Annoying Tracy Arm music

[ECCruise]

My guess would be that if they get enough complaints onboard the ship with reagrd to the music, they will stop playing it. If they don't get complaints, they will continue to play it.

 

Doubt it. It took them months and months of nearly constant complaints both onboard and to Miami re: the loud, overbearing music in the Martini Bar and other areas before they toned it down.

[Tall Valley Cruiser]

I highly recommend princess for alaskan cruises if you prefer to not have loud music playing while visiting the glaciers

 

All music is turned off and engine noise is reduced to silence. The most amazing and serene trip imaginable.

 

They did the same thing on HAL 7 years ago when we were next to the Mendenhall Glacier. We have cruised Princess many times, and thought that we would try Celebrity as a potential step up. I hope they meet our expectations by showing some sensitivity to our viewing and listening to nature without man made distractions.

[whataboutport]

I highly recommend princess for alaskan cruises if you prefer to not have loud music playing while visiting the glaciers

 

All music is turned off and engine noise is reduced to silence. The most amazing and serene trip imaginable.

Thank you for this. We don't have an AK cruise booked anytime soon, but when we do, it will most def be on Princess.

Edited July 12, 2014 by whataboutport

[Ma Bell]

In this poll, that is very true.

 

As with any poll, it's all about the audience being invited to take it, the desire of people to participate, the agenda of those who do participate and the way a poll is worded.

 

I guess it appears that Celebrity prefers to listen to the vocal minority in this case then.

 

Whatn agenda would that be? It's a cruise to Alaska. I've been to Alaska on Celebrity at least eight times and have never heard music played by the glaciers. If it's being played now, it must be something new. As far as sitting by the pool with your drink after peeking at the glaciers, there are many times they don't even have water in the outdoor pool on these cruises. It's a little chilly.

[d4m]

I highly recommend princess for alaskan cruises if you prefer to not have loud music playing while visiting the glaciers

 

All music is turned off and engine noise is reduced to silence. The most amazing and serene trip imaginable.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Have seen where Princess is rated the highest for Alaska and will be looking at that for next year. I absolutely would not sail on a line that blared music in the midst of the splendor that is Alaska.

[Host Anne]

I've been saying for the past ten months that Celebrity has been playing obnoxiously loud music on board the ships we've sailed (Silhouette & Equinox). I love music (and nearly all types of music but rap and heavy metal). But the over-the-top sound level they've been using and saying "it's a directive from Corporate" is crazy. When you can't go to guest services and speak with the staff because they can't hear you due to the level of the music, there's a problem.

 

For us, they are just forcing us to go to other cruise lines.

 

If Celebrity can't allow their on board crew to make a logical decision about not blasting music when the on board naturalist is trying to speak, I am really questioning if Celebrity is our first choice of cruise lines any longer.

 

We've got one more Celebrity cruise booked. It will be interesting to see what the experience is like.

[dodger1964]

we did an alaskan cruise on princess lat year…there was a naturalist onboard who would make the odd really interesting comment to educate us on board….the rest of the time it was eerily quiet…you glided with complete silence and heard the glaciers calving

 

best cruise ever

 

But wouldn't your enjoyment of the tranquility of the beautiful scenery been enhanced by background canned music blaring from the speakers!!!:o

[ECCruise]

I've been saying for the past ten months that Celebrity has been playing obnoxiously loud music on board the ships we've sailed (Silhouette & Equinox). I love music (and nearly all types of music but rap and heavy metal). But the over-the-top sound level they've been using and saying "it's a directive from Corporate" is crazy. When you can't go to guest services and speak with the staff because they can't hear you due to the level of the music, there's a problem.

 

For us, they are just forcing us to go to other cruise lines.

 

If Celebrity can't allow their on board crew to make a logical decision about not blasting music when the on board naturalist is trying to speak, I am really questioning if Celebrity is our first choice of cruise lines any longer.

 

We've got one more Celebrity cruise booked. It will be interesting to see what the experience is like.

 

We spent 3 weeks on Eclipse in April/May and we were (finally) happy with the volume levels after having our ears assaulted on Solstice and Silhouette in the recent past.

[fleckle]

Why do I like the music? Because I know I'm not gonna spend 6 hours standing at the railing watching the ice pass by. I'm gonna take my picture and get my ooh and ahh in, and then go back to the pool and get my little frozen drink and lounge there for the afternoon.......

So you book a penthouse suite, but prefer to spend your time at the glacier hanging out by the pool? :confused:

 

If you don't want to hang out on that great penthouse suite balcony, then how about letting me use it?

I promise that I would take very good care of it during all those hours cruising in and out of Yakutat Bay, with or without music.

 

I was thinking about Hubbard Glacier, our most recent glacier experience, when I started posting this, but must add that I will happily volunteer to watch the penthouse suite balcony for you while cruising Tracy Arm as well. :D

 

Edited July 12, 2014 by fleckle

[Host Anne]

From a total "sample" of 34 voters, from a batch of cruise experts and aficionados regarding a ship that sails with 2138 passengers.

 

Yes it's certainly a finding, but not really enough to make any conclusions with only 1.59% of the potentially affected people in a single sailing replying....

 

There will be a few vocal about it and most on the ship clearly aren't saying a thing about it or it would't be happening. The majority of those fall into the "I Don't care either way" category. So the real math then is:

 

2138 total - 28 I hate it's - 3 I like it's = 2107 I don't cares

 

1.30% I hate it's

0.14% I like it's

98.55% I don't care's

 

I sure hope Celebrity doesn't make decisions based on the 1% as our congress usually seems to do

 

:D

 

Cle-guy ~ totally disagree. How do you know other passengers onboard aren't saying anything about it. When you get responses such as "can't change it, it's a directive from corporate," there's not much anyone onboard can do except decide not to sail with Celebrity again.

 

Celebrity makes plenty of decisions where they don't ask nor seem to care what their customers think. They like to try things out and see if they work. Take the craft beers in Michael's. Or the obnoxiously loud sailaway party on the pool deck from San Juan in January. No one was in either place. Maybe they're trying to force everyone into the casino to spend money. I really don't know. But they are playing a risky game right now.

 

To say that most on the ship aren't saying anything is a stretch. Actually, the staff at the Guest Relations desk can't even "hear" passengers when they complain about the music because it's so loud. And that's the truth.

 

I wouldn't recommend an Alaskan cruise for you (I'm being sincere). You'd be wasting your money.

Edited July 13, 2014 by Host Anne

[Host Anne]

We spent 3 weeks on Eclipse in April/May and we were (finally) happy with the volume levels after having our ears assaulted on Solstice and Silhouette in the recent past.

 

Very happy to read this ECCruise! Maybe the message is getting through. I'm looking forward to our next cruise to see what it's like. Thanks for giving an update. I know someone else who just disembarked Eclipse yesterday. I'll be anxious to hear from her as well.

 

Happy cruising!

[upwarduk]

Very happy to read this ECCruise! Maybe the message is getting through. I'm looking forward to our next cruise to see what it's like. Thanks for giving an update. I know someone else who just disembarked Eclipse yesterday. I'll be anxious to hear from her as well.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Maybe it's passengers sailing from the US ports that are being subjected to loud music. I initially thought it was the Caribbean ports when the complaints started during the winter season.

Eclipse of course is presently sailing from Southampton.

[Puckhog]

On our recent Summit cruise we walked past the Martini bar each night to go to the dining room. I recall threads about the overly loud music there. The first four nights it wasn't loud at all, and then the next two nights it was ridiculously, cover your ear drums loud.

 

Last night it was quiet again

[topcat11]

cle-man cites a quote from the CEO on a news show. First, strictly speaking, such a quote is not corporate policy.

 

Second the CEO was talking about his goals as a CEO: maximize revenues and minimize costs to grow revenues. That's not policy, that's a goal. In fact, it is the raison d'etre for most private sector organizations. Motherhood.

 

"Policy" defines how the organization achieves that goal.

 

If a company has a policy that irritates enough customers so that they begin to seek out competitors, that jeopardizes achieving the goal.

 

You would have to buy a whole lot of drinks on a whole lot of cruises to offset the lost revenue that would result if even a couple of commenters on this thread decided to take their Alaska cruise business elsewhere.

 

I am a loyal customer of Celebrity - and a capitalist - so I support their goal. I simply think they have their policy wrong on this one.

 

Frankly, I have no vested interest in this either way. I won't be taking another Alaska cruise on any line because there are far too many other places in the world I have yet to visit and learn about. I just think it would be a shame if Celebrity continued to play the music in Tracy Arm when - looking only at those who have expressed a preference on the poll - those who want the music turned off outnumber those who don't 10 to 1 (as of Sunday morning)

[Host Anne]

I was told more than once by Celebrity crew members on our last cruise that the sound level was corporate policy. Maybe it's not but that sure is the excuse I was given when on board.

[topcat11]

In this poll, that is very true.

 

As with any poll, it's all about the audience being invited to take it, the desire of people to participate, the agenda of those who do participate and the way a poll is worded.

 

I guess it appears that Celebrity prefers to listen to the vocal minority in this case then.

 

The audience for this poll is admittedly self selected but they all have experience in, or at least an interest in, cruising. Some have even been on an Alaskan cruise, unlike you.

 

I continue to invite you to offer any substantive evidence that most passengers would support your view.

[cle-guy]

The audience for this poll is admittedly self selected but they all have experience in, or at least an interest in, cruising. Some have even been on an Alaskan cruise, unlike you.

 

I continue to invite you to offer any substantive evidence that most passengers would support your view.

 

My evidence is simply what reality is.

 

Reality is the music is playing.

 

If so many people had such strong opinions in the matter, there would be a line of 1600 of the 2000 passengers (80% of the passengers, to go along with this poll's results of 80% having a strong opinion, extrapolating out the poll results presented here) on the ship at guest relations saying something about it. However it seems that there are likely fewer than 100 passengers who say anything at guest relations, even if they will just be told "it's policy". If 80% of the passengers said they wanted the music changed, there would be change.

 

I imagine if there were a line that big on any ship, someone would have made not of it somewhere int hess forums.

[topcat11]

Just a couple of additional points.

 

I have made no secret of my agenda. I don't like the music in Tracy Arm and I want to use the only tool at my disposal to see what proportion of fellow passengers are of like mind.

 

As I said on another thread, I won't be going back to Alaska on any cruise line as there are too many other places in the world I want to see and learn about. So my interest in this issue is somewhat academic, although on one level it is a test of how responsive Celebrity is to customer preferences.

 

Let's also be clear about what is on my agenda in terms of what I would like to see Celebrity do - i.e. turn off the music to the external decks during the 4-hour passage of Tracy Arm, the only purpose of such a passage being to enable passengers to enjoy the natural spectacle. That is the ask, turn off the music for 4 hours out of the 156-hour duration of the entire cruise. I am surprised that the suggestion of such a small concession would cause such ongoing debate.

 

Finally, cle-guy, I don't understand your last statement at all: "I guess it appears that Celebrity prefers to listen to the vocal minority in this case then."

 

Since it seems to be Celebrity policy to play the music, what vocal minority is Celebrity listening to?

[topcat11]

My evidence is simply what reality is.

 

Reality is the music is playing.

 

If so many people had such strong opinions in the matter, there would be a line of 1600 of the 2000 passengers (80% of the passengers, to go along with this poll's results of 80% having a strong opinion, extrapolating out the poll results presented here) on the ship at guest relations saying something about it. However it seems that there are likely fewer than 100 passengers who say anything at guest relations, even if they will just be told "it's policy". If 80% of the passengers said they wanted the music changed, there would be change.

 

I imagine if there were a line that big on any ship, someone would have made not of it somewhere int hess forums.

 

I will repeat myself, not that I expect it to do any good.

 

Your point seems to be that most people don't care. If that is true, which it well may be, then they won't care if the music is turned off.

 

That means Celebrity need only concern itself with those who have expressed a preference and using that filter, the results so far are 10-1 against your opinion.

 

I would think that you, as a Celebrity shareholder, would not want the company to risk annoying that many passengers when an easy, no-cost alternative is staring you in the face.

[dln929]

I've been saying for the past ten months that Celebrity has been playing obnoxiously loud music on board the ships we've sailed (Silhouette & Equinox). I love music (and nearly all types of music but rap and heavy metal). But the over-the-top sound level they've been using and saying "it's a directive from Corporate" is crazy. When you can't go to guest services and speak with the staff because they can't hear you due to the level of the music, there's a problem.

 

For us, they are just forcing us to go to other cruise lines.

 

If Celebrity can't allow their on board crew to make a logical decision about not blasting music when the on board naturalist is trying to speak, I am really questioning if Celebrity is our first choice of cruise lines any longer.

 

We've got one more Celebrity cruise booked. It will be interesting to see what the experience is like.

 

Host Anne, that's what happened to us--we adored Celebrity, became Elite with Celebrity, but now we will not sail them because we don't want to take the risk of having our eardrums assaulted by nerve shatteringly loud music. Our last cruise on the Reflection this past February was the last we'll do until X gets their act together. I was really tempted to relent and sail on the Solstice, my first and favorite X ship, as she sails Alaska. Thanks to topcat11, I'll give it a pass.

 

There's always hope though! We started out our cruising life on Royal Caribbean but left them because of the smoking issues. It was a wonderful change of pace to sail X and we loved it. Now RCI has banned smoking on the balconies :D and we're back to them and have tried and loved Azamara too. Policies can always change on ships, and for the better. I'll be back to X in a heartbeat once they resolve the issue of too-loud and inappropriately played music. If they can play specially selected gorgeous Italian music for the sail in to Venice, as they did for us on the Solstice, then they can turn off the music for Alaska to allow the beauty of glaciers shine. Never say never.

[cle-guy]

 

Finally, cle-guy, I don't understand your last statement at all: "I guess it appears that Celebrity prefers to listen to the vocal minority in this case then."

 

Since it seems to be Celebrity policy to play the music, what vocal minority is Celebrity listening to?

 

According the the "poll" that is up, 80% want the music off, and 5% want the music on. The voice of the minority voters in the poll seem to be what Celebrity is reacting to since the music is playing.

[cle-guy]

 

I would think that you, as a Celebrity shareholder, would not want the company to risk annoying that many passengers when an easy, no-cost alternative is staring you in the face.

 

I, as a shareholder, am happy with how things are running. They are playing music and the ships are full. so music is working, certainly, not harming, the occupancy of the ship.

 

For each person that the music drives away another person is coming aboard to take their place, perhaps a new cruiser who is spending money on the things first time cursers do that subsequent cruising does not.

 

Maybe celebrity is making a concentrated effort to cull the masses of the more mature clientele by playing the music....but so far all the changes implemented over the last 2 years that lots of frequent cruisers in these forums complain about, hasn't yet led to a drop at all in occupancy, and even at the same time revenues and dividend payments are up.

[Puckhog]

celebrity would be crazy to offend people drinking frosty drinks poolside on an alaskan cruise through the glaciers

[Artemis]

cle-guy, I guess you realize a lot of us are shareholders, too? And that unless your holdings are ginormous, your opinions on corporate practices are...to Celebrity, to the rest of your fellow SH, to all cruisers and to the world...just that, one person's opinions...and in this case, an uninformed, inexperienced person's opinions!

 

I so enjoy your fact-oriented and enthusiastic contributions to CC, but sometimes, we all step into something we shouldn't have! Would it really ruin your day to simply concede you should reserve judgment until you've done a glacier-viewing cruise?! I know it would generate a lot of Likes and Followers! :grin:

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[ScarlettMLB]

I've been following this thread with great interest, because we depart on our Alaska cruise on Solstice in a little over a month. I debate saying anything, because I haven't experienced Alaska yet. But, I have some thoughts - so I'm issuing that disclaimer up front.

 

In general, I like background noise. I've never had a problem with any music being too loud on any cruise I've been on. Part of it is that I think my hearing is a notch below average and part is that as a 30-something I've grown up in an age with constant music and noise.

 

I've also experienced having memories associated with certain songs. But that's a good association because the music fit what was going on in the moment well. At its best, music can enhance what you're seeing. It's amazing how much more we feel when we're watching a movie with a skillful soundtrack than if there were no music.

 

So it's possible that a skillfully done soundtrack could enhance one's experience of nature. I could imagine where some well-selected classical music could underscore the natural beauty and make it even more breath-taking. I don't see that ever happening with ABBA or any other party music. For me, that would be jarring and could actually trigger a negative association: 5 years from now I could hear "Dancing Queen" and recall when it destroyed the natural beauty around me.

 

According to weather.com, the average hi/low for Juneau for our sailing in August is 63/49. Given that the Tracy Arm portion is 6 am-10 am, chances are you're talking about temperatures in the 50s. That's not exactly sip a drink by the pool weather. Chances are if you're awake and outside, you're there to see the nature. That 4 hour stretch is listed specifically in the itinerary as a major selling point of the cruise. So my belief is that it's in Celebrity's best interest to keep people happy during one of the major cruise advertised cruise experiences. Happy people spend money and return to your company.

 

Of course, you'll never please everyone. Some people want music and silence feels awkward and they may not have the right soundtrack on their earbuds. If possible, I would designate certain areas of the ship to be quiet vs have music played during the Tracy Arm experience and make sure that those areas are well publicized. People who prefer total silence can go to those areas, while people who want background music go to those (some may opt to experience it both ways). Any background music should be carefully selected to enhance the experience and not just be the typical random cruise soundtrack.