Just off Ruby--PH suite

[Princess Sassy]

I have been a die-hard Princess fan for years but am now thinking of jumping ship for 2 reasons:

 

1--Smoking policy-- I have paid a lot of money to enjoy a PH suite and would have been happy to book a certain side knowing that no one would be smoking on their balconies. I think other non-smokers would appreciate a non-smoking side of the ship as well. We could all then enjoy our cruise, the smokers on their side and the non-smokers on ours. Hotels do it and it works out just fine. If they have booked the non-smoking rooms, they ask if you would be okay with a smoking one and some are and some are not, at least they have a choice!!

 

2--The PH Suites have been moved on the new ships to the Riviera deck which means it is right under the Lido deck which means constant noise. We have been awakened (when we were trying to sleep late) to scraping of tables and chairs and walking, etc. The other night when they had the White Hot Party we heard music until well after midnight. It is terribly noisy here and yet the PH suites are only on this deck....go figure. We called to ask if this was normal and they said yes, the engineers made a mistake...

 

Just needed to vent.

 

I was really excited about this 10 day cruise on a new ship but these 2 things have really disappointed me and will now be shopping for a new cruise line.

 

Sassy

[A&L_Ont]

I have been a die-hard Princess fan for years but am now thinking of jumping ship for 2 reasons:

 

2--The PH Suites have been moved on the new ships to the Riviera deck which means it is right under the Lido deck which means constant noise. We have been awakened (when we were trying to sleep late) to scraping of tables and chairs and walking, etc. The other night when they had the White Hot Party we heard music until well after midnight. It is terribly noisy here and yet the PH suites are only on this deck....go figure. We called to ask if this was normal and they said yes, the engineers made a mistake...

 

Sassy

 

Sorry for the problems. My DW and I laughed out loud because we too have listened to the White Hot party while laying in PH suite bed, on the Crown. It went something like "Olay, Olay, Olay Olay, Feelin' Hot Hot Hot" as the congo line danced above our heads. Thankfully that is for one night only.

 

It wasn't the same on the Carribean Princess or the Emerald in our PHS, but we did hear the chairs more on all three. We are early risers though so it wasn't that bad for us, but we can sympathize with you. As for the smokin its a hit or miss deal.

 

Andrew

[wineforhealth]

sorry you had a bad experience

 

Not sure why Princess would put these suites in such a bad place to pick up the noise

 

I hate the smoke ~ I'm with you and the no smoking locations

 

 

Hope the rest of your cruise was great

[Coral]

Have you considered the aft suites instead? I actually preferred the VS and PS suite locations as opposed to the PH location.

[Caribensun]

A&L Ont,

Thank you for the review. Instead of booking a PH we booked a PS hoping to not have smoke drift our way. I am even thinking about not bringing my nice formal dresses because I have been reading PescadorArmillo say there is smoke filled hallways. I really do not want my clothes smelling of smoke and I will not dry clean my dresses on board. Did you notice a problem with smoke in hallways? We are at the very back of the ship -could there be more of a problem?

Check out Celebrity or Oceania that is where we are going next, very strict no smoking policy. After talking with a Celebrity rep (very knowledgeable) we cannot wait!

[satxdiver]

I agree that designating one side of the ship smoking and the other side non-smoking would be wonderful. Problem would be that the non-smoking side would fill up quickly forcing non-smokers to have stateroom balconies on the smoking side! The smoke filled inside bars though help hold down my bar bill since I don't go in. With my allergies smoke is not really appreciated.

 

I had a stateroom immediately under the HC and quickly found out that was not a great idea. There was noise of tables and chairs being moved around when the cleaning crew was working. I moved down one deck and solved the problem.

[love2bonboard]

We are loyal to Princess, love MUTS, and the pizza/hamburger grills. However, I agree w/ you. My husband and I had a inside room (we don't book balconies due to the smoke and noise) last cruise on the Rivera deck...what a nightmare...squeek, squeek, scrape, scrape. I can understand during times when passengers are awake, but at 2:00am every night the crew would wheel their cart out to stake up the chairs and then at 5:00 am every morning they would wheel the cart back out and set them back out. It was very surprising how loud that was. We complained to the front desk a few times and finally gave up; at a minimum I asked if they could just stack the chairs earlier (11:00pm or so) and at least wait until 6:30 am before setting them back out (or better yet, just leave them alone). I don't mind occassional noise, I can wear earplugs, but not every night (my ears get sore). I'm sure some people will not understand why you are so upset, but after having that same situation I fully understand. I function after one or two nights of bad sleep, but a week or two, ugh. We could not even take a nap as the lunch crowd (not their fault) were constantly pulling chairs in and out. We are doing Princess again in a couple of months, but I was thinking of a Panama Canal cruise later this year and will, unfortunately, choose a different cruise line that does not allow smoking on the balconies (a must have for the canal! ). Love Princess, but hate cigerette smoke blowing in my room more. Anyway, enjoy your future cruises...Hope you find a cruise line that suites you better.

[lovevacadays]

That is too bad that such nice rooms are under such a noisy area. I learned my lesson many years ago on RCCL Sovereign of the Seas. I booked what would be considered a minisuite today for me and my mom. The cabin was right under the pool deck and we had the same problem of chairs scraping, etc. I have booked the Aloha deck on the Sapphire Princess right under the back aft pool but didnt have problems with noise in that cabin.

[Tak8]

Sorry you had a bad experience with the suite. The boards are filled with stories about the PH suites on this type of ship.

I booked a VS which are located aft and marked no upgrade, so I wouldn't get one under the pool deck.

If these are your only complaints, why not locate a better suite and stick with the line you prefer?

[geoherb]

Sorry you had a bad time. I am willing to trade our obstructed view cabin on the Emerald Deck for a PH on our upcoming cruise. One of the reasons we did not get a balcony is that Princess still allows people to smoke on them.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the comments.

 

Princess will not be changing the smoking policies anytime soon so your idea about changing cruise lines may be the best choice next time.

[Guest Spo]

Booking a balcony on Princess has definitely become a gamble as far as the smoke goes. It seems that over the last year the odds of having a smoker nearby have increased pretty dramatically. That is why we're willing to give up some of our favorite things about Princess and give Celebrity a try.

 

If we don't like Celebrity, we've actually talked about not booking a balcony :eek:, which is one thing I said I'd never do without on a cruise.

 

Unfortunately for the smokers, I, and I hope many others, will continue to be very vocal with Princess until they do change. After all, Never say Never!!!:p

[donna5]

Noise!!

 

I hear other people on cruises complaining about how loud all the music venues are. You don't need to hear the parties when you are in your stateroom or several floors down on your balcony. I have filled out the comment card on almost every cruise complaining about the noise. More people need to complain about the noise to Princess if it bothers you. If we say nothing it will continue.

[1 HappyCruiser]

I really hope you let Princess know about the smoke problems you encountered. Without anyone complaining nothing will ever get done.

[TomCruises]

Smoking is a fire hazzard aboard a cruise ship.Many cruise lines have already adopted no smoking policys in most areas (including cabin & balcony) aboard the ship!

 

Princess needs to revaluate its smoking policys!Non smokers are not offensive or intrusive to others while smokers on the other hand are!

 

There is a difference and hopefully the folks at Princess will figure this out!

[stellalimelight]

You could probably minimize some of the smoking on balconies if they would allow more smoking up in the open area of the pool where you can actually get some sun. I had a balcony this time and although I made an attempt to smoke out in the open areas of the ship(Sapphire) the only area outside was 4 tables in the enclosed area of the pool. I you wanted sun and you wanted to smoke, the only option was on your balcony. This was a Mexican Riviera trip and as you know the 1st and last day can be quite cold, depending on the time of the year.

 

Also I have no problem if they designated rooms on one side smoking or non smoking but I imagine the problem is that the non smoking side would fill up first and then it would be up to the non smokers to volunteer to go to the smoking room side of the ship. Then you would definitely have a whole bunch of smokers in the room. I imagine when it becomes financially unprofitable for them to have non smoking in the room that is when it will change. Until then, I will smoke where I am allowed and try to be as considerate as possible. I will also tell smokers who are disobeying the rules to knock it off.

[sidari]

Luckily for us we have twice been able to book a PS Suite which is at the front of the Ruby which means no smoke from anyone on their balconies who do smoke!

 

One thing we were not happy about on our last cruise in November 09 was that Princess have now allowed smokers to encroach right upto the entrance doors to the corridor/hallway of the Lido deck, all day long there is the smoke odour from the doors to the lift area and we were glad that we didnt book a balcony in that area on the port side! on many occasions we used the Starboard side to access the lido deck area.

 

Princess do need to come up with a policy for the sake of all their cruisers.

[juggles]

the noise wouldn't have bothered me as I went to bed at 3am each night at the earliest......it is a holiday, not as though anyone is getting up for work. I was always up at 7 30am

I smoke but usually had one on the balcony when I got up and one when I got in. Otherwise I used the smoking areas.

Car fumes are far worse for your health, why not campaign for everyone to stop driving as well....I don't have a car but just hate car fumes blowing up my nose from exhausts. Then perhaps we can start on boozers and stop them drinking. Next have a go at obese people, they take up two seats in coaches/theatres. Then perhaps people that laugh loud and disturb the people in their suites

I forgot to mention gamblers, I detest casinos and the type that frequent them, why not ban them too....anything else I've missed?

[1 HappyCruiser]

Luckily for us we have twice been able to book a PS Suite which is at the front of the Ruby which means no smoke from anyone on their balconies who do smoke!

 

One thing we were not happy about on our last cruise in November 09 was that Princess have now allowed smokers to encroach right upto the entrance doors to the corridor/hallway of the Lido deck, all day long there is the smoke odour from the doors to the lift area and we were glad that we didnt book a balcony in that area on the port side! on many occasions we used the Starboard side to access the lido deck area.

 

Princess do need to come up with a policy for the sake of all their cruisers.

 

We've occasionally taken the wrong side of the ship (smoking) to proceed down & noticed that same thing and I've ofter wondered about how all that smoke would affect the cabins on that side of the ship. Although the positive cabin pressure probably wouldn't allow smoke into the cabin when exiting into the hallway you would be greeted with a cloud of smoke at almost any time.

[Guest Spo]

the noise wouldn't have bothered me as I went to bed at 3am each night at the earliest......it is a holiday, not as though anyone is getting up for work. I was always up at 7 30am

I smoke but usually had one on the balcony when I got up and one when I got in. Otherwise I used the smoking areas.

Car fumes are far worse for your health, why not campaign for everyone to stop driving as well....I don't have a car but just hate car fumes blowing up my nose from exhausts. Then perhaps we can start on boozers and stop them drinking. Next have a go at obese people, they take up two seats in coaches/theatres. Then perhaps people that laugh loud and disturb the people in their suites

I forgot to mention gamblers, I detest casinos and the type that frequent them, why not ban them too....anything else I've missed?

 

Never saw a car on a cruise ship before. Also have never been run off my stateroom balcony by a drinker, gambler, obese person, etc. -- oh, unless said drinker, gambler, obese person, etc. was smoking!:rolleyes:

[Coracii]

the noise wouldn't have bothered me as I went to bed at 3am each night at the earliest......it is a holiday, not as though anyone is getting up for work. I was always up at 7 30am

I smoke but usually had one on the balcony when I got up and one when I got in. Otherwise I used the smoking areas.

Car fumes are far worse for your health, why not campaign for everyone to stop driving as well....I don't have a car but just hate car fumes blowing up my nose from exhausts. Then perhaps we can start on boozers and stop them drinking. Next have a go at obese people, they take up two seats in coaches/theatres. Then perhaps people that laugh loud and disturb the people in their suites

I forgot to mention gamblers, I detest casinos and the type that frequent them, why not ban them too....anything else I've missed?

 

Out of all those vices you just rambled off, the only one other than smoking that has a direct impact on the health of people not partaking in them is car fumes. Now, there I agree with you and would love to see everyone on mass transportation, bikes, or walking rather than hundreds of millions of cars on the road. Is it going to happen, definitely not anytime soon. Your analogies of drinking, gambling, laughing, and obesity have nothing to do with smokers. Second-hand smoke kills or causes illness to tens of thousands of people per year, people that have done nothing more than breathe in the toxic air caused by cigarettes. If you want to pollute your lungs and kill yourself that's your choice, I'd rather not follow that path because someone else was addicted to nicotine. Luckily, my current home state is non-smoking in just about every enclosed building except bars that don't serve food and I just avoid those. I'll continue to voice my complaints over the smoking policy to Princess at every opportunity.

[caribill]

Now, there I agree with you and would love to see everyone on mass transportation, bikes, or walking rather than hundreds of millions of cars on the road.

 

Cruise ships emit fumes also. Maybe only ships with sails should be allowed.

[Guest Spo]

Cruise ships emit fumes also. Maybe only ships with sails should be allowed.

 

While we're at it, let's all return to the horse and buggy days and have special pooper-scoopers collect the horse poop and have it converted to home heating fuels! Whoo-hoo!

 

While I love a good smoking debate, this one has become tedious and even I'm ready to see it go poof! Bye-bye!

 

Oh, and to the OP, I'm sorry about the trouble you had in the PH suite. I was in an aft cabin on Riveria and with the Terrace Pool area above us, we had some noise issues and the corridor leading to our cabin was quite smokey. I don't blame you for being upset as I, too, would be if I had paid for a suite in that location. I guess it would be natural to assume if they're going to have a suite and charge suite prices, it would be in a "sweet" location! I think Princess did mess up when they located the PH suites there!

[luvslabdogs]

I won't book w/Celebrity because they don't allow smoking on their balconies. For those who complain about smoking, try Celebrity or one of the lines that have banned smoking altogether. You'll be much happier and so will I and others who smoke on their balconies.

[mina]

As one of those others, we will be on the emerald april 25th in an aft corner balcony. We will have a morning and evening smoke on our balcony. Location purposely booked to minimize "evil eye" from others.

 

I will be considerate by not chain smoking and trying to judge my timing when there are not a lot of people out. However, I will not be bullied into submission.