Why you should never book a guarantee - Caribbean Princess Stateroom P324

[*source*]

All cabins have some noise . I get used to noise and aren't bothered by it after a few days. Only had one cabin where noise started near the end of the cruise. Princess dealt with the issue after the fact.

 

Yup!

 

My brother and his family were on this same cruise and are not in any way researchers. They booked a mini-suite and it turned out it was just below Fusion. So - each night they were putting their kids to bed, the music and the bass were VERY loud. This was lowered after 10pm, but there was nothing that could be done before that.

 

The Front Desk staff did admit that others had complained and it should be listed as 'noisy' by TA's.

 

It was his first time with Princess. Not his only reason he wouldn't return, but Royal Caribbean still his preference. Like you say - it can happen in any category!

[msmoger]

Yup!

 

My brother and his family were on this same cruise and are not in any way researchers. They booked a mini-suite and it turned out it was just below Fusion. So - each night they were putting their kids to bed, the music and the bass were VERY loud. This was lowered after 10pm, but there was nothing that could be done before that.

 

The Front Desk staff did admit that others had complained and it should be listed as 'noisy' by TA's.

 

It was his first time with Princess. Not his only reason he wouldn't return, but Royal Caribbean still his preference. Like you say - it can happen in any category!

 

Actually it's just above Club Fusion but we know what you meant. ;) The minis on that deck on the other side (starboard) don't have that issue. In fact in general that are highly prized because of the covered balconies. Also, the one most aft has an extended balcony with a bit of a wake view. I suspect your brother's family had this one but on the port side since that cabin is directly over the Club Fusion stage. There have been reports of this type of noise from those in that cabin previously.

Edited September 4, 2015 by msmoger

[DrMark]

Did the ship give you a copy of the complaint they filed for you? I would be sure to include this issue in the survey they send out after the cruise. We once received some OBC from reporting a serious issue in that survey that wasn't resolved while we were onboard. I would consider this a serious issue.

 

Yes, they gave us a copy of the complaint. It surprised me that they did it.

 

I haven't received any survey yet.

[azbirdmom]

Yes, they gave us a copy of the complaint. It surprised me that they did it.

 

I haven't received any survey yet.

 

Sorry you had such a bad experience. Being awakened repeatedly would have driven me crazy. We have been on the Caribbean Princess twice on Dolphin deck and experienced vibrations unlike what we've dealt with on other ships. That's one of the reasons why we will avoid the Caribbean in the future if at all possible. But never as bad as what you reported. You might consider sending your own note off to customer relations. Here is their email address: customerrelations@princesscruises.com . They were very helpful when we reported issues on one occasion in the past.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes, they gave us a copy of the complaint. It surprised me that they did it.

 

I haven't received any survey yet.

 

You should have received your survey via email by now.

You may have to call to have them resend it.

[DrMark]

You should have received your survey via email by now.

You may have to call to have them resend it.

Oh, by *E-mail*. I checked my junk folder, and there it was (along with about 40 advertisement E-mail messages from Princess:rolleyes:). I spent about an hour filling it out last night. Hopefully it will do some good for somebody.

[Hlitner]

What a bummer. But as others have said, it does always matter if you do a guarantee or select a cabin. For example, when DW and I took a 62 day cruise on the HAL Prinsendam we carefully chose our lower cost porthole cabin in an area of the ship we knew quite well (this was our third long cruise on the ship). So the 2nd night of the cruise DW wakes me up and says she can't sleep because she hears noise from below. The noise stopped so we figured all was OK and went to sleep. Next night we both heard noise (from the crew deck below) and after a while DW said she could swear she heard a ping pong ball (I am serious). We knew this cabin was over an empty area on the crew deck which was a large hallway that led to one of the outer doors (seldom used). When this happened the third time, DW put on her robe (it was very late) and strolled down to Guest Relations. The quickly sent Security to investigate. It turned out that the crew had a portable ping pong table that they would move into the area under our cabin and play late night tournaments! Go figure. And yes, the issue was quietly handled and we had no further issues.

 

On another cruise (Princess) we had a carefully chosen balcony cabin in the center of the ship (the perfect cabin). But when it got rough we heard what sounded like a metal ball rolling around in the ceiling. But when Guest Relations came to investigate the sound was gone. This went on for several days (it was long multi week cruise) and every time we called for help the sound would stop :(. Finally, one morning we were explaining the sound to our cabin steward when suddenly we heard the loud ball-like sound. Our steward immediately used his phone to call for help. Later that day we returned to our cabin to find the outside corridor ceiling torn apart and they told us a small crew member was crawling around in our ceiling and we should stay out of the cabin for a few minutes (they worried he would fall though the ceiling and hit us). The little guy finally crawled out of the hole and he held a large steel ball bearing! Problem solved. But you just never know...and most ships are not as responsive as they were on that Princess vessel.

 

Hank

Edited September 9, 2015 by Hlitner

[OCruisers]

:o Have to admit it would drive me nuts and would not be worth it to not book the cabin we wanted ... and have to wait to know.

 

LuLu

[A.stew12305]

Heck, even an Inside across the hall might have received that noise.

 

On our first cruise, my husband and I were in an interior on Plaza. We had a noise similar to this, I just assumed it was an anchor. It didn't bother us too much, I'm a fairly light sleeper but I can go back to sleep easily. It would definitely have bothered my parents though, and I agree noisy cabins should be labled.

[A.stew12305]

Actually it's just above Club Fusion but we know what you meant. ;) The minis on that deck on the other side (starboard) don't have that issue. In fact in general that are highly prized because of the covered balconies. Also, the one most aft has an extended balcony with a bit of a wake view. I suspect your brother's family had this one but on the port side since that cabin is directly over the Club Fusion stage. There have been reports of this type of noise from those in that cabin previously.

We had a room right above club fusion on our Alaskan cruise, the nighttime noise wasn't too bad but the early morning Zumba was really obnoxious

[SpelChic2001]

We had booked P325 for an upcoming two week cruise, but after reading the reviews of the cabin noise in that area of the ship, we jumped at an upsell offer to a Baja balcony. There was even a detailed description of the noise (and lack of A/C) in our selected cabin from a previous cruiser! I feel like we dodged a bullet on that one!

 

It is really a pity, because that group of cabins has a great location.

 

Karen

[SoCal Cruiser78]

We had booked P325 for an upcoming two week cruise, but after reading the reviews of the cabin noise in that area of the ship, we jumped at an upsell offer to a Baja balcony...

 

Wise move! The Baja deck is generally quiet, with other cabins above and below. Enjoy your cruise :).

[GUT2407]

Just some of the reasons I won't do guarantees anymore.

[olingirl]

 

To go with GTY, you for sure need to know what you might end up with. We are GTY Obstructed Deluxe Balcony (Regal) right now and my only fear is getting assigned a fwd-facing upgrade and dealing with the wind. But we discussed it and we are happy to book this for "pennies" different than our usual Inside pick and we'll at least have some daylight if nothing else.

 

 

I've actually heard amazing things about those fwd-facing on Royal/Regal and they are usually booked fast! I have one for my Regal next year! :D

[travlngar]

I don't remember other complaints about Plaza deck. All I remember are the great stories about getting to the IC first in the morning. :) This does make me a bit nervous since we have one for a Grand cruise next year.

 

 

We enjoyed out New England cruise on the Plaza deck until as Pam stated,

 

"The other issue with this location is that when the stabilizers are deployed, there can be a lot of noise and vibration as the ship rolls from side-to-side."

 

Several nights were sleep deprived because of the this and not sure we will ever book on this deck again.

[CruisewhenWecan]

The other issue with this location is that when the stabilizers are deployed, there can be a lot of noise and vibration as the ship rolls from side-to-side.

 

Yep, I have experienced that!! lol ....:D and it was very noisy, especially in rough weather.

[Cindy]

I *almost* always book early and select my cabin so I am in the location I want. I'm usually looking for something very specific, like an aft corner, and I've found those go quickly. There have been two times I have taken a guarantee, with mixed results.

 

The first was on a Royal Caribbean cruise at Spring Break, and I switched to a guarantee to save $1,300. For my category, there really wasn't any downside, and I lost my center of the hump location but the new location was fine and very quiet. It was definitely worth the savings!:)

 

The other time was a last minute HAL booking when we had a Celebrity cruise cancelled. We were scrambling to save our vacation so our choices were limited, and we took a Signature Suite (equivalent of a Mini Suite) guarantee. It was directly under the part of the deck above where they were rolling carts across tile at all hours of the night (and early morning)!:mad: Based on that experience I'd be reluctant to book a guarantee again.

[Gay Cruiser]

Anchor dropping or stabilizers operating. They might not be that close, but sounds travel along the metal hull.

[jaredhamburg]

These guaranteed cabin comments have me worried. My wife and I are sailing on the Caribbean Princess on 8 November 2015. We originally had interior and got an upgrade to an Oceanview. What I did not know is that it was a guaranteed cabin. I thought one would be assigned shortly after the upgrade (upgrade happened about 3 months ago). We are still waiting, and I really want this to be a fun cruise. Last year, our first cruise was on the Grand Princess as a family; and it was amazing. My wife and I fell in love with cruising. Now, just the two of us are going to the Caribbean together to celebrate our 5th anniversary.

 

I guess I will just keep my fingers crossed!

[LEtue]

If we book an inside . It is almost always on Plaza deck near the Art Gallery.

 

Stayed in P323 on the Star in August and it was the worst cabin I have ever stayed in - as far a noise.

 

Some nights there was loud entertainment in the Piazza and other nights just loud bagging from below. At first I thought they were moving artwork around on the walls in preparation for the next day but one night I actually got dressed and went out to see. No one there so I'm not sure where the noises originated :mad: