"New to cruising" friends have questions.

[W and W]

Hi there all,

planning a Med cruise next year with friends who are new to the cruise world.

They are asking a load of questions, most of which I can answer, but some that I can't. . . . .

Here's the latest . . . . .Are there some cruise lines / ships which have a reputation for badly behaved passengers ?

I think that they mean drunk, rowdy, noisy etc.

We've done 2 cruises with Royal Caribbean, and not seen any problems.

Can anybody answer this question for them and us ?

Thanks

[hallasm]

Not really - for a Mediterranean cruise I would avoid MSC and Costa - tend to be a bit ‘too local’ - all announcements made at many language and Italian might be most spoken language. 

[leaveitallbehind]

I think one way to start to answer this is to look at the general demographics that the different cruise lines generally target:  RCCL - Families; Celebrity - Adults; NCL (very similar to RCCL) - Families; Carnival - Families and a younger demographic; Virgin - Adults only: HAL - Adults, typically older; etc.  But probably the best advice I could offer would be to have them talk with a TA who can better assist in defining the various cruise lines in their consideration.

 

What you are asking is rather difficult to answer objectively as any cruise line can have its share of drunk and rowdy people and it is not fair or completely accurate to subjectively label any one cruise line as having that environment.  Carnival IMO does tend to attract a younger more "active" clientele, in particular with US sailings.  I don't know how any of this would translate to a European market.

 

I think your friends would just have to research a few of the cruise lines to see what type of activities and atmosphere is offered for their particular expectations and go from there.  But a mentioned, talking to a TA would probably be a good idea to start with.

[cb at sea]

I would also introduce your friends to this site, so they can check things out on their own!

 

[John Bull]

It sounds like your friends are obsessing with very very rare scenarios.

Kinda like when folk pay far too much attention to a single and often second-hand negative comment about any service or product..

I can think of just two situations which can (very rarely) give rise to a problem of unruly drunkenness.

But neither applies to Mediterranean cruises, and explaining  those circumstances would just feed that obsession.

 

Do you have a particular cruise or cruiseline in mind?

 

JB 🙂

 

[hallux]

The "drunk/rowdy" reputation also comes a bit with the itinerary chosen.  4-day one-port cruise in the Caribbean on Carnival?  PARTY TIME.  10-day Med cruise on Celebrity, NCL, HAL, Princess or maybe even Carnival?  Older demographic, a little more subdued.

 

OK, I did single out Carnival for the 3 and 4 day Caribbean cruises that are generally taken by a younger crowd looking to party, but that IS a reputation that's been somewhat earned (the "Party Ship" or "Fun Ship" marketing?).

[Z'Loth]

It also depends on the time of year. When I took a September 2018 10 day cruise on Celebrity, there were a total of six kids (all non-school age) on the cruise. It was also a shoulder-season cruise, thus it was cheaper. 

[Essiesmom]

The short cruises, 3&4 nights over a weekend tend to attract large extended family groups that can be oblivious to their surroundings.  Shorter cruises attract the younger demographic who don’t earn much vacation time.  Other parts of the world get much more vacation time than in the US so go 7 days or less.  The same demographic might prevail on some European lines, but I suspect not on P&O and Cunard short cruises.  We were on a 4 day cruise on Cunard QE and found very few non-Brits aboard, and not only did they not party, the liked to dress up every night, not just the formal night.  EM

[ldubs]

15 hours ago, hallux said:

The "drunk/rowdy" reputation also comes a bit with the itinerary chosen.  4-day one-port cruise in the Caribbean on Carnival?  PARTY TIME.  10-day Med cruise on Celebrity, NCL, HAL, Princess or maybe even Carnival?  Older demographic, a little more subdued.

 

OK, I did single out Carnival for the 3 and 4 day Caribbean cruises that are generally taken by a younger crowd looking to party, but that IS a reputation that's been somewhat earned (the "Party Ship" or "Fun Ship" marketing?).

 

I recently took a 5-day two port carnival cruise.  Pretty tame actually.  I've taken others, including short ones, but that was many years ago.   Fun Ship doesn't mean drunken brawls.  

 

I think they are much more energetic than some other lines, but I've never experienced drunk/rowdy on any cruise ship, including Carnival.  I am sure it happens but suspect it is more of an individual malfeasance than an institutional one.    Have you actually experienced a problem like that on a Carnival cruise?

[W and W]

On 6/11/2022 at 5:07 AM, ldubs said:

 

I recently took a 5-day two port carnival cruise.  Pretty tame actually.  I've taken others, including short ones, but that was many years ago.   Fun Ship doesn't mean drunken brawls.  

 

I think they are much more energetic than some other lines, but I've never experienced drunk/rowdy on any cruise ship, including Carnival.  I am sure it happens but suspect it is more of an individual malfeasance than an institutional one.    Have you actually experienced a problem like that on a Carnival cruise?

Not experienced any problems on our two RC cruises, but our friends have heard strories about drunken groups on ships creating noise and behaviour problems. I told them I would ask on here.

[SbbquilterUT]

Also in the Med we found your port days are busy and long so less time to sit around and get crazy.  We also tended to try beer/wine while wandering in new cities and didn't drink much on board.

[jocap]

On 6/13/2022 at 10:42 AM, W and W said:

Not experienced any problems on our two RC cruises, but our friends have heard strories about drunken groups on ships creating noise and behaviour problems. I told them I would ask on here.

Sometimes these stories are exaggerated and become "What I heard in the laundry" stories. 

There was a problem once with a Christmas cruise when some lads were drunk, but I've heard that story bandied about by passengers on several cruises as happening NOW- it happened in 2009!

Plus, the newspapers delight in finding out there has been on a fight in the buffet, and when you read the story it will be one drunk brother hit another brother.

No, I've been on plenty of Med cruises out of the UK on various lines, and have never experienced any problem whatsoever.  😊

[Mum2Mercury]

I've seen drunk people -- maybe people who are a little loud -- but not really rowdy people.  Not as in fighting or yelling at one another.  We've been fortunate never to have rowdy neighbors.  

 

We have been waked by loud people walking down the halls in the evenings, which is why we don't like to be mid-ship /near the elevators.  

 

What I've seen more often is entitled, me-first-and-screw-you people; for example, people hogging pool chairs.  In fact, I have a story:  Another woman and I were walking towards two front-row pool chairs -- chairs, not loungers.  Two women, two chairs.  We shouldn't have had a problem, right?  Nope.  She got there a moment earlier and claimed both chairs.  I asked her politely for one chair, and she refused, saying she needed a second chair for her bag /didn't want it to get wet. Personally, I value people over bags, but what do I know?

 

Okay, ya don't mess with sweet little Southern women:  I had two small children at that point, and I needed to supervise them in the pool, so I stood in front of her chair, affording her an excellent view of my butt.  The sun was to our backs, so I could see every time she moved, and I moved too.  She also had kids in the pool, so she was pretty irritated -- but she couldn't very well complain, having denied me a chair.  

Edited June 16, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[carlmm]

On 6/9/2022 at 1:28 PM, hallasm said:

Not really - for a Mediterranean cruise I would avoid MSC and Costa - tend to be a bit ‘too local’ - all announcements made at many language and Italian might be most spoken language. 

That of course has nothing to do with the OP's question about bad behaving people. Quite opposite the families and groups on MSC tend to have a lot of fun but not to overdrink.

[navybankerteacher]

You can run into less-than-ideal fellow passengers in many ways. I’ve experienced some rowdy school teachers on a 4 day Carnival itinerary to Canada from New York, crowds of noisy Boston-area civil servants on an NCL sailing to Bermuda,  some heavy drinking anesthetists on a HAL sailing from NYC, even a bunch of embroiderers on a HAL sailing to Hawaii from San Diego who seemed to rather aggressively believe that whatever venue they chose was for them and them alone.

You get what you get - hard to predict, but it probably makes sense to stay off three or four day March sailings to the Bahamas if you seek serenity.

 

[ldubs]

On 6/19/2022 at 1:12 PM, navybankerteacher said:

You can run into less-than-ideal fellow passengers in many ways. I’ve experienced some rowdy school teachers on a 4 day Carnival itinerary to Canada from New York, crowds of noisy Boston-area civil servants on an NCL sailing to Bermuda,  some heavy drinking anesthetists on a HAL sailing from NYC, even a bunch of embroiderers on a HAL sailing to Hawaii from San Diego who seemed to rather aggressively believe that whatever venue they chose was for them and them alone.

You get what you get - hard to predict, but it probably makes sense to stay off three or four day March sailings to the Bahamas if you seek serenity.

 

 

Embroiderers can be scary for sure.  

 

I was on a Princess cruise where this really old guy had "his" chair in Crooners.  Made the bar server remove the back cushion cause he didn't like it.   If someone was sitting there he would tell them that was his chair and they needed to move.  Funny as heck.  

[navybankerteacher]

On 6/24/2022 at 12:31 PM, ldubs said:

 

Embroiderers can be scary for sure.  

 

I was on a Princess cruise where this really old guy had "his" chair in Crooners.  Made the bar server remove the back cushion cause he didn't like it.   If someone was sitting there he would tell them that was his chair and they needed to move.  Funny as heck.  

Sounds like a fellow on Prinsendam with us on a TA  — was he from Canada and usually wearing a yellow rain jacket (regardless of weather)?

[ldubs]

21 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Sounds like a fellow on Prinsendam with us on a TA  — was he from Canada and usually wearing a yellow rain jacket (regardless of weather)?

 

No rain jacket, but who knows, could be the same guy.     I kind of got a kick out of him.  He liked what he liked and made no bones about it.   

[navybankerteacher]

On 6/28/2022 at 10:07 AM, ldubs said:

 

No rain jacket, but who knows, could be the same guy.     I kind of got a kick out of him.  He liked what he liked and made no bones about it.   

My guy also “liked what he liked” — but the problem I saw was that he also hated what he hated - and there seemed to be a hell of a lot more in that category —- and he made that very clear.

[ldubs]

13 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

My guy also “liked what he liked” — but the problem I saw was that he also hated what he hated - and there seemed to be a hell of a lot more in that category —- and he made that very clear.

 

I think we have all met those too.  Except now days it isn't limited to set-in-their-ways old dudes.  

[unrealHeather]

On 6/9/2022 at 7:28 PM, hallasm said:

Not really - for a Mediterranean cruise I would avoid MSC and Costa - tend to be a bit ‘too local’ - all announcements made at many language and Italian might be most spoken language. 

IDK we have done a few Costa cruises and enjoyed the experience.  The Italians stay up late and are a bit exuberant but it's nothing like a Caribbean cruise on Carnival.  Just Saying.

[unrealHeather]

1 minute ago, unrealHeather said:

IDK we have done a few Costa cruises and enjoyed the experience.  The Italians stay up late and are a bit exuberant but it's nothing like a Caribbean cruise on Carnival.  Just Saying.

Also as a family we still count down using Italian "uno, due, tre" (instead of 1,2,3) with some irony and sentimentality from the past Costa cruises.