Question about Ship Announcements

[Funsun60]

I have been reading some other posts about announcements made on the ships. If I understand correctly, on some ships, some announcements can be heard in the cabins; for other announcements you have to be in the public areas to hear them. What are these announcements? Are they being made by the captain, by other staff, and what is the importance of hearing (or not hearing) them? What type of things would the captain announce and are these critical messages we would hear in the cabin? Please excuse my ignorance, but I am curious. We will be on the Ryndam, so do all announcements come into the cabins, or only some and are the announcemnts important so we should not miss hearing any of them? Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

Only critical announcements are heard in the cabin. Things like lifeboat drill, or emergent messages.

 

Generally, on most HAL ships, the cruise director will make a morning and afternoon announcement. Essentially sales pitches, or if in port, info about getting off, getting back on, things like that. The Captain will also make one announcement, usually a general announcement about sailing, speeds, destinations, weather, etc.

[PathfinderEss]

CruserBruce is right, only the important messages are heard in the cabin. The one I hate the most is the disembarking messages very early in the morning on the day you leave the ship.:(

[English_in_Spain]

I wish they would stop the CD's messages even though they are only a couple of times a day. I know HAL is much better than other cruise lines but it is still too much.

 

IMHO, the only messages (apart from emergencies of course) should be to announce the ship is cleared and people can now go ashore and the Captains mid-day announcement on sea days to say where we are etc. Maybe also, if there is a change to the published time or vanue of an event.

 

Announcements about things happening on the ship that are in the daily sheet are not necessary. I do not want to hear that Bingo is about to start or how big the jackpot is :(

 

[jakkojakko]

I wish they would stop the CD's messages even though they are only a couple of times a day. I know HAL is much better than other cruise lines but it is still too much.

 

IMHO, the only messages (apart from emergencies of course) should be to announce the ship is cleared and people can now go ashore and the Captains mid-day announcement on sea days to say where we are etc. Maybe also, if there is a change to the published time or vanue of an event.

 

Announcements about things happening on the ship that are in the daily sheet are not necessary. I do not want to hear that Bingo is about to start or how big the jackpot is :(

 

 

Totally agree with you.

People just don't care though. On all our hal cruises it is very hard to understand the announcements as people continue talking.

On one voyage, the captain anounced an itinerary change due to a sick crewmembers evacuation. A large group nearby (swimmingpool) continued talking. When the announcement was finished one lady said: "did he just say that something changed?" The rest of the group hadn't even noticed.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The only message I need to hear is on port days when we dock/anchor -- that the ship is cleared and what deck we will be getting off.

I don't need the CD coming on in the morning and afternoon giving a line of all the day's activities.

I do miss at the end of the port day when we are ready to leave the captain talking about our path to the next port. Rarely have we heard them on on our last cruises.

[Wakepatrol]

When the cruise is finally over and it's time to get off the ship

 

The cruise director announces 38 times,to please stay in your cabin,or one of the public lounges till your number is called to get off the ship,and to please not congregate and clog the stairways.

 

Yet when your number is called you find yourself climbing over people who are clogging the stairways. I guess they're just dumb:confused:

[Krazy Kruizers]

When the cruise is finally over and it's time to get off the ship

 

The cruise director announces 38 times,to please stay in your cabin,or one of the public lounges till your number is called to get off the ship,and to please not congregate and clog the stairways.

 

Yet when your number is called you find yourself climbing over people who are clogging the stairways. I guess they're just dumb:confused:

 

A couple of HAL's ships are doing the silent disembarkation. Thus you hear only 1 announcement. Then there is chaos -- people getting off the ship when they want to (not their assigned time) and then getting into arguments because their luggage is not off the ship yet.

[Himself]

Only critical announcements are heard in the cabin. Things like lifeboat drill, or emergent messages.

 

Generally, on most HAL ships, the cruise director will make a morning and afternoon announcement. Essentially sales pitches, or if in port, info about getting off, getting back on, things like that. The Captain will also make one announcement, usually a general announcement about sailing, speeds, destinations, weather, etc.

 

On Sea Days, the Captain gives noon ship locations, how far the ship has sailed from the previous port, the distance to the next port and the speed the ship will sail at to get there and he will also give the weather report. The Captian will also come in and announce whales and dolphins if they are in the area or near the ship.

[Copper10-8]

The Officer of the Watch will make necessary P/A announcements on mornings when the ship's emergency generators are being tested. This will temporarily stop all elevators from moving. The announcement is made to prevent fine folks from using said elevators for 5 minutes, getting stuck inside them, and, hopefully, preventing anxiety attacks as a result

Depending on captains, one of Maasdam's for example, will always come on the P/A in the PM when the vessel is about to depart, what's holding up departure i.e. "We're still waiting on a couple of late passengers", wat course and what kind of maneuvering he will be doing to leave port, where he's heading, where the pilot will be dropped off, and what the weather conditions will be on the route to the next port call. These type of announcements can only be heard in the public areas of the vessel

Like has been stated; only the announcements of the pax safety brief (30 min prior, 15 min and at the time of) by the CD on embarkation day, non-silent disembark announcements on disembark day, and all emergency announcements (fire alarm, man overboard, Bright Star, at times, depending on the circs, a missing person, etc.) will be made for "all areas of the vessel", incl. pax cabins

[SeaBands]

on one of the room channels that show camera or position.

[Crusin Kelly]

I found that the CD was VERY involved with the PA system on the Carnival trip we were on. BINGO STARTS in 15 MINUTES... DON'T MISS the HAIRY LEG competition in the LIDO Pool this afternoon...

 

HAL is MUCH better at only making one or 2 announcements per day and others as necessary. Depending on the cruise, there can be some interesting information presented over the PA - Glacier Bay and Panama come to mind. Some of these are only audible in certain places - like on the bow. The naturalist in Alaska was very informative.

 

We have found that most of the announcements are barely audible in our cabin and on the balcony... however, they are broadcast on the TV channel that shows the ship's position.

 

You really get a feel for the personality of the Capitan and CD from their announcements.

[RuthC]

they could have announcements on one of the room channels that show camera or position.

They do. I don't recall which channel it's on, but it is on one of them. Thing is, you have to have the TV set on, and set to the right station, to hear the announcement. If you don't, it's just easier to run and open the door.

 

That was one of the nice things about the old radios. You could just leave the radio on to the announcement station, and there was no sound unless/until an announcement came on. One morning I awoke to the sound of the Captain whispering in my ear. :D

[startwin]

on one of the room channels that show camera or position.

 

I remember it being on the TV channel 41 on my last cruise, but of course it would be different on each ship. I enjoyed the captains daily updates, but the CD's announcements I can do without - all that stuff is in the daily programme anyway. I find that HAL and RCI have few announcements daily compared to the complaints I read about on other lines.

[sppunk]

I kept track of this on our Veendam cruise last week: The CD made three daily announcements, for each one he simply read the Explorer.

 

That was more than we've experienced before I'm pretty certain and certainly not needed.

[sail7seas]

I kept track of this on our Veendam cruise last week: The CD made three daily announcements, for each one he simply read the Explorer.

 

That was more than we've experienced before I'm pretty certain and certainly not needed.

 

Veendam/Bermuda

 

That's a 'one of' kind of cruise.

There are variations of the norm when the ship only goes to Bermuda, stays a few days and sails directly back to from wench she came. :)

 

That is not the norm for HAL ships.

 

 

[Typhoon1]

The routine announcements can be heard in all public areas.

 

If you are in your cabin, you may have to stand in your doorway to hear the announcements.

 

Believe me, if there is an emergency, you will hear it no matter where you are located.

[sppunk]

Veendam/Bermuda

 

That's a 'one of' kind of cruise.

There are variations of the norm when the ship only goes to Bermuda, stays a few days and sails directly back to from wench she came. :)

 

That is not the norm for HAL ships.

 

 

But it is opposite of common sense; limited activities during the day, very few people on the ship at 12:30, etc makes them useless. The captain didn't make announcements during our port days. (If you haven't read my review I urge you to do so!). They were made around 9:30, 12:30 and 5 or so.

 

We've sailed on 3 HAL ships so far in 2012, the announcements are growing unfortunately in our opinion. Par the industry. But three a day was more than we've remembered on HAL or Princess (our second most-sailed line).

[sail7seas]

But it is opposite of common sense; limited activities during the day, very few people on the ship at 12:30, etc makes them useless. The captain didn't make announcements during our port days. (If you haven't read my review I urge you to do so!). They were made around 9:30, 12:30 and 5 or so.

 

We've sailed on 3 HAL ships so far in 2012, the announcements are growing unfortunately in our opinion. Par the industry. But three a day was more than we've remembered on HAL or Princess (our second most-sailed line).

 

 

No. I'm sorry but I did not read your review.

We cruised to Bermuda years ago and have no plans to do so again so I didn't read many Bermuda reviews this year or last.

 

We also had no plans to sail Veendam though we unexpectedly made a booking for a seven day cruise next summer as they are doing a 'one time only' on that ship....... if we want that itinerary, there is no choice but to sail Veendam or not got.

 

As to the announcements....

In the last two years or so, we sailed Maasdam (multiple times), Nieuw Amsterdam, Eurodam (multiple times), Noordam and Oosterdam. We were really lucky to have very limited announcements. There was the 'the ship has been cleared and we can go ashore' morning announcement on port days, the Captain's noon announcement on sea day /late afternoon on port day and CD would read the Explorer and unless there were crew drill announcements, that is mostly all we had on all those ships. I agree that the fewer announcements, the better. The only one I really enjoy is 'From the Bridge'.... the only other I wish to hear is "ship is cleared".

 

 

[Typhoon1]

The one I hate the most is the disembarking messages very early in the morning on the day you leave the ship.:(

 

That tells me it will be another year before its time to come back. :(:(

[sppunk]

No. I'm sorry but I did not read your review.

We cruised to Bermuda years ago and have no plans to do so again so I didn't read many Bermuda reviews this year or last.

 

We also had no plans to sail Veendam though we unexpectedly made a booking for a seven day cruise next summer as they are doing a 'one time only' on that ship....... if we want that itinerary, there is no choice but to sail Veendam or not got.

 

As to the announcements....

In the last two years or so, we sailed Maasdam (multiple times), Nieuw Amsterdam, Eurodam (multiple times), Noordam and Oosterdam. We were really lucky to have very limited announcements. There was the 'the ship has been cleared and we can go ashore' morning announcement on port days, the Captain's noon announcement on sea day /late afternoon on port day and CD would read the Explorer and unless there were crew drill announcements, that is mostly all we had on all those ships. I agree that the fewer announcements, the better. The only one I really enjoy is 'From the Bridge'.... the only other I wish to hear is "ship is cleared".

 

 

Yeah, I had read you were sailing Veendam. You will enjoy my review, I think it might be a bit helpful for you. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1696036

 

But yes the captain announcements and "all clear" is all we ever wish to hear.

[eswn]

Several years ago whenever I entered the MDR (or the atrium in the case of the last generation Nieuw Amsterdam) to enjoy the Royal Dutch High Tea, a lady used to explain through the PA system in the dining room/atrium the purpose and origin of Royal Dutch High Tea. It sounded like a standard script that I and most other repeat passengers were presumably very familiar with. I am glad that the practice has apparently been discontinued. Please correct me if I am wrong.

The purpose of the announcement was presumably to help people enjoy the event more but I think the great majority of HAL passengers were knowledgeable enough about the subject of afternoon tea and its variations. Finally, those who would like to enjoy afternoon tea in a quiet atmosphere for a while can now do so without distraction from the PA system.

[sail7seas]

Yeah, I had read you were sailing Veendam. You will enjoy my review, I think it might be a bit helpful for you. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1696036

 

But yes the captain announcements and "all clear" is all we ever wish to hear.

 

 

We're Not new to Veendam.

We've sailed her about 5 or so cruises. We were b-to-b on Veendam her Inaugural Season in the Caribbean.

 

We had some great cruises on her but it's been some time since we last sailed her.