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Europeans are Rude and No Manners


misterscrubs
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Been on the MSC Poesia last week Feb 11-18 2012, and what an experience that was. Yes I read all the posts and do agree to disagree. Case in point when you enter a buffet line, you do not shove your way through and not say excuse me in your language or enter the theater late and come into a seat and barge through, without saying something. I offered to get up and let someone into a seat and I could not move fast enough for the impatient and rude Europeans.

The staff are dimwits( No English whatsoever. Do they not leave from Ft Lauderdale, Florida USA. You ask them a simple question and they look at you like you have 3 heads. Or they just say NO or refer you to the reception desk. Do they wear blinders and just do not think? No manners either. ie..will not hold a door open for you or help you. Learn ENGLISH FOR STAFF. Manners are Manners and if you want American people to come on their cruise-ship, bend a little or leave from the Caribbean and not the USA.

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Been on the MSC Poesia last week Feb 11-18 2012, and what an experience that was. Yes I read all the posts and do agree to disagree. Case in point when you enter a buffet line, you do not shove your way through and not say excuse me in your language or enter the theater late and come into a seat and barge through, without saying something. I offered to get up and let someone into a seat and I could not move fast enough for the impatient and rude Europeans.

The staff are dimwits( No English whatsoever. Do they not leave from Ft Lauderdale, Florida USA. You ask them a simple question and they look at you like you have 3 heads. Or they just say NO or refer you to the reception desk. Do they wear blinders and just do not think? No manners either. ie..will not hold a door open for you or help you. Learn ENGLISH FOR STAFF. Manners are Manners and if you want American people to come on their cruise-ship, bend a little or leave from the Caribbean and not the USA.

 

Wow we were on the sailing prior and never found a crew member who couldn't speak/understand reasonably good english. I do agree about the seating but on our sailing americans did it too and without staff in the theater, seats were being saved by all regardless of the requests not to do so. I found reception staff to be the most rude out of all the staff onboard. I asked for a piece of tape the woman had the dispenser within inches of her hand and she said NO we don't have any, then I heard a man in a scooter ask for a screwdriver to fix the handle on his scooter and again the woman said No didn't even offer to call someone to try and help. The girls at the spa were the most helpful always holding the doors to go out to the pool once we got off the elevators said good morning asked how we were and not in a sales type of way.

 

I do question your statement with how leaving from the caribbean instead of florida would make any change other than making it more of a PITA to get to and from the ship.

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Been on the MSC Poesia last week Feb 11-18 2012, and what an experience that was. Yes I read all the posts and do agree to disagree. Case in point when you enter a buffet line, you do not shove your way through and not say excuse me in your language or enter the theater late and come into a seat and barge through, without saying something. I offered to get up and let someone into a seat and I could not move fast enough for the impatient and rude Europeans.

The staff are dimwits( No English whatsoever. Do they not leave from Ft Lauderdale, Florida USA. You ask them a simple question and they look at you like you have 3 heads. Or they just say NO or refer you to the reception desk. Do they wear blinders and just do not think? No manners either. ie..will not hold a door open for you or help you. Learn ENGLISH FOR STAFF. Manners are Manners and if you want American people to come on their cruise-ship, bend a little or leave from the Caribbean and not the USA.

Sorry!! Your comment is very rude, even if you had a bad experience you dor not generalize a whole continent.

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"The staff are dimwits( No English whatsoever. Do they not leave from Ft Lauderdale, Florida USA. You ask them a simple question and they look at you like you have 3 heads. Or they just say NO or refer you to the reception desk. Do they wear blinders and just do not think? No manners either. ie..will not hold a door open for you or help you. Learn ENGLISH FOR STAFF. Manners are Manners and if you want American people to come on their cruise-ship, bend a little or leave from the Caribbean and not the USA."

 

I was sorry to hear such a comment about staff being dimwits because they do not understand English. We have been on Carnival, RCCL and Princess and there were several staff members who did not understand or speak English very well. A person's attitude is important in these situations. If you smile at someone, and ask a question and that staff member does not speak English, h/she will usually find someone to help you. Even when a ship is sailing from Fort Lauderdale it is unrealistic to think that all staff will speak English fluently. I have read many cruise reviews where Americans traveling in the Med are outraged when not all staff, or passengers, can speak English. Although many Americans are sorely lacking in language skills, most make an effort when traveling abroad to learn a few phrases in the languages of the countries they will visit. To travel in other countries and expect everyone to know English is very narrow-minded. We travel to Europe by ourselves, by land, and have never had any problems. Although I speak Italian, I can barely get by with French, which I am now learning. Before we went to France, I learned a few phrases, such as good day, please, thank you, and where are the washrooms. Everyone seemed pleased that I made an effort to speak a bit of their language. It is a big world and we all should try to enjoy each others cultures and learn from each other. There are rude people everywhere, and certainly here in the U.S. To call all Europeans rude is very wrong, as most people who have been to Europe would agree.

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A nice apology misterscrubs, thank you :). I am a European, DH is another sort of European, and we can see the differences between nations. The Italians want to eat as soon as the restaurant opens and have no concept of queuing, the Spanish want to eat as late as possible, and have no concept of queuing, the French are a little introspective and have no concept of queuing. Brits have the concept of waiting in line unless its a Ryanair flight when manners go out of the window :p. Seriously though I am a mild mannered middle aged European lady who would never ever push-in or be rude to anyone, although I have learned how to stand up for myself when needs be.

 

Different cultures have different ways about them. I have learnt to be tolerant and go with the flow when abroad.

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A nice apology misterscrubs, thank you :). I am a European, DH is another sort of European, and we can see the differences between nations. The Italians want to eat as soon as the restaurant opens and have no concept of queuing, the Spanish want to eat as late as possible, and have no concept of queuing, the French are a little introspective and have no concept of queuing. Brits have the concept of waiting in line unless its a Ryanair flight when manners go out of the window :p. Seriously though I am a mild mannered middle aged European lady who would never ever push-in or be rude to anyone, although I have learned how to stand up for myself when needs be.

 

Different cultures have different ways about them. I have learnt to be tolerant and go with the flow when abroad.

That is really funny if it wasn`t so true.

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The Problem with Speaking English

 

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than

Englishmen and Americans.

 

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than

Englishmen and Americans.

 

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks

than Englishmen and Americans.

 

4. The Italians and French drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart

attacks than Englishmen and Americans.

 

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and

suffer fewer heart attacks than Englishmen and Americans.

 

6. Algerians have almost no sex and suffer fewer heart attacks than

Englishmen and Americans.

 

7. Brazilians seldom stop having sex and suffer fewer heart attacks than

Englishmen and Americans.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills

 

:)

 

 

Sorry about my English

Edited by mbeginner
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By all means there were Europeans whom made the Cruse an exception. I am sorry if I generalized all Europeans(some Europeans) I retract the statement that the staff was dimwits wrong choice of words. Sometimes you write and don't think it through.

 

Thank you.

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LOL that was funny, thanks....Speaking English is Dangerous LOL

 

 

To the OP....while I was NOT on your cruise I must say I didn't find that many rude Europeans on my cruise last November. The "front desk" was the only place..rude staff that seemed to cater to the Italians who didn't just jump the line, they came in the "other end" of the line, ignored the line and would rush up to the front desk LOL

 

I found the rest of the staff really nice, very polite, helpful and cheerful. Most all spoke English, no real problems. Many of the workers are Indonesian and they are a bit more reserved than the Filipino fun loving crew on Carnival but they really were nice

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Been on the MSC Poesia last week Feb 11-18 2012, and what an experience that was. Yes I read all the posts and do agree to disagree. Case in point when you enter a buffet line, you do not shove your way through and not say excuse me in your language or enter the theater late and come into a seat and barge through, without saying something. I offered to get up and let someone into a seat and I could not move fast enough for the impatient and rude Europeans.

The staff are dimwits( No English whatsoever. Do they not leave from Ft Lauderdale, Florida USA. You ask them a simple question and they look at you like you have 3 heads. Or they just say NO or refer you to the reception desk. Do they wear blinders and just do not think? No manners either. ie..will not hold a door open for you or help you. Learn ENGLISH FOR STAFF. Manners are Manners and if you want American people to come on their cruise-ship, bend a little or leave from the Caribbean and not the USA.

 

LOL thats new ,now unhappy american cruiser wants staff to bent for him.:rolleyes:;)

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Been on the MSC Poesia last week Feb 11-18 2012, and what an experience that was. Yes I read all the posts and do agree to disagree. Case in point when you enter a buffet line, you do not shove your way through and not say excuse me in your language or enter the theater late and come into a seat and barge through, without saying something. I offered to get up and let someone into a seat and I could not move fast enough for the impatient and rude Europeans.

The staff are dimwits( No English whatsoever. Do they not leave from Ft Lauderdale, Florida USA. You ask them a simple question and they look at you like you have 3 heads. Or they just say NO or refer you to the reception desk. Do they wear blinders and just do not think? No manners either. ie..will not hold a door open for you or help you. Learn ENGLISH FOR STAFF. Manners are Manners and if you want American people to come on their cruise-ship, bend a little or leave from the Caribbean and not the USA.

 

I for one am happy they leave from the USA. Much easier to get to than the Caribbean. I did not have this experience last year and have booked again for next winter. Our biggest problem was all the Americans complaining all the time. Although we are English, we sometimes switched to French so others wouldn't make conversation with us, didn't want to hear all the whining.

 

Maybe you best chose another cruise line and leave MSC to those of us who enjoy it and don't expect the whole world to speak English.

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  • 2 years later...

The OP and the follow up comments fail to distinguish between the manners\general character of staff & crew of a particular line vs the manners\general character of the passengers from a particular nation.

 

To draw conclusions about the manners \general character of an entire nation´s population based upon one´s experience on a single cruise is very superficial and lacks credibility. However, to draw conclusions about the manners\level of service of staff and crew based upon a single cruise experience is a lot less superficial. True, one person´s opinion may not be entirely credible, but criticisms of onboard service are not necessarily superficial, much less irrational.

 

When many passengers rate service as much poorer on MSC than any other cruise line, it is likely that service on MSC is poorer than any other cruise line. Over 145,000 CruiseCritic members wrote reviews published on this site and rated service as part of their review. These cruisers (many experienced) rated service on MSC as the worst by far of any other cruise line. That is a very significant indicator and supports the OP´s own observations about the lack of good service from MSC personnel.

All twelve MSC ships included in the all time Cruisers Choice ratings finish in the bottom 15% of all ships included in the ratings. Every single MSC ship is rated lower than every single ship of its mass market competition, i.e HAL, Royal Carib, Norwegian, Carnival, Celebrity, Princess. See the all time ratings published at Cruisers Choice Awards:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberpoll_all.cfm?rating=Service&sort=Highest

Edited by pupe
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When many passengers rate service as much poorer on MSC than any other cruise line, it is likely that service on MSC is poorer than any other cruise line. Over 145,000 CruiseCritic members wrote reviews published on this site and rated service as part of their review. These cruisers (many experienced) rated service on MSC as the worst by far of any other cruise line. That is a very significant indicator and supports the OP´s own observations about the lack of good service from MSC personnel.

All twelve MSC ships included in the all time Cruisers Choice ratings finish in the bottom 15% of all ships included in the ratings. Every single MSC ship is rated lower than every single ship of its mass market competition, i.e HAL, Royal Carib, Norwegian, Carnival, Celebrity, Princess. See the all time ratings published at Cruisers Choice Awards:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberpoll_all.cfm?rating=Service&sort=Highest

 

To be able to draw any sort of inference about MSC one must start with a randomly selected sample of MSC guests. Cruise Critic is dominated by North Americans who are accustomed to American cruise lines. MSC is not an American cruise line and does many things differently to them. North Americans are a tiny minority of MSC guests yet dominate the CC reviews and ratings.

 

Further, 'seasoned' NA cruisers are likely to be the most critical simply because they are most likely to be set in their ways and not appreciative of change and 'foreign' ways of doing things.

 

So, just how can any conclusions be drawn from the opinions of the most disgruntled, axe-grinding, self-selected minority of a minority of MSC guests?

 

They cannot! They cannot.

 

I will be on the QM2 next week and I am sorely tempted to document my observations as 'a rude European' of this American line. However, there will be strengths and weaknesses as there are with any line or travel experience and I hope I never write such tosh, even in anger.

 

Cruising is no longer restricted to just the American way of cruising, thank heavens.

 

Rude European,

Edited by Skipper Tim
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To be able to draw any sort of inference about MSC one must start with a randomly selected sample of MSC guests. Cruise Critic is dominated by North Americans who are accustomed to American cruise lines. MSC is not an American cruise line and does many things differently to them. North Americans are a tiny minority of MSC guests yet dominate the CC reviews and ratings.

 

Further, 'seasoned' NA cruisers are likely to be the most critical simply because they are most likely to be set in their ways and not appreciative of change and 'foreign' ways of doing things.

 

So, just how can any conclusions be drawn from the opinions of the most disgruntled, axe-grinding, self-selected minority of a minority of MSC guests?

 

They cannot! They cannot.

 

I will be on the QM2 next week and I am sorely tempted to document my observations as 'a rude European' of this American line. However, there will be strengths and weaknesses as there are with any line or travel experience and I hope I never write such tosh, even in anger.

 

Cruising is no longer restricted to just the American way of cruising, thank heavens.

 

Rude European,

Great observation Skipper Tim and well said.....

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I would agree with Skipper Tim. Much of what appears to be 'rudeness' to a North American is their failure to understand that other cultures don't do things 'The American Way'. Recently on a cruise (not MSC - but with the majority of passengers from the US) we met a charming couple from The south. Conversation turned to their recent experience in Europe, particularly France where they said they had been treated extremely rudely in a resataurant because - quote they wouldn't even speak English to us! unquote.

As they were so charming I didn't respong as I would have liked i.e. Why would they? You're in a non-English speaking country!!

And I don't suppose that on entering said restaurant they would have said a polite 'bonjour' to the maitre d, or nodded an acknowledgement to their fellow diners as they went to their table.

In the eyes of everyone else in the restaurant (unless they were Americans) THEY were being extremely rude.

We have holidayed in France for over 30 years and lived there for a year and I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I think I was treated rudely.

A bit of reading a good guidebook with particular attention to local customs would go a long way to stop these sorts of cultural misunderstandings.

Rant over !!!:)

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