Experts reveal 6 rudest things passengers do on cruise ships

High seas, low vibes.By the end of 2026, a record-setting 21.7 million Americans will have set sail on a cruise.

While the masses continue to demonstrate their deep love for maritime adventure, some are behaving below board while onboard.To determine decency and all that falls beyond it, leading experts recently revealed the rudest things a cruise passenger can do.The primary discourtesy? Monopolizing pool loungers.Cruise passengers have long followed a tradition of grabbing anything they can find — towels, flip-flops, even dolls — to reserve pool lounge chairs for hours.“Reserving a pool lounger for while you’re off enjoying another activity is simply unfair,” Deborah Director, a SmartFlyer travel advisor, told Travel + Leisure.“Everyone deserves an opportunity to enjoy the ship’s amenities, particularly when outdoor space is at a premium.” Many cruise lines are doing their part to curb the behavior.Royal Caribbean has a strict policy stating that pool deck chairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved.Last year, passengers praised Norwegian Cruise Line for enforcing its anti-chair-hogging policy.According to reports, crew members actively marked unoccupied chairs with stickers, and if sunbathers didn’t return within an hour, they removed towels and personal items from the unattended loungers.T+L also called out cruisers who don’t utilize the handwashing stations by the buffets, as going sans soap greatly increases the risk of contracting and spreading illnesses onboard.

This May, a Princess Cruises ship was rocked by a norovirus outbreak that affected more than 100 passengers and 20 crew.Norovirus is the most common cause of gastrointestinal illness outbreaks on cruise ships, according to the CDC.It accounted for 17 of the 23 CDC-reported cruise ship outbreaks last year.As one Reddit user surmised, “Lack of hand hygiene is my biggest ick.

The ships make it so easy for everyone to wash their hands.It help...