# Passenger problems on cruise ships



## john g

Having recently had a excellent cruise on Oriana I was interested in fellow passengers comments about the much larger vessels and their problems with disruptive passengers. Has anyone factual information about such instances or is this ship board rumour the like of which I experienced during my sea time . I think most of the comments were directed at Ventura but,if true, it is probably widespread and kept quiet.


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## benjidog

You'll probably get more information on that subject on our sister site The Cruising Forum - link to it is Here.


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## Pompeyfan

Firstly, it is nice to see the term passenger still used because the modern cruising fraternity including cruise companies themselves call passengers guests, just as if it were a hotel shore side. And that is part of the problem, modern cruise ships are nothing more than an extension of the land, a floating up market Butlins with their way of life and terminology to match. 

Oriana is still very much traditional P&O. Ventura is more of a family ship which is not to some peoples liking. All cruise ships have a different type of passenger to the 'line voyage' era, but Oriana although having new cruisers, still have a lot of passengers used to traditional cruising. That can have two affects because some can be miserable sods especially on world cruises where they get into a clique, get into arguments especially in the laundry, woman in particular almost getting into fights over the washing machine and drier, just like the 'soap opera' of below deck life of crew?!. On shorter cruises such as two weeks it is not so bad, younger people. Oriana and Aurora have children, but there are many child haters aboard, so some prefer child free Arcadia or Artemis. But when I was aboard Oriana's world cruise a few years ago, there was hardly a child in sight, it was the adults playing up. Please read my Oriana World Cruise Log. You can also read my cruise logs aboard Aurora twice, Navigator and Independence of the Seas. I also wrote about Boudicca and Black Watch. 

Larger ships such as Ventura, or Navigator or Independence of the Seas has more families, more new cruisers. I have cruised on both and they are much more like Butlins at sea, nothing like the tradition of Oriana and Aurora. I think they have got the balance aboard Oriana and Aurora just about right. Both allow children which give that natural family atmosphere but they are so cleverly designed with their own area you do not really notice the children unless of course passengers are very anti children. I found Aurora and Oriana on two week cruises for example to be just right, but the larger ships that are more family orientated and less traditional would not be to some peoples liking. I would imagine the passengers you spoke to are very anti children, and there are plenty of them?!.

However, if you like Oriana, you would also like Aurora whether on short or longer trips, but you may not like the bigger ships which are the destinations in themselves and certainly more like Butlins than a ship. However, some of the traditional passengers on the smaller ships can be a real pain in the butt?!!.

As Brian says, please join the Cruising Forum. Ally will welcome you, but you should also get receive a lot of replies here as well. In there , you will read a lot of information about cruise ships as well as old. I have just posted a series of when I emigrated on Northern Star in 1968. Far more in depth than I did on SN. 

The smaller ships are better if you like traditional cruising, but they are not without disruptive passengers, some of the worst are the more experienced passengers thinking they own the place?!. 

David


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## john g

David, I appreciate your reply your quite right, I have just watched a program on Discovery about one of the Costa vessels......the same format as P&O,as with all cruise ships, but the way of life onboard totaly different, younger generation , loads of children flashy entertainment bright lights ,far removed from the sedate P&O style. The way forward is this new modern image. As the traditional cruisers fade away and the classic ships age the demand will be for the more modern approach. Best we traditionalists make the most of what we have. John g


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## Santos

The problem with passengers on cruise ships is that you cant get away from them (Jester) 

Chris.


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## Pompeyfan

john g said:


> David, I appreciate your reply your quite right, I have just watched a program on Discovery about one of the Costa vessels......the same format as P&O,as with all cruise ships, but the way of life onboard totaly different, younger generation , loads of children flashy entertainment bright lights ,far removed from the sedate P&O style. The way forward is this new modern image. As the traditional cruisers fade away and the classic ships age the demand will be for the more modern approach. Best we traditionalists make the most of what we have. John g


Sadly John, as we have indicated for ages, the majority of cruise ships it seems have become a Butlins at sea. The ship is the destination, and extension of the land with way of life and language to match. But companies will carry on building these floating holiday camps while the demand is there. They may change as I have always feared if one of these giants get into trouble. The passengers, sorry guests have no idea what to do in an emergency, they are too busy enjoying themselves to concern themselves with passenger drill etc. They don't do it at Butlins, so why at sea? [=P] 

I am not against children, in fact having children of my own I think it a very unreal atmosphere when they are not around because life evolves around all age groups, having all been children at one time all evolving in life's natural process, and I do not see barring children as life's natural process. Having said, as we grow older, we would not go to Butlins, our children having their own, allowing us to choose a more sedate holiday. So hopefully, there will always be traditional cruise ships. I have cruised on Oriana and Aurora many times, both allow children, and as I have said, never found any problems.

It was the same on 'line voyages', lots of children emigrating aboard from four to six weeks, but never a problem. 

David


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## alex page

A friend of mine reported laundry problems on the Pacific Dawn. The trouble is the modern woman has not been brought up properly. In the days of terrace housing cobbled streets and community wash houses they learnt to live together.Did anyone notice how the female cadets manage to monopolize the washing machines.
I will now retreat to the safety of the garden shed.
Alex


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## Pompeyfan

alex page said:


> A friend of mine reported laundry problems on the Pacific Dawn. The trouble is the modern woman has not been brought up properly. In the days of terrace housing cobbled streets and community wash houses they learnt to live together.Did anyone notice how the female cadets manage to monopolize the washing machines.
> I will now retreat to the safety of the garden shed.
> Alex


The woman causing problems in the laundry on the Oriana world cruise was certainly not modern, they were old dears. All with their claws out. And the laundry was the source of shipboard gossip. [=P] 

David


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## Satanic Mechanic

Pompeyfan said:


> Firstly, it is nice to see the term passenger still used because the modern cruising fraternity including cruise companies themselves call passengers guests, just as if it were a hotel shore side.



How about 'Cargo' 

Just a thought (==D)


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## Pompeyfan

Satanic Mechanic said:


> How about 'Cargo'
> 
> Just a thought (==D)


No SM, they are going nowhere to be referred to as cargo, even human cargo. Although some are big fat lumps after eating too much so may need to lifted ashore by crane? (Jester) 

David


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## john strange

*Cruise as you wish*

There have been a number of minor incidents on cruise ships here in Oz, the most famous bring about 8 years ago with the death of a blood involving drug use. But most of the problems are minor mainly with grog being the source of the problem, and usualy amongst the youger generation. Friend of mine was on the Dawn Princess last year when 3 younger persons got a bit too much for the crew to deal with. They were taken up to see the skipper and sent back to Oz at the next port of call, they also got a bill for the retrurn air fare.
Yes the ships are little better than floating hotels now but how you make use of that hotel is how you get to enjoy your cruise the most. For me it is the chance just to get out on the open sea again.


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## G0SLP

My ship was in Freeport over Christmas, tied up near the Cruise Terminal. I had an interesting conversation with 2 Security Officers off one of the large ships that do the 4-5 day trips out of Miami. I asked them about disruptive passengers - the response was that anyone caught causing trouble is handed over to the FBI on arrival back in Miami! There's apparently little trouble as this is well promulgated amongst the 'self-discharging cargo'  as they embark.


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## tankerman2

Was cruising on the Costa Magica two years ago, mostly passengers were all Italian.

Saw two 70 year old men having a fight in one of the shops over an aricle they both wanted.

Took the two 70 year old wives and three crew to stop the punch up


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## shamrock

Just returned from Costa Allegra's repositioning from Singapore to Savona and experienced some truly disgraceful behaviour from some of the passengers. Bullying and insulting crew and officers following a tough day tendering in Hurghada. Bang out of order behaviour by total ingrates who I hope NEVER to meet ever again on any cruise.

I have done a full report of the trip including the disgusting attitudes from a small but vocal number of passengers over on our cruise forum...

http://www.thecruisingforum.com/showthread.php?t=7508


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