Annoying Tracy Arm music

Forgive me if this topic has been covered in here before.

On a recent Alaska cruise, we looked forward to the trip up Tracy Arm and the scenery of this natural wonder did not disappoint.

However, during the entire 4-hour trip, the PA system on the Solstice blasted out canned music to the external decks. This happened even though the on-board naturalist pointedly stopped his occasional commentary so that we could hear the popping of the icebergs and/or the birds, or just enjoy the silence. Unfortunately, remixes of old ABBA songs etc. spoiled all of that.

I contacted customer relations on board to ask if the music could be turned off for the trek up the Arm but was told it was company policy to play it and so, no, it could not be silenced. I got the same answer from customer relations at head office after the cruise.

According to the very polite rep, passengers prefer to have music on all external decks at all times. I am at best skeptical about that claim and therefore want to kick this issue up to the highest levels. But I thought I would take a straw poll of fellow cruise critics to bolster my case that the music should be turned off while passing through areas of natural wonder such as Tracy Arm (in fact, I suspect there are other places in the world where the same policy exception should be made - I just haven't been to them yet.)

Am I being too much of an old fogey on this or should i continue to push to shut the music off in Tracy Arm and other pristine places.

We are with you. We can't imagine that customers want this. We come to Alaska for the unspoiled experience of nature at its most, um, natural. To not hear the glaciers calve because of music would make us hopping mad!

ARGH! It does seem that there are some senior executives at X who have developed an "annoying music policy" intended to drive passengers to drink! They have apparently determined that this is a way to sell more drinks! It is not just the music on deck, but also the sometimes loud music that blasts in the S-Ship's atrium which seems to be designed to eliminate any quiet spots (such as the library) on the ships.

Hank

I have no issue with background music.

Who are the people in Miami that come up with these idiotic policies? Have they ever cruised in Alaska? Sometimes silence is golden, especially when trying to enjoy the pristine beauty of nature which is why most people choose to sail to Alaska.

I think that the statement of it being a policy from corporate is a standard cop out response. I have heard the same response from staff members when making a comment about something. It is basically saying that they are too "busy" or passing the buck to someone else and don't really want to be bothered with it.

Crusie on 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Haha you are not being an old fogey! I am in my 30's and enjoy a modern, active environment. But if Celebrity is playing elevator music while traversing areas such as Alaska, that should not be happening. Our Alaska cruise was on NCL, which is bottom-of-the-barrel, and even they let us sail through the fjords without canned music. It's a shame if this is what they are doing in Alaska. The sail out of Venice is the only time I would find music appropriate.

Maybe it's good that we are trying Azamara for our next cruise =)

Michael

I hate the'' management says we must do it ''attitude.

lets start emailing customer service that silence would be nice also as we sail in Alaska and see mother nature at her best.

its worse then when I want to sun bath in silence but no they need lousy music from 30-40 yrs agoto violate my peace. worse is the techno music at ice bar sheesh I buy way less liquor when they turn that trash on we leave as well as our friends..byebye $$$

I do mention it to hotel manager every time we meet him as well as the captain at the parties. everyone should! ''lovely cruise too bad they have to have

music as we watch the scenery'''etcetc

lets do it

That's shame....music like that takes away from the awe and serenity of pax and also annoys wildlife

on our wonderful Connie cruise some yrs ago...when the ship went past a very special hilltop shrine, they served bowls of hot soup and played Ave Maria....everyone was on deck ...it was quite a moment

I was on my balcony and at the viewing area in the spa (deck 11 bow) and did not hear the canned music on the open decks so can't comment.

On Infinity two years ago we watched from the pool area and don't recall canned music.

I believe you but can't really say that any music disturbed my enjoyment of the Arm.

I will say that we did Equinox through the Norwegian Fjords and would have loved some ABBA or anything relative to that region. Instead it was Caribbean music which I commented at the time was totally inappropriate.

:confused: :confused: Confused :confused: :confused:

That's shame....music like that takes away from the awe and serenity of pax and also annoys wildlife

Music bad?

on our wonderful Connie cruise some yrs ago...when the ship went past a very special hilltop shrine, they served bowls of hot soup and played Ave Maria....everyone was on deck ...it was quite a moment

or Music good...?

Haha you are not being an old fogey! I am in my 30's and enjoy a modern, active environment. But if Celebrity is playing elevator music while traversing areas such as Alaska, that should not be happening. Our Alaska cruise was on NCL, which is bottom-of-the-barrel, and even they let us sail through the fjords without canned music. It's a shame if this is what they are doing in Alaska. The sail out of Venice is the only time I would find music appropriate.

 

Maybe it's good that we are trying Azamara for our next cruise =)

 

 

 

Michael

I actually find the schmaltzy music most cruise ships play when leaving/arriving Venice is equally distracting. I haven't cruised Europe on Celebrity but if they do what Princess does, it's a shame.

If you want to have a "musical moment", bring your own music and earphones and play what YOU like.

We were on Century in May and there was no music on deck during our amazing time at the Hubbard Glacier... you could hear the oohs and ahhhs as the glacier calved - it was the highlight of the whole trip and I would have complained too if there had been canned music!

Where wildlife viewing is involved, as well as where there is a subtle and magnificent sound from glaciers ice cracking, extraneous noise is bad.

I wouldn't be surprised at some point for Alaskan authorities to put a stop to such noise pollution in pristine areas.

:confused: :confused: Confused :confused: :confused:

Abba in Alaska

 

 

Music bad?

 

Ave Maria near a shrine

 

or Music good...?

He is not contradicting himself. He is speaking about what is appropriate background music.

That's shame....music like that takes away from the awe and serenity of pax and also annoys wildlife

Annoys wildlife?? Wow, who took that poll?

It is gratifying to see that I am not alone.

But let me put the question slightly differently to see what the reaction is:

Would you as a paying customer have any objection if Celebrity turned off canned music on external decks when making the passage up and back Tracy Arm (or other natural wonder)?

I can kind of understand a Alaska cruise where you rather hear nature over music. For Venice on the Solstice 2 years ago, hearing that Italian opera music floating down the canal was kind of neat. Really put me in the mood for Venice :). My only regret was I could barely hear from my balcony.

I can kind of understand a Alaska cruise where you rather hear nature over music. For Venice on the Solstice 2 years ago, hearing that Italian opera music floating down the canal was kind of neat. Really put me in the mood for Venice :). My only regret was I could barely hear from my balcony.

Fair comment, in my view, but as you point out man-made Venice is a totally different environment where the ambient noise level is already fairly high what with the water taxis and what not scurrying about.

Our first Celebrity cruise had ghastly loud music playing all over the ship, including on deck, in buffet and restaurants, so loud you could barely talk. Thankfully, our last two Eclipse cruises were much better. There was still music, but very much quieter, infact we hardly noticed it. I too would prefer the experience of sailing through Tracey Arm without music, should we ever go there.

We were on the Solstice, for it's first Alaska cruise of the season, this past May. There was no music being played ondeck while we were cruising Tracy Arm. The Naturalist, Brent Nixon, even stopped all announcements ondeck, using only announcements on in cabin TV, in narrow parts of Tracy Arm to not disturb the wildlife (his explanation). We also cruised Endicott Arm later the same day and the same protocol was followed there also.

For the Celebrity personnel monitoring this thread: Here is another vote for NO music during unique nature viewing activities!

For the makerting/sales guru:

- While CC represents a minority of cruisers, it's a decent barometer if not statistical sampling of pax views.

- Those who feel music must be part of an experience can simply plug in their ear buds and choose their own audio background!

- Revenue-producing schemes based on creating an ambiance to encourage spending must respect boundaries based on cherished societal norms, in this case, the popular view that nature in all its glory is best appreciated "as is," without artifical props. Specific to Alaska cruises, I think we pax are plenty moved to respond with our pocketbooks when the cruise line furnishes blankets at no cost and then offers fee-based amenities like hot drinks, binocular rentals, guides and maps, etc.

Thanks, OP.

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Actually, grizzly bears love Led Zeppelin but they hate ABBA. But bald eagles are the reverse. In nature, just like cruising -- and life in general -- you can't please everyone. And yes, please put a stop to all the sarcasm.

We join Artemis in his comments. We are booked for August 8 Alaska Solstice. We last cruised Alaska on HAL in 2007. I remember the Captain making an announcement when we were viewing Glacier Bay for every one to be as quiet as possible, and the naturalist was able to point out wildlife etc. There was NO music. It was wonderful. We expected that since Celebrity has a very good naturalist, the ship and the company would consider quiet a good approach. Love music, but in a night club, bar, theater. You can add your own music, but we prefer the sound of nature. We were looking forward to the Tracy Arm cruise, now we are not.