Friendly Reminder: Stop Leaving Cutlery All Over Your Cruise Ship

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On every cruise ship, hundreds – if not thousands – of crew members work hard to make sure guests have a great time and the ship remains as clean and tidy as possible. 

But whether itโ€™s out of absentmindedness or entitlement, there are some cruisers who make their jobs harder – and temporarily dim the joy of their fellow guests. 

While there are a multitude of ways passengers can breach cruise ship etiquette – from getting too noisy at night to being a chair hog on the pool deck – weโ€™re talking about guests who leave their used plates and cutlery where it doesnโ€™t belong. 

โ€œWhy do passengers leave cups, glasses, and dishes on the shipโ€™s stairs? Every cruise I’ve been on I see it at least once during the cruise. I don’t take the elevators so the stairs are my go to. I still don’t understand the reasoning for it,โ€ one avid cruiser inquired on Reddit.

โ€œWho would eat while walking through the ship and think โ€˜hey let me put an empty dish on the stairs?โ€™โ€ continued the post.

Among first time cruisers, this may happen due to a lack of knowledge of cruise ship etiquette. However, not only can this action be annoying, but it can actually be dangerous in the right circumstances. 

For example, if breakable plates are left on a railing, they could fall and shatter – potentially hitting another passenger in the process and/or creating a hazard on the stairs. 

For plates and cutlery left on the actual steps, an unaware cruiser could potentially slip and fall – risking injury. 

โ€œDishes may not be seen and cause a dangerous fall. I have never seen someone do it in person, just the results. I have always removed dangerous items from the stairs when I see them,โ€ one person wrote in reply.

The best, and most respectful, course of action is to return your plates, cups, and silverware to the usually designated spots around the restaurant, buffet, or quick service venue they came from. 

The exception to this is if you order room service. The cabin stewards usually expect guests to leave their cutlery in the hallway when they are done and will collect the remnants of their meals as they spot them.

A Call for Better Etiquette 

With the popularity of cruising on the rise and ships often feeling more crowded, itโ€™s become extra important to be courteous of other guests while onboard. 

In response to the idea of leaving cutlery on the stairs, the Reddit community felt that the only โ€œexcusesโ€ were laziness and entitlement. 

โ€œEntitlement. The answer is always entitlement,โ€ one person wrote. 

โ€œLet’s not forget laziness, inconsideration, poor upbringing, classlessness, and of course, main character syndrome,โ€ another Redditor added on. 

โ€œThe first cruise I went on as an adult was with my husband, sister in law and brother in law, and our kids. I had finished a drink and was holding it until we got to a bar or somewhere reasonable to leave it, and my BIL told me to just leave it on the stairs. He is an extremely entitled and inconsiderate person as a rule,โ€ a third chimed in.

Stairs on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship
Stairs on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship (Photo Credit: Solarisys)

Read Also: 14 Cruise Etiquette Rules You Need to Know About

But with the conversation already started about being courteous (and safe) onboard, now is also a great time to revisit other cruise ship etiquette standards – especially if youโ€™re a first time cruiser or itโ€™s been a long time since your last voyage. 

For example, saving chairs on the Lido Deck has been a topic of contention for a long time – with Carnival recently cracking down to stop the problem. 

Additionally, itโ€™s important to keep an eye on kids – both for their safety and the enjoyment of the guests around them. There have been situations where kids have been spotted sitting on railings or climbing on balconies – which is very dangerous – with their parents nowhere to be found.

And circling back to dining and cutlery – and I say this from personal experience – please be courteous and respectful in the buffet. In addition to washing your hands before handling food and waiting in line respectfully, please do not taste the food using the shared utensils or put your own silverware into the dishes.

I once saw a passenger taste the mashed potatoes with the serving spoon and put it back into the full pot, which ultimately led to wasted food because the side dish had to be replaced. I strongly urge you not to be that person.

GigSky Cruise SIM

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Catie Kovelman
Catie Kovelman
Catie is an award-winning journalist and researcher. By day, she helps market new movies and TV shows as a senior research manager. But by night, she loves writing cruise news. In addition to Cruise Hive, Catie has contributed to a variety of newspapers, magazines, and other online publications, such as The Plaid Horse, Unwritten, YourTango, Fangirl Nation Magazine, Chapman Magazine, the Orange County Register, and Voice of OC.

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