Horns on cruise ships?

Question

I saw a commercial on TV where a guy gets distracted from a golf putt by a cruise ship horn. That got me thinking...do they blow their horns often? I would think that relaxing on deck in the sun, that would be startling and distracting!

Answer 1

they only blow the horn when they are leaving port and not all the time for example if they are leaving late at night they are not allowed

Answer 2

No, they hardly ever blow them.  Only when they leave port.  That commercial is deceiving.

Answer 3

No, there are certain situations when they blow their horn.  I know they blow it when they depart, when there is an emergency or during dense fog when close to shore.

Otherwise you can relax on deck in peace and quiet.

Answer 4

I worked on a cruise ship, and the answer to your question is sometimes.

When we were over in Europe, some days it would be so foggy, that I remember standing on the Pool deck (Deck 11) and not being able to see the water.

On those days, they blow the horn about every two minutes, as a way to warn other traffic, that hey, we are a big ship and we are here, so watch out!

During sunny days, no they usually will only blow it leaving port, or as a greeting to other ships, or as a warning to other traffic.  But, usually not just because they feel like it.