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Don’t Break These 6 Rules Or You’ll Drive Other Cruisers Crazy
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Jul 19, 2024
Reports of an incident of passengers breaking cruise rules with costly consequences, got me thinking about what cruise rules I see being broken often. It struck me that some rule breaking bothered me and some did not, for while they might have nasty consequences for those involved many do not directly affect my cruising experience. I wondered if everyone felt the same. So, I did a poll of cruisers and discovered there’s 6 key rules that when broken drive cruisers crazy more than any others, and in this video I reveal what they are and why they drive other cruise passengers crazy For bonus & exclusive content (including videos, articles, eBooks and more) become a channel member or patron: --------------------------------------------------- * Patreon Patron: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers * YouTube Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join Check out my cruise-themed T-shirts and products: --------------------------------------------------- * T-Shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore * Mugs, notebooks, hoodies etc: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/tipsfortravellers?ref_id=22354 My social media: --------------------------------------------------- * Blog: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com * Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge * Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers * Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bembridge
View Video Transcript
0:00
Did you see a recent story about an 18-year-old boy who convinced his parents to take him on the family's very first ever cruise
0:09
It was to celebrate graduating from high school. It cost the parents dearly as they broke an absolute fundamental cruise rule
0:18
While shopping in the Caribbean port after they'd been on an excursion, the boy kind of nagged and told his parents they should return to the ship
0:25
because he'd noticed that there was an all-abort time that was very, very soon and looming
0:32
The parents basically shrugged it off, saying that the ship wouldn't leave without all passengers
0:39
He wasn't convinced, so he left them, he returned to the ship
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But by the time that the parents got to the port, much later, they found that the ship, along with their son, had sailed
0:51
It cost them an absolute fortune to join the ship at the next port
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They were absolutely furious with both the captain for not waiting and their son for somehow
1:01
not stopping him. This story of rule breaking and its consequences, it really got me thinking about other
1:09
cruise rules that I see being broken often. It struck me that some of those rule breaking things bothered me and some did not
1:18
For while they might have nasty consequences for those involved, like for example those parents
1:25
rule breakers and rule breaking doesn't directly affect my cruising experience. So I wondered if everybody felt the same
1:32
So I did a poll of cruisers and discovered there's six key rules that when broken drive
1:39
cruisers crazy more than any others. And here they are. Let me start with the one that annoys cruisers the most
1:48
I was actually surprised by the way that this was the top, but 88% of cruises, that's
1:52
basically 9 out of 10 said this one drives them crazy. One threat cruises face is with many people on one vessel, norovirus, the gastro-illness
2:04
that can cause vomiting and diarrhea. It can be spread fairly easily if passengers don't follow the simple prevention rules
2:13
There's a few rules that can lead to outbreaks. First, before boarding, we're supposed to report if we have signs of norovirus, absolutely
2:22
stomachs or vomiting. So then the medical team from the cruise line can assess us, but some
2:28
people worry that they're going to be isolated for a couple of days in their cabin until it's
2:33
passed, so they do not own up. Now while this particular rule-breaking annoyed people in the poll
2:39
the issue that actually drove most of them mad is not following the rules on stopping norovirus
2:45
from spreading and basically causing an outbreak. And that is by washing hands frequently
2:51
especially after using the bathroom and before going to the buffet or if not hand washing
2:57
using the hand gel which is a fairly good alternative. Now norovirus spreads through
3:02
touching a surface with it on and then touching one's mouth so someone handing for
3:07
example tongs in the buffet could actually spread it quite easily. Now norovirus
3:13
when it breaks out can cause really big issues on a cruise. For example just before
3:18
making this video Pino Cruises Ventura have a really big outbreak. Some media reports saying that up to 250 passengers were affected and
3:27
being made to quarantine, of course, ruining their trip. Rigorous following of the hand
3:33
washing and the gel rule should have been able to stop or certainly slow this down
3:38
That why this rule breaking drives so many cruises mad Now I suspected this next rule breaking would be high on the list and it was with 81 of cruise passengers saying it really really greats them Yes eight out of 10 cruises said that others reserving seats and chair hogging drives them crazy
3:59
Every cruise line I've ever been on has rules about this. From the most upmarket, small ship line to the largest resort line, every daily program
4:10
constantly ask passengers to stop reserving seats on the pool deck and
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the theater. On many ships, pool decks, I also see signs about not reserving deck chairs
4:21
and loungers as well. Most cruise lines have rules saying a lounger with personal effects
4:26
on that has not been used for a set amount of time, often say 40 minutes, will have those items
4:32
removed, however. This rule is just not followed by many passengers, partly because
4:38
although cruise lines do say they will enforce the rule, most do not. And I can see why crew are reluctant
4:43
to because they basically will just end up getting so much hassle so they don't do it
4:49
So many people know it's just worth breaking the rule because almost always they're going
4:56
to get away with it. Now every now and then a cruise line will say that they're clamping down like Carnival and Pino
5:03
Cruises UK did recently. They said they were going to get the crew to put notices with timestamps if they noticed
5:09
that any lounger or chair was not being used and had items on it, and it would include the time
5:14
on that document that they would remove the items. But from what I hear, that approach didn't last
5:20
very long. The next rule breaking that upsets people, I think, has probably grown as an issue
5:25
with 75% of passengers saying this one is a big issue for them right now. Now, perhaps it's because
5:32
more cruise lines are actively targeting and attracting more families after the cruise shut down
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in the last couple of years. I think that's because more cruise, I see more passengers complain about this set of rules being broken than ever before, with
5:45
lines and crews apparently reluctant to enforce the rules. I saw this firsthand on a majestic Princess Alaska cruise last year, which I went on that
5:57
had loads of families on as normally happens in Alaska. The kids ran a bit crazy
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They took over the adult only pool, babies and toddlers with diapers were using the swimming pool
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despite rules posted against it. Kids constantly filled the hot tubs again despite the signs with
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different age restrictions. They used and messed about in the gym again despite rules like no under 16s
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allowed in there and they were basically run about the ship in hallways all day and late into the evenings
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Now I have noticed on cruises since then that I guess because rule breaking is presumably getting worse
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a couple of lines have actually added more rules around. families and kids, for example, on my recent Norwegian Viva Mediterranean cruise and my Royal Caribbean
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Symphony of the Sea's Caribbean cruise, both of them I noticed had introduced a curfew with children
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aged 17 and under not allowed unaccompanied anywhere on the ship after 1 a.m. And there were
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constant reminders in the daily program and in the daily kind of captain updates reminding
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parents to basically supervise and ensure that the rules were being followed. Talking of disruptions
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around the ship, the next set of rule breakers were the next biggest thing that I saw in the
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pole drove cruise passengers who've booked a balcony cabin crazy with 58% or around 6 out of 10 saying
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that this one really got them steamed up. There are a few specific rules around cruise ship balconies
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including things that can spill over to affect people's balconies. next to above or below the people breaking the rules In the Embarcation safety briefing I noticed that the captain always lays down several balcony rules two of which really
7:46
rile our passengers if they are broken. Almost every cruise line does not allow smoking nor vaping
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in the cabin or the balcony. But inevitably, as I often find, there's occasionally people
8:00
that vape or smoke cigarettes or, in fact, I've noticed even something stronger, on their balconies
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And it wafts, of course, onto the neighbouring balconies. There is also a safety reason cruise lines have banned smoking
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to avoid more incidents of fires being caused by people throwing cigarette butts
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which they thought were out, over the side of the ship. The most dramatic of these was on the old star princess in the Caribbean
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where it's believed a cigarette was thrown overboard. it was blown back into another balcony, setting the furniture and the dividers on the balcony alight
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It led to one passenger dying, 11 people being injured and over 100 cabins burnt and damaged
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But loud and raucous behaviour on the balcony is also something that has grown as an issue
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I face this on that raw Caribbean symphony of the Seas Cruise that I spoke about a little bit earlier
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with loud music and partying on the balcony. Lomi. Now this trend has led to lines to target the ability to play loud music with more rules
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For example, recently Carnival Cruise Line announced that large speakers and radios were
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prohibited from the fleet and they'll actually be confiscated and what they call discarded
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whether that means. They also added a rule that all guests must use earphones when listening
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to music or watching shows and movies on their kind of iPads, phones, whatever
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public spaces. Bluetooth, portable and wireless speakers are only permitted to be used within
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the state room and they're not allowed on the balcony. And even when they're being played
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within the cabin, they need to be played at what they called a respectful sound level and
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respectful times of the day. I've seen reports of people being thrown off ships
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part of way through cruises for breaking the smoking and loud music on balcony rules. So as well
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as driving fellow guests like me crazy, the consequences could be definitely
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And of course, rather costly. Then of course, there's the other rules the captain reminds passengers about when it comes
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to balconies, like not leaving items like towels or clothes on the balcony due to the risk
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of them being blown off into the ocean and causing basically a threat of damaging sea life
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Now on this next rule, I have been affected by this on a few cruises in the last 18 months
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So I'm one of the 37% of passengers that really gets annoyed by the next rule breakers too
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It is a rule the captain also always lays out in their embarkation day briefing
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There's a sign above the toilet reminding about the rule and often in the daily program too
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It is of course about the toilets. Cruise ship toilet plumbing system is a suction-based one and it's easily blocked if anything is flushed down the toilet
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other than the supplied toilet paper and natural human waste. The main culprits for blockages, by the way, on those cruisers that I've been on, have
10:58
been sanitary products and wipes. I've been on several cruises where the toilets in my
11:03
section stopped working for a period of time because people have broken that simple rule
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And it's quite disruptive having no toilet while waiting for the plumbers to then kind of unblock
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the pipes, they have to remove panels in the hallway to get to the pipes and it really is quite
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annoying overall The next rule break is I thought would be way more annoying based on the amount of discussion and argument that they cause on things like cruise critic and on cruise Facebook groups although only 33 that 3 out of 10 said it really winds them up but it
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is one that's really controversial. And this is when passengers do not follow the cruise line
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dress codes. While it only annoys a relatively small and number of passengers, as I've mentioned
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opinions run really high and passengers are really divided on this whole rule and rule breaking
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Now, one camp argues that they choose a specific cruise line because of the ambiance that a certain dress code creates
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So, for example, some people choose QNod, and I choose QNod sometimes because it's renowned for its dressing up nights with kind of glamorous gowns, black tie tuxedos
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It creates a whole ambience. Even on the more casual nights, there's still a fairly smart dress code, and that's kind of what the cruise line's about
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Now, the people in this camp argue that if you don't want to follow the dress code rules of a cruise line, then why not consider
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other lines. So for example, you go to Norwegian or Disney, which basically don't have a dress
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code rule, you could wear shorts perfectly fine for dinner. Though most cruise lines do have
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dress code rules, and as there are rules, some religious simply get annoyed when they get
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broken because they argue there is a code, there is a rule. Now those who don't care
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if people break the rules argue that others shouldn't be bothered by what other people around
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them are wearing and it shouldn't affect their enjoyment of a cruise
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Now, while I don't get hugely annoyed by passengers kind of basically breaking the dress code rule
13:00
I'm probably more in the camp that feels if the cruise line has a dress code rule and it's made
13:06
clear when booking, then simply it should be followed and they should enforce it
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If the cruise lines don't want a dress code, they don't want a dress code rule, they shouldn't
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have one and perhaps they could just lay down what's kind of not acceptable
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You know, perhaps certain things may not be acceptable to wear. Now, for example, when I go on QNod, I choose QNod because I'm in the mood to go on an itinerary where I'm going to be dressing up and I feel very smart
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So let me give an example. The cruise that I'm on right now that I'm recording this on is a Viking cruise in Alaska
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And I chose it partly because I didn't want to come to Alaska and have to dress up because the place and the ports were the main focus of this cruise
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And Viking have a pretty relaxed dress code, which is basically a collared shirt and no jeans in the main dining room
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although they're not really bothered if you actually wear jeans. Now, I could have booked a similar itinerary
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pretty much an identical itinerary on Q0 Queen Elizabeth. That's also in Alaska
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but I didn't because I didn't want to have to follow those dress code rules
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when I was in Alaska. There were several more serious rules that I see getting broken frequently
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but like me, other cruisers in the pole didn't rate them high at all on an annoyance level
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which I realized they did for all of those because they didn't affect their cruising experience
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directly, even though there are some pretty serious rules in there. Things like people taking
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food off the ship in ports where countries ban this to protect their environments, and particularly
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in places like the Arctic, Antarctica, Greenland, or people try to bring banned items on board
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having fights and those kind of things. So while they support these kind of rules, they kind of
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shrug them off because while the consequences for the rule breakers are going to be high
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they hardly ever affect them, and that's kind of the camp that I am
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basically in. Now, while I have spoken here about formal cruise line rules, the passengers break
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did you know there are also unspoken cruise rules that experienced cruises know, and they expect
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other passengers to follow them. If you don't know what they are, why don't you join me over
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in this video where I talk about them starting with the one that causes more arguments than
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any other. See you over there
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