Rude incident on DCL (only once)--but, please don't do this.

[Sherrilatte]

On our last cruise, my husband and I were sitting on the veranda with cocktails enjoying the peace and quiet when this weird, rude woman next to our stateroom stuck her head around the partition and gawked at us. I think we startled her because she was not expecting to see us out there then jumped back quickly. We were not talking loud, we were not laughing loud and she startled me putting a damper on the rest of the cruise whenever I thought of spending time on our veranda. I felt uncomfortable sitting out there, because I never knew when this family would appear craning their heads around the partition. I can forgive children, they are naturally curious, but grown adults? Please, don't do this--especially if you know you have neighbors next to you. If you choose a balcony that ppl can look down into, then that's different, but we did not--and the partition is there for a reason.
I want to repeat, this only happened on this most recent cruise, but once was enough for me.

 

[meliscan]

What a horrid experience! Some people have no awareness. We had a verandah at the back of the ship and people from Deck 11 could see us if we were out at the railing. I think we scared a few of them . We could also see directly into our neighbors on either side by just turning our heads. One of the reasons I won't book that room again! It felt weird to be able to see them if I looked to the side.

 

[DCLMP]

So she poked her head around the barrier, saw you were there, and jumped back quickly. Ok, so what's the big deal? This actually put a damper on your cruise?

 

[Sherrilatte]

So she poked her head around the barrier, saw you were there, and jumped back quickly. Ok, so what's the big deal? This actually put a damper on your cruise?

Yes, it really did. I didn't go on the veranda but once or twice after that. It really made me uncomfortable having a peeping tom next door.

 

[DCLMP]

Yes, it really did. I didn't go on the veranda but once or twice after that. It really made me uncomfortable having a peeping tom next door.

Peeping Tom? That seems a little extreme. What were you afraid she was going to do? I would have just said hello and had fun with it.

 

[happycamper47]

What a horrid experience! Some people have no awareness. We had a verandah at the back of the ship and people from Deck 11 could see us if we were out at the railing. I think we scared a few of them . We could also see directly into our neighbors on either side by just turning our heads. One of the reasons I won't book that room again! It felt weird to be able to see them if I looked to the side.

We've had many friendly conversations especially when on the Alaska and Panama Canal cruises under the exact same circumstances. To each his own....

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Oh my goodness the horror!! I would never cruise again.

 

[TestingH2O]

Please, don't do this--especially if you know you have neighbors next to you.

I mean, didn’t you answer your own post here? She looked around the edge not realizing it was someone else’s balcony and then immediately went back to her own space.

I can think of several reasons why she might have had no idea she was about to intrude on your space, but once she realized it, she corrected the mistake. Making a mistake isn’t the same as being rude.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Not on a cruise but many times on our balcony at WDW resorts we have conversations with the neighbors. We even met a family we chatted with on our balcony in the CL lounge and made new friends.

 

[AquaDame]

I can easily see a new cruiser doing this - someone excited to see towards the front or back of the ship, or lean out and look up or down... I almost wonder if she was so embarrassed she also never went back out on the balcony!

 

[NaturalNine]

Who would've thought, on a cruise ship with 2000+ Passengers, that you may not have complete privacy lol

Time to buy your own Yacht and not have these issues, just be sure to stay in open water with no other boats near by, as people may look at you from their boat and ruin your week also

 

[BadPinkTink]

I can easily see a new cruiser doing this - someone excited to see towards the front or back of the ship, or lean out and look up or down... I almost wonder if she was so embarrassed she also never went back out on the balcony!

exactly, as a first time cruiser, I could definatly see how it would happen. Excited to be on the ship, oh look our balcony, ooops sorry, didnt mean to scare you.

 

[karen4546]

Book the Concierge cabins on the front of the Dream and Fantasy and you will have a lot more people looking down on your verandah. Lol it comes with the territory.

 

[Karin1984]

Seemed a bit of an extreme reaction. I would be more concerned if this happened at home and it was a neighbour. A curious stranger looked around a corner, realized there was someone there and pulled back.

Book an inside room or an oceanview next time, as it is always something that can happen.

 

[cvjw]

We’ve had many chats on the balcony with our neighbors. I see nothing wrong with someone wanting to see what is on either side of their balcony.

 

[xiphoid76]

I am guilty of this. Have peered around just to see what other balconies are like - do they have different chairs? Different layout? Better view? Two times I have smelled smoke and saw where it was coming from (people smoking on their balconies). Human nature to be curious. It has happened to us on the other side as well on most cruises. People look over, don't expect to see someone, awkwardly make eye contact and then go back to their balcony and its view. I never really thought people would be upset about this, but I guess it could be startling. Take it as just a bit of human curiosity, but if they did it more than once, then I would get upset and see it more as an invasion of privacy.

 

[jjb1974]

I’ve leaned out to look up or down the length of the ship to see what was ahead or behind us. Your naturally looking into other verandahs at that point.

 

[ScooterScott44]

I can easily see a new cruiser doing this - someone excited to see towards the front or back of the ship, or lean out and look up or down... I almost wonder if she was so embarrassed she also never went back out on the balcony!

Agree, and think that the tell tail sign it is a new cruiser because of her response to quickly duck back and hide with no response. Anyone could be observing out on their veranda and accidentally see their neighbors. There are other people in the world and cruise ship pack a fairly significant number of people in a relatively small space, so you are lively to encounter others. Simply saying “hi” and interacting, and maybe apologizing if it was truely intrusive, seems like the most reasonable way to handle this situation.

We love the veranda and I have had lots of reasons to be at the rail looking out. Having seen dolphins, whales, fish, and lots of beautiful scenery (including some wonderful waves/seas) the draw is the view outside the ship, not the people on the next veranda. People might find life easier if they realize it is not all about you.

 

[magsnwonderland]

She either “gawked” at you or it was an accident and she jumped back quickly, not both. Unless you were out on your verandah ‘au naturel’, I don’t understand your extreme reaction.

 

[karen4546]

She either “gawked” at you or it was an accident and she jumped back quickly, not both. Unless you were out on your verandah ‘au naturel’, I don’t understand your extreme reaction.

Even if the OP was ‘au naturel’ , the neighbors’s response was natural.

if I walk out on to my verandah, I can look, right, left, up, Down just like they can. How did op know they were looking unless op was looking ?