When you’re on a cruise, you may want to let your hair down but it is vital to remember that there are other passengers to consider during your seafaring vacation. According to the Johnny Jet travel blog, one of the most annoying things that cruise passengers do is loudly shutting their cabin doors. On the popular yachting reality show “Below Deck,” there are signs on the crew doors asking others not to slam their doors as it is a known problem when people are sleeping in such close quarters.
Any experienced boat crew like them knows that an essential part of the job is being a good neighbor. As cruise ships are just like floating cities with guest cabins only being a short distance apart, it is the same issue above deck. Just as you would hope your neighbors in an apartment complex would be considerate by refraining from slamming doors, it’s important to be mindful of your “neighbors” during your cruise adventure.
How to quietly shut your cabin door
Cabin doors on cruise ships are heavy, and they often face out into the elements which means that not only are they more likely to slam, but it’s noisier when they do. The best way to quietly shut a regular door is to push or turn the handle as far as it will go, keep it in that position until it closes and then release it. Once this is done you can lock it, or check that it has locked itself. This is important as these doors sometimes appear locked, only to fly open if the ship hits any wave turbulence.
If you’re staying in a room with a keycard, Johnny Jet recommends closing the door before it clicks, tapping your keycard to unlock it and then turning the handle so that it isn’t as noisy. Cruise ships also have engineers and deck staff on board, so if your door squeaks, then you could ask them to oil it, which will make it quieter. Shutting the door quietly is just one of several things you can do to be a considerate cruise ship passenger.
How to be a good cruise ship traveler
One of the most important things to do onboard a cruise ship is to follow safety instructions. It causes the crew a lot of extra stress when they have to ensure protocols are followed, and when you’re surrounded by the ocean everyone needs to be safe. If “Below Deck” has taught us anything it’s that the staff on boats work very hard around the clock, so being respectful and giving them a nice tip at the end will put you in their good books.
It’s not just your ship neighbors that you need to look out for, it’s the ones that live in the ocean too. Cruise ships have a bad reputation for littering so avoid bringing anything with packaging onboard and keep any rubbish inside as much as possible to make it less likely to blow into the ocean. When you alight at any of your sightseeing destinations, a way to give back to the communities that you’re visiting is to spend money at local businesses to keep them afloat. The one rule to remember on any cruise ship is to be respectful as after all, you are literally and metaphorically in the same boat.
