Cruise passengers slam vacation-ruining behavior they want scrapped
The idea of a cruise vacation is a luxury for many - but there's one major issue passengers wish to see eradicated.
From exploring new countries to spending grand evenings on the ship - whether that's the casino, theater or night club - there's plenty to experience on a cruise vacation.
It's no wonder that it's a thriving industry, then, with the north American market growing by more than 14 percent from 2023 to 2024, with 20.53 million north American passengers setting sail - compared to 18.10 million in 2023, as per Travel Market Report.
But passengers have pointed out a major problem they wish could be fixed across cruise ships far and wide.
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And no, it isn't having to fork out extra for the expensive drinks packages...
Taking to Reddit, one fan asked the question: "If cruising could have one thing to improve, what would it be first for you?"
The original poster continued: "I think there are a lot of good answers, but for me, I think the first (and easiest) to improve in cruising would be to have cruise lines actually enforce their rules.
"This could be as simple as pool hogs, good hygiene in common areas/buffets, or only smoking in designated sections.
"This would go far in a long way for a better general cruise experience and cruise lines following through what they set forth."
And the 'deck-chair' hogging comment seemed to resonate with others, too.
We've all seen those viral, chaotic videos of people running to set their towels on sun beds at resorts...
"No putting your stuff on the pool chairs hours before you plan to use them," the top comment read.
"I think there’s so much selfishness you’ll see with people hogging tables and chairs," a second agreed.
"I never let a towel on a chair stop me from removing it and putting it on the ground," somebody else admitted.
Others agreed that they've also removed people's towels from sun beds in the past.
And while this is one way of dealing with sun bed-hoggers, you also don't want to spend your vacation arguing with other passengers...
And while most cruise lines have signage that informs passengers they can't chair-hog, in reality it's not much of a deterrent.
According to Cruise Mummy, Carnival has a 'ChairShare' team which keeps an eye on unattended loungers and removes belongings after 40 minutes.
Other lines - including Royal Caribbean, MSC, P&O Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line - have similar policies.
There are some alternatives - like booking an exclusive lounge or a balcony room, or only using the pool deck during quieter times - but these aren't always feasible.
Among the other improvements cruise passengers would like to see is having tips and basic WiFi included in the initial cost and having people briefed on 'elevator etiquette.' As in - let people out the elevator before you get in!
Somebody else added: "I’d be happy with water bottle filling stations in convenient places around the ship."
Ellie Kemp