Cruise Ship Hot Tub Hogs
Jan. 14, 2011— -- Question: What's with large groups of people taking over the hot tubs on cruise ships?
On my last cruise, there was an extended family who was always in the hot tub -- literally for hours on end. I went in a couple of times anyway and they didn't move over at all, or tell their kids not to bump into me ... they just sat in there as if they owned it. I was too chicken to ask them to leave, though. What's the etiquette for this?
Answer: It's rude to monopolize any cruise-ship facility that's open to all guests. So if the ship has a karaoke booth, you can't be in there for hours on end working your way through the entire Beatles catalogue. Your kids might love shuffleboard or ping pong on the deck, but you shouldn't let them play all day while other kids stand there waiting. So I think that family was being extremely rude. Plus, kids really aren't supposed to be in hot tubs -- particularly for "hours on end."
I'm glad you went ahead and went in anyway -- it's important to make it clear that yes, other people actually do want to use the hot tub. But since this was an ongoing problem, I'd have had a word with the pool staff. They're in a much better position to ask them all to move along.
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Question: Could you tell people that when they're getting off an airplane, they shouldn't stop dead the second they step from the plane into the jetway? I understand wanting to get your coat on or your bags organized, but you can move off to the side to do that instead of holding up a whole plane full of people behind you.
Answer: I think you just took care of that yourself.
