Aggressive Passengers Act Up On Cruise Excursion 

Also, I love that the late lady probably went “shopping” 10 minutes before the bus arrived just to anger the rude lady.

We had a woman on a small group excursion who was constantly significantly late. She had traveled with this company often & had a sense of entitlement. Unfortunately, little remarks had no effect on her. We were all polite older women and were not going to start a fight, so the next time she was late for the bus, we all stood up and gave her a standing ovation. We were smiling and laughing so she really couldn’t be mad, but seeing everyone stand & clap had an effect on her & she was on time for the most part after that.

This is exactly why my husband and I travel on our own. We avoid tours, I make all the plans, and we have a great time.

We were on a ship's excursion to Butchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada. The tour guide was specific in saying you have to be back at a specific time. We were not in port for very long that day. Even told us if you're late by more than 15 minutes, you will be left and have to find your own transportation back to port. Sure enough, we left someone. 😮 He definitely kept to his word!

Grace is a forgotten virtue. And given the evils and perils of the world, it’s super hard for me to be upset with anything while ON A CRUISE.

Bottom line - the tour guide met his obligations and everyone got to see some amazing places. The ship serves food 24/7. No one’s going to starve. Sounds like an amazing excursion!!

Occasionally people are late but mostly inadvertently. Our worst experience was an excursion to Rome, for those who dont know, Rome is nowhere near the sea so is quite a drive. There were two ladies travelling together who were late getting back to the meeting point at every stop. It reached the stage where we were due to go around the Vatican in the afternoon, the tour guide asked us all to stay just outside the ticket office whilst she got the tickets and was back in a couple minutes. Our two ladies had wandered off shopping and turned up 15 minutes later. The guide actually had stern words because they were spoiling the day for everyone else. The final part of the trip was some free time around square in front of the Vatican, we all duly met up at the assigned meeting place. I say all because 15 minutes late the same two ladies strolled up eating ice creams. The guide mentioned they were late and the ladies just shrugged. The two rudest, most selfish cruisers I have come across.

Life goes on! I feel bad for that lady who was late, and upset with those people who got upset. You’re on vacation, relax, enjoy, and be kind!

I’ve had that happen in Grand Cayman. 20 min late at the first stop. People on the bus let the two offenders know about it when they got back on. The next stop they were late again. On the third stop the tour company picked them up in a van and took them back to the ship, missing the second half of the trip. It actually brought the rest of the cruise passengers together and bonded. Great outcome.

On a bus tour of San Francisco a few years ago, a couple and their two kids were late returning to the bus at each of the first three stops. The guide explained that they couldn't be late at the next stop because we would miss the ferry. He said he would be forced to leave them behind. Sure enough, they got left! I think the rest of the passengers cheered.

I'll be honest. First cruise we ever took in 2004 on the Carnival Celebration, we were late about 10- 15 minutes back to the bus. I felt so bad and embarrassed as we boarded a full bus. We apologized to everyone and they, unlike this case, were understanding. I will say that experience haunts me to this day and my wife and I have never failed to be the first ones back on the bus on any excursion since. We are also understanding when these things happen because we too have been guilty.

We were in the Galapagos and took a tour of one of the islands. A lady on our tour walked with 2 canes. The terrain was very uneven and rocky, it was very challenging for her to do the guided walking tour. It was slow going for all of us as we waited for her to finish each walking portion before the guide continued his talk. We didn’t mind but it did add over an hour to our tour. At the end she had to sit with her legs raised as she was obviously very uncomfortable. Kudos to her for wanting to go on the tour but sometimes I think some people disregard their physical limitations when deciding what to do on vacation.

We live in a society where other people matter. Grace is good, consideration for others is also good. Also, who makes dinner reservations during the same time you're on an excursion?

I am 74 years old, and just returned from a Viking river cruise down the Rhine. And there was so much walking and I’m not handicap in anyway but by the end of the tours I was really tuckered out. That 15 minute walk would have been a bit much for some people probably me included. As for the grumblers, everybody loves to complain, but to the extent that they did, it was very rude. I’m glad the tour Director on the bus did what he did.

I love the way you tell stories. Never miss your show! Pat

Our friends went to Italy on a cruise and had the same person on two of their excursions. This person was 45 minutes late getting back to the bus on both excursions and they didn't get to see some of the sights they were supposed to see. Doing this twice on the same cruise shows that he did it on purpose with no regard for anyone else.

People who have never cruised before, will often ask me about the people who I have met or observed onboard. I will usually give a standard answer which is; There are generally two types of people that you will see on a cruise, the nicest people in the world and the rudest people in the world. This will be quite evident especially at the elevators, buffets, theaters and excursions. It wasn’t difficult to differentiate between the two in this story that Tony gave us.

Same thing happened to me on an 8 hour excursion in Iceland - EXCEPT, the tour bus left the couple who were still not on the bus 30 minutes after the “all aboard” time. I heard later that the couple had to hire a ride for several hundred dollars to get back to the bus and then demanded a refund for the excursion because the bus left them! We are filled with a world of entitled people.

Wonderful Tony! Great presentation!

Now that I’m older (62), I can look back and remember times when I was ridiculously uptight about timing, schedules, getting a “good” seat, etc. Everything usually works out ok and I cheated myself out of just being in the moment. I’m more chill now, I hope. I also have mobility issues but I am respectful of my limitations AND also respectful of other people. I don’t want anyone having to wait on me. Having said that, I would like to think I would have better manners than to be verbally abusive to an older lady.

Although I feel for the old lady in your story, I have been the person who sacrificed something to make it back on time. Yes, I wanted to see more but I was given a time to be back. We were once on a day long tour in Australia with several stops. At each stop the same couple arrived 15 to 20 minutes late without a care in the world. They offered no apology and seemed to blow it off as if it were nothing. The rest of the crowd became increasingly frustrated and boisterous. On the second to last stop the tour guide gave into the crowd and we began to leave. When the couple was observed, the bus driver stopped and waited. They didn't run, but continued their leisurely stroll to the bus. The passengers let them have it. They still did not seem to have a worry in the world. On the last stop, the bus left on time and guess who wasn't on the bus. I don't know what became of them. Perhaps a hungry croc? They had more than enough chances. All passengers cheered when the bus finally drove off on schedule!

As others have said already, people just need to relax and enjoy life as it unfolds. There's no need to scorn the older lady for being late, because we ALL have been late to something at one time or another. And the tour guide was just brilliant. He doesn't work for those passengers, but for a company that has a contract to deliver said services. He did that. If people don't want to be rushed with their return time back to the ship, perhaps they need to not get off the ship or make later dinner reservations.

You told the story in a very amusing way! I’m glad you enjoyed what you saw of my country

You had me cracking up😂. You’re a great storyteller!

Voice of compassion. I am a substitute teacher and have had less drama in middle school classes than you had on that excursion.

I have been on many cruise excursions and have always been on time and yet on two occasions I was left behind. The first occasion the bus left five minutes early and the second occasion the bus left FIFTEEN minutes early. On both occasions my fellow cruisers convinced the tour guide/bus driver that they were “all here”. Nobody notices the Solo cruiser. I commend that tour guide for taking an accurate count and waiting for that lady. PLEASE be patient and do not pressure the tour operator to get you back to the ship early for your own convenience. That’s just plain selfish.

Awesome tale, Tony!!

Tony, your delivery to the story was spot on…. I was laughing over my coffee this morning.

When I went to Disney World the tour guide said, bus leaves at 8 pm. No worries if you're late, the next bus leaves at 8 pm TOMORROW night. Everyone was on board by 7:40!

Oh man, that reminds me of the time my husband got lost when we were walking to our tour bus at the start of an excursion. At the time he had limited vision. We were running late due to being dropped off late by the cruise people. The tour bus was a little hard to find - as I recall it was at the end of an "L" shape. I was in a rush knowing we were going to be late. I did not know my husband lost sight of me. I got to the bus on time and realized he was not behind me! He couldn't find the bus because it was on the small part of the "L". I told the bus not to leave that he was right behind me. When he didn't come I had no choice then but to go look for him. Bless his heart he couldn't find me or the bus. I know the other passengers must have been irritated with us. But at least they waited and we got to do the excursion. Because of that I will never be mad if someone is running late getting back. You never know what the circumstances are.

Kindness is important and some people are just tight as a tick and bossy and no fun to be around. We really enjoyed this vlog….you have an amazing attitude and so funny!

Thank you, Tony! Quite entertaining!

Nothing ever goes as planned, so it's best to just go with the flow and enjoy the ride. But some people are only happy when it rains.

Why can't people chill out and relax more on their vacation? Folks are so tensed up that they miss the big purpose in taking a vacation to begin with! I would have been like you, just grateful to be on the journey.

When touring Porto while on my last cruise in October we had one man who constantly kept wondering off during several tours. In Porto our guide did his best to keep track of him….there were only about 10 of us on the tour. When it was time to get back on the bus said man was nowhere to be found. It was time to get back to the ship and we had about a 45-60 minute ride ahead of us. I think it is safe to say that we were all frustrated. The guide kept taking off in different directions looking for him and when the guide returned for the last time said man’s partner said I have been trying to call him, he isn’t answering and he does this all the time. I left him a message and told him we are leaving and I will meet up with him when we disembark tomorrow. We actually left him! Oceania was not at all happy and that was when we realized that it was said man’s name that was paged in almost every port because he had not returned to the ship. We never found out what happened….we do know that we sailed without him. We felt terrible for the guide who more than ever earned his paycheck and the extra high tips we all gave him for finally leaving the man behind. It was a crazy day!

Civility is rare these days. Thanks for keeping it sane!

Hi Tony, I am always amazed at those who cannot be flexible with their schedules while on vacation. I have to keep a close schedule when I work. While I never want to be the last person back to the tour bus while on vacation, I try not to make my plans so rigid that it cannot accommodate changes. Life is tough enough. It is important to learn to relax when you can and enjoy your vacation, even when it includes unexpected surprises. Thanks for the story of your uncomfortable bus ride. I just hope the poor tour guide was not stiffed for tips because of the disgruntled among his charges.

Enjoyed every minute of this video! :)

Oh my goodness Tony! LOL! I love your humor and patience and especially your storytelling. You are a master! :)

People have to be patient while on vacation especially for older individuals.

Sorry in advance, this is a long one. We were on a Baltic cruise back in 2016. One stop was at Tallinn, Estonia (beautiful city and people). We had booked a walking tour from the cruise line. Note that is was called a “walking tour”. As soon as we got on the bus at the port, a somewhat elderly lady got on and in a loud voice said “I hope there isn’t too much walking on this tour”! Needless to say she struggled a bit. But then… we had a brief rest stop near the lookout from the old city wall. We walked pass an old church and our guide said “we can’t stop here because the line is too long”. You can guess what happened. The same lady and her friend disappeared. When it came time to move on, they were nowhere to be found. Even her husband didn’t know where they were. He and the guide searched the area for about 15 minutes as we cooled our heels. Then the husband said “let’s go!”, so off we went. About an hour or so later, we were at the location where the bus was picking us up. And guess who showed up! We were kind of glad she wasn’t lost, but THEN she demanded that the tour guide take them both back through the part of the tour that they missed! There was some crowd grumbling going on, and luckily the guide said “nope, we have to get you back to the ship”! The moral is, make sure your read the tour description!

Great storytelling. Thank you.

Both my husband and myself have back issues and no longer book group excursions that require a lot of walking. We know our limitations. If we want to see something special, we go on our own and take our time without worrying about keeping up with the group. That elderly lady should have considered her inability to walk fifteen minutes at a fast pace before she booked the excursion.

I'm on Team Compassion! And nuts to the man with the 5pm dinner. If someone can't figure out that tours run delayed sometimes, then theydeserve to miss dinner. And a pox on the seed-sower of discontent! And We absolutely LOVE how you spin a tale! That's why we watch YOU!

Dad told me years ago to “mind my own business.” It helped me to focus on my own issues and become less judgmental of others. I’m guessing everyone made the ship and dinner was still served? Safe travels Tony.

Great show today. Entertaining for sure

You are a great storyteller😊 love listening to you..

Hi Tony. Oh my.... I love your story time. Your delivery is spot on. People really need to show a little forgiveness to other's. I would be that person speaking up. "Someday you might not be able to get around as well as you do now". I think people just like to complain all the time. As always thank you for all you do.

Good morning Tony! I love your videos. I would have been the compassionate one, I would have worried about the person that was late. I am glad she was ok. My mom was like the complaining lady, but louder. She would have probably demanded to see the manager😂 I was embarrassed alot growing up. All those people should be like you Tony. Grateful to be there, enjoy where you are!

I love the way you tell a story!!

This eposode reminds me of a tour that I just went to Poland and we had one particular lady who always turns out late for about 5 times in a row. The Tour leader was so annoyed by her that he eventually told her that he is going to refund her the money for the next tour which he has already orginised and she had booked. Sometimes one has to be careful not to cross the line so often as that would annoy others. In life one has to be considerate too.

Whoa what an experience!! Everyone just needs to chill….and WHY would you book 5’o’clock dinner reservations after an excursion!!!! This to me is just as crazy as the crazy woman complaining! Great recap thanks Tony for always being the gentleman. ~Cara 😊

The voice of compassion, I would’ve been worried that something had happened to the person.

That was nuts. Kudos to the woman of a certain age. Leaving to go shopping after being publicly admonished for being late is a brilliant display of passive aggressive resistance to intimidation.

Great story telling!

Such a great storyteller you are.

Voice of Compassion for the older lady and an attack dog to those whom were giving her a hard time!!!

Thank you for sharing. More for me to think about choosing my excursions.

I'm glad you enjoyed the trip.

That poor lady, likely struggled in pain to get back and then be greeted by such unkindness. Very disappointing and rude of others to be so lacking in compassion.

This is a common mistake. I’ve done it myself. When your reading about the glamour and pageantry of a tour that promises the whole of a country in one neatly packed day, it’s easy to assume a full day out is no problem! But when your on vacation and there’s a thousand things on the ship you could be doing or not doing, an 8 hour tour becomes an arduous task! I don’t book tours anymore that are more than 4 hours. By then, I’m ready for my “cocktail of the day” and a lazy nap 😴! I hate feeling trapped on a tour when I’m ready to return! I think you got some tired, cranky, vacationers throwing a tantrum. Not acceptable but a good cautionary tale (Canterbury) to keep in mind when booking tours!

Super story telling 👏👏👏

I do thx u for all the information u give us.

Unless there was a possibility of you missing the ship or if you had to skip something on an excursion you paid for, then those people should keep their comments to themselves and enjoy the fact that you are on a wonderful vacation. Seriously... Kindness and understanding go a long way.

This is one of those "everybody sucks here" situations. The late lady should have defused the situation by apologizing for being late and thanking everybody for their patience. That would have shut up the grumblers, who would have appreciated being appreciated. By being silent, that leads to assumptions from those waiting that she was taking her sweet time for no reason. Absent any explanations, people will create their own uncharitable reasons.

What a great and funny story telling of the event. Good Job.

You did a beautiful job describing all the drama, glad I wasn’t there-it doesn’t sound fun to me.

Thank you for taking us on your journey, loved the tour bus story!

I'm with the lady who was late coming back from Leeds Castle. If I heard people publicly complaining about how I was late, even after they noticed I was there, I would TOTALLY decide I had some last minute shopping to do.

I used to do a lot of bus tours before I discovered cruising. There was often a lot of drama. I went solo on one tour around the islands of Hawaii. I was stuck with a roommate. She was old, nasty and hated having to share a room with me. She slept (or often didn't sleep) with the light on all night. She was extremely rude to me and everyone else around her both on the tour and locals. She expected that I would carry her luggage because I was young. The first time she ever met me and I introduced myself she said wow you are the fattest vegetarian I have ever met. Well the rest of the tour started to notice how horrible this woman was and nobody would help her with her luggage as the common adage on a tour is if you pack it you carry it. She was always late back to the bus. Well, everyone on the tour started saying that they should just leave her if she was late. Nobody wanted to be on the same bus with her or sit next to her. If we saw here in a location we'd do an about face and walk in the other direction. It got so bad that I had to approach the tour manager and ask for my own room. I ended up having to pay extra for my own room, but the peace was well worth the money.

Toni, you are such a great story teller. I’m sorry for the discomfort on your bud tour, but thank you for sharing it with us with so much colour and humour.

Great video Tony! Loved your narrative of situation! It is pitiful how some grown adults can act! Hope you are enjoying trip!!

i'm a tour guide currently in the US; we absolutely leave extra time in our schedules for any location the bus stops and allows people on and off, because groups of people on vacation are straight up like herding cats in group environments. there is always someone who is late, and there is always someone who wants to comment on it. doesn't matter why they're late, it's just a given that i will have to deal with it every day.

Love this story! Very entertaining!

I’ve traveled with people who are on a schedule on trips! What happened to enjoying yourselves! Yes she needed to be back on time but really show some compassion people! I agree with o5er comments that no one is going to starve! I don’t plan on reserving dinner on excursion days since I’m usually too tired! Lol You are a great storyteller! Keep up the good work and don’t get too discouraged by silly people! ❤️❤️❤️

Awesome story time 😊

As a person with mobility issues who is determined to experience life as much as possible, I sympathize with the late lady. That was really RUDE of the Karen who was complaining to strangers. I probably would have called her out then and there (yes, I'm one of those people). How insensitive. This kind of thing always happens in groups and especially with older people who should know better. If you don't pay extra for dinner reservations, best not to get upset about it. Tours have problems and you just have to go with it.

Some people are wound a bit tight. Some people are not capable of letting things go. What an uncomfortable trip! I hope the sights were worth seeing regardless.

On a cruise as I listen to your podcast. You told the story so well. My watch timer is my friend. This old lady doesn’t want to be the one that is late.

😂😂Loved the storytelling! Great job! 😂

Excellent story on "human nature"! Thanks for sharing it. So sad that this one lady missed so much because her attitude clouded her eyes to how much beauty was around her and how. much fun it was to see all the things that you did. I love the way that you can take a negative situation, Tony, and let it flow past you and even tell the story in such a way that you just reports the facts and doesn't take sides. You're an excellent "reporter"!! I'm glad you enjoy yourself in-spite of "human nature" filling the bus - well done!

Canterbury is very problematic because it is so popular. We chaperoned a group of high school students to England and France in 2003. We weren't aware of the hike we had to take from the bus park to the cathedral and there were several folks in that group with mobility issues (me included). I wish tour companies would spell it out that there is a hike involved. In Jamaica in 2015, someone at the back of the bus was loudly complaining that we were going to be late and kept asking very loudly about how soon would we get back to port. The person across the aisle from me said "when the front end arrives, the back end will to!" and the bus erupted in laughter.🤣🤣

Awesomely humerus explanation of the tour drama! This is how I see these silly happenings through life. They happen and it's better to laugh at them rather than taking action and villanizing yourself!! Thanks for being a good sport!

Great story teller you are.

My hats off to anyone who can stand being in service industry/customer service type positions. People today are so whiny and entitled. It would drive me nuts!

Relax. Enjoy your surroundings and give the lady a break. I wonder if it would have been the same verbal bullying if it had been a man who was late. Thank you Tony once again for showing compassion.

love your humorous remarks regarding normal human behavior. (wish I could give more than one thumbs up) 👍🏼 thumbs up 👍🏼

You are a very good story teller

Loved the story Tony! You’re a great story teller and you are always funny as heck

Oh my word relax people your on vacation enjoy the ride. Your dinner will be there when you get back😅

I'm so glad to have found your channel! Great story, well told. And I agree with folks below who wondered why someone thought the tour should get back early because they had made dinner reservations that conflicted with the tour. This is the tour's problem how?? New subscriber. 😊

I was on an excursion once where the bus passengers threw a fit over a folding wheel chair. It was a smaller tour bus, maybe seating 15-20 and the wheelchair was folded and placed in the isle by the door. One older lady started saying it was a danger, and several other passengers joined in. Apparently a 40 pound wheelchair flying around in the event of an accident was far riskier then 20 unsecured passengers (all between 100 and 200 pounds each) flying around. The owner of the wheel chair was so mortified saying she didn’t want to harm anyone that she left the tour. It was pretty shameful I though.

Some people need to loosen up!

That sounds like quite the adventure. You gotta love the people you meet during excursions!

Great video ❤❤❤❤

Love it, love it, love it!!!

As the cruise ship turns.. lol. Good morning everyone! Have a great day!

Sounds like the best part of the excursion was the drama! 😎

Enjoyed this excursion "tale". We've had similar experiences and usually tell the guilty party, last one on the bus buys the first round. Cheers!

You made me laugh! Thanks.