool. On the evening casual dining angle, I think it comes down to having enough available crew members. When I cruised back in 2015 on Princess on one of their "small ships" (the old Ocean Princess), they also closed the buffet at night -- and ran only one of the two premium restaurants each night (steakhouse one night, Italian the next).
Thank you, Gary! Just got back from a cruise with Carnival on the Conquest. It was easily the worse cruise I've been on. Guess I've gone tired of the "fun" cruising. I have only cruised with Carnival and I'm looking at cruising with a more mature but not uptight crowd. Any suggestions as to where I should be looking to book my next cruise? Btw, I am also a solo cruiser most of the time.
I agree, Carnival has the worst class of passengers, dress the worst (cutoff denim shorts and tank tops) but in our experience, has the best entertainment. Also has the most children on board.
I don't know about solo cruising, but I liked Celebrity and felt it was a nice step up from Carnival/Royal. Still plenty of the younger crowd, but a slightly different vibe.
Holland America or Princess are definitely a different vibe than Carnival, Holland America tends to have an older, quieter crowd
Certainly you should look at Holland America, based on your description of your wishes. Their three newest and largest ships (Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam) have a dozen single cabins each -- outside cabins, six on each side, near the bow, but on the lowest deck).
I really enjoyed Holland America and Celebrity. A mature crowd. Not party boats by any means.
We learned our lesson by sailing on a Viking cruise. We were disappointed with the product considering what we paid. Back to Princess for us.
Viking ocean has one free laundromat on each passenger deck . Even the detergent is free.
I love cruising but I am getting fed up with the selfish behaviour of other passengers. On my latest cruise. People bagged chairs by 7am. Started drinking at 10 and got louder and louder. The worst thing (which the crew didn’t want to address) was people vaping on their sun beds thinking no one would notice!
If cruise lines don’t sort it out it will put regular travellers off.
Yes and before long they will advertise bogan redneck cruises for people with one eye in the middle of their forehead.
6:30 that is one of the few things dislike about NCL. I want a self service laundry.
We just got off the Symphony of the Seas. It was an INCREDIBLE ship! Simply massive. But that allowed it to have some amazing spaces. The shows were simply unbelievably great. Far better than we've experienced on our other cruises. And it was probably the cheapest cruise we've been on. We are going on another Cruise in August and that boat **only** holds 4100 guests. It's going to seem so much smaller than the Symphony.
I am booked on Symphony, but only for March 2024 and really looking forward to it as everyone seems to have really loved the ship!
After going on the Radiance and Explorer ships with Royal Caribbean I went on another cruise on the Ovation of the Seas.What a massive ship. Along with the drinks package I could not ask for more. Never got bored. Plenty to do.
Only downfall I probably say was because of it size you did not bump into the passengers that you had struck
up a friendship with unless by chance. Definitely will be returning to R C
This video highlights some of the reasons I haven’t cruised in a couple of decades. I love being able to unpack my suitcase once and then visit a different city or country every day, but the negatives associated with cruising outweigh the positives for me.
Mainly, it’s the other passengers I hate the most. The rude, entitled, disrespectful behavior just ruins things for me. When people are in large groups, it gets so much worse. I only ever went on a handful of cruises, so I was never very savvy about how things worked or how to "game the system" to my advantage, which made me feel like I was having a lesser experience. If you have to know things in order to have the best experience, the cruise line has failed at providing the customer with a satisfactory experience.
The shipboard activities were also a reason I disliked cruising. I’m an extreme introvert and having to be social with strangers causes me to have extreme anxiety. I don’t do trivia, dancing, games, any of that. I love theatre but hate amateurish theatre (I am an opera musician, actually, so I know when theatre is good and when it’s not), so most ship shows are pure torture for me. Cruises with entire days at sea are the worst, because I feel like I’m paying a lot of money to be bored. I’ve just never been able to figure out what to do with myself on those days. I live in a hot, sunny climate, so there’s no appeal to me even in sitting out in the sun.
I’ve wondered about the ultra-luxury cruise lines and whether I’d enjoy cruising with them better, but it seems I would not…
Why DOES HE GO ON ..IF HE DOES NOT LIKE IT..WTF😂😂😂
Apparently regular people can take a cabin on a merchant ship, like a container ship. You would probably be the only passenger on the whole ship. You dine with the crew, so the food would probably be much better. Look into it...!
Good to know, I like clanking machines like an off kilter washer, they actually help me get to sleep. People and sometimes music keep me awake.
You wouldn't catch me on a cruise liner period! Much prefer to follow my own holiday plan and have the freedom to come and go as I please.
We went on Norwegian’s Jewel in 2018 and it did not have self- laundry nor did it have laundry service. We brought more clothes with us that trip. We were also attaching a business trip to this cruise. Had to find a laundry service that did fast turn arounds. Usually we go for the unlimited laundry packages.
Thank you for mentioning the music. 50s and 60s could be part of the cruise but throw into other more recent decades.
You can be poor yet polite. Rich does not mean they have consideration for others or any class. Very enlightening video. Thank you for posting.
Right on target. My special form of politeness is that I go around apologizing to service people for the behaviour of the idiot who just treated them so rudely. This happens both on cruises and in my day-to-day life.
Hi Chris,how do you manage with Internet when cruising and which is the best and cheapest option cheers
My inner New Yorker came out quick when a woman started to have a cell phone conversation in the MDR during breakfast. I sailed a back-to-back Bermuda cruise with Viking & second week was 50% travel agents. Very different energy & experience from us usual Viking clientele. Enough already with Abba/Beatles/Motown reviews! During our Viking Neptune trans-Atlantic this December there were more gimmicky "activities" that were thinly disguised sales pitches than before. Found that surprising. No one cruises with Viking to go shopping onboard.
We have had several favourite items of clothing ruined with bleach spots by sending them out to to be laundered, that was on 5 star. So I prefer to do it myself and send them the cheaper clothes. Since in is in a daily port doing free tours, why would we need a busy ship schedule? That would just add to the cost. On Marriner they had a night buffet I think. You can go grab a bite of one plate, but I suppose alone it’d be easier to get buffet food. I did like buffet food and like all the a la crate. As for pool chairs. My knack is I ask an attends to please remove the items as I have been waiting and the chair has had them vacant for 45 minutes and I’m here now. Then when the guest arrives I smile and say that I saw the attendant remove it as you must of reserved it and lost track of the 20 minute limit
Never been on a pleasure cruise (been haze gray and underway) but you make me really want to go on one. Thanks for all you do. If we do book one we will refer to your videos to make certain we do it properly.
Better off. Drop him a message. Give him a rundown of wants and want nots age etc and I reckon he would be able to steer you in the right direction. Probably better than some travel agent who is only interested in kickbacks
I never eat a 3 course meal in the evening and never had a problem with ordering a starter and main or just either one
We love doing our own laundry. Plus it's a great place to meet other guests 😂
I have heard of guys that hang out in coin-operated laundromats to pick up women… maybe a better class of guys on a cruise ship.
@@jewelpickard9716 Seabourn laundry is free !
We'd take drinks and have a party while waiting for the laundry.
Hey Gary... Why weren't YOU invited on the Travel Agent FAM Trip?
I can think of nothing worse! Been on one cruise in my life, it was enough to swear me off for life👎
On an excursion for my cruise last year, the bus organizer said at our drop-off,
"If you are 5 minutes late, you do a little dance. If you are 10 minutes late, you sing a song. If you are 15 minutes late - you call a cab." Everybody arrived in plenty of time and the bus left earlier than the other buses from the ship.
If anything money buys bad behavior. People think because they have money they can be bad.
"The ship designer thought that luxury cruisers wouldn't be doing their own laundry..." - most wealthy people don't get that way by being spendthrift! They can definitely be quite thrifty
The behavior of people on a cruise ship is a reflection of society…so it’s everywhere unfortunately…only going to get worse until people demand a return to law an order..l
I want to hear the staff opinion about if the chair hogs also tip well. If so they probably approve because the good tippers stay in their assigned work area. It smells like a hack to get preferential service.
On the queen, Mary II and Elizabeth ship they have laundry facilities. I find that good no matter what ship you travel on because then you know you have all your laundry in one place I know what time it’ll get done.
Thanks for the tips.