The levels haven't increased...but the proximity of venues to guest staterooms has changed A LOT. The "neighbourhood" concept has also increased the noise throughout the ships. If you looked at older ships (MJ/MN are prime examples) you'd notice that ALL entertainment venues were stacked on top of each other, at the back of the ship (including the crew bar). That was always known (by everyone) as a really solid design, and there were hardly any noise complaints, from anyone. However, these days, the bean counters want guests always walking past shops from venue to venue, so things are all over the place. On QN class ships, the Music Hall is surrounded by cabins (guest and crew) on 4 sides (left/right/up/down) and there are nightly noise complaints. Nothing has gotten louder though...it's just that they're putting people closer to venues to make more $$$.