Cruise Ship Horn

[CaribbeanSun53163]

Hi Everybody,

 

I have a question that needs answering. my friend told me, which made me disappointed. The cruise ships are cracking down on using their horns for departure in the ports. I am going on a 9 day cruise. I am going to bermuda, saint maarten, saint thomas, and puerto rico. I would appreciate it if you could tell me on your experience past, which Islands did the ship blow it's horn? Let me know.

 

Looking forward to hearing your response.

 

Thank u in advance,

Your friend in cruising, Nick

[ncovert]

On each of the cruises I went on last year the ship horn was used as part of the muster drill and was blown more then its share of times (I think seven short blasts followed by one long). In addition ,there were at least two times when I recall the ship's horn blowing during a crew only fire drill.

 

I have not been to the places listed in your itinerary, however in my experience there is a fair share of horn blowing still going on (as of Nov. 09). Have a great trip.

[paul929207]

We had the horns blaring last year too.

[CFD130]

We were on the Caribbean Princes in Feb. and I think we only blew the horn once-And I think that was because we were missing people. They had made an announcement several times looking for these people. Then the horn-we left shortly after. I too love hearing the horn

[trophy_23]

We had a nice horn battle last fall in Boston with a Celebrity ship. Was great fun and I am pretty sure the We (on the Eurodam) got in the last blast!!!

[mikedw]

Use of the horn is governed my international maritime law I believe. Whenever a ship leaves port, I believe it's one long blow. I'll see if I can find something on the internet.

[MoYerclan]

On our last cruise out of Miami there were so many ships pulling out that day (Jan 2, 2010) that it looked like a parking lot. As each ship departed in the late afternoon they gave horn blasts to the other ships they passed in line.

[room010]

Use of the horn is governed my international maritime law I believe. Whenever a ship leaves port, I believe it's one long blow. I'll see if I can find something on the internet.

 

Correct. For example, three short blasts indicate the ship is reversing.

[bbwex]

While the Rules of the Road call for the use of the ship's horn a) when "changing status" from tied up to underway -- one long blast, b) when backing down (going in reverse) -- three short blasts and c) various other times when meeting other ships at sea to tell each other i.e. that they are turning to comply with the Rules of the Road, in practical fact, they do not use their horns very often. In port, it will primarily depend on whether there are ships or small boats in the vicinity when they are starting to move. I am not certain why the change over the years, except that my guess would be that the pilots are in touch with any tugs, harbormasters, harbor control, etc., that they skip it, and underway ships are generally talking via radio.

 

There is the occasional "horn battle" between ships. That's when you can certainly tell the captains are men, and they are playing with their noise makers. "My horn makes more noise than yours!"

 

The best ship's horn, IMHO, is Disney's when they play the first seven notes of "When you wish upon a star" when they leave homeport, a couple of times when they leave Castaway Cay, and other places.

[Putterdude]

While the Rules of the Road call for the use of the ship's horn a) when "changing status" from tied up to underway -- one long blast, b) when backing down (going in reverse) -- three short blasts and c) various other times when meeting other ships at sea to tell each other i.e. that they are turning to comply with the Rules of the Road, in practical fact, they do not use their horns very often. In port, it will primarily depend on whether there are ships or small boats in the vicinity when they are starting to move. I am not certain why the change over the years, except that my guess would be that the pilots are in touch with any tugs, harbormasters, harbor control, etc., that they skip it, and underway ships are generally talking via radio.

 

There is the occasional "horn battle" between ships. That's when you can certainly tell the captains are men, and they are playing with their noise makers. "My horn makes more noise than yours!"

 

The best ship's horn, IMHO, is Disney's when they play the first seven notes of "When you wish upon a star" when they leave homeport, a couple of times when they leave Castaway Cay, and other places.

 

an excellent post, saved me a lot of typing.:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We rarely hear HAL's whistle blow. Mainly at lifeboat drill -- one for the passengers and the crew drills.

[olemissreb]

On the Adventure of the Seas out of Puerto Rico last month, our captain blew the horn at every port - San Juan, Aruba, Curacao, Dominica and St. Thomas. I loved hearing it! And we were the only ship in each of the ports (except San Juan).

[Capt_BJ]

rules of the road comment is partially correct

 

there are differences in the US inland rules and the international rules - yes, we've made ourselves special yet again.

 

US rules call for a power driven vessel to sound "one prolonged blast" when leaving a dock or berth - the intention being to alert vessels that may be aout of sight due to a biulding/obstruction or bend in the channel (US rule 34 g) there is no such international signal (a common mistake for my new officers the first time they drove leaving a non-US port.....)

 

Internationally there are three signals that apply for any maneuvering when vessels are in sight of one another

 

one short blast = I am altering my course to starboard

two short blast = altering to port

three short blast = operating astern propulsion

(international rule 34)

 

the US rule 34 makes these "meeting signals"

 

3 blasts stay the same = operating astern propulsion

but 1 bast means 'I intend to leave you on my port side' - sometime called the one whistle meeting and is the PREFERRED meeting

 

while 2 blasts means 'I intend to leave you on my starboard side'

 

in each case the first vessel to sound the signal is a 'proposal' and is met by the same signal to agree; or the danger signal to not agree.

(US rule 34)

 

and curiously the courts have interpreted US rules concerning many sound signals to only have meaning when TWO vessels are in sight of one another. When 3 vessels are in sight of one another it becomes a case of 'special circumstances' ; (rule 2 under both US and international rules)

 

I believe some ports HAVE asked ships to limit random whistle blasts done primarily for entertainment due to possible misinterpetation in the maritime environment and general noise pollution

[BroncosFan2010]

I have never been on a cruise where the horn did not blow at least once!

[SORIANO]

I was in the Brilliance of the Seas in the Mediterranean last December and the horn was not used at anytime, I really missed it. I don't know what's the reason for that but it was just like that.

[RUBBER DUCK]

You might also want to NOT be at the bow when leaving port, unless you want to be startled when they blow it.

 

Two Disney ships blowing thier horns:

[jocap]

We were on board the Azura for her naming ceremony, at Southampton last month. Her sister ship, Ventura, was leaving for a cruise, and they had a long battle of the horns! :eek:

We were once on NCL Jade, leaving Invergordon in Scotland, when the tiny ferry across the loch thought it would just fit in a quick crossing. We were high up, just below the horn. The captain gave a quick and sudden burst, and I found myself in the arms of a strange man standing next to me! :eek:

Quite nice, really.....:D

Jo.

[cruise kitty]

 

horn battle just before we left for the long TA leg from Maidera... Such a festive feeling with tons of people at the Sunset Bar as we departed... very very happy memory!

[navybankerteacher]

You might also want to NOT be at the bow when leaving port, unless you want to be startled when they blow it.

 

Two Disney ships blowing thier horns:

The bow is usually pretty far from the horn - which is generally located on the mast or, more likely, on the funnel - which is a lot closer to the stern than the bow.

[kazu]

We rarely hear HAL's whistle blow. Mainly at lifeboat drill -- one for the passengers and the crew drills.

 

I guess it depends on the captain and the ship. On our last three HAL cruises, the whistle and horn blowed every time.

 

When they were looking for passengers it was a different blast, but as we left port there were long blasts, a lot of fun because it means you are off again to another adventure.

 

Even South America the horn went. Last trip was panama which did include some port in the Caribbean, so I guess it will depend upon the ship you are on and maybe even the captain.

 

I heard a lot of horn blasts too from the other ships if that helps.

 

Jacqui

[nybumpkin]

Don't forget the foghorn. When the ship is in fog, she will sound her horn every few minutes. We've experienced it in the North Atlantic sailing to Canada and also outside Galveston this past February when we were "fogged out" of the port.

 

In most of our ports, the ships have used the usual signals - primarily one long for power forward, three short for power astern.

[Putterdude]

There was a time that ships had horns that had distinctive tones I think that a lot of that has gone by the wayside now. The ships that carried "Royal Mail" had a very distinctive tone, almost a siren.

[CaribbeanSun53163]

Special Thank you to captainBJ and to all who replied here. Hope I have a hornful journey in 3 weeks on the explorer LOL.