Allergy to air conditioning in cabins

We have cruised with Princess and Celebrity several times and each time my wife suffers from nasal problems or gets a bad cold. This is because the air conditioning/movement systems in the cabins are always on.

When we stay in hotels,we can always turn off the heating/cooling system completely unless we need to have it on if it is cold or hot (usually we open a window or two if it is hot).

Are there any cruiselines that provide cabins with fully controllable air conditioning so that we can turn it completely off,unless we choose to turn it on.

Many thanks,

Ian Moore

I guess it depends where you are cruising. Can't imagine cruising the Caribbean, for example, without air conditioning.

I don't think you will find what you are looking for on a cruise ship. Most indoor locations such as restaurants, bars, theaters, etc. are air conditiomed, so you are looking to vacation in a non-air conditioned environment.

Cabins are usually heated/air conditioned in blocks, and you can control high/low. You are requested not to open your balcony doors for extended periods of time, as that affects surrounding cabins.

Perhaps try covering air vents, or requesting maintenance to close vents, similar to what you can do at home.

Finally, perhaps check with your doctor. I know nasal problems can be allergy-related - perhaps taking some type of allergy med would help. Colds are a different story - virus - so need to up the hand washing.

I recall there always being a temperature control in the cabin. We boarded Zuiderdam in Quebec yesterday, and the cabin was uncomfortably warm -about setting the control to max cool, it felt chilly so we wound up at just a shade cooler than the midpoint - very responsive control.

There is a control in many rooms but it does not allow you to turn it off. You can only set it to a colder or warmer setting.

What you can do is ask them to clean the filter for you your room upon your arrival.

Keith

We have cruised with Princess and Celebrity several times and each time my wife suffers from nasal problems or gets a bad cold. This is because the air conditioning/movement systems in the cabins are always on.

 

When we stay in hotels,we can always turn off the heating/cooling system completely unless we need to have it on if it is cold or hot (usually we open a window or two if it is hot).

 

Are there any cruiselines that provide cabins with fully controllable air conditioning so that we can turn it completely off,unless we choose to turn it on.

 

Many thanks,

 

Ian Moore

Some of the newest RC ships have a switch in the sliding balcony door that turns off the A/C. If the slider is closed, but not locked, the A/C is off.

Are you by chance allergic to mold/spores?

I have the same issue. Even if I cannot smell the mold I will still wake up in the middle of the night with a breathing problem if there is excess mold in the room/air or the HVAC/HVAC room filter.

To answer the OP's question in one word, no.

To answer more fully, even as Bob mentions, if the balcony door is closed but not locked on certain ships, this only turns off half of the AC equation, the individual cabin chiller. This chiller, which is controlled by the thermostat in the cabin, cools the recirculated air within the cabin. Typically, even when the thermostat is satisfied, the fan will run, and blow air that is not chilled out the vent, but again, this is merely air recirculated within the cabin, and amounts to 80% of the cabin's volume being recirculated each hour. The second half of the equation is based on the need for fresh air, and the exhausting of stale air. The exhausting is done via the bathroom exhaust, and amounts to 20% of the cabin's volume each hour. This fan runs all the time, and draws air from many cabins. To make up this air taken from the cabin, and to maintain the required positive pressure in the cabin (to keep any possible smoke from moving from the passageway into your cabin), fresh air is supplied from outside, chilled in large air handlers, and ducted to whole banks of cabins. This is controlled centrally for temperature, and like the bathroom exhaust, there is no way to stop this air flow to the cabin.

Since the ship is in a salt air environment, in many circumstances, the fresh air coming into the ship is cooled well below the desired temperature, to drop the dew point and have the salt mist drop out, and then it is warmed slightly to get the desired supply air temperature. Because of this "super cooling and reheat" system, the air on ships tends to be very dry. This can dry out nasal mucus membranes, allowing bacteria and viruses free passage into your body. A good defense, if you are susceptible to this is to use a saline spray daily in your nose to hydrate the mucus membranes.

Thank you chengkp75, once again for actual info.

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Even without the salt air, the system will cool the air well below the dew point to remove moisture. Most systems cool the air to about 40F to get the moisture out, any lower and you run the risk of freezing the water on the coils.

And a ship, even in the Arctic in winter, will need cooling and dehumidfying in certain parts. Think of the MDR at meal time, with all the bodies, all the people exhaling moisture, the hot food, steam off the food.

For me, it has to do with my body reacting to "new air" - aka, not my home and work environment that I am used to. Air isn't the same everywhere - it has different particles and properties. A sensitive body will take some time to adjust to different air and may get sick in the process. I'd get this every time I had to go to the Home Office once a month - the air in the buildings at the campus would make my sinuses go haywire and I'd always end up sick. Some places won't affect me as much as others. I try to sit away from any downvents to avoid getting that air directly on me. Sometimes, with bed placement in hotels and on ships, it can't be done.

HAL's Koningsdam has aircon that you can switch off yourself . I love this as I absolutely hate the dry throat I get from aircon not to mention the noise ... I like a quiet world :D

HAL's Koningsdam has aircon that you can switch off yourself . I love this as I absolutely hate the dry throat I get from aircon not to mention the noise ... I like a quiet world :D

If you read chengkp75's post #7 I think you'll see that you really are not turning the air off completely. He has spent his career in the maritime industry and is very knowledgeable on these subjects.