Announcements on ship

[zacdilone]

Hi everyone...heading out on our first cruise ever on the Pearl in May. Very excited!

 

Every once in a while I see someone mention in a post about the "constant" announcements and sales pitches and stuff while on board. What exactly are they referring to? Is it PA announcements? Optional presentations? Pre-meal sales pitches? All of the above? And more?

 

Just curious what to expect in terms of the whole obtrusive/unobtrusive vibe.

[khirschman]

There are some announcements..usually about upcoming activities etc..I hardly notice them and I have never felt pestered...

[NoahtheRed]

Periodically, you'll hear the PA chime and they'll announce various events, including sales events and such. I don't know that I'd call it intrusive, as you quickly figure out how to filter it out.

 

If you go through the duty free shopping area though, expect people to pitch stuff to you. It's not as obnoxious as say, walking through the mall, but it you do notice it.

 

Neither are particular bad though, and it kind of all becomes background noise.

[triptolemus]

Ding dong! Good morning ladies and gentlemen... I'm Jaime , your cruise director here aboard the beautiful Norwegian Jewel.

 

Then followed by one or more of the following...

 

To go ashore, proceed to the gangway located on deck 4... some stuff about times...

 

I'd like to invite you to come down and participate in the art auction today at 3.

 

Come to the such-and-such party... on the pool deck... in Spinnaker's....

 

Bingo!

 

Visit the spa for 25% today only...

 

[insert witty joke here]...

 

Usually in the middle of all this, the captain will come on over the PA and give some announcement regarding voyage or port conditions which absolutely no one on the ship can understand due to the heavy German accent and the fact that Captain talks so soft with the mic shoved down his throat. One would hope critical information never comes from this announcement.

 

and on and on and on... you become VERY familiar with the DING DONG sound.

 

The majority of these announcements occur during the morning, and then again in the afternoon when folks return from port.

[roger001]

Announcements are made throughout the day, but I certainly don't consider them extreme or intrusive. An announcement is usually made prior to a daily event beginning (bingo maybe, port shopping presentation, the $10 sale, etc) , the captain makes a daily report at 10 am, a few announcing sale events in progress, etc. Mostly, I consider them informative. Sure, many are indeed encouraging you to do something for which the ship can make some money. All of those type announcement s are broadcast in the public areas. Only safety type or critical announcements are broadcast into your cabin. I don't find any of this intrusive. All things are optional. Do/buy what you wish. Ignore the other. If you are interested in an event, these announcements are a good reminder.

[biker@sea]

There was one guy Yourcaptain Fromthebridge that did the weather report every day . :D

[roger001]

Ding dong! Good morning ladies and gentlemen... I'm Jaime , your cruise director here aboard the beautiful Norwegian Jewel.

 

Then followed by one or more of the following...

 

To go ashore, proceed to the gangway located on deck 4... some stuff about times...

 

I'd like to invite you to come down and participate in the art auction today at 3.

 

Come to the such-and-such party... on the pool deck... in Spinnaker's....

 

Bingo!

 

Visit the spa for 25% today only...

 

[insert witty joke here]...

 

Usually in the middle of all this, the captain will come on over the PA and give some announcement regarding voyage or port conditions which absolutely no one on the ship can understand due to the heavy German accent and the fact that Captain talks so soft with the mic shoved down his throat. One would hope critical information never comes from this announcement.

 

and on and on and on... you become VERY familiar with the DING DONG sound.

 

The majority of these announcements occur during the morning, and then again in the afternoon when folks return from port.

 

 

A few of the captains are funny as can be, could have a second career as stand up comics. Can't remember which ones at the moment. For them, I stop what I'm doing and listen. I've seen crew members stop, listen, and giggle also. One of them always kinda implied we were kinda lost when he gave our position for the morning. He would say that's where the navigator had told him that's where he thinks were are.

[hpecorari]

Ding dong! Good morning ladies and gentlemen... I'm Jaime , your cruise director here aboard the beautiful Norwegian Jewel.

 

Then followed by one or more of the following...

 

To go ashore, proceed to the gangway located on deck 4... some stuff about times...

 

I'd like to invite you to come down and participate in the art auction today at 3.

 

Come to the such-and-such party... on the pool deck... in Spinnaker's....

 

Bingo!

 

Visit the spa for 25% today only...

 

[insert witty joke here]...

 

Usually in the middle of all this, the captain will come on over the PA and give some announcement regarding voyage or port conditions which absolutely no one on the ship can understand due to the heavy German accent and the fact that Captain talks so soft with the mic shoved down his throat. One would hope critical information never comes from this announcement.

 

and on and on and on... you become VERY familiar with the DING DONG sound.

 

The majority of these announcements occur during the morning, and then again in the afternoon when folks return from port.

 

However, if you're in your stateroom you don't hear anything....

unless you have your TV on the proper channel or you run to open your cabin door.

 

Harriet

[Carnac767]

If your TV is on the ship's navigation channel you'll hear the announcements.

[hawkeyetlse]

However, if you're in your stateroom you don't hear anything....

unless you have your TV on the proper channel or you run to open your cabin door.

Yes, I wish there were an option to turn on announcements in the cabin, or to have the TV turn itself on to the ship's channel. Maybe this exists on some ships.

[hpecorari]

Yes, I wish there were an option to turn on announcements in the cabin, or to have the TV turn itself on to the ship's channel. Maybe this exists on some ships.

 

None that I'm aware of. You have to have the TV turned on to the proper channel. It won't turn on itself. And, they only announce certain things into the room such as code announcements, life drill announcements, emergency type announcements. Heck, even the announcements calling names of passengers who aren't on board yet don't come through to cabins.

 

Harriet

[roger001]

Hi everyone...heading out on our first cruise ever on the Pearl in May. Very excited!

 

Every once in a while I see someone mention in a post about the "constant" announcements and sales pitches and stuff while on board. What exactly are they referring to? Is it PA announcements? Optional presentations? Pre-meal sales pitches? All of the above? And more?

 

Just curious what to expect in terms of the whole obtrusive/unobtrusive vibe.

 

Hope you enjoy the Pearl as much as we do. Will be one her for the 6th time in a couple of weeks. She's certainly a good choice for first cruise. Nice size, super nice crew. Enjoy the Great Outdoors for breakfast, the Spinnaker lounge deck 13 forward, and the bridge viewing room, port side deck 11 all the way forward. And if Oh What A Night is still one of the shows, and if you like the Four Seasons songs, do see that.

[rajones007]

With the exception of important instructions on debarkation day, it's very rare (in my experience) that an announcement is made directly over the PA system directly INSIDE the cabin.

 

re: the Captain's announcements. YES! I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't understand him most of the time. Good luck deciphering the important message between all the mumbling, microphone shuffling, long pauses, and "ummmmmm"s and "errrrrrrr"s.

 

...amusingly accurate portrayal of the daily announcements...

That made me smile and brings back happy memories.

[Guindalf]

~

Usually in the middle of all this, the captain will come on over the PA and give some announcement regarding voyage or port conditions which absolutely no one on the ship can understand due to the heavy German accent and the fact that Captain talks so soft with the mic shoved down his throat. One would hope critical information never comes from this announcement.

~

 

I don't think there's a single German Captain as they are all, er, Norwegian!

Edited March 5, 2015 by Guindalf

[mking8288]

It used to be (previously, as in many, many years ago in the good old days) a lot more, some rather "annoying" like the constant pitch for bingo. NCL has toned it a down a lot, and others can help me with the poor memory, some of those PA announcement would override or come thru all of the TV channels if it is ON, not just the designated channel for such broadcast - as well as being heard in the hallways.

The ones that will always come thru are the emergencies - otherwise, by the time we realized/heard it and flip the TV channel switch & volume, it's half over or done already.