Different Crowds Sailing from Different Embarkation Ports?

[ldubs]

23 hours ago, CHPURSER said:

The Mass Market Cruise Lines make most of their profits from selling you things onboard the ship.

They all have revenue goals for each ship on each itinerary.

Mass Market ships sailing out of Florida generally receive about US$20 per person per day less spending than most other areas.

Southern California Mass Market cruises receive about US$10 per person per day less than most other areas.

Alaska Mass Market cruises receive an average US$20 per person per day more than most areas.

European Mass Market cruises receive an average US$30 per person per day more than most other areas.

These speading patterns are a good inicator of the style and quality of passengers who sail in those areas.

 

So, you are saying the quality passengers are sailing out of Florida?  🤔

 

 

[ldubs]

We were on a cruise out of Southampton.  On the last morning I watched a couple pocket all of the individual serving marmalade jars.  Every single one of them.  Must have been 20+ in the basket. 

 

So, I would say, the crowd sailing out of Southampton steal marmalade.  🙂🙂🙂

 

To be serious, a lot of posts here about differences without saying what the differences are.  I don't think I've given much thought to any differences based on passenger make-ups beyond the obvious.  Maybe more curmudgeons in some ports than others, IDK.  

 

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, theotherchad said:

Is it just general level of friendliness or is there more? 

 

BTW, I have lived in NYC in my youth and I did discover that, while New Yorkers and Eastern Seaboard folk in general are less likely to greet and smile at strangers, the actual friendliness of the people there is pretty much the same once you get to know them. 

True - at least in part because the New Yorker is likely to be a bit more cautious in the beginning because of the wide mix of folks.

(Raised in Manhattan and lived there - other than USN time- until my thirties - and worked there until 60+/-.)

[navybankerteacher]

48 minutes ago, ldubs said:

..

 

So, I would say, the crowd sailing out of Southampton steal marmalade.  🙂🙂🙂

 

…

 

They are, in large part, British after all.

 

Of course, there is a Houston couple with whom I am distantly connected through (failed) marriage -  whenever they leave a restaurant they take with them all the bread, rolls, biscuits, etc. from the basket on the table (having asked just earlier that it be refilled).

[theotherchad]

On 3/25/2024 at 1:24 PM, ldubs said:

To be serious, a lot of posts here about differences without saying what the differences are.  I don't think I've given much thought to any differences based on passenger make-ups beyond the obvious.  Maybe more curmudgeons in some ports than others, IDK.  

 

Yes, there has been not enough details, such as marmalade thievery and the like. These are the details I need! 😁

[ldubs]

43 minutes ago, theotherchad said:

Yes, there has been not enough details, such as marmalade thievery and the like. These are the details I need! 😁

 

To be fair, no one touched the rhubarb jelly.  😀

[Cruzaholic41]

On 3/25/2024 at 8:15 AM, theotherchad said:

Is it just general level of friendliness or is there more? 

 

BTW, I have lived in NYC in my youth and I did discover that, while New Yorkers and Eastern Seaboard folk in general are less likely to greet and smile at strangers, the actual friendliness of the people there is pretty much the same once you get to know them. 

Oh gosh, if you think eastern seaboard folk aren’t likely to greet and smile at strangers, stay far away from west coast cruises. Seattle freeze is a real thing out there. 

[clo]

17 minutes ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

Oh gosh, if you think eastern seaboard folk aren’t likely to greet and smile at strangers, stay far away from west coast cruises. Seattle freeze is a real thing out there. 

We moved here three years ago and I've heard of it but never experienced it. But I have developed over the decades of smiling at people every day 🙂

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Freeze

[CPT Trips]

On 3/25/2024 at 12:15 PM, theotherchad said:

Is it just general level of friendliness or is there more? 

 

BTW, I have lived in NYC in my youth and I did discover that, while New Yorkers and Eastern Seaboard folk in general are less likely to greet and smile at strangers, the actual friendliness of the people there is pretty much the same once you get to know them. 

There’s more. It’s something much different than “friendliness.” Maybe that the smiles and loud greetings seem superficial.  And the cruisers are much more homogeneous. 

Edited March 27 by CPT Trips

[nc762shooter]

I can only really compare Miami, Charleston, and Jacksonville, but Miami cruises definitely have a more diverse crowd, many people flying/driving in from all over. Definitely more Latino cruisers and they kept the nightclub hopping almost every night until close, we saw numerous Quinceanera's onboard as well. You had all levels of people dressing up (or not) every night. Everyone seemed friendly and happy to be on vacation and wanting to party. Charleston and Jacksonville almost everyone is driving in. I'm sure there were some who flew, but I don't think I ever met a single person who flew to either of those ports, which makes sense because if you're going to fly, you might as well embark somewhere with lower fares or a more interesting itinerary since the cruises from both of those are predominantly some variation of Nassau/Freeport/Half Moon Cay/Grand Turk.

 

Charleston cruises were probably 80-90% full of NC and SC residents each time with most driving in the morning of departure. Everyone always very friendly and polite, easy to strike up conversations, etc. The overall vibe of the cruise really depended on if it was over a holiday/spring break or not, length didn't seem to affect it much. Granted 5 vs 7 days isn't much of a difference. A couple New Year's cruises definitely had more people onboard interested in staying up late and having a good time the whole cruise. Spring break more families with kids, everything quieted down by midnight except for the casino. In general, everyone was super laid back, people tended to dress up nice on formal nights but pretty casual the rest of the time.

 

Jacksonville cruise was similar to Charleston in that it seemed the vast majority drove in from the Carolinas, Georgia, or nearby in Florida. Over spring break so a lot of families with kids, everything pretty quiet by midnight or so every night. I did witness more people with attitudes/being rude but apparently that cruise was almost a type of "training cruise" according to a crew member so there were a lot of new employees who were still learning, unsurprisingly this resulted in more hiccups and less stellar service overall than we've had in the past. Didn't really bother us, everyone has to learn and start somewhere... but it did seem others were less than enthused by this, although I suspect that would be the same regardless of port.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've sailed a lot of different lines from many ports.  The only real difference we ever noticed was on a cruise departing from Puerto Rico where apparently it was school vacation and cabins were sold very cheap to families.  Many, many kids, and while another poster said the kids were well behaved, it really wasn't true on our cruise.  Parents seemed to ignore the kids and just let them run wild.  I remember especially a little girl, 5 or less, crying and knocking on her cabin door for a long, long time. After at least an hour a parent opened the door.  I know because I was concerned about her and kept checking.

 

The only other real difference was that in the dining room several times we were seated with people whose first language was Spanish.  It really wasn't a problem, as they were all very nice and tried their best to talk with us, some of them spoke decent English, others not, and unfortunately our Spanish is of the extremely limited kind.  While they were more than polite, and tried to include us, it was still a little awkward.

 

A couple of times we have sailed with groups who were very loud talkers in public places, which I know is common for some nationalities.

 

On another cruise with many Asian passengers there was a lot of taking multiple items from the buffet, one that stands out its someone sitting at a table with over a dozen hard-boiled eggs and about twenty cups of tea.

[Honolulu Blue]

18 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

We've sailed a lot of different lines from many ports.  The only real difference we ever noticed was on a cruise departing from Puerto Rico where apparently it was school vacation and cabins were sold very cheap to families.  Many, many kids, and while another poster said the kids were well behaved, it really wasn't true on our cruise.  Parents seemed to ignore the kids and just let them run wild.  I remember especially a little girl, 5 or less, crying and knocking on her cabin door for a long, long time. After at least an hour a parent opened the door.  I know because I was concerned about her and kept checking.

 

The only other real difference was that in the dining room several times we were seated with people whose first language was Spanish.  It really wasn't a problem, as they were all very nice and tried their best to talk with us, some of them spoke decent English, others not, and unfortunately our Spanish is of the extremely limited kind.  While they were more than polite, and tried to include us, it was still a little awkward.

I'm sorry for your experience out of San Juan.

 

I was the one that said the kids are better behaved when sailing from there. I'll stand behind that. I've sailed from there half a dozen times and that's what I found. I realize everyone's experience is different. Perhaps I was just lucky.

 

As for awkward experiences in the MDR, I would be thrilled if no one talked to me at meal time, whatever the reason. Again, I know I'm unusual that way and I apologize that you didn't get the MDR experience you wanted.

[Markanddonna]

The ports do seem to make a difference. Leaving out of Fort Lauderdale has been a good experience with a friendly vibe. The absolutely worst was out of Miami on a 10-day Panama sailing with a very large number of Central and Southern Americans. They, as someone else noted, tended to be on the wealthy side and treated the crew and other passengers terribly. This was the only time I saw a fight on the cruise, with tempers flaring on sea days (sense of entitlement). We avoid Miami now.

 

We found Galveston to be a very friendly crowd and were embraced by the Texans. They were a hoot. Of course, sailings on MSC in Europe tend to have many Europeans. The atmosphere there is a bit chilly. I had a back-to-back MSC:NCL in the Med, and the passengers were like night and day. 

[Nebr.cruiser]

20 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm sorry for your experience out of San Juan.

 

I was the one that said the kids are better behaved when sailing from there. I'll stand behind that. I've sailed from there half a dozen times and that's what I found. I realize everyone's experience is different. Perhaps I was just lucky.

 

As for awkward experiences in the MDR, I would be thrilled if no one talked to me at meal time, whatever the reason. Again, I know I'm unusual that way and I apologize that you didn't get the MDR experience you wanted.

It's hard to compare experiences I know.  We perhaps got a different dining room experience than usual, but we still enjoyed it and especially how nice the Spanish-speaking diners were in including us to the best of their ability.  Now, we mostly do tables for two, but when we used to share tables we certainly had some great and interesting experiences and only a few times was it a little um, challenging.  The Puerto Rico cruise was not one of those times.

 

.

 

 

[KBS1607]

On 3/26/2024 at 3:08 PM, ldubs said:

 

To be fair, no one touched the rhubarb jelly.  😀

My grandmother would be disappointed. She was always trying to foist rhubarb on unsuspecting grandchildren. 

[lenquixote66]

On 3/25/2024 at 12:15 PM, theotherchad said:

Is it just general level of friendliness or is there more? 

 

BTW, I have lived in NYC in my youth and I did discover that, while New Yorkers and Eastern Seaboard folk in general are less likely to greet and smile at strangers, the actual friendliness of the people there is pretty much the same once you get to know them. 

I have lived in NYC and it’s suburbs my entire life.Friends of mine relocated to a Houston Suburb .I went to visit them 20 years ago.

The people who I encountered on my visit and subsequent visit were a lot friendlier than the majority of New Yorkers .I never cruised out of Galveston but my friend have and prefer those cruises.

[ldubs]

7 hours ago, KBS1607 said:

My grandmother would be disappointed. She was always trying to foist rhubarb on unsuspecting grandchildren. 

 

Mine too.  She, bless her soul, tried to make it taste like strawberries.  

[navybankerteacher]

43 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Mine too.  She, bless her soul, tried to make it taste like strawberries.  

The only way to make it palatable was to hide rhubarb in a mess of thawed frozen strawberries. 

[navybankerteacher]

On 4/1/2024 at 12:38 PM, KBS1607 said:

My grandmother would be disappointed. She was always trying to foist rhubarb on unsuspecting grandchildren. 

How slow were those grandchildren?    You’d think that by the second, certainly the third, time she tried it they would get suspicious.

[KBS1607]

2 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

How slow were those grandchildren?    You’d think that by the second, certainly the third, time she tried it they would get suspicious.

There were a lot of us. We were the only ones who lived far away. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

On 3/26/2024 at 1:38 PM, Cruzaholic41 said:

Seattle freeze is a real thing out there. 

 

The Seattle Freeze: Seattleites are very friendly and open with fellow travelers and strangers.  We may say, 'call me when your are in town' but we are hoping that you don't.  And if we say, 'oh, you will have to stop by sometime', you may find us too busy to get together.  :  )

 

Seattle Freeze” refers to the phenomenon that it's difficult to meet new people in Seattle. It's the idea that Seattleites already have established friend/family circles and it's hard for outsiders to join those circles.Dec 30, 2023

 

https://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/seattle-freeze-forget-making-friends-half-of-washington-residents-dont-even-want-to-talk-to-you/

 

 

[ldubs]

I think you will find most passengers who board in US ports are Americans.  

[ontheweb]

Not really an embarkation answer, but I have found Australians on any cruise we have been on are very gregarious and into partying.

 

Just back from a Gate 1 river cruise from Amsterdam, It was a very friendly crowd. We were told by a friend who has been on Gate 1 river cruises and river cruises on other lines that the Gate 1 crowd is friendlier and less snobby.

[clo]

4 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

The Seattle Freeze: Seattleites are very friendly and open with fellow travelers and strangers.  We may say, 'call me when your are in town' but we are hoping that you don't.  And if we say, 'oh, you will have to stop by sometime', you may find us too busy to get together.  :  )

 

Seattle Freeze” refers to the phenomenon that it's difficult to meet new people in Seattle. It's the idea that Seattleites already have established friend/family circles and it's hard for outsiders to join those circles.Dec 30, 2023

 

https://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/seattle-freeze-forget-making-friends-half-of-washington-residents-dont-even-want-to-talk-to-you/

 

 

While I quoted the "Seattle Freeze" up thread but said I hadn't experienced but I have.  I thought it was an age difference but thanks to you I see the truth 🙂 

 

OT: a way to tell a Seattle-ite is that the men anyway seem to wear shorts every single day. Eight year old grandson. He'll be dressing like that next winter 🙂

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

20 minutes ago, clo said:

While I quoted the "Seattle Freeze" up thread but said I hadn't experienced but I have.  I thought it was an age difference but thanks to you I see the truth 🙂 

 

 

Hi Clo, -  re the Seattle Freeze, it's not personal, it's almost like it's a social comfort zone.  I think Seattleites (and environs) can, and do compartmentalize social groups.  There is family/family of choice (which can include close friends) - folks that you would invite to your home to share holidays or major life events.  Then there are the outer rings of people that you know, that you meet for coffee, or maybe a lunch, but not entertain in your home.  It's all very pleasant, but not necessarily more than a surface interaction.  But, then again, you are generally please to meet up again for that coffee or lunch.  Strange, I know!  ;  )

 

When I think about it, I realize that a lot of Seattle folks have many separate groups of 'pals.'  You could have co-workers; the folks that you volunteer with; book club members; a running group; parents of your kid's friends; maybe neighbors; even the folks who always stop to talk to you when you are out walking your dog.  It's like you can be around lots of folks, but it doesn't often  progress pass whatever the shared interest is.  No doubt some social scientist is studying this phenomenon.