Unwritten rules of going on a cruise ship

If you go on a cruise line's website, you'll find plenty of rules, the things you can do can't bring on board and all that kind of stuff, but there are also unwritten rules that cruisers know about. And if you're new to cruising, or maybe just simply want to brush up on it, you might not know about. So today I'm breaking down the unwritten rules of going on a cruise. Here we go. Hey everybody. It's Matt from Royal Caribbean blog.com. And whether we're talking about sports, your workplace, even in school, there are always some unwritten rules that everyone kind of knows about and should follow, right? These are the norms and practices that most people tend to follow as a result of maybe years of practice or whatever the reason may be. It's just the way that things go. And the same is true about going on a cruise ship. There are rules that are not necessarily written down anywhere, but they are the social norms that many guests follow. Many of these rules are based on what some people might call common sense or courtesies extended through much of society these days. So if you're going on a cruise, these unspoken rules are things you should definitely be aware of before doing something you might regret later on. Let's start with number one, don't cut the buffet line. When you go to the buffet, there are no defined lanes or entry and exit points, but that does not mean you can just simply drop in ahead of others as you see fit. When you approach a buffet station, the courteous thing to do is start at one of the ends and let others who were there before you pick their food first. The key is not interrupting the flow of the line and being respectful to other guests who've been waiting for their food as well. Speaking of the buffet, always get a new plate. Whenever you go back up, don't reuse plates. That's I think also maybe a written rule, but if it's not, this is true of any buffet anywhere in the world, always get a new plate next. Don't save a pool chair indefinitely. Okay. This unwritten rule gets broken. I get it, but we're going to advocate what you should do. Not what you shouldn't do. The pool deck tends to be more of a wild West in terms of reserving spaces, but the right thing to do is not hoard chairs. If you're not using them, it's a contentious issue about how long one can reserve a deck chair near the pool while it is unoccupied, you may hear the term chair hogs thrown around, which refers to people who throw their belongings on a chair in order to reserve it for the day, while that may not sound bad, oftentimes someone will get up early in the morning, like six or 7 and then puts their belongings on a chair and then disappear for a number of hours and return later on. Now it's very easy to fall into the, if I don't do what they're doing, I won't get a chair either mentality, but I prefer not to contribute to the problem. The respectful thing to do is to reserve chairs as long as they're actively needed. Certainly everyone steps away now and again, but locking up chairs for the day hours before they'll actually be needed is a faux pas. The next unwritten rule about cruising is you should remember your neighbor can probably hear you through their room. Stateroom cabins are not soundproof. So it's important to be respectful of the noise levels from your room. Whether you're playing the television too loud, yelling at your kids or frolicking with a loved one, as they say, keep in mind, there is a good chance the people on the other side of the room can hear it. This applies to balconies as well as noise can easily bleed over into other people's balconies and even rooms. So be respectful of your neighbors. Next up, you should tip the crew. Let's be clear about this. Technically gratuity infers that in the academic sense of the word it is optional, but it is compulsory on Royal Caribbean cruises, just like dining at a restaurant, the crew members work on tips and your cruise fare does not cover their services. Royal Caribbean charges an automatic gratuity that covers your stateroom attendant and waiters. This is a daily charge you can prepay or take out each night of the cruise. Royal Caribbean allows guests to remove the automatic gratuity if they would rather pay these same crew members in cash, but that option to remove gratuities is not a cost savings mechanism. So you do need to tip them. It's just the way it is. You might argue that it shouldn't be the way it is. And I might actually agree with you. I think it should be part of the cruise fare, but it's not. And then until that changes, you got to tip the crew next, be punctual with short excursions. They say punctuality is the politeness of Kings and it applies to short excursions as well. Oftentimes when you go on a tour, you'll have time to explore on your own. And if you're late, you are holding up the entire group, be mindful of your time and do your best to ensure you're back when everyone agrees to return. The next unwritten rule about cruising is don't use your hands to pick up food. There are salad tongs at each buffet station for a reason. So don't use your hands. Not only is using your hands to pick up food, bad manners, it's putting others' health at risk when it comes to cross-contamination germs can easily spread from hands to food services. I know those bread rolls are hard to grab with the tongs, but it's still a must do. The next unwritten rule is also something you apply to your regular life, which is let people out of the elevator first, before you get in, when you're waiting for an elevator, let people who are in the elevator, get out before trying to get in. If you don't, you're only going to cause a log jam in the elevator doors between you trying to get in while others are trying to get out. Not only is letting others out of the elevator first, courteous, it also speeds up things all around. I mentioned earlier. One of the unwritten rules is you should be tipping the crew members. And another one is you should be kind to them. The crew members work on the ship, but that doesn't mean they're your servants. Show the crew courtesy and listen to their instructions. It's easy sometimes to get caught up in frustrations or even aggravation about rules while on vacation. But it is crucial for guests to always remember that crew were there to help and not get yelled at. Being kind means following the directions, thanking them for little things, and even pausing to talk to them about where they're from or what they love about their job. Most crew members are happy to chat and share things with guests and being polite to them usually helps make their days great. On top of that, they're people too. So be nice to them. And the last unwritten rule about cruising is don't curse while on board, regardless of where you're from or who you're with, you should always watch your language and avoid profanity real Caribbean. After all is a family cruise line and you should avoid any cursing inappropriate comments or insulting words out of respect for your fellow cruisers. So there you have my top unwritten rules about going on a cruise that you should be following. A lot of these, as I mentioned, can probably be applied to the regular life as well, but I want to hear in the comments below, which of these do you follow and are there any unwritten rules about cruising that I miss? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video, make sure you like this video. Make sure you also subscribe to our channel and turn on your notifications. That way YouTube lets you know when I have a brand new video to share. This has been Matt from Royal Caribbean blog.com. And we'll talk again real soon.