With potentially thousands of guests from different walks of life onboard at any given time – from families with young kids to couples on a romantic getaway – the mainstream cruise lines aim to have something for everyone to enjoy.
As a family-friendly cruise line that prides itself on operating the “Fun Ships,” Carnival always has something exciting going on – from DJs creating a party atmosphere at the main pools to themed parties at night.
But for adults who aren’t sailing with little ones, or parents who simply want a break from their kids, all Carnival ships have several adults-only spaces on board – one of which is the Serenity Retreat.
While the name “Serenity” implies a calm and relaxing vibe, one recent guest of Carnival Pride found that her experience in the 21+ section was anything but.
Her experience was so bad that she felt compelled to write to Carnival’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, to ask about the true purpose of the space.
“Just wondering, is the Serenity Deck supposed to be serene or does it just mean it is a space for those over 21?” she asked Heald on his Facebook page.
“Last week on the Pride cruise to Bermuda there was a group of Baby Boomers (obviously with the drink package) who were anything but serene. They were loud, obnoxious, and dropping F-bombs. I ended up leaving the Serenity Deck because of them,” she continued.
While the cruise personality is usually the expert on all things Carnival, Heald was stumped on how to respond – as what each group of guests needed to have fun in the moment directly conflicted.
“Well, it is an adult deck only and perhaps it doesn’t have the right name, I don’t know anymore. It’s a shame that some people do get boisterous but at the same time they are having fun which is well what we advertise so I find this one a very difficult question to answer,” Heald mused.
The Serenity Deck on Carnival Pride, which is the Carnival ship this woman sailed with, is quite large.
Depending on how loud the other guests were, perhaps the annoyed passenger could have reclaimed her peace by relocating to the lounges and daybeds on the opposite side of the 2,124-guest ship.
Adults-Only Serenity Area (Photo Credit: Ihor Koptilin / Shutterstock)
How to Respond to Rude Cruise Guests
With thousands of strangers coming together on every sailing, it’s simply inevitable that sometimes people will clash with each other.
If you feel safe to do so, you can politely approach other guests and respectfully ask them to stop inconsiderate behavior.
However, Heald’s advice was to report particularly obnoxious behavior, which is what this unidentified guest did.
However, she said the members of the 910-person crew she spoke to weren’t helpful.
“None of the workers/pool attendants said anything to the group. They should have asked them to lower their voices,” she added.
Read Also: 15 Mistakes to Avoid on a Carnival Cruise
In response, some of Heald’s other Facebook followers clapped back that it’s not always the crew members’ responsibility to speak up – especially if they also feel unsafe to do so.
Instead, the commenters suggested that the guest should have contacted the onboard security team – who are trained in the art of handling rowdy behavior.
But if guests do ever feel unsafe or uncomfortable, one of the best things they can do is remove themselves from the situation – as this cruiser eventually did.
Hopefully, she was able to find more of the vibe she was looking for in one of the other adults-only spaces onboard, such as the piano bar or the thermal suite in the Cloud 9 Spa.
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com
