Reflections on Cruising: Part 2

I had to go down to the customer service desk one evening to dispute a charge on my Sign and Sail card.

(They give you a room key/credit card to pay for stuff on the ship during your cruise: ergo Sign and Sail.)

While waiting, a woman stood and berated one of the customer service folks.  She went off on the service she received getting drinks.  She went off on the service received at her meals.  Complaint after complaint after complaint.  On a cruise ship.  Where they feed you all day, clean your room twice a day, turn down your sheets, have drinks waiting for you upon asking, give you free room service, and whole host of other things to help you have fun.

But apparently, such things were not done fast enough or with enough of a smile for this woman.

Honestly, I can somewhat appreciate what she was saying.  This was my second cruise, and the service on this boat was a step down from my first cruise.  However, I understood why.  The cruise I took my wife on (for several reasons that I would now reconsider) was a four day out of Galveston to Cozumel.  Turns out, this particular cruise is a "party" cruise.  More than a few folks use it to simply get away and get as drunk as they possibly can.  It's relative inexpensiveness allows quite a few folks who don't know proper cruise etiquette to experience cruising.

Unfortunately, this has some drawbacks.  Many don't tip their servers anything at all above what they are required to pay on their Sign and Sail accounts.  Many expect their servers to do everything for them.  Many treat their servers as second class citizens.  Many are rude and obnoxious.  As a result, the staff isn't as attentive as they could be.  And I don't blame them.  No one wants to continually deal with rude folks who portray a sense of ungratefulness and entitlement.  No one wants to go above and beyond the call of duty when being stepped on day after day after day.

Unfortunately, those of us who didn't do such things had to pay the consequences of the many who did with reduced quality of service.

But why complain?  The service was still more than adequate.  There was still copious amounts of food and drink.  There was still plenty of quality entertainment and fun activities.  There were way more benefits for the price paid than drawbacks.

So much like life. 

I think sometimes even I complain too much. 

And if everything is going o.k. in my life, I'll complain on behalf of someone else who may or may not be complaining themselves. 

Kind of ridiculous if you ask me.

There's too much to enjoy in this life to be complaining all the time.

Start living.

Quit whining.