Connecting staterooms noise level

[Organized Chaos]

1) I've seen some older comments about this topic, and opinions vary, so I'd like to get more recent opinions. We're considering connecting interior cabins (on the Horizon) and was wondering if the noise level is any higher than a regular room. If we do it, it'll be family members in the connecting cabin, but we're still thinking about privacy if sound carries through the connecting doors more. I understand they are double doors, like in hotels. We've stayed in connected hotel rooms where general sound from next door carried more through the doors than the walls, so was wondering if the cabins tend to be similar. I guess it all depends on the construction of the doors, so I bring up Horizon in case anyone has experience with it on there.

 

2) Also, the cabins we're looking at are near the elevators. There's one or two other cabins between the elevators and the ones we're looking at. Does it tend to be noisy by the elevators and stairs? Either from the elevators themselves or the people always standing around waiting for them. Another cabin I looked at backs up directly to the stairwell. Should we avoid that?

 

Thanks for the advice.

[mnp75]

I try to stay away from stairs and elevators. I wouldn't worry much about the connecting room too much, if it's family! Connecting rooms, in my experience, are usually filled with families with lots of kids. Avoid being around them if you're trying  to relax. Spa interior cabins are very quiet, if you can get them. We booked a Spa interior on the Vista, in the last room before the door to the kids slide/water area. It was quieter than any of the lower level rooms we've had!

[bury me at sea]

I prefer a cabin very close to midship or aft elevators.  No noise and very convenient.

 

I can't comment on connecting cabins.

[JillK]

We have been assigned connecting cabins twice when I booked guarantee cabins - once on the Carnival Victory (oceanview cabins) and once on Oasis of the Seas (neighbourhood balconies). 

 

There was very little noise from our neighbours on the Victory although on two occasions we could hear them speaking (though not clearly enough to make out what they were saying - just muttering noises).

 

The noise leaking through the connecting doors on the Oasis however was substantial. We could hear their toilet flush, hear their shower running and make out every word of any conversation they had when they were standing near the door (which faced the bathroom). They were early risers and woke us up every single morning (we had left our four kids at home and were trying to sleep!) through no fault of their own. 

 

Vowed that I would never book a connecting cabin again unless my family was next door after that experience with RCI but like I said, there weren't any issues with the Victory so you should be ok - especially if it's your family. 

Edited March 14, 2019 by JillK

[sanmarcosman]

On Fantasy Class ships the connecting door is not a double door and I could hear my dad flossing through it. Not sure about Vista Class. Good luck, I avoid connecting doors wherever possible.

[Athankfulheart]

We wound up with a connecting cabin once and we avoid them now. We heard their TV the whole stinkin' week. It seemed as though the TV was mounted somewhat close to the connecting door. We just avoid them all now. As far as elevator areas, we haven't had any troubles. In fact, we have been one cabin off the elevator lobby doorway and had more noise from the cabin next door. They had a really unhappy kid who screamed most of the evenings away and it was LOUD through the wall ( no connecting door). Moral of the story is you can reduce the risk of noise but there are no guarantees. It turns out that the noisy neighbor was 2 little girls - one was a toddler and the other 11yo tops. Parents left the older one in charge and apparently the toddler didn't approve =( 

[ShakyBeef]

OP,  did you see this recent thread:

 

?

 

As I have stated before, I will never book another connecting cabin if I can help it.  You might get lucky with quiet neighbours.  Or, like us, you might get very, very unlucky.

 

Yes, the doors transmit more sound than do the walls, just as you have noticed in the hotels. At least ours on Carnival Glory did.  Good luck!

[lab_love123]

I had a connecting cabin on my recent cruise on the Victory. I noticed very little noise - I had quiet neighbors I guess. I heard mild hallway noise during the day, but nothing from next door. I had a good experience, so I'd risk it again. If the next experience with connecting is bad, I'd reconsider my attitude about it.

 

Regarding elevators - I've been near and far from elevators and never had an excess of noise. Sometimes a loud walker or talker, but they keep moving. It's never been enough to keep me awake if I'm trying to sleep. I would be more concerned about it if I were staying on a deck with public areas - like the Lido deck because I feel like the noise would be more constant.

 

I will caveat this all by saying I grew up in a row home (like a townhome) in a major city with lots of neighbors close by and traffic noise; so I might not notice noise as much as others.

[Hotdog 52]

It's just like having them in the room with you.

[sft429]

Sailed once in a connecting room.  Never again!  We get cabins as close to the elevators as we can get and have never been bothered by any noise associated with them.

[Saint Greg]

I don’t recommend it. This is on vista at 1am.

 

 

 

[jasmine_cruise_yeah]

We had a connecting room with my parents one time when we sailed on a Fantasy class ship. My mom is a VERY loud snorer... loud enough to keep you from falling asleep or to wake you up from a deep sleep. I don't recall being able to hear her at night or either of my parents really any time of the day. With that being said, I did intentionally pick a room away from the elevators and without a connecting door for my upcoming sailing on Magic. I didn't want to risk it. 

[RWolver672]

 

We recently cruised on the Horizon.  We had cabin 11252.  When we booked it, we wanted two cabins that we could open the balcony divider which we got.  The other cabin was to our left.  When we got to our cabin, we realized that our cabin connected to the one to our right.  The door was at the foot of the bed right before the outside wall.  We never once heard our neighbors.  

 

Our cabins were right outside the forward elevators.  It's not like the elevators are in the passageways across from the cabins.  They are in the middle of the ship.  If there is a whole crowd waiting to get on the elevators, you still can't hear them in your cabin.  We always choose right by the elevators.  Makes it easier to find your cabin without having to go past thirty doors looking for yours.  

[fdwt994]

We had connecting doors on the Magic.  Kids in one room, my Wife and I in the other.  The doors are heavy, insulated metal and when both closed, it was very difficult to hear anything in the other room.  Since the Magic was built at the same shipyard as the Horizon, I'd say it's a safe bet the doors would be very similar.

 

I wouldn't worry about it.  

[sft429]

4 minutes ago, fdwt994 said:

We had connecting doors on the Magic.  Kids in one room, my Wife and I in the other.  The doors are heavy, insulated metal and when both closed, it was very difficult to hear anything in the other room.  Since the Magic was built at the same shipyard as the Horizon, I'd say it's a safe bet the doors would be very similar.

 

I wouldn't worry about it.  

 

See, this is the type of advice I relied on when I booked my one and only connecting room cabin and I'll never do it again unless I want it with travel companions in the connecting room.  It's like the advice about early flights after a cruise that people will say you will be just fine, don't worry about it, you have plenty of time.  I'm sure you and the others mean well but stuff happens and then you're screwed.

[Organized Chaos]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. It sounds like we'll be just fine (in regards to noise) if we're near the elevators, and might even like it better being closer to them. As far as the connecting rooms, there seems to be more negative experiences than positive. Since it would be family next door, that helps things, but I still wouldn't want to hear talking and activity if it actually is worse through the doors. Nor would I want them disturbed by us. We're not noisy by any means, just trying to avoid unpleasantness of any kind. We haven't had trouble with hearing much from neighbors in the past, but have never had an adjoining room.

 

21 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

On Fantasy Class ships the connecting door is not a double door and I could hear my dad flossing through it. Not sure about Vista Class. Good luck, I avoid connecting doors wherever possible.

How do they get by with only a single door? For safety/security, the double doors keep one side from getting into the other when they aren't together. How do they avoid that on Fantasy class?

[Organized Chaos]

21 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

OP,  did you see this recent thread:

 

Yeah, I did see that one. To be honest, I noticed they were talking about the safety factor so I moved on without realizing they talked about noise levels too. So thanks for pointing me back to it.

 

[Organized Chaos]

19 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I don’t recommend it. This is on vista at 1am.

 

 

 

Very helpful, thanks for including that. It's hard to tell in the video, but was most of that noise heard more through the connecting doors than the walls?

 

And being on a Vista class ship, it really helps since we'll be on the Horizon. My thoughts were that maybe they perfected the connecting doors more on the newest ships to avoid noise.

Edited March 15, 2019 by Organized Chaos

[Saint Greg]

6 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

Very helpful, thanks for including that. It's hard to tell in the video, but was most of that noise heard more through the connecting doors than the walls?

 

Yes the door. I never heard a peep from the people on the other side of me. I felt like I couldn't turn my TV on at night if it seemed like the people in the room with the connecting door were asleep. The TV was also right by the door.

Edited March 15, 2019 by Saint Greg

[Saint Greg]

5 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

Very helpful, thanks for including that. It's hard to tell in the video, but was most of that noise heard more through the connecting doors than the walls?

 

And when it comes to the stairs...From the deck plan it doesn't look like any room backs up directly into the stairs (on Vista). But my room was second closest to the stairs and I never heard anything there.

Edited March 15, 2019 by Saint Greg

[Organized Chaos]

43 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

And when it comes to the stairs...From the deck plan it doesn't look like any room backs up directly into the stairs (on Vista). But my room was second closest to the stairs and I never heard anything there.

 

It wasn't the connecting rooms I'm talking about that backed up to the stairs, but another one I was looking at. I can't remember exactly which one that was, but it looks just like this. For example, 7351 or 7348. Those are the stairs between them, right?

[Saint Greg]

2 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

It wasn't the connecting rooms I'm talking about that backed up to the stairs, but another one I was looking at. I can't remember exactly which one that was, but it looks just like this. For example, 7351 or 7348. Those are the stairs between them, right?

 

Oh yeah. That's a different part of the ship. If you look at the forward stairs...that's my area.

[Organized Chaos]

7 hours ago, fdwt994 said:

We had connecting doors on the Magic.  Kids in one room, my Wife and I in the other.  The doors are heavy, insulated metal and when both closed, it was very difficult to hear anything in the other room.  Since the Magic was built at the same shipyard as the Horizon, I'd say it's a safe bet the doors would be very similar.

 

I wouldn't worry about it.  

 

I wouldn't think being built at the same shipyard has as much to do with it as when they were built. The Magic being 7 years older and designs change. So if anything, I'd hope a newer ship did a better job at noise reduction between these rooms, but I'm not so sure anymore.

 

7 hours ago, sft429 said:

 

See, this is the type of advice I relied on when I booked my one and only connecting room cabin and I'll never do it again unless I want it with travel companions in the connecting room.  It's like the advice about early flights after a cruise that people will say you will be just fine, don't worry about it, you have plenty of time.  I'm sure you and the others mean well but stuff happens and then you're screwed.

 

As I mentioned before, I was hoping the Horizon, being so new, would've perfected the connecting doors regarding any noise coming through them. But it doesn't seem that way, especially after watching/listening to the video Saint Greg posted, which is aboard the same class ship. I'm leaning towards avoiding them, but this is a cruise with my wife's family, so I'll see what she thinks.

[RWolver672]

With regards to connecting cabins and noise, it all boils down to who is next to you.  If they are quiet people, you won't hear noise.  If they scream and fight constantly, you will hear it.  

 

People on here complain about the doors being slammed by their neighbors.  Never heard it once on our last cruise.  Had connecting doors and never heard a peep out of them.  Never heard their TV either.  Just depends on who your neighbors are and you won't know that until you board unless it's family next to you.

[Saint Greg]

3 hours ago, RWolver672 said:

With regards to connecting cabins and noise, it all boils down to who is next to you.  If they are quiet people, you won't hear noise.  If they scream and fight constantly, you will hear it.  

 

People on here complain about the doors being slammed by their neighbors.  Never heard it once on our last cruise.  Had connecting doors and never heard a peep out of them.  Never heard their TV either.  Just depends on who your neighbors are and you won't know that until you board unless it's family next to you.

 

I’m sure my neighbors didn’t hear a peep from me. They probably think the connecting doors keep the noise out good. But I was the only one in the room so nobody to talk to. I was afraid to put the TV at night if i thought they were asleep...and I’m careful to not let the door slam. Although I found out late in the cruise if I didn’t let it slam, the lock on the door wasn’t actually engaging.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Saint Greg