Will Starlink Internet Connectivity Change the Atmosphere on Board?

[Harry Lake]

14 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Today, you will usually see nearly everyone with their faces focused on their phone screens.  Kind of sad.

Would you have the same reaction - and sadness - if they were reading the paper version of a newspaper?

[ldubs]

16 hours ago, Hlitner said:

My turn to preach :).  The Internet and connectivity is only part of the issue.  We have watched the changes in cruising over fifty years and the changes are dramatic.   When we started in the 70s. cruising was much about socialization, bringing folks together, etc.  Everyone dined at fixed seatings and there were very few 2-tops.  The norm was generally tables for 6 or more.  When I think back to our cruises in the 70s and 80s, the best voyages are memorable because of the new friends we made...often at shared dining tables.  We are still in touch with several of those folks, have had visitors from Europe (that we dined with in Asia) and we have visited several old cruise friends in Europe and the USA.

 

Now, folks fight to get 2-tops.  They post here on CC about "we don't know what to talk about with strangers,"  "don't want to meet folks," etc.  In the 70s and 80s most would have called the current behavior "antisocial."  Today, many insist it is the norm.  Some folks will sit at a dinner table (at home, restaurant, or cruise ship) and ignore everyone so they can text, read their e-mails, browse the web, etc.  DW and I have actually watched couples in good restaurants spend their entire meal on their phones....never communicating with each other (unless they are texting).

 

As Internet improves on ships, more folks will use it as a convenient excuse to avoid socialization.  I think (and this is my own opinion) that many younger folks do not have the skills necessary to enjoy a conversation, face to face, with strangers.  They often hide behind their screens and social media.  It is easy to post on social media (when you can be anonymous and avoid confrontation) as opposed to actually talking with a person and exchanging ideas.  DW and I have long followed a rule in our home which is no phone calls or texting at the dinner table with one exception...if it is the grandchildren (shoot us for being hypocrites).  

 

Whenever I am on a Princess ship, I enjoy spending the early morning near the International Cafe enjoying my cappuccino (DW is still asleep).  At one time it was easy to start chatting with others at nearby tables, and those early mornings have led to some long lasting friendships.  Today, you will usually see nearly everyone with their faces focused on their phone screens.  Kind of sad.

 

Hank

 

Yes, times have changed over the years and technology is just one big part of that change.  People do what they enjoy doing, as they should.  That doesn't always match what you or I enjoy doing.  

 

[Mangrove Snapper]

16 hours ago, Harry Lake said:

I test out as an "extreme extrovert" but my interest in "creating new friends etc." is between slim and none.  There are people that I have short exchanges with and they're pleasant but that's pretty much it for me.

 

This is us, too.  On vacation, my husband and I want to spend time with each other.  We have great dinner conversations - with each other.  We don't need any extra parties to liven that up.  We're friendly and smile and greet people, and will have a short conversation if engaged, but we're not looking to make new friends.  If we wanted to be with friends on vacation, we would have brought some along. 

 

15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Whenever I am on a Princess ship, I enjoy spending the early morning near the International Cafe enjoying my cappuccino (DW is still asleep).  At one time it was easy to start chatting with others at nearby tables, and those early mornings have led to some long lasting friendships.  Today, you will usually see nearly everyone with their faces focused on their phone screens.  Kind of sad.

 

I don't think there's anything sad about people relaxing on their vacation, or other downtime, in their chosen way.  Some people enjoy chatting; others don't.  Others do like to chat but might not want to do so first thing in the morning.  Others are sociable but don't want to be approached by strangers.  People who want to socialize, will, and those who don't, won't, regardless of internet connectivity. 

 

I also don't agree this is "young people these days" behavior. Reading in public, wearing earbuds, and playing electronic games is not new nor is it limited to any demographic.  People read books and newspapers in public long before they did so on phones or Kindles.  The Sony Walkman came out in 1979.  The Nintendo Game Boy came out in 1989 but before that there were portable electronic games as far back as the 70's. 

[Hlitner]

6 hours ago, Harry Lake said:

Would you have the same reaction - and sadness - if they were reading the paper version of a newspaper?

ROFL.  I used to live newspapers when they were focused on journalism.  Tiday, the few that remain are political rags pushing their agendas.  But even in the day, we never read papers at the dinner table.

[Harry Lake]

22 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think (and this is my own opinion) that many younger folks do not have the skills necessary to enjoy a conversation, face to face, with strangers. 

Wow, you must be hanging out with the wrong "younger folks." Day in and day out, I don't have that experience. At all.

[PurpleHays]

I enjoy reading, so my face is usually down too, but generally on a paper page. I also do crosswords and coloring books. I don't see that it's any different except that some folks don't ever look up. My introvert self will carry on a conversation, but doing it all the time wears me out, so I have to socialize in scheduled doses.

[Harry Lake]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

ROFL.  I used to live newspapers when they were focused on journalism.  Tiday, the few that remain are political rags puOshing their agendas.  But even in the day, we never read papers at the dinner table.

Oh my goodness, I'm sorry that your focus has gone that way. Maybe try a few of these.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/berlinschoolofcreativeleadership/2017/02/01/10-journalism-brands-where-you-will-find-real-facts-rather-than-alternative-facts/?sh=66973408e9b5

" But even in the day, we never read papers at the dinner table."

 

Now that's a funny mental picture. I've never seen anyone reading while they're eating. Before and after, especially with the person that you eat three meals a day with, gives us something new to talk about. Chuckle.

[jsn55]

Electronic devices are not the problem in and of themselves; they're quite wonderful actually.  The problem is having your nose on a phone as you cross 6 lanes of traffic, as you have dinner with your family, as you share activities with friends.  That I find sad.  The other behaviour of blocking walkways, talking loudly in confined spaces, ignoring the cashier as you check out of the supermarket, using the speaker, stumbling into people  ... that's rude.  It reflects ignorance.    

[klfrodo]

Some people on here sound like my day 30 years ago or my grandpa 50 years ago. Grandpa complained that his dang kids had to go to school rather than work the fields. Dad complained about them worthless long haired hippy types generation who did nothing to improve the world.

Gives credence to the ole saying, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, Harry Lake said:

" But even in the day, we never read papers at the dinner table."

 

Now that's a funny mental picture. I've never seen anyone reading while they're eating. Before and after, especially with the person that you eat three meals a day with, gives us something new to talk about. Chuckle.

I've read newspapers at the dinner table before, back when newspapers were a thing. I probably did some reading of them while eating, though I won't swear to it. If I did, it was when no one else was dining with me at the table. Newspapers take up a huge amount of space.

 

I read other things all the time at the family dinner table. We weren't big on dinnertime conversation back in the day.

[Smokeyham]

I'm really enjoying the various viewpoints here.  My girlfriend is more introverted than and I and much prefers a table for two for our meals.  Many people do, so I think it is good that there is that option.  Although I might prefer more people to share dinner with I do find that we still get to meet other people on board.

Very much agree that the instances of people having conversations on their cell phones in loud voices, or stopping abruptly in the the middle of a passageway, are very annoying.

[ldubs]

On 12/1/2023 at 6:26 PM, Harry Lake said:

Oh my goodness, I'm sorry that your focus has gone that way. Maybe try a few of these.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/berlinschoolofcreativeleadership/2017/02/01/10-journalism-brands-where-you-will-find-real-facts-rather-than-alternative-facts/?sh=66973408e9b5

" But even in the day, we never read papers at the dinner table."

 

Now that's a funny mental picture. I've never seen anyone reading while they're eating. Before and after, especially with the person that you eat three meals a day with, gives us something new to talk about. Chuckle.

 

Used to read newspapers over the breakfast table all the time.  Especially on Sunday morning.   

[jsn55]

12 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Used to read newspapers over the breakfast table all the time.  Especially on Sunday morning.   

Yup, the breakfast paper tradition has always been acceptable.  How nice today that family members can just bring a tablet to breakfast and not have to bother with the pesky papers themselves.

[clo]

3 hours ago, jsn55 said:

Yup, the breakfast paper tradition has always been acceptable.  How nice today that family members can just bring a tablet to breakfast and not have to bother with the pesky papers themselves.

And help save the planet in the process. From the person who buys shoes made from recycled water bottles!

[Smokeyham]

On 11/27/2023 at 11:30 AM, Smokeyham said:

I reading about many ships adding Starlink satellite equipment to improve internet connectivity.   If this results in improved internet speed/reliability, and decreased cost to access, I am wondering if this will change the atmosphere on board?  I'm thinking that more people be on their phones, making calls and also more people will be working while on board.  

We recently completed a Transatlantic on board Queen Mary 2 and the ship has Starlink service.  It was a bit of an older crowd, so perhaps not as much impact as on some other lines/itineraries, but I am happy to report that there really was not much of an impact on the overall atmosphere.  

We did see some people making video calls, but they were considerate, and not yelling into their phones.  We did observe more people on their devices in the theatres, etc. but people were good about putting them away when the show/presentation started.  

In the full service restaurants there were very few phones out during meals.

[wcook]

I think the culture on board is changing, along with culture on land. Less shuffleboard, more candy crush. But I don’t think starlink had anything to do with it. 

[MacMadame]

On 12/11/2023 at 9:42 PM, ldubs said:

 

Used to read newspapers over the breakfast table all the time.  Especially on Sunday morning.   

That was our family tradition too! And I read anything I could get my hands on. Including the cereal box. 😄 

[ldubs]

8 minutes ago, MacMadame said:

That was our family tradition too! And I read anything I could get my hands on. Including the cereal box. 😄 

 

Oh man, hard to think but it is true that reading the back of the cereal box was a thing.   

[9tee2Sea]

6 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Oh man, hard to think but it is true that reading the back of the cereal box was a thing.   

remember the puzzles on the back of kids cereal boxes ( my fav was Captain Crunch).  As for the topic, I only take my cell one when on a cruse ship.  I use it as my camera ( even thought i have a really nice digital camera).  The phone is left in Airplane mode until I get on land in a port, then I connect to the port wifi, check emails, respond if I need to, then turn airplane mode back on.  On sea days, I just leave my phone, turned off in the cabin.   Never take laptop or notebook.  Even my emails say I am away from the computer for X days, will get back you  when back in town.

[Smokeyham]

My girlfriend is not an early riser, so I will read (digital) newspapers over breakfast (we had a table for two) and then catch up on emails, etc. during the morning. 

 

I didn't want to have seven days worth of correspondence  waiting for me when we completed our transatlantic crossing, so was appreciative of the good internet connection.

[ldubs]

3 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

remember the puzzles on the back of kids cereal boxes ( my fav was Captain Crunch).  As for the topic, I only take my cell one when on a cruse ship.  I use it as my camera ( even thought i have a really nice digital camera).  The phone is left in Airplane mode until I get on land in a port, then I connect to the port wifi, check emails, respond if I need to, then turn airplane mode back on.  On sea days, I just leave my phone, turned off in the cabin.   Never take laptop or notebook.  Even my emails say I am away from the computer for X days, will get back you  when back in town.

 

Pre-retirement our work responsibilities required we stay connected. That no longer applies.  If just the two of us traveling, we usually get one wifi purely for personal use.  If with a group, we will get more so our travel mates can take advantage of our discount, and sometimes I get it just for the convenience of communicating with the group.  BTW, even with ship wifi, our phones stay in airplane mode while onboard.  

[clo]

2 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Pre-retirement our work responsibilities required we stay connected. That no longer applies.  If just the two of us traveling, we usually get one wifi purely for personal use.  If with a group, we will get more so our travel mates can take advantage of our discount, and sometimes I get it just for the convenience of communicating with the group.  BTW, even with ship wifi, our phones stay in airplane mode while onboard.  

Our daughters are in their mid40s and both have very responsible jobs. They eventually made the commitment to themselves that they weren't reading emails at night or on weekends or on vacation. There had been that self-expectation and they eventually they figured out that they were simply not that important.

[ilikeanswers]

On 12/1/2023 at 2:11 PM, Hlitner said:

They post here on CC about "we don't know what to talk about with strangers," 

 

There was a thread here a couple of months ago about what not to discuss on a cruise and wow that list kept growing and growing😂. Things you would have thought were innocuous were deemed controversial. In a way it is not a surprise that people trying to relax on holiday may not want the stress of navigating the complex maze of controversy dodging that comes from socialising with strangers 🤪. 

[ldubs]

18 hours ago, clo said:

Our daughters are in their mid40s and both have very responsible jobs. They eventually made the commitment to themselves that they weren't reading emails at night or on weekends or on vacation. There had been that self-expectation and they eventually they figured out that they were simply not that important.

 

Nothing wrong with that.   Gee, I must have been important!  😀

[wcook]

On 12/1/2023 at 3:54 PM, Mangrove Snapper said:

before that there were portable electronic games as far back as the 70's.

Great memories. I’m bringing one of these bad boys on my next cruise