Cruise Etiquette: Things Passengers Wish People Would Stop Doing

A Little Courtesy Goes a Long Way at Sea

Cruises are supposed to be relaxing. That is kind of the whole point.

You unpack once, somebody else cooks your meals, your bed magically gets made while you are at breakfast, the gym (ok, maybe not the gym) or the pool, and there is a pretty decent chance you are holding a frozen drink before noon. Life is good.

Which is exactly why certain cruise etiquette behaviors somehow become even more irritating onboard than they would be back home.

The reality is that modern cruise ships are floating cities carrying thousands of people from all walks of life. Most passengers are friendly, patient, and simply happy to be on vacation.

But every cruise also seems to feature a handful of people who somehow missed the memo.

And lately, as cruise ships continue getting larger and more crowded, conversations around cruise etiquette seem to be getting louder across cruise Facebook groups, Reddit threads, and cruise forums.

Susan and I have found ourselves discussing this more often after recent sailings. Not because cruising has become unpleasant — far from it — but because some behaviors simply stand out more when you are sharing elevators, buffets, pools, theaters, and narrow hallways with 5,000 other people.

So in the spirit of lighthearted honesty… here are a few things cruise passengers really wish people would stop doing.

Please Let People Off the Elevator First

Can we all agree this should not still require discussion?

Somehow, cruise ship elevators seem to temporarily erase years of civilized social behavior. The elevator doors open and before passengers inside can even move, a crowd outside immediately starts charging forward like they are boarding the last lifeboat off the Titanic.

Meanwhile, the people trying to exit the elevator are left awkwardly weaving through the incoming traffic. Cruise ships are already elevator-heavy environments, especially on sea days. A little patience goes a long way.

And honestly, if people exiting the elevator are allowed to actually leave first, the boarding process somehow becomes dramatically easier for everyone involved. Imagine that.

Buffet Lines Are Not Competitive Sports

Cruise buffets are fascinating social experiments.

Most passengers patiently wait their turn, casually browsing options while debating whether they truly need a third dessert. Others apparently approach the buffet like they are competing on a timed reality show.

Cutting in front of people. Reaching across strangers. Suddenly appearing from the side to grab the last bacon strip. Ignoring the natural flow of the line entirely.

The same behavior often appears at pools (we have seen enough lounge chair drama online to last a lifetime), theaters, the gym (yes, the gym!), and even during disembarkation.

Look, everybody wants a good seat for the show. Everybody wants fresh pizza. Everybody wants a lounger near the pool. But pushing past people or pretending lines do not exist somehow makes the entire ship experience feel more stressful than it needs to be.

Cruising works best when people remember they are sharing the experience with thousands of other vacationers trying to enjoy themselves too.

Interestingly, cruising has a way of amplifying both relaxation and frustration at the exact same time. For many people, cruises provide a rare opportunity to disconnect from stress, routines, and everyday pressures. But when expectations become too rigid, even small inconveniences can suddenly feel much larger than they really are. That balance between relaxation, expectations, and emotional mindset is something we explored much deeper in our ongoing Psychology of Cruising series.

The Endless Complaining Gets Exhausting

This one may officially qualify as our biggest cruise pet peeve.

At some point during almost every cruise, Susan and I inevitably overhear somebody complaining loudly about something.

“The service is terrible.” “The entertainment is awful.” “My drink is too strong.” “My drink is too weak.” “The buffet was better three years ago.” “The lobster is smaller.” “The music is too loud.” “The music is too quiet.” Argh!!

Listen, legitimate issues absolutely happen. Nobody expects cruises to be perfect every single time. If your cabin has a problem or your dinner arrives cold, by all means politely address it.

But there seems to be a growing group of travelers who spend their entire vacation actively searching for reasons to be unhappy. And honestly, that mindset sounds exhausting.

You are floating through the Caribbean or the Mediterranean with unlimited food, ocean views, live entertainment, and somebody literally cleaning your cabin twice a day.

Take a deep breath. Be patient with the crew. Be tolerant of other passengers, and perhaps consider taking 200mg of a chill pill.

And while passengers sometimes get frustrated over minor inconveniences, it is worth remembering just how hard cruise crews work behind the scenes to keep thousands of guests happy every single week. Few crew members work harder than cabin stewards, who somehow manage to keep cabins spotless while juggling incredibly demanding schedules. If you have ever wondered what life is really like from their perspective, our post What Your Cabin Steward Wishes You Knew offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look.

Cruise Ships Bring Out Both the Best and Worst in People

Part of what makes cruising so fascinating is that it compresses thousands of personalities into one shared environment.

You can easily witness incredible kindness onboard:

• strangers helping elderly passengers
• crew members working unbelievably hard
• families reconnecting over dinner
• people making lifelong friendships

But you also occasionally see impatience, entitlement, and lack of self-awareness magnified in ways that stand out more onboard than they might at home.

Perhaps that is because cruises are emotional environments. People save for these vacations for years. Expectations run high. Crowds can feel overwhelming at times. Delays happen. Stress sneaks in.

Still, the vast majority of cruise experiences remain overwhelmingly positive, which is why basic cruise etiquette matters more than ever.

This conversation around cruise etiquette also connects surprisingly well to another growing onboard debate: cabin door decorations. What some passengers see as harmless fun, others increasingly view as hallway clutter or inconsiderate behavior. Cruise lines now find themselves balancing personalization, safety, and passenger expectations in ways they never really had to before. We recently explored that changing dynamic in our post, The Cruise Door Decoration Debate Is Getting Heated.

The Best Cruisers Tend to Have One Thing in Common

After years of cruising, we have noticed something interesting. The people having the best vacations are usually not the ones obsessing over every detail. They are flexible. Patient. Easygoing.

They laugh off small inconveniences. They adapt. They give crew members grace. They understand that sharing a floating resort with thousands of people requires a little tolerance now and then. Ironically, those passengers also tend to enjoy their vacations far more.

Cruising becomes a whole lot more enjoyable when you stop treating every minor inconvenience like a customer service emergency.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, cruise etiquette really comes down to one simple idea: Remember that everybody else onboard is on vacation too.

A little patience at the elevator. A little courtesy at the buffet. A little less complaining. A little more perspective. None of it is complicated.

And honestly, if we could collectively improve just those few things, the onboard experience would probably feel noticeably better for everyone.

Now, while I may have officially nominated “constant complaining” as my personal cruise pet peeve of the year… let’s set that aside for a moment.

Because I know every cruiser has one behavior that instantly makes them roll their eyes onboard.

So what is yours? What would you love to see passengers stop doing on cruise ships?

And no judging here… unless you are one of the people who tries to board the elevator before letting anybody off first. Then we may need to talk.