Please, have a LITTLE consideration

[cathie]

I guess we just have to all realize that everybody on the cruise is on their vacation & everyone has a different idea of relaxing & enjoying their cruise. As long as we respect each other & have a positive attitude we'll have a fantastic time!!! Cathie & The Gang

 

[Chattyaholic]

What about the "hot tub hogs?"

I hate it when I see a group of people go into one of the hot tubs and stay in it forever, never giving other people a chance to enjoy a few minutes in it themselves.

When DH and I use one, we are usually in it no more than 15-20 minutes, then get out and give someone else a chance.

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by vhoffman

Insofar as discipline, well, I agree that children shouldn't be allowed to run amock. However, what can you do when you try to discipline your child only to be overruled by a waitress, store clerk, whatever? so many times I've attempted to correct my children's behavior only to have someon else say "Oh, that's all right". Like as though what I say doesn't mean squat! My kids quickly pick up on this and realize chances are somebody's going to take up for them. As though how my kids behave is anyone else's business! I have twins, a boy and girl. I sometimes feel like a spectacle everywhere we go. It seems we can't put foot outside our door without hearing how "cute" my children are. Then people act as though they want my kids to put on a cutie-pie show ( what's you name, how old are you, etc) , for which my kids oblige. Like as though that's what I'm there for, not to conduct my business and leave. Then if the kid acts up and I correct them I can count on someone saying "that's alright". I've learned to say "No, its not alright. I just said it isn't". And I tell my kids its not what other people say, its what I say that matters. Still, could do without the interference from the general public.

YAYYYY!! Excuse me while I insert the term Service Dog in there in place of kids...

I shocked a lady the other as she was falling all over Cash, the Verandah Dog. I, too, have learned to say "No, its not alright. I just said it isn't. Kindly unhand my dog.

 

["Ginger"]

What do you do when someone takes your raft or ring that you've paid for on Castaway.
This happened to us on our last cruise. My DH rented a raft mat for my DD and her new little freinds to use while we enjoyed our time there. After about an hour of them using the raft our DD and her freinds lost track of it for a minutes. I thought no problem it would be easy to spot because it had a large rip on one side of it. I spotted it only a few feet away from where the girls had it last been playing with it. Someone else was using it but I had no problem. I politely approached the woman explaining that I beleived the raft she was using may have been the one my DD had let float away from her. She right away became very defensive saying that I was accusing her of stealing it. I was totally shocked, I did no such thing, trying to explain to her that our raft had the very same rip on it's side as the one she was using. She started yelling at me saying she had been using the raft for awhile and it was her raft. She never said that she purchased the raft for her use. She was ready to fight over a beach raft. I told her to keep it, enjoy it, I could get another because I had a receipt for it and she didn't. It's amazing how far some people will go to get something for free.

 

[tross]

Ginger.

Is there no number to identify each float with? It seems that would be an easy solution to track by. The number could be on the float and the receipt. You sure handled the situation with grace. Did you have any difficulty getting a replacement float for your girls?

 

[inkkognito]

Ginger, I'm afraid it takes all kinds!
Your story reminded me of an experience I had at a water park once (not a Disney one). I had an inflatable tube that I had rented and was floating in the wave pool, hanging onto it. A little boy swam over, grabbed it, and started yelling that I had taken his tube! I wonder if he's tried this before and embarrassed people into giving their tube to him. I just glared it him with the "death stare" and said, "That's not going to work with me, buddy," and he gave up and went away.
On the flipside, when I rent a float at Castaway Cay and head back to the ship early, I always give it to someone to enjoy for the rest of the day rather than bring it back.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castwayclub.com

 

[mariamard]

I GUESS THAT ME AND THE HUBBY ARE ONE OF "THOSE PEOPLE". ONE OF US ALWAYS BRING A CHAIR TO THE EDGE OF THE BEACH TO WATCH OUR 4 YEAR OLD. THE WAY I LOOK AT IT IS THAT I DOUBT THAT ANYONE WOULD APPRICIATE LOOKING AT MY BUTT IF I STOOD IN FRONT OF THE VIEW OF THE WATER?? NOT TO SOUND DEFENSIVE , BUT, I OR MY HUBBY WOULD GO DRAG 1 CHAIR TO WATCH-BUT I CAN UNDERSTAND THE FRUSTRATION IF WE DRAGGED 5 CHAIRS TO THE EDGE....
AS FAR AS THE CHAIR HOGS AT THE POOLS--IF YOU NEED A PLACE TO SIT, REMOVE THE TOWELS PLACED TO SAVE IT!!TAKE IT! YOU KNOW THAT THE RUDE PEOPLE WHO "SAVED" THE CHAIR TO BEGIN WITH WOULD DO IT TOO
IT REALLY ISNT ALWAYS THE KIDS WHO ARE RUDE, INCONSIDERATE AND (SOMETIMES) GROSS. ITS USUALLY THE GROWN UPS. AND WHEN IT IS THE KIDS BEHAVING INAPPROPRIATE, YOU SHOULD BLAME THE PARENTS. FOR INSTANCE, THE DRIPPING WET AND BAREFOOT PEOPLE AT TOPSIDERS-YUCK!! THE WORST WAS STANDING BEHIND THE DRIPPING WET 60-ISH MAN & GRANDKID WITH WATER DRIPPING OFF OF HIS BACK HAIR ON THE FLOOR! I ALMOST RALPHED RIGHT THERE.....THE KID HAD WATER DRIPPING FROM HIS NOSE AND WAS WIPING THE SCHNOZ ON THIS ARM-THE ARM HE WAS USING TO GATHER FOOD ON HIS TRAY.FINALLY A WOMAN BEHIND ME (GOD BLESS HER ) TOLD THEM THEY NEED TO DRY OFF AND PUT ON SHOES!! NOT SURE WHY A CM DIDNT SAY ANYTHING .Y POINT IS , (AS FAR AS BEHAVIOR GOES) IS THAT ALL BEHAVIOR( OR LACK OF IT) IS LEARNED.AND IT SUCKS THAT UNFORTUNATELY THERES NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT EXCEPT ENJOY OUR VACATION AND NOT LET A FEW BAD APPLES RUIN OUR TIME TOGETHER.

 

[DVC@BWV]

PEOPLE AT TOPSIDERS-YUCK!! THE WORST WAS STANDING BEHIND THE DRIPPING WET 60-ISH MAN & GRANDKID WITH WATER DRIPPING OFF OF HIS BACK HAIR ON THE FLOOR! I ALMOST RALPHED RIGHT THERE.....THE KID HAD WATER DRIPPING FROM HIS NOSE AND WAS WIPING THE SCHNOZ ON THIS ARM-THE ARM HE WAS USING TO GATHER FOOD ON HIS TRAY.FINALLY A WOMAN BEHIND ME (GOD BLESS HER ) TOLD THEM THEY NEED TO DRY OFF AND PUT ON SHOES!! NOT SURE WHY A CM DIDNT SAY ANYTHING

Maybe the CMs don't say anything for fear of backlash from the guests? The CMs probably see that type of behavior and worse on a daily basis and maybe turn a blind eye to it.

 

[HappyLawyer]

it is very rude to pull chairs in front of someone else, if you need a better view get their earlier then the earlier just my 2 cents

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by HappyLawyer
it is very rude to pull chairs in front of someone else, if you need a better view get their earlier then the earlier just my 2 cents

I agree...I get out there early to get a seat where I can see my child and to have someone come later and pull their chair in front of mine to see theirs is pretty rude.

 

[mariamard]

i wont pull my chair in front of someone already at waters edge.....THAT would be rude.if there are people quite a bit back where the chairs are initially set up, im sorry, i dont feel as if thats going in front of them if i sit at waters edge.also, i wouldnt be that selfish or stupid to block someones view of their kids or just the view if the water.i should have added in my previous post that if it looks as if im might be in the way, i would ask those who are behind me if im blocking the view. or just find a better spot to where i wont be ignorant.in fact, i asked at castaway if i was in the way(there was at least 6 feet between us) and the man said no, his kid was in the kids club..i can agree that it would be rude and frustrating if you got to the beach for a good view and up someone comes and plops in front of you .
just wanted to explain myself completely so i wouldnt sound like a moron

 

["Ginger"]

tross, the number idea is a great one, I hope Disney thinks of doing that. It sure would have saved me from having to deal with that crazy woman.
I took our receipt back to the where my DH had rent the float explained what happened, had no problems getting another. I just happened to of have some lime green ribbon(wonder why) with me in my beach bag, I attached that to the new float so there would be no more problems.
Barb, I wished you could have been there with me to give that woman your "death stare".

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I wasn't about to turn around and disturb the 6 people again, so I told her about the "no seat saving" policy. I can understand saving seats for 1, 2 or even 3 people, but 10 people. She wasn't even watching for them and didn't tell us they were saved until we were ready to sit down. I would think that out of a party of 11 people, 4 or 5 people could hold the rest of the seats. And if that's the case, there should be a "lookout" to let people know that the seats are taken before they disturb other people.

I totally agree with you about keeping a lookout and warning others that the seats are taken BEFORE they disturb other people getting there... but is there honestly a "no seat saving" policy at the shows/movies? I didn't think those were the same as saving chairs at the pool and such. I mean first off- there are way more seats, and more likely to NEED all those seats (if they are going to watch the movie- they'll need the seats... where as at the pool they may not use the seats at all). Secondly it's common practice at the movies for one or more people to go in the theatre and make sure you all get seats near one another while others get popcorn/etc. I would think this was the same.
Let's think about the different scenarios if seat saving ISN'T allowed for the shows... especially in the case of a large family with children (because 10 adults can get over it and sit seperately if they have to- my personal opinion).
First you would either have all those children coming early so you could all sit together- and then by the time the show starts they are SOOOOO tired of sitting there that they totally misbehave worse than they would have had they got there right before it started. Could possibly ruin YOUR time at the show....
Or if they aren't allowed to come save the seats and the children aren't ready (let's say a parent got ready but the children are being taken back to the rooms to get ready for formal night so they can eat right after the show or maybe they've already eaten and are being changed from their little dresses and tuxes or whatnot on formal night- hypothetically speaking... could be just their nicer "dinner clothes" being worn more than once for dinner since so many say to wear clothes more than once rather than bringing many clothes and they are being changed so they won't mess up the clothes somehow- whatever) - then what? Either they don't get to see it because there are no longer seats available for them near the parents since no 10 seats next to one another (or 5 or whatever it would take to keep the kids with the parents- for us it would be 5 unless we split up us and our kids)... or the kids sit by themselves? Trust me... having some kids sit by themselves is asking for your OWN time at the show to be interrupted and possibly ruined.

I really do not see saving seats for a show in the same ball park as saving chairs by a swimming pool. There aren't many seats, seats aren't NECESSARY for others to enjoy the pool (therefore seats are being saved and never used- when others could want to use them.... if they are saving seats for a show I doubt they are saving them then having the seats sit empty throughout the show???) and it's common practice to stake out seats at movie theatres when you have a large group that otherwise wouldn't be able to sit with one another. I have been to MANY shows that not getting there early is a disaster... with 2-3 people sitting 1-2 seats from one another everywhere. At times we have a hard time being able to split ourselves up 1 parent with one child and the other parent with 2 children.. it's all only one or two seats available near one another! So we HAVE to go early and try to atleast get 3 seats together and 2 seats together for all of us to see it, or 5 of us together. I have even had to ask for a refund because there was no way we were going to be able to watch the movie with all 5 of us in seperate seats away from one another.... with children as young as ours! Impossible. And that's the same thing that would happen at the shows on DCL if seat saving wasn't allowed there... except there's no way to get a refund there!

Are there signs saying no seat saving there?

(ps. as for the man who turned around to apologize for his boys when they were behaving in a way that you felt was just 'being children'. Well, I might do the same thing... since there are people out there that aren't as understanding as you are and don't realize that is normal child behavior and atleast he didn't like yell at them or be too hard on them in some way for their behavior.... just apologized to you in case it was disturbing you. I don't think you should hold that against him. )

 

[inkkognito]

Actually he was yelling at them a bit, but in that half-hearted way that parents of multiple active youngsters develop after a while. I always find it amusing to watch family dynamics...must be the family counselor in me. I know that some childless adults aren't always understanding, but personally I get a kick of out of kids, and especially out of watching them on the cruise. The boys were having a spat over a bag of popcorn, and it was like a sitcom!
There are notices in the Navigator that saving seats in the theater is not allowed. However, I doubt they would enforce it unless someone got really unreasonable. Hubby and I save a seat for each other sometimes, and I can see saving for your family. It's just the whole row thing that I think is crazy!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[sillysmom]

This topic happens to be one of my pet peeves. The first time I experienced it was on a trip to Acapulco with my DH. The first and second days of our trip, we awoke at a decent hour, had breakfast, and got down to the pool, by say 11:00 a.m. Needless to say, there was not an empty chair in sight. After the second day of course we knew what we had to do. We took turns getting up at 6 a.m. (this is supposed to be a vacation, you know relaxing?) to put towels on 2 chairs. I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. When we are on our cruise, I will save the chair IF I know my DH and DD are coming up within 15 minutes, if not I will give up the chair to someone else. This is the same equation I will use if I go to the pools and see toweled chairs minus people. I will wait 15 minutes before I kindly move the towel and sit my butt down. I'm paying WAY too much money, to have to stand, sit on the floor, or sit on the edge of the pool. It just boils down to common courtesy. Come on, I highly doubt I will be by the pool much anyway there is so much more to do, but I'm sure that there are a few people, who will put their towel on a chair and NEVER even go to the pool. Now that is RUDE.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

There are notices in the Navigator that saving seats in the theater is not allowed. However, I doubt they would enforce it unless someone got really unreasonable.

Well that's good- because *I* think it's unreasonable to not be able to save a seat for your immediate family or significant other at the theater.

Hubby and I save a seat for each other sometimes, and I can see saving for your family. It's just the whole row thing that I think is crazy!

I totally agree. I can't think of any reason why an entire row (or for 10) would EVER be needed- except maybe if you are a single parent with 9 young (under 12?) children... but I'm betting that's rare.

 

[PizzieDuster]

On our 4 day Wonder Cruise last year, I was one of the first 10 people off the ship to get a great spot. It was so relaxing. As more and more people got off, I noticed they would claim a lounger to put stuff on and bring up the little chairs to the water edge.

About 10 feet away from me I saw people setting up like 15 small chairs in a u-shape on the water's edge. The distance from the loungers saved to the water's edge is about 20 feet, plenty of space for people to move chairs.

I actually thought - they have been here before! I thought - how cleaver is that.... they probably got up leisurely and have a wonderful breakfast at Tritons and then had a front row seat...

I eventually moved one of our chairs to the edge because it was so hot and I basically just joined right in. I was not upset at those people, because I was glad they were watching their kids and as I pulled up with our small chair (not the loungers) we just all made friends and our kids all played with sand toys - shared floaters - played games - drank conk coolers and we had a great time! They were a blast! I enjoyed the company as my DH took the older sons to snorkle, I had a great time chatting while watching DD4 swim with new friends. When they came back, we were ALL in the water, husbands, wives, kids, it was so much fun! If I can remember, everyone else soon moved their chairs to the waters edge also.

But to be frankly honest, the reason I woke up so early to get a front row seat on Castaway Cay, is this: I told my husband I can go to the beach everyday, we live in Southern California, but I don't want to travel far away to a private island and stare at the back of someone's head and chair. I can get that at Palm Springs. I didn't get upset, I just enjoyed finally being there.

Dreams of sitting on the beach on a lounger without someone in front of you is basically just that... a dream, unless you drag a chair to the water's edge....

This coming May, I'm not going to worry about being first off the ship. We were in the water the most of the time!

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

I had 2 experiences on a recent cruise. First, I watched 2 chairs with towels for 20 minutes...no one came, so I sat down on one. When DH came up, (about half an hour later) I gave him the other chair. Wouldn't ya know - 5 minutes later, DH goes up to the bar to get a drink and the original self-proclaimed chair "owner" came up and asked what happened to her stuff. I told her I placed it on that third chair she was saving and "oh by the way, no chair saving." She said they had just gone to the bathroom and I was rude. In a very sincere voice (hiding my sarcasm), I said, "Wow - if you've been in the bathroom for the past hour that these chairs were vacant, then you really should go see a doctor because you might have a virus that is contagious to other...." She snarled at me and said I was rude. I explained to her that what was rude was her trying to save 5 chairs while there are several thousands of guests on board who would also like to use the chairs. She left with her things.

The other time, it was 6:45 in the morning and my kids were up and ready to swim. Of course, there were NO chairs that early in the morning without towels on them. I didn't feel like making a fuss and I had found out that I could enjoy and see my children better if we pulled chairs by the railing on the 10th deck that overlooks the pool right next to the steps. DH asked a CM and she told DH to go over and make himself at home. Well, that didn't go over too well with one of the fathers who was saving 8 chairs in a row. It was comical to watch this man give DH the evil eye. We just made it our entertainment for the morning.

 

[mickeymo]

adding in my two cents - you've opened a very sore subject with me so, I'll step up on the soapbox- as a certified lifeguard and for over 20 years, a lifeguard instructor trainer for 15 years and a mom of a ds (9) and a dd (6) - a mom and a lifeguard is a VERY parinoid combination even though they swim well- That said, if you are concerned about your kids in the water - the best place is not pulling chairs up to the front but, in the water within reach...not behind a book - Over the years - I've assisted plenty of children, as a mom, not in an official capacity who's parents have assumed they were safe because they had swimmies, on a noodle or could touch the bottom. Get in the water and have fun with your kids!!! - Be a kid, share memories and stay cool!

See you on the water slides 3/13 Magic!!

PS - it's usually not the "tootsie rolls" in the pool that you have to worry about - it's when they break apart

 

[kcashner]

I think the point is in the subject line...a little consideration goes a long way.

Yes, the theatre policy is "No saving seats." However, we've never had a problem on 10 cruises with saving a seat for one missing family member (the other one or 4 go in and save ONE seat.) The only time I've seen a CM involved is when one person is trying to save 10 seats.

And, I'm obnoxiously rude. If I encounter one of those people who tries to tell me that "these seats are saved," I'll whip out my Navigator and show her where it says "No saving seats allowed," and then sit down. Again, I wouldn't do this to someone who is holding ONE seat. Even one per seated person is reasonable...but if half of your party isn't ready to be seated, maybe you shouldn't be entering the theatre yet.....

There are also signs by topsiders asking people to dry off and wear shoes and cover-ups.

Someone raised a good point....my DD has always been taught not to approach a service dog, but to stand a respectful distance from the owner and ask if she may pet the dog. The response is sometimes yes, sometimes "thank you for asking, but he's working now." Either way, that answer is fine with her, and if it was no, she'll usually answer something like "That's ok, you do have a really pretty (or nice, or good) dog." Too bad many adults can't be trained to be as respectful concerning our children!!! That the parent is in charge, I mean.

Thanks, Barb....we've frequently been the beneficiaries of someone who is returning to the ship asking if we'd like a raft or tube.

Just a little consideration.......makes a huge difference. Yes, we're on vacation, but our manners shouldn't be.