What is the difference between passengers from the US and Europe

[JaneyLynn]

I've noticed in some articles I've read comments about "the boat being more for the US passengers or passengers from Europe". What are the differences between the two?

[Bruin Steve]

I've noticed in some articles I've read comments about "the boat being more for the US passengers or passengers from Europe". What are the differences between the two?

It's not so much the differences in the passengers themselves - not that you can stereotype...

It really manifests itself in some other ways...

First, language...

When you think about, say, entertainment on the ship, those cruises aimed toward English speaking clientele will have entertainment in ENGLISH...We had a number of French and Spanish on our Med Cruise...and when the Comedian came on, the French all left...not much good to listen to an English-speaking comedian if you speak no English!...

My sister did a Med cruise on Costa - which is geared more toward Europeans - and they had no comedians...In fact, she complained about the entertainment...they had things like mimes--trying to appeal to a multi-language audience...

 

But, it's more than entertainment and language as well...

 

There is a particular culture and style we are comfortable with...and things are often a bit different with some foreign-oriented cruise lines...

 

As far as the passengers go, remember, a lot depends on the marketing...Most of the cruise lines we are all most familiar with, market primarily in English-speaking countries--you likely get a clientele of Americans and Canadians and some British...although some of the lines are now doing some marketing, especially for those Med cruises in some non-English speaking European countries...

 

But there are entire cruise lines most Americans really know very little of that are primarily marketed in Britain or Germany or Asia or other places...

 

I had a colleague who took a Baltic cruise on a German line (his wife is originally from Germany and they went with her German parents) ...he said it was rather strange and different...They even had loudspeaker announcements every morning in GERMAN waking EVERYONE up to start the day...

[caviargal]

Cultural differences include things like topless sunbathing, which is commonplace in Europe. Even on US cruise lines like RCI, who does not have a topless area when sailing here, it is permitted on European sailings.

 

On some lines, dining times are adjusted to reflect European taste and habits. Late dining on my upcoming Med cruise is at 9:30. Dining is unhurried and it is much more about quality and service than volume.

 

Europeans dress nicer than Americans and I have never seen attire on a Med sailing - or in a nice restaurant in Europe - that is flagrantly inappropriate (ie, ball caps and shorts in the DR at dinner like on my cruise last month on CCL).

 

You are not handed a check until you ask for it. It is considered rude.

 

And tipping is not expected in Europe or on true European lines (AIDA, MSC).

 

Lots more but that come immediately to mind.

 

For me, the European way is far superior.

[kitty9]

There is a cruise ship that's marketed to Germans, and that ship sails the Great Lakes in the summer. A local TV station did a story about the MS Columbus, and the one thing I noticed is how nicely the passengers dressed, even for shore tours. No ratty jeans, not many in sneakers, no fanny packs, not many in t-shirts and things like that.

 

In my travels, I've found the non-Americans prefer to dine after 8:30pm, they like their dining to be quite slow, and they always dress up for dinner each night, regardless if the code is casual. They also smoke much more than Americans.

[shipperx]

Speedo's

[Mark]

In addition to what everyone has already posted, I can offer the following two observations having spent time in Europe.

 

1. European passengers tend to be much more reserved and proper than Amercians in their behavior, especially in public areas such as dining rooms and theatres

 

2. Americans like to smell nice and will shower on a regular basis of daily if not twice daily and are big believers in using deodorants...many Europeans unfortunately do not and will have body odor especially in hot weather