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Cruise Tips5 Things You Should Not Do On A Cruise

5 Things You Should Not Do On A Cruise

Before one embarks on a cruise, they often ask the question, “What are some tips and secrets to make the most out of my cruise?”.  It seems that everyone is looking for the “must do’s” so they do not miss anything.   But who can blame them, they are on vacation and want to make the most of it.

As important as the tips and secrets of cruising are, it is also important to look at things that you should not do on a cruise.   After all, you are not on the ship by yourself and how you act affects the families around you who are also on vacation.

Here are a few simple things that you should avoid doing while on a cruise.

Don’t be a chair hog:  We’ve all been there, you head up to the lido deck to catch some sun by the pool and all of the chairs have towels on them that are “saved”.  Thankfully, some cruise lines have begun to crack down on this and many will only allow you to save chairs for up to 45 minutes without being used.  It was a common practice for many to get up early in the morning, save deck chairs in their favorite spots, and then not actually use them until 2-5 hours later.

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There is nothing wrong saving chairs by the pool or seats in the theater for a few family or friends.  However, don’t be that guy who tries to save 30 of the best seats in the theater and then only end up using 10 of them.

Don’t blare music on your balcony: On a recent cruise, the passengers in a balcony near us brought a stereo and thought it was a good idea to blare rap music on it.  While you might enjoy jamming to rap music, would you want someone blaring polka, heavy metal, jazz, barbershop quartets, salsa, or any other type of music that you didn’t like?  You want to sit outside and listen to loud music, that is what the pool deck is for.  After all, have you ever heard a passenger say, “the music on the lido deck isn’t loud enough”.  It is probably a safe bet that the guests in balconies near you do not listen the same type of music that you do.

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Someone in another cabin did complain to the crew and everyone around us was able to enjoy peace and quiet on our balconies for the rest of the cruise.

Don’t let your kids run wild:  Children on cruises are usually extremely excited, they will want to run around and raise their voices.  After all, who can blame them?  Just about no one will have a problem with this on the pool deck, that is what the pool deck is for.  However, some parents allow their children to run around the cabin decks and other public decks of the ship unattended.

Most cruise ships also have special areas that are for adults only (18+ and up).  These areas include quiet decks with sun loungers and swimming pools and hot tubs.  While the staff on the ship might only enforce these rules if another passenger complains, do your best to follow these rules.

Use Elevators to only go up or down 1 floor:  If you have a disability, then you can completely ignore this point.  There are few things more annoying on a cruise than having your elevator stop, a large group pile in, and then they get off only one floor up.  If you are able bodied and need to go up or down 1 deck, use the stairs.  If you are going up or down 6 decks by all means, use the elevator, that is what they are for.

Taking the stairs instead of the elevator will also help you burn a few extra calories.  This can also help you from gaining weight as most do while on a cruise.

Don’t stiff the staff when it comes to tips: Virtually all cruise lines now automatically charge your gratuities/tips to your on board account.  While you can have these adjusted up or down if the service did not meet your expectations, taking them off entirely because you are too cheap to pay them is well, pathetic.  The crew members work 7 days a week for 6-10 months at a time without a day off.  Yes, sometimes they have bad days like you have bad days.  They also work for a small salary and their tips make up the majority of what they earn.  If you do not want to tip the crew, don’t go on a cruise.

Cruise Fever would love to hear from you, what are somethings that you should not do while on a cruise?  Leave your opinions in the comment section below.

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Ben Souza
Ben Souza
Ben is a world traveler who has visited 40+ countries, taken over 70 cruises, and flown nearly one million miles. He is one of USA TODAY's experts for their 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. His writings have appeared and been cited in various media outlets such as Yahoo News, MSN, NPR, Drudge Report, CNN, Fox, and ABC News. Ben currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. Follow Ben on Instagram. Visit Ben Souza on Linkedin. You may email Ben at [email protected].
Cruise Tips5 Things You Should Not Do On A Cruise

91 COMMENTS

  1. If you do not want to tip the crew, don’t go on a cruise. That comment was not helpful or right. All individuals working should be paid at least a minimum wage. The staff is not my employee but the cruise lines and they whould pay their staff a minimum wage. This will be my first cruise and I will exploited by the cruise line already, I will be tipping my crew directly.

    • I will be cruising on Carnival and I already not pleased with the Carnival customer service. Nope I trust carnival, not. I will provide the entire gratiuity to the staaff directly.

  2. Took my last cruise about 7 years ago on the Star Princess. Our room steward was extremely rude starting the first morning. Woke us up early wanting to clean our room. I told him that we had been up for about 36 hours prior to arriving at the ship and wantef to sleep in. He then asked me when I would be out of the room. Ticked me off!! Then when we went out on an excursion we were looking forward to getting to our nice, cool room because it was so hot. When we got to our room we found he had left the balcony door open because he didn’t like that we were smokers. WERE, not smokers anymore. And it was a smoking room!! But still, not his right to leave our balcony door open all day!! Needless to say, no tip from me. I paid a lot of money for my cruise and had to save for a long time for it. You want me to tip you, don’t tick me off every day for a week!!

  3. My wife and I have been on 6 cruises. The last 5 have been on Holland America but never again. At HA, after each cruise they take a survey asking if people would prefer a non-smoking ship and each time the survey pointed to an affirmative answer but each cruise the smoking got worse. In our last cruise, we could not enjoy the evening show due to the cigarette smoke from the casino nearby. If you are a smoker, and love the smell of cigarette smoke, then Holland America is your ship. After each cruise, I complain but unfortunately it appears the smokers are more important. We are now looking for a cruise ship that feels non-smokers are more important than smokers.

    • Thanks for the tip… I was about to book on HA… I won’t now because I can’t DO smoke….it would ruin my cruise for sure. I go on lots of cruises and normally have no problem so I’ll stick with those I know have policies in place to protect those of us who don’t smoke.

    • Princess is your ship!! They have only designated smoking areas, one being the casino which I don’t go into anyway; I’m not a gambler.

    • I don’t understand some of the smoking ban. First of all – why shouldn’t ALL customers be considered equally important? I DO understand those who can’t handle the smell. But for instance, carnival…They just banned smoking on personal balconies.and not just smoking. e-cigs and vapes.
      I understand not wanting the smell of smoke wafting over to your balcony, and even not wanting to deal with the obnovious D*flute vapers who make giant clouds. Why not put those who wish to do those things at the top (if they are willing to splurge on a suite) and downwind?
      If you’re on the starboard side, it’s going to be wafting right to you anyway, because that’s where the areas are, and there are e-cigs that produce almost no vapor or smell.
      Our last cruise, the man directly upwind from us really loved his cigars. I HATE the smell of cigar smoke. But I dealt with because we were smoking cigarettes at the time, and he was pleasant and nice to talk to, and he wasn’t breaking any rules.
      When I spend twice the price on a suite, I might want to sit on the balcony and use an e-cig to just for the feeling of it.
      They say that it’s a fire hazard but those little e-cigs aren’t.
      Since the adults – only area spans two floors, why not allow smoking on the upper floor?
      And when they completely ban smoking on ships – they lose revenue like crazy.

  4. I have been on 15ncl cruises and have had no problems can’t say that for Carnival got the nearo and my room mate was taken to the hosptal when we docks 370 people got sick. Been on Royal Caribbean to formal for me dont like having a set time for dinner.Princess ok had a few things when we had 12 people traveling together and would not put a table together for a dinner. But i love crusing.

  5. I have found on my numerous cruises with Carnival, I realize that most, if not all of the cabin stewards send their wages and tips home to their families and that leaves very little for themselves. What I do is leave a $5 bill on my pillow everyday. You will find that they are most appreciative of this gesture and they will give you priority service when you need it. Plus they will keep a closer eye on your cabin, so no one can try to enter unlawfully. Cruising is not the time to be a tightwad. They work hard for their patrons. .

    • Amen to you, we do the same. We are so blessed to be able to cruise so the little extra for the folks on the ships is a blessing for both. plus the dollar really helps them in their home country. And as you say they are very appreciative.

    • I agree that cash tips early and often gets you better service. Not only do I give cabin attendants cash tips but also dining room maitre D’s and servers if I have a set time/table every day. If I choose free form dining, I try to give a little cash tips daily. These ladies and gentlemen work long days for small wages.

  6. I have been on 2 Carnival cruises.. The Magic first time cruising and Elation second.. Wasn’t thrilled with the Elation but would never take away tips as we get great service. We could mess up the room, leave to explore and come back to a clean room no matter how many times in a day.. We are trying Norweign this time. How is it? Hope it’s as good as Carnival..

    • I LOVE Norwegian… have taken several. I just got back from a 10 day Eastern Mediterranean…. fantastic! On the Norwegian Spirit. Beautiful fleet, wonderful crew, fantastic shows and entertainment, great dining options. You will enjoy…

  7. The cruiseship company should pay the right wages to their crew from the captain down to the ordinary crew regardless what nationality they are. Thats their duty they earned billions of dollars in this cruise industry ask me how im sure that they really earned in billions is very simple they continued to order more and more modern more big cruiseship to add on their fleet and we all know how much the cost each of these cruiseship the amount is more than a billion dollar each. Rich people involved in cruise industry they are just simple greedy their greediness they only thinking for their own pockets but they forgot the people behind running or the operation otheir ships. The ticket for the cruise is very expensive and ordinary people want to experience this they really save money for their dream of their life to try to experience. Its not an obligations for the passenger to give some tips giving tips to the crew from the passenger is only voluntary. So, meaning it is very rude what you wrote here if you are not willing to give the gratuities that will appear on each passenger account you are not suppose to experience the cruise. Im very very disappointed for such reason.

  8. Let me tell you something about the wages, this is the dirty secret of every cruising company, there is no such thing like wages on board only the officers are paid from the company, the rest of the crew are paid by the guests so if you don’t have a little extra to tip it’s OK but never take the gratuity back remember that, bone voyage to all of you…. love you

    • I have been on 9 cruises over the years and in the 80’s they did not add gratuities to your bill but gave you envelopes to put your tips in for the various staff members. I don’t like the idea of tips being added to my bill. I want to tip my cabin stewart and dining server directly, that way I know they got their money. They are the ones that deserve more of a tip. I was talking to my cabin steward on the Norwegian Pearl 2 yrs ago and he said they never seen the money from the gratuities paid to the cruise line. I don’t know how true that is, but I definitely prefer to tip on my own.

    • We’ve just returned from 5th Carnival cruise- we always take gratuity off our bill and tip directly to our wait staff and cabin stewards- we have always figured that way our personal people get the money not the company. And I’ve also always added tip to any drink order, but now I wonder if the waiter really gets it or if I should just carry small bills to tip? NEVER have understood why the Gratuity wasn’t just part of your ticket price and then you tip extra if you feel lead to do so. Isn’t that what you do at a restaurant?

  9. Something you can do is you don’t always have to take a Shore Excursion. One thing we did in Italy on a cruise that was great was just hop in a cab with an English speaking driver and have him drive the 3 of us around for 2 hours to see all the parts of town and that part of the country. Plus he recommended the best local restaurant and came back and picked us up after we ate.

  10. Just because you think its cute that your little johnny is throwing food at people dont mean everyone thinks it cute. Nor do we think your little johnny is so cute he should be allowed in the adults only hot tub. He is not an adult, take him to the kiddie pool. And your teenagers who are running up the halls at 3 am banging on everyones door is NOT funny. Control your kids.

  11. I have a better idea regarding tipping…MYOB!!!! If you don’t like my tipping practices, YOU don’t cruise! It is none of your business!

    • If a person does not wish to tip, that us up to them, why should you subsidise low wages, this tipping thing needs to go, don’t demonise anyone because the don’t tip, in Britain, if you go to for a meal, the price you see is the price you pay, they don’t expect a tip.

  12. My first cruise was on Royal Caribbean and since the I have been on 12 Carnival cruises. While Royal Caribbean has bigger ships, bigger does not always mean better. Keep up the good work Carnival!! Looking forward to my first Birthday Cruise in January 2016 on Carnival!!

    • I totally agree with you Nina! I have no idea why people say that Carnival is the “bottom of the barrell” when it comes to cruising!! I only cruise Carnival and my Thanksgiving cruise last year was the best cruise I have ever taken!! I cruised on the Liberty and everything was wonderful!! I had Guy’s burgers, The Blue Ig etc. All of the food was delish!! My cabin steward was fab!! I met a lot of wonderful people and I didn’t see any falling down drunks!! We all know that Carnival isn’t a 5 star ship and this is ok!!! I know what I am getting when I cruise on Carnival!! A decent priced cruise and a good time!!

    • If anyone has looked the carnival Vista when completed will be able to compete with the bigger ships..it looks beautiful…I have cruised carnival twice on the magic and breeze..I loved it!!! Great people and the crew were amazing …

  13. On a carnival cruise a year ago, this guy and his hookup decided to copulate in the jacuzzi. He was caught by another passenger who reported it to security. Because of these two, all of the pools and jacuzzis were shut down, drained, and sanitized; no pool use for anyone.

  14. Dock workers are longshoreman and are paid exceptionally well, but tips are customary. The men and or women aboard a ship are paid less than minimum wage. Most ships are registered in a foreign country and the cruise lines aren’t governed by the fair wage practices of the United States. It’ll be five minutes before you know where freezes over when a cruise line increases the wages of the non-degree crew shipboard. Whether it’s a Carnival Corporation vessel, i.e., Carnival Cruise, Princess, Holland America, Seabourne Cruise Lines or Costa Group; NCL; RCL; Disney, etc., remember … the wait staff aboard these ships are the lowest paid service workers on land or at sea. Their salaries and working hours equal that of the conditions in some third world country.

    P. S. I like tipping on the front end. As soon as I meet my cabin staff I say “I appreciate the service” in advance with a generous green thank you. They’ll reciprocate in many ways. Once I had a makeup stain on a dress I wanted to wear formal night, when I came back from our shore excursion there it was hanging outside the closet door stain gone … I hadn’t even asked Sergio to do that. Bon Voyage and don’t forget to tip!

    • Sorry I’M a first time cruiser and it has the option to prepay gratuitys. Do I still tip if I have purchased this option?

  15. I have been cruising since 1968 and some of the lines are no longer in business. Have been on almost all the lines and each one has it’s good and bad points. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but there is no reason to be nasty to others that do not agree. I have good experiences on Carnival and some bad, but their steak house is one of the best around. Also, I believe a cruise is what you make of it. So if you do not have a good time don’t blame it on others.

    • Agreed, I’ve never cruised with Carnival but name does not mean anything. I’ve done 4 with Holland America and 1 Royal Caribbean and I loved the Royal Caribbean cruise. Plus I feel like we saved some money.

  16. Well if Carnival is bottom of the barrell, I’ll gladly claim it and have a blast while doing so. I cruise with Carnival by CHOICE not because I have too. Paying a few hundred dollars less for going to the same places and receiving the same, if not, in most cases, better service is a win win situation in my book and I’ll gladly sail with the “bottom of the barrell” over the nose bleeding snobs any day of the week and twice on Sunday!

  17. If you smell take a shower. Do not try to cover it with colon. Don’t bath in colon. Not everyone want to smell you..

    • Wow, do you know what a colon is? It smells much worse than cologne which I think is what you meant to say

  18. I have cruised for over 20 years. Celebrity, Carnival and Royal Caribbean. In that time I have seen all 3 cut down on staff, cutback on giveaways, and drastically change the food. From variety to the buffets (which were an event in themselves). I have had amazing waiters, bartenders and room staff. But, as in life, there will always be that one rude waiter, or unfriendly room steward. I have seen changes in the people cruising. Where large families were now able to have more choices than going with the cheapest line. As far as the comments on Carnival, they have drastically changed from 10-15 years ago. I disagree with bottom of the rung wholeheartedly. They offer great cruises at great prices. I wish they would go back to Europe. The snobs need to take Crystal or Avalon if they feel Carnival is below them.

  19. I’ve been on 4 cruises. All have been with Carnival. I’m not poor and I’m not the bottom of anyone’s barrel. I have shopped and weighed options and have DECIDED that I will continue to cruise with Carnival. I’ve experienced some unfavorable encounters on Carnival but not enough to change my mind about cruising with them. And I don’t tip less to all because of one bad encounter with one. I get what I want and count it a blessing when it turns out to be cheaper. Rude service takes place on all levels. I wonder sometimes after reading these blogs what the cruise line staff says about our behavior. It’s very easy to find bad in things. I challenge you to find something good in a bad situation. Be blessed.

  20. First Tipping: The tips they put on our accounts are practically nothing, they are a minimum amount. Never remove them, they are part of the ‘living wage’. And if you get good or great service, tip extra directly too the person during the cruise or on the final night. Don’t cheep out on these people. How stingy of people to even consider it!.

    Second Cruise lines: I have cruised a lot over the past 30 years. I have used several different lines. I found Carnival and Celebrity to have the best all around service and eats. Princess is barely passable and MSC terrible. The others are somewhere in between. So I can’t imagine where several of you write off Carnival. I’m a mid westerner, so perhaps Celebrity and Carnival cater to my tastes?
    Maybe you should come down our of your ivory towers and try the other lines just to do a new survey.

  21. Some may take this as elitist or snobbery but I have always found that in life you get what you pay for.
    If you book a three star hotel you will be staying with others who booked a three star hotel.
    If you wanted a 4 star hotel but hoped to save a little money by booking a three star hotel, you will be still staying with others who booked a three star hotel. Maybe some of them were really two star hotel people who splurged for a three star just this once.
    While this may not matter somewhat if its just somewhere to return to to sleep after a night exploring, on a cruise ship it takes on a whole new meaning.
    So if you dont like the “service, quality, food, rooms, entertainment, crowds” choose your cruise line more carefully

  22. I only cruise with R.C. or Norwegian they are fabulous . All my gratuities are paid ahead of time and sometimes I give extra. I would hope everyone gets cruise ins the day before we sailed I could not go because of illness They sent me a check right away “RC”. Recently I went on the Disney cruise with my 13yr.old granddaughter it was a big disappointment living here in FLA. we have water sports of every kind yet that was mostly what it was also 2nd. dining would overlap some shows we wanted to see and the daily newsletter did not put everything that was going on that day. Our stop at Castaway Island was rained out.{ should they not give you some kind of credit for missing that?].

  23. i have been on two carnival cruises… conquest and sunshine… we always pay the gratuities its only fair… i love to eat in the dinning room the food is so much better especially on carnival sunshine the buffet was terrible the only good meal you could get at night was in the dinning room … carnival doesnt care if you have a good time or not they just want your money… i wrote them a letter about all the issues i experienced and observed on the sunshine and i never heard anything back from them… im sure they received alot of complaints that cruise all the passengers were complaining about something…….i will still sail carnival because i dont know if royal is worth spending the extra $200 per person more than carnival charges

    • I’VE BEEN ON 4 CARNIVAL CRUISES AND HAVE ENJOYED THEM ALL. I HAVE ANOTHER UPCOMING CRUSE ALREADY BOOKED. I ALWAYS ADD THE GRATUITIES IN WHEN BOOKING AND I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT ANY OF THE STAFF ON ANY OF THEM. IF I WERE TO MAKE ANY COMPLAINTS, IT WOULD BE THE KIDS TAKING UP THE HOT TUBS AND RUNNING AROUND THE HALLS UNSUPERVISED. EVENTHOUGH I AM NOT A SMOKER, I DO THINK IF YOU HAVE A BALCONY YOU SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO SMOKE ON IT PROVIDING YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR CIGARETTE BUTTS PROPERLY. I DO LIKE THE IDEA I READ ABOUT THE PHOTO GALLERY, I BELIEVE ON THE VISTA, WHERE YOU VIEW THE PICTURES AND ONLY PRINT WHAT YOU WANT TO BUY.

  24. I have been on three cruises with Carnival and they have all been great. The staff on board always does an excellent job. As far as their wages goes, it is what it is. If wages go up so will the charge per cruiser. So I think the tipping idea is great because I eat about $180 worth of food a day while on the ship and I pay zero extra for it. So I think the extra gratuity is fine and you can always individually give a little extra to a waiter individually. But bottom line cruising is fun and very affordable.

    • I love carnival !! We only cruise with them and 1 bad apple don’t ruin the whole trip !unless your looking for a reason to complain !!:-)

  25. We tip our service people in cash. That way I know the people that helped me get the tips I’m paying for out of my pocket. They are very appreciate of the envelopes. Call me old school but I like to hand them the envelopes and see the smiles on their face.

    • Agree with you !!! I never go to the dinner room ,,my wife and I goes always to the little fee admission restaurant or the cafeteria,why should I pay tips for devices I did not use ?,is not the cruiser passenger business the way this cruises companies dealing with their employees,is not our problem ,sorry is my opinion .

  26. Im sorry but if you are Indian DO NOT get into a hot tub with your street clothes on…Which we have observed in the past…The ship had to close it down to 2 days to clean and put new water in it!!!!!!!

  27. One of the most annoying things i noticed on a cruise is those times of events where elevators are busy. Americans push & shove to get in an elevator! They dont care that the people in front of them had been waiting 10 minutes ! They just fight their way in & i found that extremely rude especially when my wife has a disability.

    • I am an American and I’ve been courteous on the elevators and actually got off for a personwith a disability. Please don’t categorize just Americans as this seems to be a universal problem

    • I totally agree about the rude people in the elevators my husband is in a electric wheelchair ,they push & shove right in front of him so as they come out he starts moving his chair into especially after we have waited so long for one empty enough for him ,I and his chair ! People without disabilities just don’t care who’s first or who has been standing there forever ! Wish they had handicap elevators but then again who would read the signs

    • While I agree it’s rude to shove onto the elevator before a disabled person, it’s equally rude for a disabled person who just got to the elevator to demand to be let on first.

  28. Just a little heads up for those of us that love the balcony staterooms. At certain times of the day, as the sun raises and sets, the glass can become reflective. As I was enjoying a cocktail one afternoon before dinner I was treated to an xxx rated show by the couple next door. I could not go in my room with out making them aware of my being there, so I just covered my eyes. It was hard not to blush the next day when we past in the hall.
    The cruise lines have robes in the rooms for a reason. And some activities while may be fun maybe should stay behind closed doors. Im just glad I didn’t have any of my grandkids with me that trip.

    • Lol l will remember your experience with a chuckle when my husband and l go on our Cruise in August …hope we dont get the same show while we care cruising ha ha

  29. If. I don’t go down to the dinning room to eat should still tip $12.00 a day since the dinning room staff gets over half of the $12.00?

  30. I have to agree with June – Shame on you Rocky & Natasha. The people on the docks do not work for the cruise lines at all. So you make the room steward the waitstaff the laundry staff pay for the dock works mistakes. BTW – The same people that load Carnivals luggage also load, Royal, NCL, Princess, Holland etc.

  31. I decide what tip is I give anyone,and as for this crap of low wages I suggest that whoever wrote the artical get on to the shipping company’s who are making multi millions in profits and get them to up the crews wages so that their crews do not have to depend on the whims of the passengers to make up their wages.I think that all the crews who work on the ships do a fantastic job and deserve to be paid a living wage

    • That is absolutely untrue. The lowest wage on board any of the big cruise companies is $1200 and remember their board and food is paid. You only need to look at their own reports to see.

    • He is right, there is no such thing like wages for the crew, what you are saying that is 1200 $ is not true this is the minimum amount guaranteed from the company only in case a lot of the guests are declining their gratuities so the company will pay you the difference until you reach this 1200 $ so most of the time the company don’t pay you a penny the guests are the ones who are paying the crew who are also confused with this gratuities service they think that this is something extra for the crew which is not it’s their only income

    • Well said they make at least 2 million per trip just on ticket sales. Not including drinks and extras the crew should be making at least 9-10ph if not a certain salary for the length of time they are away from home.

    • I so agree with you on that. They should just pay them a normal wage and forget about guests tipping unless we want to. They are certainly millionaires time and time again so they should pay their staff appropriately..

    • How many people have real insight into what the staff is being paid? I consider the added prepaid gratuities as part of the cost of cruising, they only break it down that way for marketing reasons. It allows them to advertise the cruise at a lower price than what they are really charging. So they split out a portion of what the staff is paid and call it added gratuities when in reality is some percentage of the staff pay. If you are cheap and decide to remove gratuities you are removing a portion of your cruise cost that is earmarked for paying employees. The staff does not pay US income taxes and depending on their home country the amount they make has varying purchasing power at home. So I would say most commenters on here are not in position to comment on whether they are paid enough or not. They cruise lines seem to have no difficulty in finding those willing to take the jobs.
      Also, just as you can in any other industry if you feel a company is making enormous profits…BUY STOCK in that company.

  32. SHAME ON YOU! Due to other Dept error’s you tip less for service for room and dinner? Why take it out on others? Those people work hard for those tips. You should had paid the normal tips and send letters to the cruise line.

  33. we paid for a honeymoon to Cove Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas; and on the third day the ships’ captain came on over the P.A. system , crying, while trying to maintain composure, that we were not going to our desired destination; rather we were diverted to Freeport. He had to pass the mike to the ship Captain assistant to finish the announcement. They gave us some bogus excuse that was not received very well by the entire ship; crew, passengers, nobody !!! there were wedding’s, honeymoon’s OUR”S, travelers; all mad. Biggest disaster ever experienced on a pleasure event !!!! Never again. cruise lines are an invitation to a promise that cant be kept at their discretion.

    • I sympathize with your wishes not coming true, but you HAVE to understand some things are out of our control. IE the weather, mechanical problems etc. Never go somewhere without having ALTERNATE plans, accept the unexpected and make the best of it. If you absolutely have to have something, then FLY THERE and make it happen. Do not expect a cruise line to have to cater to your own specific needs.

    • You act like they did this just to upset you. There is always a reason. Same type of reasons your airline can’t make scheduled service. Be a bit more realistic with life.

  34. The last cruise my wife and I went on out of Fort Lauderdale, the idiots that handled our luggage for Carnival left our luggage out in the pouring rain and Carnival pretty much refused to do anything about it so therefore I will just say that the tips we’re minimal because of it. If anyone gets the blame then it’s definitely Carnival. We stood in line for two hours at the customer service desk along with all of the other furious customer whos clothes and personal belongings we’re soaking wet due to this ignorant move. We have been on several Carnival cruises in the past and have never had an issue until this time. We have been looking at trying out Royal Caribean

    • You will love Royal Caribbean. We had a bad experience a long time ago in a really old ship. Since then we have had positive from them. Celebrity is even better. But also costlier. John and I have been on over 50 cruises and it’s definitely a learning experience. I’m with you about tipping. On our last Princess Cruise we ended up extra tipping the cabin steward and the head of the kitchen staff. They were really excellent. I can’t recommend Princess because we didn’t care for the food. It was awful in fact. But in many ways, the staff of the ship was really great. John and I shy away from Carnival and some agencies refuse to book with them, like Auto Club and Costco Travel. Remember they are the bottom of the rung when it comes to cruise ships. You need to get a copy of the Berlitz Guide to Cruising. You can read up about all of the ships and decide for yourself.

    • Carnival is bottom of the rung……what an elitist bigoted statement. I have been on 15 Carnival cruises and don’t consider myself the bottom of anything. You and John are pathetic.

    • Leslie: I totally agree with you!! I only cruise with Carnival and I don’t consider myself bottom of the rung either!! What people need to realize is that you get what you pay for. I don’t expect 5-star cuisine on a Carnival ship.

    • Carnival is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to cruise lines….The people who like beer drinking contests….and people who can barely afford a cruise go on carnival…it is exactly what its name implies…A floating Carnival train wreck.

    • As someone with advanceed degrees and positions, I am far from the bottom. In fact I have not met anyone on a Carnival Cruise that was on the bottom. Didn’t see any “beer drinking contests” but met many very nice doctors, lawyers, business professional, and just plain nice folks who find being real is better than trying to put on airs. As for your “floating train wreck” I would rather be on that train than pretend to be who I’m not while paying double.

    • I’ve been on 6 Carnival Cruises and they were all absolutely fabulous. Taking my first Royal Caribbean cruise this month and only hoping it will be half as good as the Carnival Cruises I have been on the past. I completely disagree with it being anything but the best and have had the chance to ask numerous people who’ve been on multiple cruises which ship was their “favorite”, and Carnival is mentioned over and over again. Sorry if you had a bad experience Mark, but I love the “fun ships” and so do thousands of other cruisers.

    • I don’t consider Carnival bottom of anything. Most of you making these comments have not sailed on Carnival recently I guess. No beer drinking contests or other wild and crazy things. Just the same kind of stuff you find on other lines. You all sound like elitist cruise snobs that like paying more for less. I have cruised 21 times and most have been on CCL. The reason is simple. I and may family have always gotten above and beyond service from the crews on CCL ships. We have cruised on 3 other lines and not received nearly as good service. One particular cruise line, sailed on 3 times, treated us as if it was our privilege that they were there to serve us. Recently I sailed on the Conquest out of Fort Lauderdale. While eating on the Lido deck a young lady walked up and started talking to my son about how big he had gotten since the last time she saw him. She as a crew member we had sailed with four years earlier and she remembered him. That’s why I go back, superior service. I’m sure some of you have horror stories and will no doubt share them.

    • I agree, you can have a bad experience on any cruise line. Food tastes vary also, so what one person deems to be awful, can be wonderful to another. I have cruised nearly 50 times too and have cruised on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess. American Hawaiian, Chandris, Carnival and Celebration and never had a bad experience on any of them.

    • You will love Royal Caribbean, beautiful ships and excellent service even if they are owned by the same company. We had an issue with this new American Table on Carnival, was supposed to be great………not at all, we didn’t like it at all. For the few extra dollars Royal Caribbean is worth it. We are platinum guests on Carnival, and over the past year the changes in service, etc. are so obvious.

    • Rocky & Natasha, I for one think you being cheap with the tips is very rude! For pete’s sake it wasn’t the fault of your cabin stewards your luggage was left out in the rain or the bar person serving you the drink. Punishing the crew for a doc hands error is just WRONG

    • the baggage handlers are not carnival employee’s, so why shoulf carnival pay? sounds like you were just wanting something for free !!!

    • Those “Idiots” don’t work for Carnival. They work for the Port authority and work for tips. While it was unfortunate that this happened to your luggage, stiffing the wait staff, room stewards, and such people only shows that you were just looking for an excuse to be cheap.

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