If you’re hogging all of the lounge chairs on your next cruise, there’s a chance your fellow passengers may hate on you.
Travel writer and cruise expert Sherri Eisenberg is listing the things you should stay clear of doing whilst on a cruise ship unless you would like to run the risk of being disliked amongst fellow cruise guests.
“Do any of these with the full understanding that many of your better-mannered, too-polite-to-say-so fellow passengers will despise you as a result”
Sherri Eisenberg, Travel/Food Writer & Editor
Smoking
Of course, it is none of my business what you do to your lungs. It is, however, my business what you do to mine, and to the fresh sea air that I always look forward to on a cruise. Health issues aside, if you smoke outside one of the few, small designated smoking areas — on many ships this is part of the pool deck, and the casino — then you are basically stealing my precious fresh air!
It’s bad enough that on some ships I have to pass through thick clouds of smoke in the casino to get to places I need to go, but on one recent cruise, a neighboring passenger spent the entire trip smoking on their balcony, which means I never got to use mine.
Hogging deck chairs
It’s one thing to throw your purse and hat on a pair of deck chairs, run and get a cup of coffee, and come back 20 minutes later. (Yes, guilty as charged.) But to get a meal, or spend an hour at the gym, or go back to bed … well, it’s just rude and selfish!
Don’t be surprised when you get ugly looks from those around you when you return. Just be grateful that nobody is telling you what a jerk you are, even though they are all absolutely thinking it.
Barking into your cell phone
On a cruise out of a domestic port to, say, the Caribbean, before the ship has sailed into international waters may be the only time you can use your cell without roaming charges. As a result, you may want to say one last goodbye to friends, family members, and co-workers before unplugging.
Just be considerate: Do it in your cabin, or at an appropriate volume. There are other people trying to have conversations too, and while some of the ship’s public spaces may look like shopping malls, they aren’t, and you don’t have that same degree of anonymity.
Not watching your younger kids
I’ve heard stories of parents leaving small children unsupervised in cabins and in public spaces. There are lots of people around, but it is not their job to take care of your child.
On a recent cruise I actually had to pull an unsupervised small child out of the water because he couldn’t swim well and had fallen off his inner tube. I was happy to swoop in and help the frightened child, but a parent should have been there to do that instead.
Being sloppy drunk
After dinner, some cruise ships go to bed — and others seem to come alive. I am all for dancing and having fun, but if you’re knocking people over on the dance floor or by the bar, you deserve the dirty looks you get from other passengers. A ship has a finite amount of space, and if you’re negatively impacting the atmosphere on the dance floor, you’re probably spoiling the one dance space available to your fellow cruisers.
Of course, the worse you behave, the more your fellow passengers will hate you. If you’re screaming down the hallways in the middle of the night because you’re too wasted to find your cabin, I will consider calling the front desk to have security step in.
Consider yourself warned.
To read the full article visit Yahoo Travel.
