Captains announcements

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Which I agree with. Escalate being the appropriate word. You do not immediately try and bypass the entire management structure. 

There's different ways to get results. When getting some currency changed near the end of our cruise a passenger was being really loud and rude and quoting trading standards rules etc about the internet packages not working. At the end of it a guy came out and organised a 25 per cent discount for him.

 

I decided to make the same complaint but quietly and politely and 5 minutes later the same guy came out and gave me the same discount. 

 

I had never thought of complaining about it til  I heard the rude guy being successful!

[Britboys]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

I agree that problems need to be escalated,  but the HGM would be the last resort.

I started with my cabin steward, who then escalated to the Deck Manager. As the Deck Manager failed to get it sorted I then wrote to the HGM and asked reception to pass the letter to him.

[jeanlyon]

I have never experienced "sales" talk by the Captain, but I haven't cruised since 2019.  In my view, he is in charge of the ship itself, the navigation and getting safely into a port.  thinking back to my flying days, our Captains would never have said anything about what we sold on board or anything like that.  I feel it's very naff.

[daiB]

18 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

This is from a friend on an Arcadia World Cruise.   I don't think she is impressed!

 

"First announcement by the new Capt, and I had a vision of a short rotund chap with grey hair.Spot on! I have renamed him The Butlins redcoat.His morning announcements are more to do with daily activities and special offers...20% off handbags etc, than our position on the ocean.No mention of handwashing, sunscreen or sneezing"

Are you sure this was the captain? Sounds more like the Cruise Director (ents manager)

[Britboys]

4 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

I have never experienced "sales" talk by the Captain, but I haven't cruised since 2019.  In my view, he is in charge of the ship itself, the navigation and getting safely into a port.  thinking back to my flying days, our Captains would never have said anything about what we sold on board or anything like that.  I feel it's very naff.

Capt Love certainly didn't make any announcements like that on Aurora last summer Jean. Just the usual Noon announcement and any other really important updates.

[Interestedcruisefan]

The captain on Arvia was certainly talking about commercial stuff and opportunities last couple of weeks

 

I can't imagine it's something the captains have chosen to start doing adhoc

 

The mid-day announcements about distance travelled weather etc were non commercial but not normally the captain and purely about the ships progress etc

 

The later in the day announcements by the captain started the same way but finished with something non captainy and commercial

[Interestedcruisefan]

His messages on Arvia were more about taking advantage of shore experiences etc not necessarily about discounts I seem to remember

 

The messages about remembering 7 or 8 on cruise surveys would only be considered ok and 9 or 10 being good or great was the most non captainy thing I heard him say

 

And made me raise my eyebrows a bit at the time

 

They surely have to be scripted to say stuff like that?

 

He was also reading from a script when he announced the new godmother of the ship as it referenced what she would be doing in the future for skydome shows etc and you could tell he was just delivering a message he'd been sent to deliver

Edited March 8, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Britboys]

5 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

His messages on Arvia were more about taking advantage of shore experiences etc not necessarily about discounts I seem to remember

 

The messages about remembering 7 or 8 on cruise surveys would only be considered ok and 9 or 10 being good or great was the most non captainy thing I heard him say

 

And made me raise my eyebrows a bit at the time

 

They surely have to be scripted to say stuff like that?

 

He was also reading from a script when he announced the new godmother of the ship as it referenced what she would be doing in the future for skydome shows etc and you could tell he was just delivering a message he'd been sent to deliver

Yes, no doubt instructions emanate from Carnival House...

[jeanlyon]

1 hour ago, daiB said:

Are you sure this was the captain? Sounds more like the Cruise Director (ents manager)

Definitely the Captain.  She is doing a Blog on FB

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

His messages on Arvia were more about taking advantage of shore experiences etc not necessarily about discounts I seem to remember

 

The messages about remembering 7 or 8 on cruise surveys would only be considered ok and 9 or 10 being good or great was the most non captainy thing I heard him say

 

And made me raise my eyebrows a bit at the time

 

They surely have to be scripted to say stuff like that?

 

He was also reading from a script when he announced the new godmother of the ship as it referenced what she would be doing in the future for skydome shows etc and you could tell he was just delivering a message he'd been sent to deliver

On Ventura  about 10 years ago? the Captain made an announcement and at the end it started to repeat. Over the PA, still switched on came 'Oh b**** i forgot to switch it off', it was pre recorded 😁

[Denarius]

Interestingly no-one on this thread has mentioned the most impotant officer after the Captain, the Chief Engineer.

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, Denarius said:

Interestingly no-one on this thread has mentioned the most impotant officer after the Captain, the Chief Engineer.

I thought it was the wine waiter !

[P&O SUE]

22 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

We got a mix of messages from the captain and the crew 

 

Some were definitely including things theyve been told to say to promote elements of the cruise. Which I guess is the way the world now works

 

Interestingly at the end of the cruise the captain did a message about hoping everybody has enjoyed Arvia and will consider recommending to friends and re-booking in the future

 

He also said we will all get a survey and when we do 7s or 8s are only considered as average and 9s or 10s are considered good or excellent!!

 

 

When I used to work for a bank we had twice yearly surveys and we were told then that 7 and 8 ‘didn’t count’ and I left that job in 2019. If I was fed up of things I’d score 7’s and 8’s 😀

[molecrochip]

18 hours ago, Britboys said:

In the 'good old days', they were known as the Executive Purser. A good EP was often very visible but not always. The HGM's now (in my experience) seem to hide away in their offices and push as much as possible to the Deck Managers.

In the old day, the EP used to handle an awful lot more cash and financial matters. With the increased use of cards both for paying onboard accounts, and reducing the amount of foreign currency sold on board, the finance functions were reduced. There is still a Purser on board.

 

18 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

And there is no telephone directory now on Iona, and only the 7070 number for reception, which at busy times can take ages before anyone answers.

Call 7000 - it goes to reception not the myHoliday menu.

 

18 hours ago, wowzz said:

Totally agree. From a passenger point of view,  the Hotel General Manager is far more important than the captain. 

If you have an issue onboard, the HGM is the one who has the ultimate power to resolve the problem.

Captain takes priority over HGM. Its his ship and everyone onboard is a report of his in one way or other.

 

9 hours ago, Britboys said:

Yes but maybe when you have had no cold water in your cabin bathroom (only scalding hot in both basin & shower) the HGM could perhaps show just a tiny bit of interest...

No. There is a chain of command. There is at least two grades of people between reception staff and the HGM. Issues get escalated through the grades until they reach the appropriate person. A water pressure problem would probably be dealt with by the lowest of those grades who will contact engineering to resolve.

 

4 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

The captain on Arvia was certainly talking about commercial stuff and opportunities last couple of weeks

 

I can't imagine it's something the captains have chosen to start doing adhoc

 

The mid-day announcements about distance travelled weather etc were non commercial but not normally the captain and purely about the ships progress etc

 

The later in the day announcements by the captain started the same way but finished with something non captainy and commercial

Assuming its Paul Brown he is a great example of a true team leader. That's what a ship is, a team, with the captain as player manager.

 

The captains primary concern is the health, safety and wellbeing of the ship, its crew and its passengers. He discharges this responsibility by using a defined hierarchy of responsibilities. 

 

Broadly on the ship side you have the Capital > Staff (deputy captain) >  Senior Officers > Officers > Other grades. On the hotel side you have Captain > HGM > Hotel Manger / F&B Manager / Entertainment Manager

 

Each ship has a management team made up of Captain/HGM/F&B/Ents/Chief Engineer etc who meet daily/most days. Issues do get fed back up, logs looked at etc. Financial performance will also be an area. If a captain feels ANY area could be better then its on them to work with their team to push commercial opportunities. One way they can do that is through direct actions.

 

Finally, captains are proud of their ships, they want to show them off, for people to enjoy them. Why should they not encourage people to tell their friends.

 

As for scripted announcements, some are, some are not. Often the safety ones are. PR announcements are just easier to read that reword.

Edited March 8, 2023 by molecrochip

[Britboys]

21 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

In the old day, the EP used to handle an awful lot more cash and financial matters. With the increased use of cards both for paying onboard accounts, and reducing the amount of foreign currency sold on board, the finance functions were reduced. There is still a Purser on board.

 

Call 7000 - it goes to reception not the myHoliday menu.

 

Captain takes priority over HGM. Its his ship and everyone onboard is a report of his in one way or other.

 

No. There is a chain of command. There is at least two grades of people between reception staff and the HGM. Issues get escalated through the grades until they reach the appropriate person. A water pressure problem would probably be dealt with by the lowest of those grades who will contact engineering to resolve.

 

Assuming its Paul Brown he is a great example of a true team leader. That's what a ship is, a team, with the captain as player manager.

 

The captains primary concern is the health, safety and wellbeing of the ship, its crew and its passengers. He discharges this responsibility by using a defined hierarchy of responsibilities. 

 

Broadly on the ship side you have the Capital > Staff (deputy captain) >  Senior Officers > Officers > Other grades. On the hotel side you have Captain > HGM > Hotel Manger / F&B Manager / Entertainment Manager

 

Each ship has a management team made up of Captain/HGM/F&B/Ents/Chief Engineer etc who meet daily/most days. Issues do get fed back up, logs looked at etc. Financial performance will also be an area. If a captain feels ANY area could be better then its on them to work with their team to push commercial opportunities. One way they can do that is through direct actions.

 

Finally, captains are proud of their ships, they want to show them off, for people to enjoy them. Why should they not encourage people to tell their friends.

 

As for scripted announcements, some are, some are not. Often the safety ones are. PR announcements are just easier to read that reword.

It wasn't a water pressure problem. The pressure was great. It was a temperature problem - the only water that came out was scalding hot. As I have mentioned, I dealt with both the steward and the Deck Manager before asking the HGM to become involve because by then I was fed up not being able to shower in my cabin...

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, Denarius said:

Interestingly no-one on this thread has mentioned the most impotant officer after the Captain, the Chief Engineer.

It’s too sensitive a matter……..we tend not to talk about it for fear of upsetting him.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

I thought it was the wine waiter !

Obviously P&O don't consider wine waiters important any more...

[Harry Peterson]

34 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Obviously P&O don't consider wine waiters important any more...

They're bringing in a new style of wine waiter to suit the modern cruiser:

 

 

[crompton21]

45 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

They're bringing in a new style of wine waiter to suit the modern cruiser:

 

 

Isn’t that one of the wine smuggling kits that can be used when boarding? (as recommended on here a while back)

[brian1]

"Hi guys this is the Captain,we are just about to hit an iceberg but don't worry we are doing a 2 quid raffle for the premium lifeboats with bottomless prosecco and canapies for the 1st hour at sea."

[jh1809]

4 hours ago, Denarius said:

Interestingly no-one on this thread has mentioned the most impotant officer after the Captain, the Chief Engineer.

Whilst I agree with his importance, I've never been on a cruise where the Chief Engineer made an announcement.

[jh1809]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

Obviously P&O don't consider wine waiters important any more...

Ah yes, that's another change post-Covid: no more specialist wine waiters.

[Interestedcruisefan]

4 hours ago, molecrochip said:

In the old day, the EP used to handle an awful lot more cash and financial matters. With the increased use of cards both for paying onboard accounts, and reducing the amount of foreign currency sold on board, the finance functions were reduced. There is still a Purser on board.

 

Call 7000 - it goes to reception not the myHoliday menu.

 

Captain takes priority over HGM. Its his ship and everyone onboard is a report of his in one way or other.

 

No. There is a chain of command. There is at least two grades of people between reception staff and the HGM. Issues get escalated through the grades until they reach the appropriate person. A water pressure problem would probably be dealt with by the lowest of those grades who will contact engineering to resolve.

 

Assuming its Paul Brown he is a great example of a true team leader. That's what a ship is, a team, with the captain as player manager.

 

The captains primary concern is the health, safety and wellbeing of the ship, its crew and its passengers. He discharges this responsibility by using a defined hierarchy of responsibilities. 

 

Broadly on the ship side you have the Capital > Staff (deputy captain) >  Senior Officers > Officers > Other grades. On the hotel side you have Captain > HGM > Hotel Manger / F&B Manager / Entertainment Manager

 

Each ship has a management team made up of Captain/HGM/F&B/Ents/Chief Engineer etc who meet daily/most days. Issues do get fed back up, logs looked at etc. Financial performance will also be an area. If a captain feels ANY area could be better then its on them to work with their team to push commercial opportunities. One way they can do that is through direct actions.

 

Finally, captains are proud of their ships, they want to show them off, for people to enjoy them. Why should they not encourage people to tell their friends.

 

As for scripted announcements, some are, some are not. Often the safety ones are. PR announcements are just easier to read that reword.

Yes Paul Brown and yes he should be proud of the ship and staff

 

I will give the cruise lots of 9s and 10s if I get a survey

 

I also filled in 2 forms on board for 2 staff who stood out for "shining" whilst at work

 

How should I receive the survey Molecro?

 

We booked through iglucruise?

Edited March 8, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, jh1809 said:

Ah yes, that's another change post-Covid: no more specialist wine waiters.

Come on, when was the last time P&O had knowledgeable sommeliers, I certainly dont remember any in our 20 years of cruising.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, jh1809 said:

Ah yes, that's another change post-Covid: no more specialist wine waiters.

Iirc, they had already trialled working without wine waiters before Covid hit...