Do you really need a watch on board?

[teknoge3k]

Landline. A phone with an Ethernet-looking cable that plugs into an Ethernet-looking wall socket. But, not Ethernet. don't know wired Ethernet? Think how you plug your iPhone (or God forbid, Galaxy) into a wall socket to recharge and you can still get phone calls on it while plugged in. Or, if you actually work in an office, that phone on your desk that has this cable that goes into a hole in the wall. ;-)

 

I will admit that I only learn what I need to learn at the time to us what I want to use on the phone. Only 2 weeks ago did someone show me how to bring back those notifications that show up and disappear too fast for me to see them the first time! And, a month ago, someone showed me how to get rid of all those messages that come in (did not know about swiping)...

 

Most of the kids I work with have no landlines, only that cell phone. I've had enough experience with towers going down and electricity that my landline phone comes in handy. In a big emergency, I actually have my avocado green Slimline phone that does not work on electricity and plugs into my phone line. That came in handy once when our substation was hit by lightning and was out for 10 hours - that good old phone still worked!

 

I love your description, an Ethernet into the phone. haha! I remember the days of having to sit next to a wall to talk to someone. It was fine back then but thinking back, man that was painful. Having to sit around and wait on that call you're waiting on to come in... Having to check messages when you got home. If you weren't fortunate enough to have call waiting and caller ID, to blindly pick up the phone or have to get off of the phone to allow the second call to come in. Thankfully we had both.Now, we haven't had a landline in over 14 years. Don't miss it one bit!

[Grandma Dazzles]

I haven't worn a watch in ... well, actually I can't remember how long it's been. 10 years? 20 years? I'm not sure I even have one that works anymore. Since I never go anywhere without my Kindle, that is my clock, especially ashore. I also usually carry my phone (backup camera, games, intranet/internet) and on many ships there are usually clocks in strategic places.

 

One reason I put a watch in my bag for the pool and/or beach is so I have an idea of the time - not sure what cruiseline you are sailing that has clocks in strategic places but I have never seen a clock, other than perhaps at the guest services desk, on a ship.

 

For example, other than guest services, on RC the only clock I remember is in the solarium - in the bar - you have to walk up to the bar to see it - and even then it's not easily visible. Don't remember any others so they are hardly in strategic places.

[squick64]

Some manner of time source is a good idea. Cabins don't have clocks, that I've seen. Ships have them here and there but never where you happen to be. :-p And of course, when you're in port, you need a source of time, too.

 

I just use my phone, though. I have a nickel allergy and don't fool with watches if I don't have to.

[cbelc]

Our room on the Allure had a clock. The power blinked off and our steward reset it for us.

 

 

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[Nebr.cruiser]

Rather than using a device, it's nice to be able to just glance down at my watch to see what time it is. ;)

That's me; so much easier to just glance at my ($10) watch. Some things seem harder and more cumbersome on a phone than the old fashioned way. Especially since for most things I have to put on my reading glasses.

 

I don't wear a watch all the time at home or on the ship, but I do when leaving the house or the ship and in the evening on board.

 

My Android cost one cent; I know I don't use all its features but I don't even want to.

[ronrick1943]

No, you'll have lots of clocks all over the ship and one in you cabin.

[broadwaybaby123]

I always take one, just because the ship doesn't always follow local time.

[Grandma Dazzles]

No, you'll have lots of clocks all over the ship and one in you cabin.

 

I posted earlier in response to someone else saying there were clocks all over the ship and didn't receive a reply. I normally cruise RC and have rarely seen a clock, other than behind the desk at guest services. Cabin phone had the time on it. Wish someone would tell me where all those clocks are!!!! Maybe I would quit wearing a watch, or taking my watch along in my bag for the pool or deck.

[obnurse]

I absolutely need a watch while on board, especially because my cell phone is often tucked away in the cabin. I forgot it on our last cruise so 2 of the 4 of us ended up buying a cheap one at the "Ten dollar sale". When we get off on the islands I always check the time on the ship and my watch just to make sure my watch is correct. :)

[sparky-elpaso]

I love your description, an Ethernet into the phone. haha! I remember the days of having to sit next to a wall to talk to someone. It was fine back then but thinking back, man that was painful. Having to sit around and wait on that call you're waiting on to come in... Having to check messages when you got home. If you weren't fortunate enough to have call waiting and caller ID, to blindly pick up the phone or have to get off of the phone to allow the second call to come in. Thankfully we had both.Now, we haven't had a landline in over 14 years. Don't miss it one bit!

 

Or if you're really really old (my son's description) you remember phones with dials rather than push buttons and definitely no way to leave a message. If the person you were calling didn't answer or the line was busy (beep, beep, beep) you called them back later.

 

While I embrace most of the new technology - I have a computer, laptop, tablet with games and e-readers, and a digital camera - I really don't like cellphones. We're retired and I keep our phone charged just in case. Most calls we get are recorded sales calls. I do like being able to send a text to our sons - then they can get back to us whenever they get a chance.

[calliopecruiser]

Most calls we get are recorded sales calls. I do like being able to send a text to our sons - then they can get back to us whenever they get a chance.

The phone is the least important part of my smartphone for me.

[SantaFeFan]

Or if you're really really old (my son's description) you remember phones with dials rather than push buttons and definitely no way to leave a message. If the person you were calling didn't answer or the line was busy (beep, beep, beep) you called them back later.

 

Heck, I even go back to before dirt was invented when we had a party line. Ours was one long ring followed by two short rings. Dialing out required contacting the operator who dialed for us. None of these new fangled cellular phones in our pockets. Yet, somehow we survived!

[sparky-elpaso]

Heck, I even go back to before dirt was invented when we had a party line. Ours was one long ring followed by two short rings. Dialing out required contacting the operator who dialed for us. None of these new fangled cellular phones in our pockets. Yet, somehow we survived!

 

Right.

 

My grandmother had a party line - although I don't think there was a special ring - this would have been probably the mid 1950's. I think it came down to the party line being a bit cheaper than a private line.

[bob brown]

Landline. A phone with an Ethernet-looking cable that plugs into an Ethernet-looking wall socket. But, not Ethernet. don't know wired Ethernet? Think how you plug your iPhone (or God forbid, Galaxy) into a wall socket to recharge and you can still get phone calls on it while plugged in. Or, if you actually work in an office, that phone on your desk that has this cable that goes into a hole in the wall. ;-)

 

I will admit that I only learn what I need to learn at the time to us what I want to use on the phone. Only 2 weeks ago did someone show me how to bring back those notifications that show up and disappear too fast for me to see them the first time! And, a month ago, someone showed me how to get rid of all those messages that come in (did not know about swiping)...

 

Most of the kids I work with have no landlines, only that cell phone. I've had enough experience with towers going down and electricity that my landline phone comes in handy. In a big emergency, I actually have my avocado green Slimline phone that does not work on electricity and plugs into my phone line. That came in handy once when our substation was hit by lightning and was out for 10 hours - that good old phone still worked!

 

That was true, and still is, but soon will change..

I used to have Verizon Communications (the landline side of the company) as my home phone, dating back to the Bell System days. They are switching their all copper network to FIOS fiber optics, and when the cutover is complete in a couple of years, their land line phone will be VOIP, just like the service offered by the cable tv companies. When that happens, you will lose service in a blackout, same as the cable companies...

[SantaFeFan]

Right.

 

My grandmother had a party line - although I don't think there was a special ring - this would have been probably the mid 1950's. I think it came down to the party line being a bit cheaper than a private line.

 

Mid 50s is about right. We lived in a small town in eastern Canada at the time, I was just a kid. But I remember that our house had a unique ring pattern that would identify it was for us. Other houses had different patterns. Every house on the party line circuit heard the pattern, but only the house it was intended for was supposed to answer. There were always some nosy-bodies who would listen in on other conversations. Nothing was private on those phones.

[SantaFeFan]

That was true, and still is, but soon will change..

I used to have Verizon Communications (the landline side of the company) as my home phone, dating back to the Bell System days. They are switching their all copper network to FIOS fiber optics, and when the cutover is complete in a couple of years, their land line phone will be VOIP, just like the service offered by the cable tv companies. When that happens, you will lose service in a blackout, same as the cable companies...

 

Not necessarily. Several years ago we switched to AT&T U-verse for internet and voice. We still have our landline phones, but now the calls are through VOIP. But, our system has a battery backup that will keep the phones working for up to 5 hours. Three months ago we lost power due to a transformer failure during the major storms that hit our area causing hundreds of outages at the same time. We could still make calls even with no power coming to the house. But, the battery backup only lasted for a few hours, while the outage lasted 27 hours. We did lose our landline in that situation. Fortunately, in my 35 years in this house, other than this last time, we never had an outage longer than a couple of hours.

 

And, yes, our cell phones came in handy. I learned the valuable lesson to keep our phones charged and not let them get near zero. We had to charge our cell phones by plugging them into the ports in our cars. Fortunately we had car chargers which saved the day.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Mid 50s is about right. We lived in a small town in eastern Canada at the time, I was just a kid. But I remember that our house had a unique ring pattern that would identify it was for us. Other houses had different patterns. Every house on the party line circuit heard the pattern, but only the house it was intended for was supposed to answer. There were always some nosy-bodies who would listen in on other conversations. Nothing was private on those phones.

 

We had that too, about the same time period. The old wooden phone on the wall. Our ring was something like short,short, long. I think you turned the handle to call someone else on your line with their ring pattern. You heard all the rings; we had one neighbor who almost always listened in.

 

In our tiny town (we were on the farm) there was still a switchboard operator; you called operator and told her who you wanted to speak to and she hooked you up. She could hear all the converstions too, if she wanted She knew everyone's number. .That works ok in a town of 350, not so great in a city!

[bob brown]

Not necessarily. Several years ago we switched to AT&T U-verse for internet and voice. We still have our landline phones, but now the calls are through VOIP. But, our system has a battery backup that will keep the phones working for up to 5 hours. Three months ago we lost power due to a transformer failure during the major storms that hit our area causing hundreds of outages at the same time. We could still make calls even with no power coming to the house. But, the battery backup only lasted for a few hours, while the outage lasted 27 hours. We did lose our landline in that situation. Fortunately, in my 35 years in this house, other than this last time, we never had an outage longer than a couple of hours.

 

And, yes, our cell phones came in handy. I learned the valuable lesson to keep our phones charged and not let them get near zero. We had to charge our cell phones by plugging them into the ports in our cars. Fortunately we had car chargers which saved the day.

During the three major Northeast Blackouts that I've experienced since 1965, Verizon, and its predecessor's came thru for everyone, since the local exchanges all had there own backup generator's, that were sufficient to power everyone's connected, hard-wired telephone's for the duration. Even the keypad lights worked.

I don't think that can work with FIOS,

Even if you have the backup battery to power your own phone....

Then it's cellphones to the rescue....

[Suzieanna]

Watches are great as well if you want to see how well your tan is coming along...

 

I feel younger people don't tend to wear watches these days. Myself, I would feel like I had gone out without my pants on if I wasn't wearing mine!

 

You need to do what is easiest for you....

[Sancho_proudfoot]

I posted earlier in response to someone else saying there were clocks all over the ship and didn't receive a reply. I normally cruise RC and have rarely seen a clock, other than behind the desk at guest services. Cabin phone had the time on it. Wish someone would tell me where all those clocks are!!!! Maybe I would quit wearing a watch, or taking my watch along in my bag for the pool or deck.

 

On most (I can't swear to all) RC ships I have been on there are at least two clocks (showing ship's time)around the main pool. They are on the edge of the deck above. They aren't huge and depending where you're sat may not be easily visible, but they are there!

[Grandma Dazzles]

On most (I can't swear to all) RC ships I have been on there are at least two clocks (showing ship's time)around the main pool. They are on the edge of the deck above. They aren't huge and depending where you're sat may not be easily visible, but they are there!

 

Thanks! Kind of like the one in the corner behind the bar in the solarium pool! I definitely still don't think they are all over the ship as poster stated! It's just nice to have a watch, either in a pool bag or wearing, in case you are planning on meeting someone for lunch or an event on board. I would rather lose/damage a $10 watch than my iPhone!

[calliopecruiser]

I definitely still don't think they are all over the ship as poster stated!

It's obviously very variable......I got of a ship 3 days ago, and there were clocks at the elevators on each floor, clocks on the Lido deck by the pool, and clocks at the front desk. And an alarm clock in each cabin.

[SantaFeFan]

During the three major Northeast Blackouts that I've experienced since 1965, Verizon, and its predecessor's came thru for everyone, since the local exchanges all had there own backup generator's, that were sufficient to power everyone's connected, hard-wired telephone's for the duration. Even the keypad lights worked.

I don't think that can work with FIOS,

Even if you have the backup battery to power your own phone....

Then it's cellphones to the rescue....

 

Not sure about FIOS, but with the copper VOIP lines in our area the good news is that it does. We were able to use our hard-wired phone to call the electric company to report that the power had gone out in our home. We also received a call from them within the hour to let us know they were aware of it and it was a neighborhood outage. Eventually, however, this functionality ended when the battery ran out. At that time we used our cell phones for any calls. Fortunately, the cell towers in our area were still working. Otherwise, we would have had no ability to make calls, hard-wired or cell.

 

Cell towers also need electricity to work. In an outage, they rely on batteries to stay powered up. But, those batteries will eventually die out. The FCC imposes specific mandates on wireless carriers including "backup electric power at most cell sites." Therefore, cell towers typically have battery backup arrangements that support operations for two to four hours, depending upon call traffic. In critical service areas, battery backup is enhanced by generators that automatically start when the batteries cannot provide enough power. (source: https://www.techwalla.com/articles/do-cell-phones-work-in-power-outages)

Edited May 3, 2017 by SantaFeFan

[bob brown]

IIRC, on many ships there are also at least one clock on each side of the promenade deck.

The one place you will never see a clock is the casino... on a ship or ashore :)