Boorish behavior

[cyclenut]

Oh dear lord!! That woman is creating a little monster. I don't know how anyone with 2 connected brain cells thinks that this is good parenting. Yikes.

Please don't judge. There are a number of very valid reasons why this person may have been doing this for their child, including but not limited to various autism spectrum disorders. I'm sure that there was a gap in front of her. I would have just skipped the bacon and walked around. I'm sure she would have understood.

I happen to like the more broken up buffet approach. I don't think you should have to wait in a serpentine line. It encourages people to load up their plate and create more food waste. Why? Because they put something on their plate at the beginning of the line not really knowing what they may end up with at the end of the line. It's also MUCH faster.

Not addressing anyone in particular, BUT chairs are for butts not towels. If you want someone's butt to be in a chair to hold your towels then fine. Evidently, chairs on a ship by a pool are not plentiful. If your butt doesn't need a seat, then let someone else's butt have it.

That being said, there's a difference between "seat saving" and a seat being occupied by someone who is currently getting popcorn or going to the bathroom. One is a seat that has had no claimant and may never have a claimant. The other the person has shown up, high fived their family members, sat down and said " Hey I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back" That seat is occupied not "saved"

Wow. Seat Saving. It's a really mixed bag. When I'm in a large group I know it is difficult to get seats together in the theater. I like to get ready early and go and save seats for everyone. it is very difficult to get the entire group ready to go at the same time. It's more convenient for everyone involved and doesn't make them feel rushed. I'm not taking any more seats if I get there early or get there later. It's not like a line for character meets where I'm making someone else wait longer. My group usually isn't far behind though. Maybe 15 minutes at most. It's almost a must if you have a family of six or more. Oh ... and I take as many people as I can with me. Often it's more a matter of letting those who are ready go ahead and go and those who need a little more time the chance to finish up without being rushed.

That doesn't feel at all selfish to me, but I suppose some feel it is. I don't go down to the pool at 7am and throw out a bunch of towels to save chairs for the entire day. I think that practice is WAY over the line. But, if we are all on our way to the pool (or beach), I will save enough chairs for the whole party as they make their way in and out of the water. When we are done being by the pool/beach, we pick up all our stuff and go, even if we are coming back "later".

 

[Lilsia]

Please don't judge. There are a number of very valid reasons why this person may have been doing this for their child, including but not limited to various autism spectrum disorders. I'm sure that there was a gap in front of her. I would have just skipped the bacon and walked around. I'm sure she would have understood.

I am sorry but just NO. I knew someone would say this. There is zero justification for doing something like this. No professional educator/doctor/therapist worth a damn would ever say that that is true. The world does not work like this and children need to be taught how to cope with everyday life. In fact that is the whole reason for therapy, for children to learn how to be able to handle every day life. This kind of behavior is unsustainable and frankly kids' brains are not wired to be able to handle constantly making decisions. To keep asking a child, "do you want this one? How about this one? Or this one?" is completely over stimulating them. People are so weird with kids and food in this country. Most parents around the world put food on their kid's plate and the kid eats it. All we are doing here is causing food issues with kids.

 

[FluteTuba]

I am sorry but just NO. I knew someone would say this. There is zero justification for doing something like this. No professional educator/doctor/therapist worth a damn would ever say that that is true. The world does not work like this and children need to be taught how to cope with everyday life. In fact that is the whole reason for therapy, for children to learn how to be able to handle every day life. This kind of behavior is unsustainable and frankly kids' brains are not wired to be able to handle constantly making decisions. To keep asking a child, "do you want this one? How about this one? Or this one?" is completely over stimulating them. People are so weird with kids and food in this country. Most parents around the world put food on their kid's plate and the kid eats eat. All we are doing here is causing food issues with kids.

10 years ago with my older daughter at a campus buffet (I was in school):
Me: Oh here are sandwiches! How about this ham and cheese?
Her: NO!
Me after putting the sandwich back and rummaging around for a bit and picking the same sandwich back up): How about this CHEESE and ham sandwich?
Her: YES!

And there you go, that's how you handle your kids.

 

[Weedy]

Please don't judge. There are a number of very valid reasons why this person may have been doing this for their child, including but not limited to various autism spectrum disorders. I'm sure that there was a gap in front of her. I would have just skipped the bacon and walked around. I'm sure she would have understood.

I happen to like the more broken up buffet approach. I don't think you should have to wait in a serpentine line. It encourages people to load up their plate and create more food waste. Why? Because they put something on their plate at the beginning of the line not really knowing what they may end up with at the end of the line. It's also MUCH faster.



Wow. Seat Saving. It's a really mixed bag. When I'm in a large group I know it is difficult to get seats together in the theater. I like to get ready early and go and save seats for everyone. it is very difficult to get the entire group ready to go at the same time. It's more convenient for everyone involved and doesn't make them feel rushed. I'm not taking any more seats if I get there early or get there later. It's not like a line for character meets where I'm making someone else wait longer. My group usually isn't far behind though. Maybe 15 minutes at most. It's almost a must if you have a family of six or more. Oh ... and I take as many people as I can with me. Often it's more a matter of letting those who are ready go ahead and go and those who need a little more time the chance to finish up without being rushed.

That doesn't feel at all selfish to me, but I suppose some feel it is. I don't go down to the pool at 7am and throw out a bunch of towels to save chairs for the entire day. I think that practice is WAY over the line. But, if we are all on our way to the pool (or beach), I will save enough chairs for the whole party as they make their way in and out of the water. When we are done being by the pool/beach, we pick up all our stuff and go, even if we are coming back "later".

Why does it matter if you all sit in the same row?? You can only talk to the person on either side (maybe one more down) of you.
Pick a meeting spot after the show to get back together

 

[oumagic]

Just pointing out that the pool deck chair thing is NOT exclusive to DCL.

I have multiple pictures of ghosts in chairs on Brilliance of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas. And pictures of one person claiming 4+ chairs at 6am - and the towels and books and whatnot were still in the same spot hours later - not a person in sight to claim them.

While you are correct, I have not seen passengers on non-DCL cruise ships police the “no saving seats” to such an extreme.

 

[Dug720]

While you are correct, I have not seen passengers on non-DCL cruise ships police the “no saving seats” to such an extreme.

I don't do pools, so I can't comment on how it gets guest-policed on RCCL from experience. But from the cruise critic forums, it's just as bad.

 

[gatordoc]

Just back from the Dream, and observed this disgusting behavior at the Cabanas buffet. A guy was going along the buffet, eating items from his plate with his fingers as he went along, and then using the same hand to use the tongs to put more food on his plate. I politely asked him to stop contaminating tongs that others use, but he just ignored me. Yet another reason to use hand sanitizer AFTER you've gotten your food - unfortunately those tongs may not be as clean as you would like them to be.

 

[southerngirl528]

Just back from the Dream, and observed this disgusting behavior at the Cabanas buffet. A guy was going along the buffet, eating items from his plate with his fingers as he went along, and then using the same hand to use the tongs to put more food on his plate. I politely asked him to stop contaminating tongs that others use, but he just ignored me. Yet another reason to use hand sanitizer AFTER you've gotten your food - unfortunately those tongs may not be as clean as you would like them to be.

Ewwww. Some folks really, really just don't think at ALL how their behavior might impact others..... I swear I am going to start putting disposable latex gloves in my purse again....

 

[ivanp91]

That buffet story reminds me of a 'pet peeve' of mine and I wonder if it's anyone else's. For some reason I cannot stand seeing people going straight into their food the moment they get it - eg people eating things off their plate while walking to their table. At least sit down and look civilised, waiting an extra 30 seconds won't cause you to die of starvation, I don't want to see you shoving food in your face while you're navigating your way around.

 

[Dug720]

Ewwww. Some folks really, really just don't think at ALL how their behavior might impact others..... I swear I am going to start putting disposable latex gloves in my purse again....

For those with latex allergies, please get non-latex or you're going to make some people's vacation even worse. They're perfectly fine and what is used in medical offices and hospitals because latex is a fairly common allergy.

 

[TestingH2O]

Just back from the Dream, and observed this disgusting behavior at the Cabanas buffet. A guy was going along the buffet, eating items from his plate with his fingers as he went along, and then using the same hand to use the tongs to put more food on his plate. I politely asked him to stop contaminating tongs that others use, but he just ignored me. Yet another reason to use hand sanitizer AFTER you've gotten your food - unfortunately those tongs may not be as clean as you would like them to be.

I think I would have told a cast member. All those utensils should have been swapped out for new.

 

[cyclenut]

Why does it matter if you all sit in the same row?? You can only talk to the person on either side (maybe one more down) of you.
Pick a meeting spot after the show to get back together

It's called a shared experience. You don't need to talk to each other to share an experience. It's just not the same to compare notes afterward. Not to mention all the chatter before the show starts. Numerous times my wife and I catch each other watching one of our kids react to the show. We all, collectively, enjoy live theater and our kids are performers, so we sometimes see things in the show and exchange glances. I mean, countless reasons why sitting together is a much different.

 

[cyclenut]

I am sorry but just NO. I knew someone would say this. There is zero justification for doing something like this. No professional educator/doctor/therapist worth a damn would ever say that that is true. The world does not work like this and children need to be taught how to cope with everyday life. In fact that is the whole reason for therapy, for children to learn how to be able to handle every day life. This kind of behavior is unsustainable and frankly kids' brains are not wired to be able to handle constantly making decisions. To keep asking a child, "do you want this one? How about this one? Or this one?" is completely over stimulating them. People are so weird with kids and food in this country. Most parents around the world put food on their kid's plate and the kid eats eat. All we are doing here is causing food issues with kids.

You are completely wrong to judge. How do you know they are not getting therapy, talked about this cruise and were advised how to handle things for this vacation? Various autism disorders present in very different ways for each person. Just stop judging people. Move on with your life.

 

[MomOTwins]

It's called a shared experience. You don't need to talk to each other to share an experience. It's just not the same to compare notes afterward. Not to mention all the chatter before the show starts. Numerous times my wife and I catch each other watching one of our kids react to the show. We all, collectively, enjoy live theater and our kids are performers, so we sometimes see things in the show and exchange glances. I mean, countless reasons why sitting together is a much different.

I agree with the value of sitting together, but I think that is one of the reasons AGAINST seat saving for large parties, because everyone wants to sit together, and not everyone can send a runner ahead. When we go to a show, I have to get my twins to wrap up their dinner on time from the main seating, get them to use the restroom so they don't have to go during the show, wait in line at concessions, and then go searching through the crowds for three seats together, which are often hard to find. It is that much harder when I think I have found three seats together, climb over a bunch of people to get to them while juggling kid booster seats, drinks, popcorn etc, and then get told the empty seats are "taken."

 

[Lilsia]

You are completely wrong to judge. How do you know they are not getting therapy, talked about this cruise and were advised how to handle things for this vacation? Various autism disorders present in very different ways for each person. Just stop judging people. Move on with your life.

What people do affects all of society. If someone is raising a kid to think the world revolves around them and that kid does not learn how to cope with disappointment, then these are the kids that grow up to be school shooters and delinquents. The only thing that stops people from being homicidal is social expectations. You say don't judge, we are a society and all must live together and it is human nature to judge others when they do not conform to the social norms. Your telling me that you have never thought "OMG what the hell is that person doing?" I have found that the people who defend poor parenting are the ones who parent the same way and treat their kid like a special snowflake. Go work at any fast food restaurant where they employ young people. You will see how this spare the rod, spoil the child mentality has done to children.

 

[cadien]

It's called a shared experience. You don't need to talk to each other to share an experience. It's just not the same to compare notes afterward. Not to mention all the chatter before the show starts. Numerous times my wife and I catch each other watching one of our kids react to the show. We all, collectively, enjoy live theater and our kids are performers, so we sometimes see things in the show and exchange glances. I mean, countless reasons why sitting together is a much different.

But there’s a difference between a nuclear family sharing an experience and a group of 12.

 

[southerngirl528]

For those with latex allergies, please get non-latex or you're going to make some people's vacation even worse. They're perfectly fine and what is used in medical offices and hospitals because latex is a fairly common allergy.

Yep. With a background in healthcare, I was aware when I wrote that that someone might take the "latex" to task, but my point was not in using latex (which are harder and harder to find btw) gloves but in not wanting to "share" when it comes to germs. I could have said nitrile gloves but lots of folks might not have known what that was.

 

[TortoiseTaughtUs]

It's called a shared experience. You don't need to talk to each other to share an experience. It's just not the same to compare notes afterward. Not to mention all the chatter before the show starts. Numerous times my wife and I catch each other watching one of our kids react to the show. We all, collectively, enjoy live theater and our kids are performers, so we sometimes see things in the show and exchange glances. I mean, countless reasons why sitting together is a much different.

That’s lovely, and precisely the reason why we make a point of sharing the experience of arriving at venues as a complete party.

 

[Billinaz]

Please don't judge. There are a number of very valid reasons why this person may have been doing this for their child, including but not limited to various autism spectrum disorders. I'm sure that there was a gap in front of her. I would have just skipped the bacon and walked around. I'm sure she would have understood.

I happen to like the more broken up buffet approach. I don't think you should have to wait in a serpentine line. It encourages people to load up their plate and create more food waste. Why? Because they put something on their plate at the beginning of the line not really knowing what they may end up with at the end of the line. It's also MUCH faster.



Wow. Seat Saving. It's a really mixed bag. When I'm in a large group I know it is difficult to get seats together in the theater. I like to get ready early and go and save seats for everyone. it is very difficult to get the entire group ready to go at the same time. It's more convenient for everyone involved and doesn't make them feel rushed. I'm not taking any more seats if I get there early or get there later. It's not like a line for character meets where I'm making someone else wait longer. My group usually isn't far behind though. Maybe 15 minutes at most. It's almost a must if you have a family of six or more. Oh ... and I take as many people as I can with me. Often it's more a matter of letting those who are ready go ahead and go and those who need a little more time the chance to finish up without being rushed.

That doesn't feel at all selfish to me, but I suppose some feel it is. I don't go down to the pool at 7am and throw out a bunch of towels to save chairs for the entire day. I think that practice is WAY over the line. But, if we are all on our way to the pool (or beach), I will save enough chairs for the whole party as they make their way in and out of the water. When we are done being by the pool/beach, we pick up all our stuff and go, even if we are coming back "later".

Well, the stated policy right on the navigator is not to save seats. Ive had kids run past us after we waited for a long time for the theater to open. We (family of 5) planned on sitting front row center, thats why we were waiting that long. A couple kids came form behind us running to the front of the theater and sat 10 seats apart and tried claiming they were saving seats. We just sat down.

Others showed up 20 minutes later and started scolding the kids for not saving the seats, then the loudmouth father started yelling at my family. After I told him not only is there not a no saving seat policy, he should have shown up and waited like we did. 15 minutes later the rest of the group shows, and I heard the wife telling him that you cant save seats as he was still complaining....... So much like Southwest airlines, you can try to save seats, but there is nothing you can do if someone wants to sit there.

 

[Spotthecat]

Imagine if they assigned seats and your tickets for next evenings's show were placed on your bed next to the navigator. Seat saving issues gone!