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Is it rude to heckle late comers?


steverk

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I was on our balcony back in September when people were running for the ship.  We were very overdue for leaving and lots of people were yelling from their balconies.

Turns out that they were all on a Royal excursion and were late because there was a traffic accident with a fatality in front of them and the road was impassable for a while. 

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I hope that everyone here gets to sail with Captain Marek Slaby. He has been tenured on Radiance for a number of years; there is a running rumor he may tapped for Icon— and for good reason. He is the most personable and likable captain I have sailed with. His announcements are honest, frank, and each day he rattles off every birthday aboard, including crew. Passengers stop and listen to his words when he is on the PA.   Honest.

 

Let me describe how Captian Merek deals with those who are late to come back aboard. “This is Captian Merek coming to you from the bridge. It’s now 5:40 and all aboard was at 5:30. We are still waiting for Tom and Mary in cabin 9632, Rueben from cabin 3126, and Estelle from cabin 1174…..” There a grins from ear to ear on everyone onboard when they hear the captain very publicly call out those who are late.

 

Those grins turn out to widespread laughter the next port stop when you here the following “the local authorities have cleared the ship and the gangway on deck 2 is now open. I would like to remind Estelle in cabin 1174, Tom and Mary from cabin 9632, and Reuben from cabin 3126 that all aboard is at 6:30 pm tonight….”

 

Allow me to say one more nice thing about Captian Marek. Capt Marek loves to sing. He has single handedly created a show that happens once a week in the Centrum; Rock’in With the Captain. It’s the band and six or seven crew members (all amateurs) who also like to sing and are shockingly quite good! They are wearing their work uniforms of cabin attendant, server, laundry person, etc. They sing whatever songs they want across any genre. The Captain…..his jam is 80’s Judas Priest!

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2 hours ago, bobroo said:

I hope that everyone here gets to sail with Captain Marek Slaby. He has been tenured on Radiance for a number of years; there is a running rumor he may tapped for Icon— and for good reason. He is the most personable and likable captain I have sailed with. His announcements are honest, frank, and each day he rattles off every birthday aboard, including crew. Passengers stop and listen to his words when he is on the PA.   Honest.

 

Let me describe how Captian Merek deals with those who are late to come back aboard. “This is Captian Merek coming to you from the bridge. It’s now 5:40 and all aboard was at 5:30. We are still waiting for Tom and Mary in cabin 9632, Rueben from cabin 3126, and Estelle from cabin 1174…..” There a grins from ear to ear on everyone onboard when they hear the captain very publicly call out those who are late.

 

Those grins turn out to widespread laughter the next port stop when you here the following “the local authorities have cleared the ship and the gangway on deck 2 is now open. I would like to remind Estelle in cabin 1174, Tom and Mary from cabin 9632, and Reuben from cabin 3126 that all aboard is at 6:30 pm tonight….”

 

Allow me to say one more nice thing about Captian Marek. Capt Marek loves to sing. He has single handedly created a show that happens once a week in the Centrum; Rock’in With the Captain. It’s the band and six or seven crew members (all amateurs) who also like to sing and are shockingly quite good! They are wearing their work uniforms of cabin attendant, server, laundry person, etc. They sing whatever songs they want across any genre. The Captain…..his jam is 80’s Judas Priest!

Omg that sounds amazing.  I hope he’s captaining the ship for my March sailing!

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This is why you always have the number of the pier agent when you disembark. If you are running late (and not on an RC excursion), call the pier agent 

I just asked this question to a friend of mine who was a hotel director with Royal for over 20 years. HD is in charge of every passenger who disembarks. He told me that if you call and let them know you’re running late they will wait IF THEY CAN! Not saying they will but they really don’t want to leave people behind. 

He also said the majority of pier runners involved alcohol. 
 

So snap a pic of the pier agent’s number (bottom corner of cruise compass) and don’t be late!!! 

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17 hours ago, teddy said:

I was on our balcony back in September when people were running for the ship.  We were very overdue for leaving and lots of people were yelling from their balconies.

Turns out that they were all on a Royal excursion and were late because there was a traffic accident with a fatality in front of them and the road was impassable for a while. 


Came here to say about the same thing.  We were on a cruise and docked in Puerto Rico when they were bringing peoples belongings off the ship and people were heckling some of the family members that were standing around.  Turns out a Royal excursion was in an accident and two members of the family were now in the hospital.  



Sure, it's fun to watch the runners, but I'd caution against the heckling.

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19 hours ago, steverk said:

So I'm on a ship and have to admit to getting a fiendish pleasure heckling the pier runners. Of course the crew can't participate,  but I get the impression they enjoy it too.

However, it also feels rude. Any thoughts?

I wouldn’t do it. I can’t imagine being in that situation and having people heckle me.

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16 hours ago, bobroo said:

I hope that everyone here gets to sail with Captain Marek Slaby. He has been tenured on Radiance for a number of years; there is a running rumor he may tapped for Icon— and for good reason. He is the most personable and likable captain I have sailed with. His announcements are honest, frank, and each day he rattles off every birthday aboard, including crew. Passengers stop and listen to his words when he is on the PA.   Honest.

 

Let me describe how Captian Merek deals with those who are late to come back aboard. “This is Captian Merek coming to you from the bridge. It’s now 5:40 and all aboard was at 5:30. We are still waiting for Tom and Mary in cabin 9632, Rueben from cabin 3126, and Estelle from cabin 1174…..” There a grins from ear to ear on everyone onboard when they hear the captain very publicly call out those who are late.

 

Those grins turn out to widespread laughter the next port stop when you here the following “the local authorities have cleared the ship and the gangway on deck 2 is now open. I would like to remind Estelle in cabin 1174, Tom and Mary from cabin 9632, and Reuben from cabin 3126 that all aboard is at 6:30 pm tonight….”

 

Allow me to say one more nice thing about Captian Marek. Capt Marek loves to sing. He has single handedly created a show that happens once a week in the Centrum; Rock’in With the Captain. It’s the band and six or seven crew members (all amateurs) who also like to sing and are shockingly quite good! They are wearing their work uniforms of cabin attendant, server, laundry person, etc. They sing whatever songs they want across any genre. The Captain…..his jam is 80’s Judas Priest!

SO very TRUE!!  We were on Radiance in Jan out of NOLA and the Rockin w/ the Captain show was by far the BEST we saw all week!!! He is SO personable with both guests and his crew. In talking with the manager over the retail shops she said that much of the crew stayed with Capt. Marek while waiting to go back into service during their hiatus even though they were one of the last ships back in service. 
 

His announcements every day were epic and everyone did stop what they were doing to listen. His straight forward attitude on dealing with issues like late comers is refreshing.  It’s truly awesome too seeing how well he treats every single crew member regardless of their rank or role. I would certainly look forward to sailing with him again. 

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18 hours ago, bobroo said:

I hope that everyone here gets to sail with Captain Marek Slaby. He has been tenured on Radiance for a number of years; there is a running rumor he may tapped for Icon— and for good reason. He is the most personable and likable captain I have sailed with. His announcements are honest, frank, and each day he rattles off every birthday aboard, including crew. Passengers stop and listen to his words when he is on the PA.   Honest.

 

Let me describe how Captian Merek deals with those who are late to come back aboard. “This is Captian Merek coming to you from the bridge. It’s now 5:40 and all aboard was at 5:30. We are still waiting for Tom and Mary in cabin 9632, Rueben from cabin 3126, and Estelle from cabin 1174…..” There a grins from ear to ear on everyone onboard when they hear the captain very publicly call out those who are late.

 

Those grins turn out to widespread laughter the next port stop when you here the following “the local authorities have cleared the ship and the gangway on deck 2 is now open. I would like to remind Estelle in cabin 1174, Tom and Mary from cabin 9632, and Reuben from cabin 3126 that all aboard is at 6:30 pm tonight….”

 

Allow me to say one more nice thing about Captian Marek. Capt Marek loves to sing. He has single handedly created a show that happens once a week in the Centrum; Rock’in With the Captain. It’s the band and six or seven crew members (all amateurs) who also like to sing and are shockingly quite good! They are wearing their work uniforms of cabin attendant, server, laundry person, etc. They sing whatever songs they want across any genre. The Captain…..his jam is 80’s Judas Priest!

We have sailed with Captain Marek twice now. On one occasion we were enjoying dinner in Chops for my wife's birthday when he stopped by our table to say happy birthday! I don't know if he does this with all birthdays on board (tracks down where they are having dinner through seapass card) but it was definitely unique and made my wife's day. 

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14 minutes ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

We have sailed with Captain Marek twice now. On one occasion we were enjoying dinner in Chops for my wife's birthday when he stopped by our table to say happy birthday! I don't know if he does this with all birthdays on board (tracks down where they are having dinner through seapass card) but it was definitely unique and made my wife's day. 

I don't specifically know but I can tell you my experience. He is one of the remaining captains to have a nightly Captian's Table in the MDR. After we were done dining...he works the room. Wow!

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Oh I don't heckle but I people watch.  Last month on Oasis I saw very late comers dragging/corralling their friend. She also made it into the water several times and it took them a good amount of time to get her onboard. The crew was behind her packing up the day, aka bringing the suppliers back onboard, and they all made it aboard before they did.

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On 2/13/2023 at 5:21 PM, steverk said:

However, it also feels rude. Any thoughts?

I think it's rude to hold up a ship full of thousands of people who were on time because of whatever reason they couldn't make it back in time.

I think it's rude to cause a cruise line to burn more fuel at significant cost to make up for lost time to reach the next port because of whatever reason they couldn't make it back in time.

I think it's rude to the dock workers at the port who want to go home after a long day of work but can't because of whatever reason they couldn't make it back in time.

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1 hour ago, teddy said:

The conundrum is knowing when people are late due to their own irresponsible actions or on a Royal Caribbean sponsored excursion that ran into issues returning on time. 

If 30 people are walking down the pier, all late, my money is on an RCI excursion. 

If a couple is running down the pier, my money is on someone who is not on an RCI excursion.   Especially when alcohol is clearly a factor.  I've yet to see an RCI excursion with only 2 guests.

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Semi related topic.  I was at the airport 5 hours early for my flight (hubby had to drop me off so he could get to work) and I sat at my gate and watched the 3 gates near me for those hours.  Each gate had people who missed their flights. One couple screaming, "we are standing here now, you just shut the door, open it!" (nope).  Another woman who asked what she needed to do and was told to see Jetblue "just ask" people, she walked away crying, and then a fairly large family, who all walked away shaking their heads, I imagine some family member was to blame for that one.  I sit in wonder of those who arrive late to things and expect the world will stop for them.  I was raised to be early, hubby  not so much.  My stress level is very low when I arrive early, you'd think he would learn! 🤣  When I get off the ship I triple check my phone is working, what the ship time is_ and are we following ship time?- and I plan to arrive back an hour before the ship leaves unless I'm on a Royal excursion.  Yes, cuts into port time, but I  won't be stressed.

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I have seen instances of ship excursions coming back late. They’re usually obvious as they are a disparate group of people at the same time…and there’s usually a Shorex crew member bringing up the rear. They don’t run, nor should they. Yet there are still some fellow passengers lined up on the railings jeering or cheering. I feel that’s pretty rude.

I feel sorry for those latecomers who are herding young kids, or pushing baby carriages, or the elderly doing their best shuffling along. As some in the crowd decide to cheer and jeer…you can see as they try to run. I hate that. Even the crew waiting at the ramp signal them not to run…to take their time. I know they’re probably at fault for being a little late…but I don’t want anyone getting hurt.

Then there are instances where a few latecomers are just making it. As they jog along the pier with towels flapping…sheepishly smiling up at the ship…those on the railings mostly cheer them on good-naturedly. I never hear much jeering at them. 

Lastly…the strolling individual or pair of latecomers who obviously don’t care that they’re late. Even as the crew members wave them to hurry, and the Captain even blows the horn…they still have that entitled, selfish shuffle. They seem to walk even slower as the crowd jeers them. They know the ship will wait for them. They truly believe that they’re special. They deserve every jeer they get! I know it probably wouldn’t happen…but, I’d love to see the ramp pulled up as they shuffle along. Buh-bye!

I recall a captain being asked at a Captain's Corner event if we left anyone behind at a previous port. His answer was perfect..."We didn't leave them. They left us."

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We love to watch the pier runners but sometimes we can't believe their attitude.  One Cozumel cruise, the whole ship was waiting on three people, and they were paged several times.  We watched two of them running as fast as they could to get on the ship but not the third one.  She refused to run or even walk fast but she did continue to enjoy her big yard of margarita.  We silently hoped we would leave her at the dock, but the ship waited for her.   I think just about the whole ship was giving her heck.

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20 hours ago, twangster said:

I think it's rude to hold up a ship full of thousands of people who were on time because of whatever reason they couldn't make it back in time.

I think it's rude to cause a cruise line to burn more fuel at significant cost to make up for lost time to reach the next port because of whatever reason they couldn't make it back in time.

I think it's rude to the dock workers at the port who want to go home after a long day of work but can't because of whatever reason they couldn't make it back in time.

Bryan Cranston Mic Drop GIF

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Personally I think it's poor form to relish in someone else misfortune regardless of the seriousness, one has to remember that someday that might be you due to unforeseen circumstances.   No one, including the ship captain, knows why someone is late thus doesn't deserve insults. Now it very well might just be a case of someone losing track of time which shouldn't happen in today's age of cellphones, but even then no one wore wristwatches in the 80's? So I think this is the least forgivable reason. There could be a myriad of reasons to why someone arrives late but I would be willing to bet 98% of them are avoidable.   People know what time they're supposed to be back so it still surprises me to see so many do so, I might be having the time of my life in port but I have the awareness of the time and make sure to be back with plenty of time before departure. It's mainly due to not wanting to risk being left behind but also respect for other people's time as well as the ship's schedule. 

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So what does it cost RC to stay docked for an additional 10 minutes?  Aren't there additional dock fees?  What does is cost RC to have to go a little faster to the next destination?

All those costs are absorbed into the cost of doing business and are reflected onto what we all pay when we book a trip.

IMO, they can withstand a little heckling in response.

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On 2/14/2023 at 12:38 PM, Bowen said:

I wouldn’t do it. I can’t imagine being in that situation and having people heckle me.

Same. I have a special needs kid that doesn’t appear special needs. 
If something happened, even if you are in contact with the ship about an incident, the idea of people yelling and booing us sounds awful.  

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On 2/14/2023 at 3:08 PM, Paid4c4 said:

I don't heckle or make fun of pier runners because I just know that the next day it will be me running down the dock to catch the ship.  Karma is a cold mistress!

Bill

Lol. Yesterday was the first time I was on an excursion that was over am hour late! No hecklers though. It was a tender port.

Karma is a real thing.

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As I’ve aged I definitely have grown more empathetic. Someone if slow walking, May be they have a physical problem, still frustrates me to be stuck behind them, but I TRY and remind myself I don’t know what they are dealing with.

 I guess the same could be said for a pier runner, May be it’s not their fault and May Betty already feel embarrassed and bad for the situation.  
 

…all that said, I remain pro heckle, because I doubt they can hear me from how high up I’m raining insults down onto them 😂

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People who are late for selfish reasons are rude and deserved to be heckled. That said, you have no idea why someone is late getting back. There could've been an injury or a crime or a car accident or something else unfortunate that was upsetting and at no fault of the person walking back to the ship. I can't imagine having to go through something stressful or dangerous in a foreign country and having people publicly shame me after the fact. For that reason, I don't think it's appropriate. 

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