I just booked my first Royal Caribbean cruise for April and upon reading online reviews, was disappointed to hear about the last minute cheap deal offers to locals, who then overran the ship being very rude and unfriendly. Has anyone experienced this and how often does this occur? Just concerned...........

I went out of Puerto Rico on the Adventure of the Seas in December 2008. I can say I never experienced what you've described. What one person perceives as rude or unfriendly may just be a culture difference. I wouldn't be concerned.

You must be referring to cruises out of Florida. I experienced this on a cruise from Port Canaveral, when the cruise line offered a special deal to Florida residents to fill our undersold cruise. Lots of rude and boorish behavior from my fellow Americans. In fact I think half the passengers were from the Orlando area. They acted like they owned the ship. Thankfully it was only a 3-night cruise.

We have cruised out of San Juan 3 times and Florida 3 times. Prior to our first cruise out of San Juan we read many reviews speaking about the rude behaviour of the Puerto Ricans. We read enough bad information that we seriously considered cancelling our cruise.

We have seen very little in the way of rude and unfriendly behaviour. What we have seen has come from Americans. I think that Cruise Fanatic is correct in saying that cultural differences must be taken into account while on a cruise.

Just kick back and relax. Remember you are on vacation. Someone cutting in front of you in line (we've never seen this) is not going to slow you down much if at all and is not worth ruining your trip over.

Well, it was definitely the port out of San Juan the other cruisers were referring to, but maybe you are right - cultural differences. The postings were late 2009, holiday season, so not sure if timing had anything to do with it.

We have cruised out of San Juan twice and ports in Fl as well. We have stayed on prior to our cruises in San Juan and have found the locals to be very cordial and engaging. We have not experienced in our cruises what has been described.
You'll enjoy the cruise out of San Juan and the ship. We have done Explorer and Adventurer of the Seas.

Peterl

okay, I'm feeling better now. Thanks all!

We sailed out of San Juan last April and the locals did over run the ship. This would not have been a problem if the majority were not so rude and obnoxious. They definitely put a damper on an otherwise good time.

We experienced some of this going out of San Juan. It seemed that the native Puerto Ricans did not feel that the end of the line pertained to them. Also they sat on a "bridge" type area between the two pools for hours drinking and socializing and no one could pass through these areas. It was boorish and rude, but hardly the stuff to "ruin" anyone's vacation. It simply forced people to go around the pool and wasn't that big of a deal. I don't like line jumpers, but we still got off the ship in plenty of time for our activities. It just seemed so startling when you are in a line that meanders through a corridor and up a stairwell that joining at the back end should be self explanatory for all cultures. I would go again even if the "locals" were plentiful. It's a cruise!! And boorish people come from all countries if you look for them or let them get to you.

The same as others, I have taken a few out of San Juan, my preference if the flights are good. I have seen some of this behavior, but the terrific islands you get to visit and for me a couple of days in San Juan outweigh any other things IMO. Can't wait to do it again !!

First THANK YOU DAVE FOR THE DEFENSE!!!

I apreciate it and my fellow Puertorricans too.

Well "here I go again on my own..."

there are a few things that need to be clarify:

1. No we in Puerto Rico don't get "special prices" for booking and we usually don't book at last minute we get better prices because we don't have to buy airline tickets to get there and any place in Puerto Rico is only two hours from San Juan. That is more like a legend than truth but if you discover any site that can give me a better price for been puertorican PLEASE BY ALL MEANS LET ME KNOW!!!


2. Yes there can be rude people in a cruise can be from any country, but I know that we puertorricans can be difficult sometimes, I even ask myself why they do this or they do that but that is more of a problem if you are looking for this situations
If you read a review and then start looking for this little things then you will not enjoy your cruise so forget about them they are usually writen by "little evil internet people" looking to jinx your cruise.

3. here are a few things that also can explain why they say this things

a. We don't really understand the concept of line jumpers, because in our island thats not really a big deal and when you are in the buffet line and I don't want salad why do I have to wait if I want the chicken at the end??
we usually do this in order to get the line going and that is a normal thing in here so maybe thats the problem.We don't know this concept it's not we are rude is that it's the normal conception in the island.

b. Here in the caribbean the music, party time and dancing normally ends on 2 am. during weekends so when we get to a cruise we usually do the same. Actually if you want to enjoy PR you have to get to the disco or Pub after 10 pm or it will be like a ghost town.

c. We understand english, 90% people on the island can, problem is if you translate "can you speack english" to spanish it reflect this "can you use english to talk as you use spanish" well we will understand what you are saying but we will explain you the answer in spanish not english.

Let me tell you this try Puerto Rico, but try it in order to get a caribbean experience here we don't usually have a lot of calypso music but try SALSA or MEREGUE you will enjoy it.
When you get to the cruise and see people dancing and if they are from Puerto Rico I can tell you this if you have the time talk to them, Normally, we like to become friends with tourists even on a cruise.
USA is a big deal for many of us not only the country but their people also. If you ask to dance salsa or to dance the night away we usually say yes

WE LIKE TO PARTY IN THE CARIBBEAN!!!
GET TO THE PROGRAM YOU ARE ON VACATION!!!


As for your cruise:

Forget about reviews they are useless because your cruise is that, your cruise not the other way.

If you need any info on the Island or in your cruise please let me know I have travel in the past on the AOS and know a few tricks for the islands...

At one time I never let rude and obnoxious people get to me. Maybe I've taken too many cruises because now my temper flares up. I'm not referring to Puerto Rican passengers because I've never noticed a problem with them. Maybe now that these type of people have my attention I just notice they're on every cruise that I'm on. My advice is to just ignore them if you can. I really ought to follow my own advice because they're really getting to me.


Sonny

Thank you Casanova, I was hoping you would weigh in. I personally love Puerto Rico, and the excuse to go there a couple days early is always welcome. My last Adventure of the Seas it was teens, American and Puerto Rican that got under my skin. But like Sonny says, I won't let them ruin my cruise vacation. But I have chosen cruise times that limit the teens. Good thing for me that dear Mother loves seeing kids and can influence me like no other. She balances me, I had stopped going to shows, she loves them, I go. I am a lucky gal.

Cas, Thank you for the excellent and informative post!

Dwayne

Hang in there Sonny. When I'm around rude people I imagine they are little babies, because that is just how they act. Be a duck. Go quack, quack, and let it roll off your back. Thank you for always sharing with us.

You are so right on Caz about the Puerto Ricans partying into the early morning hours. Last year we stayed two nights in Old San Juan and enjoyed eating at Tio Danny's and the Parrot Club. When we asked about the night life as we were there Fri and Sat nights, we were told not to show up until 10:00 pm or later and be prepared to party until 3 or 4 in the morning. It was quite a sight to see the streaming traffic coming down the one way cobblestoned street in front of our hotel until we went to bed. Weekends are definitely a party atmosphere for the locals.

Peterl

The only time cruise passengers got to me was a group of 14--18 year old school trip girls from Panama. A volatile combination of culture clash, teen hormones, total lack of supervision, and a really ugly age for most human beings. They were everywhere, in adult venues, hallways, pool areas, you name it, and being pains in the ___ everywhere they went! They were 4 to a room and I rarely saw the "chaperones" and I use that term loosely. I had little doubt that a group that large of girls from the US would have been just as obnoxious--but the cabin stewards disabused us of that notion. Apparently this group comes very year and creates havoc.

By the way I have no idea how many of these 9th-12th graders there were--there seemed to be dozens!

quote:

I had little doubt that a group that large of girls from the US would have been just as obnoxious

Yes, they can be. I cruised with a bunch on board (Girls and Boys) last year. They were just as obnoxious as what you described and worse. They even found a way to get beer and have a little party on one of the aft decks. I reported them to security. One of the brats had approached me to buy them beer a few days earlier, I of course refused. Then when they saw me alone the next day the head brat called me vile names. Sweet revenge on the brats!

Dwayne

On my Jan 10 cruise I saw a few teenagers running through the Solarium about 9pm. One of them was jumping from lounge chair to lounge chair and I yelled HEY!...GET OVER HERE! He came over to me and was very respectful in explaining they were playing a ship game. I asked him to tell his friends not to run through this area and never jump on the lounge chairs. He said yes sir and took off (not running this time). My point? The young man had shown respect and was apologetic and I appreciated that. Then again, there are just the opposite--I would have handled the situation a little different if that were the case. If things get out of hand on any ship security should be called. I've heard of family's being put off a ship because of their teenagers breaking the rules.

Sonny