Q – My husband will be annoyed that I wrote to you. First, feel free not to print this but, if you do, I trust you will not use my name. My husband and I have traveled on ten or eleven tours and about twelve cruises. Over the years we have been struck by how unpleasant an experience it can be finding oneself stuck on a bus or aboard a ship with a herd of New Yorkers. People are people, but I find the New York travelers, or at least a certain class of them, to be rude and obnoxious to the point of really impacting our vacation. I don’t expect you to agree with this, but I was wondering if there are cruise lines that carry a nice mix of people from all over the country as opposed to being “New York centric.” Am I the only one who has ever raised this point?
A – Actually, yours is a question that, in one form or another, is posed quite frequently. Each sailing seems to have its own personality and that is dictated, in part, by the geographic mix of guests aboard the ship.
If you feel like giving in to your bias, you might want to look at sailings that depart from Hawaii, Mexico, or Los Angeles as well as those that sail in the Orient. Ships that sail from ports in the south like Galveston, have a high proportion of car-drive guests who hail from local areas.
The press has generally not dealt with this topic but we’ve been surprised by the relatively high proportion of cruisers who wish to know how many New Yorkers are likely to be on a sailing they are considering.
You might find it of interest that while consumers from various parts of the country seem intrigued by the “NewYorkishness” of certain travel products, most industry executives see New Yorkers as preferred customers who know quality and know what they like. Off the record, many hoteliers will tell you that their most challenging guests tend to come from southern California. This has a great deal to do with concerns about “positioning”.
