No One Speaks English

Just finished my first Divina cruise, which I will do a writeup on. However I want to address this “nobody speaks English” diatribe that many people post

The issue is not that the staff does not speak English, but rather most Americans (I am one) are clueless in how to communicate with people where English is not their first language. The reason for this, most Americans have not learned a 2nd language and therefore are not familiar with the difficulties in being less than fluent in a language.

This is made more complicated on Divina, where a passenger is equally likely to speak to the cabin steward in: Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, French, or English.

Here are some tips on how to communicate:

1) Speak directly to the person. It is easy to understand someone when you can look at them as opposed to them being behind you, on the phone, etc.

2) Give the person a heads up, such as “May I ask a question?” This gives a heads up so they know what language you will be speaking in.

3) Speak clearly and simply and don’t tell long stories. Example: “ listen my wife has fibromyalgia and I suffer from a herniated L3 and have to keep my leg elevated due to prior blood clot. Can you bring me some extra pillows?”

He/she will have no idea what you’re talking about. They will smile, nod their heads and walked away. Keep it simple, “can we please get some extra pillows?”

4) Saying the same thing louder when they do not understand does not work. Change your words. “Can I get an extra blanket?” They stare at you blankly. Try “can I get an extra duvet?”

5) Show them if possible what you are talking about.

6) Many cultures, do not like to say “I don’t know.” Example: asking directions in Mexico. Even if they do not know, they will give you directions to someplace. Therefore, before asking a question think whether the person might have the answer. At 6 PM the cabin steward has no clue where your suitcase is. Neither does the front desk, so don’t waste time and aggravate yourself by asking.

7) Your cabin steward and busboys do not have PhD’s in English literature. If they did, they would not be cleaning toilets and collecting empty dishes.

8) You may have a difficult accent. Georgia, Texas, Alabama and other southern drawls are difficult for foreigners to understand.

Where Carnival, NCL, Royal etc. on Caribbean cruises using mainly hospitality staff from the Islands and so therefore English is usually their first language.

MSC is a European carrier with 5 or 6 official languages if you want your cabin stewards to be from Jamaica, Trinidad, St. Lucia etc. do not choose MSC, you will be disappointed.

Hope this helps. Everyone I encountered spoke some level of English. Some better than others and many quite fluent.

If you believe that no one on the ship speaks English, then please look in the mirror and you will discover the problem.

Thanks, good advice.

I would agree. And I would add that you should keep your sentences very simple and avoid colloquialisms.

I would agree. And I would add that you should keep your sentences very simple and avoid colloquialisms.

Example:

Would you like to have another glass of wine?

I'm fine, thank you.

You'll probably get another one. It's better to say: No, thank you. :)

Example:

 

Would you like to have another glass of wine?

I'm fine, thank you.

You'll probably get another one. It's better to say: No, thank you. :)

The correct response is: 'yes please'...:D:D:D

The correct response is: 'yes please'...:D:D:D

Absolutely!

And speak slowly! Native speakers of any language speak incredibly fast. Just slow down a bit (but not so much that it's patronizing) and speak directly to them without turning away or anything that may muffle or distort your words. Their English may be perfectly adequate for the task but not if you speak at a fast pace or mumble. :D

8) You may have a difficult accent. Georgia, Texas, Alabama and other southern drawls are difficult for foreigners to understand.

For example, whilst I am excellent at interpreting English through most accents, I am completely inept and embarrassingly useless at deciphering English with an Indian accent. I don't know what it is. It can't be lack of exposure as there are a lot of Indians in NZ and I come up against this problem frequently. That is not the fault of the person speaking to me - it is just a personal failing of mine. It was mortifying on our cruise when I had to get my husband to interpret for me. He had no problem understanding the person - it was just me and my useless ear for Indian accents. :/

The correct response is: 'yes please'...:D:D:D

I see you're on the right road to enjoying your cruise, Ken. ;)

Good post...

I guess the reason I never worry about this is because where I from....nobody speaks English (NYC)... and I'm used to communicating with people where we don't have a language in common..

I'm brief and to the point....and, I use a lot of pointing, as well as other hand gestures.

How the world sees Americans:

What do you call a person who speaks 3 languages?

What do you call a person who speaks 2 languages?

What do you call a person who speaks 1 language?

Also... Keep in mind, the staff is there to serve you, not be your BFF.

Some English accents (from England) are just impossible to understand to most non-native English speaking people. As they speak the "original" English, they assume the rest of the world understands them, when that is certainly not the case.

This happens mainly in Europe, where is a clear fact that people from non-english speaking countries understand themselves much better than when a English speaking person is involved. They will use a shorter range of words and speak clearly.

Anyway, it's a matter of common sense. If you have a real problem and you need to explain yourself, just go to the reception where they have good language skills instead of giving complicated explanations to the first crew member that you encounter whose job does not involve assisting people.

…….most Americans have not learned a 2nd language and therefore are not familiar with the difficulties in being less than fluent in a language.

This applies to anyone who's never learned a second language. I've seen this in my parents' case where they could not grasp the fact that, just because the crew could speak English, didn't mean that they understood everything said to them.

Also, the crew found it difficult to understand DH but could understand me even though we have the same accent!! That's because I speak slowly, distinctly and simply and have no problems being understood. He, on the other hand, speaks very fast, jokes about and when the crew laugh back (as they will) he thinks they understand him :rolleyes:

I see you're on the right road to enjoying your cruise, Ken. ;)

Yep, although another poster just stated that 39 drinks = 10,000 calories....so I may not visit the MDR or buffet all week, ;)! Choices! Choices! :D

 

What do you call a person who speaks 3 languages?

 

What do you call a person who speaks 2 languages?

 

What do you call a person who speaks 1 language?

 

 

 

Tri-Lingual.

Bi-Lingual.

English.

Some excellent point here. Also consider the sheer range of accent and colloquialism's that exist across nations where English is the first language. It can be bad enough just writhing the UK . I personally struggle with Aberdeen accents and we are both Scottish. Like Kat I struggle with Indian accents and I have 6 people who work for me in Bangalore. Not so bad in person but often over the phone I haven't got a clue!

Being on these forums a while I've also learnt that countries have different words for things. I've frequently been stumped by something a US poster has said and had to google the term to understand what they are talking about. Now the reverse is true also and we both speak English fluently, just different variations of it.

I speak a reasonable amount of French and Spanish and manage on simple stuff fairly well. Can understand some Portuguese, Italian and German also. I'm in awe of the crew that they can cope at all with the sheer diversity of nationalities and speech they get onboard. As for the entertainment team and D who can breathlessly flow from one language to another without pausing to change mental gears - amazing!

Tri-Lingual.

 

Bi-Lingual.

 

English.

Well....it's supposed to be American....

Yep, although another poster just stated that 39 drinks = 10,000 calories....

Another language entirely :eek:

Well....it's supposed to be American....

Trust equally true of us Brits

Just finished my first Divina cruise, which I will do a writeup on. However I want to address this “nobody speaks English” diatribe that many people post

 

The issue is not that the staff does not speak English, but rather most Americans (I am one) are clueless in how to communicate with people where English is not their first language. The reason for this, most Americans have not learned a 2nd language and therefore are not familiar with the difficulties in being less than fluent in a language.

 

This is made more complicated on Divina, where a passenger is equally likely to speak to the cabin steward in: Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, French, or English.

 

Here are some tips on how to communicate:

1) Speak directly to the person. It is easy to understand someone when you can look at them as opposed to them being behind you, on the phone, etc.

 

2) Give the person a heads up, such as “May I ask a question?” This gives a heads up so they know what language you will be speaking in.

 

3) Speak clearly and simply and don’t tell long stories. Example: “ listen my wife has fibromyalgia and I suffer from a herniated L3 and have to keep my leg elevated due to prior blood clot. Can you bring me some extra pillows?”

 

He/she will have no idea what you’re talking about. They will smile, nod their heads and walked away. Keep it simple, “can we please get some extra pillows?”

 

4) Saying the same thing louder when they do not understand does not work. Change your words. “Can I get an extra blanket?” They stare at you blankly. Try “can I get an extra duvet?”

 

5) Show them if possible what you are talking about.

 

6) Many cultures, do not like to say “I don’t know.” Example: asking directions in Mexico. Even if they do not know, they will give you directions to someplace. Therefore, before asking a question think whether the person might have the answer. At 6 PM the cabin steward has no clue where your suitcase is. Neither does the front desk, so don’t waste time and aggravate yourself by asking.

 

7) Your cabin steward and busboys do not have PhD’s in English literature. If they did, they would not be cleaning toilets and collecting empty dishes.

 

8) You may have a difficult accent. Georgia, Texas, Alabama and other southern drawls are difficult for foreigners to understand.

 

Where Carnival, NCL, Royal etc. on Caribbean cruises using mainly hospitality staff from the Islands and so therefore English is usually their first language.

 

MSC is a European carrier with 5 or 6 official languages if you want your cabin stewards to be from Jamaica, Trinidad, St. Lucia etc. do not choose MSC, you will be disappointed.

 

Hope this helps. Everyone I encountered spoke some level of English. Some better than others and many quite fluent.

 

If you believe that no one on the ship speaks English, then please look in the mirror and you will discover the problem.

Very good advice for those not familiar with a foreign culture!

I just got off the ship yesterday and I didn't really have a major problem speaking to the staff.. Maybe the bar staff but that's because it was so loud and when you combine that was strong accents it makes it difficult ..

I had more of a problem with the passengers. It's hard when you cannot talk to other passengers. But, I managed to live thru it ;)

Yep, although another poster just stated that 39 drinks = 10,000 calories....so I may not visit the MDR or buffet all week, ;)! Choices! Choices! :D

Wine has grapes in it......which is a fruit so you have that part of the food pyramid covered.............

Something funny:

The European Commission

 

The European Commission has announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the EU, rather than German, which was the other contender. Her Majesty's Government conceded that English spelling had room for improvement and has therefore accepted a five-year phasing in of "Euro-English".

 

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make sivil servants jump for joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of the "k", Which should klear up some konfusion and allow one key less on keyboards.

 

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f", making words like "fotograf" 20% shorter.

 

In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of the silent "e" is disgrasful.

 

By the fourth yer, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

 

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis and everivun vil find it ezi to understand ech ozer. ZE DREM VIL FINALI COM TRU!

 

Herr Schmidt

Wine has grapes in it......which is a fruit so you have that part of the food pyramid covered.............

:D:D:D So True!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I agree with all of your thoughtful suggestions. I am the American daughter of Greek parents. They can speak and understand basic English, but I am ALWAYS amazed at how some people choose to communicate with them. When someone obviously speaks English as a second language adding more words than necessary (the extra pillow request) is ridiculous. And as far as accents, funny story, my parents owned a motel for many years. When anyone with a Southern accent would ask for ice it would send my mom into giggle mode.

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English is the international language of the sea, they have to speak it at some level..

I travelled on a MSC ship from Italy 2 months ago, without any issues. There was only 20ish 1st language English speaking guests. Ironically Most European guests from Germany or Northern Europe communicate with the crew in English.

As useful as it may be to some, and they will be grateful for you saying it. Im actually embarrassed by the post.

Its shameful that its necessary.

Here was my funny experience on the Armonia...

I ordered smoked salmon in the dining room for breakfast. When it came out if asked for a bagel and cream cheese. He brought out this strange plate of stuff that looked like cream cheese but wasn't....Then when I asked for the bagel he looked very confused and showed up with a plate of bacon! Finally the supervisor came over and told me they don't have bagels and cream cheese! Poor waiter was sort of freaking out because he had no idea what I was talking about!