People with no spatial awareness. They just stop and stand in the middle of the walkways with no inkling that they are blocking people from moving.

My big frustrations for what it is worth; 1) elevator behavior 2) kids running wild without parent supervision 3) pool chair snobs

Just got back from a cruise aboard the Carnival Mardi Gras. Beautiful ship. The only complaint was the hundreds of scooters used by passengers. They seem to think they owned every deck they were on including the elevator. One more thing, having to go through casino to get to other venues. Cigarette smokevwas unbearable.

I dislike the rule that if one person buys a drink package then both have to buy the drink package. Sometimes one passenger drinks alcohol and their significant other doesn’t drink at all.

I don't mind the extra charges at all. If there is something that I want to buy or do, then I will do it. Otherwise, I am very happy with what comes with the cruise fare. I do, however wish that they would come up with a reasonable rate for solo travelers even if it means a smaller cabin. Additionally, my ONLY real "beef" about cruising in the disembarkation process. There HAS to be a better and more efficient way. It has always been a hassle as far as I am concerned,.

On Australian based cruises, all fees and taxes are on the price advertised. There are no added gratuities and tipping is optional as we don't have a tipping culture. We are use to staff that work under Australian conditions that are paid a full wage.

Us old timer cruisers remember when the only choice in dinging that one had was the MDR and/or the Buffet and that was it. All of these extras nowadays are choices that one can take or leave.

What I hate is the last night of a cruise... I hate waking up at 7 am after they kept the nightclub open till 3

Last 5 day Bahamas cruise we took on Carnival was $3500 total at the end with 4 of us .. They do suck you in on those so called cheap fares lol..We won't sail from Charleston SC anymore . The Sunshine was full of grumps,seniors and rednecks .. We'll drive down to Miami to get the crowd we like

I'd like to see Carribean cruises with only one or two ports where they stayed for 2 or 3 days. I feel a bit overwhelmed with the Wham! Bam! Thank You, Ma'am! nature of modern cruising. Maybe it's just me.

My first cruise back in July 1993 we went to San Juan. We actually was in the port from 11:00 AM to 02:00 AM the next morning. That was 15 hours in the port. We actually had a farewell to San Juan that lasted till we left the port. IT WAS A BLAST!!!!

I hate having to leave port so early. So many ports it seems we have to leave at 4 or 5 p.m. The ship arrives at port around 6 a.m., but we can't get off for a couple of hours.

Our general rule for looking at cruise prices: take the cruise fee and double it (per person). That usually gives us a good idea of overall costs, to include excursions. (Disclaimer: we don't drink enough to justify the drink packages) Current example is our next cruise, a 4 day Carnival cruise to the Bahamas. $429pp. Add fees, taxes, and gratuities, it's $614.20pp. Add the excursions plus transportation to/from the Airport, it's about $770. We'll each drink about $100 overall for the 4 days. So, yeah, twice the cruise fee. Oh, we also get $500 OBC...not too bad!

Although I agree with everything you said my biggest pet peeve is people who put a towel on a poolside chair to reserve it for the whole day. I refuse to buy into this practice but lots of people do it. I guess that fall into the category of rude people.

I agree with the extra charges. Drink packages are priced way more than most people would drink, the drink gratuity of 18% is a lot. You can prepay gratuities but still have to pay a gratuity on every drink from water to alcohol.

I'm going on my 1st Cruise Nov 26, and I can tell you that I'm about 75% sure it'll be my last. I've traveled pretty much the world. However , I can get a lot more vacation staying on dry land. Hate the nickel & Dime approach. I feel like I'm being hustle.

I have wanted to go on a cruise but, my thinking is, if I can go to an all inclusive resort that offers the around the same amenities, why go on a cruise? I was just recently in Cabo and paid $225 a night at a nice all inclusive hotel and didn’t have to pay any gratuities or extra charges and best part about it was that I could get all the free drinks included in my rate (including top shelf liquors) and go to the specialty dining places for free once I set up a reservation for them. Why should I spend a double occupancy fare with less included in the fare when I can get more at an all inclusive for free?

For me. The positives outweigh the negatives by a mile. Just be frugal and smart about the extra spending. Cruising is still the best vacation for the dollar. In my opinion.

The thing I would hate most is paying for other people’s drinks and food when I don’t drink alcohol or gorge on several large meals a day. The thing that never works: one-size-fits-all.

All inclusive pricing would be nice

I just wish the cruise lines included the port fees instead of figuring them out at check-out. I know that some parts of the world include the fees in the shown fare.

Virgin is the most inclusive major brand.

I'm about to take my first cruise next year in NCL. I choose NCL because ot seems to cater more around solo travelers. I booked my entire trip through NCL. I mean I'm gonna pay for it separately anyways, so why not. From flight, hotels, transfers, and excursions. It helped me keep it all contained in one booking. I've heard all the horror stories from people who didn't have a good experience with it. But that is part of traveling. No one will ever have 100% a perfect experience. We all just have to breathe and just get to where we are going. That's the goal and enjoy our time at our destination!

Not enough single occupancy rooms... especially not enough single occupancy rooms with a balcony

I just hate how they cram as many people as possible on the new Mega ships and you really can't enjoy any of the outside spaces during sea days because of it... So I rarely book mega ships as a result

I took my first cruise in 2001. I thought is was very special. The one thing that stands out in my memory was the midnight buffet. There were ice sculptures, tables filled with oysters, shrimp, crab legs, fruit, fruit sculptures, a truly beautiful display. I took a class on how to garnish fruit and bought a carnival book about it and a cookbook which I still use. I still do fruit sculptures and so does my sister who went with me. When I went on my next cruise in 2012, I told my husband about this midnight buffet and you could eat all the lobster you wanted in the restaurant. But there was no midnight buffet 😢. You could still get all the whole lobster you wanted on lobster night though. But all that has changed. Since Covid, the quality of the restaurant food has truly gone down hill. Smaller portions, cheaper cuts of beef and if you want lobster you have to pay for it and you get half a lobster tail! We don’t eat in the restaurants anymore. We only do the specialty dining or the buffet at night. The restaurant food has really become a disappointment. Something that was amazing is really nothing special anymore. 😢😢😢

When I look at a cruise fare I double it and $1000. That covers gratuities, taxes, night before in a hotel, parking, etc. It's not exact but it gets close. Of course if it requires air that's extra. Saves me a lot of time when my wife says here's a great deal...

Waiting for more than a hour for pier runners.

I love your informative channel

I am also a career cruiser. I have made top tier on Princess with multiple sailings on Holland America (yes older crowd) and now NCL. Your analysis is spot on. I find its not what the ships offer but in most cases a lack of experience going on a cruise. I'm looking forward to see what the lines have to offer. Still price is a driver for me (won't be on a Disney ship)

It would be nice if the cruise lines used some of those smaller inside cabins for solo travelers (with a solo traveler rate) who would not require the extra space.

BIG frustration is lines creating "CLASS passengers" have more access to ship areas, treated better, perks to those who pay more. Are we not all the same?

I dislike paying double because i am traveling solo.

Too many people will always be my biggest complaint. I understand that it's a business and the more people on board the more money they make, but if they ran promotions where it's the same ships, but with the promise of fewer passengers in return for higher fares to cover the costs, I'd be on board with that. I would gladly pay double to half the passenger count. Holidays are supposed to be a time to relax; the instant there's a crowd that you have to fight through, I feel all the stress of normal life coming back.

Interesting watching this as a UK person. Here we have much more inclusive fares, port fees included and usually gratuities, drinks are usually the main expense.

The daily gratuity is getting crazy! If it's going to be expected to have everyone pay it daily, let it just be added into the price. Miscellaneous gratuity, well, that depends on us. But, the daily gratuity for the length of the cruise should be bundled in at a minimum. Everything else can be discussed and elected to some degree.

I don't like big ships , to many people I like the small ships less people.

Really dislike the additional “Crew Gratuities.” and the port fees and taxes. These are unavoidable costs. So why not include them in the cost of the cruise? Then if you don’t drink alcohol and care very little about shore excursions, then you will know how much the actual cost of the cruise will be. Foe people who dislike the number of people on board, cruise the smaller ships.

I wouldn't mind a higher upfront cost for more included than piecing together what I want to do while planning my trip. If there was an option that included room fair, meal plan, number of excursions per trip, prepaid gratuities, etc. for XXX price, I'm more likely to go ok "Does this work for me?" and give me more of an idea of what I want to do on my trip. If I'm just picking what sounds good at the time of booking I might worry more about individual pricing in my decision making.

I've read on other cruise blogger sites, cruises out of several countries, Great Britain, Japan, Australia, bundle gratuities, port fees, and taxes into the advertised price. At a minimum cruise lines in the United States could be more honest in listing prices on their websites rather than hiding port fees, taxes, and gratuities in small print.

People need to stop complaining if they don't have enough money to go out on vacation they should stay home, eat at the buffet main main dining room and drink sea water if you want to save money.

Interesting topic because there is a difference between too many people onboard and too many people per passenger space. Carnival is a very popular cruiseline but I believe they tend to have the highest pax per unit of space, whether the ship is 90K GRT or 180K GRT.

The difference between the "guarantee" price and choose your cabin price is a pain. And guarantee is confusing to a newbie.

MSC has included gratuities and port fees. The price you see is the price you pay.

I love NCL free at sea . On my Alaska cruise with the free at sea you 50.00 credit for every shore excursions you booked . I was on a single cruise so I booked one for me in each port. My end bill on my onboard account with everything I bought was 33.00

Thanks!

Omg get there already! For anyone just wanting the points here they are: Rudeness Too many people Too little time in ports Extra charges like tips, drinks, special meals

I don't like the fact that people DEMAND the gratuities be removed from their bill. The crew have earned this. Cruise lines may have to include it in the fares and refuse to remove it.

I don't mind the gratuities to the crew. I don't drink alcohol or use the specialty dining neither. Dancing and eating is plenty enough for me. Destinations are secondary. There is not enough time to absorb anything.

You can opt out of automatic gratuities at guest services, a bulk of it goes to people the never deal with you directly. No one is entitled to tips, it's earned and if service is poor than no tips are paid. If workers rely on it then the company needs to pay people more and not rely on us paying more. I have no problems tipping when service is good. I'm willing to bet some crew doesn't even make 1k a month.

Geez, it's surprising to me that so many people object to tipping. If anything, I'm inclined to bring a lot of tipping cash for my trip to add on to the tips. I'm sure the tips are a big part of the staff's compensation

Celebrity has late departures in Aruba (11:30pm) and has 2 overnights in New Orleans for the Mardi Gras cruise.

The check in is the worst part. I hate being herded like cattle

Folks who don't like tips should travel to Italy, which does not have a tipping culture. On my very recent trip, the lack of tip culture shows up in the service, which was a LOT different than elsewhere in the world...

It is alarming to see so many clinically and morbidly obese people on cruises, at least out of Galveston. They obviously are struggling with serious food addictions.

I concur with the rude people. I did 18 cruises in 10 years (none since pandemic). I said then I probably wouldn't do another due to rude people and the level of debauchery on the cruise.

My gripe is 18% gratuity and never getting your cocktail or it taking a half hour to get it. We prepay our gratuity and expect port fees. But hate added gratuity for food and drink before you get it or not.

If u want to enjoy a cruise, Oceanview, drinks package, internet, , gratitude, insurance on your cruise, etc expect to pay over $1100 per person.

As my university economics professor said, " There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Nice to get 5 drinks for free every day as Diamond plus on royal....actually 10 per day because my wife doesn't drink.

Too many ships at a port of call. Prefer 2 day stops at private islands. I recently was on the Allure of the Seas and did not find it crowded and it was easy to get around.

Nickle & diming

We sail HAL to avoid the super large crowds other ships have. Can’t imagine having 4-5k on the ship.

The thing that annoys me the most is people hogging the pool chairs all day and making it impossible to actually have a seat near the pool. Or far too many people taking up tables in the restaurants so you not only have to line up for food but you have to line up for a free table too

Hello I’m going on my 1 Royal Caribbean on Serenade of the Seas cruise for Christmas do I nee d a jacket for the main dining room. I have a drink package any drink. I should try and any in side information about the ship I should know . Thank you and have a happy holidays

thx

Seems we are always in port supper early. Never get to sleep in.

I hate being nickel and dimed especially when I have paid extra for the "free at sea" package. It should mean that I do not have to pay any extra. And I do not care about the art actions and stuff like that because I avoid those like the plague. I mean the extra 20% added to that "free dinner" or "free drink".

My biggest complaint isn't extra charges because I budget for them and know what is included and not before I book something. I do understand crowds being annoying but again I expect that if I'm going to be on a bigger ship. I get irritated when they dock four ships at one port waaaayyyy to many people at once in a small area. It becomes chaotic and dangerous. My biggest complaint though is the food quality and temperature. It seems it's hard to keep buffet food hot and I'm not crazy about the food either. It's mediocre at best unless you pay extra for specialty dining. But, I'm from the Chicago area which is every foodie's dream, so I'm kinda spoiled. 😂😂

I try and only book Celebrity which went to all included fares and then increased the fares to be out of site. I look for sales. If the price of the all included is more than gratuities plus a little extra, I will only book the cruise only. I don't need WiFi and I don't drink alcohol. Now on Celebrity I got to a level where I get 90 minutes of free WiFi and unlimited drinks between 5 and 7 at bars. I can get my soda and water at that time and put in my fridge. Traveling with my spouse who is not the level I am, He can have his one or two wines at that time or his beer. We make it work to get the most out of our cruises. When Celebrity went to the all included they took away the choose two free...gratuities, WiFi, drinks or $300 for onboard. Inflation is making everything more expensive. You just have to look at what works best for you. Even $10 a day is way more than I drink. Water from the buffet is fine, bring a water bottle if you need to always have a drink.

On MSC Seashore right now and did a late night Port of call in San Juan Puerto Rico and I thought it was wonderful

I do not drink alcohol and sodas and there is plenty of good free food on board most ships. I hate that the gratuities are not added 8n the fare. That really bugs me.

Given the biggest complaint is additional costs, Idk if there is a real solution here because cruise lines will advertise the lowest possible prices to draw people to their ads. If they showed the likely actual total costs, IMO, they'd lose customers. I understand this, but it can be frustrating to see an ad that reads "cruise for $75 per day" only to end up paying closer to $2000+ when you add charges for the type of cabin, length of stay, port, taxes, beverages, wifi, specialty dining, excursions, gratuities, etc.

Lines. That’s my biggest complaint I realize lines and too many passengers go hand in hand (pun intended). But people on cruise ships adopt sheep mentality and just start forming lines when they don’t need to. I learned to eat or do things early or late to avoid the lines. But it seems people all have to do everything at the same time. I wish carnival (the only one I’ve been on) would have more eating options between lunch and dinner so that more people could have options without herding like cattle at eating troughs. And when I go to port I just get off, avoid the lines to the official buses and cruise affiliated ground transport and find my own things to do and explore. I couldn’t believe the ridiculous lines at 9:00am in Cozumel to find their bus or transport. I walked right by all that and just strolled off the Port area and found a taxi to take me to a beach and paid fraction of the money I would have to have the cruise take me. And I was at the beach while people from my cruise were still waiting in lines. Lmfao. Another passenger told me they spent the whole day in lines, traffic and had 1 hour in the sun at some ruins only to have to get back in line to wait for the bus to take them back to the boat (2 hour trip one way) and sit in a crowded stuffy min bus/van with kids crying and everyone complaining about the excursion No thanks.

I've wanted to try the 3-day cruise but my fiancee won't do any type of cruising due to the spread of COVID(any strain of it) and norovirus along with the possibility of pirates hijacking the cruise ship and you're stuck and stranded in the middle of the ocean or in the country the cruise ship makes a stop at if WW3 ever breaks out the way the times are getting lately.

Disembarking is always chaos

Sea sickness? Not mentioned?

I have been cruising for over 20 yeas and a lot has changed. My thoughts are that gratuities and port fees should be included in the price for a cruise and passengers should have to pay for room upgrades, drinks, specialty dining, excursions, etc. Why should other passengers that don't use these upgrades pay for things they do not want or can not use?

So you pay it anyway you do it. Pay less and have add ons or have it all included and have your price in total be higher

And there are too many disgusting cigarette smokers that smoke cigarettes on their balconies!!

Umm no...gratuities are OPTIONAL. And double occupancy is necessary to keep couples from getting two rooms.

I don’t run into this on seabourn

Here in Australia, we are forced to pay gratuities upfront as part of the cruise fare! A fee charged for good service BEFORE it is given?

People act like clowns with the elevators. Bum rush the door or try to squeeze in

Kids, unattended?

I saw the Ecstasy invoice and saw the date of Aug 29… were you on this cruise?

Extra charges when you already paid for this

The #1 thing I hate about videos like this is when they don't get to the point of the video for several minutes and drag it out. Very click baitish.

Chair hogs. I just don't get it. Why do people think they're entitled to a chair for the entire day? If people would stop this insane practice, everyone would get a seat at the pool.

If I go to one of the restaurants on a cruise...am I suppose to tip or is gratuity already billed to me and how much? 15%? I want to make sure the servers are getting 20%

Chair hogs

Rude people on board (loud, pushy, self-entitled) can make it less enjoyable on board.

Rude passengers ruin a lot of good times on the boat. Deck chair hogs, smokers puffing away in non-smoking areas, folks vaping in the food lines like their fake baileys scented cloud isn't disruptive, load ass music from portable speakers or phones, cutting and shoving in lines, elbowing people next to them at the bar. Cruise lines could crack down on this. You publicly toss off one aggressive violator, kick a chair hog off the deck for the day, or boot someone from a venue and I bet you'd see other people shape up.

What's wrong with cruises getting bigger and bigger every year? - For me that's terrific !

The one thing I really dislike is ‘Murican behavior. Always crushing my belief in humanity.

I just realized that the majority of those voting elected and lobbied my legislature. Free lunch for everyone!

Boring.