Taking a cruise is a wonderful thing. On the open sea with nothing to do but what you want to do. Then there are those no one wants to sit beside. There is such a thing as cruise etiquette.

You are sitting out on the deck enjoying the sunshine when someone comes along and stands right in the way of your sun. They don't move even when you ask them to. That night at dinner you get all dressed up and are sitting at the captain's table when in walks this person wearing their bathing suit and a lewd graphic tee shirt.
That is not ship etiquette and in most places the patron will be asked to change or go elsewhere to have dinner. A little common courtesy goes a long, long way.

Cruise etiquette doesn't take much and most of it is simple common courtesy. Almost everyone has been in a situation where the person standing or sitting next to them is practically yelling into their mobile phone. On a cruise ship, that might be dangerous.

Another annoyance on a cruise ship are those people who stake a claim to several chairs on the deck or elsewhere. Supposedly, these chairs are for the people they know who might or might not be joining them. The etiquette is to not reserve these seats, but wait until the entire party has arrived and have seat.

Then there are those who like to party a bit too much and a bit too late. There is so much to do on a cruise that people get tired and they enjoy sleeping late. These late night rebel rousers are not taking others into consideration. This would be a huge "no-no" etiquette wise.

The best thing to do when it comes to cruise ship etiquette is to make sure to consider your neighbor when acting out. Yes, a party is understood and welcomed on a cruise ship. After a certain hour, it might be time to quiet down, make it a party for just two or just quit altogether.

On cruise ships there is at least one formal dinner where people get dressed to the nines and have dinner with the captain or at the captains table. Don't be one of those cruisers who don't care about appearances. It's a formal dinner, try to be the one who gets dressed up or goes to the buffet for dinner.

Even though there are people who just don't have common courtesy, no one likes to be called out on it. There are certain things that are just plain rude. On a cruise, try to lead by example and be one of those people who think before taking things a bit too far. You might not be welcomed a second time.