Traveling with Child with Mesophonia/Noise Questions

[AnnintheGarden]

I will be traveling for the first time on Cunard on the QM2 in QG with a child who suffers from Mesophonia. Noises can be upsetting to her and as we three will be sharing a room she will have no place for retreat.

 

I will bring a small white noise machine, but does anyone have other suggestions? 

 

Are the rooms sometimes times quite loud in the evening?

 

Are there times and events that could be overwhelming? Things to avoid?

 

I plan on having us breakfast in our stateroom to give her a calm start to the day. 

 

 

[Whirled Peas]

The Queens Grill dining room has some tables in the rear, behind the maître d' station, that are away from the majority of diners and look to be much quieter.  Although the QG tends to be a fairly quiet restaurant all around, as restaurants go.  Speak to the maître d' on the afternoon of embarkation about getting you a quiet table.

 

Speak to your butler to figure out how best to keep your suite quiet.  The suite walls are not overly thin, but you can hear activity in the neighboring suites sometimes. 

 

The QM2 is a huge ship, and there are lots of out of the way places on board where people curl up with a good book, a chess board, what have you.  In my experience, it never feels crowded or excessively noisy.  The grills sundeck is quite large and usually not too loud.  Same is true for the open decks on top of the ship.

 

How old is the child?

[AnnintheGarden]

14 minutes ago, Whirled Peas said:

The Queens Grill dining room has some tables in the rear, behind the maître d' station, that are away from the majority of diners and look to be much quieter.  Although the QG tends to be a fairly quiet restaurant all around, as restaurants go.  Speak to the maître d' on the afternoon of embarkation about getting you a quiet table.

 

Speak to your butler to figure out how best to keep your suite quiet.  The suite walls are not overly thin, but you can hear activity in the neighboring suites sometimes. 

 

The QM2 is a huge ship, and there are lots of out of the way places on board where people curl up with a good book, a chess board, what have you.  In my experience, it never feels crowded or excessively noisy.  The grills sundeck is quite large and usually not too loud.  Same is true for the open decks on top of the ship.

 

How old is the child?

She will be 12 years old. 

[exlondoner]

7 hours ago, AnnintheGarden said:

I will be traveling for the first time on Cunard on the QM2 in QG with a child who suffers from Mesophonia. Noises can be upsetting to her and as we three will be sharing a room she will have no place for retreat.

 

I will bring a small white noise machine, but does anyone have other suggestions? 

 

Are the rooms sometimes times quite loud in the evening?

 

Are there times and events that could be overwhelming? Things to avoid?

 

I plan on having us breakfast in our stateroom to give her a calm start to the day. 

 

 

 

I think the QG restaurant is usually quite quiet, especially, if you get there fairly soon after it opens in the evening.  Best if you get a table away from any of the service stations, where there tends to be a degree of rattling, inevitably. On cocktail party nights, everyone tends to come up more or less together quite late,  so particularly worth getting there early.  Lunch is often extremely quiet, especially on port days. In the evening, I have found the pop-up restaurants, Coriander etc,  to be extremely placid and quiet.

 

Some of the tables in QG are extremely close together, while others are more on there own, so worth pursuing the latter.

 

While Cunard ships are rarely noisy, there is a lot of live music, such as string quartets, about the ships, not loud but audible. 

 

I should make sure Cunard shoreside know about the condition, though whether it gets communicated to the ship is in the lap of the gods. In QG, you get lunch on embarkation day, so make sure you go and discuss your needs with the MD. Lots of people get their tables changed before dinner, so he can accommodate you.

 

If the weather is nice, she may find your balcony a retreat with the gentle waves providing their own white noise.

 

i think she'll be fine.

[Underwatr]

I don't think the rooms are loud in the evening. You might want to avoid forward rooms on lower decks if you'll be visiting a port where the ship might anchor.

 

Britannia restaurant is a typical large banqueting space and it can have a corresponding level of ambient noise. I'm not sure whether the upper level is louder or quieter but the back corners on either side (next to Britannia Club) should be quieter, I assume.

 

 

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, Underwatr said:

I don't think the rooms are loud in the evening. You might want to avoid forward rooms on lower decks if you'll be visiting a port where the ship might anchor.

 

Britannia restaurant is a typical large banqueting space and it can have a corresponding level of ambient noise. I'm not sure whether the upper level is louder or quieter but the back corners on either side (next to Britannia Club) should be quieter, I assume.

 

 

The OP said they were in the QG.

[orvil]

You shouldn't have any issue in the dining room.  It's an oasis of calm.  It's very quiet at breakfast and at lunch.  Don't avoid it in the morning.  You will be one of a dozen at most at breakfast.  Lunch is calm, too.  There's no piped in music.  Dinner is subdued but much busier.  I would avoid the King's Court.  It's loud.  Tea in the Grill's is quiet, too.  Nothing like downstairs.

 

All of Cunard's ships are really quiet.  We use white noise at night because of DH's tinnitus.  You won't hear a lot of noise.  Ships announcements may be the area that you will want to prepare yourself.  At departure, arrival and at port calls, there will be ship wide announcements via PA.  These will be preceded by a loud gong chime.  It's designed to get your attention.  If there is an emergency, there will also be the chime with announcement.  These can be random, but rare.  At noon each day, the Captain will have his announcement, too.  You can set your watch for it.  I would try to make a game of this.  As an adult, I have often run up to the viewing gallery on the QM2 to watch the Captain make his announcement.  It's fun.  

 

I really don't think you will have much of a problem.  I think you are going to have a great time. 

[Jack E Dawson]

We have sailed on the QM2 only twice, and both times were trans-Atlantic crossings. Generally speaking the rooms on the QM2 are about as quiet as you would find at a good hotel. The safety mustering, which occurs prior to departure, can be noisy and a bit stressful for first timer. I'm pretty sure that all passengers, including children, must attend. They do have makeup safety musters the next morning, which are much calmer and quieter, that perhaps you and your child could attend. I would hate for the safety muster to cause apprehension with your child before even leaving port. I have not sailed in QG so the safety muster may be a bit more subdued. Unlike other cruise ships, the QM2 makes only one scheduled PA announcement each day, the Captain's update, and it occurs at noon. I believe it is announced with a series of bells or chimes. The ships's horn on the QM2 is very very loud and is sounded according to nautical requirements (dense fog) and for ceremonial occasions. Upon boarding you may want to speak to the staff about scheduled soundings of the ship's horn. The evening production shows can be pretty loud in the theater. The swimming pools are are actually fairly quiet, however, the pool on the back deck often has a live band in the late afternoon that can be loud. Fortunately, the Grills has a private hot tub on a separate deck at the back of the ship that is usually quite. Not sure the time of year or destination of your cruise but if weather permits, the Promenade deck is actually pretty quiet and a great place to watch the ocean and the occasional passing ship. Overall I would say that if any ship is going to meet your needs it is the QM2. Have a great voyage.

 

Jack

[VintageCCG]

The foghorn should not be an issue as it sounds muffled in most areas (blocked by ship's structures) except possibly forward of the superstructure.
The sounding of the louder ship's horns at noon are a different matter, so your child should probably avoid the open upper deck at noontime.

 (not my own video)

Note the muffled tone of the first whistle, which is the one used as the foghorn, versus the louder deeper horns on the funnel.