Again - Early morning walking Promenade

[Mary229]

I bring this up on the HAL board as they have promenades on all ships.  There is limited space please consider common courtesy.FOR EARLY MORNING WALKING. The American standard, which applies to walking etiquette ,is move on the right, pass on the left.  Please move into the right lane.  If you notice you are contra flow turn around and go with the flow.  End of rant. 
 

News - on both the Oosterdam and Koningsdam the No Jogging signs have been removed 

[cruisingrob21]

Everyone who reads this will get it - everyone who doesn't are the ones who this is intended for. 😀

 

But I agree with you 100%.  I'll admit that I'm one of the "bad people" and go contraflow since I'm usually jogging.  However, I do yield at all corners and wait for people at narrow spots - or use the top deck exclusively, or jog during meal times or night when there are few people out.  All the cruise lines have put in various walking/jogging tracks with markings to indicate "observers" stay to the right, and walkers/joggers stay to the left.  But all it takes is 1 person to gum it all up unfortunately - and that person doesn't read posts like these 🙃

[sunviking90]

54 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I bring this up on the HAL board as they have promenades on all ships.  There is limited space please consider common courtesy.FOR EARLY MORNING WALKING. The American standard, which applies to walking etiquette ,is move on the right, pass on the left.  Please move into the right lane.  If you notice you are contra flow turn around and go with the flow.  End of rant. 
 

News - on both the Oosterdam and Koningsdam the No Jogging signs have been removed 

Good post. 
I thought only the Zaandam and Volendam had the No Jogging signs due to the passenger cabins below the lower promenade deck. I haven’t been on Oosterdam though. 
We are pretty fast walkers,  but I don’t think it’s really suitable for jogging with the high number of slow, elderly walkers. 
My pet peeve is those who walk 3 abreast or 2 far apart (slowly) leaving no room to walk past.

[Ipeeinthepools]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I bring this up on the HAL board as they have promenades on all ships.  There is limited space please consider common courtesy.FOR EARLY MORNING WALKING. The American standard, which applies to walking etiquette ,is move on the right, pass on the left.  Please move into the right lane.  If you notice you are contra flow turn around and go with the flow.  End of rant. 
 

News - on both the Oosterdam and Koningsdam the No Jogging signs have been removed 

 

I'll suggest that it's not the "American Standard" but the left-hand drive standard for driving.  If you visit areas that hand right-hand drive, i.e. Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, India and other areas formerly under British rule, you'll also encounter the same issue walking through the countries.

[Sea Hag]

2 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

My pet peeve is those who walk 3 abreast or 2 far apart (slowly) leaving no room to walk past.

This! This happens all over the place, not just on ships. I can't count the number of times I've been forced to step off a walking path or trail to avoid colliding with the 3-4 abreast people who simply won't move. We always tuck into single file in these cases, and they still demand the entire path.

Edited February 28 by Sea Hag

[Mary229]

55 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I'll suggest that it's not the "American Standard" but the left-hand drive standard for driving.  If you visit areas that hand right-hand drive, i.e. Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, India and other areas formerly under British rule, you'll also encounter the same issue walking through the countries.

I have walked in various US cities for many years.  It is the standard. The driving standard is the same for walkers, bikers and joggers.  

[3rdGenCunarder]

40 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

This! This happens all over the place, not just on ships. I can't count the number of times I've been forced to step off a walking path or trail to avoid colliding with the 3-4 abreast people who simply won't move. We always tuck into single file in these cases, and they still demand the entire path.

 

I'm a city girl, so I haven't encountered hiking issues. But pedestrians holding hands and walking with extra space between them drive me crazy. I get it, they're relaxed and on vacation, but some of us have somewhere to go. Don't take up more trail/sidewalk/deck space than you really need. (Is this becoming a hogging thread?)

 

At least they aren't stopping abruptly to take selfies. Times Square in NY actually has signs telling people to keep moving. Not that anyone obeys it...

[sciencewonk]

4 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I bring this up on the HAL board as they have promenades on all ships.  There is limited space please consider common courtesy.FOR EARLY MORNING WALKING. The American standard, which applies to walking etiquette ,is move on the right, pass on the left.  Please move into the right lane.  If you notice you are contra flow turn around and go with the flow.  End of rant. 
 

News - on both the Oosterdam and Koningsdam the No Jogging signs have been removed 

I was on a New Zealand / Australia cruise on Noordam and saw the confusion.  Half the passengers were Aussie / Brit / Kiwi.  The rest were American / Other.  People didn't know whether to go right or left, leading to the sidewalk tango.  If I were on a ship in North America, I would follow the American standard.  I don't think it's reasonable to expect that same standard in other locations. As an American expat living in Australia, I've learned to be flexible.

 

On Noordam, the No Jogging sings were in place in November 2022 but had been removed in November 2023.

 

BTW, I'm with you on the promenade walking.  It's one of my most relaxing things to do when on a cruise.

[TiogaCruiser]

1 hour ago, Sea Hag said:

This! This happens all over the place, not just on ships. I can't count the number of times I've been forced to step off a walking path or trail to avoid colliding with the 3-4 abreast people who simply won't move. We always tuck into single file in these cases, and they still demand the entire path.

Exactly.

Same thing happens on multi use trails around here. As a hiker and mountain biker I detest it when hikers walk abreast- frequently it’s a pack of 30 or so, 3 and 4 abreast. And them

n there’s those individuals who walk in the middle of the trail READING their iPad or FaceTiming, of course with earbuds in. They are so absorbed in what they’re doing then get irritated at us when we finally make it by them. 

[REOVA]

We've  met many people from down under that walked clockwise around the ship. 😉😁

 

It's a pet peeve of DW, but I go with the flow. Just like on trails, people walk in different directions. Yes courtesy is most important, especially on the Pinnacle ships where the Promenade Deck is single file (and obstructed view) in many places. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I have walked in various US cities for many years.  It is the standard. The driving standard is the same for walkers, bikers and joggers.  

 

I agree for US cities as well as most of Europe and South America.  Have you visited London, Tokyo or Mumbai?  What was the standard there?

Edited February 28 by Ipeeinthepools

[cccole]

Different directions don't bother me.  The 3-4 abreast is offensive.  It's not that hard if you are walking a different direction to take a step or two in the other direction.  We do it all the time when walking near our home.   Not everyone is going to be courteous or walk in the direction you want them to and you just need to be prepared to deal with it.  My husband and I would laugh at dinner on the Oosterdam when watching someone walking against what some think is the norm.  We would say..."Oh, they're going to be in trouble."  If you can easily get around someone isn't that o.k.?  If you need something to get upset about that's o.k. too.  If everyone on a cruise ship followed the rules that we think exist it would be awesome.  Are rules posted on the cruise ships as to the only direction walkers should take?  I didn't see any on the Oosterdam.  Otherwise, sometimes we just need to not think that our way of doing things is the only way.  JMO. Cherie  

[Skorpora]

Easy way to know you're going the correct way on the promenade: whenever you have to turn, it's to the left. 

My pet peeve is people who stop and block the path for everyone else. They're usually oblivious.  this happens on land too. Often a the top of an escalator I find. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

41 minutes ago, Skorpora said:

Easy way to know you're going the correct way on the promenade: whenever you have to turn, it's to the left. 

My pet peeve is people who stop and block the path for everyone else. They're usually oblivious.  this happens on land too. Often at the top of an escalator I find. 

 

There should be a special place in hell for the escalator blockers!!!!

 

I don't recall seeing a "no jogging" sign on Zaadam recently. I saw plenty of people walking, but I don't recall joggers. 

[Mary229]

2 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I agree for US cities as well as most of Europe and South America.  Have you visited London, Tokyo or Mumbai?  What was the standard there?

I live in a university town of immigrants. We know when someone is a newcomer from the UK or India as they walk on the “wrong side”. HAL is an American based ship so the standard is walk on the right.  If I was on Fred Olson I would honor the UK standard. 

[cruising sister]

I found out from a mild scolding from a captain that the correct direction is counter clockwise while walking on a ship. Ever since that encounter when I see an errant walker I think to myself you are going to get a talking to. 
 

There are no jogging signs on the  Volendam due to rooms below it. Unfortunately some choose to ignore that. They sneak and  jog early in the morning which only makes it worse. 

[OlsSalt]

Are there no jogging signs,  because they got taken down, or are there "NO JOGGING" signs?

I hate to think of what  jogging sounds like in all the cabins directly below. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I live in a university town of immigrants. We know when someone is a newcomer from the UK or India as they walk on the “wrong side”. HAL is an American based ship so the standard is walk on the right.  If I was on Fred Olson I would honor the UK standard. 

 

I thought Holland America was founded in the Netherlands and the Rotterdam was registered in the Netherlands.  Seems like a Dutch cruise line to me.

[cccole]

In 1989 Holland America ceased to be a Dutch line although most of us think of HAL as a Dutch line.  I may not be correct in this but that is what I understand.  But it really doesn't matter where you are from or what you are used to at home.  When you are on a ship with more than 1000 passengers from many places you may need to relax and know that all passengers do not think like you.  People walking the wrong way on the promenade is a problem for the OP.  There were other things that I would complain about.  But...I chose to cruise on a ship with over 1000 passengers and understand that not all passengers will be courteous in the Lido, at the pool, in the spa, etc., etc., etc.  This is not my private home territory. I hope that HAL can work out the problem with passengers walking the wrong way or going faster than me on my future cruises.   And I feel fortunate if this is all I have to worry about.  Cherie  

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

Are there no jogging signs,  because they got taken down, or are there "NO JOGGING" signs?

I hate to think of what  jogging sounds like in all the cabins directly below. 

 

I don't know about the R HAL ships, but I've been on the deck under the promenade deck on Queen Mary 2 and never had any noise issues from joggers. MANY years ago, we were under promenade deck on Veendam and I don't recall any noise from joggers then, either. 

[Latkebabka]

9 hours ago, cruisingrob21 said:

Everyone who reads this will get it - everyone who doesn't are the ones who this is intended for. 😀

 

But I agree with you 100%.  I'll admit that I'm one of the "bad people" and go contraflow since I'm usually jogging.  However, I do yield at all corners and wait for people at narrow spots - or use the top deck exclusively, or jog during meal times or night when there are few people out.  All the cruise lines have put in various walking/jogging tracks with markings to indicate "observers" stay to the right, and walkers/joggers stay to the left.  But all it takes is 1 person to gum it all up unfortunately - and that person doesn't read posts like these 🙃

I hope you yield to runners.  

[AV8rix]

I'm a very brisk walker for an old lady -- it's pretty much all the cardio I get any more.  So this subject is of great interest to me.

 

Many years ago they had signs on all ships indicating the proper direction.  Then this signage was removed or painted over, except on Amsterdam -- until the day she was sold she had "One Way (with arrow)" signage on the prom deck.

 

However, on all ship classes except Pinnacle (more on that later) there's not too much of a problem.  The prom decks are WIDE and there are only four blind corners; and on most ships there are mirrors mounted up high at the corners so you can see if anyone is coming the "wrong" way.  And I try to do my laps early in the morning when there's not too much traffic, except for the crew hosing down the decks each morning.

 

But the Pinnacle ships are a MESS and I've completely given up prom-deck laps.  Not only is the deck NARROW but there are so many blind-corner joggles that there is a REAL danger of slamming into someone coming in the opposite direction. 

 

A few years ago I actually sent an email to HAL asking why the directional signage had been removed from the prom decks.  Here's part of the answer I received:

 

We have gone to the shipboard staff and have been advised, as you probably saw this past weekend, that the ms Amsterdam is still the same with a one-way sign around the Lower Promenade Deck.

 

However, having said that, it is not the same on the ms Eurodam or on some of our other ships. While the Promenade deck can be used for walking around and doing laps, we do not have a policy on a correct walking direction though. The staff on some ships are allowed to paint (in big letters) at the aft rounding (against the stern enclosed steel railing): “walking direction” with a big arrow and we have this done on various ships.

 

Since it is not a Holland America Line policy, if a replacement ship’s staff decide to remove the arrow, they are free to do so. In addition, on the newer Pinnacle ships (ms Koningsdam and the ms Nieuw Statendam), we do encourage guests to use the track on the top deck.

 

OK, sorry for such a LONG comment but, again, this is a subject of great interest to me.

 

 

[Mary229]

2 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Are there no jogging signs,  because they got taken down, or are there "NO JOGGING" signs?

I hate to think of what  jogging sounds like in all the cabins directly below. 

the signs are completely gone.  

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I thought Holland America was founded in the Netherlands and the Rotterdam was registered in the Netherlands.  Seems like a Dutch cruise line to me.

It is now an American market ship. CCL  has ships geared to other markets such as Cunard and there one should follow the etiquette of UK

[Mary229]

HAL charges onboard in US dollars that should speak volumes

 

but I don’t want to go down this path.  Walkers should follow the flow and follow normal walker courtesy during the morning rush hour.  If you can’t do that wait until the rush hour passes and bounce back and forth as much as you want 

Edited February 29 by Mary229