Why to do when Gothenburg person at the next table has a FaceTime call in a Specialty Restaurant

[Petronillus]

12 hours ago, TRLD said:

The norm is rapidly becoming to treat the person on the other end of the call the same as if they were there in the same room and having a conversation.

The norms are certainly in flux, and for many of us -- generally, the older end of the spectrum -- the need to adjust is not evident and the actual adjustment is irksome.

A friend shared with me that he was trying to talk with his teenage (late teens) son while the son was conducting a separate conversation with his friend via text. My friend objected to his son's rudeness and insisted that he stop texting while they talked. The son acceded to his father's request. Sometime afterward, he took my friend aside and explained, calmly and respectfully, that under the new social patterns, his father was the rude one, because demanding his son's full and undivided attention was selfish: his father was not respecting his son's manifest ability to multi-task.

I was flabbergasted.

[Mary229]

I don’t see the problem.  Now if someone is speaking loudly whether talking in person or on the phone that can be an issue.  Why does it make a difference that they are on the phone? Loud talk - bad, quiet conversation - good

[cbr663]

2 hours ago, Niagarawine said:

I fondly remember the pre internet days when  cruising was relaxing although I did need it to book a flight home on Air Canada for seat selection otherwise we would have been bumped. 

 

It wasn't that long ago on CC that the advice was to turn off your phone and put it in your cabin safe to avoid costly roaming charges.  A common message was one of the joys of cruising was the chance to disconnect.

 

That has changed in 2023 and HAL, like every other cruise line, changed it on purpose.  High speed internet is another revenue stream for the cruise lines and all cruise lines are heavily promoting this as a must have amenity.

 

I don't believe that it is by chance that HAL introduced a mobile app for on ship use.  I also don't believe that it is by chance that HAL bundled internet access with its HIA promo.  It wanted to create a demand for internet access.  It was a way to convince passengers to start using their devices on their cruises, and all of this was just before they rolled out high speed internet access across their lines.  This happened with the past couple of years.  Many passengers who have decades of sailing without a cell phone and high speed internet access now suddenly must have it to cruise.  

 

This is the classic, build it and they will come.

 

 

[AncientWanderer]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I don’t see the problem.  Now if someone is speaking loudly whether talking in person or on the phone that can be an issue.  Why does it make a difference that they are on the phone? Loud talk - bad, quiet conversation - good

 

You're brave.  I was thinking the same thing, but thought I'd be voted off the island if I said it.

A Face Time doesn't have to be any different than chatting with the person across the table.  And that shouldn't be loud either.   I can imagine somebody traveling solo and wanting company for dinner -- so they Face Time.  Or wishing a friend or loved one was dining with them -- so they Face Time.  

 

It's all about the volume.  Which in the OP's case probably was too loud or it wouldn't have prompted a thread.

 

[Toofarfromthesea]

5 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Last year on the Celebrity Apex one night in the Fine Cuts Steak house, the table next to us, one of those so called "Influencers" had set up the table with all of her streaming equipment so she could have dinner with her "followers".  I complained first to her about the noise and distraction, to which she told me it was her "right" to do this. I then asked the manager to be moved to another table, but none were available, and the manager told me the woman had pre-cleared her direct streaming. We got up and left demanding we not be charged for our dinner we did not eat, we did get the credit back. I saw this same woman doing her streaming all over the ship but Celebrity would do nothing to stop her. Thankfully this woman was not in the Retreat so we did not have to put up with her in Luminae and the Retreat Lounge. I would hope HAL would not allow this same very annoying and distracting activities by these "Influencers"

 

If you know, tell us which one it was so we can avoid her YouTube videos.

[SetAnOpenCourse]

A simple and tactful solution:  no cellphone speaker use (allow headset or earbuds) in all eating venues.  I’d think the managers would feel fine about enforcing this.

[Navybikermom]

25 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

You're brave.  I was thinking the same thing, but thought I'd be voted off the island if I said it.

A Face Time doesn't have to be any different than chatting with the person across the table.  And that shouldn't be loud either.   I can imagine somebody traveling solo and wanting company for dinner -- so they Face Time.  Or wishing a friend or loved one was dining with them -- so they Face Time.  

 

It's all about the volume.  Which in the OP's case probably was too loud or it wouldn't have prompted a thread.

 

I usually travel solo and would never dream of doing anything with my phone/tablet at loud volume in someplace like that. I look around the room, admire the scenery, check the news on my device, but I do so quietly and respectfully. My phone is always on vibrate mode and all public-address warnings are turned off (except the presidential one, which can’t be). I don’t want to hear anyone’s electronics and I don’t want to disturb anyone with mine. 

[terrydtx]

35 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

If you know, tell us which one it was so we can avoid her YouTube videos.

I have no idea, but I saw her streaming in the Buffets and going over every dish she was trying. I never watch or listen to any of these so call influencers. IMO just a bunch of Millennials or younger, to lazy to get a real job.

[RedIguana]

36 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

I don't believe that it is by chance that HAL introduced a mobile app for on ship use.  I also don't believe that it is by chance that HAL bundled internet access with its HIA promo.  It wanted to create a demand for internet access.  It was a way to convince passengers to start using their devices on their cruises, and all of this was just before they rolled out high speed internet access across their lines.  This happened with the past couple of years.  Many passengers who have decades of sailing without a cell phone and high speed internet access now suddenly must have it to cruise.  

 

This is the classic, build it and they will come.

HAL has been behind the curve when it comes to apps and internet use. HAL did not need to create a demand for internet access, it needed to provide it to keep up. RCL had video streaming and WiFi calling capable internet over 5 years ago. Star link does add bandwidth and lowers latency (while reducing costs I assume) compared to OB3, but useable internet capability has been around a while.

[RedIguana]

18 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I have no idea, but I saw her streaming in the Buffets and going over every dish she was trying. I never watch or listen to any of these so call influencers. IMO just a bunch of Millennials or younger, to lazy to get a real job.

Reporters, newscasters, photographers have been considered a real job for hundreds of years. Often with crazy hours involved. Sounds like this person had a pretty professional setup, and had been pre-cleared by the cruiseline. Possibly even working for them. Although I am definitely not a fan of "influencers", and would also be upset if they were interrupting my vacation, I would never consider anyone capable of starting, producing, and running their own video production company lazy.

Edited March 29 by RedIguana

[Kay S]

16 hours ago, kochleffel said:

Gothenburg person?

 

I'm confused about that, too.  I don't know if OP will explain.

[terrydtx]

9 minutes ago, Kay S said:

I'm confused about that, too.  I don't know if OP will explain.

A victim of AI spellchecking,

[canadianbear]

We had a few doing their loud chats on our 35 day recent cruise-it was annoying while trying to eat breakfast or lunch in peace.  When we wanted to chat with our grandkids we’d arrange to be back in our cabin to do that which, in my opinion, is where it should be done not in the public spaces. 

[Menocchio]

51 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

A victim of AI spellchecking,

Or a very specific regional stereotype. Maybe people in Gothenburg are infamous for doing that. I've never been to Sweden. 

 

It does annoy me more when people use their phones in public than when they have face-to-face conversations. I'm not sure why. I think it's mostly because people are usually pretty good about moderating their volume to best match the actual space. But they crank up the volume on their phones and shout into them. 

 

Personally I find it mortifying if my phone makes a sound in public. Like if parts of my anatomy made a noise in public. But I think my attitude is becoming increasingly rare, and I worry it's going to become much worse. I'm seeing (and hearing) a lot of parents hand their kids a phone or tablet and having them play games or videos with sound on speaker. I'm not going to criticize the parents for the screentime- That's a debate I have no interest in participating in and I probably prefer to half hear an episode of Bluey while at the diner than have a toddler melt down at the next table. But I do wish they'd start teaching the etiquette of using mute or headphones/earbuds from a very early age.

[alwaysfrantic]

NTAH

 

If a call comes in when I’m in a restaurant that I have to take, I run outside immediately.  Your cannaletto diner was the AH

Edited March 29 by alwaysfrantic

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, Menocchio said:

Or a very specific regional stereotype. Maybe people in Gothenburg are infamous for doing that. I've never been to Sweden. 

 

It does annoy me more when people use their phones in public than when they have face-to-face conversations. I'm not sure why. I think it's mostly because people are usually pretty good about moderating their volume to best match the actual space. But they crank up the volume on their phones and shout into them. 

 

Personally I find it mortifying if my phone makes a sound in public. Like if parts of my anatomy made a noise in public. But I think my attitude is becoming increasingly rare, and I worry it's going to become much worse. I'm seeing (and hearing) a lot of parents hand their kids a phone or tablet and having them play games or videos with sound on speaker. I'm not going to criticize the parents for the screentime- That's a debate I have no interest in participating in and I probably prefer to half hear an episode of Bluey while at the diner than have a toddler melt down at the next table. But I do wish they'd start teaching the etiquette of using mute or headphones/earbuds from a very early age.

Fortunately I wear hearing aids that stream to my ears from my phone by Bluetooth, so I never need to use the speaker when making calls. When I have a call in a nosy place the nearing aids block out the background noise when the phone is streaming to them.

[TRLD]

Just now, RedIguana said:

Reporters, newscasters, photographers have been considered a real job for hundreds of years. Often with crazy hours involved. Sounds like this person had a pretty professional setup, and had been pre-cleared by the cruiseline. Possibly even working for them. Although I am definitely not a fan of "influencers", and would also be upset if they were interrupting my vacation, I would never consider anyone capable of starting, producing, and running their own video production company lazy.

Problem is that the influencers have created a large number of pseudo influencers that feel that they have to act the same way in the same places creating more of a nuisance than the original influencer.

[Toofarfromthesea]

7 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I have no idea, but I saw her streaming in the Buffets and going over every dish she was trying. I never watch or listen to any of these so call influencers. IMO just a bunch of Millennials or younger, to lazy to get a real job.

 

Fair enough.

[VMax1700]

10 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Fortunately I wear hearing aids that stream to my ears from my phone by Bluetooth, so I never need to use the speaker when making calls. When I have a call in a nosy place the nearing aids block out the background noise when the phone is streaming to them.

As I am just newly admitted to this audio assistance world, how do you deal with actually speaking on the 'phone'.  I am very consious of appearing to speak to no one when having a conversation on the BT hearing aids.  I tried talking with my hand over my mouth, but that just muffles the sound to the aids.  How do you manage?

(apologies for thread drift)

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

As I am just newly admitted to this audio assistance world, how do you deal with actually speaking on the 'phone'.  I am very consious of appearing to speak to no one when having a conversation on the BT hearing aids.  I tried talking with my hand over my mouth, but that just muffles the sound to the aids.  How do you manage?

(apologies for thread drift)

 I am not conscious at all of how it looks to others, but at least I do not walk around with the much more obvious ear buds showing. I do not have to be loud when speaking like with ear buds, I just speak into the mic on my phone.

[VMax1700]

21 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I just speak into the mic on my phone.

Doh! I didn't think of that! 🙄  Actually, I thought that the mic on the phone was disabled when using BT.  I will need to experiment!

Thanks!

[terrydtx]

8 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Doh! I didn't think of that! 🙄  Actually, I thought that the mic on the phone was disabled when using BT.  I will need to experiment!

Thanks!

Most BT hearing aids only stream one way to the HA so you have to use the mic in the phone to speak. However there are some newer generation HAs coming to the market that will work both ways much like BT ear buds. They utilize the built-in mics in the behind the ear hearing aids. This would then be no different that seeing people without hearing aids who use ear buds, like I Pods, for 2 way conversations.

Edited March 30 by terrydtx

[VMax1700]

3 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

However there are some newer generation HAs coming to the market that will work both ways much like BT ear buds. They utilize the built-in mics in the behind the ear hearing aids.

That is the way that mine work.  I just feel (foolish I know) that someone will lock me up for talking to myself! 😉

[Fouremco]

27 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Doh! I didn't think of that! 🙄  Actually, I thought that the mic on the phone was disabled when using BT.  I will need to experiment!

Thanks!

Do take the time to find out all the things that your hearing aids can do for you. It varies with what model you have, but with mine I can stream any sound (phone call, music, video, etc.) from my iPhone, iPad, MacBook and my LG TV.  

[RedIguana]

10 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Do take the time to find out all the things that your hearing aids can do for you. It varies with what model you have, but with mine I can stream any sound (phone call, music, video, etc.) from my iPhone, iPad, MacBook and my LG TV.  

Do they have selective blocking? You know, for those occasions when the wife says "Honey, I've been thinking......"

       😈