B737-700
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 259; Flight Crew Type 2316
Confusion; Other / Unknown
No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Human Factors; Procedure
Departed Runway 8 on EMMYS5 Departure. PDC clearance was climb via EXCEPT maintain 10;000 feet. Departure control contacted climbing out and clearance from departure control was 'climb via SID.' I asked for clarification and response was 'climb via EMMYS5; comply with altitude restrictions.' At this point I read back 'climb to FL230 and comply with the EMMYS 5 restrictions.' I asked the Controller to mark the tapes. Another carrier aircraft right behind us had the same confusion on climb instructions.The clearance limit we were given was to 10;000 feet. When the Controller stated 'comply with restrictions'; it confused us because our restriction was to 10;000 feet. We were not cleared to FL230. The verbiage that is being used may be in compliance with the 7110.65; but it is not what is used elsewhere. The Pilots are expecting to hear relief (climb to FL230) or a continue climb via the departure to FL230. I spoke with Denver TRACON in regards to this confusion. If a previous restriction is applied to an aircraft; the Aircrew is expecting to hear a relief from that altitude or comply with the climb instruction. Again; the terminology may be correct in accordance with a manual; but it is confusing in the dynamic environment of ATC and clear and concise wording is critical to safety.
B737 First Officer reported receiving a PDC clearance to climb via the SID EXCEPT maintain 10;000 feet. When Departure was contacted after takeoff the instructions were 'climb via SID.' The reporter asked for clarification as he was not sure if the climb limit was the 10000 feet in the PDC or the FL230 on the RNAV chart.