Navigation Channel on Stateroom TV

[karatemom2]

Just returned from a wonderful Alaska cruise on the Star and my husband was disappointed to find that the Navigation Channel which gives weather and sea condition updates as well as a map showing the ship's location was missing. The bow cam channel was there, but that was it. Just curious if this was just unique to the Star or if this is the case on other Princess ships now as well.

[Thrak]

We had that channel in May on Grand.

[Colo Cruiser]

Wow thats too bad! That should be on there for sure 24/7. :(

[islandatsea]

Just returned from a wonderful Alaska cruise on the Star and my husband was disappointed to find that the Navigation Channel which gives weather and sea condition updates as well as a map showing the ship's location was missing. The bow cam channel was there, but that was it. Just curious if this was just unique to the Star or if this is the case on other Princess ships now as well.

 

We were missing that channel on the Caribbean Princess & the Bridge cam most of the cruise. The last 2 or 3 days if we remember correct, those channels showed up on the tv but the music channels, 2 of them, were missing.

[RickEk]

Just returned from a wonderful Alaska cruise on the Star and my husband was disappointed to find that the Navigation Channel which gives weather and sea condition updates as well as a map showing the ship's location was missing. The bow cam channel was there, but that was it. Just curious if this was just unique to the Star or if this is the case on other Princess ships now as well.

 

Hmmmm...that channel was there in June on my cruise on Star Princess. I tuned to it all the time, especially when we were in heavy seas. Maybe you tuned to the correct station, but that info also rotates with other stuff like "Identify the Officer", emergency info and the like... and you just missed it. If I remember correctly, it did take a few minutes before the navigational info would appear again.

[karatemom2]

Hmmmm...that channel was there in June on my cruise on Star Princess. I tuned to it all the time, especially when we were in heavy seas. Maybe you tuned to the correct station, but that info also rotates with other stuff like "Identify the Officer", emergency info and the like... and you just missed it. If I remember correctly, it did take a few minutes before the navigational info would appear again.

 

Nope, not the case. We searched and searched. That entire channel and all of the information it scrolled was MIA for sure. Our Captain was oddly silent on this cruise as well. The Noon bridge announcements were done by another officer and unlike previous Alaska cruises neither the Captain or naturalist ever came on to announce wildlife sightings, although they were numerous as those of us out on deck looking can attest. The cruise overall was fabulous, but those were a couple of little things we are used to that we missed.

Edited August 20, 2014 by karatemom2

[Cruisin' Chick]

When I'm on a cruise, I will usually turn to that channel first to note down miles from...sea conditions, temps, etc.

 

Sorry to hear it was missing. I can't remember who gave the noon announcements on our last cruise, but I did enjoy them (especially the phrase of the day).

[bhopal21]

I noticed when we were last on the Ruby that they had conveniently eliminated the display showing the pool temps but we did have the navigation/weather part.

 

Mike:)

[RickEk]

Nope, not the case. We searched and searched. That entire channel and all of the information it scrolled was MIA for sure. Our Captain was oddly silent on this cruise as well. The Noon bridge announcements were done by another officer and unlike previous Alaska cruises neither the Captain or naturalist ever came on to announce wildlife sightings, although they were numerous as those of us out on deck looking can attest. The cruise overall was fabulous, but those were a couple of little things we are used to that we missed.

 

Interesting... who was your Captain? We had Todd McBain. And yeah, there were wildlife sighting announcements every so often.

[karatemom2]

Interesting... who was your Captain? We had Todd McBain. And yeah, there were wildlife sighting announcements every so often.

 

Our Captain was Vincenzo Lubrano.

[RickEk]

Our Captain was Vincenzo Lubrano.

 

Oh, too bad, Captain McBain was great. Very personable, well liked by his crew. 'Twas a happy ship.

[caribill]

Our Captain was Vincenzo Lubrano.

 

He probably did not do the noon announcements as English is not his first language.

 

Did he say much on occasions such as the welcome party in the atrium?

[hawkeyetlse]

Did he say much on occasions such as the welcome party in the atrium?

Not really… He seemed nice enough, just not a big talker, which is fine by me. The strange thing was that the cruise director Paul Chandler-Burns wasn't much of a talker either! I didn't really see either of them around the ship much. I suppose if they'd just recently taken over from another team they may have been extra busy behind the scenes.

[karatemom2]

He probably did not do the noon announcements as English is not his first language.

 

Did he say much on occasions such as the welcome party in the atrium?

 

No, very little at the Welcome Party or Captain's Circle Reception. He made a few brief remarks, but I definitely sensed it seemed a bit uncomfortable for him likely as you point out because English presents a bit of a challenge. He was very charming, however, and clearly a quite capable Captain.

[born2cruize]

Got off the Emerald Princess on August 9 and we had Channel 41 (Navigational Channel) for 28 days.

[RickEk]

Not really… He seemed nice enough, just not a big talker, which is fine by me. The strange thing was that the cruise director Paul Chandler-Burns wasn't much of a talker either! I didn't really see either of them around the ship much. I suppose if they'd just recently taken over from another team they may have been extra busy behind the scenes.

 

Paul Chandler-Burns was our CD in June. He seemed quite gregarious... The Wake Show was hilarious.

[shredie]

Paul Chandler-Burns was our CD in June. He seemed quite gregarious... The Wake Show was hilarious.

 

Yep. I had the impression the guy never stopped talking.

[hawkeyetlse]

Paul Chandler-Burns was our CD in June. He seemed quite gregarious... The Wake Show was hilarious.

I agree, he was very chatty on TV, I just never really saw that same guy around the ship interacting with passengers. But maybe that's not his job.

[shredie]

I agree, he was very chatty on TV, I just never really saw that same guy around the ship interacting with passengers. But maybe that's not his job.

 

I suspect it was the difference in voyages. :) We were on the Star to Alaska in July. He was all over the place, chatting away. Even said hello to me once in passing. Different experiences. :) You seldom saw him and I wondered if the guy ever went to his office. :D We kept encountering him on shore, too.

Edited August 21, 2014 by shredie

[hawkeyetlse]

I must have been subconsciously avoiding him… :D Seriously, I was happy with Paul and his cruise staff, I hope it didn't sound like I was complaining.

 

To get back on topic, we were on the Star right before karatemom2, and the navigation channel was missing for us, too. :( It would have been useful for the very last night/morning, to know when we'd be passing back under the Golden Gate Bridge, but I'm not sure I could have dragged myself out of bed that early anyway…

[Loonbeam]

Could simply be a technical issue, which they need to repair in port or parts, etc (there's a specific device that connects the nav system to the video system).

 

Also, bridge cam and nav channel etc can be cut off at the direction of the captain, just not sure why they would.