The Power of Reporting Issues On Board a Cruise Ship (And Why You Should)!

There’s nothing like that feeling as you’re boarding the cruise ship that will make that dream trip come true and looking forward to the experiences and places you will reach once your cruise vacation finally starts. Fairly so, as, most likely, you’ve arranged and waited around for months, if not more, to start such an amazing and enviable journey.

However, just like anywhere in life, things may not always go our way, and while, in most cases, we won’t have any power to solve, or even prevent issues, it’s important to take into account certain situation where our “input” might save us, and many other passengers, from an unpleasant situation. And it’s not about being a snitch, or having any kind of intention to ruin anybody else’s vacation, it’s more about not letting THEM ruin yours.

One of the things you should be (lightly) on the lookout for, or alerted if spotted, is a child in diapers (or young enough for them) inside the common pool. Regardless of how child-friendly the pool is intended to be, children who still wear diapers (in or out of the water), are not exactly welcome in any pools. The reasons are quite obvious, but if you’re wondering why I suggest you take the task to report it promptly is in case you intend to use the pool in the near future. See, when a child has an “accident” in a pool, especially of the brown kind, you can expect that pool to no longer be available for at least a day, thus effectively ruining your swimming plans. You’re welcome to ask any staff around if that’s allowed, however I can assure you that no cruise line, even with kiddy pools, allow even swimmer diapers inside.

Another thing you’ll want to report is if you’re staying in a balcony and you see someone being funny/dangerous near the balcony railing, or even more so, if you see someone attempting to cross from one balcony to another (a lot less likely, but it has happened, and it has also had much-expected consequences). Now, reporting such an activity may save a life, but if you want to be a little selfish, it may also save you from missing a long-awaited port. When people fall overboard, whether the ship finds out immediately or shortly after, a set of protocols will begin, and, if you were on the way to a port that day or the day before, you can expect not to visit it at all. I remember an instance when the Captain went on the PA system asking every guest to be on the lookout for a guest who presumably fell overboard and gave the exact description of her clothes (which prompted a surprising amount of false alarms!). While it was strange, and even a bit funny when the Captain said “ok everyone, get to work”, this caused the ship not to stop in Palma, something many people regretted and, a few soulless others, complained about.

If you have already been on a cruise, you might have heard, repeatedly, that fire is the biggest danger on a ship. And you’d think people ON BOARD THAT SHIP would be particularly interested in safeguarding their own life and others. But noooo, guests will be guests, and it’s not uncommon to spot them smoking where they are not supposed to, whether due to ignorance or plain disregard for anybody’s safety including their own. One common misconception, or voluntary oversight from smokers, is that smoking on their balcony won’t possibly harm anyone. WRONG! You don’t have to be a physics expert to think about the repercussions, but just to type it down, cigarette butts, when thrown overboard, as in most cases, are sucked back onto the ship. Not only that, even after stepping onto them, they might not be all the way extinguished (and the wind doesn’t help in that sense). So, depending on where it lands, you could be looking at a tragedy waiting to happen, so call Guest Services right away.

We all wish people were considerate and caring for each other, but when there’s a large amount of guests gathered in the same place, a few careless ones are bound to happen. So, be observant, but above all, enjoy your cruise! – ThatGuy (onboard)