onboard loudspeaker announcements? Need quiet ship recommendations, please!

[TheCalicoCat]

For our first AK cruise, we chose HAL because of the size of the ship in our price point (aka the mass market lines).

 

Take a look at port photos - the HAL ships are tiny compared to the other mass market lines.

 

We never heard announcements in our cabin & we travelled with a small child who still napped during the day. (He love the kids camp, for those who think that HAL is for seniors only.)

 

We liked HAL so much that we started our search for our second AK cruise right there & chose the 14-night cruise. Nothing compares to that itinerary, so we did not look further.

[crystalspin]

You will be fine on HAL. We never hear announcements in our cabins except the one calling you to muster drill. Until we found the TV channel that carries the announcements, we couldn't even hear the captain's daily briefings unless we opened our cabin door.

This. You and your daughter will be fine on the Volendam. The R/T out of Vancouver is a GREAT cruise. Remember to budget for a whale watch trip in Juneau! I know it seems odd to take a shoreX on a boat in the middle of spending a week on a ship, but I promise you it will be the high point of the cruise.

 

Sent from my SM-N900T using Forums mobile app

[thinfool]

<<"I found constant reminders that Holland America relies on income from profit centers onboard its ships like jarring loudspeaker announcements of activities: art auctions, bingo, casino contests, spa services, sales in shops and shore excursions. Gone are the days of ... announcements for navigational purposes only. The quiet, up-market ambience has been shattered.">>

 

 

This is so bogus. We just got off the Zaandam (Dec. 20) and there was nothing....nothing that even began to resemble the above description.

 

As others have said, the captain did daily navigational updates followed by brief comments by the CD. If you were in your cabin when these announcements were being made, you likely missed them.

 

Other announcements that were made (not in cabin) were: Where to go to get off the ship, either in a port or on a tender.

When the ship had been cleared by local authorities and disembarking was allowed.

[Sequim88]

It sounds like the loudspeaker announcements are mostly in the hall, then

 

Interesting - on the HAL board there have been threads recently about just this issue - in reverse. People NOT being able to hear announcements in cabins without leaving door open for the hallway speakers. Some have found the announcements are on the TV on the ship camera channels but it depends on which ship. So sounds like if you wish there would be only emergency announcements beyond the one for the drill. Search the HAL board for "announcements".