The 15 Most Annoying Cruisers You’ll Want to Avoid on Your Next Trip

We love to cruise, and for the most part, we are also fond of our fellow cruisers. After all, we share a true passion for seeing the world one port at a time. But, it’s inevitable that on a ship with several thousand passengers, some won’t be so amicable. No matter what you do, you will run into a few annoying cruisers during your trip.

To help you avoid their actions, we have put together this list of the 15 most annoying cruisers on every cruise. Whatever you do, please don’t be one of these people!

The 15 Most Annoying Cruisers

1. The Deck Chair Hog

Many go on cruises to enjoy some rest and relaxation, as well as some sun. While modern cruise ships offer several outdoor spaces, getting prime loungers on some ships can be a challenge.

Finding loungers becomes even more difficult when deck chair hogs take to the pool deck, especially on cruise sea days.

These individuals wake up early in the morning, claim several deck chairs with towels and personal items like bags, and then don’t return for hours. We see it on every trip–cruisers reserve lounge chairs that remain empty for hours.

While the seats remain unattended, these annoying cruisers are off exploring other areas of the ship. Meanwhile, other cruisers roam the sundeck looking for available loungers.

Fortunately, the cruise lines are trying to crack down on this behavior. Many cruise lines now deploy staff who remove unattended items that have be left on chairs for long periods of time.

Still, we have found that once other cruisers catch wind of this approach, more and more hogs come out later in the cruise. Please, only reserve loungers when you and the rest of your party are ready to actually use them. Also, please be courteous and remove your items when you are done using the loungers, so other cruisers will know they are vacant.

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2. The Rusher

While some might be new to cruising, we are pretty sure most people have used elevators before.

However, it never surprises us that we routinely find individuals who don’t understand basic elevator etiquette. When the elevator doors open, you first need to let individuals get off the elevator, before those waiting in the lobby proceed to board.

Somehow, these elevator rushers never learned this simple logistic. As soon as the elevator doors open, they barrel themselves through the offloading passengers to ensure they get a spot.

It is even worse when many of these annoying cruisers also step right in front of other cruisers obviously waiting for the same elevators.

We know getting elevators on megaships can be a challenge. This is especially true at peak times, like coming back from a port or after a show has finished. But, please, be courteous.

Give those on the elevator time to debark. Then, politely step onboard and squeeze in with everyone else who has been waiting just as long as you.

If nothing else, you can always wait for another lift. Or, walk to another bank of elevators away from the crowds. Most cruise ships have at least two banks of elevators, one forward and one aft.

3. The Sneaker

Packing for a cruise is never easy. Thankfully, the cruise lines offer some suggestions on what you should bring with you on a cruise. Along with these helpful hints about what to pack, the cruise lines also provide clear guidance on items that should be left at home.

Among many of the commonly banned items on cruises are irons and steamers, candles, and bottles of liquor. Plus, regardless of your state laws, cruise ships do not allow illicit drugs.

Still, we always laugh at the end of the cruise when we see the “naughty table”. This table is filled with all of the contraband the cruise line has confiscated from cruisers.

Nothing is more annoying than cruisers who flagrantly ignore these restrictions and try to sneak items onboard. Along with potentially getting barred from the ship, trying to bring prohibited items just prolongs the embarkation day process. It makes the crew spend extra time scanning luggage, and it will hold up your bags being delivered to your stateroom as well.

Please read your cruise line’s restrictions and don’t attempt to bring something that is not allowed. If you want to drink something other than the allowed bottles of wine, consider purchasing a cruise line’s drink package. Or, if you really need your clothes pressed, your cruise line likely either has laundry services or self service laundromats on the ship.

The last thing you want to do is jeopardize your vacation by trying to sneak banned items on the cruise ship.

4. The Complainer

Even at sea, you can’t avoid those who find issues with everything. Whether it is something with their cabin, food, service, or the temperature of the theater, they feel the need to complain about everything.

Plus, they are quick to loudly let all the staff, and other passengers, know all about their problems.

These constant complainers make it a point to pick at everything, and they are often rude, demeaning, and very demanding when dealing with the crew. Undoubtedly, we have walked past passengers on every cruise who are complaining, in not such nice words, about some aspect of the vacation.

Now, we are not saying you shouldn’t bring up issues to the crew. The staff at Guest Services are there to ensure your cruise is memorable. Plus, we all make mistakes, so if something isn’t right, by all means speak up. But, there is no need to do so in a mean or condescending way.

Please, avoid the temptation to raise your voice or use fowl language when trying to explain what went wrong. Also, make sure that you are raising your concerns to the right crew members who can actually rectify the issue.

5. The Pier Runner

In the cruise line app and the paper daily, the cruise line outlines important times, like port arrival times and the all aboard time. Somehow, whether it is time zone changes or one too many drinks at the bar, some cruisers lose track of time.

Thus, when the ship is preparing to leave, you may hear names called over the loud speaker. This is usually trying to locate those who were not registered as being scanned back on the ship.

While the captain might wait a few minutes for those not onboard, there is a schedule they need to follow to ensure an on time arrival at the next port of call. Of course, if there is a delay with a cruise line shore excursion, every effort is made to wait for these guests. This is one of the benefits of booking directly with the cruise line.

Right around or past all aboard time, the pier runners make an appearance. It is then, where you might see those tardy parties making a mad dash to the ship.

If this happens on your cruise, make sure to get some video to post to social media.

Whatever you want to do, don’t be those people holding up the ship’s departure. You don’t want to be the one taking the walk (or should we say run) of shame.

Our tip is to always use the manual mode on your phone to set the time to ship’s time. You should also take a picture of the front of the daily so you know the exact all aboard time.

Plus, when venturing out on our own, we always make sure to give ourselves at least 45 minutes before the all aboard time as a buffer just in case. If there are unexpected delays that get you back to the ship late, you might find the ship has set sail without you!

6. The Cheapskate

On the last night of your cruise, the Guest Services line might be the most happening spot on the ship. Now, there are probably several reasons why cruisers might be in line. But, undoubtedly there will be a few cheapskates there.

These individuals will either act surprised, or dismayed, to find that there are daily charges, usually around $15 to $18 per day, on their bills. Or, some cruise line refer to these as gratuities.

This cheapstake will ask to have these charges removed from their bill. They claim they didn’t know about them, or will be tipping people individually.

Whenever I hear someone remove the gratuities, it irks me. These daily charges go to crew you see and those behind the scenes, like your stateroom attendant, dining room staff, individuals in the buffet, and other hardworking crew.

Yes, we know all the excuses. The cruise line takes a cut of the service charges; I tip the people I want directly; the cruise line should pay their employees more. While those may or may not be true, when budgeting for your cruise, the gratuities should really be considered part of the cruise fare.

We prepay these costs and then tip in addition the crew members who provided exceptional service during our cruise.

7. The Unsanitizer

Even before the restart, frequent cruisers knew about “washy washy”. Heck, Royal Caribbean has a whole song dedicated to reminding you to wash your hands.

Cruise ships have hand sanitizing stations everywhere, especially in front of restaurants. High traffic areas like buffets often have hand washing stations at the entrance as well. Given the last few years, many of us are even more focused on health and hygiene while cruising. Yet, others seemed to have slept through health class.

Yes, even with all of these reminders and easy access, there are the unsanitizers. These people ignore the crew members’ suggestions to wash their hands and walk straight into the restaurants. Sometimes, they are even rude or make curt comments as they walk by the obvious stations.

Even worse are those who leave the bathroom without washing their hands. That is just gross, on land or at sea.

Whenever we see someone ignore washing their hands, we take some extra dabs of hand sanitizer and make sure to avoid touching anything they put their hands on.

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8. The Grabber

Cruise lines offer a variety of dining options. From quick service venues to the buffet, there will be several restaurants that are self-service. Just because it is self-service, doesn’t mean you can walk up there and just grab things with your hands.

The grabber is the person who goes in for a slice of pizza or takes a few cookies, sans the serving utensils. There is nothing more disgusting than someone who just takes food from a tray or station without using the proper spoon, spatula, or tongs.

Sadly, we see this more often than we would like on a cruise.

If there isn’t a serving utensil present, ask one of the crew members to grab one. The food isn’t going anywhere, so you can wait a few moments while a crew member brings over something you can use to properly put food on your plate.

9. The Saver

Frequent cruisers know that if you want to get premium seats at the signature entertainment, you need to get to the venues early. We usually show up about 30 minutes prior to the showtime for our preferred seating section.

With our seats secured, one of us might hit up the bar or run out for quick bathroom break before the show starts. But, we are never far from our seats for long.

Then, there are the savers. This is the one lone individual sent into the theater early for their family. Often, this one person is tasked with saving multiple seats. Heck, we have seen people try to save 6 or more seats in a row.

Of course, this person has to keep telling other people those seats are taken. This becomes increasingly annoying as the theater fills up closer to showtime. Even when the cruise staff announce there is no saving of seats, these annoying cruisers persist.

That’s when other cruisers begin to give them attitude. They call over staff, verbal arguments ensue, and it gets awkward for everyone involved.

This can be avoided by simply only heading to the theater once all family members are ready.

10. The Cutter

While we try to avoid them, queues do form on modern mega-ships. Whether it is in the buffet or before a show, lines pop up from time to time.

So, nothing is more frustrating than other cruisers pretending they don’t see the line and walking right in front of everyone else.

Typically, someone will call them out. Or, they will ask if this is the line to get into the theater and seem surprised by the answer.

We all learned back in grade school that there is no cutting the line. So, resist the temptation to follow suit and go around people like they don’t exist. Everyone can see you.

This behavior is especially frustrating at the elevator. Several people will come from behind you when an elevator arrives to get ahead of those clearly waiting. If you need to play a little defense or block out the cutters, we say go for it.

We never recommend getting confrontational, but stand your ground and let them know that you’ve waiting, and they can too.

11. The Drunk

Yes, your cruise vacation is the time for you to unwind and relax. Odds are the trip is going somewhere warm and tropical. Along with some sun, you are probably looking forward to some umbrella drinks. A few frozen cocktails by the pool, wine at dinner, and a few drinks at the karaoke bar.

It is perfectly fine to enjoy yourself on the cruise, but try not to over do it. While everyone’s tolerance for alcohol is different, know yours before ordering too many rounds. Getting overly drunk on a cruise ship is extra dangerous as it is a moving vessel. Plus, it’s extremely annoying for everyone else.

But, perhaps the worst part about getting drunk on a cruise is ruining YOUR vacation. We have certainly seen some cruisers have one too many and waste days of their vacation trying to recover.

Mixing the motion of the ocean with too much alcohol can be a really bad combination for some. Yes, we know you have the drink package, but you want to remember the trip, right? You can still get your money’s worth while having a blast.

12. The Caller

Whether on land or at sea, it seems you can’t go anywhere without having at least one person engaged in a loud call on their cell phone.

What makes it even more distracting on a cruise ship is that these individuals are often engaged in a loud video call. So, they are walking around the ship waving their hands around yelling into their phone. They weave in and out of crowds and bump into things. Everyone can hear and see your conversation, and we don’t want to.

When did we lose any sense of our surroundings?

Of course, if you want to share your cruise vacation with those at home, by all means do so. But, don’t be distracting to others on the cruise. We have literally been at shows or performances where fellow passengers next to us are having a full blown phone conversation.

Honestly, do you need to have that conversation right now? That’s what video and photos are for during a trip. You can record the moment and share it with them at a later time.

If you need to call someone, try to do it in a private place, not the middle of the promenade or theater.

13. The Heckler

Almost everyone on the cruise ship is looking to have a good time. It is a vacation. So, we understand that some people will want to let loose.

What is not understood are the individuals who feel that they need to yell, scream, or swear at every event. Yes, those hecklers make it a point to be loud and usually obnoxious, whether on the pool deck or the atrium. Their voices can be heard over the rest of the crowd.

Please try to be mindful of the situation and show your excitement in an appropriate way.

Yes, you can cheer on your friends in the sexy leg competition, or give a standing ovation for the headliner act. If you are at the Glow Party, feel free to sing at the top of your lungs along with everyone else.

But, don’t yell obscene and inappropriate things during the Love and Marriage game show. Or, don’t try to heckle the comedian or main theater entertainers. You are not as funny or witty as you think!

If you don’t like something, or take offense to the comedian, simply leave the venue.

14. The Shuffler

We understand that it takes some people a bit longer to walk around the ship. Or, that you’re on vacation, so you’re not in a hurry. It is perfectly fine to take your time when heading off to your next stop. What is not fine is when you and your whole family take up the entire hallway.

While you might want to take your time, others don’t want to be stuck behind you. So, just stick to one side of the walkway to allow others to pass. Like a highway, on a cruise ship, there are cruisers going at all speeds so give them space.

Nothing is more frustrating than getting stuck behind a group of shufflers going at a snail’s pace when you are already late for your dinner reservation. Be courteous of fellow cruisers and try not to block the entire walkway.

15. The Influencer

Then, there are those people who take videos and photos of everything.

They spend 10 minutes finding the perfect lighting for that photo of their Caesar Salad in the main dining room. They get to the front of the crowd at sail away for videos and pictures. Or, they walk right by others to get a shot of the empty bar.

Perhaps, they are obnoxiously trying to find the best angle to capture the main theater show.

You might notice these influencers making their way around the ship at odd hours of the day. They might be talking to their phone, or holding contraptions that include lights, microphones, or other attachments.

Hopefully, they are not too intrusive and do not distract from your overall enjoyment of a cruise. However, there are some who will do anything for that perfect photo.

If you do see an influencer who is being intrusive, let them know.

Yes, we admit that sometimes we are those annoying cruisers too. After all, no one is perfect! But, as content creators, we do our best to be discrete and not interfere with others’ vacations.

Comments

Did we miss any other annoying cruisers you have encountered on a cruise? How do you handle rude behavior on your sailings? Drop us an anchor below with your past cruise experiences.